WTA week of 2/1; Abu Dhabi 500, Transylvania & Ostrava 250s

Very disrespectful, no Ostrava pic.

HAf-5pFWEAAdDtM


HAgD36vWIAA4Aef
 
6-0 5-2 and Emma has stopped chasing down drop shots.

Sorana killed her especially with hard DTM ROS + Emma’s FH was error prone, missing wide or long.

Some sort of physical issue.

2 MPs!
 
If anyone watched the interviews after the matches this week, Sorana looks super fit whereas Emma kept mentioning how the turnaround from matches was tiring even though she had been winning in straight sets before the SF. Something tells me she's only got the stamina to play one long 3 setter and then she's gassed. I couldn't help but pick up on those comments when she had been winning comfortably - at the time I just wondered why she was even mentioning it as that should be normal service by now. Aside from this ER played very aggressively this week overall, so there are certainly positives to take away.

Congratulations to Cirstea for winning her 4th WTA title, this one coming in her final year on tour. She also won Cleveland last year so I'm really wondering why she's planning to retire this year when she's playing some of her best tennis at 35 years of age.

Hopefully both play in Doha but I won't be surprised if one or both withdraw and we see them in Dubai perhaps.
 
D-Lite said:
If anyone watched the interviews after the matches this week, Sorana looks super fit whereas Emma kept mentioning how the turnaround from matches was tiring even though she had been winning in straight sets before the SF. Something tells me she's only got the stamina to play one long 3 setter and then she's gassed. I couldn't help but pick up on those comments when she had been winning comfortably - at the time I just wondered why she was even mentioning it as that should be normal service by now. Aside from this ER played very aggressively this week overall, so there are certainly positives to take away.

Congratulations to Cirstea for winning her 4th WTA title, this one coming in her final year on tour. She also won Cleveland last year so I'm really wondering why she's planning to retire this year when she's playing some of her best tennis at 35 years of age.

Hopefully both play in Doha but I won't be surprised if one or both withdraw and we see them in Dubai perhaps.
Click to expand...
I was thinking the same, Cirstea is in great form, why would she retire? Possibly plans to start a family in which case would be understandable.
Here's hoping she pulls a Pennetta and wins a Slam in her final season
 
ScottleeSV said:
Boulter wins back some British pride, 5-7 6-2 6-1. 4th title and back into the top 100 at no 84. Also 29th in the race.
Click to expand...
Great result for Boulter but this entry list was probably weaker than some WTA 125K events. Not to take anything away from Katie, these wins and the title are much needed for her confidence and ranking but it looks similar to her Nottingham 2023 title where she mainly played fellow Brits. Hopefully we will see her back in the top 32 by the end of 2026. She seems motivated and she will look to win a lot of points on upcoming HC swing and then the grass come summer time.
 
Moose Malloy said:
20 year old Czech qualifier Bejlek wins a 500. Loses only one set over her 7 matches. Beat the 2, 3, and 7 seeds. I see she's only 5'2", is she the shortest player in the top 50?
Click to expand...
She is not yet(!) in top 50, but there is definitely nobody in current top 50 that is shorter than her. I have seen claims "she is the shortest WTA-tour player" but that is so flexible expression that it can mean different things. But if we think about all the players with WTA-ranking, I seriously doubt she is the very shortest.

It was a pleasure seeing player like Bejlek win a major tournament after all the towers dictating in the last rounds of AO. I also enjoyed Boulter getting back to form and winning right away. There is something about Katie... must be the backhand! :giggle:
 
HarveyPitnik said:
She is not yet(!) in top 50, but there is definitely nobody in current top 50 that is shorter than her. I have seen claims "she is the shortest WTA-tour player" but that is so flexible expression that it can mean different things. But if we think about all the players with WTA-ranking, I seriously doubt she is the very shortest.

It was a pleasure seeing player like Bejlek win a major tournament after all the towers dictating in the last rounds of AO. I also enjoyed Boulter getting back to form and winning right away. There is something about Katie... must be the backhand! :giggle:
Click to expand...
She will be ranked 38 on Monday.
 
Just watching the Alexandrova-Bejlek replay, and my goodness is Bejlek impressive. 5'2 pocket rocket. I also can't help but see the Rafa influence in her game. She's got that high lefty high forehand finish down pat.

What I also like is that not only is she a great defensive retriever, she doesn't hesitate in pulling the trigger when given the chance. And she seems to be able to place that forehand wherever she wants.

looks like a star in the making.
 
spystud said:
Alexandrova won the doubles title with Maya Joint, so she can't be mad at her week.
Click to expand...
Her last 6 WTA finals have been 500 events and she's only won 1 of them. Hopefully she is able to make a major QF soon, there really seems to be a ceiling for Alexandrova right now and she's essentially becoming a gatekeeper at 500 level and a good seed to face in R3/R4 of majors.
 
D-Lite said:
Great result for Boulter but this entry list was probably weaker than some WTA 125K events. Not to take anything away from Katie, these wins and the title are much needed for her confidence and ranking but it looks similar to her Nottingham 2023 title where she mainly played fellow Brits. Hopefully we will see her back in the top 32 by the end of 2026. She seems motivated and she will look to win a lot of points on upcoming HC swing and then the grass come summer time.
Click to expand...
Katie is pretty tall and her body seems built for tennis, not fragile like Harry. Surprised she has not won more. Glad she was able to win this one.
 
Gonzo_style said:
I was thinking the same, Cirstea is in great form, why would she retire? Possibly plans to start a family in which case would be understandable.
Here's hoping she pulls a Pennetta and wins a Slam in her final season
Click to expand...
She certainly is capable but unfortunately her time is up. Too many players are playing well, it will have to be a WTA special for her to win a slam.
 
Well Lauren Davis is officially retired, and I'm 99% she was the shortest player in the WTA when active.

As for Boulter, we need to see her face someone decent. Korpash is laughably bad and it's insane she made a final.

MurraysMetalHip said:
She had to play against someone halfway decent.
Click to expand...
This! Raducanu was doing what Boulter did, until she finally faced a solid player.

Gonzo_style said:
I was thinking the same, Cirstea is in great form, why would she retire? Possibly plans to start a family in which case would be understandable.
Here's hoping she pulls a Pennetta and wins a Slam in her final season
Click to expand...
The finish line seems to help players a lot. Look at Danielle Collins a few years ago (when she was SUPPOSED to retire at the end of the season), and even Wrawrinka this year so far.
 
robyrolfo said:
Well Lauren Davis is officially retired, and I'm 99% she was the shortest player in the WTA when active.

As for Boulter, we need to see her face someone decent. Korpash is laughably bad and it's insane she made a final.


This! Raducanu was doing what Boulter did, until she finally faced a solid player.


The finish line seems to help players a lot. Look at Danielle Collins a few years ago (when she was SUPPOSED to retire at the end of the season), and even Wrawrinka this year so far.
Click to expand...
Collins only had good results in the USA, maybe they didn't want to test her, their blonde beauty?
 
Fintft said:
Collins only had good results in the USA, maybe they didn't want to test her, their blonde beauty?
Click to expand...
Well yes, Miami is in the USA, but it's still a Masters 1000.

I'm just saying that it seemed like she had already peaked and was in a steady decline, but he retirement announcement suddenly saw her surge back into the top 10.
 
You can hold a ranking of 16-32 and not appear to do an awful lot. Just consistantly survive until say, Wednesday, stay off the show courts, pick up your cheque, stay away from other seeds at majors, Bob's your uncle. Stress free life. As long as you can take care of the riff-raff early on in the draw. Emma's ok at that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

spystud
WTA week of 2/3; Abu Dhabi 500 & Transylvania 250
2
Replies
77
Views
2K
tennis24x7
T
spystud
WTA week of 2/5; Abu Dhabi 500 & Transylvania 250
2 3
Replies
134
Views
6K
robyrolfo
robyrolfo
JJGUY
WTA week of 02/05 - Abu Dhabi (500) and Linz (250)
2 3
Replies
122
Views
6K
robyrolfo
robyrolfo
spystud
WTA week of 7/31; Washington DC 500 & Prague 250
2 3
Replies
130
Views
5K
spystud
spystud
spystud
WTA week of 8/17; Monterrey 500 & Cleveland 250
2
Replies
67
Views
1K
Fintft
Fintft
Back
Top