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1 week ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
It’s been 10 and one-half months since Aryna Sabalenka played an official match on clay. That was the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and resulted in a disappointing loss to teenager Mirra Andreeva. As you can imagine, after 13 hard-court tournaments (and one on grass in Berlin), the World No. 1 is just itching to get out there at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix to get this party on European red clay started.
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1 week ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
She recently won two WTA 1000 events, Dubai and Indian Wells -- and scored back-to-back victories over the World Nos. 1 and 2 -- in the span of one month. So it’s understandable that Mirra Andreeva might be getting a little ahead of herself at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. The winner gets 500 PIF WTA Ranking points and over 142,000 Euros -- and a sleek, shiny Porsche Macan Turbo car, which is displayed on the court in Stuttgart.
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1 week ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
Beatriz Haddad Maia was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1996, the year after countryman Gustavo Kuerten turned professional -- and the year before he lit up Paris by winning his first title at Roland Garros. “Guga” Kuerten would be crowned French Open champion three times in five years, memorably carving a heart in the red clay on the way to his final win in 2001.
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2 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
Clutching the vibrant crystal trophy late Sunday afternoon, Jessica Pegula ran through the usual on-court thank-yous -- to Credit One Charleston Open owner, Ben Navarro, tournament director Bob Moran, the ball kids, the enthusiastic crowd. And then she paused and shifted into a heartfelt reminiscence. “I grew up in Hilton Head, South Carolina, going to Smith Stearns Tennis Academy,” Pegula said, voice cracking, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes.
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2 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
Perseverance is the theme underlining Sunday’s final at the Credit One Charleston Open. No. 1 seed Jessica Pegula lost in the semifinals here the past two years, falling to Belinda Bencic and Daria Kasatkina. But now, in her eighth appearance at this WTA 500 event, she’s into her first final. It required every ounce of her ability to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in a brawling, banging two-hour-plus match that featured 13 breaks of serve.
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2 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
Whatever the result in Friday’s final quarterfinal matchup, it was going to deliver a third American into Saturday’s semifinals. In the end, Amanda Anisimova won seven of eight points in a tiebreak and took out hometown favorite Emma Navarro 7-5, 7-6 (1) at the Credit One Charleston Open. The last time three Americans reached the semifinals at this event came in 2003. Justine Henin defeated Serena Williams in the Family Circle Cup final, ending her searing 21-0 start to the season.
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3 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
When Monday’s first three singles matches on stadium court at the Credit One Charleston Open finished quickly, the call came for a first-time doubles team. But this wasn’t just any thrown-together combination -- it was the No. 3 and No. 4-ranked players on the Hologic WTA Tour: Erin Routliffe, who paired with Gabriela Dabrowski to win last year’s WTA Finals in Riyadh and the 2023 US Open. And Jelena Ostapenko, who won last year’s US Open with Lyudmyla Kichenok.
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3 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
It’s transition time. After those fast hard courts of Indian Wells and Miami, it’s open season on clay. It all starts Monday on the green dirt at the Credit One Charleston Open, the year’s first Hologic WTA Tour 500 event on clay -- and voted last year’s WTA 500 Tournament of the Year. It’s a loaded field, featuring four Top 10 players -- No. 4 Jessica Pegula, No. 5 Madison Keys, No. 9 Zheng Qinwen and No. 10 Emma Navarro -- and nine of the Top 20. The 16 seeded players received first-round byes.
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4 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
MIAMI -- Aryna Sabalenka has been No. 1 in the PIF WTA Rankings for more than five months running and just overtook Madison Keys in the Race to the WTA Finals in Riyadh. She’s played six tournaments this year and Saturday’s (3 p.m. ET) Miami Open championship match will be her fourth final. Can anyone stop this roaring, thundering avalanche threatening to overwhelm the rest of women’s tennis? Jessica Pegula, you’re up next. Thanks for accepting this assignment -- good luck.
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4 weeks ago | 
wtatennis.com | Greg Garber
MIAMI -- On Tuesday night, two welcome blasts from the past graced the Miami Open -- Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro. Twenty-four-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic, like a giddy schoolboy, couldn’t take enough pictures. On Wednesday afternoon, the bar rose even higher, for Uncle Toni Nadal appeared in the Hard Rock Stadium box of wild card Alexandra Eala.
