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Sunday, July 28, 2024

Wk.30- She Got Next?

While many of the top players on tour were in Paris getting ready to try to win their first Olympic medals, there were some firsts to be had in Prague and Iasi, as well.



The lead-up to Paris saw still more of the achievers from the *last* Olympics pull up and out of the latest games, including the '21 singles Silver medalist Marketa Vondrousova and Bronze match participant Elena Rybakina. With reigning Gold medalist Belinda Bencic already sidelined while on maternity leave, it left Bronze winner Elina Svitolina as not just the only member of the Tokyo semifinals to return this time around, but she's also the lone member of the quarterfinals in the MD in Paris.

*2021 TOKYO MEDAL ROUND (+ WS QF) and '24 MD STATUS*
* - in MD
[singles]
Gold - Belinda Bencic (DNP)
Silver - Marketa Vondrousova (DNP)
Bronze - Elina Svitolina*
SF - Elena Rybakina (DNP)
QF - Paula Badosa (DNP)
QF - Camila Giorgi (DNP/retired)
QF - Garbina Muguruza (DNP/retired)
QF - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (DNP)
[doubles]
Gold - Barbora Krejcikova* & Katerina Siniakova*
Silver - Belinda Bencic (DNP) & Viktorija Golubic (DNP WD)
Bronze - Laura Pigossi (DNP WD) & Luisa Stefani*
SF - Veronika Kudermetova (DNP) & Elena Vesnina*
[mixed]
Gold - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (DNP)
Silver - Elena Vesnina*
Bronze - Ash Barty (DNP/retired)
SF - Nina Stojanovic (DNP)

So, a WHOLE LOTTA first-time medal winners should be coming in the next week. It was kind of like what happened in Week 30...

*PRAGUE/IASI "FIRST-TIME" RESULTS, QF+*
WTA WS Title - Mirra Andreeva (Iasi)
WTA WS Final - Mirra Andreeva (Iasi)
WTA WS Final - Elina Avanesyan (Iasi)
WTA WS Final - Magdalena Frech (Prague)
WTA WS SF - Laura Samson (Prague) - in 1st MD
WTA WS SF - Magdalena Frech (Prague)
WTA WS SF - Elina Avanesyan (Iasi)
WTA WS QF - Lea Boskovic (Iasi)
WTA WS QF - Selina Janicijevic (Iasi)
WTA WS QF - Laura Samson (Prague)


So...



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*WEEK 30 CHAMPIONS*
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC (WTA 250/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Magda Linette/POL def. Magdalena Frech/POL 6-2/6-1
D: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova (CZE/CZE) def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova (USA/CZE) 6-3/6-3
IASI, ROMANIA (WTA 250/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Mirra Andreeva/RUS def. Elina Avanesyan/RUS 5-7/7-5/4-0 ret.
D: Anna Danilina/Irina Khromacheva (KAZ/RUS) def. Alexandrova Panova/Yana Sizikova (RUS/RUS) 6-4/6-2
WARSAW, POLAND (WTA 125/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Alycia Parks/USA def. Maya Joint/AUS 4-6/6-3/6-3
D: Weronika Falkowska/Martyna Kubka (POL/POL) def. Celine Naef/Nina Stojanovic (SUI/SRB) 6-4/7-6(5)




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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova, CZE/CZE
...once again, just like old times.



At Roland Garros, Krejcikova (in singles) and Siniakova (in doubles) both won major titles on the same weekend, just like it *used* to be, even if they didn't win *together*. Well, that changed this week in Prague.

After taking a break in their partnership during the first half of this season, the two played together for the first time in '24 in preparation for the Olympics and the whole thing turned out to be just like riding a bike. After opening with a win over the teenage pair of Renata Jamrichova & Laura Samson, the duo finished off the week without losing a set. After a SF walkover from #3 seeds Hsieh Su-wei & Tso Chia-yi, the Czechs (in their 23rd WTA final) defeated the reunited wild card pair of Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Lucie Safarova by a 3 & 3 score.

The win is Krejcikova & Siniakova's 17th at tour level, with their most recent final/win coming last September in San Diego. Overall, it's Krejickova's 19th tour win and Siniakova's 27th, and her fourth with four different partners this season (including two different at Roland Garros and Wimbledon).

The doubles run made up for Siniakova's 2nd Round upset loss in singles to 16-year old Samson, and moves her to within 5 rankings points of WD #1 Erin Routliffe. Just back into the singles Top 10 after her RG title run, Krejickova now returns to the doubles Top 20.



The Czechs return to Paris this week as the top seeds, where they'll try to become the third Gold medal winning team (w/ Gigi Fernandez & Mary Joe Fernandez in '96, and the Williams sisters in '00) to successfully defend their Olympic doubles title. They open vs. the Chan sisters in the 1st Round.
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RISERS: Mirra Andreeva/RUS, Magdalena Frech/POL and Olga Danilovic/SRB
...Andreeva's maiden tour title run blasted out of the starting gate in Iasi, with the 17-year old cruising past Noma Noha Akugue (1 & 2), Aliaksandra Sasnovich (1 & 3) and Lea Boskovic (2 & love). It then got a bit complicated, as the Hordette trailed Olga Danilovic 5-2 in the 3rd set and saved a pair of MP before rallying to reach her first tour final. Once there, Andreeva trailed Elina Avanesyan 7-5/5-4, but prevailed in the hotly contested battle when she ran off seven straight games and ultimately saw her countrywoman retire down 0-4 in the deciding set after winning just four total points in the 3rd.

Andreeva is the youngest tour champion since Coco Gauff won in Parma in '21 (at 20 days younger). The last tour singles champion younger than 17 was also Gauff, who won at 15 in Linz in 2019. The Hordette is the fifth first-time singles WTA champion in 2024.

Afterward, Andreeva sort of "pulled a Federer," i.e. the act of saying something that, while totally true, would sound incredibly self-centered if it were coming from someone else. Federer would sometimes casually make a comment about something that he'd accomplished or perfected that would be declared to be blatantly narcissistic if, you know, he hadn't actually done whatever it was, often more than once.

I least I *think* Andreeva pulled it off. Sort of. Give her a year or two, and it'll probably sound just fine. I mean, she's not wrong.



In Prague, Frech played her way into the WTA's first all-Polish singles final, which was also her own maiden title match.

The 26-year old's week included wins over Astra Sharma and Anhelina Kalinina (the latter via a love & 1 2nd/3rd sets to reach her maiden SF), as well as a pair of retirements from young Czechs (20-year old Dominika Salkova at 2-2 in the 3rd in the 2nd Rd., and 16-year old Laura Samson at 4-2 in the 3rd in the semis).

Frech was handled 6-2/6-1 in the final by countrywoman Magda Linette, but will return to the Top 50 (#48) on Monday, not far off the career high (#42) she achieved in February.



Danilovic's Iasi run saw the Serb add to her encouraging late spring/early summer string of results -- w/ a 125 SF, Madrid qualifying run, RG Round of 16 and another successful qualifying attempt at Wimbledon -- with her first tour-level QF/SF since she reached the Lausanne final in 2022.

Danilovic opened with a win over Anna Blinkova, then won a '24 rubber match vs. Anca Todoni (they'd split earlier meetings this season at RG and Wimbledon). A straight sets win over Anna Bondar, which avenged a 1st Round loss a week earlier vs. the Hungarian in Budapest, set up a SF vs. Mirra Andreeva. Danilovic won the opening set, and led 5-2 in the 3rd, holding two MP on the teenager's serve and then failing to serve out the match at 5-3. Andreeva won a deciding TB at 7-1.


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SURPRISES: Selina Janicijevic/FRA and Lea Boskovic/CRO
...Janicijevic has had a slew of success on the ITF level, going 10-4 in challenger finals since the summer of 2021. Success at the tour-level has been far tougher to come by, though. The Pastry has lost in qualifying at all three majors this season, after having played in two (AO/RG) in the same season for the first time in her career in '23.

The 22-year old qualified in Iasi, then posted back-to-back MD wins over Gergana Topalova and Miriam Bulgaru to reach her maiden WTA QF in her fifth career tour-level MD appearance (three of which were in slams) and her first of '24.

After a brilliant love 1st set vs. Chloe Paquet in the QF, Janicijevic lost 6-2/6-1 in the 2nd/3rd. Still, she'll rise from #188 to a new career high of #160.



Also in Iasi, Boskovic lost in qualifying but made her tour MD debut as a lucky loser. She opened with a win over Maria Timofeeva, then knocked off Varvara Lepchenko to reach the QF. It's the second straight week that a LL reached the final eight at a WTA event, following Ella Seidel in Week 29 in Budapest.

Boskovic notched just two games vs. Mirra Andreeva in the QF, but will rise from #202 to a new career high of #169.


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VETERANS: Magda Linette/POL and Chloe Paquet/FRA
...Linette was hardly the story of the week in Prague, as it was the teenage Czechs' dual semifinal push that led the way, but the 32-year old turned out to be the last person (and Pole) standing.

Linette's wins over Mona Barthel, Rebeka Masarova and Viktoriya Tomova set up a SF clash with Linda Noskova. The young Czech battled Linette for three sets, denying her on six MP chances in the 3rd before #7 proved to be the charm that sent the veteran into her second final (w/ Rouen) of the season (eighth in her career). In the first all-Polish final match-up in tour history, Linette defeated first-time finalist Magdalena Frech 2 & 1 to claim her third career title, her first since pre-pandemic Hua Hin in February 2020.

Two days later, in an Olympic match that sort of came about as an "afterthought," Linette took a 6-3/6-4 encounter in the 1st Round with Week 30's *other* singles title winner, Mirra Andreeva.



In Iasi, Paquet followed up her QF in Palermo with her first tour-level SF since 2019 (Strasbourg). The 30-year old notched wins over Maria Lourdes Carle, Simona Waltert and fellow Pastry Selina Janicijevic en route, but fell a round short of her first final with a straight sets loss to Elina Avanesyan.

The result pushes Paqeut into the Top 100 for the first time, making her the sixth woman in WTA history to make her Top 100 debut after turning 30. It's becoming a far more common thing of late, though. Two have now done it in 2024 alone, as Arina Rodionova (34) became the oldest to make the jump earlier this season. A third (Emina Bektas) did it last year, and a fourth of the six (Nuria Parrizas Diaz) made her Top 100 debut in 2021.


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COMEBACKS: Alycia Parks/USA and Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova, USA/CZE
...look who's blooming more than once a year. Well, unless this counts as just one, extended "in bloom" period, I guess.



Parks got off to a 2-14 start this year, dropping 13 straight at one point. Early in this summer's grass season, she was 1-15 in her last sixteen, and 3-16 on the year. After this week, she's remarkably now *over* .500 for 2024 at 18-17. With her title run in the Warsaw 125, Parks has matched that 1-15 stretch with a 15-1 run since mid-June.

Parks won the grasscourt Gaiba 125 as a qualifier, then qualified at Wimbledon. This time she qualified on hard court in Warsaw, then added four more MD wins, finishing off her second 125 title of the season with a 4-6/6-3/6-3 win over Aussie Maya Joint in the final.

After being ranked #153 in early June, she'll climb to just outside the Top 100 (#103) on Monday.

In Prague, Safarova (along w/ former WD partner Mattek-Sands, with whom she won five majors from 2015-17 before the Bannerette injured her knee, leaving them the SW19 crown short of Career Doubles Slam) had her re-coming out party this past week, reaching the final in her first tour-level event since the 2019 Roland Garros.

Safarova, now 37 and with two children after originally retiring five years ago, had already returned to action before this past week, playing a singles match in a challenger event last year, and then a pair of matches on the ITF level (s/d) last month. She lost in Prague singles qualifying last weekend, but caught fire again with Mattek-Sands in doubles play.

The veteran duo (a combined 76 years) knocked off the Prague #2 (Aoyama/Shibahar) and #4 (Rosatello/Zimmermann) seeds to reach the final, their first together in seven years (and Safarova's first since Stuttgart '19).

After a straight sets loss to the also-reunited Czechs Krejcikova & Siniakova, Mattek-Sands/Safarova's last title run together remains at Roland Garros in 2017. Mattek-Sands has picked up two titles this year with Sofia Kenin.


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FRESH FACES: Elina Avanesyan/RUS and Linda Noskova/CZE
...Avanesyan was outmaneuvered and outlasted in the Iasi by fellow Hordette Mirra Andreeva, but the 21-year old followed up her Budapest QF with her first tour-level semifinal and final to rise from #76 to a new career high of #54.

Avanesyan's week included wins over Petra Martic and Jaqueline Cristian, with the latter result ending the Russian's winless streak (0-5) in career WTA QF. She led Andreeva 7-5/5-4 in the final, but never won another game, dropping the final seven games before retiring down 0-4 in the 3rd.



While Krejcikova & Siniakova's title run saved the day for the Czech fans in Prague, Noskova came up a round short of reaching what would have been her second straight final in the event (and third of her WTA career, where she's so far 0-2).

The #1 seed, Noskova's wins over Katarina Zavatska, Eva Lys (who retired down 2-1 in the 2nd) and Ella Seidel pushed the Czech into her second SF of the season, where she dropped a 3rd set TB to eventual champ Magda Linette. It's still her best result since the January Australian swing, during which Noskova went 8-2 and reached the Brisbane SF and Australian Open QF (which included her Iga upset).



While Noskova hadn't had great success since leaving Australia, it's worth noting that she's also never bottomed-out over the past six months. In her 12 events since January, she's only posted a single (in Madrid) one-and-out result (and only one of those results includes qualifying wins, in Abu Dhabi when she won two to advance and then lost in the 1st Rd. to Sorribes Tormo).

Noskova is already out in Paris, losing on Sunday to Wang Xiyu.
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DOWN: Anna Blinkova/RUS
...I'll hold off on any early-round Olympic misses until next week (I guess Naomi can now move on to summer hard courts, finally).

So, once again, eyes turn to Blinkova, who couldn't capitalize on this brief pocket in the schedule where, theoretically (with so many top players off to parts known and unknown), it should be a bit easier to get things back in order. Still, one has wonder, which of the two participants in the 42-point MTB in Melbourne has gone on to have the *most* disappointing season?

Well, at least Elena Rybakina, in between all her illness-related absences (the latest of which is Paris), has still had quite a bit of success. Blinkova only has a pair of QF (in San Diego and Bad Homburg) since her historic AO victory.

In Iasi, Blinkova's 1st Round exit at the hands of Olga Danilovic is the Hordette's fourth straight loss, her third 3+ losing streak of the season. She's 11-20 on the year.
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ITF PLAYER: Anastasia Zakharova/RUS
...22-year old Hordette Zakharova won the $100K challenger in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, with a 6-2/6-1 win in the final over Kristina Mladenovic. She took the title without dropping a set all week.

Zakharova, who qualified at the AO and posted MD wins over Yulia Putintseva and Kaja Juvan in January, picks up her biggest career title here. She improves to 13-2 in ITF finals, and moves to a career high #125 in the new rankings.



This was Mladenovic's biggest final since a 125 in 2021, and if she'd won would have been her second biggest career crown, behind only her lone tour-level singles win in Saint Petersburg in 2017.

Mladenovic, who was gifted (in the most extreme way) a WC into Roland Garros this spring, isn't in her home nation hosted Olympics in Paris, the first games at which she's been absent since 2008. Then again, even with her standing as the best French doubles player of her generation, maybe it's for the best considering her career Olympic record is 1-7 (1-2 WS, 0-3 WD, 0-2 MX).

The French doubles pairs in Paris are Garcia/Parry and Burel/Gracheva.

The French Pastry will at least climb back into the Top 200 in singles after this result, up from #232. She's #46 in doubles.
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JUNIOR STARS: Laura Samson/CZE and Teodora Kostovic/SRB
...already a junior slam finalist at Roland Garros this year, 16-year old Samson made her tour-level MD debut as a wild card on home clay in Prague. And what a time she had.

Ranked #634, the Crusher posted her first WTA win over Tara Wurth (love & 2), then followed that up with an upset of Katerina Siniakova (from 3-1 down in the 3rd) before outlasting Oksana Selekmeteva to get within one win of the final in her very first attempt. Samson finally ran out of gas in the semifinals, retiring in the 3rd set vs. Magdalena Frech.



To highlight how rare Samson's run was, if she'd managed to win the title she'd have been the lowest-ranked WTA champion ever (#579 Angelique Widjaja, in her tour MD debut, won Bali in 2001, also as a WC in her home nation's event). The only two players to have won titles in their WTA debuts since Widjaja did it in 2001 have been Olga Danilovic in 2018 (Moscow) and Maria Timofeeva last year (Budapest).

In Bytom (POL), Roehampton champ Kostovic, 17, grabbed another J300 title without dropping a set. The #1 seed, she downed #4 Julia Stusek (GER) and then handled #3 Yelyzaveta Kotliar (UKR) 7-6(2)/6-2 in the final. Kotliar, remember, got in trouble earlier this year in Melbourne when she absentmindedly -- egads!!!! -- forgot herself for a moment and shook the hand of her opponent after a competitive junior encounter. You can imagine the audacity of it all.

Kostovic also won the doubles in Bytom, which I mention mostly because her partner's name was Amelie Justine Hejtmanek (GER). I mean, come on, that name *has* to be in honor of, well, you know, right?

Kostovic, the junior #10, has knocked off a run of big name juniors of late, including girls' RG finalist/Prague semifinalist Samson (in the 3r at Wimbledon), AO/WI finalist Emerson Jones (in the Roehampton semis) and SW19 semifinalist/RG quarterfinalist Iva Jovic (in the Roehampton final).
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DOUBLES: Anna Danilina/Irina Khromacheva, KAZ/RUS
...while the Czechs were winning in Prague, Danilina & Khromacheva went to Budapest and added a tour-level title to the pair of 125 crowns the duo won earlier this season. A straight sets win in the final over Alexandra Panova/Yana Sizikova, Week 29's winners in Palermo, gives Danilina a sixth career WTA win and Khromacheva a fifth.

Khromacheva has won three '24 tour-level titles with three different partners (one each w/ Timea Babos and even Sizikova in Rabat, where the two defeated *Danilina* and Xu Yifan). The final was Danilina's third this season in a third different pairing (including a win in Hobart w/ Viktoria Hruncakova).


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1. Prague 2nd Rd. - Laura Samson def. Katerina Siniakova
...1-6/7-5/6-3. So, apparently we're at the point in the Czech Crusher Era when the younger generation (and one of the youngest members of it, no less) eats away at the previous generation in a big occasion event in their home nation.

Siniakova led 3-1 in the 3rd, but Samson claimed the last five games en route to a SF run in her tour MD debut.



On the same day, Siniakova (w/ Krejcikova) defeated Samson in the 1st Round of doubles. The veteran Czechs went on to win the title.

"You still have much to learn, young Padawan."
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2. Prague SF - Magda Linette def. Linda Noskova 6-3/3-6/7-6(2)
Prague SF - Magdalena Frech def. Laura Samson 3-6/6-0/4-2 ret.
...the two Poles author a letdown for the Czech crowd, as the first all-Crusher WTA final seemed on the verge of becoming a reality.

Noskova saved six MP at 5-3 in the 3rd vs. Linette, and held in 3 and 2-deuce games to force a deciding TB, but lost it 7-2; while Samson took the 1st set vs. Frech before ultimately wearing down at the end of a long week and retiring six games into the 3rd.


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3. Prague Final - Magda Linette def. Magdalena Frech
...6-2/6-1. The Polish #2 takes out the Polish #3 in the first all-Pole WTA final clash.

At 32, Linette is the oldest WTA singles champ so far this season, topping Karolina Pliskova (31y,11m) in her win in Cluj in February. Six 30+ champions have been crowned in 2024, while Andreeva's win in Iasi was the third won by a teenager.


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4. Warsaw 125 Final - Alycia Parks def. Maya Joint
...4-6/6-3/6-3. Parks finishes off a 15-1 run with her second 125 title (on hard court, after winning on grass in Gaiba) of the summer.



18-year old Joint was playing in her biggest career final after winning a pair of ITF titles ($75K, $35K) and reaching a $100K final earlier this season. The Aussie had ended Maja Chwalinska's 13-match winning streak in the semis.
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5. Iasi 1st Rd. - Varvara Lepchenko def. Martina Trevisan
...5-7/6-4/6-3. Still playing on after two past drug suspensions (she was ultimately ruled to be "at no fault" for the one in 2016, while the four-year ban she received in '22 was eventually reduced to 21 months, post-dated back to '21), 38-year old Lepchenko qualifies in Iasi and posts her first tour-level MD win in three years.

Lepchenko returned to action in May of 2023.
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6. Prague Q1 - Anastasiia Sobolieva def. Lucie Safarova 4-6/6-4/6-3
Prague 1st Rd. - Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Lucie Safarova def. Shuko Aoyama/Ena Shibahara 6-2/7-5
...Safarova's first-match returns in singles and doubles in a tour-level event, her first since her 2019 retirement and the births of two children.


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7. Prague 1st Rd. - Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova def. Renata Jamrichova/Laura Samson
...6-3/6-4. Krejcikova & Siniakova made their first appearance together in 2024, picked up a win vs. two teenagers, and then didn't lose all week.


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8. Prague 1st Rd. - Anhelina Kalinina def. Sara Bejlek
...7-5/6-7(7)/6-2. Kalinina led 7-5/5-2, but Bejlek saved a MP in the 2nd, winning a TB to force a 3rd. The Ukrainian finally put the young Czech away there, winning in 3:03.
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9. Prague 1st Rd. - Ella Seidel def. Nadia Podoroska
...6-4/2-6/6-1. After reaching the Budapest QF as a lucky loser in Week 29, 19-year old Seidel opens with a win over Podoroska in Prague and plays her way into her second straight QF. She'll be at a new career high of #135 on Monday.


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10. Prague 1st Rd. - Ena Shibahara def. Tamara Korpatsch
...7-6(5)/3-6/7-5. All of Shibahara's tour success has come in doubles, but she continues to play singles, and seems to be intent on improving her lot there in an increasingly exponential fashion.

She qualified in Prague, winning a 9-7 3rd set TB vs. Lola Radanovic in the Q1, then rallied from a set down (winning an 8-6 2nd set TB) to defeat Tara Wurth a round later. After losing in the final Q-round, Shibahara reached the MD as a lucky loser and upset Korpatsch to record her first tour-level singles win in her fifth career WTA MD appearance.

So far in '24, Shibahara has won more singles matches (33 of 46) than she's ever *played* in a single season before this year (31 had been her season high). She won her first pro singles title ($35K) in February, and reached a $100K final in April. She's raised her ranking from #548 on January 1st to an incoming career high #242 in the new rankings.
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11. Prague QF - Laura Samson def. Oksana Selekhmeteva
...2-6/6-3/7-5. After being able to play just 23 matches in '23, 21-year old Selekhmeteva continues her successful post-injury run. The Hordette qualified in Prague and reached her second career WTA QF, two years after she had her first in the same Prague event.
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12. Iasi 1st Rd. - Selina Janicijevic def. Gergana Topalova
...6-1/6-2. A week after qualifying in Budapest (with a win over Ella Seidel, who then reached the QF as a lucky loser) and going 3:29 in a losing effort in her tour debut vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo, Topalova makes it through qualifying again (knocking off #1-seeded Lea Boskova, who then reached the QF as a lucky loser... the Tennis Gods have been working overtime) only to exit early again, though after a lot less wear-and-tear.
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13. Prague 1st Rd. - Laura Samson def. Tara Wurth
...6-0/6-2. RG girls' singles finalist Samson makes her tour-level debut, and runs away away with her maiden win en route to the semifinals.


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14. Prague 1st Rd. - Viktoriya Tomova def. Renata Jamrichova
...7-6(3)/6-3. The reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon girls' champion makes her tour-level debut, but falls in a competitive match to the veteran Bulgarian.
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15. $50K Dallas USA Final - Clervie Ngounoue def. Robin Anderson
...2-6/6-3/7-5. 18-year old Ngounoue picks up her second and biggest career title, adding a $50K to the $35K challenger that the 2023 Wimbledon girls' singles champ (and '22 AO and '23 RG girls' doubles winner) claimed back in January.

Anderson, 31, led UCLA to the NCAA women's team title back in 2014.

Ngounoue will be the 15th player age 18-and-under ranked in the Top 300 in the coming week, led by #23 Mirra Andreeva. Prague semifinalist Laura Samson will come in at #373, up 261 spots from a week ago.
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1. Iasi SF - Mirra Andreeva def. Olga Danilovic
...3-6/6-3/7-6(1). Andreeva's title run came after the Russian had trailed Danilovic 5-2 in the 3rd in their semifinal, saving a pair of MP on her own serve and then breaking the Serb when she served for the match a game later. Andreeva went on to dominate the deciding TB, then take the title on Friday before heading to Paris.

It's the sixth time this season a player has won a title after saving MP.


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2. Iasi Final - Mirra Andreeva def. Elina Avanesyan
...5-7/7-5/4-0 ret. Top-seeded Andreeva outlasts Avanesyan in the 33rd all-Russian final in tour history, a match-up of the RUS #5 vs. the RUS #10. At ages 17 and 21, respectively, it was the youngest tour final since the 2021 U.S. Open.

Avanesyan led 7-5/5-4, but Andreeva swept the final seven games, dropping just four points in the 3rd set before Avanesyan retired 0-4 down after dropping game 4 at love.


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3. $35K Segovia ESP Final - Yasmine Mansouri def. Lia Karatancheva 6-2/6-7(5)/7-5
$35K Segovia ESP Final - Lia Karatancheva/Radka Zelnickova def. Alexandra Osborne/Anna Rogers 2-6/6-3 [10-3]
...for the second straight week, Karatancheva was sniffing around the hardware at the ITF level. This week, she got one.

A week ago, the 20-year old Bulgarian fell a MTB short of her third and biggest career WD title. She got #3 in Segovia, matching her biggest win from April. Karatancheva reached her first pro singles final, as well, but fell in three sets to Mansouri.
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Not a shock. The comeback just hasn't shown a great deal of legs, has it? If only she'd had more moments like her Olympic 1st Round upset of Osaka?


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Vondrousova's injury woes continue. In 2021 in Tokyo, remember, she entered the Olympic event using a protected ranking and then cut a path through the draw all the way to the Silver medal.

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This continues to be the most frustrating (and perplexing) footnote of the WTA tour for (now) two seasons running.


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You have to wonder, how did (see below) never get that honor?


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So, no real difference then, right?


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From January 2009...









Watching Celine Dion perform has always been about more than just the voice...




First "Tonight Show" appearance (w/ Johnny Carson) in 1990, at age 22...










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*2024 FIRST-TIME WTA CHAMPIONS*
Hobart - Emma Navarro, USA (22/#31)
Hua Hin - Diana Shnaider, RUS (19/#108)
Austin - Yuan Yue, CHN (25/#68)
Rabat - Peyton Stearns, USA (22/#81)
Iasi - MIRRA ANDREEVA, RUS (17/#32)

*2024 TITLES FROM MATCH POINT DOWN*
Linz - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (1 MP vs. Tauson, 2r)
Madrid - Iga Swiatek, POL (3 MP vs. Sabalenka, F)
Rabat - Peyton Stearns, USA (2 MP vs. Bronzetti, QF)
Roland Garros - Iga Swiatek, POL (1 MP vs. Osaka, 2r)
Berlin - Jessie Pegula, USA (5 MP vs. Kalinskaya, F)
Iasi - MIRRA ANDREEVA, RUS (2 MP vs. Danilovic, SF)

*TWO 21-and-Under WTA SINGLES FINALISTS - 2020s*
37 - 2021 US Open = Raducanu (18) def. Fernandez (19)
38 - 2024 IASI = M.ANDREEVA (17) def. AVANESYAN (21)
39 - 2022 Monterrey = Fernandez (19) def. Osorio (20)
39 - 2022 Roland Garros = Swiatek (21) def. Gauff (18)
40 - 2020 Roland Garros = Swiatek (19) def. Kenin (21)
40 - 2021 Tenerife = Li (21) def. Osorio (19)
[under 40 yrs. combined, since 2015]
34 = 2018 Moscow RC: Danilovic (17) d. Potapova (17)
37 = 2021 US Open: Raducanu (18) d. Fernandez (19)
37 = 2019 Linz: Gauff (15) d. Ostapenko (22)
38 = 2017 Charleston: Kasatkina (19) d. Ostapenko (19)
38 = 2017 Biel: Vondrousova (17) d. Kontaveit (21)
38 = 2024 IASA: M.ANDREEVA (17) d. AVANESYAN (21)
39 = 2015 Tashkent: Hibino (20) d. Vekic (19)
39 = 2015 Quebec City: Beck (21) d. Ostapenko (18)
39 = 2022 Monterrey: Fernandez (19) d. Osorio (20)
39 = 2022 Roland Garros: Swiatek (21) d. Gauff (18)

*TEENAGE WTA SINGLES CHAMPS - since 2019*
[2019]
15 - Coco Gauff, USA (Linz)
17 - Amanda Anisimova, USA (Bogota)
18 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Indian Wells)
18 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Hua Hin)
19 - Dayana Yastremska, UKR (Strasbourg)
19 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (Toronto)
19 - Bianca Andreescu, CAN (US Open)
[2020]
19 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Roland Garros)
[2021]
17 - Coco Gauff, USA (Parma)
18 - Clara Tauson, DEN (Lyon)
18 - Clara Tauson, DEN (Luxembourg)
18 - Emma Raducanu, GBR (US Open)
18 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (Monterrey)
19 - Camila Osorio, COL (Bogota)
19 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Adelaide)
19 - Iga Swiatek, POL (Rome)
[2022]
17 - Linda Fruhvirtova, CZE (Chennai)
19 - Leylah Fernandez, CAN (Monterrey)
[2023]
18 - Coco Gauff, USA (Auckland)
19 - Maria Timofeeva, RUS (Budapest)
19 - Ashlyn Krueger, USA (San Diego)
19 - Coco Gauff, USA (Washington)
19 - Coco Gauff, USA (Cincinnati)
19 - Coco Gauff, USA (US Open)
[2024]
17 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS (Iasi)
19 - Diana Shnaider, RUS (Hua Hin)
19 - Coco Gauff, USA (Auckland)

*TITLES BY TEEN CHAMPS in 2020s*
6 - Coco Gauff (2021,23-24)
3 - Iga Swiatek (2020-21)
2 - Leylah Fernandez (2021-22)
2 - Clara Tauson (2021)
1 - MIRRA ANDREEVA (2024)
1 - Linda Fruhvirtova (2022)
1 - Ashlyn Krueger (2023)
1 - Camila Osorio (2021)
1 - Emma Raducanu (2021)
1 - Diana Shnaider (2024)
1 - Maria Timofeeva (2023)

*AGE AT HORDETTES' FIRST TITLES*
16 - Dinara Safina (2002)
16 - Maria Sharapova (2003)
17 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (2002)
17 - MIRRA ANDREEVA (2024)
18 - Natasha Zvereva (1990 as USSR; later BLR)
18 - Natalia Medvedeva (1990 as USSR; later UKR)
[18-Elena Likhovtseva (1993 as KAZ; RUS 1995-08)]
18 - Anastasia Myskina (1999)
18 - Vera Zvonareva (2003)
18 - Maria Kirilenko (2005)
18 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2010)
19 - Dasha Kasatkina (2017)
19 - Elena Bovina (2002)
19 - Anna Chakvetadze (2006)
19 - Maria Timofeeva (2023)
19 - Diana Shnaider (2024)

*2024 YOUNGEST WTA SF*
16 - LAURA SAMSON, CZE (Prague SF)
17 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS (Roland Garros SF)
17 - MIRRA ANDREEVA, RUS (Iasi W)
19 - Linda Noskova, CZE (Brisbane SF)
19 - LINDA NOSKOVA, CZE (Prague SF)
19 - Diana Shnaider, RUS (Hua Hin W)
19 - Coco Gauff, USA (Auckland W)
[WTA 125]
18 - MAYA JOINT, AUS (Warsaw RU)
18 - Taylah Preston, AUS (Puerto Vallerta RU)
18 - Celine Naef, SUI (Lleida SF)
19 - Diana Shnaider, RUS (Charleston RU)
19 - Anca Todoni, ROU (Bari W)

*2024 OLDEST WTA FINALISTS*
32 - MAGDA LINETTE, POL (Prague -W)
32 - Magda Linette, POL (Rouen -L)
32 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Nottingham -L)
31 - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (Cluj-Napoca -W)
31 - Ajla Tomljanvovic, AUS (Birmingham -L)
31 - Ana Bogdan, ROU (Cluj-Napoca -L)
31 - Sloane Stephens, USA (Rouen -W)
[doubles/MX]
39 - BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS (Prague -L)
38 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Miami - W)
38 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Abu Dhabi - W)
38 - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Auckland - L)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Wimbledon MX - W)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Berlin - W)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Indian Wells - W)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Australian Open - W)
38 - Hsieh Su-wei (Australian Open MX - W)
37 - LUCIE SAFAROVA (Prague -L)
37 - Sara Errani (Roland Garros - L)
37 - Sara Errani (Rome - W)
[duos]
76 - Prague - Mattek-Sands/Safarova (39/37) - L

*RECENT EARLY-CAREER BREAKOUTS - 1st/2nd WTA MD*
2019: Martina Di Giuseppe to Bucharest SF (1st WTA MD, age 28)
2019: Katarzyna Kawa to Jurmala F (1st WTA MD, age 26)
2020: Leonie Kung to Hua Hin F (2nd WTA MD, age 19)
2021: Jule Niemeier to Strasbourg SF (2nd WTA MD, age 21)
2022: Linda Noskova to Prague SF (2nd WTA MD, age 17)
2023: Julia Riera to Rabat SF (1st WTA MD, age 20)
2023: Maria Timofeeva wins Budapest (1st WTA MD, age 19)
2023: Noma Noha Akugue to Hamburg F (1st WTA MD, age 19)
2024: Laura Samson to Prague SF (1st WTA MD, age 16)

*RECENT ALL-RUS WTA FINALS*
2015 Moscow - Kuznetsova d. Pavlyuchenkova
2017 Indian Wells - Vesnina d. Kuznetsova
2018 Taskent - Gasparyan def. Potapova
2021 Saint Petersburg - Kasatkina def. Gasparyan
2022 Istanbul - Potapova def. V.Kudermetova
2023 Rosmalen - Alexandrova d. Samsonova
2024 Iasi - M.ANDREEVA d. AVANESYAN

*ALL-NATION WTA FINALS IN 2020s*
2020: (USA) Auckland - S.Williams d. Pegula
2020: (BLR) Ostrava - Sabalenka d. Azarenka
2021: (RUS) Saint Petersburg - Kasatkina d. Gasparyan *
2021: (CZE) Prague - Krejcikova d. Martincova *
2022: (RUS) Istanbul - Potapova d. V.Kudermetova
2023: (RUS) Rosmalen - Alexandrova d. Samsonova
2023: (GBR) Nottingham - Boulter d. Burrage *
2023: (CZE) Nanchang - Siniakova d. Bouzkova
2024: (CHN) Austin - Yuan d. Wang Xiyu
2024: (USA) Strasbourg - Keys d. Collins
2024: (POL) Prague - Linette d. Frech
2024: (RUS) Iasi - M.Andreeva d. Avanesyan
--
* - in home nation

*LOW-RANKED WTA SF - 2020-24*
#817 - Francesca Jones/GBR (2023 Bogota SF)
#634 - LAURA SAMSON/CZE (2024 Prague SF)
#298 - Nadia Podoroska/ARG (2022 Chennai SF)
#283 - Leonie Kung/SUI (2020 Hua Hin RU)
#280 - Sofia Kenin/USA (2023 Hobart SF)
#272 - Genie Bouchard/CAN (2020 Istanbul RU)
#270 - Renata Zarazua/MEX (2020 Acapulco SF)
#268 - Aleksandra Krunic/SRB (2021 Cluj-Napoca SF)
#246 - Maria Timofeeva/RUS (2023 Budapest W)
#237 - Tatjana Maria/GER (2022 Bogota W)

*OLDEST WTA SINGLES TOP 100 DEBUTS*
34.1 - Arina Rodionova, AUS (2024)
33.8 - Tzipora Obziler, ISR (2007)
32.0 - Adriana Villagran, ARG (1988)
30.6 - Emina Bektas, USA (2023)
30.1 - CHLOE PAQUET, FRA (2024)
30.1 - Nuria Parrizas Diaz, ESP (2021)

*MOST WTA TITLES BY WD TEAM - ACTIVE*
17 - KREJCIKOVA/SINIAKOVA, CZE/CZE
14 - Chan H-C./L.Chan, TPE/TPE
11 - Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
11 - Mattek-Sands/Safarova, USA/CZE
10 - Aoyama/Shibahara, JPN/JPN






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All for now.
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