2011 WTA Tour Championships
Encyclopedia
The 2011 WTA Tour Championships (also known for sponsorship reasons as the 2011 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships) was a tennis tournament to be played at Istanbul
, Turkey
from October 25 to October 30, 2011. It was the first time Turkey hosted the WTA Tour Championships
. It was the 41st edition of the singles event and the 36th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Sinan Erdem Dome and was contested by eight singles players and four doubles teams. It was the larger of two season ending championships on the 2011 WTA Tour
.
(WTA) and was part of the 2011 WTA Tour
. It was the larger of the two season ending championships on the 2011 WTA Tour
, the smaller being the Tournament of Champions
the following week. The latter is only for players who did not qualify for the WTA Championships.
The doubles competition had four teams playing in a straight knockout format from the semifinal stage.
Close to 600 people died and more than 2,300 were injured during the country's most powerful earthquake in more than a decade. WTA stars participating in the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships donated a percentage of their Championships prize money, which was matched by both the WTA and TEB BNP Paribas.
The Turkish Red Crescent is Turkey's arm of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world's largest humanitarian network. Turkish Red Crescent took immediate action after the earthquake, mobilizing its staff and emergency supplies for thousands of victims.
s.
On September 5, Caroline Wozniacki
and Maria Sharapova
became the first two players to qualify for the championships.
Caroline Wozniacki won 6 singles titles in the year, more than any other player. She began the year with a loss at the Medibank International Sydney
to Dominika Cibulková
. She then reached three consecutive finals at the Dubai Tennis Championships
deafeating Svetlana Kuznetsova
6–1, 6–3, Qatar Ladies Open
losing to Vera Zvonareva
4–6, 4–6, and Indian Wells
beating Marion Bartoli
6–1, 2–6, 6–3. Her 3rd title came at the Family Circle Cup
, where she won against unseeded Elena Vesnina
6–2, 6–3. She then lost to Julia Görges
6–7(3–7), 3–6 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
. Her 4th and 5th singles title were at the Brussels Open
defeating Peng Shuai
2–6, 6–3, 6–3, and her home tournament the e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open
defeating Lucie Šafářová
6–1, 6–4. However, she had a 3-match losing streak in the summer season before winning the New Haven Open at Yale
against Petra Cetkovská
6–4, 6–1 for the 4th consecutive time. At the Slams, Wozniacki reached the semis of the Australian Open
and the US Open
, falling to Li Na
3–6, 7–5, 6–3 after failing to convert a match point and Serena Williams
6–2, 6–4 respectively. However, she suffered early exits in the third round of the French Open
to Daniela Hantuchová
6–1, 6–3 and the fourth round of the Wimbledon
to Dominika Cibulková
1–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–5. This is her third appearance at the event, with her best result in 2010 when she reached the final.
Maria Sharapova regained some of her form by performing consistently throughout the year with two Premier-5 titles. Sharapova was crowned Internazionali BNL d'Italia
on red clay, by beating World no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
7–5, 6–3 in the semis and sixth-seeded Samantha Stosur
6–2, 6–4 in the final. Her second title came at the Western & Southern Open
, where she defeated fellow former World No. 1 Jelena Janković
4–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3 in two hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest WTA tour final this year. She also made 2 other finals at the Sony Ericsson Open
, losing to Victoria Azarenka
1–6, 4–6 and the final of the Wimbledon Championships
, losing to Petra Kvitová
3–6, 4–6. This was also her first Grand Slam final appearance since winning the 2008 Australian Open
. At the other Slams, Sharapova reached the Semifinals of the French Open
, falling to eventual champion Li Na
4–6, 5–7, but fell early in the fourth round of the Australian Open
, losing 2–6, 3–6 to Andrea Petkovic
, and the third round of the US Open
, beaten by Flavia Pennetta
3–6, 6–3, 4–6. This is the first time since 2007 that she has been qualified for the Championships. She has never lost before the semifinals in her previous four appearances, with her best result on her debut at the event, beating Serena Williams
in 2004.
On October 1, Petra Kvitová
and Victoria Azarenka
qualified for the championships.
Petra Kvitová had her best season yet by winning five titles. She began the year by winning the Brisbane International
, defeating Andrea Petkovic
6–1, 6–3. She then reached a quarter-finals at the Australian Open
, upsetting 5th seed Samantha Stosur
7–6(7–5), 6–3 in the third round before losing to Vera Zvonareva
2–6, 4–6. She then won the Open GDF Suez
, defeating Kim Clijsters
6–4, 6–3. She then lost 4 of her next 5 matches before winning the Mutua Madrid Open
defeating Victoria Azarenka
7–6(7–3), 6–4 in the final. Later, she fell in the fourth round of the French Open
to eventual champion Li Na
2–6, 6–1, 6–3. She then reached the final of the AEGON International
, losing to Marion Bartoli
1–6, 6–4, 5–7. Her most significant title came by winning the Wimbledon
over Maria Sharapova
6–3, 6–4 in the final. After the triumph, she lost back-to-back third round matches to Andrea Petkovic
in the US Open Series
before becoming the first Wimbledon champion ever to fall in the first round of the US Open
to Alexandra Dulgheru
7–6(7–3), 6–3. She then won her fifth title of the year at the Generali Ladies Linz
, defeating Slovakian Dominika Cibulková
6–4, 6–1. This is her debut at the championships.
Victoria Azarenka won three titles this year. She picked up her second Sony Ericsson Open
trophy after defeating Maria Sharapova
in the final 6–1, 6–4 and upsetting 2nd seed Kim Clijsters
and 3rd seed Vera Zvonareva
earlier. She then won her first clay title the following week at the Andalucia Tennis Experience
, defeating Irina-Camelia Begu in the final 6–3, 6–2. She then claimed a title before the championships at the BGL Luxembourg Open
defeating Monica Niculescu
6–2, 6–2. She reached another final at the Mutua Madrid Open
, losing to Petra Kvitová
in the final 7–6(7–3), 6–4. Azarenka reached her first Slam semifinal at Wimbledon
losing to eventual champion Petra Kvitová
6–1, 3–6, 6–2. At the other Slams, she lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open
and the quarterfinal of the French Open
both to Li Na
, and the third round of the 2011 US Open
to Serena Williams
6–1, 7–6(7–5). Azarenka is making her third consecutive appearance at the event.
On October 5, Li Na
became the fifth player to qualify for the championships.
Li Na has had a memorable yet very inconsistent year. She started the year by winning Sydney
defeating Kim Clijsters
in the final 7–6(3), 6–3 and reaching the final of the Australian Open
, upsetting world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
in the semi-finals, but losing to Kim Clijsters
6–3, 3–6, 3–6. However, she lost her next 4 matches before bouncing back in the European clay season, reaching the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open
and Internazionali BNL d'Italia
. Li then won her first Grand Slam title and became the first Grand Slam singles champion born in an Asian country at the French Open
, defeating defending champion Francesca Schiavone
6–4, 7–6(7–0) in the final. Following her French Open victory, she has had disappointing results for the rest of the year with the 5–7 record, including the second round lost at Wimbledon
to Sabine Lisicki
6–3, 4–6, 6–8 and the first round defeat from Simona Halep
6–2, 7–5 at the US Open
. Li is making her debut at the tournament after being an alternate last year.
On October 9, Vera Zvonareva
and Samantha Stosur
qualified for the championships.
Vera Zvonareva was not able to duplicate her 2010 season in 2011, however, she won two titles this year to one in the previous year. She won her first title in over a year at the Qatar Ladies Open
, defeating world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
6–4, 6–4 in the final. She then won her second title at the Baku Cup
, beating her compatriot Ksenia Pervak
in the final 6–1, 6–4. She reached two other finals in the Mercury Insurance Open
and the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
, both losing to Agnieszka Radwańska
with a scoreline of 6–3, 6–4 and 6–3, 6–2, respectively. At the Slams, her best result was reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open
, losing to Kim Clijsters
6–3, 6–3. She also lost in the quarterfinals of the US Open
to Samantha Stosur
6–3, 6–3, the fourth round of the French Open
to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
7–6(7–4), 2–6, 6–2 , and the third round of the Wimbledon
to Tsvetana Pironkova
6–2, 6–3. Zvonareva is making her fifth appearance at the Championships. Her best result was reaching the final in 2008.
Samantha Stosur did not enjoy a successful first half of the year, failing to reach a semifinal of any event until the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in April. She then reached her first final of the year at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
, losing to Maria Sharapova
6–2, 6–4, despite having not lost a set before the final. She reached her second final at the Rogers Cup
before falling to Serena Williams
6–4, 6–2 in the final. In September, she became the winner of the US Open
after beating the heavy favorite Serena Williams
in the final in straight sets 6–2, 6–3, to win her maiden Slam title. She also became the first Australian woman to win a Slam since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980. She then reached the final of the HP Open
losing to Marion Bartoli
6–3, 6–1. In the other Slams, she fell in the third rounds of the Australian Open
to Petra Kvitová
7–6(7–5), 6–3 and French Open
to Gisela Dulko
6–4, 1–6, 6–3, and the first round of the Wimbledon
to 262nd ranked Melinda Czink
6–3, 6–4. Stosur is making her second appearance at the event, after the semifinals' appearance in 2010.
On October 21, Agnieszka Radwańska
became the last to qualify after Marion Bartoli
withdrew in her quarterfinal match in Kremlin Cup
Agnieszka Radwańska reached three finals in 2011 and won all of them, thus ending her 3 year-title drought. Her first title of the year came in the Mercury Insurance Open
, where she defeated top seed Vera Zvonareva
6–3, 6–4 in the final. In the Asian swing season, she won back-to-back titles in the Toray Pan Pacific Open
over Vera Zvonareva
6–3, 6–2 and the China Open
over Andrea Petkovic
7–5, 0–6, 6–4, winning her biggest title so far. At the slams, Radwanska was able to reach her fourth slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open
losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters
6–3, 7–6(7–4). However, she fell short in the fourth round of the French Open
to Maria Sharapova
7–6(7–4), 7–5, the second rounds of both the Wimbledon to Petra Cetkovská
3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4, and the US Open
to Angelique Kerber
6–3, 4–6, 6–3. She is making her third appearance, having played as the alternate here in 2008 and 2009.
The first alternate for the championships is Frenchwomen Marion Bartoli
, who has reached 5 finals in the year. She reached her first Premier Mandatory final at the BNP Paribas Open
losing to Caroline Wozniacki
6–1, 2–6, 6–3, then lost her next final at the Internationaux de Strasbourg
to Andrea Petkovic
retiring being down 6–4, 1–0. She then won her first title since 2009 at the AEGON International
defeating Petra Kvitová
6–1, 4–6, 7–5. At Wimbledon, she lost to Sabine Lisicki
6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–1 in the quarterfinal after upsetting Serena Williams
in the previous round. On the contrary, she fell to Serena Williams
in the final of the Bank of the West Classic
. She then won her second title of the year at the 2011 HP Open
defeating Samantha Stosur
6–3, 6–1 in the final. At the 2011 French Open
, she reached her second career slam semifinal. The second alternate is Andrea Petkovic
, who is enjoying her best season so far by cracking the top 10. She won her lone title of the year at the Internationaux de Strasbourg
over Marion Bartoli
. She then reached two other final, at the Brisbane International
losing to Petra Kvitová
6–1, 6–3 and the final of the China Open
losing to Agnieszka Radwańska
7–5, 0–6, 6–4 in her first Premier Mandatory final. At the slams she was able to reach the quarterfinals in 3 of the 4 majors excluding Wimbledon.
On September 5, Květa Peschke
and Katarina Srebotnik
became the first doubles team to qualify for the year-end championships.
Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik continued their partnership coming to 2011, they also was able to reach the no. 1 ranking in doubles for the first time on July 4, 2011. They were also able to win 6 titles together their first coming in the ASB Classic
over the team of Arvidsson
& Erakovic
6–3, 6–0. They then won their second title in the Qatar Ladies Open
over Huber
& Petrova
7–5, 6–7(2–7), [10–8]. Their next titles came in back-to-back-to-back winning in AEGON International
over Huber & Raymond
6–3, 6–0, in Wimbledon
over Lisicki
& Stosur
6–3, 6–1 and in the Mercury Insurance Open
over Kopz-Jones
& Spears
6–0, 6–2. Their triumph in Wimbledon is the team's first Slam title together and their first as individuals in the women's doubles. They then claimed their sixth title at the China Open
over Dulko
& Pennetta
6–3, 6–4. They also reached three other finals in the Medibank International Sydney
losing to Benešová
& Záhlavová-Strýcová, in Dubai Tennis Championships
falling to Huber & Martínez Sánchez
and in the Mutua Madrid Open
to Azarenka
& Kirilenko
. Srebotnik also on the mixed doubles title in the Australian Open
with Daniel Nestor
. In the other Slams they were able to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals of the French Open
and US Open
.
On October 1, Liezel Huber
and Lisa Raymond
became the second team to qualify for the championships.
Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond did not start pairing up for doubles until the European clay season as Huber initially paired with Nadia Petrova
and Raymond teamed up with Julia Görges
. The veteran team then had a great result together, reaching the semifinals of the French Open
and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon
. They lost their first two finals in the AEGON International
losing to Peschke
& Srebotnik
6–3, 6–0 and in the Bank of the West Classic
losing to Azarenka & Kirilenko 6–1, 6–3. Their first title as a team came in as a gift winning the Rogers Cup
over Azarenka & Kirilenko in a walkover. They then claim their first Slam as a team in the US Open
over King
& Shvedova
4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3). They then collected their third title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open
over Dulko & Pennetta 7–6(7–4), 0–6, [10–6]. Huber was also able reach two other finals in the Dubai Tennis Championships
with María José Martínez Sánchez
winning over Peschke & Srebotnik 7–6(7–5), 6–3 and in the Qatar Ladies Open
with Nadia Petrova
in a losing effort to Peschke & Srebotnik.
On October 11, Gisela Dulko
and Flavia Pennetta
became the third team to qualify for the championships.
Gisela Dulko and Flavia Penetta failed to duplicate their 2010 season winning 6 titles and the championship as they only won one title in the year, but it is their most prestigious title as as a team this coming in the Australian Open
beating Azarenka
& Kirilenko
2–6, 7–5, 6–1. This marks their first Slam title as team and as individuals. An injury suffered by Dulko prevented the team to collect some points during the mid-season. However, the team performed well during the Asian swing and became the runner-up in both Toray Pan Pacific Open
to Huber
& Raymond
and China Open
to Peschke
& Srebotnik
. In the other Slams they reached the quarterfinals of the French Open
and the third round of the US Open
. Pennetta also reached another final with Dominika Cibulková
at the UNICEF Open
losing to Záhlavová-Strýcová & Zakopalová.
On October 16, Vania King
and Yaroslava Shvedova
took the last spot over Victoria Azarenka
and Maria Kirilenko
.
Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova wasn't able to play together until the BNP Paribas Open
due to Shvedova's knee injury. The team weren't able to match up to their 2010 season when they won 2 Slam titles, as they only reached 1 slam final in the US Open
losing to Huber
& Raymond
6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(3–7). They won their first title of the year at the Western & Southern Open
winning 6–4, 3–6, [11–9] over Grandin
& Uhlířová
. They also reached two other finals in a losing effort in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
losing to the Chinese pair of Peng
& Zheng
2–6, 3–6 and in the HP Open
losing to the Asian pair of Date Krumm & Zhang
in the final 5–7, 6–3, [9–11]. Shvedova was able to win another title with Sania Mirza
this time at the Citi Open
over Govortsova
& Kudryavtseva
6–3, 6–3. King also reached a final with a different partner Anna-Lena Grönefeld
at the Monterrey Open
losing to Czechs Benešová
& Záhlavová-Strýcová.
. The Red group consisted of no. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki, no. 3 seed Petra Kvitová, no. 6 seed Vera Zvonareva and no. 8 seed Agnieszka Radwańska. The White Group was composed of no. 2 seed Maria Sharapova, no, 4 seed Victoria Azarenka, no. 5 seed Li Na and no. 7 seed Samantha Stosur. Marion Bartoli and Andrea Petkovic served as alternates.
In the red group, in their respective records in their group, World no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
was 11–6, Petra Kvitová
was 5–6, Vera Zvonareva
was 9–9 and Agnieszka Radwańska
was 4–8. Leading the group Wozniacki, has a good record in each opponent in her group. She has a positive record against Kvitová, leading the Wimbledon champion 3–1, with their last meeting coming in the third round of the 2010 China Open
, with Wozniacki winning 6–3, 6–2 and all their matches were won in straight sets. Against Zvonareva, she has a record of 4–4, with Zvonareva winning their only encounter in 2011 in the final of the Qatar Ladies Open
6–4, 6–4. Against good friend Radwańska, the Dane lead 4–1 winning their last four matches including their only encounter in 2011 at the semifinal of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
7–5, 6–3, with Radwańska's last win coming in 2007. Zvonareva on the other hand, has close records against Kvitová and Radwańska. Against Kvitová, the Russian leads 3–2 facing each other 3 times in 2011 all won in straight sets, with Zvonerva winning two of them in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open
and the semifinal of the Toray Pan Pacific Open
and lost in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open
. In her match-up against Radwańska, the Russian trails 2–3 with them competing against each other 4 times in 2011 all won in straight sets and the Pole winning their last three encounters – the first in the final of Mercury Insurance Open
, the third round of Rogers Cup
, and the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open
, Zvonerva's last win came in quarterfinal of the Sony Ericsson Open
. In the head-to-head of first time qualifiers. Kvitová and Radwańska, The Czech has won both of their matches including their last match in the quarterfinal of AEGON International
1–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–2)
In the white group, in their head-to-heads with players within their group, Maria Sharapova
was 17–6, Victoria Azarenka
was 8–7, Li Na
was 7–11, and Samantha Stosur
was 5–13. Like Wozniacki, Sharapova has a good record against each members of her group. Against Azarenka, they have split their match-ups with each having 3 wins, and also splitting their match-ups in 2011 with 1 win each, with Azarenka winning in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open
and Sharapova winning in the quarterfinal of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
. Against Li, Sharapova leads their head-to-head 5–3, however Li has won their 3 previous meetings in straight sets including the semifinal of the French Open
6–4, 7–5. Against Stosur, Sharapova has a perfect record of 9–0 including 3 straight set wins in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open
, the final of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
, and the quarterfinal of the Western & Southern Open
. Azarenka, in the other hand has a mixed record against Li and Stosur. She trails Li 1–4, including losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open
6–3, 6–3 and the quarterfinal of the French Open
7–5, 6–2. However, against Stosur, Azarenka has never lost a match and a set winning their four encounters, with their last meeting coming in semifinal of the 2010 Bank of the West Classic
with the Belorussian winning 6–2, 6–3. In the match-up between Slam champions Li and Stosur, despite Stosur having lost all matches against Sharapova and Azarenka, she has never lost to Li winning their 5 matches including 3 in 2011 in the semifinal of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
, the third rounds of Rogers Cup
and Western & Southern Open
.
The four doubles teams started the semifinals without group play.
and 2008 finalist Vera Zvonareva
. Having lost to Zvonareva in straight sets just a few weeks ago in Tokyo, Kvitova had her work cut out for her, but this time it was different - Kvitova hadn't lost an indoor match all year and her huge serve, powerful groundstrokes and strong net play were working like a charm as she raced out to a 6–2, 4–1 lead. Things got tougher as the unforced errors began to creep into Kvitova's game, and Zvonareva closed the gap to 4–all in the second set; but the No.3-seeded Kvitova broke again for 5–4 and served it out, getting two errors in a row from the No.6-seeded Zvonareva to get to match point then knifing a forehand volley. The series between the two is now knotted at 3–3. Kvitova ended with an even differential, 24 winners to 24 errors; she won 17 of 23 net points (including match point). Zvonareva was −9 (eight winners, 17 errors).
They were followed by last years finalist Caroline Wozniacki
and first time qualifier Agnieszka Radwańska
. Wozniacki had her chances in the first set, rallying from 2–4 to 5–4 and holding triple set point with Radwanska falling into a 0–40 hole in the next game; Radwanska snuck that game out and took the first set, Radwanska then started to be bothered by her shoulder injury and started to go for her shots but Wozniacki wouldn't lose her cool, comfortably taking the second set and holding steady from 4–all in the third to close the door on the two-hour, 39-minute marathon.
The last match saw two US champions the 2006 champion Maria Sharapova
and the current champion Samantha Stosur
. Stosur, the No.7 seed at the year-end finale, turned the tables on one of the most lopsided head-to-heads in the upper echelon of the women's game, coming out like a house on fire then surviving some tense moments to close out a No.2-ranked, No.2-seeded Sharapova in straight sets 6–1, 7–5. Having lost her last 11 sets in a row to Sharapova, Stosur stormed through the opening set in just 28 minutes, then rallied from 3–0 down in the second set, with Sharapova missing a backhand return on match point. Both players had similar amounts of winners throughout the match – Stosur 18, Sharapova 17 – but Sharapova's 30 unforced errors far outweighed Stosur's 17 miscues.
and Australia's Samantha Stosur
, Azarenka lead their head-to-head 4–0. With her intense and relentless barrage of deep, penetrating groundstrokes, the No.4-seeded Azarenka never really let the No.7-seeded Stosur into the match, losing just five points in seven service games and breaking four times in building a 6–2, 5–2 lead. Stosur put up a fight in a 10-minute final game, saving three match points - including two on big inside out forehand winners - but Azarenka wrapped up the one-hour, 17-minute triumph on her fourth match point. In their winners to unforced errors ratio, Stosur was 11–26, Azarenka was 16–13.
The second match saw French Open Champion Li Na
making her debut against no. 2 seed Maria Sharapova
. Having not won a match since August - she lost first round at her last two events at the US Open and Beijing, and in straight sets too - Li's game came alive at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, as her power game clicked against one of the most powerful players in the game. She rallied from 2-4 to take the first set to a tie-break, where she rallied from 0–4 to take the set; she then held off a late surge from Sharapova in the second set, watching a 5–2 lead close to 5–4 before finally serving out the victory in front of a packed crowd. Li had been struggling since becoming Asia's first Grand Slam champion at the French Open, going 5–7 in her seven tournaments since – but she had won her last three meetings against Sharapova in straight sets and brought that magic out again, getting just a few more winners in the winners column - 15 to 12. Li is the first Chinese ever to compete in singles at the year-end finale. Later in the day, Sharapova withdrew with a left ankle injury, ending her chance to finish the year at No.1.
The last match of the day came between two former US Open finalists Vera Zvonareva
and Caroline Wozniacki
, who has split their former 8 matches in half. Zvonareva, the No.6 seed, was the clear aggressor in the match, going for her big groundstrokes – including some particularly impressive backhands – to take the first set in just 35 minutes. Wozniacki broke in the last game of the second set to push the match to a third but Zvonareva came alive again, racing out to a double-break 4–1 lead and barely looking back. The Russian, who just turned 27 last month, won the last seven points of the match to end it 6–2, 4–6, 6–3. Although both Zvonareva and Wozniacki are known for their strong defensive skills, the Russian's offense really shone through at the Sinan Erdem Dome – she had by far the bigger numbers for the day, 49 winners to 49 unforced errors (Wozniacki finished the match with 13 winners to 18 unforced errors).
and Li Na
. Victoria Azarenka was a relentless wall of power at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships on Thursday, getting revenge for losses at the Australian and French Opens with a commanding 6–2, 6–2 win over Li Na. Azarenka, who lost to Li in straight sets in the fourth round in Melbourne and in the quarterfinals in Paris - and had actually lost four of the pair's five previous meetings - was sharper in every department against Li this time, controlling most of the rallies with her powerful groundstrokes and sending any of the Chinese trailblazer's own powerful groundstrokes back with added interest. Although Li hit twice as many winners as Azarenka (18 to 9) those were far outweighed by more than twice as many unforced errors (39 to 17). Having beaten Samantha Stosur by an identical scoreline on Wednesday, Azarenka is now 2–0 in the White Group and the first to qualify for the semifinals.
The second match saw top seed Caroline Wozniacki
taking on third seed Petra Kvitová
.With a swift 6–4, 6–2 win over Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova not only scored her second win over a reigning No.1, she also got the second spot in the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships semifinals. Kvitova, the No.3 seed, beat the No.1-seeded Wozniacki in style, losing just 17 points in nine service games and breaking Wozniacki three times, including in the first game of each set. The No.3-ranked Czech - just the fourth Czech player ever to rank in the Top 3, after Martina Navratilova, Hana Mandlikova and Jana Novotna - served seven aces in the one-hour, 24-minute victory.
The last match was one of the most enthralling one in tournament so far with Russian Vera Zvonareva
taking on Pole Agnieszka Radwańska
. Zvonareva wouldn't have just qualified for the semifinals with a victory over Radwanska, she would have snapped a three-match losing streak against her, having lost to her at Carlsbad, Toronto and Tokyo in the last few months - all in straight sets, too. This one would be much different. It took just 35 minutes for the No.6-seeded Zvonareva to win the first set, 6–1; Radwanska, the No.8 seed, retaliated with a 6–2 second set. An aggressive Zvonareva regrouped and got to double match point at 5–3, 40–15 in the third set but missed down-the-lines on both of those, then lost an extended exchange on her third match point in the same game. She would eventually lose to Radwanska for a fourth straight time, 1–6, 6–2 7–5.
and Samantha Stosur
, with the winner advancing to the semifinals. Samantha Stosur served up a barrage of kick serves and blasted some ferocious forehands to completely confound Li Na in 66 minutes, 6–1, 6–0, improving to 6–0 in the pair's head-to-head series and dealing the Chinese her most lopsided loss on the WTA in almost three and a half years. Their sixth meeting at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships on Friday was by far their quickest, as Stosur hit far more winners (15 to 4) and was cleaner on the unforced errors (22 to 32) and basically dominated every department, losing her serve from 30-0 up in the fifth game of the match but otherwise winning every game en route to her easiest victory since Dubai in February.
The second match saw Agnieszka Radwańska
trying to advance to the semifinals taking on Petra Kvitová
. With Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka and Samantha Stosur already through, Radwanska had to take a set from Kvitova on Friday to become the fourth player into the final four. And that goal didn't seem far away at all as she stormed out to a 5–1 first set lead - but Kvitova suddenly came alive, her power game hitting its mark as she stormed back to take the opening set comfortably in a tie-break. Although there were a few close moments midway through the second set - she went to six deuces before holding in a marathon game for 4–3 - Kvitova never really looked in trouble again, eventually finishing the match off with a big crosscourt forehand that drew one last backhand error from Radwanska. Whether she was winning or losing, Kvitova seemed to be in complete control of the score against Radwanska - she finished the match with 42 winners to 47 unforced errors, while Radwanska had eight winners to 17 unforced errors. Kvitova finished first in the Red Group with a bullet, 3–0 in win-loss and 6–0 in sets. Although Zvonareva, Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki all ended with a 1–2 win–loss record and 3–5 sets won-lost, Zvonareva had the best games won-lost percentage of the three and thus finished second in the Red Group. The semifinals will be Red Group No.1 Kvitova taking on White Group No.2 Stosur, and White Group No.1 Azarenka taking on Red Group No.2 Zvonareva.
In the last round robin match of the week on Friday night, Victoria Azarenka
took on alternate Marion Bartoli. The result, a 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 win for Bartoli, had no effect on either group's standings. However, Azarenka was accused of tanking the final set of the match, going for winners at the get go and not willing to track down balls.
and red group no. 2 Samantha Stosur
. Kvitova was the only player to make it through the round robin undefeated, but she showed some cracks in her last match on Friday, falling behind 5–1 in the first set before rallying to beat Agnieszka Radwanska in straights. And although she was up an early break she had somewhat of a slowish start again against a confident Stosur, who came back to take the first set and eventually build a 7–5, 1–0 lead, with a break point to go up 7–5, 2–0. Just like she did before, though, Kvitova came alive when she needed to, winning six of the next eight games to take the second set 6–3, then racing ahead 5–0 in the third. Stosur made things exciting at the end by winning three straight games to close to 5–3, but the Wimbledon champion held on, closing out the US Open champion with a love hold 5–7, 6–3, 6–3. Both Kvitova and Stosur finished with clean winners-to-errors differentials (Kvitova 38–39, Stosur 16–18) but the biggest difference came in creating break point opportunities – Kvitova brought up 11 break points (converting on five) while Stosur only got six break points (converting on three).
The second semifinal featured red group no. 1 Victoria Azarenka
and white group no. 2 Vera Zvonareva
. She broke serve three times in the first set, including once at love. There were some tough moments in the 59-minute second set, including a marathon six-deuce fourth game where Zvonareva defied four break points to hold for 2–all, but Azarenka got a late break and save two brek points at the final game and served it out, It is her fourth win in their 10 meetings. Azarenka of Belarus eventually won 6–2, 6–3 Saturday to reach the final of the WTA Championships. The No. 4-ranked Azarenka's solid groundstrokes forced errors from No. 6 Zvonareva, who was never able to gain momentum in the match.
In the doubles, Peschke and Srebotnik, the No.1 seeds, were the first team into the final, getting the only break of serve in the first set then rebounding after a second set lapse to beat Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova 6–3, 6–4. Peschke and Srebotnik broke King's serve en route to taking the opening set and built a 3–0 lead in the second, only to lose four straight games; but the momentum swung again and they won three more games of their own to close it out. Huber and Raymond, the No.2 seeds, followed with a 4–6, 6–3, [10–7] victory over Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, the defending champs at the year-ender. Huber and Raymond not only rallied from a set down to win, they also came back from 3–6 in the match tie-break, Huber hitting winners on four of the last five points of the match (two drop volley winners and two big overheads).
& Katarina Srebotnik
and Liezel Huber
& Lisa Raymond
. When two of the WTA's most accomplished veterans finally joined forces for the first time in April, everybody knew big things were in the wings. Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond wrapped up a breakthrough year at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, capturing their fourth title in their last six events with a 64 64 win on Sunday over Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, losing three straight games from 64 31 but regrouping and winning three straight games of their own to finish it. They fell short on their first two match points but Huber closed it out with a backhand volley at Srebotnik's body.
They were followed on court by the Singles Final between 3rd seed Petra Kvitová
and 4th seed Victoria Azarenka
, who were battling not only for the championship but for the world no. 2 ranking. In front of a packed crowd of over 13,000, Petra Kvitova capped an absolute breakthrough year at the Sinan Erdem Dome on Sunday night, recording an electric 75 46 63 victory over Victoria Azarenka to capture the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships and rise to No.2 in the world. Maybe drawing confidence from winning her last three meetings with Azarenka, the first 30 minutes of the match were all Kvitova, as she stormed out to a 5-0 lead and seemed well on her way to extending that streak. Azarenka was able to swing the momentum, winning the next five games; although she would still lose that first set, she kept that momentum and took the second set. Azarenka's momentum didn't end there. She brought up triple break point as Kvitova served in the first game of the decider, eventually holding a fourth break point later in the game - but Kvitova hung tough at what was perhaps the most critical time of the match, holding that service game then getting the only break of the set in the next game. The two held the rest of the way until Kvitova hit a forehand pass that drew one last Azarenka error.
Petra Kvitová
def.
Victoria Azarenka
, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3
Liezel Huber
/ Lisa Raymond
def. Květa Peschke
/
Katarina Srebotnik
, 6–4, 6–4
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
from October 25 to October 30, 2011. It was the first time Turkey hosted the WTA Tour Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
. It was the 41st edition of the singles event and the 36th edition of the doubles competition. The tournament was held at the Sinan Erdem Dome and was contested by eight singles players and four doubles teams. It was the larger of two season ending championships on the 2011 WTA Tour
2011 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2011 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, and the WTA...
.
Tournament
The 2011 WTA Championships took place at the Sinan Erdem Dome 25–30 October 2011. It was the 41st edition of the event. The tournament was jointly run by the Women's Tennis AssociationWomen's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
(WTA) and was part of the 2011 WTA Tour
2011 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2011 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, and the WTA...
. It was the larger of the two season ending championships on the 2011 WTA Tour
2011 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2011 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, and the WTA...
, the smaller being the Tournament of Champions
2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
The 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions was a singles-only tennis tournament that was be played on indoor hard courts. It was the third edition of the tournament and was part of the 2011 WTA Tour. It was held at the Bali International Convention Centre in Bali, Indonesia from November 3...
the following week. The latter is only for players who did not qualify for the WTA Championships.
Format
The singles event featured eight players and began as a round robin event, with four players in each of two groups called the Red Group and the White Group. Over the first four days of competition, each player met the other three players in their group, with the top two in each group advancing to the semifinals. The first-placed player in one group met the second-placed player in the other group, and vice versa. The winners of each semifinal met in the championship match.The doubles competition had four teams playing in a straight knockout format from the semifinal stage.
Round Robin tie-breaking methods
The final standings of each group shall be determined by the first of the following methods that apply:- Greatest number of wins
- Greatest number of matches played; or
- Head-to-head results if only two players are tied, or if three players are tied then:
-
- a. If three players each have the same number of wins, a player having played less than all three matches is automatically eliminated and the player advancing to the single elimination competition is the winner of the match-up of the two remaining tied players; or
- b. Highest percentage of sets won; or
- c. Highest percentage of games won
Turkey Earthquake 2011
WTA players and TEB BNP Paribas, the title sponsor of the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, made a joint donation of US$250,000 to the Turkish Red Crescent to support the victims of the recent devastating earthquake in Turkey.Close to 600 people died and more than 2,300 were injured during the country's most powerful earthquake in more than a decade. WTA stars participating in the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships donated a percentage of their Championships prize money, which was matched by both the WTA and TEB BNP Paribas.
The Turkish Red Crescent is Turkey's arm of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world's largest humanitarian network. Turkish Red Crescent took immediate action after the earthquake, mobilizing its staff and emergency supplies for thousands of victims.
Prize money and points
The total prize money for the 2011 WTA Championships is 4.9 million United States dollarUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
s.
| Stage | Singles | Doubles | Points 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | RR2 + $1,295,000 | $375,000 | RR2 + 810 |
| Runner-up | RR2 + $435,000 | $187,500 | RR2 + 360 |
| Semifinalist | RR2 + $35,000 | $93,750 | RR2 |
| Round Robin (3 wins) | $455,000 | – | 690 |
| Round Robin (2 wins) | $340,000 | – | 530 |
| Round Robin (1 win) | $225,000 | – | 370 |
| Round Robin (0 wins) | $110,000 | – | 210 |
| Alternates | $50,000 | – |
- 1 for every match played in the round robin a player gets 70 points automatically, and for each round robin win they get 160 additional points
- 2 RR means Prize money or Points won in the Round Robin Round. RR for doubles is 690
Singles
| Race Singles (as of October 24, 2011) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Points | Tours | Date Qualified | |
| 1 | align=left | |7,395 | 21 | 5 September | |
| 2 | align=left | |6,370 | 14 | 5 September | |
| 3 | align=left | |5,970 | 18 | 1 October | |
| 4 | align=left | |5,750 | 19 | 1 October | |
| 5 | align=left | |5,351 | 17 | 5 October | |
| 6 | align=left | |5,190 | 20 | 9 October | |
| 7 | align=left | |5,115 | 20 | 9 October | |
| 8 | align=left | |4,940 | 19 | 21 October | |
On September 5, Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
and Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
became the first two players to qualify for the championships.
Caroline Wozniacki won 6 singles titles in the year, more than any other player. She began the year with a loss at the Medibank International Sydney
2011 Medibank International Sydney
The 2011 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Medibank International Sydney, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
to Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
. She then reached three consecutive finals at the Dubai Tennis Championships
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour. The tournament was known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons...
deafeating Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
6–1, 6–3, Qatar Ladies Open
2011 Qatar Ladies Open
The 2011 Qatar Ladies Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and the first since 2008 which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
losing to Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
4–6, 4–6, and Indian Wells
2011 BNP Paribas Open
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
beating Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
6–1, 2–6, 6–3. Her 3rd title came at the Family Circle Cup
2011 Family Circle Cup
The 2011 Family Circle Cup was a women's tennis event on the 2011 WTA Tour. It took place from April 4 to April 10, 2011. It was the 39th edition of the tournament and one of the Premier level tournaments. The event was hosted at the Family Circle Tennis Center, in Charleston, South Carolina,...
, where she won against unseeded Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...
6–2, 6–3. She then lost to Julia Görges
Julia Görges
Julia Görges is a professional tennis player from Germany. Görges reached career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 16 on 6 June 2011 and a doubles ranking of 31 on 6 June 2011...
6–7(3–7), 3–6 at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was a tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It was the 34th edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and was part of the Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from April 16 through 24, 2011...
. Her 4th and 5th singles title were at the Brussels Open
2011 Brussels Open
The 2011 Brussels Open , was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 1st edition of the Brussels Open, and was part of the Premier-level tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
defeating Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final...
2–6, 6–3, 6–3, and her home tournament the e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open
2011 e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open was the second edition of the tennis tournament e-Boks Danish Open, an International-level tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour. It was the second edition of the tournament...
defeating Lucie Šafářová
Lucie Šafárová
Lucie Šafářová is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno.Šafářová has won four WTA tour singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amélie Mauresmo en-route...
6–1, 6–4. However, she had a 3-match losing streak in the summer season before winning the New Haven Open at Yale
2011 New Haven Open at Yale
The 2011 New Haven Open at Yale was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 43rd edition of the New Haven Open at Yale, and was part of the of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour. It was previously known as "Pilot Pen Tennis". It took place at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis...
against Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic and is of ethnic Macedonian origin. She reached her career high singles ranking No.30 on 24 October 2011.-Career:...
6–4, 6–1 for the 4th consecutive time. At the Slams, Wozniacki reached the semis of the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
and the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
, falling to Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
3–6, 7–5, 6–3 after failing to convert a match point and Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
6–2, 6–4 respectively. However, she suffered early exits in the third round of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
to Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
6–1, 6–3 and the fourth round of the Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
to Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
1–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–5. This is her third appearance at the event, with her best result in 2010 when she reached the final.
Maria Sharapova regained some of her form by performing consistently throughout the year with two Premier-5 titles. Sharapova was crowned Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 68th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour...
on red clay, by beating World no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
7–5, 6–3 in the semis and sixth-seeded Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
6–2, 6–4 in the final. Her second title came at the Western & Southern Open
2011 Western & Southern Open
The 2011 Cincinnati Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati, United States. The tournament was a joint men's and women's event, with six new courts being built for the tournament...
, where she defeated fellow former World No. 1 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
4–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3 in two hours and 49 minutes, making it the longest WTA tour final this year. She also made 2 other finals at the Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
, losing to Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
1–6, 4–6 and the final of the Wimbledon Championships
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
, losing to Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
3–6, 4–6. This was also her first Grand Slam final appearance since winning the 2008 Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
. At the other Slams, Sharapova reached the Semifinals of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, falling to eventual champion Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
4–6, 5–7, but fell early in the fourth round of the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, losing 2–6, 3–6 to Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
, and the third round of the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
, beaten by Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
3–6, 6–3, 4–6. This is the first time since 2007 that she has been qualified for the Championships. She has never lost before the semifinals in her previous four appearances, with her best result on her debut at the event, beating Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in 2004.
On October 1, Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
and Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
qualified for the championships.
Petra Kvitová had her best season yet by winning five titles. She began the year by winning the Brisbane International
2011 Brisbane International
The 2011 Brisbane International was a joint ATP and WTA tennis tournament, played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 3rd edition of the tournament and took place at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Tennyson, Brisbane. It was held from 2 to 9 January...
, defeating Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
6–1, 6–3. She then reached a quarter-finals at the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, upsetting 5th seed Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
7–6(7–5), 6–3 in the third round before losing to Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
2–6, 4–6. She then won the Open GDF Suez
2011 Open GDF Suez
The 2011 Open GDF Suez was a women's professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 19th edition of the Open GDF Suez and was a Premier tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour...
, defeating Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
6–4, 6–3. She then lost 4 of her next 5 matches before winning the Mutua Madrid Open
2011 Mutua Madrid Open
The 2011 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from April 30 – May 8. It was the 10th edition of the event on the ATP and 3rd on the WTA...
defeating Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
7–6(7–3), 6–4 in the final. Later, she fell in the fourth round of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
to eventual champion Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
2–6, 6–1, 6–3. She then reached the final of the AEGON International
2011 AEGON International
The 2011 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 36th edition of the event for the women and the 3rd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
, losing to Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
1–6, 6–4, 5–7. Her most significant title came by winning the Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
over Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
6–3, 6–4 in the final. After the triumph, she lost back-to-back third round matches to Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
in the US Open Series
2011 US Open Series
The eighth edition of the US Open Series , includes ten hard court tournaments that start on July 18, 2011 in Atlanta and will end in Winston-Salem for the men and in New Haven for the women on August 28, 2011...
before becoming the first Wimbledon champion ever to fall in the first round of the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
to Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru is a Romanian professional tennis player. She achieved a singles career high of World No. 26 on April 11, 2011. Her career high in doubles was World No. 47 on March 21, 2011.She is coached by Gabriel Urpi.-Biography:...
7–6(7–3), 6–3. She then won her fifth title of the year at the Generali Ladies Linz
2011 Generali Ladies Linz
The 2011 Generali Ladies Linz is a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is the 25th edition of the Generali Ladies Linz, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, defeating Slovakian Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
6–4, 6–1. This is her debut at the championships.
Victoria Azarenka won three titles this year. She picked up her second Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
trophy after defeating Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
in the final 6–1, 6–4 and upsetting 2nd seed Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
and 3rd seed Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
earlier. She then won her first clay title the following week at the Andalucia Tennis Experience
2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience
The 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 3rd edition of the Andalucia Tennis Experience, and an International-level tournament of the 2011 WTA Tour. The event took place at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella, Spain, from April 2...
, defeating Irina-Camelia Begu in the final 6–3, 6–2. She then claimed a title before the championships at the BGL Luxembourg Open
2011 BGL Luxembourg Open
The 2011 BGL Luxembourg Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the 21st edition of the tournament, which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
defeating Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu is a Romanian tennis player. As of October 24, 2011 she is ranked No. 29 at the WTA Tour Singles Ranking. Her highest WTA ranking is currently her present ranking in singles, reached on 24 Oct 2011, and No. 24 in doubles, reached on June 7, 2010.Niculescu was born in Slatina,...
6–2, 6–2. She reached another final at the Mutua Madrid Open
2011 Mutua Madrid Open
The 2011 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from April 30 – May 8. It was the 10th edition of the event on the ATP and 3rd on the WTA...
, losing to Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
in the final 7–6(7–3), 6–4. Azarenka reached her first Slam semifinal at Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
losing to eventual champion Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
6–1, 3–6, 6–2. At the other Slams, she lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
and the quarterfinal of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
both to Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
, and the third round of the 2011 US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
6–1, 7–6(7–5). Azarenka is making her third consecutive appearance at the event.
On October 5, Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
became the fifth player to qualify for the championships.
Li Na has had a memorable yet very inconsistent year. She started the year by winning Sydney
2011 Medibank International Sydney
The 2011 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Medibank International Sydney, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
defeating Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in the final 7–6(3), 6–3 and reaching the final of the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, upsetting world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
in the semi-finals, but losing to Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
6–3, 3–6, 3–6. However, she lost her next 4 matches before bouncing back in the European clay season, reaching the semifinals of the Mutua Madrid Open
2011 Mutua Madrid Open
The 2011 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from April 30 – May 8. It was the 10th edition of the event on the ATP and 3rd on the WTA...
and Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 68th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour...
. Li then won her first Grand Slam title and became the first Grand Slam singles champion born in an Asian country at the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, defeating defending champion Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
6–4, 7–6(7–0) in the final. Following her French Open victory, she has had disappointing results for the rest of the year with the 5–7 record, including the second round lost at Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
to Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
6–3, 4–6, 6–8 and the first round defeat from Simona Halep
Simona Halep
Simona Halep is a world top-50 tennis player playing on the ITF Women's Circuit and the WTA Tour, and is currently the number-two ranked women's tennis player in Romania.-Career:...
6–2, 7–5 at the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
. Li is making her debut at the tournament after being an alternate last year.
On October 9, Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
and Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
qualified for the championships.
Vera Zvonareva was not able to duplicate her 2010 season in 2011, however, she won two titles this year to one in the previous year. She won her first title in over a year at the Qatar Ladies Open
2011 Qatar Ladies Open
The 2011 Qatar Ladies Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and the first since 2008 which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, defeating world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
6–4, 6–4 in the final. She then won her second title at the Baku Cup
2011 Baku Cup
The 2011 Baku Cup was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the first edition of the Baku Cup which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, beating her compatriot Ksenia Pervak
Ksenia Pervak
Ksenia Yuryevna Pervak is a professional left-handed Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 37th, which she reached on 19 September 2011...
in the final 6–1, 6–4. She reached two other finals in the Mercury Insurance Open
2011 Mercury Insurance Open
The 2011 Mercury Insurance Open is a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the 2nd edition of the Southern California Open since the tournament left the tour in 2007. It is classified as one of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
and the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, both losing to Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
with a scoreline of 6–3, 6–4 and 6–3, 6–2, respectively. At the Slams, her best result was reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, losing to Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
6–3, 6–3. She also lost in the quarterfinals of the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
to Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
6–3, 6–3, the fourth round of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...
7–6(7–4), 2–6, 6–2 , and the third round of the Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
to Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova is a female Bulgarian tennis player. She was born and lives in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand....
6–2, 6–3. Zvonareva is making her fifth appearance at the Championships. Her best result was reaching the final in 2008.
Samantha Stosur did not enjoy a successful first half of the year, failing to reach a semifinal of any event until the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was a tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It was the 34th edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and was part of the Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from April 16 through 24, 2011...
in April. She then reached her first final of the year at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 68th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour...
, losing to Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
6–2, 6–4, despite having not lost a set before the final. She reached her second final at the Rogers Cup
2011 Rogers Cup
The 2011 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament to be played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 122nd edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
before falling to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
6–4, 6–2 in the final. In September, she became the winner of the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
after beating the heavy favorite Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the final in straight sets 6–2, 6–3, to win her maiden Slam title. She also became the first Australian woman to win a Slam since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980. She then reached the final of the HP Open
2011 HP Open
The 2011 HP Open is a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is the third edition of the HP Open, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
losing to Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
6–3, 6–1. In the other Slams, she fell in the third rounds of the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
to Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
7–6(7–5), 6–3 and French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
to Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
6–4, 1–6, 6–3, and the first round of the Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
to 262nd ranked Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink is a Hungarian professional female tennis player. On September 21, 2009 Czink reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 37....
6–3, 6–4. Stosur is making her second appearance at the event, after the semifinals' appearance in 2010.
On October 21, Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
became the last to qualify after Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
withdrew in her quarterfinal match in Kremlin Cup
2011 Kremlin Cup
The 2011 Kremlin Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Kremlin Cup, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
Agnieszka Radwańska reached three finals in 2011 and won all of them, thus ending her 3 year-title drought. Her first title of the year came in the Mercury Insurance Open
2011 Mercury Insurance Open
The 2011 Mercury Insurance Open is a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the 2nd edition of the Southern California Open since the tournament left the tour in 2007. It is classified as one of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, where she defeated top seed Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
6–3, 6–4 in the final. In the Asian swing season, she won back-to-back titles in the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
6–3, 6–2 and the China Open
2011 China Open (tennis)
The 2011 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 13th edition of the China Open, and was part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
7–5, 0–6, 6–4, winning her biggest title so far. At the slams, Radwanska was able to reach her fourth slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
6–3, 7–6(7–4). However, she fell short in the fourth round of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
to Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
7–6(7–4), 7–5, the second rounds of both the Wimbledon to Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic and is of ethnic Macedonian origin. She reached her career high singles ranking No.30 on 24 October 2011.-Career:...
3–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–4, and the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
to Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber is a professional German tennis player of Polish descent, who has considered representing Poland. She began playing tennis aged five. Kerber has a career high ranking of World No. 30 achieved on 3 October 2011...
6–3, 4–6, 6–3. She is making her third appearance, having played as the alternate here in 2008 and 2009.
The first alternate for the championships is Frenchwomen Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
, who has reached 5 finals in the year. She reached her first Premier Mandatory final at the BNP Paribas Open
2011 BNP Paribas Open
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
losing to Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
6–1, 2–6, 6–3, then lost her next final at the Internationaux de Strasbourg
2011 Internationaux de Strasbourg
The 2011 Internationaux de Strasbourg was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 15th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
to Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
retiring being down 6–4, 1–0. She then won her first title since 2009 at the AEGON International
2011 AEGON International
The 2011 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 36th edition of the event for the women and the 3rd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
defeating Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
6–1, 4–6, 7–5. At Wimbledon, she lost to Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–1 in the quarterfinal after upsetting Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the previous round. On the contrary, she fell to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the final of the Bank of the West Classic
2011 Bank of the West Classic
The 2011 Bank of the West Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the Bank of the West Classic, and was a part of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour. It took place at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California, United States, from...
. She then won her second title of the year at the 2011 HP Open
2011 HP Open
The 2011 HP Open is a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is the third edition of the HP Open, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
defeating Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
6–3, 6–1 in the final. At the 2011 French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, she reached her second career slam semifinal. The second alternate is Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
, who is enjoying her best season so far by cracking the top 10. She won her lone title of the year at the Internationaux de Strasbourg
2011 Internationaux de Strasbourg
The 2011 Internationaux de Strasbourg was a professional tennis tournament played on clay courts. It was the 15th edition of the tournament which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
. She then reached two other final, at the Brisbane International
2011 Brisbane International
The 2011 Brisbane International was a joint ATP and WTA tennis tournament, played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 3rd edition of the tournament and took place at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Tennyson, Brisbane. It was held from 2 to 9 January...
losing to Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
6–1, 6–3 and the final of the China Open
2011 China Open (tennis)
The 2011 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 13th edition of the China Open, and was part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
losing to Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
7–5, 0–6, 6–4 in her first Premier Mandatory final. At the slams she was able to reach the quarterfinals in 3 of the 4 majors excluding Wimbledon.
Doubles
| Race Doubles (as of October 17, 2011) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Rank | Players | Points to Qualify | Points | Tours | Date Qualified |
| 1 | |
8,291 | 9,291 | 19 | 5 September |
| 2 | |
6,423 | 6,773 | 15 | 1 October |
| 3 | |
5,706 | 5,776 | 13 | 11 October |
| 4 | |
5,730 | 5,730 | 11 | 16 October |
On September 5, Květa Peschke
Kveta Peschke
Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet...
and Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
became the first doubles team to qualify for the year-end championships.
Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik continued their partnership coming to 2011, they also was able to reach the no. 1 ranking in doubles for the first time on July 4, 2011. They were also able to win 6 titles together their first coming in the ASB Classic
2011 ASB Classic
The 2011 ASB Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 26th edition of the ASB Classic, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over the team of Arvidsson
Sofia Arvidsson
Lena Sofia Alexandra Arvidsson is a Swedish tennis player. As of May 9, 2011, she is ranked World No. 77. Her highest career ranking is World No. 29.-Biography:...
& Erakovic
Marina Erakovic
Marina Erakovic is a New Zealand professional tennis player of Croatian background. Her career high in Women's Tennis Association doubles ranking is World No. 43, achieved on 27 October 2008, and in singles it is No. 49, achieved on 7 July 2008. As of 21 November 2011, she is World No...
6–3, 6–0. They then won their second title in the Qatar Ladies Open
2011 Qatar Ladies Open
The 2011 Qatar Ladies Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and the first since 2008 which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
& Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
7–5, 6–7(2–7), [10–8]. Their next titles came in back-to-back-to-back winning in AEGON International
2011 AEGON International
The 2011 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 36th edition of the event for the women and the 3rd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
over Huber & Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
6–3, 6–0, in Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
over Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
& Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
6–3, 6–1 and in the Mercury Insurance Open
2011 Mercury Insurance Open
The 2011 Mercury Insurance Open is a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the 2nd edition of the Southern California Open since the tournament left the tour in 2007. It is classified as one of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over Kopz-Jones
Raquel Kops-Jones
Raquel Kops-Jones is a professional tennis player from the United States of America. She made her debut in professional competition in 2000, aged 17, at an ITF tournament in Boca Raton....
& Spears
Abigail Spears
Abigail Michal Spears is an American professional tennis player.Spears turned professional in 2000. Spears has reached the third round at the 2005 Australian Open, and the first round at the 2005 French Open, 2005 Wimbledon tournament and the 2005 U.S. Open...
6–0, 6–2. Their triumph in Wimbledon is the team's first Slam title together and their first as individuals in the women's doubles. They then claimed their sixth title at the China Open
2011 China Open (tennis)
The 2011 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 13th edition of the China Open, and was part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
& Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
6–3, 6–4. They also reached three other finals in the Medibank International Sydney
2011 Medibank International Sydney
The 2011 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Medibank International Sydney, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
losing to Benešová
Iveta Benešová
Iveta Benešová is a professional tennis player. She began playing tennis at age of 7 and turned professional in 1998 in Prague. She has won two WTA Tour events and one Grand Slam in mixed doubles partnering with Jürgen Melzer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.-2006–2008:In the 2006 Australian...
& Záhlavová-Strýcová, in Dubai Tennis Championships
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour. The tournament was known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons...
falling to Huber & Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
and in the Mutua Madrid Open
2011 Mutua Madrid Open
The 2011 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from April 30 – May 8. It was the 10th edition of the event on the ATP and 3rd on the WTA...
to Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
& Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
. Srebotnik also on the mixed doubles title in the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
with Daniel Nestor
Daniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
. In the other Slams they were able to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
and US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
.
On October 1, Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
and Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
became the second team to qualify for the championships.
Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond did not start pairing up for doubles until the European clay season as Huber initially paired with Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
and Raymond teamed up with Julia Görges
Julia Görges
Julia Görges is a professional tennis player from Germany. Görges reached career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 16 on 6 June 2011 and a doubles ranking of 31 on 6 June 2011...
. The veteran team then had a great result together, reaching the semifinals of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
. They lost their first two finals in the AEGON International
2011 AEGON International
The 2011 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 36th edition of the event for the women and the 3rd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
losing to Peschke
Kveta Peschke
Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet...
& Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
6–3, 6–0 and in the Bank of the West Classic
2011 Bank of the West Classic
The 2011 Bank of the West Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 40th edition of the Bank of the West Classic, and was a part of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour. It took place at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California, United States, from...
losing to Azarenka & Kirilenko 6–1, 6–3. Their first title as a team came in as a gift winning the Rogers Cup
2011 Rogers Cup
The 2011 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament to be played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 122nd edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over Azarenka & Kirilenko in a walkover. They then claim their first Slam as a team in the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
over King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
& Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US...
4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3). They then collected their third title at the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over Dulko & Pennetta 7–6(7–4), 0–6, [10–6]. Huber was also able reach two other finals in the Dubai Tennis Championships
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour. The tournament was known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons...
with María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
winning over Peschke & Srebotnik 7–6(7–5), 6–3 and in the Qatar Ladies Open
2011 Qatar Ladies Open
The 2011 Qatar Ladies Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and the first since 2008 which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
with Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
in a losing effort to Peschke & Srebotnik.
On October 11, Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
and Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
became the third team to qualify for the championships.
Gisela Dulko and Flavia Penetta failed to duplicate their 2010 season winning 6 titles and the championship as they only won one title in the year, but it is their most prestigious title as as a team this coming in the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
beating Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
& Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
2–6, 7–5, 6–1. This marks their first Slam title as team and as individuals. An injury suffered by Dulko prevented the team to collect some points during the mid-season. However, the team performed well during the Asian swing and became the runner-up in both Toray Pan Pacific Open
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
to Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
& Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
and China Open
2011 China Open (tennis)
The 2011 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 13th edition of the China Open, and was part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
to Peschke
Kveta Peschke
Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet...
& Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
. In the other Slams they reached the quarterfinals of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
and the third round of the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
. Pennetta also reached another final with Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
at the UNICEF Open
2011 UNICEF Open
The 2011 UNICEF Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 22nd edition of the UNICEF Open, and was part of the 250 Series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
losing to Záhlavová-Strýcová & Zakopalová.
On October 16, Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
and Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US...
took the last spot over Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
and Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
.
Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova wasn't able to play together until the BNP Paribas Open
2011 BNP Paribas Open
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 36th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
due to Shvedova's knee injury. The team weren't able to match up to their 2010 season when they won 2 Slam titles, as they only reached 1 slam final in the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
losing to Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
& Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(3–7). They won their first title of the year at the Western & Southern Open
2011 Western & Southern Open
The 2011 Cincinnati Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati, United States. The tournament was a joint men's and women's event, with six new courts being built for the tournament...
winning 6–4, 3–6, [11–9] over Grandin
Natalie Grandin
Natalie Grandin is a professional tennis player from South Africa. Grandin has yet to compete outside of the qualifying rounds of a Grand Slam singles event. She is known for her variety of play, and volleying ability....
& Uhlířová
Vladimíra Uhlírová
Vladimíra Uhlířová is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Uhlířová reached her highest doubles ranking of World number 18 on October 1, 2007. Uhlířová has won 17 ITF doubles titles and 5 WTA doubles titles, but no singles titles of either type.-Doubles: 17 :-External links:...
. They also reached two other finals in a losing effort in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 68th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour...
losing to the Chinese pair of Peng
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final...
& Zheng
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
2–6, 3–6 and in the HP Open
2011 HP Open
The 2011 HP Open is a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is the third edition of the HP Open, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
losing to the Asian pair of Date Krumm & Zhang
Zhang Shuai (tennis)
Zhang Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. , she is the fourth-highest ranked women's singles player from China, at World number 90.-Career Summary:...
in the final 5–7, 6–3, [9–11]. Shvedova was able to win another title with Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza is a professional Indian tennis player. She began her tennis career in 2003 and is well known for her powerful forehand ground strokes. She is the first ever Indian to break into the top 30 WTA rankings...
this time at the Citi Open
2011 Citi Open
The 2011 Citi Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 1st edition of the Citi Open, and was a part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
over Govortsova
Olga Govortsova
Olga Govortsova is a professional Belarusian tennis player. As of May 10, 2010 her highest singles ranking on the WTA is World Number 35, which she achieved on June 23, 2008.-Career:...
& Kudryavtseva
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She currently lives in Moscow, where she is coached by Nick Rybakov...
6–3, 6–3. King also reached a final with a different partner Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld is a professional tennis player from Germany. She turned professional in April 2003.As of September 2011, Grönefeld is the No. 12 tennis player from Germany. She was coached and trained by Rafael Font de Mora in Scottsdale, Arizona until 2006...
at the Monterrey Open
2011 Monterrey Open
The 2011 Monterrey Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the third edition of the Monterrey Open and was categorized as an International tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour...
losing to Czechs Benešová
Iveta Benešová
Iveta Benešová is a professional tennis player. She began playing tennis at age of 7 and turned professional in 1998 in Prague. She has won two WTA Tour events and one Grand Slam in mixed doubles partnering with Jürgen Melzer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.-2006–2008:In the 2006 Australian...
& Záhlavová-Strýcová.
Groupings
The 2011 edition of the year-end championships featured two former World number ones, four Grand Slam champions, two Grand Slam finalists. Two of them made their debut at the championships. The competitors were divided into two groups representing the colors of the flag of TurkeyFlag of Turkey
The flag of Turkey is a red flag with a white crescent moon and a star in its centre. The flag is called Ayyıldız or Albayrak . The Turkish flag is referred to as Alsancak in the Turkish National Anthem....
. The Red group consisted of no. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki, no. 3 seed Petra Kvitová, no. 6 seed Vera Zvonareva and no. 8 seed Agnieszka Radwańska. The White Group was composed of no. 2 seed Maria Sharapova, no, 4 seed Victoria Azarenka, no. 5 seed Li Na and no. 7 seed Samantha Stosur. Marion Bartoli and Andrea Petkovic served as alternates.
In the red group, in their respective records in their group, World no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
was 11–6, Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
was 5–6, Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
was 9–9 and Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
was 4–8. Leading the group Wozniacki, has a good record in each opponent in her group. She has a positive record against Kvitová, leading the Wimbledon champion 3–1, with their last meeting coming in the third round of the 2010 China Open
2010 China Open (tennis)
The 2010 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 12th edition of the China Open, and is part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
, with Wozniacki winning 6–3, 6–2 and all their matches were won in straight sets. Against Zvonareva, she has a record of 4–4, with Zvonareva winning their only encounter in 2011 in the final of the Qatar Ladies Open
2011 Qatar Ladies Open
The 2011 Qatar Ladies Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and the first since 2008 which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
6–4, 6–4. Against good friend Radwańska, the Dane lead 4–1 winning their last four matches including their only encounter in 2011 at the semifinal of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was a tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It was the 34th edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and was part of the Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from April 16 through 24, 2011...
7–5, 6–3, with Radwańska's last win coming in 2007. Zvonareva on the other hand, has close records against Kvitová and Radwańska. Against Kvitová, the Russian leads 3–2 facing each other 3 times in 2011 all won in straight sets, with Zvonerva winning two of them in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
and the semifinal of the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
and lost in the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open
2011 Mutua Madrid Open
The 2011 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from April 30 – May 8. It was the 10th edition of the event on the ATP and 3rd on the WTA...
. In her match-up against Radwańska, the Russian trails 2–3 with them competing against each other 4 times in 2011 all won in straight sets and the Pole winning their last three encounters – the first in the final of Mercury Insurance Open
2011 Mercury Insurance Open
The 2011 Mercury Insurance Open is a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the 2nd edition of the Southern California Open since the tournament left the tour in 2007. It is classified as one of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, the third round of Rogers Cup
2011 Rogers Cup
The 2011 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament to be played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 122nd edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, and the final of the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 28th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
, Zvonerva's last win came in quarterfinal of the Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
. In the head-to-head of first time qualifiers. Kvitová and Radwańska, The Czech has won both of their matches including their last match in the quarterfinal of AEGON International
2011 AEGON International
The 2011 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 36th edition of the event for the women and the 3rd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
1–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–2)
In the white group, in their head-to-heads with players within their group, Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
was 17–6, Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
was 8–7, Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
was 7–11, and Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
was 5–13. Like Wozniacki, Sharapova has a good record against each members of her group. Against Azarenka, they have split their match-ups with each having 3 wins, and also splitting their match-ups in 2011 with 1 win each, with Azarenka winning in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
and Sharapova winning in the quarterfinal of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 68th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour...
. Against Li, Sharapova leads their head-to-head 5–3, however Li has won their 3 previous meetings in straight sets including the semifinal of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
6–4, 7–5. Against Stosur, Sharapova has a perfect record of 9–0 including 3 straight set wins in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
, the final of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 68th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour...
, and the quarterfinal of the Western & Southern Open
2011 Western & Southern Open
The 2011 Cincinnati Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati, United States. The tournament was a joint men's and women's event, with six new courts being built for the tournament...
. Azarenka, in the other hand has a mixed record against Li and Stosur. She trails Li 1–4, including losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
6–3, 6–3 and the quarterfinal of the French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
7–5, 6–2. However, against Stosur, Azarenka has never lost a match and a set winning their four encounters, with their last meeting coming in semifinal of the 2010 Bank of the West Classic
2010 Bank of the West Classic
The 2010 Bank of the West Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 39th edition of the Bank of the West Classic, and is a part of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California, United States, from...
with the Belorussian winning 6–2, 6–3. In the match-up between Slam champions Li and Stosur, despite Stosur having lost all matches against Sharapova and Azarenka, she has never lost to Li winning their 5 matches including 3 in 2011 in the semifinal of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 68th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour...
, the third rounds of Rogers Cup
2011 Rogers Cup
The 2011 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament to be played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 122nd edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
and Western & Southern Open
2011 Western & Southern Open
The 2011 Cincinnati Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati, United States. The tournament was a joint men's and women's event, with six new courts being built for the tournament...
.
The four doubles teams started the semifinals without group play.
Player head-to-head
Below are the head-to-head records as they approached the tournament.Day 1
The action in this year's Tour Championships began with the Red Group with Wimbledon champion Petra KvitováPetra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
and 2008 finalist Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
. Having lost to Zvonareva in straight sets just a few weeks ago in Tokyo, Kvitova had her work cut out for her, but this time it was different - Kvitova hadn't lost an indoor match all year and her huge serve, powerful groundstrokes and strong net play were working like a charm as she raced out to a 6–2, 4–1 lead. Things got tougher as the unforced errors began to creep into Kvitova's game, and Zvonareva closed the gap to 4–all in the second set; but the No.3-seeded Kvitova broke again for 5–4 and served it out, getting two errors in a row from the No.6-seeded Zvonareva to get to match point then knifing a forehand volley. The series between the two is now knotted at 3–3. Kvitova ended with an even differential, 24 winners to 24 errors; she won 17 of 23 net points (including match point). Zvonareva was −9 (eight winners, 17 errors).
They were followed by last years finalist Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
and first time qualifier Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
. Wozniacki had her chances in the first set, rallying from 2–4 to 5–4 and holding triple set point with Radwanska falling into a 0–40 hole in the next game; Radwanska snuck that game out and took the first set, Radwanska then started to be bothered by her shoulder injury and started to go for her shots but Wozniacki wouldn't lose her cool, comfortably taking the second set and holding steady from 4–all in the third to close the door on the two-hour, 39-minute marathon.
The last match saw two US champions the 2006 champion Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
and the current champion Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
. Stosur, the No.7 seed at the year-end finale, turned the tables on one of the most lopsided head-to-heads in the upper echelon of the women's game, coming out like a house on fire then surviving some tense moments to close out a No.2-ranked, No.2-seeded Sharapova in straight sets 6–1, 7–5. Having lost her last 11 sets in a row to Sharapova, Stosur stormed through the opening set in just 28 minutes, then rallied from 3–0 down in the second set, with Sharapova missing a backhand return on match point. Both players had similar amounts of winners throughout the match – Stosur 18, Sharapova 17 – but Sharapova's 30 unforced errors far outweighed Stosur's 17 miscues.
| Matches | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Winner | Loser | Score |
| Red Group | Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles... [3] |
 Vera ZvonarevaVera Zvonareva Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the... [6] |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Red Group |  Caroline WozniackiCaroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks... [1] |
 Agnieszka RadwańskaAgnieszka Radwanska Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she... [8] |
5–7, 6–2, 6–4 |
| White Group |  Samantha StosurSamantha Stosur Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No... [7] |
Maria Sharapova Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open... [2] |
6–1, 7–5 |
Day 2
The second day began with Belarus' Victoria AzarenkaVictoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
and Australia's Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
, Azarenka lead their head-to-head 4–0. With her intense and relentless barrage of deep, penetrating groundstrokes, the No.4-seeded Azarenka never really let the No.7-seeded Stosur into the match, losing just five points in seven service games and breaking four times in building a 6–2, 5–2 lead. Stosur put up a fight in a 10-minute final game, saving three match points - including two on big inside out forehand winners - but Azarenka wrapped up the one-hour, 17-minute triumph on her fourth match point. In their winners to unforced errors ratio, Stosur was 11–26, Azarenka was 16–13.
The second match saw French Open Champion Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
making her debut against no. 2 seed Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
. Having not won a match since August - she lost first round at her last two events at the US Open and Beijing, and in straight sets too - Li's game came alive at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, as her power game clicked against one of the most powerful players in the game. She rallied from 2-4 to take the first set to a tie-break, where she rallied from 0–4 to take the set; she then held off a late surge from Sharapova in the second set, watching a 5–2 lead close to 5–4 before finally serving out the victory in front of a packed crowd. Li had been struggling since becoming Asia's first Grand Slam champion at the French Open, going 5–7 in her seven tournaments since – but she had won her last three meetings against Sharapova in straight sets and brought that magic out again, getting just a few more winners in the winners column - 15 to 12. Li is the first Chinese ever to compete in singles at the year-end finale. Later in the day, Sharapova withdrew with a left ankle injury, ending her chance to finish the year at No.1.
The last match of the day came between two former US Open finalists Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
and Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, who has split their former 8 matches in half. Zvonareva, the No.6 seed, was the clear aggressor in the match, going for her big groundstrokes – including some particularly impressive backhands – to take the first set in just 35 minutes. Wozniacki broke in the last game of the second set to push the match to a third but Zvonareva came alive again, racing out to a double-break 4–1 lead and barely looking back. The Russian, who just turned 27 last month, won the last seven points of the match to end it 6–2, 4–6, 6–3. Although both Zvonareva and Wozniacki are known for their strong defensive skills, the Russian's offense really shone through at the Sinan Erdem Dome – she had by far the bigger numbers for the day, 49 winners to 49 unforced errors (Wozniacki finished the match with 13 winners to 18 unforced errors).
| Matches | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Winner | Loser | Score |
| White Group | Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots.... [4] |
Samantha Stosur Samantha Stosur Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No... [7] |
6–2, 6–2 |
| White Group |  Li NaLi Na (tennis) Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;... [5] |
Maria Sharapova Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open... [2] |
7–6(7–4), 6–4 |
| Red Group | Vera Zvonareva Vera Zvonareva Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the... [6] |
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks... [1] |
6–2, 4–6, 6–3 |
Day 3
The first match featured white group's Victoria AzarenkaVictoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
and Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
. Victoria Azarenka was a relentless wall of power at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships on Thursday, getting revenge for losses at the Australian and French Opens with a commanding 6–2, 6–2 win over Li Na. Azarenka, who lost to Li in straight sets in the fourth round in Melbourne and in the quarterfinals in Paris - and had actually lost four of the pair's five previous meetings - was sharper in every department against Li this time, controlling most of the rallies with her powerful groundstrokes and sending any of the Chinese trailblazer's own powerful groundstrokes back with added interest. Although Li hit twice as many winners as Azarenka (18 to 9) those were far outweighed by more than twice as many unforced errors (39 to 17). Having beaten Samantha Stosur by an identical scoreline on Wednesday, Azarenka is now 2–0 in the White Group and the first to qualify for the semifinals.
The second match saw top seed Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
taking on third seed Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
.With a swift 6–4, 6–2 win over Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova not only scored her second win over a reigning No.1, she also got the second spot in the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships semifinals. Kvitova, the No.3 seed, beat the No.1-seeded Wozniacki in style, losing just 17 points in nine service games and breaking Wozniacki three times, including in the first game of each set. The No.3-ranked Czech - just the fourth Czech player ever to rank in the Top 3, after Martina Navratilova, Hana Mandlikova and Jana Novotna - served seven aces in the one-hour, 24-minute victory.
The last match was one of the most enthralling one in tournament so far with Russian Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
taking on Pole Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
. Zvonareva wouldn't have just qualified for the semifinals with a victory over Radwanska, she would have snapped a three-match losing streak against her, having lost to her at Carlsbad, Toronto and Tokyo in the last few months - all in straight sets, too. This one would be much different. It took just 35 minutes for the No.6-seeded Zvonareva to win the first set, 6–1; Radwanska, the No.8 seed, retaliated with a 6–2 second set. An aggressive Zvonareva regrouped and got to double match point at 5–3, 40–15 in the third set but missed down-the-lines on both of those, then lost an extended exchange on her third match point in the same game. She would eventually lose to Radwanska for a fourth straight time, 1–6, 6–2 7–5.
| Matches | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Winner | Loser | Score |
| White Group | Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots.... [4] |
Li Na Li Na (tennis) Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;... [5] |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Red Group | Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles... [3] |
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks... [1] |
6–4, 6–2 |
| Red Group | Agnieszka Radwańska Agnieszka Radwanska Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she... [8] |
Vera Zvonareva Vera Zvonareva Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the... [6] |
1–6, 6–2, 7–5 |
Day 4
The first match saw two Slam champions between Li NaLi Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
and Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
, with the winner advancing to the semifinals. Samantha Stosur served up a barrage of kick serves and blasted some ferocious forehands to completely confound Li Na in 66 minutes, 6–1, 6–0, improving to 6–0 in the pair's head-to-head series and dealing the Chinese her most lopsided loss on the WTA in almost three and a half years. Their sixth meeting at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships on Friday was by far their quickest, as Stosur hit far more winners (15 to 4) and was cleaner on the unforced errors (22 to 32) and basically dominated every department, losing her serve from 30-0 up in the fifth game of the match but otherwise winning every game en route to her easiest victory since Dubai in February.
The second match saw Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
trying to advance to the semifinals taking on Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
. With Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka and Samantha Stosur already through, Radwanska had to take a set from Kvitova on Friday to become the fourth player into the final four. And that goal didn't seem far away at all as she stormed out to a 5–1 first set lead - but Kvitova suddenly came alive, her power game hitting its mark as she stormed back to take the opening set comfortably in a tie-break. Although there were a few close moments midway through the second set - she went to six deuces before holding in a marathon game for 4–3 - Kvitova never really looked in trouble again, eventually finishing the match off with a big crosscourt forehand that drew one last backhand error from Radwanska. Whether she was winning or losing, Kvitova seemed to be in complete control of the score against Radwanska - she finished the match with 42 winners to 47 unforced errors, while Radwanska had eight winners to 17 unforced errors. Kvitova finished first in the Red Group with a bullet, 3–0 in win-loss and 6–0 in sets. Although Zvonareva, Radwanska and Caroline Wozniacki all ended with a 1–2 win–loss record and 3–5 sets won-lost, Zvonareva had the best games won-lost percentage of the three and thus finished second in the Red Group. The semifinals will be Red Group No.1 Kvitova taking on White Group No.2 Stosur, and White Group No.1 Azarenka taking on Red Group No.2 Zvonareva.
In the last round robin match of the week on Friday night, Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
took on alternate Marion Bartoli. The result, a 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 win for Bartoli, had no effect on either group's standings. However, Azarenka was accused of tanking the final set of the match, going for winners at the get go and not willing to track down balls.
| Matches | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Winner | Loser | Score |
| White Group | Samantha Stosur Samantha Stosur Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No... [7] |
Li Na Li Na (tennis) Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;... [5] |
6–1, 6–0 |
| Red Group | Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles... [3] |
Agnieszka Radwańska Agnieszka Radwanska Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she... [8] |
7–6(7–4), 6–3 |
| White Group |  Marion BartoliMarion Bartoli Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.... [9] |
Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots.... [4] |
5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
Day 5
The first singles semifinal match saw white group no. 1 Petra KvitováPetra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
and red group no. 2 Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
. Kvitova was the only player to make it through the round robin undefeated, but she showed some cracks in her last match on Friday, falling behind 5–1 in the first set before rallying to beat Agnieszka Radwanska in straights. And although she was up an early break she had somewhat of a slowish start again against a confident Stosur, who came back to take the first set and eventually build a 7–5, 1–0 lead, with a break point to go up 7–5, 2–0. Just like she did before, though, Kvitova came alive when she needed to, winning six of the next eight games to take the second set 6–3, then racing ahead 5–0 in the third. Stosur made things exciting at the end by winning three straight games to close to 5–3, but the Wimbledon champion held on, closing out the US Open champion with a love hold 5–7, 6–3, 6–3. Both Kvitova and Stosur finished with clean winners-to-errors differentials (Kvitova 38–39, Stosur 16–18) but the biggest difference came in creating break point opportunities – Kvitova brought up 11 break points (converting on five) while Stosur only got six break points (converting on three).
The second semifinal featured red group no. 1 Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
and white group no. 2 Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
. She broke serve three times in the first set, including once at love. There were some tough moments in the 59-minute second set, including a marathon six-deuce fourth game where Zvonareva defied four break points to hold for 2–all, but Azarenka got a late break and save two brek points at the final game and served it out, It is her fourth win in their 10 meetings. Azarenka of Belarus eventually won 6–2, 6–3 Saturday to reach the final of the WTA Championships. The No. 4-ranked Azarenka's solid groundstrokes forced errors from No. 6 Zvonareva, who was never able to gain momentum in the match.
In the doubles, Peschke and Srebotnik, the No.1 seeds, were the first team into the final, getting the only break of serve in the first set then rebounding after a second set lapse to beat Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova 6–3, 6–4. Peschke and Srebotnik broke King's serve en route to taking the opening set and built a 3–0 lead in the second, only to lose four straight games; but the momentum swung again and they won three more games of their own to close it out. Huber and Raymond, the No.2 seeds, followed with a 4–6, 6–3, [10–7] victory over Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, the defending champs at the year-ender. Huber and Raymond not only rallied from a set down to win, they also came back from 3–6 in the match tie-break, Huber hitting winners on four of the last five points of the match (two drop volley winners and two big overheads).
| Matches | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Winner | Loser | Score |
| Doubles – Semifinals | Květa Peschke Kveta Peschke Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet... [1] Katarina SrebotnikKatarina Srebotnik Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30... [1] |
Vania King Vania King Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova.... [4]  Yaroslava ShvedovaYaroslava Shvedova Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US... [4] |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Singles – Semifinals | Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles... [3] |
Samantha Stosur Samantha Stosur Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No... [7] |
5–7, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Singles – Semifinals | Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots.... [4] |
Vera Zvonareva Vera Zvonareva Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the... [6] |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Doubles – Semifinals | Liezel Huber Liezel Huber Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,... [2] Lisa RaymondLisa Raymond Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles... [2] |
 Gisela DulkoGisela Dulko Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where... [3]  Flavia PennettaFlavia Pennetta Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and... [3] |
4–6, 6–3, [10–7] |
Day 6
The first match was the Doubles Final between the top two seeds Květa PeschkeKveta Peschke
Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet...
& Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
& Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
. When two of the WTA's most accomplished veterans finally joined forces for the first time in April, everybody knew big things were in the wings. Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond wrapped up a breakthrough year at the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships, capturing their fourth title in their last six events with a 64 64 win on Sunday over Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik, losing three straight games from 64 31 but regrouping and winning three straight games of their own to finish it. They fell short on their first two match points but Huber closed it out with a backhand volley at Srebotnik's body.
They were followed on court by the Singles Final between 3rd seed Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
and 4th seed Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
, who were battling not only for the championship but for the world no. 2 ranking. In front of a packed crowd of over 13,000, Petra Kvitova capped an absolute breakthrough year at the Sinan Erdem Dome on Sunday night, recording an electric 75 46 63 victory over Victoria Azarenka to capture the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships and rise to No.2 in the world. Maybe drawing confidence from winning her last three meetings with Azarenka, the first 30 minutes of the match were all Kvitova, as she stormed out to a 5-0 lead and seemed well on her way to extending that streak. Azarenka was able to swing the momentum, winning the next five games; although she would still lose that first set, she kept that momentum and took the second set. Azarenka's momentum didn't end there. She brought up triple break point as Kvitova served in the first game of the decider, eventually holding a fourth break point later in the game - but Kvitova hung tough at what was perhaps the most critical time of the match, holding that service game then getting the only break of the set in the next game. The two held the rest of the way until Kvitova hit a forehand pass that drew one last Azarenka error.
| Matches | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Winner | Loser | Score |
| Final | Liezel Huber Liezel Huber Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,... [2] Lisa RaymondLisa Raymond Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles... [2] |
Květa Peschke Kveta Peschke Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet... [1] Katarina SrebotnikKatarina Srebotnik Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30... [1] |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Final | Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles... [3] |
Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots.... [4] |
7–5, 4–6, 6–3 |
Singles
Petra KvitováPetra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
def.
Victoria AzarenkaVictoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3
- It was Kvitova's sixth title of the year and seventh of her career. She won the WTA Championship title at her first appearance, closing the year as second in WTA Rankings, Azarenka being third.
Doubles
Liezel HuberLiezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
/
Lisa RaymondLisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
def.
Květa PeschkeKveta Peschke
Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet...
/
Katarina SrebotnikKatarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
, 6–4, 6–4
- Huber and Raymond won their third and fourth Doubles WTA Championship title and the first as a couple, Huber winning paired to Cara BlackCara BlackCara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
in 2007 and 2008, Raymond with Samantha StosurSamantha StosurSamantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
in 2005 and 2006 and Rennae StubbsRennae StubbsRennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
back in 2001. Peschke and Srebotnik lost their second WTA Championship final in a row.