The Asian swing of the WTA tour has begun, and who knew that this post-U.S. Open period was going to be so filled with big news? The biggest news, of course, is the retirement of Li Na, which came right as the tournament in her home city, Wuhan, made its debut.
When something like the retirement of Li Na occurs, it's easy to forget that anything else is going on. I certainly haven't thought about much else, tennis-wise. But there is more news:
Victoria Azarenka withdrew from Wuhan and announced that her season is over. Azarenka missed much of this season because of foot and knee injuries, and says that she has been pushing herself too hard and needs to make a full recovery.
Karolina Pliskova broke her 2014 finals curse. Pliskova lost three finals this year, but this weekend, she defeated Varvara Lepchenko to win the Korea Open in Seoul. And for Lepchenko--it was her first WTA final.
Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki--two women who are pursuing serious comebacks--were the last two players standing in Tokyo. Ivanovic won the title.
Monica Niculescu won the Guangzhou title.
Victoria Duval announced that she is now cancer-free.
Ashleigh Barty announced that she is leaving the tour indefinitely, and did not give a reason for her action.
Whew! The big names might be exiting for various reasons in Wuhan, but Pliskova is surely still burning white-hot, isn't she?
ReplyDeleteAfter winning her title, she's already beaten Stosur and Petkovic. Could Petra be next?
The tennis world ignored Pliskova for so long, which probably worked to her advantage. Now she can't be ignored.
ReplyDeleteI hope Petra isn't next, but yeah, Pliskova is on a roll!
Oh (YES) Petra! Wuhan.
ReplyDelete