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Monday, August 12, 2024

Wk.32- Pegula of the North








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*WEEK 32 CHAMPIONS*
TORONTO, ONTARIO CAN (WTA 1000/Hard Court Outdoor)
S: Jessie Pegula/USA def. Amanda Anisimova/USA 6-3/2-6/6-1
D: Caroline Dolehide/Desirae Krawczyk (USA/USA) def. Gaby Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe (CAN/NZL) 7-6(2)/3-6 [10-7]
HAMBURG, GERMANY (WTA 125/Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Anna Bondar/HUN def. Arantxa Rus/NED 6-4/6-2
D: Anna Bondar/Kimberley Zimmermann (HUN/GER) def. Arantxa Rus/Nina Stojanovic (NED/SRB) 5-7/6-3 [11-9]




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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jessie Pegula/USA
...this season has been a trying one for Pegula. She parted ways with coach David Witt, then missed time with neck and back injuries (she posted a DNP for the Middle East swing, then Roland Garros). Her two lone slam results left much to be desired (AO/WI 2r), and her early loss in Paris means she'll likely end her Olympic career at just 1-2.

Pegula *had* managed to pick up her first grass title in Berlin this summer, but she'd failed to win multiple matches in six of her eleven '24 tournaments heading into Toronto, where she was set to defend the Canadian 1000 title she claimed last summer in Montreal.

Right on cue, Pegula's "true north" proved to be north of the border (where, early on, she even reached her maiden tour final in Quebec City in 2018).

Wins over Karolina Pliskova, Ashlyn Krueger and Peyton Stearns made Pegula the fourth woman to reach the SF four straight times in the dual-host Canadian event (joining Seles, Sabatini and Halep), and her victory over Diana Shnaider gave her a chance to defend her title in the final. Amanda Anisimova managed to end her clean slate of straight sets wins on the week -- forcing a deciding 3rd -- but Pegula ripped through the final set to record her first career title repeat. She's the woman to be crowned the back-to-back winner of the tournament in 24 years.


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RISER: Emma Navarro/USA
...so, apparently these things go *both* ways, and you *can* be fueled to new heights by outright disrespect even when you were the individual displaying the unfortunate behavior, rather than being the one who was on the sharp end of it. Go figure.

I guess we'll have to figure out over time if that's a good -- or not good? -- trait to possess if you're Emma Navarro.

While Navarro dipped *way* down on the personal scale with her bad-look behavior in Paris, she's still one of the most improved players on tour in 2024. In Toronto, she followed up her squandered Olympic match vs. eventual Gold medalist Zheng Qinwen with her first career 1000 semi (she previously reached the QF in Indian Wells this year, as well as the Wimbledon QF).



Navarro posted wins over Magda Linette, Marta Kostyuk and Taylor Townsend to reach the semis, where she was outclassed in the 1st/3rd sets by Amanda Anisimova (even while Anisimova lost six straight games over the 2nd/3rd in a stretch), falling behind 5-2 in both sets (never breaking Anisimova in either) as her opponent posted her best results in over two years.

Navarro will rise slightly, from #15 to #13, to a new career high, as well as move into the Top 8 (at #7) in the WTA Points Race for Riyahd (moving past Wimbledon champ Krejcikova *and*, yep, Olympic champion Zheng in the jump).
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SURPRISES: Taylor Townsend/USA and Anna Bondar/HUN
...last week in Washington, Townsend again came up just short of her first career tour-level singles QF. In Toronto, she took the long way around the event, but *finally* checked that particular feat off her career To-Do list.

After losing in qualifying, Townsend took her lucky loser spot in the MD and ran with it, first seeing Dayana Yastremska retire from their 1st Round match, then putting together back-to-back complete wins over Marina Stakusic and Alona Ostapenko (6-2/6-1) to reach the final eight in an event for the first time.

Townsend fell there to Emma Navarro, but will climb from #71 to a new career high of #53 this week.



On Sunday/Monday, Townsend won back-to-back matches over Chloe Paquet and Katie Volynets to qualify in Cincinnati. It's just her second MD appearance in the 1000 event in the last seven editions (since her most recent MD win there in 2017).

In Hamburg, Bondar swept the singles and doubles titles at the 125 clay court event, extending her singles winning streak to ten (and improving to 12-1 in her last thirteen) as the Hungarian matched her biggest career crown (a '21 125 in Buenos Aires).

Arrving off a QF in Iasi (her best tour-level result of the season) and $75K challenger win (her third of '24), the 27-year old outlasted Olga Danilovic in a three-set SF, then defeated defeating champ Arantxa Rus 6-4/6-2 in the final. 32-13 on clay this season, Bondar will climb to #81 in the new rankings.

Bondar also grabbed the doubles honors with Kimberley Zimmermann, defeating Rus & Nina Stojanovic in an 11-9 MTB in the title match. The Bondar/Zimmermann duo have now won four pro crowns together, two in 125 events and one each in ITF and WTA tournaments.


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COMEBACK: U.S. women (& Amanda Anisimova/USA)
...first up, after such a dismal performance at the Paris Olympics -- both in terms of results (U.S. men's 4 x 100m track relay team... you're *still* at the tip-top of the "fail" list, though) and behavior -- the U.S. women rebounded well in Toronto. The five Bannerettes who reached the QF were the most by any nation in the final eight of an event this season, as were the three who reached the semis (tied w/ CHN's 3 at Hua Hin).

The all-U.S. final between Jessie Pegula and Amanda Anisimova is the second this season (w/ Strasbourg - Keys/Collins), the fourth this decade, and only the third of the last eight (since 2016) to *not* include Madison Keys as one of the participants.

With Pegula's win, the nine titles won by U.S. women on tour in '24 are now *two* clear of the second-place Russians' seven crowns, and there have been seven different Bannerette singles champions (Anisimova would have been the eighth), nearly twice as many as Russia's four (no other nation has more than two).

While she didn't take home the big trophy (and bigger paycheck), Anisimova's week was even more of a "build back" accomplishment than that of Pegula or anyone else, and she didn't even go to Paris.



A year ago, Anisimova's series of troubles caused her to take a "mental break" from the game. From May until the start of the '24 season, she didn't play a tour-level match after going just 3-8 last season. Her problems started with the sudden death of her father soon after her RG SF in '19, and in recent seasons included the toxic mix of injuries, inconsistency and the sort of emotional swings that come with sudden success, disappointment and the mounting pressure to find a path back to the top (she ranked as high as #21 nearly five years ago when she was just 18 years old).

Anisimova's early season included an encouraging Round of 16 at the Australian Open, but after sitting out February/March, she'd recorded just two match wins since Melbourne as she headed into Wimbledon qualifying (she lost in the final round).

Ranked #132 in Toronto, Anisimova put together her best run since 2022, defeating Caroline Dolehide (off her D.C. semi) and then stringing together four consecutive Top 20 wins (tying for the '24 tour best) against Dasha Kasatkina (#12, her best win since Cincy '22, when she defeated Kasatkina), Anna Kalinskaya, Aryna Sabalenka (#3, matching her best career win) and Emma Navarro to reach her first tour final since she won an AO January tune-up event two and a half years ago.

Anisimova forced a 3rd set vs. Pegula in the final, but saw the defending champ dominate the decider. Still, after reaching the fourth and biggest singles final of her career, Anisimova will climb back into the Top 50 this week.

Since the start of Wimbledon qualifying, Anisimova has gone 11-3 and lifted her ranking from #191 the final week of June to, this week, #49. She'll jump 83 spots in the new rankings alone.


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FRESH FACES: Diana Shnaider/RUS and Ashlyn Krueger/USA
...the Shnaider ("Wear a Bandanna if You've Got One!) Summer added another successful chapter in Toronto, as the 20-year old Hordette followed up her title run in Budapest and doubles Silver medal in Paris with her first Top 10 win (over Coco Gauff) and maiden 1000 semifinal.

In the opening rounds, Shnaider was two points from defeat in back-to-back matches, but defeated both Harriet Dart and Magdalena Frech in 3rd set tie-breaks. Gauff fell in the 3rd Round by a 6-4/6-1 score, then Shnaider handled countrywoman Liudmila Samsonova in another three-setter to reach the SF. Finally, Jessie Pegula ended the Russian's run a round short of her fourth final of the season, but Shnaider will still crack the Top 20 for the first time in the new week.

While Krueger wasn't one of the many Bannerettes to play deep into the draw in Toronto, the 20-year old qualified and then posted a pair of impressive MD wins over Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Leylah Fernandez before going out in the 3rd Round to defending (and soon-to-be repeat) champion Pegula.

The result matches the career-best 1000 run that Krueger had earlier this year in Madrid. She'll just edge past her previous career-high ranking (#65 in May) to set a new one with a #64 standing as Week 33 begins. It's a big jump, as Krueger was #82 heading into Toronto.



On Monday, Krueger good results continued as she advanced into the Cincinnati MD with a three-set victory over Naomi Osaka.
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DOWN: Bianca Andreescu/CAN, Naomi Osaka/JPN and Coco Gauff/USA
...in the first big pre-U.S. Open hard court event of the summer in Toronto, it didn't pay to have previously been a champion at Flushing Meadows.

Andreescu, a U.S. *and* Toronto champ in her dream season of 2019, fell in three sets in the 1st Round in her home event to Lesia Tsurenko. After posting a 15-16 season in '23, the #175-ranked Canadian is 9-6 in '24 with her final run at Rosmalen her lone QF+ result. After winning in Toronto five years ago, Andreescu has a 3r-3r-1r-1r results line in the tournament in the years since.



Osaka, the two-time U.S. Open champ (2018/'20), arrived from Paris and, after a good win (I guess, who can tell at this point?) over Ons Jabeur (6-3/6-1), went out 3 & 4 to Elise Mertens in the 2nd Round. In two sets, Osaka racked up 43 UE (vs. 20 winners).

Osaka (minus a MD wild card) then headed to Cincinnati to play qualifying, and after a rough start things seemed to be starting to look up...



Hmmm, check that note of optimism. In the final Q-round...



Something to consider:



After her Olympic flame-out (during the same period -- to the week -- where her '23 summer run to a U.S. Open title began), #1-seeded Gauff fell 6-4/6-1 in the 3rd Round in Toronto to Diana Shnaider, who notched her first career Top 10 win.

Hmmm, what's the opposite of the Summer of Coco?

Well, at least Toronto wasn't a *total* loss, I guess, as Gauff picked up a Shot of the Day honor. Though by the looks of this fairly average rally and rather routine shot, it must have been a pretty slow day for *this* to have been the so-called "best" shot during it.


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ITF PLAYERS: McCartney Kessler/USA and Sonay Kartal/GBR
...Kessler has only been playing regularly on the pro circuit for a little over a year. At the start of 2023, the former Florida Gator was ranked in the #900s. In the next week, she'll crack the Top 100.

A winner of the USTA's AO Wild Card Challenge late last year, Kessler made her tour debut in Auckland and had her slam MD debut in Melbourne in January (she won her 1st Rd. match). Since then, she's qualified at a pair of tour-level events and Wimbledon, doing so on three different surfaces, and this week she picked up her third career ITF challenger crown at the $100K tournament in Landisville, Pennsylvania, defeating Aussie Olivia Gadecki 4-6/6-2/6-4 in the final.

With the result, Kessler is now 10-2 over a stretch that has included this title and her Q-runs at Wimbledon and in Washington.



Meanwhile, Kartal was busy winning in Roehampton. Again.

The 22-year old Brit has been burning up the challenger circuit in '24, and when she got the opportunity at the "big time" -- at Wimbledon, where she climbed out of qualifying and reached the 3rd Round -- she made a name for herself there, too. Ranked #189, Kartal ran her winning streak to ten matches (and 20 sets!) with another $35K title run on home hard courts, this time defeating Japan's Haruka Kaji in a 6-3/6-3 final.

Now with thirteen consecutive wins in ITF finals (she's 5-0 this season), Kartal has gone 15-1 since the start of her Q-run at SW19 and is a combined 35-6 in 2024. She'll crack the Top 175 in the new rankings, a new career high.


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JUNIOR STARS: Czech Girls' 14s
...another week, another *group* of Crusher champions.

On home clay in Prostejov, the Czechs won a third straight title (and fifth in the last six competitions since 2018) at the World Junior Finals, going undefeated in Pool play and then defeating SVK, GBR and USA in knock-out action to claim the crown.

In the final vs. the U.S., the Czechs rallied from a 1-0 deficit (Margaret Sohns def. Laura Chlumska), as Jana Kovackova defeated Welles Newman (welcome to the Great Name Club, Welles!) to force a deciding doubles match, where Kovackova & Katerina Zajickova defeated Newman/Sohns 6-4/6-4 to close out the event.
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DOUBLES: Caroline Dolehide/Desirae Krawczyk, USA/USA
...Dolehide & Krawczyk's Toronto title run -- in their second 1000 final as a pair (w/ Doha '24) -- included a trio of wins in MTB, with the final two coming in the SF (vs. Kenin/Mattek-Sands) and final (vs. Dabrowski/Routliffe).

The win is just the second in Dolehide's WTA career (w/ Monterrey '21 w/ Asia Muhammad), and comes after she'd lost in her last four WD finals. For Krawczyk it's #10, but the biggest of her women's doubles career (though she's a four-time slam champ in MX).



While Dabrowski/Routliffe didn't get the win, for doubles #1 Routliffe (in her tour-best sixth '24 final -- she's 1-4 w/ Dabrowski) it enabled her to put some distance between herself and #2 Katerina Siniakova. The Kiwi came into the week up just 5 points on the Czech, but increases her lead to 415 heading into Cincinnati.
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1. Toronto QF - Amanda Anisimova def. Aryna Sabalenka
...6-4/6-2. Anisimova notches her first Top 10 win since 2022. It's her eighth overall, three of which has come over Sabalenka (she recorded two against her on clay two seasons ago). The win over the world #3 ties Anisimova's 2019 RG QF upset of Simona Halep as the biggest of her career.


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2. Toronto SF - Amanda Anisimova def. Emma Navarro
...6-3/2-6/6-2. In a battle vs. an opponent who hadn't played in a tour SF since Charleston 28 months ago, and who hadn't reach a WTA final in more than two and a half years (Melbourne Summer Set 2), Navarro comes up short.

Navarro dropped the 1st set, but saw Anisimova drop six consecutive games while dealing with foot blisters over the 2nd/3rd sets.



In the 3rd, Anisimova proved to be the better competitor, breaking on BP #4 of game 3 to begin to turn around her fortunes. Anisimova saved a BP in game 6, then broke Navarro a game later to take a 5-2 lead. She finished her off at love, ending with an ace on MP.

The gutsy win was Anisimova's fourth straight over a Top 20 opponent in Toronto, matching Barbora Krejcikova's Wimbledon run for the longest such win streak this season.


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3. Toronto Final - Jessie Pegula def. Amanda Anisimova
...6-3/2-6/6-1. In a rare Monday final (due to a late start following the Olympic tennis event), Anisimova claims the only set lost by Pegula all week, but the world #6 proves to be too much in the 3rd (where she led 5-0).

Pegula is the first woman to win the Toronto/Montreal title in consecutive years since Martina Hingis in 1999-2000.



In 2023 in Montreal, Pegula lost a set each to Gauff and Swiatek, then wiped the court with Samsonova in a 6-1/6-0 final.

In '99, Hingis pulled the impressive Sanchez Vicario/Pierce/Seles straight sets sweep from the QF-F, then a year later took out Conchita and Serena (who retired in the 3rd set) to close out her defense.

Meanwhile...



Extra points for the jaunty angle of the Mountie's hat.
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4. Hamburg 125 Final - Anna Bondar def. Arantxa Rus
...6-4/6-2. Even while being unable to successfully defend her title, Rus climbs back into the Top 100 in the new rankings.

Her run was a nice rebound from her 2nd Round loss to Zheng Qinwen in Paris (a 2 & 4 loss that represented the one overlook-able, no-drama, less-high-stakes contest of the six matches en route to her eventual Gold medal triumph).


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5. Toronto 1st Rd. - Diana Shnaider def. Harriet Dart 6-3/3-6/7-6(2)
Toronto 2nd Rd. - Diana Shnaider def. Magdalena Frech 2-6/6-3/7-6(5)
...Shnaider opens her week in Ontario by twice pulling off wins in deciding tie-breaks, after having been as close as two points from defeat *three* times in *both* matches.


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6. Toronto 3rd Rd. - Diana Shnaider def. Coco Gauff
...6-4/6-1. Shnaider's first career Top 10 win leads to her maiden 1000 SF. Her 41-16 mark in '24 will assist her in becoming the fifth woman to crack the Top 20 for the first time this season (w/ Kalinskaya, Kostyuk, Navarro and Paolini).


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7. Toronto 2nd Rd. - Alona Ostapenko def. Paula Badosa
...3-6/7-6(3)/6-2. Though she soon exited the MD herself, Ostapenko did manage a good win in Cincinnati.

Sure, it came after she'd squandered a 5-3 lead in the 2nd, then saw Washington champ Badosa serve for the match at 6-5.

Ostapenko is still 31-16 on the year, and reached the QF at the most recent major, but the look of fear she was putting on the faces of foes (and the glee that appeared on the faces of her fans) earlier in 2024 seems *so long ago* now.
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8. Toronto 2nd Rd. - Peyton Stearns def. Madison Keys
...3-6/7-5/3-0 ret. This was something of a "Greatest Hits album" hat trick for Keys, as she had a shot to win, couldn't close the door, then retired with an injury.

Keys led 6-3/3-1, only to be broken for 6-5 and then see Stearns hold at love to level the match. After being broken on BP #5 in the opening game of the 3rd, Keys was waving to the crowd with tears in her eyes (again) just two games later.



After getting another retirement (this time from Victoria Azarenka), Stearns lost in the QF to Jessie Pegula.
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9. Toronto 1st Rd. - Lesia Tsurenko def. Bianca Andreescu
...0-6/6-3/6-4. Since outlasting 2019 Toronto champ Andreescu in three, Tsurenko has already lost twice, 2 & 2 vs. Anna Kalinskaya in the 2nd Round, then 2 & 2 again in the first round of Cincinnati qualifying to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.

Tsurenko is 10-15 on the season.
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10. Toronto 2nd Rd. - Victoria Azarenka def. Greet Minnen
...3-6/7-5/6-1. Azarenka gets the win after trailing the Waffle by a 6-3/3-1 score.

In the 3rd Round, Vika exited via retirement while trailing Peyton Stearns 6-4/4-2.

Though she's faired better in the early-season and fall schedule, Azarenka hasn't reached a SF on summer hard courts since her back-to-back Cincy-at-NYC and U.S. Open finals (she claimed the title at the former) after the tour's 2020 Restart.
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11. Toronto 1st Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Marie Bouzkova
...5-7/6-2/7-6(1). The Brazilian goes the distance with the Washington finalist from only days prior, winning in 3:19.

Haddad Maia came into Toronto at 19-19 on the season, and dropped the 1st set after having led 5-3. In the 3rd, she led 5-3 again, and served for the win at 5-4, only to soon after be forced to hold at 5-6 to get to the deciding TB.

Once in the breaker, Haddad Maia raced to a 5-0 lead, and won 7-1.

A round later, the Brazilian retired with a back injury just two games into her match vs. Katie Boulter. She's 20-20 on the year after Toronto.


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12. Toronto 2nd Rd. - Marta Kostyuk def. Elina Svitolina
...6-2/2-6/6-2. Kostyuk wins to tie the career series between the two Ukrainians. They now stand at 1-1, with their only other meeting coming more than *six* years ago at the 2018 Australian Open.


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13. Hamburg 125 2nd Rd. - Olga Danilovic def. Noha Noma Akugue
...3-6/6-2/7-6(6). Danilovic rallies from 5-3 down in the 3rd, as NNA serves for the win at 5-4.

In the deciding TB, the German led 3-0 and 5-4, but Danilovic took 4 of the final 5 points to get the win.
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14. Toronto Q1 - Momoko Uchijima def. Genie Bouchard
...5-7/7-5/6-4. There's something about beating a Canadian pickleballer in Toronto.

Coming into the week, Bouchard was ranked #517 by the WTA (ahead of Anastasia Gasanova, but behind Cadence Brace), and was #27 on the Pro Pickleball Tour (ahead of Layne Sleeth, but behind Sharlenne Ricardo).
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15. Toronto 3rd Rd. - Taylor Townsend def. Alona Ostapenko
...6-2/6-1. The WTA's tweet isn't *wrong*, but it was actually Townsend's first WTA quarterfinal. Period.
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16. Toronto 3rd Rd. - Emma Navarro def. Marta Kostyuk
...7-5/7-5. Navarro rallied from 5-2 back, saving a pair of SP, to take the 1st. She then lost a 4-1 lead as Kostyuk knotted the score in the 2nd. But Navarro broke for 6-5, then served out the straight sets win.

Kostyuk did *not* tell Navarro that she disrespected her as a competitor when they met at the net, but she did shake her hand.

(Hmmm, did Emma make a mental note to possibly withhold *that* courtesy the next time she has a problem with someone who defeats her between the lines?)

These are the things we ponder "outside the lines" in regards to the WTA tour.
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17. Toronto 3rd Rd. - Amanda Anisimova def. Anna Kalinskaya
...6-2 ret. After a good start to '24 when it comes to avoiding injuries, the gremlins are once again reaching up from beneath the court for Kalinskaya. Though spaced a month apart, this is the second straight tournament run that ended with a retirement from the Russian.

With her third retirement/walkover of the season, Kalinskaya is now ahead of her pace from two of the last three seasons. She had three ret./walkovers each in 2021 and '23, and a total of seven in '22.
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18. Cincinnati Q2 - Lulu Sun def. Lucia Bronzetti
...7-6(4)/6-3. Look who's back, back again. This'll be the Wimbledon quarterfinalist's second 1000 MD appearance (w/ Dubai, both this year).


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19. $35K Chacubuco ARG Final - Lucciana Perez Alarcon def. Alice Tubello
...6-2/6-4. LPA prevents Tubello from claiming her 55th singles win and fourth title of the season.



The 19-year old Peruvian, a '23 RG junior finalist, is 2-3 in challenger finals this season. Playing for Texas A&M, Perez Alarcon was the SEC Freshman of the Year for '24, and helped the Aggies to their first NCAA team championship.
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20. Cincinnati Q1 - Elina Avanesyan def. Lauren Davis 6-3/6-1
Cincinnati Q2 - Harriet Dart def. Elina Avanesyan 6-4/6-1
...and, thus, the rewriting of Armenian tennis history officially begins.



Avanesyan is into the MD (aka tennis' version of the "repercharge round" - IYKYK) as a lucky loser. So buckle up, newbies.
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1. Toronto 2nd Rd. - Elise Mertens def. Naomi Osaka
...6-3/6-4. With the aid of Osaka's 43 UE -- an average of 2.25 per game in the 19-match contest -- Mertens gets a big win, only to go out in straights to Liudmila Samsonova a round later.
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2. Toronto SF - Gaby Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe def. Bianca Fernandez/Leylah Fernandez
...6-2/6-4. The wild card Fernandez sisters' surprise run to the semis comes to an end, but 20-year old Bianca will rocket from #911 in the doubles rankings to #191.

The siblings had posted wins over Schuurs/Stefani and Mladenovic/Zhang to reach the final four.
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3. Toronto 1st Rd. - Marina Stakusic def. Erika Andreeva
...6-7(5)/6-1/6-4. The 19-year old Canadian gets her first career 1000 MD win, though she ultimately fell short vs. Taylor Townsend a round later.


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Granted, Avanesyan has Armenian roots... but might this be the first step in Armenia becoming "the next Kazakhstan?" Years ago, Kazakhstan took in a series of former Russian players and built something of an out-of-nowhere (though there *have* been a few native-born stars) tennis federation of note. There *are* once again a glut of Russian players ranked in their late teens/early twenties who might be looking for more financial support, amongst other obvious reasons they would look to make the nationality switch.

Avanesyan's parents are ethnically Armenian, and fled Azerbaijan when war broke out and settled in Russia.

Avanesyan immediately became the highest-ranked Armenian player ever (at a career-best #58, she was the only ranked ARM woman last week). The closest previous thing to what one might call an "Armenian tennis star" would appear to be Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian, whose father was Armenian. She ranked as high as #33, but played her entire career representing Switzerland.

Hmmm, so do the Ukrainians shake hands, tap rackets or continued to totally ignore Avanesyan now? The WTA has so many unique etiquette protocols.

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And the award for "Best (Faceless) Response to a WTA Tweet" for Week 32 goes to...














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Meanwhile, I wonder if Navarro visted the tour's Twitter page this week (Qinwen has since been replaced by Pegula)...












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*2024 WTA CHAMPIONS BY AGE*
32 - Magda Linette (Prague)
31 - Karolina Pliskova (Cluj-Napoca)
31 - Sloane Stephens (Rouen)
30 - Danielle Collins (Charleston)
30 - Danielle Collins (Miami)
30 - JESSIE PEGULA (TORONTO)
30 - Jessie Pegula (Berlin)

*2024 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
5 - Iga Swiatek, POL = Slam(1), 1000(4)
3 - Elena Rybakina, KAZ = 500(3)
3 - Diana Shnaider, RUS = 500,250(2)
2 - Katie Boulter, GBR = 500,250
2 - Danielle Collins, USA = 1000,500
2 - Alona Ostapenko, LAT = 500(2)
2 - JESSIE PEGULA, USA = 1000,500
2 - Zheng Qinwen, CHN = Oly,250

*2024 REPEAT WTA WS CHAMPS*
Coco Gauff - Auckland
Aryna Sabalenka - Australian Open
Iga Swiatek - Doha (3 con.)
Iga Swiatek - Roland Garros (3 con.)
Katie Boulter - Nottingham
Zheng Qinwen - Palermo
JESSIE PEGULA - Canada

*2024 WTA TITLES ON MOST SURFACES*
3 - Diana Shnaider = Hard,Grass,Red Clay
2 - Danielle Collins = Hard,Green Clay
2 - Elena Rybakina = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Iga Swiatek = Hard,Red Clay
2 - Katie Boulter = Hard,Grass
2 - JESSIE PEGULA = Grass,Hard

*RECENT ALL-USA WTA FINALS*
2016 Rome - S.Williams d. Keys
2017 Australian Open - S.Williams d. V.Williams
2017 Stanford - Keys d. Vandeweghe
2017 US Open - Stephens d. Keys
2020 Auckland - S.Williams d. Pegula
2022 Adelaide 2 - Keys d. Riske
2024 Strasbourg - Keys d. Collins
2024 Toronto - PEGULA d. ANISIMOVA

*2024 MULT.DIFFERENT WTA CHAMPIONS BY COUNTRY*
7...USA: Collins,Gauff,Keys,Navarro,Pegula,Stearns,Stephens
4...RUS: M.Andreeva,Kasatkina,Samsonova,Shnaider
2...CHN: Yuan,Zheng Q.
2...CZE: Krejcikova,Pliskova
2...KAZ: Putintseva,Rybakina
2...POL: Linette,Swiatek
1...BLR,CHN,COL,ESP,GBR,ITA,LAT
[most from nation in season, since 2010]
9 - RUS 2010
7 - USA 2024*
7 - USA 2016

*MOST WTA FINALS - 1920-24*
25 - 1/2/9/8/5 - Swiatek (22-3)
19 - 3/3/3/6/4 - Sabalenka (9-10)
17 - 5/0/3/4/5 - Rybakina (7-10)
12 - 0/4/3/4/1 - Krejcikova (8-4)
12 - 1/7/4/0 ret...Kontaveit (5-6-1)
12 - 0/3/6/3/0 - Jabeur (5-7)
12 - 0/4/2/2/4 - Kasatkina (5-7)
10 - 1/0/2/5/2 - PEGULA (5-5)

*2024 FINALISTS BY COUNTRY*
13 (7 wins) - RUS
11 (9) - USA*
8 (6) - POL
6 (4) - KAZ
6 (3) - CHN
6 (2) - CZE
5 (1) - BLR
3 (1) - ITA
3 (0) - UKR
2 (2) - GBR,LAT
2 (0) - CAN,CRO
1 (1) - COL,ESP
1 (0) - AUS,BEL,EGY,GRE,ROU
[most finalists by nation in season, since 2004]
38 - RUS 2008
34 - RUS 2006
33 - RUS 2004
29 - RUS 2010
27 - RUS 2007
26 - RUS 2009
25 - USA 2004
23 - USA 2016
[most titles by nation in season, since 2004]
19 - RUS 2006
18 - RUS 2008
15 - RUS 2004
13 - BEL 2005
13 - RUS 2009
13 - RUS 2010
12 - USA 2004
12 - RUS 2007

*HARD COURT TITLES IN 2020s*
11 - Iga Swiatek (0/1/5/3/2)
7 - Aryna Sabalenka (3/1/0/2/1)
6 - Ash Barty (1/3/2 ret)
5 - Anett Kontaveit (0/4/1/0 ret)
5 - Barbora Krejcikova (0/1/2/2/0)
4 - Coco Gauff (0/0/0/3/1)
4 - Dasha Kasatkina (0/2/2/0/0)
4 - JESSIE PEGULA (0/0/1/2/1)
4 - Elena Rybakina (1/0/0/1/2)

*2024 BEST RESULTS (w/ PROTECTED RANKING)*
RU - AMANDA ANISIMOVA (Toronto)
RU - Ajla Tomljanovic (Birmingham)
QF - Anastasija Sevastova (Cluj)
QF - Naomi Osaka (Doha)
QF - Anastasija Sevastova (Austin)
QF - Aleksandra Krunic (Rosmalen)
QF - Angelique Kerber (Olympics)

*UNITED STATES - WTA TITLES (active)*
49 - Venus Williams (1998-16)
8 - Madison Keys (2014-24)
8 - Sloane Stephens (2015-24)
7 - Coco Gauff (2019-24)
6 - JESSIE PEGULA (2019-24)
5 - Sofia Kenin (2019-20)
4 - Danielle Collins (2021-24)
3 - Alison Riske-Amritraj (2014-21)
2 - Amanda Anisimova (2019-22)
2 - Lauren Davis (2017-23)
2 - Bernarda Pera (2022)
1 - Jennifer Brady (2020)
1 - Ann Li (2021)
1 - Ashlyn Krueger (2023)
1 - Emma Navarro (2024)
1 - Alycia Parks (2023)
1 - Peyton Stearns (2024)

*LOW-RANKED WTA 1000 SF*
#934 - Sloane Stephens (2017 Canada)
#186 - Victoria Azarenka (2018 Miami)
#153 - Svetlana Kuznetsova (2019 Cincinnati)-RU
#151 - Sloane Stephens (2017 Cincinnati)
#132 - Amanda Anisimova (2024 Canada)-RU

*MOST WTA SF in 2024*
8 - Iga Swiatek (4-3 +W)
7 - Elena Rybakina (5-2)
6 - Coco Gauff (1-5)
5 - Aryna Sabalenka (3-2)
5 - JESSIE PEGULA (2-2 +L)
5 - EMMA NAVARRO (1-4)
4 - Dasha Kasatkina (3-0 +W)
4 - Danielle Collins (3-1)
4 - Jasmine Paolini (3-1)
4 - DIANA SHNAIDER (3-1)
4 - Donna Vekic (2-2)
4 - Ekaterina Alexandrova (1-3)

*2020-24 WTA DOUBLES TITLES*
20 - Katerina Siniakova (1/6/6/3/4)
14 - Barbora Krejcikova (1/5/3/4/1)
12 - Elise Mertens (1/4/2/2/3)
11 - Hsieh Su-wei (4/2/0/2/3)
9 - DESIRAE KRAWCZYK (2/2/1/3/1)
9 - Laura Siegemund (1/0/3/5/0)
8 - Shuko Aoyama (1/5/0/2/0)
8 - Nicole Melichar-Martinez (2/2/2/0/2)
8 - Demi Schuurs (2/2/1/2/1)
8 - Ena Shibahara (1/5/0/2/0)
8 - Luisa Stefani (1/1/2/3/1)

*2024 WTA DOUBLES FINALS*
6 (1-5) = ERIN ROUTLIFFE
5 (4-1) = Katerina Siniakova
5 (3-2) = Irina Khromacheva
5 (1-4) = GABY DABROWSKI
4 (3-1) = Sara Errani
4 (3-1) = Jasmine Paolini
4 (2-2) = Chan Hao-ching
4 (2-2) = Anna Danilina
4 (2-2) = Lyudmyla Kichenok
4 (2-2) = Bethanie Mattek-Sands
4 (2-2) = Nicole Melichar-Martinez
4 (2-2) = Ellen Perez
[2024 finals - duos]
5...DABROWSKI/ROUTLIFFE (1-4)
4...Errani/Paolini (3-1)
4...Melichar-Martinez/Perez (2-2)
3...L.Kichenok/Ostapenko (2-1)
3...Chan HC./V.Kudermetova (1-2)
2...Hsieh/Mertens (2-0)
2...Kenin/Mattek-Sands (2-0)
2...Danilina/Khromacheva (1-1)
2...DOLEHIDE/KRAWCZYK (1-1)
2...Hunter/Siniakova (1-1)
2...Panova/Sizikova (1-1)
2...Guo/Jiang (0-2)

*RECENT ITF GIRLS' 14s FINALS*
2015 Russia def. United States
2016 Ukraine def. United States
2017 United States def. Ukraine
2018 Russia def. Czech Republic
2019 Czech Republic def. United States
2020 DNP
2021 Russia def. Bulgaria
2022 Czech Republic def. Germany
2023 Czech Republic def. Germany
2024 Czech Republic def. United States






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Tom Cruise is such a conundrum.

There are legit issues to be had with his association with the cult to which he belongs, but that doesn't mean it isn't proper to acknowledge that he *is* the last real "movie star" and proves that over and over again all the time.

(That he gets virtually zero true blowback over Scientology is even similar to the "Golden Era of Hollywood" treatment that most of those stars received.)






All for now.
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