Summer is over. The chill in the air assures us that fall has arrived.
Could "Ms. Backspin" be far behind?
Well, I mean, we pretty much KNOW who THE "Ms. B" is going to be this year, Grand Slam or no Grand Slam. But the best part of the annual Backspin Player-of-the-Year list (at least in my opinion) is seeing where all the other contenders cross the finish line after nearly 50 weeks of action. I haven't done an update on the season's race since things wrapped up in Paris, so I thought I'd be a good moment for the last update before the real thing.
Here are the previous standings:
=2015 "Ms. Backspin" Updates=
[post-1Q]
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Simona Halep, ROU
3. Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
4. Martina Hingis, SUI
5. Andrea Petkovic, GER
6. French Fed Cup Team
7. Hingis/Mirza, SUI/IND
8. Maria Sharapova, RUS
9. German Fed Cup Team
10. Venus Williams
11. Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
12. Sania Mirza, IND
13. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
14. Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
15. Madison Keys, USA
HM - Russian & Czech Fed Cup Teams
Special Mention: Lucie Safarova, CZE
[post-RG]
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Mattek-Sands/Safarova, USA/CZE
3. Czech Fed Cup Team
4. Hingis/Mirza, SUI/IND
5. Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
6. Simona Halep, ROU
7. Lucie Safarova, CZE
8. Maria Sharapova, RUS
9. Petra Kvitova, CZE
10. Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
HM- Karolina Pliskova, CZE
And here's how things stand as we dive into the final stretch of the 2015 season...
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2. Martina Hingis: And here just having Martina win a slam title of some kind in '15 seemed a "nice" season for her nine months ago. Who thought she'd become THE dominate doubles player on tour AGAIN (yet not even be ranked #1)? If she wants it, it would seem she could play and pick up slam trophies into her forties ala the other Martina, doesn't it?
3. Hingis/Mirza: Six titles, two slams, the top two spots in the rankings. And the season isn't over.
4. Simona Halep: Her "lock" on being the highest-standing singles players not named Serena on this list is now being threatened in the closing months by Kerber (and maybe Bencic with the right combination of results)... mostly because of Simona.
5. Angelique Kerber: Neither a lack of a great slam result or a Fed Cup title, nor even a Top 10 ranking, is enough to prevent the German from pushing for the second singles slot behind Serena. Four titles on four surfaces is enough for her to press the issue. A fifth title would really help her case, though.
6. Fed Cup Champs: This year's champs -- either the Maidens or Hordettes -- won't claim the "Ms. B" title as has happened twice before (the Italians in '09, and the Czechs last year), but depending on what happens in November the winners could rise as high as #2 or #3. Hard to believe, but the Russian Fed Cuppers have never won "Ms. Backspin" (only finishing as high as #8 in '08, when they won title #4 in six years).
7. Mattek-Sands/Safarova: they won the first two slams of the year, but Safarova's singles results might ultimately push her higher as an individual on this list (assuming she's able to be on the Fed Cup roster).
8. Belinda Bencic: If she'd won in Tokyo and entered the Top 10, she might stand at #5 or #6 right now. There's still time.
9. Lucie Safarova: the RG singles finalist is the only player ranked in the Top 5 in both singles and doubles, but she has just the one singles title in '15. She might need a competitive role in the FC final to move up, but with her health situation at the moment that isn't a given.
10. Petra Kvitova: A bad Wimbledon hurts her, but she still has Fed Cup (and those titles in Sydney, Madrid and New Haven).
11. Maria Sharapova: Remember when she reached the AO final and won in Rome? Remember?
12. Timea Bacsinszky: The Queen of Mexico has faded a bit down the stretch, but she's assured of a place on the list no matter what happens the rest of the way.
13. Flavia Pennetta: Ditto (especially since she keeps setting career ranking highs without playing).
14. Washington Kastles: And with this Hingis "sort of" makes her THIRD appearance on the list.
15. Garbine Muguruza: It'd be nice to see one more good result (a final, at least?) before the end of the year.
=ALSO NOMINATED=
Chan/Chan, Jiske Griffioen, Griffioen/Van Koot, Kamiji/Whiley, Madison Keys, Karolina Pliskova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Sania Mirza, Kristina Mladenovic, Aga Radwanska (just getting in at the last moment -- but still subject to removal), Anna Schmiedlova, Elina Svitolina, Roberta Vinci, Jordanne Whiley
(Of course, the nominee list could still expand or shrink by the end of the season.)
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*WEEK 38 CHAMPIONS*
TOKYO, JAPAN [Toray Pan Pacific] (Premier $881K/HCO)
S: Aga Radwanska/POL def. Belinda Bencic/SUI 6-2/6-2
D: Garbine Muguruza/Carla Suarez-Navarro (ESP/ESP) d. Chan Hao-Ching/Chan Yung-Jan (TPE/TPE) 7-5/6-1
SEOUL, KOREA (Int'l $427K/HCO)
S: Irina-Camilia Begu/ROU def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR 6-3/6-1
D: Lara Arruabarrena/Andreja Klepac (ESP/SLO) d. Kiki Bertens/Johanna Larsson (NED/SWE) 2-6/6-3 [10-6]
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Int'l $227K/HCO)
S: Jelena Jankovic/SRB def. Denisa Allertova/CZE 6-2/6-0
D: Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza (SUI/IND) d. Xu Shilin/You Xiaodi (CHN/CHN) 6-3/6-1
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PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Aga Radwanska/POL
...is Aga back? We've had some tantalizing moments of hope -- most of them on the grass -- in recent months, but the Pole's no-sets-lost run in Tokyo is surely the most promising sign yet that Radwanska may just be able to lift herself back into the upper-tier WTA conversation. Aga's fifteenth career title, her second in Tokyo after winning there in 2011 and reaching three finals in five years, lifts her back into the Top 10 (hopefully for longer than the month-long stay after her Wimbledon SF result) and extends her seasons with a title streak to five. Better yet, Aga's wins in Tokyo were quite impressive: Coco Vandeweghe, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, Dominika Cibulkova and Belinda Bencic, a virtual "who's who" of Rising Stars and a veteran on the comeback trail with her best result in a year and a half. Radwanska's long 187-week run in the Top 10 ended last spring, but after it looked as if she might have to soon begin to sweat out her tour-best string of weeks in the Top 20 this title should secure her spot well into 2016. The Pole is in the Top 20 for the 397th straight week as of Monday.
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RISER:Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU
...Simona Halep didn't have the sort of week she'd have liked in Guangzhou, but fellow Swarmette Begu had a great one in Seoul. The 25-year old claimed her second career tour singles title ('12 Tashkent) with a string of victories that included wins over Polona Hercog, Johanna Larsson, Alison Van Uytvanck and qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the final, the fifth of the Romanian's WTA career. Begu last reached a tour final in Moscow last October, and carried over her late season momentum into '15. She began the season with a career-best slam run to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open and has continued to show occasional flashes all year, including in Rio (SF), Charleston and Madrid (both QF) before a pair of 3rd Round results at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She'll rise to a career-high #26 on Monday.
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SURPRISE:Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR
...Belarus (and even Minsk) isn't just about Vika (or Olga, for that matter) anymore. 21-year old Belarusian Sasnovich became the second woman from her nation to reach a '15 WTA singles final this season with her stunning turn from qualifier to runner-up last week in Seoul. The Minsk native had never before reached a tour-level QF before last week, but wins over Alexandra Dulgheru, Magdalena Rybarikova, Sloane Stephens and Anna Schmiedlova (all tour title-winners during their careers!) made the world #136 one of the most unlikely participants in any tournament's final weekend festivities all season long. After notching victories over the #2, #3 and #6-seeded players at the event, though, Sasnovich wasn't able to also take out #1 Irina-Camelia Begu and become the first qualifier to win a tour title since Coco Vandeweghe at Rosmalen last summer. Still, it was enough to nearly lift her into the Top 100 (#102), but not enough give her a career-best ranking. She rose as high as #92 last October.
Meanwhile, as Sasnovich was winning matches in Korea, Azarenka was back in Minsk last week looking to inspire the NEXT generation of Belarusian players. As it turns out, though, the current gen is looking better and better, as Vika, Govortsova and Sasnovich are at the top of a current crop of players that also includes juniors Iryna Shymanovich and Vera Lapko. If every one would ever commit playing a Fed Cup tie or two, the red-and-green flag might just fly high as BLR would be capable of a sizable upset or two. The Belarusian team is currently ranked #15 by the ITF, one spot behind the U.S. squad (!!) and one ABOVE the coalescing Spaniards (!!!).
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VETERAN:Jelena Jankovic/SRB
...still thirty, and still flirty. But now a 2015 WTA singles champion, too. Just two months after she won the WTA $125K Series event in Nanchang, then reached the Cincinnati semis before her disappointing 1st Round exit at Flushing Meadows, Jankovic ran her recent successful match stretch to 15-3 by winning in Guangzhou to claim her first tour-level singles title since Bogota in 2013, and her first on hard court since being crowned Indian Wells champ in 2010. After opening up with a win over a retiring Elena Vesnina, JJ defeated Francesca Schiavone, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Yanina Wickmayer (saving a MP) and Denisa Allertova in the final to win the fourteenth title of her career in the same week in which she became just the third active player with 600 match wins.
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COMEBACKS:Garbine Muguruza & Carla Suarez-Navarro (ESP/ESP) and Dominika Cibulkova/SVK
...Muguruza and Suarez-Navarro inched forward with a bit of success in singles, but surged upward in doubles last week in Tokyo. Muguruza got just her second win since reaching the Wimbledon final (2-5 in her last seven) with a victory over Barbora Strycova, while CSN finally ended her eight-match losing streak with a win over Kateryna Bondarenko. Both lost in their second outings in singles, but one year after they reached the doubles final of the event as a pair they improved upon the result by taking the title with a victory over the Chan sisters this time. The Spanish duo won a title on the grass at Birmingham this summer, but had gone 3-4 since then before their undefeated week. It's their third title overall, having also won in Stanford last year.
Meanwhile, Cibulkova's post-Achilles' surgery form continues to improve. After ending last year at a career-best season-ending ranking of #11 the Slovak nearly fell out of the Top 60 after her spring surgery. Last week in Tokyo, she put together her first semifinal run since April of last year in Kuala Lumpur with victories over Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Carla Suarez-Navarro and Ana Ivanovic (matching her 1st Round U.S. Open upset of the Serb). Cibulkova is back in the Top 40 on Monday, and very well could (again) be a super dangerous "Bracket Buster" come January in Melbourne (where she reached the final in '14).
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FRESH FACES:Belinda Bencic/SUI & Denisa Allertova/CZE
...Bencic continues to make her mark on tour, putting up two more Top 10 wins (giving her eight in '15) in Tokyo over Muguruza and Wozniacki (she's 4-0 vs. the Dane this year!), as well as a victory over Sam Stosur. The 18-year old failed to climb into the Top 10 for the first time heading into this week, but she reached her fourth final of the season, losing to Aga Radwanska and, like so many of us, finding herself oohing, aahing and bowing down to the Pole after losing to her 2 & 2.
22-year old Czech Allertova had a career week, getting victories over Anna-Lena Friedsam and Bojana Jovanovski, as well as her biggest career win (over #2 Simona Halep, after getting a previous Top 10 victory over CSN at the U.S. Open) in Guangzhou, then following that up with a semifinal victory over Sara Errani to reach her maiden tour singles final. She lost to Jelena Jankovic, but it was all still a big next step after reaching a $75K challenger final in Prague last month. Allertova is up to a career-best #57 this week.
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DOWN:Simona Halep/ROU & Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
...losing in the Guangzhou quarterfinals to #74-ranked Denisa Allertova wasn't exactly the type of result Halep was looking for to follow up her U.S. Open semifinal implosion. The Swarmette will be be back at it in Wuhan this week.
Meanwhile, in her first outing since her U.S. Open QF run, Mladenovic lost 0-6/6-3/3-6 in the 1st Round in Tokyo to Ana Konjuh, then pulled out of her scheduled doubles pairing with Belinda Bencic (they'd won the title in Washington in their previous -- and only other -- event together).
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ITF PLAYER:Michaella Krajicek/NED
...Krajicek had a pretty exciting summer, and she looks to be kicking off autumn with the intention of making it fairly memorable, too. The 26-year old Dutch vet -- who, in a somewhat forgotten note these days, won three WTA singles titles nearly a decade ago and reached the Top 30 in '08 after reaching the '07 QF at Wimbledon, where her brother Richard was the men's champ in '96 -- grabbed her largest singles title since 2006 with a win over big-serving Brit Naomi Broady in the $75K challenger final contested in Albuquerque this weekend. Recently married to ATP player Martin Emmrich, Krajicek had only played one other singles event since her July wedding, a semifinal run at a $25K challenger in Winnipeg before the U.S. Open. Last week, she qualified and notched wins over Vicky Duval and Danielle Lao before winning in a final over Broady that included a combined forty-nine aces and just one break of serve. 11-1 in ITF singles finals in her career (14-1 in all pro singles finals), Krajicek sees her singles ranking catapult from #435 to #242 as the new week begins.
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JUNIOR STARSKatie Swan/GBR, Xu Shilin/CHN & Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK
...16-year old Swan's week ended better than it began. The Australian Open girls runner-up and current junior #6, won her second challenger title of the season at the $10K event in Madrid. She defeated Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar in the final to end the Spaniard's attempt to win her second singles title in as many weeks after she'd struggled for nearly nine months this season to finally win her first (she's now 1-7 in '15 singles finals, though the ex-Texas A&M Aggie did win another doubles title).
Former girls #1 Xu, the '14 Youth Olympics Gold Medalist and a girls semifinalist at this year's AO, reached her first career tour-level final with an appearance in the Guangzhou doubles championship match with 19-year old You Xiaodi (def. by Hingis/Mirza). Xu, 17, reached a $15K singles final in a challenger in Hong Kong at the beginning of August. 17-year old Slovak Kuzmova, who just won a share of the U.S. Open girls doubles crown (and def. #1-seeded Marketa Vondrousova in singles) won her third '15 singles challenger title at the $15K in Sharm El-Sheikh, defeating Brit Freya Christie in a 7-6(4)/7-5 final.
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DOUBLES:Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza (SUI/IND)
...the Dream Team -- err, I mean "Santina"...but I think I'll stick with my nickname -- was at it again in Guangzhou, combining to grab their sixth title of the season to run their current winning streak to nine matches. They're 42-7 overall as a duo this season. The win in the final over the teenage Chinese pair of Xu Shilin & You Xiaodi gives Mirza twenty-nine career tour doubles titles, while Hingis has picked up forty-seven to go along with her forty-three in singles and four slam mixed titles.
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1. Guangzhou SF - Jankovic d. Wickmayer 6-3/2-6/7-5
Guangzhou Final - Jankovic d. Allertova 6-2/6-0
...JJ saved a match point at 5-4 in the 3rd vs. Wickmayer, then added an overdue win to her ledger after going 1-9 in her last ten tour-level singles finals. This is the eleventh title won this year by a thirtysomething champion.
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2. Tokyo TPP QF - Wozniacki d. Kerber
...6-2/2-6/6-3. Wozniacki reaches her seventh semifinal of '15 (behind only Serena and Halep), but she still falls out of the Top 10 in the latest rankings. After just getting back in, so does Kerber.
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3. Guangzhou 1st - Wickmayer d. Linette
...6-4/6-4. Days after defeating the Pole in the Japan Open final, Wickmayer does it again in China.
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4. Guangzhou QF - Allertova d. Halep 6-4/6-3
Seoul Final - Begu d. Sasnovich 6-3/6-1
...two sides of the Swarmette coin in Week 38.
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5. Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Kuznetsova d. Hantuchova 6-4/7-5
Guangzhou 2nd Rd. - Jankovic d. Schiavone 7-5/4-6/6-4
Guangzhou QF - Jankovic d. Kuznetsova 6-2/7-5
...hmmm, was the Guangzhou draw just a photocopy of the one from the 2009 event?
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6. Wuhan 1st Rd - Pavlyuchenkova d. Kuznetsova
...6-0/6-1. Now, THAT's the current Sveta, not the '09 version. Of course, how could you tell? What day is it?
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7. Tokyo TPP SF - Bencic d. Wozniacki
...6-2/6-4. Caro must have nightmares about BB by now. She's 0-4 against her this year, losing six of six sets (and retiring in the middle of a seventh while down 3-1). Guess who could meet again in the Wuhan semis.
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8. Tokyo TPP 2nd Rd. - Bencic d. Stosur 5-7(5)/6-3/6-4
Wuhan 1st Rd. - Lucic-Baroni d. Stosur 6-2/6-1
...Sam misses Osaka.
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9. Tokyo TPP QF - Cibulkova d. Ivanovic
...7-6(5)/6-3. The possible Part III of this match-up won't happen in Wuhan, as Madison Brengle has dumped out the Slovak in the 1st Round.
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10 Tokyo TPP 1st Rd. - Nara d. Doi
...7-6(1)/6-2. The doubles duo then went out and got a win over Kops-Jones/Spears.
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11. Seoul 1st Rd. - Date-Krumm d. Tomljanovic
...6-1/6-2. A week earlier, Tomljanovic took out the 44-year old in straights at the Japan Open. The Croat-Aussie's opponent age went down significantly in her next match, as she defeated 35-year old Schiavone in Wuhan qualifying. By the way, Seoul was where KDK won her only post-comeback tour singles crown in 2009... back when she was just 38. She turns 45 this week.
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12. Seoul Final - Arruabarena/Klepac d. Bertens/Larsson
...2-6/6-3 [10-6]. Arruabarrena won the Seoul doubles with Begu a year ago. This time they took separate paths to titles at the event.
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HM- Tokyo TPP 1st Rd. - Giorgi d. Garcia
...4-6/7-6(3)/6-3. Come now, we can't forget about the Pasty squandering a 6-4/3-1 lead, now can we?
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That feeling you get when you realize...
But then you remember there might be some people there who've never heard of Sugarpova or Supergoop! Some of them might even be in this photo:
But probably not.
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1. Tokyo TPP Final - Aga Radwanska d. Bencic
...6-2/6-2. With Poland and Serbia (JJ) now added, eighteen different nations have produced WTA tour singles champions in 2015.
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2. $75K Albuquerque Final - Michaella Krajicek d. Broady
...6-7(2)/7-6(3)/7-5. In the 2:42 match that included just ONE break of serve in thirty-six service games, Krajicek fired eighteen aces to Broady's thirty-one! There has to be a record -- or two -- in there somewhere.
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3. Tokyo TPP Final - Muguruza/Suarez-Navarro d. Chan Hao-Ching/Chan Yung-Jan
...7-5/6-1. This loss ended the Chan sisters' seven-match winning streak. They'd been 17-2 in their previous nineteen matches, with both losses having come against Hingis/Mirza.
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4. Tokyo TPP 1st Rd. - Suarez-Navarro d. Kateryna Bondarenko 7-6(3)/6-2
Seoul 1st Rd. - Anna Schmiedlova d. Kristyna Pliskova 3-6/6-3/6-4
...K-Bond had handed CSN her eighth consecutive loss last week, as this win was the Spaniard's first since defeating -- you guessed it -- Svetlana Kuznetsova during the grass court season. She lost her next match to drop to 1-9 since falling to the Russian. So, I guess Kristyna Pliskova (1-8 after her loss in Seoul) hasn't been the only player dealing with that strain of the Kuznetsova Curse in recent months. Someone call the CDC!
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5. Tokyo TPP 1st Rd. - Aga Radwanska d. Vandeweghe
...6-3/6-3."Hey, does anyone want to interview me on the court again? Anyone? Hey!" (Crickets.)
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HM- $25K Bucha Final - Kristina Kucova d. Cadantu
...4-6/7-5(5)/6-0. It was that sort of weekend for sisters in singles finals, I guess. Kucova has won three ITF titles this season.
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Classic Vika... and case in point.
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And Confusing Caroline in the City.
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**2015 WTA FINALS**
5...Serena Williams, USA (5-0)
5...Simona Halep, ROU (3-2)
5...Karolina Pliskova, CZE (1-4)
4...Angelique Kerber, GER (4-0)
4...BELINDA BENCIC, SUI (2-2)
**WTA FINALS SINCE 2012**
32 - Serena Williams (30-2)
22 - Maria Sharapova (11-11)
17 - Simona Halep (11-6)
17 - Victoria Azarenka (9-8)
15 - Angelique Kerber (7-8)
13 - Petra Kvitova (10-3)
13 - AGA RADWANSKA (8-5)
13 - Sara Errani (6-7)
**2015 FROM MATCH POINT DOWN TO WIN TITLE.**
Antwerp - Andrea Petkovic, GER (8 MP - 2nd/Van Uytvanck)
Rio - Sara Errani, ITA (3 MP - QF/Haddad)
Pattaya - Daniela Hantuchova, SVK (2 MP - SF/Erakovic)
's-Hertogenbosch - Camila Giorgi, ITA (3 MP - QF/Shvedova)
Toronto - Belinda Bencic, SUI (1 MP - 3rd/Lisicki)
Guangzhou - Jelena Jankovic, SRB (1 MP - SF/Wickmayer)
**WON 2015 TITLE WITHOUT LOSING A SET**
Hobart - Heather Watson, GBR
Bogota - Teliana Pereira, BRA
Bastad - Johanna Larsson, SWE
Bucharest - Anna Schmiedlova, SVK
Washington - Sloane Stephens, USA
Tokyo TPP - Aga Radwanska, POL
**ACTIVE SEASONS w/ A TITLE STREAKS**
13 years - Maria Sharapova, 2003-15
9 years - Serena Williams, 2007-15
8 years - Caroline Wozniacki, 2008-15
5 years - Petra Kvitova, 2011-15
5 years - Aga Radwanska, 2011-15
**2015 QUALIFIERS IN FINAL**
Hobart - Madison Brengle (24/USA - lost to Watson)
Prague - Lucie Hradecka (29/CZE - lost to Ka.Pliskova)
Baku - Patricia Maria Tig (21/ROU - lost to Gasparyan)
Seoul - Aliaksandra Sasnovich (21/BLR - lost to Begu)
**2015 LOW-RANKED FINALISTS**
#154 Patricia Maria Tig, ROU (Baku - lost to Gasparyan)
#136 ALIAKSANDRA SASNOVICH, BLR (Seoul - lost to Begu)
#130 Teliana Pereira, BRA (Bogota - def. Shvedova)
#112 Margarita Gasparyan, RUS (Baku - def. Tig)
#101 Jelena Ostapenko, LAT (Quebec City - lost to Beck)
**2015 WTA SF**
9...Serena Williams (5-3+L)
9...Simona Halep (4-4+W)
7...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (3-4)
6...Karolina Pliskova (5-1)
6...Angelique Kerber (4-1+L)
6...Maria Sharapova (3-2+L)
6...ANNA SCHMIEDLOVA (3-3)
6...SARA ERRANI (2-4)
5...AGA RADWANSKA (2-3)
5...Elina Svitolina (1-4)
4...BELINDA BENCIC (4-0)
4...Timea Bacsinszky (3-1)
4...Petra Kvitova (3-1)
4...Carla Suarez-Navarro (3-1)
4...JELENA JANKOVIC (2-2)
**2015 LOW-RANKED SEMIFINALISTS**
#251 Virginie Razzano/FRA (Strasbourg SF)
#188 Anastasiya Sevastova/LAT (Florianpolis SF)
#181 Hsieh Su-Wei/TPE (Kuala Lumpur SF)
#158 Sesil Karatantcheva/BUL (Acapulco SF)
#157 Naomi Broady/GBR (Quebec City SF)
#154 Patricia Maria Tig/ROU (Baku RU)
#136 ALIAKSANDRA SASNOVICH/BLR (Seoul RU)
**2015 CONSECUTIVE DOUBLES TITLES**
3 - Mar/Apr - Hingis/Mirza (IW-Miami-Charleston)
2 - Jan - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Sydney-AO)
2 - May - Babos/Mladenovic (Marrakech-Rome)
2 - Sep - HINGIS/MIRZA (US-Guangzhou)
**2015 DEFENDED DOUBLES TITLES**
Miami - Martina Hingis, 2014-15
Istanbul - Elina Svitolina, 2014-15
Baku - Alexandra Panova, 2014-15
Seoul - Lara Arruabarrena, 2014-15
**2015 DOUBLES TITLES - WD/MX**
10...MARTINA HINGIS (7/3)
7...SANIA MIRZA (7/0)
6...Bethanie Mattek-Sands (5/1)
4...Kristina Mladenovic (4/0)
4...Lucie Safarova (4/0)
3...Timea Babos (3/0)
4...Chan Hao-Ching (4/0)
3...Chan Yung-Jan (3/0)
**2015 DOUBLES TITLES - DUOS**
6...HINGIS/MIRZA, SUI/IND
4...Mattek-Sands/Safarova, USA/CZE
3...Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
3...CHAN/CHAN, TPE/TPE
2...Bertens/Larsson, NED/SWE
2...Kops-Jones/Spears, USA/USA
2...MUGURUZA/SUAREZ-NAVARRO, ESP/ESP
**ALL-TIME WTA SINGLES TITLES - #23-#38**
23.Caroline Wozniacki (23)*
24.Pam Shriver (21)
25t.Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere (19)
25t.Nancy Richey (19)
27t.Victoria Azarenka (17)*
27t.Petra Kvitova (17)*
27t.Mary Pierce (17)
27t.Kerry Melville (17)
31t.Ann Haydon Jones (16)
31t.Elena Dementieva (16)
33t.Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat (15)
33t.Agnieszka Radwanska (15)*
33t.Ana Ivanovic (15)
36t.Jennifer Capriati (14)
36t.Jelena Jankovic (14)*
36t.Zina Garrison (14)
**RECENT FED CUP JUNIOR (16s) FINALS**
2003 NED def. CAN
2004 ARG def. CAN
2005 POL def. FRA
2006 BLR def. RUS
2007 AUS def. POL
2008 USA def. GBR
2009 RUS def. GER
2010 RUS def. CHN
2011 AUS def. CAN
2012 USA def. RUS
2013 RUS def. AUS
2014 USA def. SVK
**"Ms. BACKSPIN" WINNERS**
2001 Jennifer Capriati / USA
2002 Serena Williams / USA
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne / BEL
2004 Maria Sharapova / RUS
2005 Kim Clijsters / BEL
2006 Amelie Mauresmo / FRA
2007 Justine Henin / BEL
2008 Cara Black & Liezel Huber / ZIM-USA
2009 Italian Fed Cup Team
2010 Francesca Schiavone / ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova / CZE
2012 Serena Williams / USA
2013 Serena Williams / USA
2014 Czech Fed Cup Team
It was fifteen years ago...
And Singapore's many competitions will be here before you know it.
Speaking of on-the-horizon competitions...
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WUHAN, CHINA (Premier $2.2m/HCO)
14 Final: Kvitova d. Bouchard
14 Doubles Final: Hingis/Pennetta d. C.Black/Garcia
15 Top Seeds: Halep/Sharapova
=============================
=QF=
Azarenka d. #10 A.Radwanska
#3 Kvitova d. #8 Ka.Pliskova
#4 Wozniacki d. #5 Muguruza
#11 Bencic d. #2 Sharapova
=SF=
#3 Kvitova d. Azarenka
#11 Bencic d. #4 Wozniacki
=FINAL=
#3 Kvitova d. #11 Bencic
...Kvitova is looking to recapture her '14 magic, while Bencic could notch three more Top 20 wins without winning the title.
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TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (Int'l $227K/HCO)
14 Final: Knapp d. Jovanovski
14 Doubles Final: Krunic/Siniakova d. Gasparyan/Panova
15 Top Seeds: Beck/Witthoeft
=============================
=SF=
#7 Ostapenko d. (Q) Kania
(Q) Gasparyan d. #4 Larsson
=FINAL=
#7 Ostapenko d. (Q) Gasparyan
...the Latvian teen could get another shot at the woman who beat her in the Quebec City final -- Annika Beck -- in the QF. Could that be the de facto final for this event?
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JUNIOR FED CUP FINALS (16s) - Madrid; RCO
14 Final: USA d. SVK
=============================
Pick: United States
And, finally...
The WTA minus one.
Serena plus one.
Simona plus one.
Puig plus one...
...and time to dance.
And you know you're having a good month when...
And Flavia moves up to ANOTHER career this week at #6. Are the Tennis Gods trying to tell her something?
All for now.
Could "Ms. Backspin" be far behind?
Well, I mean, we pretty much KNOW who THE "Ms. B" is going to be this year, Grand Slam or no Grand Slam. But the best part of the annual Backspin Player-of-the-Year list (at least in my opinion) is seeing where all the other contenders cross the finish line after nearly 50 weeks of action. I haven't done an update on the season's race since things wrapped up in Paris, so I thought I'd be a good moment for the last update before the real thing.
Here are the previous standings:
=2015 "Ms. Backspin" Updates=
[post-1Q]
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Simona Halep, ROU
3. Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
4. Martina Hingis, SUI
5. Andrea Petkovic, GER
6. French Fed Cup Team
7. Hingis/Mirza, SUI/IND
8. Maria Sharapova, RUS
9. German Fed Cup Team
10. Venus Williams
11. Carla Suarez-Navarro, ESP
12. Sania Mirza, IND
13. Karolina Pliskova, CZE
14. Ekaterina Makarova, RUS
15. Madison Keys, USA
HM - Russian & Czech Fed Cup Teams
Special Mention: Lucie Safarova, CZE
[post-RG]
1. Serena Williams, USA
2. Mattek-Sands/Safarova, USA/CZE
3. Czech Fed Cup Team
4. Hingis/Mirza, SUI/IND
5. Timea Bacsinszky, SUI
6. Simona Halep, ROU
7. Lucie Safarova, CZE
8. Maria Sharapova, RUS
9. Petra Kvitova, CZE
10. Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
HM- Karolina Pliskova, CZE
And here's how things stand as we dive into the final stretch of the 2015 season...
2. Martina Hingis: And here just having Martina win a slam title of some kind in '15 seemed a "nice" season for her nine months ago. Who thought she'd become THE dominate doubles player on tour AGAIN (yet not even be ranked #1)? If she wants it, it would seem she could play and pick up slam trophies into her forties ala the other Martina, doesn't it?
3. Hingis/Mirza: Six titles, two slams, the top two spots in the rankings. And the season isn't over.
4. Simona Halep: Her "lock" on being the highest-standing singles players not named Serena on this list is now being threatened in the closing months by Kerber (and maybe Bencic with the right combination of results)... mostly because of Simona.
5. Angelique Kerber: Neither a lack of a great slam result or a Fed Cup title, nor even a Top 10 ranking, is enough to prevent the German from pushing for the second singles slot behind Serena. Four titles on four surfaces is enough for her to press the issue. A fifth title would really help her case, though.
6. Fed Cup Champs: This year's champs -- either the Maidens or Hordettes -- won't claim the "Ms. B" title as has happened twice before (the Italians in '09, and the Czechs last year), but depending on what happens in November the winners could rise as high as #2 or #3. Hard to believe, but the Russian Fed Cuppers have never won "Ms. Backspin" (only finishing as high as #8 in '08, when they won title #4 in six years).
7. Mattek-Sands/Safarova: they won the first two slams of the year, but Safarova's singles results might ultimately push her higher as an individual on this list (assuming she's able to be on the Fed Cup roster).
8. Belinda Bencic: If she'd won in Tokyo and entered the Top 10, she might stand at #5 or #6 right now. There's still time.
9. Lucie Safarova: the RG singles finalist is the only player ranked in the Top 5 in both singles and doubles, but she has just the one singles title in '15. She might need a competitive role in the FC final to move up, but with her health situation at the moment that isn't a given.
10. Petra Kvitova: A bad Wimbledon hurts her, but she still has Fed Cup (and those titles in Sydney, Madrid and New Haven).
11. Maria Sharapova: Remember when she reached the AO final and won in Rome? Remember?
12. Timea Bacsinszky: The Queen of Mexico has faded a bit down the stretch, but she's assured of a place on the list no matter what happens the rest of the way.
13. Flavia Pennetta: Ditto (especially since she keeps setting career ranking highs without playing).
14. Washington Kastles: And with this Hingis "sort of" makes her THIRD appearance on the list.
15. Garbine Muguruza: It'd be nice to see one more good result (a final, at least?) before the end of the year.
=ALSO NOMINATED=
Chan/Chan, Jiske Griffioen, Griffioen/Van Koot, Kamiji/Whiley, Madison Keys, Karolina Pliskova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Sania Mirza, Kristina Mladenovic, Aga Radwanska (just getting in at the last moment -- but still subject to removal), Anna Schmiedlova, Elina Svitolina, Roberta Vinci, Jordanne Whiley
(Of course, the nominee list could still expand or shrink by the end of the season.)
*WEEK 38 CHAMPIONS*
TOKYO, JAPAN [Toray Pan Pacific] (Premier $881K/HCO)
S: Aga Radwanska/POL def. Belinda Bencic/SUI 6-2/6-2
D: Garbine Muguruza/Carla Suarez-Navarro (ESP/ESP) d. Chan Hao-Ching/Chan Yung-Jan (TPE/TPE) 7-5/6-1
SEOUL, KOREA (Int'l $427K/HCO)
S: Irina-Camilia Begu/ROU def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR 6-3/6-1
D: Lara Arruabarrena/Andreja Klepac (ESP/SLO) d. Kiki Bertens/Johanna Larsson (NED/SWE) 2-6/6-3 [10-6]
GUANGZHOU, CHINA (Int'l $227K/HCO)
S: Jelena Jankovic/SRB def. Denisa Allertova/CZE 6-2/6-0
D: Martina Hingis/Sania Mirza (SUI/IND) d. Xu Shilin/You Xiaodi (CHN/CHN) 6-3/6-1
Agnieszka Radwanska takes Tokyo title with dominating win over Belinda Bencic.
Read: http://t.co/6U2cIfVWWTpic.twitter.com/zp6vWFcIbi
— TENNIS.com (@Tennis) September 27, 2015PLAYER OF THE WEEK:Aga Radwanska/POL
...is Aga back? We've had some tantalizing moments of hope -- most of them on the grass -- in recent months, but the Pole's no-sets-lost run in Tokyo is surely the most promising sign yet that Radwanska may just be able to lift herself back into the upper-tier WTA conversation. Aga's fifteenth career title, her second in Tokyo after winning there in 2011 and reaching three finals in five years, lifts her back into the Top 10 (hopefully for longer than the month-long stay after her Wimbledon SF result) and extends her seasons with a title streak to five. Better yet, Aga's wins in Tokyo were quite impressive: Coco Vandeweghe, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, Dominika Cibulkova and Belinda Bencic, a virtual "who's who" of Rising Stars and a veteran on the comeback trail with her best result in a year and a half. Radwanska's long 187-week run in the Top 10 ended last spring, but after it looked as if she might have to soon begin to sweat out her tour-best string of weeks in the Top 20 this title should secure her spot well into 2016. The Pole is in the Top 20 for the 397th straight week as of Monday.
.@ARadwanska doing Aga Radwanska! ??????#WTAhttps://t.co/SuFW9aWgBZ
— WTA (@WTA) September 26, 2015===============================================
RISER:Irina-Camelia Begu/ROU
...Simona Halep didn't have the sort of week she'd have liked in Guangzhou, but fellow Swarmette Begu had a great one in Seoul. The 25-year old claimed her second career tour singles title ('12 Tashkent) with a string of victories that included wins over Polona Hercog, Johanna Larsson, Alison Van Uytvanck and qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the final, the fifth of the Romanian's WTA career. Begu last reached a tour final in Moscow last October, and carried over her late season momentum into '15. She began the season with a career-best slam run to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open and has continued to show occasional flashes all year, including in Rio (SF), Charleston and Madrid (both QF) before a pair of 3rd Round results at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She'll rise to a career-high #26 on Monday.
.@Irina_Begu wins #KoreaOpen with straight sets victory over Sasnovich--> http://t.co/mp7WON8afy#WTApic.twitter.com/3nqV02Y1H5
— WTA (@WTA) September 27, 2015===============================================
SURPRISE:Aliaksandra Sasnovich/BLR
...Belarus (and even Minsk) isn't just about Vika (or Olga, for that matter) anymore. 21-year old Belarusian Sasnovich became the second woman from her nation to reach a '15 WTA singles final this season with her stunning turn from qualifier to runner-up last week in Seoul. The Minsk native had never before reached a tour-level QF before last week, but wins over Alexandra Dulgheru, Magdalena Rybarikova, Sloane Stephens and Anna Schmiedlova (all tour title-winners during their careers!) made the world #136 one of the most unlikely participants in any tournament's final weekend festivities all season long. After notching victories over the #2, #3 and #6-seeded players at the event, though, Sasnovich wasn't able to also take out #1 Irina-Camelia Begu and become the first qualifier to win a tour title since Coco Vandeweghe at Rosmalen last summer. Still, it was enough to nearly lift her into the Top 100 (#102), but not enough give her a career-best ranking. She rose as high as #92 last October.
1st #WTA final! Sasnovich upsets Schmiedlova 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to make #KoreaOpen final--> http://t.co/PmxHgd3PWapic.twitter.com/sdvs0dBEgH
— WTA (@WTA) September 26, 2015Very fun time today with kids in my city Minsk #tennisfuture#kidsareourfuture#risepic.twitter.com/tA9sIggosM
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) September 21, 2015Meanwhile, as Sasnovich was winning matches in Korea, Azarenka was back in Minsk last week looking to inspire the NEXT generation of Belarusian players. As it turns out, though, the current gen is looking better and better, as Vika, Govortsova and Sasnovich are at the top of a current crop of players that also includes juniors Iryna Shymanovich and Vera Lapko. If every one would ever commit playing a Fed Cup tie or two, the red-and-green flag might just fly high as BLR would be capable of a sizable upset or two. The Belarusian team is currently ranked #15 by the ITF, one spot behind the U.S. squad (!!) and one ABOVE the coalescing Spaniards (!!!).
===============================================
VETERAN:Jelena Jankovic/SRB
...still thirty, and still flirty. But now a 2015 WTA singles champion, too. Just two months after she won the WTA $125K Series event in Nanchang, then reached the Cincinnati semis before her disappointing 1st Round exit at Flushing Meadows, Jankovic ran her recent successful match stretch to 15-3 by winning in Guangzhou to claim her first tour-level singles title since Bogota in 2013, and her first on hard court since being crowned Indian Wells champ in 2010. After opening up with a win over a retiring Elena Vesnina, JJ defeated Francesca Schiavone, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Yanina Wickmayer (saving a MP) and Denisa Allertova in the final to win the fourteenth title of her career in the same week in which she became just the third active player with 600 match wins.
.@Jelena_Jankovic records 600th career win! ONLY 3rd active player to join 600 win club--> http://t.co/WJnypkgW8Cpic.twitter.com/JGcKc1FSHE
— WTA (@WTA) September 23, 2015Idemooooo!!! :) pic.twitter.com/VF8r0g0Ee5
— Jelena Jankovic (@jelena_jankovic) September 23, 2015===============================================
.@GarbiMuguruza& @CarlaSuarezNava win @TorayPPO doubles title--> http://t.co/7YfWzlqTnV#WTApic.twitter.com/S27TzpKxF9
— WTA (@WTA) September 26, 2015COMEBACKS:Garbine Muguruza & Carla Suarez-Navarro (ESP/ESP) and Dominika Cibulkova/SVK
...Muguruza and Suarez-Navarro inched forward with a bit of success in singles, but surged upward in doubles last week in Tokyo. Muguruza got just her second win since reaching the Wimbledon final (2-5 in her last seven) with a victory over Barbora Strycova, while CSN finally ended her eight-match losing streak with a win over Kateryna Bondarenko. Both lost in their second outings in singles, but one year after they reached the doubles final of the event as a pair they improved upon the result by taking the title with a victory over the Chan sisters this time. The Spanish duo won a title on the grass at Birmingham this summer, but had gone 3-4 since then before their undefeated week. It's their third title overall, having also won in Stanford last year.
Yataaaaaaa!!! ???? #ninjamoves to celebrate the @torayppo with @CarlaSuarezNava ?? pic.twitter.com/CCDl6tr1YV
— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) September 26, 2015Meanwhile, Cibulkova's post-Achilles' surgery form continues to improve. After ending last year at a career-best season-ending ranking of #11 the Slovak nearly fell out of the Top 60 after her spring surgery. Last week in Tokyo, she put together her first semifinal run since April of last year in Kuala Lumpur with victories over Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, Carla Suarez-Navarro and Ana Ivanovic (matching her 1st Round U.S. Open upset of the Serb). Cibulkova is back in the Top 40 on Monday, and very well could (again) be a super dangerous "Bracket Buster" come January in Melbourne (where she reached the final in '14).
===============================================
#SAPStatOfTheDay: @BelindaBencic has won four straight matches against Caroline Wozniacki! #WTA@SAPSportspic.twitter.com/fNiyoPW8JW
— WTA (@WTA) September 26, 2015FRESH FACES:Belinda Bencic/SUI & Denisa Allertova/CZE
...Bencic continues to make her mark on tour, putting up two more Top 10 wins (giving her eight in '15) in Tokyo over Muguruza and Wozniacki (she's 4-0 vs. the Dane this year!), as well as a victory over Sam Stosur. The 18-year old failed to climb into the Top 10 for the first time heading into this week, but she reached her fourth final of the season, losing to Aga Radwanska and, like so many of us, finding herself oohing, aahing and bowing down to the Pole after losing to her 2 & 2.
1st #WTA final! Denisa Allertova upsets Errani 7-5, 6-2 to reach #GuangzhouOpen final--> http://t.co/PdMukrwaNjpic.twitter.com/2FrU8s37j5
— WTA (@WTA) September 25, 201522-year old Czech Allertova had a career week, getting victories over Anna-Lena Friedsam and Bojana Jovanovski, as well as her biggest career win (over #2 Simona Halep, after getting a previous Top 10 victory over CSN at the U.S. Open) in Guangzhou, then following that up with a semifinal victory over Sara Errani to reach her maiden tour singles final. She lost to Jelena Jankovic, but it was all still a big next step after reaching a $75K challenger final in Prague last month. Allertova is up to a career-best #57 this week.
===============================================
DOWN:Simona Halep/ROU & Kristina Mladenovic/FRA
...losing in the Guangzhou quarterfinals to #74-ranked Denisa Allertova wasn't exactly the type of result Halep was looking for to follow up her U.S. Open semifinal implosion. The Swarmette will be be back at it in Wuhan this week.
Very bad match today but fought really hard &almost turned it around. It happens I guess. Gotta keep working hard&looking for the next ones!
— Kristina Mladenovic (@KikiMladenovic) September 22, 2015Meanwhile, in her first outing since her U.S. Open QF run, Mladenovic lost 0-6/6-3/3-6 in the 1st Round in Tokyo to Ana Konjuh, then pulled out of her scheduled doubles pairing with Belinda Bencic (they'd won the title in Washington in their previous -- and only other -- event together).
Movie coming soon... Charlie's Angels. ??
Cast: @KaPliskova@BelindaBencic@KikiMladenovic. ?? pic.twitter.com/7FfnYCJ7J4
— #TeamBelinda (@FanOfBencic) September 21, 2015===============================================
#tbt 2months ago!!! Best day of my life!!! ???????????????? Love you @MartinEmmrich !!! #TennisCouple#MMpic.twitter.com/Cf5xAfZLEi
— Michaëlla Emmrich (@MisaKrajicek) September 26, 2015ITF PLAYER:Michaella Krajicek/NED
...Krajicek had a pretty exciting summer, and she looks to be kicking off autumn with the intention of making it fairly memorable, too. The 26-year old Dutch vet -- who, in a somewhat forgotten note these days, won three WTA singles titles nearly a decade ago and reached the Top 30 in '08 after reaching the '07 QF at Wimbledon, where her brother Richard was the men's champ in '96 -- grabbed her largest singles title since 2006 with a win over big-serving Brit Naomi Broady in the $75K challenger final contested in Albuquerque this weekend. Recently married to ATP player Martin Emmrich, Krajicek had only played one other singles event since her July wedding, a semifinal run at a $25K challenger in Winnipeg before the U.S. Open. Last week, she qualified and notched wins over Vicky Duval and Danielle Lao before winning in a final over Broady that included a combined forty-nine aces and just one break of serve. 11-1 in ITF singles finals in her career (14-1 in all pro singles finals), Krajicek sees her singles ranking catapult from #435 to #242 as the new week begins.
My biggest singles title since 2006 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #TearsOfJoy ?????????????????????? #11thITFtitlepic.twitter.com/xfwDHXRwVl
— Michaëlla Emmrich (@MisaKrajicek) September 27, 2015===============================================
When the people on the table next to you get their food before you, even though you were there first ???? pic.twitter.com/cM6fWJ7Py8
— Katie Swan (@Katieswan99) September 24, 2015JUNIOR STARSKatie Swan/GBR, Xu Shilin/CHN & Viktoria Kuzmova/SVK
...16-year old Swan's week ended better than it began. The Australian Open girls runner-up and current junior #6, won her second challenger title of the season at the $10K event in Madrid. She defeated Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar in the final to end the Spaniard's attempt to win her second singles title in as many weeks after she'd struggled for nearly nine months this season to finally win her first (she's now 1-7 in '15 singles finals, though the ex-Texas A&M Aggie did win another doubles title).
Madrid $10,000 champ???????? #yeaaa@BritishTennispic.twitter.com/MqXyvCUeVB
— Katie Swan (@Katieswan99) September 27, 2015Former girls #1 Xu, the '14 Youth Olympics Gold Medalist and a girls semifinalist at this year's AO, reached her first career tour-level final with an appearance in the Guangzhou doubles championship match with 19-year old You Xiaodi (def. by Hingis/Mirza). Xu, 17, reached a $15K singles final in a challenger in Hong Kong at the beginning of August. 17-year old Slovak Kuzmova, who just won a share of the U.S. Open girls doubles crown (and def. #1-seeded Marketa Vondrousova in singles) won her third '15 singles challenger title at the $15K in Sharm El-Sheikh, defeating Brit Freya Christie in a 7-6(4)/7-5 final.
===============================================
On the way to Wuhan! we found our team name thanks to our supportive fans! "Santina" it is :) @MirzaSaniapic.twitter.com/aOxnTTMzqb
— Martina Hingis (@mhingis) September 27, 2015DOUBLES:Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza (SUI/IND)
...the Dream Team -- err, I mean "Santina"...but I think I'll stick with my nickname -- was at it again in Guangzhou, combining to grab their sixth title of the season to run their current winning streak to nine matches. They're 42-7 overall as a duo this season. The win in the final over the teenage Chinese pair of Xu Shilin & You Xiaodi gives Mirza twenty-nine career tour doubles titles, while Hingis has picked up forty-seven to go along with her forty-three in singles and four slam mixed titles.
Title number 6 together ?????? @mhingispic.twitter.com/ISCwiXXfEX
— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) September 26, 2015===============================================
1. Guangzhou SF - Jankovic d. Wickmayer 6-3/2-6/7-5
Guangzhou Final - Jankovic d. Allertova 6-2/6-0
...JJ saved a match point at 5-4 in the 3rd vs. Wickmayer, then added an overdue win to her ledger after going 1-9 in her last ten tour-level singles finals. This is the eleventh title won this year by a thirtysomething champion.
.@Jelena_Jankovic wins 1st title since 2013! Tops Allertova 6-2, 6-0 at #GuangzhouOpen-> http://t.co/sQ9s35NCNJ#WTApic.twitter.com/6SsVCHx8B5
— WTA (@WTA) September 26, 2015===============================================
2. Tokyo TPP QF - Wozniacki d. Kerber
...6-2/2-6/6-3. Wozniacki reaches her seventh semifinal of '15 (behind only Serena and Halep), but she still falls out of the Top 10 in the latest rankings. After just getting back in, so does Kerber.
7th Semifinal of 2015 for @CaroWozniacki! #WTAhttps://t.co/ekEo8V158q
— WTA (@WTA) September 25, 2015===============================================
3. Guangzhou 1st - Wickmayer d. Linette
...6-4/6-4. Days after defeating the Pole in the Japan Open final, Wickmayer does it again in China.
===============================================
4. Guangzhou QF - Allertova d. Halep 6-4/6-3
Seoul Final - Begu d. Sasnovich 6-3/6-1
...two sides of the Swarmette coin in Week 38.
A shock in Guangzhou as Denisa Allertova defeats top seed Simona Halep in straight sets to reach the semi-finals! pic.twitter.com/v2EXgUQfL3
— TennisTV (@TennisTV) September 24, 2015Denisa Allertova shocks World No.2 Simona Halep 6-4, 6-3! Reaches #GuangzhouOpen SFs--> http://t.co/PdMukrwaNj#WTAhttps://t.co/HCmSq2sYQL
— WTA (@WTA) September 24, 2015===============================================
5. Guangzhou 1st Rd. - Kuznetsova d. Hantuchova 6-4/7-5
Guangzhou 2nd Rd. - Jankovic d. Schiavone 7-5/4-6/6-4
Guangzhou QF - Jankovic d. Kuznetsova 6-2/7-5
...hmmm, was the Guangzhou draw just a photocopy of the one from the 2009 event?
===============================================
6. Wuhan 1st Rd - Pavlyuchenkova d. Kuznetsova
...6-0/6-1. Now, THAT's the current Sveta, not the '09 version. Of course, how could you tell? What day is it?
===============================================
7. Tokyo TPP SF - Bencic d. Wozniacki
...6-2/6-4. Caro must have nightmares about BB by now. She's 0-4 against her this year, losing six of six sets (and retiring in the middle of a seventh while down 3-1). Guess who could meet again in the Wuhan semis.
===============================================
8. Tokyo TPP 2nd Rd. - Bencic d. Stosur 5-7(5)/6-3/6-4
Wuhan 1st Rd. - Lucic-Baroni d. Stosur 6-2/6-1
...Sam misses Osaka.
9. Tokyo TPP QF - Cibulkova d. Ivanovic
...7-6(5)/6-3. The possible Part III of this match-up won't happen in Wuhan, as Madison Brengle has dumped out the Slovak in the 1st Round.
===============================================
10 Tokyo TPP 1st Rd. - Nara d. Doi
...7-6(1)/6-2. The doubles duo then went out and got a win over Kops-Jones/Spears.
===============================================
11. Seoul 1st Rd. - Date-Krumm d. Tomljanovic
...6-1/6-2. A week earlier, Tomljanovic took out the 44-year old in straights at the Japan Open. The Croat-Aussie's opponent age went down significantly in her next match, as she defeated 35-year old Schiavone in Wuhan qualifying. By the way, Seoul was where KDK won her only post-comeback tour singles crown in 2009... back when she was just 38. She turns 45 this week.
Happy birthday to my friend Kimiko Date-Krumm.I m a lucky person to know you.?????????????? pic.twitter.com/U0eWmfWkMI
— mandy minella (@mandyminella) September 27, 2015===============================================
12. Seoul Final - Arruabarena/Klepac d. Bertens/Larsson
...2-6/6-3 [10-6]. Arruabarrena won the Seoul doubles with Begu a year ago. This time they took separate paths to titles at the event.
===============================================
HM- Tokyo TPP 1st Rd. - Giorgi d. Garcia
...4-6/7-6(3)/6-3. Come now, we can't forget about the Pasty squandering a 6-4/3-1 lead, now can we?
===============================================
The '#Wuhan is really far away' mood pic.twitter.com/dnjUeTtnvW
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) September 24, 2015Watching the The Han Show tonight pic.twitter.com/xqxwtI9Nd2
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) September 26, 2015
1. Tokyo TPP Final - Aga Radwanska d. Bencic
...6-2/6-2. With Poland and Serbia (JJ) now added, eighteen different nations have produced WTA tour singles champions in 2015.
Please don't take my trophy ?????? #WTApic.twitter.com/acevZeBqkB
— WTA (@WTA) September 27, 2015===============================================
2. $75K Albuquerque Final - Michaella Krajicek d. Broady
...6-7(2)/7-6(3)/7-5. In the 2:42 match that included just ONE break of serve in thirty-six service games, Krajicek fired eighteen aces to Broady's thirty-one! There has to be a record -- or two -- in there somewhere.
Unlucky Naomi #Broady: 31 aces are not enough to gain the title in #Albuquerque 75K and the record. Lost 6-7,7-6,7-5 pic.twitter.com/EugaZBvPfo
— Fabio Valente (@FabioValenteTNN) September 27, 2015===============================================
3. Tokyo TPP Final - Muguruza/Suarez-Navarro d. Chan Hao-Ching/Chan Yung-Jan
...7-5/6-1. This loss ended the Chan sisters' seven-match winning streak. They'd been 17-2 in their previous nineteen matches, with both losses having come against Hingis/Mirza.
===============================================
4. Tokyo TPP 1st Rd. - Suarez-Navarro d. Kateryna Bondarenko 7-6(3)/6-2
Seoul 1st Rd. - Anna Schmiedlova d. Kristyna Pliskova 3-6/6-3/6-4
...K-Bond had handed CSN her eighth consecutive loss last week, as this win was the Spaniard's first since defeating -- you guessed it -- Svetlana Kuznetsova during the grass court season. She lost her next match to drop to 1-9 since falling to the Russian. So, I guess Kristyna Pliskova (1-8 after her loss in Seoul) hasn't been the only player dealing with that strain of the Kuznetsova Curse in recent months. Someone call the CDC!
===============================================
5. Tokyo TPP 1st Rd. - Aga Radwanska d. Vandeweghe
...6-3/6-3."Hey, does anyone want to interview me on the court again? Anyone? Hey!" (Crickets.)
===============================================
HM- $25K Bucha Final - Kristina Kucova d. Cadantu
...4-6/7-5(5)/6-0. It was that sort of weekend for sisters in singles finals, I guess. Kucova has won three ITF titles this season.
===============================================
There are always rules, but there are always exceptions to rules also
— victoria azarenka (@vika7) September 25, 2015This 105-year-old has just set a new sprinting record http://t.co/713oQxTLRBpic.twitter.com/pmz3vM9DK0
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) September 25, 2015
Caroline Wozniacki Went For A Jog In Tokyo And Ended Up At Statue Of Liberty http://t.co/ecnBRHq2lI via @espnW
— Susie Arth (@arthsusie) September 22, 2015
@Daria_gav with her cutest fan at @wuhanopentennis :) pic.twitter.com/ZKHCnw16HP
— Waqas RF (@Fed_436) September 26, 2015
**2015 WTA FINALS**
5...Serena Williams, USA (5-0)
5...Simona Halep, ROU (3-2)
5...Karolina Pliskova, CZE (1-4)
4...Angelique Kerber, GER (4-0)
4...BELINDA BENCIC, SUI (2-2)
**WTA FINALS SINCE 2012**
32 - Serena Williams (30-2)
22 - Maria Sharapova (11-11)
17 - Simona Halep (11-6)
17 - Victoria Azarenka (9-8)
15 - Angelique Kerber (7-8)
13 - Petra Kvitova (10-3)
13 - AGA RADWANSKA (8-5)
13 - Sara Errani (6-7)
**2015 FROM MATCH POINT DOWN TO WIN TITLE.**
Antwerp - Andrea Petkovic, GER (8 MP - 2nd/Van Uytvanck)
Rio - Sara Errani, ITA (3 MP - QF/Haddad)
Pattaya - Daniela Hantuchova, SVK (2 MP - SF/Erakovic)
's-Hertogenbosch - Camila Giorgi, ITA (3 MP - QF/Shvedova)
Toronto - Belinda Bencic, SUI (1 MP - 3rd/Lisicki)
Guangzhou - Jelena Jankovic, SRB (1 MP - SF/Wickmayer)
**WON 2015 TITLE WITHOUT LOSING A SET**
Hobart - Heather Watson, GBR
Bogota - Teliana Pereira, BRA
Bastad - Johanna Larsson, SWE
Bucharest - Anna Schmiedlova, SVK
Washington - Sloane Stephens, USA
Tokyo TPP - Aga Radwanska, POL
**ACTIVE SEASONS w/ A TITLE STREAKS**
13 years - Maria Sharapova, 2003-15
9 years - Serena Williams, 2007-15
8 years - Caroline Wozniacki, 2008-15
5 years - Petra Kvitova, 2011-15
5 years - Aga Radwanska, 2011-15
**2015 QUALIFIERS IN FINAL**
Hobart - Madison Brengle (24/USA - lost to Watson)
Prague - Lucie Hradecka (29/CZE - lost to Ka.Pliskova)
Baku - Patricia Maria Tig (21/ROU - lost to Gasparyan)
Seoul - Aliaksandra Sasnovich (21/BLR - lost to Begu)
**2015 LOW-RANKED FINALISTS**
#154 Patricia Maria Tig, ROU (Baku - lost to Gasparyan)
#136 ALIAKSANDRA SASNOVICH, BLR (Seoul - lost to Begu)
#130 Teliana Pereira, BRA (Bogota - def. Shvedova)
#112 Margarita Gasparyan, RUS (Baku - def. Tig)
#101 Jelena Ostapenko, LAT (Quebec City - lost to Beck)
**2015 WTA SF**
9...Serena Williams (5-3+L)
9...Simona Halep (4-4+W)
7...CAROLINE WOZNIACKI (3-4)
6...Karolina Pliskova (5-1)
6...Angelique Kerber (4-1+L)
6...Maria Sharapova (3-2+L)
6...ANNA SCHMIEDLOVA (3-3)
6...SARA ERRANI (2-4)
5...AGA RADWANSKA (2-3)
5...Elina Svitolina (1-4)
4...BELINDA BENCIC (4-0)
4...Timea Bacsinszky (3-1)
4...Petra Kvitova (3-1)
4...Carla Suarez-Navarro (3-1)
4...JELENA JANKOVIC (2-2)
**2015 LOW-RANKED SEMIFINALISTS**
#251 Virginie Razzano/FRA (Strasbourg SF)
#188 Anastasiya Sevastova/LAT (Florianpolis SF)
#181 Hsieh Su-Wei/TPE (Kuala Lumpur SF)
#158 Sesil Karatantcheva/BUL (Acapulco SF)
#157 Naomi Broady/GBR (Quebec City SF)
#154 Patricia Maria Tig/ROU (Baku RU)
#136 ALIAKSANDRA SASNOVICH/BLR (Seoul RU)
**2015 CONSECUTIVE DOUBLES TITLES**
3 - Mar/Apr - Hingis/Mirza (IW-Miami-Charleston)
2 - Jan - Bethanie Mattek-Sands (Sydney-AO)
2 - May - Babos/Mladenovic (Marrakech-Rome)
2 - Sep - HINGIS/MIRZA (US-Guangzhou)
**2015 DEFENDED DOUBLES TITLES**
Miami - Martina Hingis, 2014-15
Istanbul - Elina Svitolina, 2014-15
Baku - Alexandra Panova, 2014-15
Seoul - Lara Arruabarrena, 2014-15
**2015 DOUBLES TITLES - WD/MX**
10...MARTINA HINGIS (7/3)
7...SANIA MIRZA (7/0)
6...Bethanie Mattek-Sands (5/1)
4...Kristina Mladenovic (4/0)
4...Lucie Safarova (4/0)
3...Timea Babos (3/0)
4...Chan Hao-Ching (4/0)
3...Chan Yung-Jan (3/0)
**2015 DOUBLES TITLES - DUOS**
6...HINGIS/MIRZA, SUI/IND
4...Mattek-Sands/Safarova, USA/CZE
3...Babos/Mladenovic, HUN/FRA
3...CHAN/CHAN, TPE/TPE
2...Bertens/Larsson, NED/SWE
2...Kops-Jones/Spears, USA/USA
2...MUGURUZA/SUAREZ-NAVARRO, ESP/ESP
**ALL-TIME WTA SINGLES TITLES - #23-#38**
23.Caroline Wozniacki (23)*
24.Pam Shriver (21)
25t.Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere (19)
25t.Nancy Richey (19)
27t.Victoria Azarenka (17)*
27t.Petra Kvitova (17)*
27t.Mary Pierce (17)
27t.Kerry Melville (17)
31t.Ann Haydon Jones (16)
31t.Elena Dementieva (16)
33t.Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat (15)
33t.Agnieszka Radwanska (15)*
33t.Ana Ivanovic (15)
36t.Jennifer Capriati (14)
36t.Jelena Jankovic (14)*
36t.Zina Garrison (14)
**RECENT FED CUP JUNIOR (16s) FINALS**
2003 NED def. CAN
2004 ARG def. CAN
2005 POL def. FRA
2006 BLR def. RUS
2007 AUS def. POL
2008 USA def. GBR
2009 RUS def. GER
2010 RUS def. CHN
2011 AUS def. CAN
2012 USA def. RUS
2013 RUS def. AUS
2014 USA def. SVK
**"Ms. BACKSPIN" WINNERS**
2001 Jennifer Capriati / USA
2002 Serena Williams / USA
2003 Justine Henin-Hardenne / BEL
2004 Maria Sharapova / RUS
2005 Kim Clijsters / BEL
2006 Amelie Mauresmo / FRA
2007 Justine Henin / BEL
2008 Cara Black & Liezel Huber / ZIM-USA
2009 Italian Fed Cup Team
2010 Francesca Schiavone / ITA
2011 Petra Kvitova / CZE
2012 Serena Williams / USA
2013 Serena Williams / USA
2014 Czech Fed Cup Team
15yrs ago today @Venuseswilliams claimed #SYDNEY2000 gold!
Can you name other famous medallists?
@TennisAustraliapic.twitter.com/mjvelr42E9
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) September 26, 2015Meet the #WTARisingStars Invitational Asia-Pacific nominees!
VOTE--> http://t.co/kYYJ7WRS2m#WTAFinals
https://t.co/KOD8SJmuk5
— WTA (@WTA) September 25, 2015Meet the #WTARisingStars Invitational Rest of World nominees!
VOTE--> http://t.co/kYYJ7WRS2m#WTAFinals
https://t.co/2Zome0gV8f
— WTA (@WTA) September 25, 2015There are just 50 days to go until the #FedCup Final between Czech Republic and Russia in Prague on 14-15 November! pic.twitter.com/mLilOfOlkI
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) September 25, 2015The Russian team for the 2015 #FedCup Final is @MariaSharapova@EVesnina001@katemakarova1@nastiapav#CZERUSpic.twitter.com/de9etFUO7W
— Fed Cup (@FedCup) September 25, 2015
WUHAN, CHINA (Premier $2.2m/HCO)
14 Final: Kvitova d. Bouchard
14 Doubles Final: Hingis/Pennetta d. C.Black/Garcia
15 Top Seeds: Halep/Sharapova
=============================
=QF=
Azarenka d. #10 A.Radwanska
#3 Kvitova d. #8 Ka.Pliskova
#4 Wozniacki d. #5 Muguruza
#11 Bencic d. #2 Sharapova
=SF=
#3 Kvitova d. Azarenka
#11 Bencic d. #4 Wozniacki
=FINAL=
#3 Kvitova d. #11 Bencic
...Kvitova is looking to recapture her '14 magic, while Bencic could notch three more Top 20 wins without winning the title.
Back on this court with happy memories from last year @wuhanopentennis?? pic.twitter.com/D15oAEQYND
— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) September 26, 2015
TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN (Int'l $227K/HCO)
14 Final: Knapp d. Jovanovski
14 Doubles Final: Krunic/Siniakova d. Gasparyan/Panova
15 Top Seeds: Beck/Witthoeft
=============================
=SF=
#7 Ostapenko d. (Q) Kania
(Q) Gasparyan d. #4 Larsson
=FINAL=
#7 Ostapenko d. (Q) Gasparyan
...the Latvian teen could get another shot at the woman who beat her in the Quebec City final -- Annika Beck -- in the QF. Could that be the de facto final for this event?
JUNIOR FED CUP FINALS (16s) - Madrid; RCO
14 Final: USA d. SVK
=============================
Pick: United States
And, finally...
#WTA CEO Stacey Allaster resigning for personal reasons. Thank You for an incredible 6 years! http://t.co/v5xSm16anqpic.twitter.com/xotTmu5PMw
— WTA (@WTA) September 22, 2015Happy Birthday @SerenaWilliams from the #WTA! http://t.co/tqO7j6oozj ?????? pic.twitter.com/xkQJvCO7wJ
— WTA (@WTA) September 26, 2015Happy Birthday @Simona_Halep from the #WTA! http://t.co/8Cvm76uXMU ?????? pic.twitter.com/ohUPXOpvdl
— WTA (@WTA) September 27, 2015@Simona_Halep& @MonicaAce93 share a birthday celebration during the @wuhanopentennis players party. #WTA#Wuhanpic.twitter.com/Sn6uCx66vw
— Tennis Takes (@TennisTakes) September 27, 2015Finally I can sing this song for real!!! 22!!!! Happy Birthday to meeeee!!!! ????????2?2? pic.twitter.com/9JA2RrAsb7
— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) September 26, 2015Moving on up!
@Flavia_Pennetta reaches career-high ranking of World No.7--> http://t.co/IVbYAoWxrh#WTApic.twitter.com/R3BeN82tu1
— WTA (@WTA) September 21, 2015Grazie @flavia_pennetta per essere venuta a trovarci al Padiglione #CocaCola! #FlaviaOpenCokepic.twitter.com/aDq7MCGsM4
— Coca-Cola Italia (@CocaColaITA) September 27, 2015All for now.
Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910. American author, lecturer and humorist. Writer of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). Twain's writing and large personality made him a public figure and, ultimately, an American icon. A renowned traveler, Twain entertained fans around the world with his opinionated wit.
Hmmm, are the Tennis Gods trying to tell us something? Are they drunk on power, being their usual annoyingly smug we-know-everything-but-you-know-nothing-nyah-nyah-nyah selves, or just plain crazy? 
But the biggest news around Backspin HQ this was that the our old friend Carl dropped by for a visit. In between elking trips, our lumbering Backspinner-hating, malevolent entity-despising, squish-happy, sometimes-contributor agreed to answer a few burning questions regarding his far-too-long absence from these parts. So I'll drop in his answers as the Week 46 (yikes!) recap moves long.
McKenzie has been putting up some very good results over the back half of '15, but this is the first time SHE was the "big name" still standing at the end of the week. This season she reached the U.S. Open QF (she'd gotten an early win over Wimbledon runner-up Anna Blinkova), the Easter Bowl SF (she'd defeated soon-to-be U.S. Open runner-up Sonya Kenin) and the Pan-American Championships QF (def. Kayla Day, who just recently claimed the Yucatan Cup championship). 
In ITF action, Veronica Cepede Royg, who won the doubles at last week's WTA 125 Series event in Carlsbad, took the singles title at a $25K challenger in Santiago, Chile. The 23-year from Paraguay defeated Julieta Estable, Daniela Seguel, Victoria Bosio and Germany's Anne Schaefer in a 7-5 3rd set in the final. It's Cepede's fourteenth career ITF crown, but her first since April '14.
