Venus Williams season review

It has been an incredible year for the 37 year-old Venus Williams,  who has reached two Grand Slam finals and the final of the WTA Finals as well! Take a look at my Season Review for the legendary American here at VAVEL USA.

https://www.vavel.com/en-us/tennis-usa/851908-2017-season-review-legendary-venus-williams-shows-age-is-nothing-more-than-just-a-number.html

US Open: Svetlana Kuznetsova defeats Marketa Vondrousova

Take a look at my match recap of Kuznetsova's amazing win against the talented Marketa Vondrousova!

Citi Open draw predictions

This is a list of my daily predictions at the Citi Open held in Washington, with many quality players participating! World number two Simona Halep (Roland Garros finalist, was thrice a win away from No.1), Kristina Mladenovic and Ekaterina Makarova headlines the draw. Olympic Gold Medalist Monica Puig is unseeded in the draw.

Bank of the West Classic draw predictions

Hello guys! You can find my daily predictions of the Bank of the West Classic here! Notable players participating are Garbine Muguruza (2017 Wimbledon ), Maria Sharapova (5-time Grand Slam champion, Former No.1), Petra Kvitova (2-time Wimbledon Champion), Madison Keys (Former Top 10 player)!

Wimbledon

Hello guys! Do take a look at my articles for VAVEL USA during the Wimbledon Championships, and do follow that page too!

Charleston Match Recap: Angelique Kerber vs Francesca Schiavone

Angelique Kerber suffered a huge scare against veteran Francesca Schiavone in the opening round of the Monterrey Open, eventually coming through in three sets as she progressed to the second round where she would face Mandy Minella.

Charleston Draw Predictions

This article would consist of all my predictions of the matches at the Volvo Car Open, and please leave your own predictions in the comments too!

Charleston Match Recap: Daria Kasatkina vs Danka Kovinic

Russian Daria Kasatkina stopped her four-match losing streak at the Volvo Car Open as she defeated another struggling player in Danka Kovinic, whose losing streak got extended to eight matches. It was truly an excellent performance from Kasatkina, who sealed a meeting with Monica Puig in the second round.

Daria Kasatkina in action at Dubai | Photo: Tom Dulat/Getty Images Europe

Charleston Daily Recap: Naomi Osaka and Jelena Jankovic notable victors

The first day of action at the Volvo Car Open was filled with excitement and good matches as half of the first round matches were completed, before rain halted play for the rest of the evening which caused a total of 5 matches to go uncompleted entering the second day.

A notable match is definitely between Laura Siegemund and Lesia Tsurenko, which was decided in a final set tiebreak that went in the favour of the German. Tsurenko was visibly affected by an injury but she persevered on and managed to lead by a break in the final set before crumbling to an inspired Siegemund.

Naomi Osaka got through a huge scare against Johanna Larsson in three sets after losing the tight opening set in a tiebreak. She managed to regain her composure and bounce back from the disappointment by comfortably winning the next two sets, sealing a place in the second round.

Jelena Jankovic looked to be playing her best as she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets in her opening round match, which included a bagel in the first set. Jankovic looked solid throughout the match, breaking serve six times in the process of sealing a blockbuster meeting against Samantha Stosur in the second round.

There was a bittersweet ending to the match between Katerina Siniakova and Monica Puig as the Czech was forced to retire at 1-4 in the final set due to an unfortunate injury which has been troubling her since the start of the second set after winning a tight first set 6-4. Puig would then face either Kasatkina or Kovinic in the second round.

Other results include Andrea Petkovic comfortably winning her match against Lara Arruabarrena in straight sets, while Alison Riske suffered a huge scare against the dangerous wildcard Kayla Day, eventually triumphing in three sets. Lucky-loser Ons Jabeur also made good use of her second chance as she strolled to a routine victory over Marina Erakovic, losing just five games in the process. Jelena Ostapenko and Kateryna Bondarenko were the other winners of the day.

Latest Update

Hi all!

Sorry for not being active in the past month or so! I am busy writing for VAVEL USA, so go follow me there at https://www.vavel.com/en-us/tennis-usa/!

You can also view all my articles here!
https://www.vavel.com/don-han

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Veterans and Comeback Players to watch in 2017

-        Svetlana Kuznetsova

Photo by AFP

Kuznetsova had her resurgent season last year, qualifying for the WTA Finals and also returning to the Top 10 in the rankings. At the age of 32 next year, it would be interesting to see if Kuznetsova can still play as many tournaments and go deep in them, and if she can retain her place in the Top 10 of the rankings especially with the return of Azarenka and Sharapova.

-        Elena Vesnina

Photo by Getty Images

Vesnina is another Russian who had her resurgent season last year, with her return to the Top 30 and breaking into the Top 20 of the rankings despite starting the year outside the Top 100. Vesnina is a doubles specialist, and we would see how she would maintain her spot in the Top 20 of the rankings, and defending a huge chunk of points at tournaments like Wimbledon, coupled with playing doubles at every tournament.

-        Serena Williams

Photo by Reuters

Williams would come into the new season feeling refreshed and healthy, having not participated in any professional tournaments since the US Open. With the return of Sharapova and Azarenka, Williams definitely has more competition next year and would be motivated to play more tournaments, after playing just 8 tournaments this year.

-        Victoria Azarenka

Photo by Brisbane International

Azarenka returns to the tour as a Mother, having gotten pregnant in the middle of the season in June after Roland Garros. Many would question if Azarenka would return to her best form and play her best tennis when she returns to the court after being out for a long period of time, and especially with the close competition of the top players.

-        Maria Sharapova

Photo by AP

Sharapova returns to the professional circuit as a refreshed player, after her suspension for taking Meldonium. Sharapova has been practicing on the courts regularly as according to her social media accounts, and judging by her never-give-up attitude, Sharapova would once again be aiming to be the best when she returns to professional tennis.

-        Caroline Wozniacki

Photo by Getty Images

Wozniacki had an awesome 2^nd half of 2016, from almost dropping out of the Top 100 at the US Open to returning to the Top 20 by the year-end, which was very impressive. If she could keep the momentum going into the 1^st half of 2017, where she is not really defending many points, she can definitely return to the Top 10.

-        Jelena Jankovic

Photo by Getty Images

Jankovic had her injury problems this year which forced her out of some tournaments, and has fallen out of the Top 50 in the rankings. She had some impressive wins this year though, defeating Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza in Wuhan and Belinda Bencic in Dubai. She would be looking to bounce back from her poor performances in the next year, and her main goal is to definitely break back into the Top 30.  

-        Ana Ivanovic

Photo by Getty Images

Ana Ivanovic had many injury problems this year which forced her to end her season early at the US Open, but generally her season has been poor as she suffered many disappointing losses. Ivanovic has also fallen out of the Top 50 in the rankings, and she is currently on a 4-match losing streak that dates back to Wimbledon. Her only Top 10 win was over Simona Halep in Dubai, and she would want to return to the Top 10 after she dropped out from it in 2015.

-        Ekaterina Makarova

Photo by Skysports

Makarova had many injury problems in 2015, which caused her to fall out of the Top 10 despite a bright start to the season. In 2016, she failed to break back into the Top 20, after she was unable to make any deep runs at any big tournaments, losing to a higher ranked player at 14 tournaments. Makarova has the quality of a Top 10 player and consistently progressing deep in tournaments, and I would definitely be looking forward to Makarova’s 2017 season.

-        Lucie Safarova

Photo by Getty Images

Safarova started the year in the World’s Top 10, but she ended the year as the World No. 62. She only reached 1 quarterfinal this year in Prague and going on to win the title. She had 12 opening round losses this year, which is very disappointing. Safarova made a successful return to the Doubles competition, but she has not played her best tennis in the Singles competition. I would look forward to Safarova’s 2017 season to see if she can play her best tennis again and return to the Top 20.

-        Belinda Bencic

Photo by Kyoto

Winning her sole title in St. Petersburg this year, she broke into the Top 10 and looked on course for a very successful season. However, everything started going wrong for Bencic since then, due to a back injury, she fell out of the Top 40 and ended the year as the World No.43. It has been a very disappointing season other than the title and the Top 10 entry, and as a 19 year-old, she has a great future ahead of her. Let’s look at her 2017 and see if she could re-enter the Top 20 and win a title again.

Tennis.World.Craze's WTA Rising Stars to Watch in 2017

-        Daria Kasatkina

Photo by Martin Sidorjak

Kasatkina already made a breakthrough in her career this year; breaking into the Top 30 of the rankings and being the youngest player in the Top 40. She also reached the quarterfinals of Indian Wells after beating former Top 10 player Timea Bacsinszky. As a 19 year-old, Kasatkina managed to reach the quarterfinals of the Olympics, losing to Madison Keys. Kasatkina, along with Potapova, are tipped as the future of Russian Women’s Tennis, and future World No.1s.

-        Yulia Putintseva

Photo by Reuters

Putintseva often roars everyone with her loud celebrations and on-court attitude, and she has achieved some great results this year. She reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, before losing to World No.1 Serena Williams despite being up by a set and a break. Seen as a future Grand Slam winner, Putintseva is one to watch in 2017.

-        Jelena Ostapenko

Photo by WTA

Ostapenko had some great runs this year; beating Kuznetsova and Kvitova on the way to her 1^st Premier 5 final in Doha, which pulled her up in the rankings from the 80s to the 40s. Her highest ranking was 34^th in the world, and she was seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career at the French Open this year. Her mixed emotions and her on-court attitude often makes people want to watch her matches, and she has great potential to become a future Top 10 player. 

-        Naomi Osaka

Photo by Getty Images

Osaka reached the third round of every Grand Slam this year, except Wimbledon where she did not play. She had a chance to reach the fourth round of the US Open, but let a 5-1 lead in the final set evaporate against Madison Keys. She also reached her 1^st WTA Final of any kind at the Tokyo Pan Pacific Open, her home event, as a wildcard, defeating eventual WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova along the way. Osaka also won the 2015 WTA Finals Rising Star Invitational Tournament where she defeated Caroline Garcia in the final. Named the newcomer of the year by WTA, Osaka is one of the few players tipped to be a future World No.1.

-        Ana Konjuh

Photo by AP

Konjuh reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, defeating 4^th seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the 4^th round. She also won her 1^st WTA title in 2015 at the Nottingham Open. Tipped for a great future, Konjuh has relatively very little points to defend in the first half of the year, and she would be looking to rise in the rankings.

-        Catherine Bellis

Photo by Getty Images

Bellis won her 1^st WTA Title of any kind at the Hawaiian Open, a WTA 125k event. The win allowed her to break into the Top 75 in the rankings. Bellis is the youngest player in the Top 100 at the moment, and she is tipped for a great future having decided to play professionally and full-time on the tour after reaching the third round of the US Open, losing to eventual champion and World No.1 Angelique Kerber. Bellis would be the favourite to rise in the rankings next year as she would be playing on the tour full time, an opportunity to get more points. Bellis is also tipped as one of the future World No.1s. 

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2017: Top Players Announced for tournament

The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament recently announced part of their line-up, with 8 of the current Top 10 players in the world attending the tournament.

Credits to Porsche