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Retiring at the top: No. 1 Barty says she is ‘spent’

March 23, 2022 by
Ash Barty, Ashleigh Barty

On Wednesday in Australia, No. 1 Ash Barty waved goodbye, once again. As she said on TV this morning she did everything over the past few years. After she won the 2022 Australian Open, she was gone. She looked fantastic on the court, but she did not want to travel anymore. She pulled out of Indian Wells and Miami, and she did say that she needed to rest. But then, she thought about it a lot. Last year after she won 2021 Wimbledon, she was almost ready not to play after that. However, she wanted to try and see how she feels. It turned out to be fine, but the start of this year, after she finally won the Aussie Open, she had nothing left.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” the 25-year-old Barty said. “Wimbledon last year changed a lot for me as a person and for me as an athlete. When you work so hard your whole life for one goal, to be able to win Wimbledon—which was the one true dream I wanted in tennis—that really changed my perspective. I just had that gut feeling after Wimbledon and had spoken to my team quite a lot about it. There was just a little part of me that wasn’t quite satisfied, wasn’t quite fulfilled. And then came the challenge of the Australian Open. I think that for me just feels like the most perfect way, my perfect way, to celebrate what an amazing journey my tennis career has been.”

In 2014, Barty was mentally out of it, saying in her video with friend and former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua that she was “spent.? She could not win anything. So she stopped, she paused and started to play cricket. She played pretty well, but by 2016, she was back again playing tennis. It took her for a while to really feel all the right shots. Eventually, she matured and began to crack the ball, with her forehand, serve and at the net. Barty could always hit her one-handed backhand, with an amazing variety. She could beat anyone when she was in form on the hardcourts, on the grass and the clay. She was one of the best players since she came on tour.

Barty has said that she wants to focus on something else, and it looks like she may not return again. That is her decision. However, Barty was very popular and many the fans would watch her, at the events or on TV. But now, the WTA workers have to reset and hope that the fans can listen and hope they will like a different style. 

Indian Wells results

At least Iga Świątek has improved a lot, winning Indian Wells when she took down Maria Sakkari in two easy sets. She can get down so low, and she can hit it pretty deep, with her forehand, backhand and first serve. Plus, this year when she plays, she can lock it in. She can be very intense. She is ranked No. 2 and since Barty has retired, it looks like that Swiatek could be No.1. According to reports, it’s up to Barty whether she will ask to be removed from the rankings, leaving the top spot open.

At what point did Taylor Fritz rose way up high? A year ago, in fact, even in January, he was rising, but he couldn’t put it all together. Finally, at Indian Wells, he played fantastic, upsetting Rafa Nadal 6-3 7-6(5). Yes, the 21 Grand Slam champion was hurt. The Spaniard injured his ribs in the semis on Saturday when he edged the terrific teenager Carlos Alcaraz in more than three hours. He had to get up the next day and battle again. He was frustrated at times, but Fritz get chugging, and he smacked with his powerful forehand and backhand. His first serve was impressive, taking his

first ATP Masters 1000. Finally, he is darn good. Plus, the last time that an American men won in the ATP 1000 was almost four years ago when John Isner won Miami. Nadal said that Fritz finally won it all, plus a couple other Americans are impressive.

Nadal said, “It’s a great victory for him. First Masters 1000. Big day for him. Victory like today helps. He played well. He went through some great matches during this week, especially yesterday [when he beat Andrey Rublev ]. A lot of credit to him on the victory because he had much tougher opponent in front yesterday than today I think.

“But he already played great matches in Australia against Tsitsipas. It’s obvious that he is improving. With this victory, it’s a great start of the season for him. He will have chance to be very close if not in the top 10 very soon. Going to be a big battle there for these numbers because there are a lot of young and great players fighting for these spots. Yeah, Brooksby is another kind of player. I saw him play a couple of times. He does a lot of things very well, with a special style, but doing things very difficult, doing very difficult things easy. Probably he going to have a great future, too.”

Yes, that was Fritz’s biggest championship for the current No. 13. If he develops mentally, then maybe he can go very deep at the Grand Slams. But before that, he and the others are already in Miami. Winning these two 1000 tournament back to back would be almost impossible. Or is it?

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Iga Swiatek’s talks about her new coach

January 6, 2022 by
Iga Swiatek

Last month, Iga Swiatek decided to try to work with the long-time coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, a former player worked with the former No.2 Aga Radwanska.

Swiatek is in Adelaide this week, where she won the tournament last year.

The current No. 9 made it to the WTA Finals in November, in Mexico, and she won two matches and lost four. The Pole then knew that it was time to change, and she let go with the previous coach, Piotr Sierzputowski. At that point, Swiatek was frustrated. She did not know where to turn.

“I realized that I’ve been working with Piotr for five years or even more. A lot happened since we started,” she said. “I felt it’s a good time for a next step and a change to maybe, like, reset a little bit. I also feel like I wanted to work with someone who’s from Poland because I think I’m going to be ready for coaches from different countries in maybe one or two years, but now I wanted to work with someone who understands my situation. I think it’s a great decision for me. Right now we’re getting to know each other because we practiced in Poland for three weeks, so it’s not a lot. I think next few tournaments I’m just going to use for getting to know each other. We’re talking a lot about tennis, even off-court stuff. I feel like I just need some time to build that relationship.”

Some players keep coaches for years while some will go through new coaches within a few months. A player and coach can see each other almost every day, for hours when they are practicing or competing. But, when the bond is starting to break down, and the conversations are odd, then the relationship will sour. It is not just about the coaches, who are older, and maybe wiser, yet off the court, the players might not really listening. If you don’t listen, then the relationship will expire.
 
Swiatek, who won 2020 Roland Garros, said that while she knows Wiktorowski, it will take a while for him to understand how she plays, and what to do during a match.

“I can see that he’s been through a lot on tour because he’s been on tour for many years. You can see that the WTA Tour is pretty intense, so I’m sure he’s been in some situations that if I’m going to get to them, it’s going to be easier for me because I’m going to use his experience, I’m going to lean on that,” she said. “That’s for sure something that is giving me more comfort and stability. I’m pretty glad that I have somebody on my team that has been through many things.”

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TennisReporters.net 2021 year-end review: top 10-6, the women

December 27, 2021 by
Anett Kontaviet

10. Ons Jabeur
The Tunisian had a terrific year, overall, re-thinking what she should do during the match. She is so fast and can hit it harder, crosscourt and down the line. A couple years ago, she was decent, but not wonderful. Currently now, she can grind it. While she wants to rally for a long time, there are times when she doesn’t go for it enough and look to end points by cracking winners. Next year, if she wants to reach the top 5, she will have to dig in and slam it even more.

9. Iga Swiatek
When she is on and focused, she is thrilled and compelling. Other times, when she isn’t playing well, she can be ticked off. When she won Roland Garros last year, she was phenomenal, sliding on the clay, charging in and she pounded it. She is young, and she can be impatient, so she must be more consistent. In 2022, if she wants to go higher, it would be nice to see her improve her serve and her forehand.

8. Paula Badosa
The New York-native Spaniard jumped up the rankings by gradually pushing herself. She is working with the coach, Jorge García, and apparently, he found a solution this year. Badosa is willing to mix it up, with her slice, spin and flat shots. Using that kind of variety can be confusing, but it is possible. She had beaten a number of top-level players, winning Indian Wells. So now, next year, she will add with more strokes. Just push even harder.

7. Anett Kontaveit
The Estonian is now at her career high. She started this year at No. 23, dropped down to 31 in May and then she rapidly bolted up. Somehow, someway she won four smaller tournament titles, but important ones. At the WTA Final, she reached the final, and while she lost, she beat a series of solid players. She is intelligent, quick and can change direction. Now she is much smarter on the court. “I think I’m excited for the next season. Really want to keep this momentum up, just keep improving on my game,” she said. She will charge once again.

6. Maria Sakkari
The Greek is another one who rolled up, being incredible consistent, and she was very rugged. She scrambles and jumps up in the air while crushing the ball and deep. After the end of the season, she wrote, “Before this year, I would say that sometimes I was a little too hard and negative on myself. This season, with the help of surrounding myself with the right people, I’ve concentrated on making my mindset much more positive by manifesting kinder thoughts. I would definitely say that being nice to yourself is always a good idea.” It must be. Next year, then, she won’t be negative for the rest of the year. She hopes.

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US Open preview: Is this Pliskova’s opportunity?

August 30, 2021 by

Almost everyone wants to read about Novak Djokovic, who has a chance to win four Grand Slams this year. He is so consistent, and rarely strings together many errors. Once in a while, he does, but he is powerful, and he has a wide-ranging variety. He can smash his serves, he can return from the baseline and at the net. He is the top dog.

However, Djokovic is not the only person in New York. There are more than a few who want to reach the second week, or even further, such as Kei Nishikori, Alex de Minaur, Matteo Berrettini, Jenson Brooksby, Jannik Sinner, Denis Shapovalov and Reilly Opelka. But, the big challenge could be in the semis when Djokovic has to face Alexander Zverev. The German is flying high, he finally likes to be move and to smash it down the lines. He can go cross-court, and he can shatter it into the middle which can be very deep. He has finally matured a good amount. He hasn’t won a Grand Slam yet, but he was very close in the US Open last year. So in the fifth set, he can lock it in and then he can snag it, finally.

The No. 1 Ash Barty has only won ‘just’ two Grand Slams. This year, the Aussie has played fantastic, with her variety from her forehand and her backhand to take Wimbledon. It is hard to know where she is going, which is why she has beaten lots of excellent players. But can she win another Slam, this time in Flushing Meadows? She has grown a lot, and she is more intelligent. Without a doubt, she can push down almost everyone.

But, there are a number of players who think that when they are playing excellent, they have a shot to upset Barty.

In the first and second quarters, it could be Karolina Muchova, Jennifer Brady, Belinda Bencic, Jessica Pegula, Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa, Maria Sakkari and Bianca Andreescu.

Plus, Karolina Pliskova wants to try to win the US Open for the first time. She has reached the final once, but could not pull it off. It’s all about her will. Pliskova thought it about it and she responded, “The next Grand Slam, I’m going to try to play like I was playing here from the first round to the last one.”

Hopefully, not early. Later.

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Wimbledon, Day 6: Korda and Keys: ‘It’s crazy’

July 3, 2021 by
Madison Keys

Also: Andy Murray, Denis Shapovalov, Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur and more

Sebastian Korda is already streaking. He has a lot of variety, he is fast, he is powerful and he can meld it up. The young American took down Daniel Evans 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 at Wimbledon.

He is already consistent, and he started when he was born, as his father, Petr, and his mother, Regina, played on the tour. They pushed him a little bit, and they really talked to him. Oh, by the way, his two sisters play pro golf, Nelly rose to No. 1 last weekend by winning the PGA Championship and Jessica is No. 13.

“My dad won a Grand Slam, my sister just won her first major and is world No. 1 golfer in the world, so it’s super inspiring. It’s crazy,” Sebastian Korda said.

Yes it was.

He is not fantastic yet, but he is learning, and according to the ESPN broadcaster, Darren Cahill, who said: “I think he’s easy top five in a couple of years, two or three years, if he continues on this plane.”
 
The former champion Andy Murray won two matches, and then he folded on Friday, and he lost 6-4 6-2 6-2 against Denis Shapovalov. Murray is trying to come back during when he is playing, but he is still a little bit slow, his serve is so-so, and his forehand can be erratic. He has a jumbo way to go.

Shapovalov looked pretty good, the lefty, which some fine strokes, hard and deep. His serve is medicare a lot, and he is not great at the net, but he does focus at times, and he can swing away. He is already in the top 12, and after the tournament ends, he could be around No. 10. He is ready to outbreak.
 
Madison Keys won over Elise Mertens, and the American was absorbed. She is rugged, and she can crush the ball, but she can be hurt a lot. However, she looked happy and intense, and she has gone very deep at the US Open, and with the Australian Open, and Roland Garros. At Wimbledon, she has to commit what she has to do, on court. She has to learn even further.

Two weeks ago, Iga Swiatek didn’t like on the grass. Then, this week, she found it, and the one-time Grand Slam champion found it. She crushed Irina-Camelia 6-1 6-0 and now she is locked in. She does have a chance to go way deep next week. She is such a potent player.


The best match between the women on Friday was when Ons Jabeur jumped on against Garbine Muguruza. Jabeur is so robust , and she pushed herself in third set. She won it, 57 63 62. She is over the top. “To be able to pass the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam, like it’s something that I should do,” said Jabuer. “It is [the best day of my tennis career], seriously. This is my favorite centre court.”

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2021 Roland Garros: 8 women to reach the quarters

May 26, 2021 by
Bianca Andreescu

On Sunday, Roland Garros will start. It is a huge draw, at the four Grand Slams, but many people cannot make into the second week. Moreover, to reach the quarters, then they are already playing very well and they can think that they knock down anyone. 

But that is not reality as the eliminations continue. 

Here are eight players, to reach the quarters, as not only playing darn good, but they also like clay, sliding all over. 

Ash Barty
She has won this before, with an incredible combination of skills. Not only can she run fast and rarely gets tired, but she can slice it, top it, and then she can nail it. As long as she won’t get nervous, she can be brilliant and win it again. Maybe.

Aryna Sabalenka
The Belarus is now ranked No. 4, winning Madrid on clay. While she had taken down against a few of the top players, but she still haven’t to figured out who to cut them down at the Grand Slams. Yet. The 23-year-old might be the biggest hitter on tour. If she really wants to do it for the first time at a Slam, then she was to be placid and bottomless.
 
Bianca Andreescu
She finally returned this week, after she reached the final at Miami, got hurt and she had to retired. Yesterday, she won in Strasbourg but then pulled out before her quarterfinal with an abdominal injury. She might not be 100 percent, but she hits the heck out of the ball. The one-time Grand Slam champ really wants to show in Paris that she is back in form as long as she continues to be healthy.

Serena Williams
The American has won here before. While she is aging, she really want to win another major to tie Margaret Court Smith with 24 23 Grand Slams. Yes, she is a little bit slower now, but she has been practicing a lot, so when she arrives at RG, she will be ready to be more passionate, and hustle. She is still very powerful, so as long as she doesn’t get upset when she isn’t playing well, then she can fight back. But, to win it again? That would be surprising.
 
Iga Świątek
There is now doubt that she is the favorite, she is a titanic hitter won the 2020 RG, and last week, she won another big event, crushing Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-0. She is quick, she can read opponent’s shot, she can slap it and crush it. Not only does she love clay, but the young person studies off the court, and on the court. She is ready to grab it again.

Garbiñe Muguruza
The Spaniard also won it in France. Then she went through a stretch when she was really struggling. However, in 2021, she came back mentally so now, she is more mature. From the back, both sides, she can smack it very deep. When she moves forward, if she can breath on court, she does have another opportunity to win RG another time. But that is a big if.

Coco Gauff
The 17-year-old American is getting better all the time. She hustles, she practices with purpose, and she has added some fine strokes. She is very young, and she is ambitious, and she also has improved to return. But, to win it at this age? Maybe not, but or maybe she can stun the world.

Jessica Pegula 
What a year it has been for the veteran, who for her first eight years, it was hard to for Pegula to knock off the top 20 players. Now, she has been stable. Plus, she finally figured out that she can be much more assertive. She is very spruce and she can pull it into the quarters. But, to win it all, probably not even though she will scrape in the glorious three-setters.

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California rising, in Indian Wells

May 21, 2021 by
Casper Ruud

To start, California’s Indian Wells will play in October, which is fantastic. Over the years, in March, hundreds of thousand fans came out and watched some thrilling matches during the day and night. Last year and early this year, they couldn’t play due to coronavirus. But they waited. Last week the owners decided to push into October when many more people will have taken the vaccine. So now, it is time to try again, with the players and the fans. Go for it.

Roland Garros will start in May 29. Here comes the Grand Slams again. But, this week, who will rise up and play fantastic? Who is playing great, who is mediocre, or someone who is playing bad?

Here is the first one. Casper Ruud believes that he can reach the second week. He has had a good year, taking down Diego Schwartzman, Pablo Carreno Busta, Fabio Fognini and Stefano Tsitsipas. Ruud is playing this week in Switzerland. The 22-year-old has much more aplomb.

”I’ve shown myself that I’m up there at the high level of clay court players and I can compete well with pretty much any player on clay,” Ruud said. “I’ve been winning a lot of good matches against good opponents. So, it gives me a lot of confidence going into the Roland Garros and I have to say I’m hoping to be in Paris for the second week of the tournament. That’s my goal.”

Ruud did mention that his forehand and his backhand are strong, but he needed to improve his return, so he worked on it a lot, and now, it is better.

As he said, later, he might be playing terrific, but he is not there to knock off the big boys: [But] “I’m not a rock star in Norway yet,” Ruud said.

This was a stunner last Sunday. During the final in Rome, Karolina Pliskova lost 6-0, 6-0 against Iga Swiatek. Yes, who would believe that? The 19-year-old Swiatek won the 2020 RG and, when she plays on clay, she is incredibly good.

The 29-year-old Czech Pliskova has won some big wins over the years, reaching the final at the 2016 US Open, winning Rome in 2019, and grabbing other titles, such as Cincinnati, Doha and Brisbane.

But Swiatek was on fire in Rome, every game.

“[Swiatek] didn’t give me anything, but sometimes I just tried to make it a bit difficult just to put the ball in. I just was feeling horrible out there,” Pliskova said. “She really made it extremely difficult for me to do any point. She was playing super fast. I thought she was just going for it. She had amazing day and I had horrible day. She’s really extremely confident on clay,”

Swiatek is powerful, and more than that, she can mix it up and it is hard to read where she will go. She does like to adjust.

“She can just redirect so well and she can play even faster, and especially on clay. Because she has so much spin, it’s super tough to do something from it,” Pliskova said. “She had amazing placement of the ball. Everything was super, like, deep and just like close to the lines. She was serving quite big. She has a good serve overall. I think she didn’t have really any — I think overall she didn’t really miss anything today. Even though I was not playing great, but she was having maybe a moment of her life,”

Swiatek can win it again to win another Slam. On the other hand right now, Pliskova is in the cloud.

MORE
Sloane Stephen has won three wins in a row. Two years ago, in Madrid, she reached the semis. Two years later, she lost so many early matches, and currently she is ranked No. 65. Now the former US Open champ is in Parma this week, she appears to be slightly back. We hope …
Grigor Dimitrov lost again. He can be pretty good, but week after week, he can collapse. … Dominic Thiem lost this weekend and really thinks he can win RG for the first time. He has been there twice in the final but Rafa Nadal took him down. To do that, he is going to have to pound Nadal’s backhand, over and over.

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TennisReporters.net 2020 year-end review: top 16-20, women

December 10, 2020 by
Petra Martic

20. Elise Mertens
She was almost in the top 20, both 2019 and 2020, as she racked up  some good, but not specular, wins,. She won the WTA title at Doha upsetting Simona Halep. She had a super week and on Sunday, really stroked the ball. But, that was February. After that, she was only decent. If she wants to add some new shots, then she has a shot at more success. If she goes for more variety, then she could punch into the top 15.

19. Elena Rybakina
The Russian is still very young, but she had a very good year, especially in January and February. On her beloved hardcourts, she reached the final at Shenzhen, and then won Hobart. She also reached finals in St. Petersburg, Dubai (she upset Karolina Pliskova and Petra Martic) and Strasbourg. In the fall, Rybakina was decent, but not fantastic. The 21-year-old has yet to go beyond the round of 32 at a Slams. If she adds new shots and trust herself, she can rise into the top 10.

18. Petra Martic
The veteran had a good year, overall, running all over the place, really digging. She can get down really low for her shots. Even though she slides out way to the left, almost in the seats, she can flip it crosscourt on the on to the lines. In 2020, 29-year-old became a little more ambitious as she knows that she has to change it up. Now she goes bigger on her first serve, but her forehand is decent but not great. If she wants to go even further, then she is going to have to refine her forehand and at net play.

17. Iga Swiatek
Out of nowhere the 19-year-old won Roland Garros, sliding and going for the lines. She downed the Halep and Sofia Kenin, losing just a set in seven matches. She was on fire. It is amazing that over the past three years, while the top veterans had won many times, the new ones can explode because they had no fear at all. Such as Naomi Osaka, Kenin, Bianca Andreescu and Jelena Ostapenko. In 2021, Swiatek has to be consistent and thoughtful. Within next year, she could easily reach the top 10. Maybe higher.

16. Madison Keys
Over the past five years, when she is healthy, the Floridian beat everyone. She hits very hard with her forehand and backhand, with some jolting shots at the Grand Slams. She reached numerous second week, making her more and more ambitious. But, she really likes the hard courts, which contributes to her getting hurt repeatedly. She retires on court, or she will pull out before tournaments start. If she wants to reach a Slam final in 2021, she has to figure out how to stay healthy. If that works out, then there is no doubt she can leap back into the top 5.

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