Professional Tennis
This story first appeared in the November/December 2017 issue of New York Tennis Magazine. Three years ago, Catherine Cartan “CiCi” Bellis captured the hearts of New Yorkers and tennis fans everywhere when the 1,208th-ranked teenager, playing in only her 13th professional match, defeated 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova in the first round of the 2014 U.S….
Victoria Azarenka, the greatest tennis player in Belarus’ history, will not compete in the nation’s Fed Cup Final against the United States this weekend in Minsk. “It’s a pity but we just can’t change anything right now,” said Belarus captain Eduard Dubrov last week. Azarenka has not played since Wimbledon in July as a…
Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki defeated Venus Williams for the first time in her career to win her first WTA Finals trophy, beating the American 6-4, 6-4 in Singapore on Sunday. Wozniacki had to hold off a surge from Venus, who rallied from 0-5 down in the second set, but managed to hang on to beat…
With no chance of advancing and only the role of spoiler left to play for, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina did just that on Friday, defeating world number one Simona Halep 6-3, 6-4 to eliminate the Romanian from the WTA Finals in Singapore and thus send France’s Caroline Garcia into the final four. Svitolina was eliminated…
Seven-time Grand Slam champion, Tennis Hall of Famer and New York’s own John McEnroe has been named as the honorary ambassador of the inaugural New York Open ATP World Tour event to be held at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, from February 11-18. McEnroe, a Douglaston, New York native, will lend his on-…
In just the latest chapter of the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry, the Swiss Maestro once again came out on top, downing Nadal 6-4, 6-3 to win the Shanghai Rolex Masters title on Sunday. The title is the sixth of the season for Federer and the 94th of his career, evening him with Ivan Lendl for…
The Australian Open held a news conference on Tuesday to announce an increase in prize money for next year’s tournament, tournament director Craig Tiley indicated that defending women’s singles champion Serena Williams expects to be there. “Serena will be back,” said Tiley. “We look forward to welcoming her and again go on that journey of…
Rafael Nadal advanced to the final eight at the China Open in Beijing on Thursday, defeating Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-3, 6-3. The world number one is in search of his second career China Open title, with the last one coming back in 2005. He saved all six break points he faced on Thursday…
Petra Kvitova played nearly flawless tennis at the China Open on Thursday, breezing past Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 6-4 to book her spot in the quarterfinals in just one hour and 13 minutes. “I think it was a pretty good match from my side,” said Kvitova. “I didn’t really make any east mistakes or unforced…
Four top 20 ATP World Tour tennis players, John Isner (No. 17), Kei Nishikori (No. 14), and Bob and Mike Bryan (No. 6 doubles), are the first commitments in the player field for the inaugural New York Open at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which takes place February 11-18. Isner has…