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1 week ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
The annual transition from clay to grass on the Hologic WTA Tour can feel like a sudden reset. Out go the dusty orange courts and grinding rallies; in come manicured lawns and lightning-quick reflexes. This year's first grass-court champions showed just how vital hand skills are on the surface, slicing, drop-shotting and volleying their way to the trophies.
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2 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
LONDON -- When Karolina Muchova stepped onto the courts at Roland Garros two weeks ago, ending her latest injury layoff, one element of her game stood out. Her signature sliced backhand, once used to vary pace, had become her sole option off that wing in a first-round win over Alycia Parks. It didn't work against Parks, but grass courts have proved more amenable to the strategy.
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2 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
LONDON -- When Karolina Muchova stepped onto the courts at Roland Garros two weeks ago, ending her latest injury layoff, one element of her game stood out. Her signature sliced backhand, once used to vary pace, had become her sole option off that wing in a first-round loss to Alycia Parks. It didn't work against Parks, but grass courts have proved more amenable to the strategy.
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2 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
After two dramatic weeks in Paris, the second Grand Slam of the season ended with World No. 2 Coco Gauff rallying past No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Roland Garros final, widening the gap between the tour’s top two and the rest of the field. Sabalenka holds onto the No. 1 ranking, raising her total from 10,683 to 11,553 points. But with her second Grand Slam title, Gauff is closing in, boosting her tally from 6,863 to 8,083 and trimming the gap from 3,820 to 3,470.
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1 month ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
As this year's edition of Roland Garros approached, French women's tennis was in need of a boost. At the end of March, Caroline Garcia fell out of the Top 100, leaving Varvara Gracheva as the country's sole representative in that echelon -- the lowest number of Top 100 Frenchwomen since 1981. Former WTA Finals champion Garcia announced her imminent retirement last week. Roland Garros: Draws | Scores | 411A pair of wild cards, Elsa Jacquemot and Lois Boisson, have provided a ray of light.
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1 month ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
Last week on the Hologic WTA Tour, one familiar champion ended a title drought while another captured her first career trophy, all as players made their final preparations for Roland Garros. Elena Rybakina captured her ninth career title at the WTA 500 event in Strasbourg, her first tournament win since Stuttgart in April 2024. The victory lifts her one spot in the PIF WTA Rankings, up to No. 11. In Rabat, 19-year-old Maya Joint made a statement of her own.
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1 month ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
This week's edition of the PIF WTA Rankings marks a sea change in the Top 5 following the conclusion of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the year's second clay-court WTA 1000 event:Coco Gauff, the runner-up in Rome, rises one spot to No. 2, matching her previous career high. She previously held the No. 2 ranking for 10 weeks during the summer of 2024. Jessica Pegula moves up one place to No. 3, also equaling her career-best ranking.
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1 month ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
ROME -- Serving for the match at 30-30 against Elise Mertens in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia fourth round, Diana Shnaider did something extraordinary. Rome: Draws | Scores | Order of playStretched out wide, the No. 13 seed casually flicked a drop shot cross-court. From Shnaider's position, outside the tramlines and far behind the baseline, it was hardly a textbook-correct shot choice -- let alone with the angle she attempted.
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1 month ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
ROME -- Marta Kostyuk’s third-round match against Leylah Fernandez at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia featured two of the most natural talents on the Hologic WTA Tour. Several of their more creative exchanges had the appreciative Pietrangeli crowd visibly delighted before Kostyuk emerged a 6-4, 6-2 winner. Before Sunday, the last time they had met was nine years ago in Les Petits As, the premier U14 tournament in the world.
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1 month ago | 
wtatennis.com | Alex Macpherson
ROME -- Marta Kostyuk and Daria Kasatkina are no strangers to facing off. Their second-round match at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia was their seventh encounter since 2020. But this time, something felt different. Kasatkina had won their previous three matches, all of which ended without a handshake. In light of the war in Ukraine, Kostyuk and several Ukrainian players have chosen not to shake hands with Russian opponents.
