Monday, November 10, 2025

Rybakina crashes the party--let the 2026 preparations begin

Just over a week before the start of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Elena Rybakina hadn't made it into the top 8, but she did make it--just in time--and then went on to run over the field and win the event. The 2022 Wimbledon champion hasn't had an easy time of it lately, but--other than having a bit of a problem with her shoulder--you wouldn't have known it last week. Among her accomplishments were: defeating Amanda Anisiova in straight sets, allowing Iga Swiatek only seven games (and delivering a bagel, usually Swiatek's signature), and defeating world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets (and delivering a mini bagel in the second set tiebreak) in the final.

Rybankina had been dealing with some health issues, which went away, but now they've returned, so she'll be getting some health checks done during the off-season. We can only imagine what she'll play like when she's 100% healthy. A healthy Rybakina is a threat at all times.

Sabalenka, Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Rybakina have all had an interesting season. The world number 1 sneaked a major victory in toward the end of the season, at the U.S. Open, at which she was the defending champion, but fell short in finals at the Australian Open (at which she was also the defending champion), the French Open, and the WTA finals.  Overlooked is the fact that Sabalenka made it the final in Paris, an achievement that was probably not expected by many fans and observers. Sabalenka also won Brisbane, Miami and Madrid, and ended the year as the top-ranked player in the world for the second consecutive time. 

Former world number 1 Swiatek had a most unusual year. After parting ways with long-time coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and hiring Wim Fissette, she went through much of 2025 without winning a title, and that losing run included her failure to win a fifth French Open title (she was the defending champion). Then she did what hardly anyone was expecting--she won Wimbledon, The Polish star would go on to win both Cincinnati and Seoul. 

Coco Gauff won the French Open, and she also reached the finals of both Madrid and Rome. She would go on to win Wuhan, a 1000 event, in October. Gauff was the defending champion at the WTA Finals, but did not make it out of her round robin group after losing to both Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka.  The world number 3 has continued to struggle with her serve.

Of course, in 2026, tennis fans will also be looking at Zheng Qinwen, Mirra Andreeva and Jasmine Paolini to continue to add to their trophy collections. Paolini didn't have the kind of season that she had in 2024, in which her singles break-out was dramatic, but Fighting Italians are nothing, if not determined and scrappy. It will also be interesting to keep an eye on Ekaterina Alexandrova, who--at age 30, joined the top 10 for the first time in the career. And then there's Jessica Pegula, known as Ms. Consistency, and the remarkable Amanda Anisimova, who took the long road to get into elite section of the WTA, but who is now number 4 in the world.  

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Thursday, November 6, 2025

Down to four

Today, world number 1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka booked her spot in the WTA Finals in Riyahd when she defeated defending champion Coco Gauff 7-6, 6-2. Gauff led through most of the first set, but Sabalenka caught up and took the set in a tiebreak.

Also advancing to the semifinals today was 5th seed Jessica Pegula, who defeated 8th seed Jasmine Paolini  6-2, 6-3. Paolini, along with Madison Keys and Mirra Andreeva, have has been dealing with a viral illness all week. Keys, in fact, withdrew yesterday from what was, for her, a dead rubber. And Andreeva--a competitor in doubles but an alternate in singles--passed on her chance to play singles when Keys withdrew. The scores in both singles and doubles reflect--at least to some extent--how bad these players were feeling.

Here are the final round robin stats:

Stefanie Graf Group
Aryna Sabalenk (1): 3-0
Jessica Pegula (5): 2-1
Coco Gauff (3): 1-2
Jasmine Paolini (8): 0-3

Serena Williams Group
Elena Rybakina (6): 2-0 (3-0 in terms of winning all matches)
Amanda Anisimova (4): 2-1
Iga Swiatek (2): 1-2
Madison Keys (7): 0-2

Here is the semifinal draw:

Aryna Sabalenka (1) v. Amanda Anisimova (4)
Jessica Pegula (5) v. Elena Rybakina (6)

U.S. players comprised 50% of the total draw, and they comprise 50% of the semifinal draw.

Here are the final doubles round robin stats:

Martina Navratilova Group
Hsieh/Ostapenko (6): 3-0
Kudermetova/Mertens (4): 2-1
Errani/Paolini (1): 1-2
Muhammad/Schuurs (8): 03

Liezel Huber Group
Siniakova/Townsend (2): 3-0
Babos/Stefanie (7): 2-1
Dabrowski/Routliffe (3): 1-2
Andreeva/Shnaider (5): 0-3 

Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe are the defending champions. 

Here is the doubles semifinal draw:

Hsieh/Ostapenko (6) v. Babos/Stefanie (7)
Kudermetova/Mertens (4) v. Siniakova/Townsend (2) 

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Tuesday, November 4, 2025

WTA Finals--Rybakina into the semifinals, Sabalenka is close

I enjoy the WTA Finals round robin play. This is the only time during the season that we get to see round robin competition, and it's a nice change. The third round is approaching, and here are the current singles group stats:

Stefanie Graff Group
Aryna Sabalenka (1): 2-0
Coco Gauff (3): 1-1
Jessica Pegula (5): 1-1
Jasmine Paolini (8): 0-2

Serena Williams Group
Elena Rybakina (6): 2-0
Iga Swiatek (2): 1-1
Amanda Anisimova (4): 1-1
Madison Keys (7): 0-2

Rybakina advanced to the semifinals yesterday, and--if Sabalenka had beaten Pegula in straight sets today--she, too, would have advanced. But Pegula took a set off of her, so the battle continues. Rybakina plays Keys tomorrow--more significant--Swiatek plays Anisimova. The winner of that match will advance to the semifinals. 

In doubles, here are the current group stats:

Martina Navratilova Group:
Hsieh/Ostapenko (6): 2-0
Kudermetova/Mertens (4): 1-1
Errani/Paolini (1): 1-1
Muhammad/Schuurs: 0-2

Liezel Huber Group:
Siniakova/Townsend (2): 2-0
Dabrowski/Routliffe (3): 1-1
Andreeva/Shnaider (5): 0-2 

Hsieh Su-wei and Aļona Ostapenko have advanced to the semfinals.  

Coco Gauff is the defending champion in singles, and Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe are the defending champions in doubles. 

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Saturday, November 1, 2025

WTA Finals--Bosses boss on day 1

Both 2023 champion Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina came out in peak fighting mode in Riyadh today, as round robin play commenced. 2nd seed  Swiatek defeated 7th seed Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2. Swiatek had a first serve win percentage of 82, which pretty much says it all. The match was finished in just over an hour. And 6th seed Rybakina, facing Amanda Anisimova for the first time, defeated the 4th seed in just under an hour.

In doubles, top seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini defeated 8th seeds Asia Muhammad and Demi Shuurs 6-3, 6-3. And 6th seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Alona Ostapenko defeated 4th seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens 1-6, 7-5, 10-5.

Former WTA stars Daniela Hantuchova, Martina Hingis and Garbine Muguruza were on hand for the ceremonial part of the proceedings. Both Hingis and Muguruza won the WTA Finals, and Hingus won it in both singles and doubles (twice). Last year, Muguruza was named Tournament Director of the Finals. 

I wasn't that comfortable seeing Hantuchova there. She and Laura Robson were my favorite commentating team (they were terribly funny, and brought out the best in each other), but after Hantuchova's remarks about the WTA, it seems to e that a more appropriate representative (an advocate, for example) could be found. 

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Sunday, October 26, 2025

Swinging into the Finals

Back in the day, the Asian swing was a relatively short season. In 2011, Aga Radwanska added considerably to her tennis resume when she won what was called the Asian Double--Tokyo and Beijing. And while there have always been smaller (now the WTA 250 events) tournaments that were held during the post-U.S. Open period, those used to be the big two.

Now, however, there are three 500 events--Seoul, Ningbo and Tokyo, and two 1000 events--Beijing and Wuhan. This year, Seoul, Ningbo and Tokyo were won by Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina and Belinda Bencic, respectively. The (finally) rapidly rising Amanda Anisimova won Beijing, and Coco Gauff was the champion in Wuhan. 

But there's barely time for the top players to breathe before they're off to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for tthe 2025 WTA Finals. Only eight players can qualify for the Finals, and this year, they are:

Aryna Sabalenka (1)
Iga Swaitek (2)
Coco Gauff (3)
Amanda Anisimova (4)
Jessica Pegula (5)
Madison Keys (8)
Jasmine Paolini (6)
Elena Rybakina (7)*

The WTA Finals, which begin on November 1, will be played on a hard court in round robin form. Coco Gauff is the defending champion. 

There are also eight doubles teams that have qualified:

Sara Errani & Jasmine Paolini
Taylor Townsend & Katerina Siniakova
Gabriela Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe
Elise Mertens & Veronika Kudermetova
Diana Shnaider &  Mirra Andreeva
Hsieh Su-wei & Alona Ostapenko
Timea Babos & Luisa Stefani
Asia Muhammad & Demi Schuurs

Dabrowski and Routliffe are the defending champions. 
 
There will also be alternates available to play at the event.

*Rybakina had to withdraw from the Tokyo tournament right before her semifinal match  because of an issue with her back. 

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Sunday, September 7, 2025

My U.S. Open top 10

 My top 10 U.S. Open occurrences, in ascending order:

10. The power of a bad memory: “I just tried to not focus on the fact that I'm 2-4 or 0-2 down. I just tried to focus on every point, every shot that I make, on my plan, and my tasks on court. Then, yeah, I kind of forgot the score.” Those are the words of  new U.S. Open junior champion Jeline Vandromme of Belgium. The 14th seed, she won the title when she defeated qualifier Lea Nilsson 7-6(2), 6-2. And Nilsson's run was impressive. She had to win two qualifying rounds before knocking out three seeded players on her way to the final.

9. If you can make it here...: Until this year's U.S. Open, people who aren't serious tennis fans had probably never heard of Ann Li. However, on her way to the round of 16, the Pennsylvania native  took out 16th seed Belinda Bencic. She lost to 4th seed Jessica Pegula, but it was a very good run.

8, Twirling into the future: 45-year-old Venus Williams, a two-time U.S. Open singles champion and two-time U.S. Open doubles champion, entered the doubles competition with new partner Leylah Fernandez, and the pair took out two seeded teams on their way to the round of 16. They fell to top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, but it was fun to watch them, and to watch Fernandez make a point of getting her partner to do her famous twirl.

7. Hard (court) times:  6th seed and Australian Open champion Madison Keys lost a close first round match to Mexico's Renata Zarazua, who needed three hours and ten minutes to defeat her, 7-6(10), 6-7(3), 7-5. 

6. Yui makes it three: Top seed Yui Kamiji won her third U.S. Open wheelchair singles title at this year's tournament. Having already defeated six-time U.S. Open champion Diede de Groot in the quarterfinals, she defeated 3rd seed Li Xiaohui 0-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the final. Li and her partner, Wang Ziying--the 2nd seeds--won the doubles title, defeating the unseeded team of de Groot and Zhu Zhenzhen 6-4, 7-6(4).

5. Point made--I hope: The U.S. Open's ridiculous mixed doubles "competition"--a glorified exhibition event, paired all manner of players with each other, while omitting most actual mixed doubles and doubles specialists. Fortunately, a couple of those specialists--Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the defending champions--won the event. This is the pair's second U.S. Open mixed doubles title, and their third title overall.

4. Hard to say goodbye: Both Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia retired from professional tennis at this year's U.S. Open. The two-time Wimbledon champion and the flying Frenchwoman--a two-time French Open doubles champion (with an outstanding singles record)--will be missed by fans and peers alike.

3. The hottest show in town: In 2009, Flavia Pennetta lit up the U.S. Open when she saved six match points with winners in her round of 16 match against Vera Zvonareva. In 2025, for Barbora Krejcikova, this became a "hold my Pilsner Urquell" moment: The Czech star, also in the round of 16, saved eight match points with winners in her match against Taylor Townsend. In the previous round, she had defeated Emma Navarro after going down 0-3 in the third set. Because of injury and rehab, Krejcikova had played only twelve matches during the season at this point, and she had saved match points in three of them.

2. Sweet repeat: 3rd seeds Gaby Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, who won the U.S. Open doubles title in 2023, did it again this year, defeating top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in an extremely well-played and exciting match. The pair also won the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati right before coming to New York. Their recent success is especially poignant, considering that Dabrowski was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.

1. Roar!: She took the scenic route, but world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka won her major in 2025. A finalist at both the Australian Open and the French Open, and a semifinalist at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open was Sabalenka's final chance to get a big trophy this year. She was also the defending champion, which probably created even more pressure, but the Tiger was up to the task. 

In an interesting twist to the story, at each of the other majors, her defeat came from a player from the USA--Madison Keys, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova. And wouldn't you know it? In the final of the U.S. Open, there was Anisimova, the Wimbledon finalist--and a woman with a 6-3 record against Sabalenka--again. The two hard hitters played for an hour and a half, and there was a moment in the second set when it appeared that Anisimova had a chance to extend the match, but Sabalenka was too focused, and too good at winning the big points. 

This is Sabalenka's fourth major title; she won the U.S. Open last year, of course, and she won the Australian Open in 2023 and 2024.

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Saturday, September 6, 2025

Always in the New York groove

Today, world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka did something that no woman had done since 2013 and 2014--she won back-to-back U.S. Open singles titles. The last player to do that was Serena Williams, who did it twice in a row. Sabalenka defeated 8th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6(3) in the final, and in doing so, created some unusual stats.

I"m not a big statistics person--I find that so many of the stats that are presented regarding professional tennis are obscure and irrelevant. But this one, in my opinion, is worth mentioning: In winning the U.S. Open, Sabalemka won her 100th major match. When she won Wimbledon a bit earlier in the summer, Iga Swiatek won her 100th major match. That's worth noting on its own, but here's the twist: They both defeated Anisimova in their respective finals.

Anisimova's story is a familiar one in the tennis world. It was a milestone for her to get to the final at Wimbledon, and a huge milestone for her to defeat Swiatek in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. And then, suddenly, she was in the final. And even though she came in with a 6-3 record against the world number 1 (and a 2-1 record on hard courts), she faced an uphill battle. Not only had Sabalenka already won three major titles, including a U.S. Open title, but--after losing both the Australian Open and the French Open finals this year--she was a Tiger on a mission.

Sabalenka may not be known for nuance, but the fact is, she and her team don't miss much. Anisimova defeated her in the Wimbledon semifinals, so she had very recent history upon which to draw. And--while Sabalenka can hit most opponents off the court--that isn't the case with Anisimova. In fact, if push came to shove, it would probably be the other way around. So The Tiger had to be ready.

 One thing that she did was to fine-tune her second serve. In New York, she had a second serve win percentage of 63, as opposed to 44 in London. She was also quite strategic in her serving, which helped her to take control of rallies. Sabalenka and Anisimova have long shared a trait--they have let their emotions get the better of them. And while both of them have pretty much overcome that problem, it was Sabalenka who was calmer and more in control today.

The match did become tense in the second set, when Sabalenka served for it at 5-4. She missed an overhead, and then she was broken. Anisimova then held, and the match went to a tiebreak. Sabalenka went up 4-1, then Anisimova double-faulted. Shortly thereafter, Sabalenka held five match points, and on her third, she won the championship.

Aryna Sabalenka has now won four majors---two Australian Open titles, and two U.S. Open titles. 

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