WTA Showdown Heading to Singapore

WTA Showdown Heading to Singapore

The WTA has announced its end-of-season Championships will move away from Istanbul in 2014 and take root in Singapore in a deal that is likely to boost the reputation of women’s tennis.

Held every November, the WTA Championships brings together the eight highest-ranked players on the women’s circuit to compete for a record prize pot of £4.2 million by 2014. Much like the ATP Tour Finals on the men’s scene, these Championships are widely regarded as the fifth Grand Slam; so important is it to the competitors.

Leaving Istanbul for Singapore is a huge move for the WTA and signifies how much the women’s game is developing. Over the past decade, the sport has grown into the Asian markets and with players such as Li Na impressing on the Grand Slam stage, interest in the WTA is predicted to get bigger in the coming years.

For Singapore to bid for and win this prestigious tournament is great news for tennis fans, for the prize fund on offer and the importance of the event itself means we should witness some outstanding tennis at the $1bn Singapore Sports Hub.

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Bartoli must improve before French Open

Bartoli must improve before French Open

Marion Bartoli is staring at an early exit from Roland Garros if she doesn’t improve this month after the world number 14 crashed out of the Portugal Open first round on Tuesday.

Expectations are high for Bartoli to impress at the French Open yet this defeat at the hands of Shuai Peng means her preparations for the Grand Slam are in tatters.

Bartoli suffered a major crisis of consistency over the three-set match as she lost the opener to love before hitting back with a strong set of her own. Unfortunately, despite clawing her way back into the match a final set break meant a 6-0 1-6 6-4 exit for Bartoli, who now has little clay preparation heading into Madrid next week.

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Williams Sisters Confirm Fed Cup Commitment

Williams Sisters Confirm Fed Cup Commitment

Williams Sisters Confirm Fed Cup Commitment

Serena and Venus Williams have renewed their commitment to the Fed Cup after the pair confirmed they will play for team USA against Sweden later this month.

The team also includes world number 16, Sloane Stephens, and number 27, Varvara Lepchenko, meaning the US is a far stronger outfit from the one that lost 3-2 to Italy in round one last February.

That defeat cast the US into a World Group playoff and they must be on form if they are to overcome Sweden on the weekend of 20 April.

Surviving the dreaded playoffs is a difficult ask for any team but with the Williams sisters set to come on board, Betfair pundits are backing them heavily to overcome Sweden.

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Time for Watson to take a Break

Time for Watson to take a Break

Heather Watson is facing a potential plummet in the WTA world rankings if she does not take a break from tennis as initially planned before her exit at the Miami Masters.
Watson, 20, revealed before her first-round clash with Ayumi Morita at the Sony Tennis Open that she would take time out of the tour to correct her bad performances in the wake of feeling “burnt out”, yet 24 hours later and after a 1-6 7-5 6-4 defeat has performed a dramatic U-turn on her stance.

Now, instead of withdrawing from the tour, she will instead return home to Guernsey before playing Charleston on 1 April.

“I’m going to carry on with my schedule,” Watson told tennis news reporters. “I basically just want to put my racquet down for three or four days, have a rest, and see my friends and family, as I haven’t done that this year yet.”

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Quarters Draw Showcases WTA’s Strength

Quarters Draw Showcases WTA’s Strength

Top-level women’s tennis is going from strength to strength as seven of the top eight seeds made the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals in Indian Wells this week.

After four rounds of tennis under the spring Californian sun, the crème has truly risen to the top with first-seed, Victoria Azarenka, leading the way. In the absence of Serena Williams, Azarenka, Maria Sharapova and Angelique Kerber have all excelled in the tournament.

They were followed by fifth-seed, Petra Kvitova, Sara Errani (6), Sam Stosur (7) and eighth-seed, Caroline Wozniacki.

The only player outside the top eight to make the quarters was Russia’s Maria Kirilenko (13), who performed magnificently against third-seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, to produce the first major shock of at Indian Wells.

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Radwanska has real chance of Indian Wells crown

Radwanska has real chance of Indian Wells crown
By Joe Short

World number four Agnieszka Radwanska must take her chance to make the BNP Paribas final in Indian Wells this moth after being drawn in the same half as Maria Sharapova.

Radwanska is seeded third for the mandatory WTA event, behind Sharapova, and so avoids meeting first-seed Victoria Azarenka until at least the final.

In avoiding Azarenka, for now, the Pole has a huge weight lifted from her shoulders and should she make the semis – as expected – is in for a fierce showdown with Russian Sharapova.

The pair have met 10 times before with Sharapova, always popular in the tennis betting offers, taking eight of those clashes, but as Radwanska in in good form this early 2013 there is a real chance she can take victory and progress to the final.

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How to Play Tennis on an Indoor Surface?

How to Play Tennis on an Indoor Surface?

Tennis is an Olympic sport but it is played at all levels, by all ages. Anyone can play the game as long
as they can hold a racket, and the fundamental aim is to get the ball over the net, without your
opponent being able to make a return.

Sound easy? Well, there are various types of surface that the sport can be played upon including
clay, hard and grass; and each surface will affect the speed and height in which the ball bounces.

Hardcourts are predominantly used for indoor games; some might say this has diminished the
prestige of the sport because the indoor surface is no longer distinct from other tournaments. For
years, players played on a carpet surface but this was phased out from 2008. Instead, it has been
replaced with hardcourt or plexipave.

The question is, how can you play on it?

• Hardcourts are faster than clay but not as fast as grass courts, so take this into account when
swinging.

• The sand and paint can greatly affect the rate at which the ball slows down, so bear this in
mind.

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