Posted in

WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2025 3Q Awards: Aryna’s Reign of Fire

by sports••0
WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2025 3Q Awards: Aryna’s Reign of Fire
3Q Top Players list: HERE

3Q Top Players list: HERE





#1 – MBOKOMANIA! …18-year old Canadian Victoria Mboko brings her lower-level success to the WTA tour in Montreal, with her relentless power-and-speed game helping her upset four former slam champions (Kenin, Gauff, Rybakina and Osaka), saving a MP vs. one and showing preternatural big match mettle while coming back from a set down in the SF and Final to claim a 1000 title in just her seventh tour-level MD.
#2 – EYE OF THE TIGRESS …Aryna Sabalenka ends her 2025 slam title shutout, reaching her sixth straight hard court slam final (3 con. in New York), and fourth in the last five majors, becoming the first woman to defend a U.S. Open title since 2014 (S.Williams). 39-3 in the AO/US since the start of 2023, she’s won four combined titles in Melbourne and Flushing Meadows.
#3 – QUEEN CITY JAZDA …Iga Swiatek sweeps through Cincinnati without dropping a set, winning her first hard court title in a year and a half (’24 I.W.) and reclaiming the #2 ranking
#4 – RISING TO THE TOP OF THE HEAP? …Gaby Dabrowski & Erin Routliffe win their second U.S. Open title in three years, with 2023 and ’25 bookending a ’24 season during which Dabrowski was diagnosed with breast cancer. In New York, the #3-seeded duo knocked off both #2 Errani/Paolini (SF) and #1 Siniakova/Townsend (F). They also won the title in Cincinnati.
#5 – UNBOWED ON THE BIG STAGE …Amanda Anisimova rebounds from her 6-0/6-0 loss in the Wimbledon title match to reach her second straight major final at the U.S. Open, avenging her SW19 loss to Iga Swiatek in the QF and rallying from a set down in the SF to put an end to Naomi Osaka’s spotless 13-0 career slam QF+ mark
#6 – MS.FERNANDEZ GOES TO WASHINGTON …Leylah Fernandez rediscovers her U.S. hard court “drama gene” in Washington, winning her biggest career title (500) with wins over Jessie Pegula and Elena Rybakina
#7 – THREE TIMES A CHARM (x2) …with Diede de Groot absent or still in comeback mode, the former #1 finished 2025 slam title-less (in either singles or doubles) for the first season in her slam career (since 2017). In New York, the wheelchair champions claimed their third majors of the season, with Yui Kamiji winning in singles and Li Xiaohui/Wang Ziying taking the doubles.
#8 – FRANCAISE FOREHAND STRIKES AGAIN …RG semifinalist Lois Boisson, in just her third career WTA MD, wins her maiden tour title on the clay in Hamburg
#9 – QUEEN OF THE CZECHS (in Prague, circa 2025) …Marie Bouzkova rises above a field populated by her countrywomen to become the first two-time Prague champ, finishing up with wins over fellow Czechs Tereza Valentova and Linda Noskova. Bouzkova is 2-0 in Prague finals, and 0-6 in tour-level singles finals elsewhere.
#10 – HOT WAFFLE …Jeline Vandromme becomes the first Belgian to win the U.S. Open girls’ title since 2003, extending her summer winning streak to 23 matches (17-0 and three titles on the ITF circuit, then 6-0 in NYC).


kosova-font
*HSIEH BEING HSIEH*

*VENUS’ 25th OPEN (28 years after her debut)*

And then there were the twirls and curtain calls…

*SHARAPOVA: HALL OF FAME (Pt.1)*

*MEET THE NEW WTA MASCOT?*

*WHEN BAD IDEAS BECOME ACTUAL TROPHIES*

NOTE: the tournament was sponsored by the cruise line Explora Journeys, whose parent organization is MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company). Hence, the shipping crate trophy.

Meanwhile, that same week (i.e. all trophies are not created equal)…

*STILL THE BEST VIEW-FROM-COURTSIDE ON TOUR*

*INTRODUCING BELLA (Kalinskaya)…*

No matter what happened with Anna Kalinskaya in the Washington final (she lost, BTW)… Bella was going to emerge as a new star in the WTA Pooch Pantheon. It was written in stone, doggie biscuits.

She even got a shout-out during the trophy ceremony.

*THE AOI ITO EXPERIENCE*

*IN THE ARENA*

*KAROLINA MUCHOVA APPRECIATION CORNER*

*SAY “DON’T TOUCH IGA” WITHOUT SAYING “DON’T TOUCH IGA*

*BJK AND ARTWORK, TWO THINGS THAT ALWAYS GO GREAT TOGETHER*

*THE EVA LYS STORY OFTEN TAKES PLACE OUTSIDE THE LINES*

Eva Lys during a changeover is sometimes a whole other show…

Meanwhile, and the winner for “Best Performance by a U.S. Men’s Player at the U.S. Open” is…

*UNDERSTANDING THE MISSION (i.e. color is good in tennis fashion, and the Open is designed for playing dress-up)*

Kudos to Aussie apparel company Elite Eleven, especially for matching the pink with Maya Joint’s red hair. And while the bedazzled Labubus with tennis-related names were (for sure) overdone, at least Naomi Osaka (& Co.) recognize — as Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and others did — that the U.S. Open is the major where fashion, accessories and otherwise (as w/ Osaka and her various masks in 2020), are all in the mix because it’s *supposed* to be a show/stage.

*…AND, CONVERSELY, MISSING THE MARK*

While slams (esp. the Open) were once the showcase for cool new tennis outfits, this version of Adidas’ Y-3 gear wasn’t that. It was more a weird cross between a wrestling singlet and lederhosen.

*GOODBYE, PETRA / ADIEU, CARO*

Day 2 in New York was about goodbyes, as two looming retirements announced months ago finally faced off with reality. As their personal lives (marriage for both, motherhood for one) have marched on off the court, both Petra Kvitova and Caroline Garcia saw their playing journeys end as they lost in what were not only their final slam matches, but also moments that officially wrapped up their respective careers.

Both women often flew quite high during their time on tour, but the “what if?” moments — if Petra had just won *one more* match (and reached #1), if Caro had handled pressure a bit better and/or was more consistent, if that home invasion attack had never happened or Kvitova’s health issues hadn’t made playing in stifling conditions so difficult, etc. — linger for them maybe as much (or more) than for most of the other top players who have left the sport in recent seasons (i.e. someone like Kerber, who it felt like slowly built to something great and probably got the most from her career that could) .

In a regrettably sparsely attended match on Grandstand court (in what would have been a nice option for a first-up Sunday match and more of a warm spotlight, rather than as part of the Monday scrum), Kvitova scored just one game in a 6-1/6-0 loss to Diane Parry, while Garcia fell in three sets to Kamilla Rakhimova on Court 6 (even worse!).

It’d been nice if Kvitova’s final farewell leg on tour this season had had some better moments (she went 1-8, with a walkover that followed her lone victory), and the U.S. Open was never her best major, as it was the only one where she never reached the SF. But even with all the things that seemed to be left hanging in Kvitova’s career, time will quickly smooth over those seeming holes in her tennis resume. She’s been one of the most well-liked players (loved, really) of her generation, and that will only continue as she leaves the heat of the action; while the most indelible images of her career between the lines — mostly at Wimbledon, where she burst onto the scene back in 2011 by leaving all-time greats in the stands in literal awe (and mouths agape) over her grass court prowess as she powered her way to her first of two SW19 wins — will forever make her greatest moments those that will be cherished by anyone who saw them play out.

Even while winning mutiple slam doubles titles, a Fed Cup crown (w/ a clinching win) and being ranked in the Top 5 in singles, Garcia might end up being longer remembered as the young player whose talent caught the eye of Andy Murray (“The girl Sharapova is playing is going to be number one in the world one day… what a player,” the Scot announced on Twitter) back in 2011.

The Pastry didn’t have a Hall of Fame career, but one could do worse than having a uniquely personal moment in time like that tucked away into a career bio, I guess.

*MATHUS INTERRUPTUS, SIMPLES IRRESISTIBLES*

Here’s a fun little way to show how stupid it is to have been playing both the “sister tournament” Montreal/Toronto finals at the same time (the men’s started early in the women’s 3rd set).

There’s something poetic — and maybe emblematic of the many disconnects within the sport — about Ben Shelton not understanding what was going on…

*THE WTA PROMO THAT NEVER WILL BE (aka KEEPING CALM AND MINDING THE FAN)*

*HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE MET: U.S. OPEN EDITION*

*SHARAPOVA: HALL OF FAME (Pt.2)*

*IF YOU CAN’T COME UP WITH YOUR OWN WORKABLE SLOGAN, HOP ONTO ANOTHER (i.e. be a remora attached to the belly of a shark)*

Honestly, this one simple phrase is in itself a more effective marketing angle than anything the WTA tour has come up with in 15 years (and four or five “different” publicity campaigns/rebrands).

BTW, #WTARallyTheWorld seems to be officially dead, as it never once rose from the ashes (again) during the U.S. Open.

WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2025 3Q Awards: Aryna’s Reign of Fire


1. U.S. Open 4th Rd. – Barbora Krejcikova def. Taylor Townsend

…1-6/7-6(13)/6-3. In the first week of the U.S. Open, Krejcikova had already had one significant comeback win, climbing out of a 0-3, love/30 hole in the deciding set vs. #11 Emma Navarro in the 3rd Round.

A round later, though, the two-time major champion Czech put that comeback to shame against Townsend. Her triumph was her third victory this season — and she’d only won 12, so a quarter of her wins — in matches where she’s found herself down MP.

Still buzzing from her early-round run-in with Alona Ostapenko and the off-court aftermath, Townsend had played her way into her second career slam Round of 16, and here had a stadium full of supporters (save, maybe, for one very committed Krejcikova fan) on Armstrong as she took a 6-1 1st set and pushed toward a straight sets victory. At 5-4, she held a MP on the Czech’s serve.

Krejickova saved it, and Townsend had no idea what she’d unleashed.

Having been unable to corral the “W” on her first opportunity, Townsend saw Krejcikova then get a break to take the lead and serve for the 2nd set at 6-5. But Townsend bounced back to break and force a TB, where the Czech took an early 3-1 lead before Townsend ran off five straight points to reach triple MP at 6-3.

On the surface, Townsend *seemed* close to victory, and a passel of kids were let loose by an overconfident usher to bound down the Armstrong stadium steps with their oversized fuzzy tennis balls to be signed immediately after the match. That moment *could* have been close, but it really wasn’t. Actually, it was an instant where it was time to recall the longtime catch phrase of just-retired ESPN personality Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend!”

For the remainder of what turned out to be a 25-minute tie-breaker, Krejcikova would keep her wits and play her very best points of the match with her fate in it literally on the line should she take a false swing. Krejcikova saved those three MP, as well as three more (running her total to eight), one (#7) with a second serve return winner after Townsend had only narrowly missed on what would have been a match-ending (and Armstrong-erupting) ace only seconds earlier.

Townsend, too, saved three SP over a span of five points (from #15-19) in the middle of the breaker, but Krejcikova finally converted on her fourth to win 15-13 and push the contest to a 3rd set with a virtual wind suddenly behind her back.

The momentum carried the Czech to a 4-2 lead in the decider before Townsend broke back to keep her hopes (and that of the majority of the fans, many of whom were living and dying with every point) alive.

But with the match clock ticking over the three-hour mark, Krejcikova (who this summer has had to build back her physical resilience, while never having lost her psychological sharp edge, since returning from an early-season back injury) was the one of the two with the experience and mettle to “run through the tape.” The Czech immediately broke Townsend to regain her break edge, then served out the victory (w/ one final mini-comeback from 15/30 down) on her second MP.

===============================================

Though playing *both* U.S. Open women’s semifinals on a Thursday night may ultimately be more trouble than it’s worth, those match-ups often come with the drama. This year was no different.

2. U.S. Open SF – Aryna Sabalenka def. Jessie Pegula

…4-6/6-3/6-4. First up was a rematch (a round earlier) of the 2024 final between #1 Sabalenka and #4 Pegula, with defending champion Sabalenka trying to get one step closer to filling the conspicuously empty section of her ’25 resume where slam titles would be listed. A three-time major winner already in her career, the Belarussian’s slam campaign this year had consisted of one frustration after another, as she exited in three-set affairs vs. three different U.S. women in the “money stages” of every major, the AO and RG finals vs. Madison Keys and Coco Gauff, respectively, and then in the Wimbledon SF to Amanda Anisimova.

On this night, neither Sabalenka nor Pegula managed to carve out a BP opportunity until Sabalenka took a 15/40 lead in game 6. On BP #3, she completed a big return/forehand winner combination to grab a 4-2 lead. With the seal broken, Pegula took Sabalenka’s service game moments later when a DF on BP ended Sabalenka’s streak of 32 straight holds.

Playing with necessary aggression, Pegula had a another BP chance in game 9. Sabalenka’s long forehand gave the U.S. woman a 5-4 lead, and she quickly took advantage with a love hold that grabbed the opening set. Pegula finished the 1st by winning 16 of the final 19 points, a run that began soon after Sabalenka went up a break at 4-2.

The 2nd set saw Sabalenka take the early break advantage again, but this time hold it throughout. Pegula kept herself alive in the set by saving BP and holding in games 6 and 8 (to get within 5-3) as the play of both women was a bit scratchy down the stretch. Still, Sabalenka held for 6-3 to level the proceedings.

In the 3rd, Sabalenka once more took the early break lead. It would prove to be key, and just enough to get by, as Pegula spent the rest of the set winning 16 straight points on serve, while Sabalenka struggled to hold her advantage. In contrast to Pegula, Sabalenka fell behind 15/40 and had to save 3 BP in game 6, then another in game 8.

Serving for the win at 5-4, Sabalenka again felt Pegula’s breath on the back of her neck at 30/30. Reaching down for the game that has made her the best hard court player in the world, Sabalenka fired an ace to reach MP. She missed on an overhead on her first MP chance, then didn’t get down far enough to get her racket on a low ball at the net on MP #2. Finally, on MP #3, Sabalenka ventured toward the net and fired a match-ending forehand winner (soon accompanied by a roar) to close out her latest slam final run, her third in a row at Flushing Meadows, third at a major this season, and sixth straight in a hard could slam. She’d go on to be the first to defend the title since 2014.

U.S. Open SF – Amanda Anisimova def. Naomi Osaka

…6-7(4)/7-6(3)/6-3. While Anisimova left this year’s Wimbledon without a title after having reached the final, and without having won a game in that match, rather than puncture her confidence the experience seemed to embolden the #8-seeded Bannerette on the even bigger stage in New York. After having avenged her SW19 loss to Iga Swiatek in the QF, Anisimova faced off with two-champ and #23 seed Osaka for a berth in her second consecutive major final. Osaka, a two-time U.S. Open champ, came into the night with a career 13-0 mark in slam play from the QF round forward, and over the previous week and a half looked more comfortable and played better than she had in years.

In a match of shifting momentum that lasted nearly three hours and didn’t conclude until 1 a.m. New York time, Anisimova “played the long game” as she stayed on Osaka’s heels, slowly caught up to her, and then pulled away down the stretch in the deciding set.

The tone was set early for a streaky opening set. After Osaka began the night with a break of serve, and Anisimova avoided going down a double-break with a hold from love/40, the Bannerette quickly broke back in game 4 to get the 1st back on serve. Though Anisimova’s game had too many errors in this opening stanza, she managed to keep close to Osaka on the scoreboard by taking advantage of her second serve.

Osaka regained her break edge at 3-2, then fought off Anisimova with a three-deuce hold for 5-3 after having fallen behind 15/40. But, two games later, Osaka was unable to serve out the set, going down love/40 and seeing an Anisimova second serve return winner get the break to even the set again. Things went to a TB, where Osaka burst out to a 6-1 lead. Anisimova closed the gap to 6-4 before finally netting a forehand to give Osaka a 7-4 win.

The 2nd was another set where neither Osaka nor Anisimova could keep momentum on their side for long. Anisimova broke to open the set, but gave it back the next game. She then did the same thing after breaking serve to go up 3-2, being unable to consolidate the break a game later.

At 4-4, Osaka raced out to a 40/love lead. She could seemingly see a spot in the final from there, only to drop game 9 with a sudden points-lost streak that gave Anisimova a chance to serve out the set. Immediately falling behind love/40, the Bannerette once again could not complete the task.

Osaka held from 15/40 in game 11 before Anisimova leveled things again to get to another TB. This time, though, it was the home player who grabbed a big lead, as Anisimova fired several laser-like winners en route to a 5-1 edge, ultimately winning 7-3.

After two sets of shifting momentum, one might have thought that the 3rd would go a similar route. But, instead, Anisimova’s late-2nd momentum finally began to cement itself in the decider. She broke to take a 3-1 lead, then started a glide to the finish. Serving at 5-3, Anisimova took a 40/15 lead before a brief stumble threatened to give the match a final twist. Back-to-back errors and a DF erased Anisimova’s lead and put her down BP. She had to save a pair of BP before finally putting away her third MP to win.

===============================================

3. Montreal 2nd Rd. – Coco Gauff def. Danielle Collins

…7-5/4-6/7-6(2). Who needs brilliance to produce fine drama? Not Gauff/Collins, that’s for sure.

With neither woman bringing her best game for long, the battle of attrition featured 36 DF (23 from Gauff), and 154 UE (Gauff 74, Collins 80… vs. 30/29 winners). But those are just numbers.

What was *seen* in (surprisingly) the first career meeting between the two was, albeit oft-messy, a compelling clash of personalities and sudden flashes of shotmaking and frustration, as Collins forced a 3rd set after trailing 7-5/3-1, creating the canvas for a back-and-forth deciding set.

Gauff took a 4-2 lead, and after Collins got the set back on serve, holding on for dear life, Gauff saved a BP (w/ a screaming backhand down the line) and held for 5-4.

In the next game, Collins nearly squandered a 40/love lead, saw Gauff twice get a point away from reaching MP, but then held to knot the score. Collins then took a love/40 lead in game 11, breaking Gauff to get the chance to serve for the match.

Then Gauff turned the dial up to “11,” taking a 15/40 lead and denying Collins (who twice was within two points of the win) with a break on her fourth BP of the game, forcing a deciding TB. Having survived the earlier fight, Gauff took the breaker 7-2.

So, when’s meeting #2?

===============================================

4. Cincinnati 3rd Rd. – Aryna Sabalenka def. Emma Raducanu

…7-6(3)/4-6/7-6(5). After facing off for two tight sets at Wimbledon, Sabalenka and Raducanu went the distance this time around.

In 3:13, tying for the longest match of Sabalenka’s career, the world #1 and defending Cincy champ maneuvered through the treacherous final games to get the win, but only after coming back strong after Raducanu held in a 23-minute, 13-deuce game to knot the score at 4-4 in the 3rd, saving four BP before converting on her eleventh GP.

Sabalenka held from 15/30 in the next game, then in the deciding TB — after Raducanu had gotten things back on serve at 4-4 — the Belarussian once more powered her way to another breaker victory, firing an ace on MP #2.

===============================================

5. Montreal 1st Rd. – Laura Siegemund def. Tatjana Maria

…7-5/6-7(6)/7-6(2). It just had to happen, right? A match-up of the 37-year old Germans (a week before Maria turned 38) who made waves during the recently-concluded grass season, with Maria winning Queen’s Club and Siegemund reaching the Wimbledon QF.

Here the veterans played for 3:26, with Siegemund taking a 7-5/5-3 lead, holding her first MP at 5-3, then having two more at 6-5 as she tried to serve out the victory. She had MP #4 at 6-5 in the 2nd set TB before Maria won it 8-6 to force a deciding set.

In the 3rd, Maria turned around a 4-2 deficit to lead and serve for the win at 5-4. After breaking her countrywoman at love in game 10, Siegemund ultimately won on MP #5 in the concluding TB.

===============================================

6. Cincinnati 2nd Rd. – Elena Rybakina def. Renata Zarazua 4-6/6-0/7-5

Cincinnati 3rd Rd. – Elena Rybakina def. Elise Mertens 4-6/6-3/7-5

…after struggling to put away matches late all season, things worked out better for Rybakina in Cincinnati, where Stefano Vukov was back in the coaching box following his suspension.

Rather than go to yet another deciding TB — which didn’t work out well for her in her last two defeats — Rybakina finished things off before getting to that point in her two early-round Cincy matches, breaking Zarazua to win and holding vs. Mertens to close things out.

===============================================

7. U.S. Open 4th Rd. – Marketa Vondrousova def. Elena Rybakina

…6-4/5-7/6-2. Once more, Vondrousova proved to be another comeback Czech whom you would be wise to *never* turn your back on.

Though her ability to “sneak up” on the draw remains slightly greater than the likes of Krejcikova, Vondrousova often does her deeds with less fanfare than “peak Barbora.” But Marketa is no less lethal (and dream-ending) when she’s healthy and in form. Thankfully for the rest of the tour, those moments don’t come around all that often for the Czech. Still, even while having injury issues (most often w/ her wrist) since her breakout RG final run back in 2019, including having multiple surgeries for multiple ailments the last few years and missing five of the last fourteen majors, she’s still added a Wimbledon title (’23), a pair of slam QF (RG ’24, US ’23), and an Olympic Silver medal (2021) to her resume. Earlier this summer, she won a title on grass in Berlin, posting victories over Madison Keys and Aryna Sabalenka along the way.

In the Round of 16 vs. #9 Rybakina, Vondrousova continued to display her cool, calm and collected “big moment gene.” The Czech finished off a break-and-hold combo to snatch a 6-4 1st set from the Kazakh, but wasn’t able to finish off Rybakina in straights, saving a SP at 5-4 but later being unable to hold in a deuce game to force a TB. Rybakina broke to win the set 7-5 and force a decider.

There, Vondrousova pulled ahead with another break and consolidating hold for a 4-2 lead, then grabbed a double-break edge at 5-2. Serving for the match, Vondrousova gave a little (you want fanfare? well…) to get a lot: she fell behind 15/40 to offer up Rybakina a smidgen of hope, then snatched it away by ending the match with an eye-popping four-serve, ace-ace-ace-service winner combo (giving her 13 aces for the match) to finish off the win to reach her second U.S. Open QF in the last four years.

True to form, over that four-year stretch, Vondrousova has only been physically *able* to play in New York twice.

Unfortunately, also true to form, Vondrousova didn’t play another match in New York, pulling out before her QF vs. Sabalenka with a knee injury incurred during practice.

===============================================

8. Hamburg 1st Rd. – Anna Bondar def. Noma Noha Akugue

…6-4/3-6/7-6(3). Bondar’s maiden tour final run kicked off with a three-hour struggle vs. the young German in Hamburg. Bondar led 5-1 in the 3rd, but failed to convert two MP on serve at 5-1, couldn’t serve it out two games later, then didn’t put away two *more* MP at 6-5.

Forced to a deciding TB, the Hungarian raced to a 5-0 lead and finally put the win on ice.

Hamburg QF – Anna Bondar def. Ekaterina Alexandrova

…6-7(1)/6-3/7-6(4). Another bump in the road for Bondar, who rallied from 4-1 down to force a 1st set TB, only to see the Russian take it 7-1.

Bondar trailed 3-1 in the 3rd. She surged into the lead but couldn’t serve things out at 5-4. Forced to her second deciding TB of the week, after leading 5-0 in the 1st Round vs. NNA, she jumped out to a 5-1 lead vs. Alexandrova. Bondar won it 7-4 on her third MP.

===============================================

9. Cincinnati QF – Jasmine Paolini def. Coco Gauff

…2-6/6-4/6-3. In a match that was hardly a work of art (the two combined for 100+ UE — 62 from Gauff, w/ 16 DF, and 44 from Paolini, who needed just *7* winners), Paolini came out on top of a 3rd set where the momentum traded off between the two.

After turning her ankle in the opening game of the 3rd, Paolini took a break lead and held GP for 4-1. But Gauff got the break, and seemed to have turned yet another messy match in her favor. Tied up at 3-3, she led love/30 on the Italian’s serve, but couldn’t get the break to surge ahead. Paolini won 11 of 12 points down the stretch, taking a love/40 lead in game 8 before breaking to go up 5-3. She then served out the victory, completing a sweep of the final three games.

Even with her scoreboard domination in the final games of the match, Paolini still fell in behind Gauff when it came to total points won. Coco led 86-85 on the night.

===============================================

10. Monterrey 1st Rd. – Ajla Tomljanovic def. Renata Zarazua

…4-6/6-3/7-6(1). Zarazua turned around a 4-1 defict in the 3rd to hold three MP at 5-4 on serve, then had two more MP at 6-5. But Tomljanovic got things to a deciding TB, which she won 7-1 to claim her second win this season after being MP down.

===============================================


kosova-font

*AND THEN THERE WAS THE RETURN OF VENUS…*

Washington 1st Rd. – Hailey Baptiste/Venus Williams def. Genie Bouchard/Clervie Ngounoue

…6-3/6-1. In her first pro match since Miami last year, and her first in women’s doubles since the 2022 U.S. Open, 45-year old Williams records her first doubles win since the 2018 Roland Garros, and her first victory in either discipline since 2023.

Washington 1st Rd. – Venus Williams def. Peyton Stearns

…6-3/6-4.

Nothing to see here, just a 45-year old walking-and-talking-and-winning Hall of Famer-to-be becoming the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova (at 47) at Wimbledon in 2004, and doing so against the current world #35 behind a clean game and big and effective serve. It’s Venus’ first singles win since Cincinnati (vs. V.Kudermetova) two years ago.

*GOOD LUCK, BAD LUCK, AND BIANCA LUCK*

Montreal 1st Rd. – Bianca Andreescu def. Barbora Krejcikova

…6-3/6-4. While Leylah Fernandez won a title in Washington, on that same day Andreescu was getting a 1st Round win over Krejickova in Montreal, but only after rolling her ankle (on MP!) in the closing moments of what became a straight sets win after the Czech (likely) bailed with consecutive errors to end the match after the Canadian’s medical timeout.

Andreescu handed Mirra Andreeva a walkover in the 2nd Round, and here we go again. Sigh.

*GENIE OUT*


Montreal 1st Rd. – Genie Bouchard def. Emiliana Arango

…6-4/2-6/6-2. There were quite a few “goodbye” moments on court this spring/summer, as well as a huge (extended) “welcome back” (Venus). Bouchard, who has spent most of the past couple of years playing more pro pickleball than WTA tennis, joined the list in Montreal after announcing that it would be her final tour event.

She extended her stay with a 1st Round win over Arango…

Montreal 2nd Rd. – Belinda Bencic def. Genie Bouchard

…6-2/3-6/6-4. After getting an opening round win, Bouchard pushed Bencic to three sets to wrap up her best two-match stretch in years, forcing a 3rd by giving one final glimpse of the fighter who led the charge in the rise of Canadian tennis over the past decade, during which Bouchard briefly became one of the biggest, most heavily-marketed stars in this or any sport, ranking in the Top 10 on Forbes’ Highest Paid Female Athletes list in 2017 and ’18.

At the height of her career, Bouchard posted SF-SF-RU results at the first three majors in 2014, becoming the first Canadian to reach a slam singles final at Wimbledon that year, during which she also became the first Canadian to earn a Top 5 ranking.

*SAVE OF THE YEAR*


How it started…

How it went…

U.S. Open MX Final – Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassori def. Iga Swiatek/Casper Ruud

…6-3/5-7 [10-6]. Saying they were playing for all the other doubles players who hadn’t been allowed to participate (and were denied an opportunity to compete for a rare huge payday, unlike all the singles players who dominated the field), ’24 U.S. Open champs Errani & Andrea Vavassori managed to maintain the weight of the worth of the collective doubles community on their backs and successfully defended their title via a MTB win in the final (after having been unable to serve things out at 6-3/5-4) vs. Iga Swiatek/Casper Ruud. It’s their third MX major title in less than a calendar year (they also won this year in Indian Wells in an event that *was* called an invitational).

So, the only actual doubles team playing in a doubles tournament that catered to singles players won it (with the play between the lines, as is so often the case in tennis, saving the notion from the total embarrassment that the suits had yet again managed to create). Thank goodness, as it was the only moderately face-saving result that could have happened here (yet the Italians *almost” squandered it).

It allows the final result to have a little smaller asterisk next to it, at least.

The Italians led 6-3/5-3 and all seemed right with the doubles tennis world, then they nearly blew it. Vavassori couldn’t serve out the win at 5-4, and they had to go to a deciding MTB to determine the “champions,” inadvertantly providing more fodder for the “doubles players are actually unqualified to be called tennis players” crowd who will forever point out that two singles players (who are, you know, kinda good at tennis) were just one game from beating the doubles specialists.

It’s their third MX major title (Errani’s overall 9th slam crown, and third in WD/MX in ’25), and they’re the first to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles since Mattek-Sands/J.Murray in 2018-19, but just the second to do it since 1982 (Anne Smith/Kevin Curren).

Of course, those taking a bow from afar pointed out the “success” of the “re-imagined” MX event by noting that Errani/Vavassori won the same title with far more money attached while having to do way less on the court, and highlighting the spotlight “mixed doubles” apparently received, along with the big crowds at Ashe.

Okay, but it didn’t really do anything for *doubles*, so the supposed “humanitarian” and promotional nature of the event is nil, as most of the big-name singles players who participated won’t suddenly start playing doubles now, though they were happy to try to pick up some nice pocket change (for them) that would have been significant — and season-making — for the players who play this discipline (and WD/MD) all year long (the overwhelming majority of which clocked out with $0 in prize money) if only, you know, they’d been given the chance to do so.

Meanwhile, the actual doubles players knew the score of things…

*REAL PLAYERS OF THE WTA TOUR: Summer Hard Court Edition*


[aka “ALONA BEING ALONA,” aka “THE COMPLICATED (and questionable) RULES OF TENNIS ETIQUETTE”]

U.S. Open 2nd Rd. – Taylor Townsend def. Alona Ostapenko

…7-5/6-1. The first seed to exit the U.S. Open 2nd Round was #25 Ostapenko, falling in straight sets to doubles #1 Taylor Townsend.

Yeah, that’s what they call “burying the lede,” as this is all anyone will remember about this result…

It’s tempting to wonder if maybe Alona was auditioning to be Emma Navarro’s doubles partner, right?

Maybe, but the situations *are* a bit different. While Navarro’s at-the-net putdown of Zheng Qinwen at last year’s Olympics was a calculated insult that she thought about during the match, the Ostapenko/Townsend dust-up — not the first for Ostapenko over the years, either — was clearly precipitated by Ostapenko being upset about something from the match. Afterward, a detail that Townsend never acknowledged (but you can see in the video was at least one of the issues, whether it was a worthy one or not… psst, it’s not), largely centered around a net cord shot during the match that Townsend didn’t “apologize” for, as well as Townsend’s “etiquette”-breaking warm-up prior to the match.

Here’s what Ostapenko posted about it all…

Clearly, something was said beneath the umpire’s chair that lit one’s fuse, then like a string of fireworks the explosions were going everywhere. Some are going to forever accuse Ostapenko’s comments of having racist undertones, no matter that English isn’t her first language nor should she be expected to understand the cultural implications of using certain buzz phrases. I don’t believe the racial angle was intentional, but it goes without saying that by saying what she did to a Black woman, especially in the U.S., she’s going to have to deal with those charges from a lot of corners now.

While it feels like the “I’m-right-and-you’re-wrong-so-you’re-uneducated” attack is Ostapenko’s *go-to* under such circumstances when she’s angry over losing and has decided to latch onto something from a match (I bet she’s used that tactic before, and would have against any opponent), but sometimes the best thing to say is to not say anything at all. It was really uncalled-for, and a totally avoidable situation.

Aside from a few things, Townsend’s actions were understandable. She, too, could have avoided the whole thing by not getting into it with Ostapenko, but she stood up for herself. Though she should have indicated in her comments later what Ostapenko’s issues were, not only focus on what was said in the heat of the moment, knowing how it would sound to the ears of U.S. fans. But, still, that’s more on Alona than Taylor.

BTW, there’s a great angle on it all here (and you hear Townsend’s chef’s-kiss response more clearly)…

In a Perfectly Petra sort of world, these type of situations wouldn’t happen at all, but that’s why Kvitova’s temperament and much-loved persona were such winning standouts over the years, while that of so many others (and Alona has always tended to be one of those)… are simply not.

Some takes were noteworthy…

Some were not, as in comments from “sudden experts” who’ve probably never heard Ostapenko’s name before this, saying that she would never had said what she said if Townsend had been White.

The inevitable apology came later, though (unlike in some WTA instances in recent seasons) not with a “hostage video” attached, nor was such a thing necessary this time around. Just a little bit of learned common sense.

Unlike with the Non-Story Story following RG, everyone seemed to move on afterward.

Until the next episode of “Real Players of the WTA Tour” (and you *know* they’ll be one)…

WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2025 3Q Awards: Aryna’s Reign of Fire

1. U.S. Open 1st Rd. – Alex Eala def. Clara Tauson

…6-3/2-6/7-6(13-11). The U.S. Open junior champ in 2022, Eala has been a breakthrough star this season, reaching the Miami SF (w/ two Top 5 wins — vs. ’25 major winners Keys and Swiatek — and cracked the Top 100, as well as becoming the first player from the Philippines to play a slam MD match, in both Paris and London). But she’d yet to win one at that level, until Day 1 in New York.

And she took the long away around to do it.

After a personal history of being the upset *maker* in the opening rounds of majors, #14-seed Tauson felt the cold reality of the *other* side of the equation vs. Eala, who became the first Filipino player to record a slam win as she improved to 4-3 this season vs. Top 20 opponents.

After dropping the 1st set, Tauson had rebounded well, taking the 2nd and racing to a 5-1 lead in the 3rd, only to soon fall victim to an unbowed Filipina, as well as her own tendency to let her emotions interfere in a match and turn what seemed like a good day into a series of mopey stretches that eventually led her down the path to defeat. The Dane twice served for the match, at 5-2 (30/30) and 5-4, and after an argument over a disputed call that put her down 15/40, DF’d to tie the set. Tauson fell behind 6-5 and saved a MP two games later, managing to get things to a deciding MTB.

Eala took an 8-4 lead, but Tauson staved off three MP at 9-8, 10-9 and 11-10 before Eala’s fifth MP proved to be the charm as she won the breaker 13-11 to get her first career slam match win.

===============================================

2. U.S. Open 1st Rd. – Moyuka Uchijima def. Olga Danilovic

…7-6(2)/4-6/7-6(11-9). For a moment, imagine being Olga Danilovic. And by that I mean imagine having *seven* MP chances, including holding triple MP not once, but TWICE, against Uchijima, yet falling in another MTB that marks just her second one-and-done result at a major in ten slam MD appearances since the start of the 2021 season.

Yeah. Imagine that.

Thing is, just to get herself into such a position, the Serb had staged a comeback of her own from 7-6/3-1 down. Danilovic eventually led 5-3 in the 3rd, with three MP at 40/love on her own serve, then three more at 6-5, love/40 up on that of Uchijima. In the deciding MTB, Danilovic had another comeback from 6-1, taking the lead and holding MP #7 at 9-8, only to lose the last three points of the match, the final one via a double-fault. Ouch.

It was Uchijima’s third win this season after being MP down.

===============================================

3. Washington SF – Leylah Fernandez def. Elena Rybakina

…6-7(2)/7-6(3)/7-6(3). A year ago, in their last meeting in the Cincinnati 2nd Round, Fernandez overcame a 5-3 3rd set deficit, saving a pair of MP vs. Rybakina to get the win in a 7-3 deciding TB. At the time, Rybakina wasn’t yet 100% as she was just returning from her latest illness break, and had 20 aces that were somewhat balanced out by an additional 17 DF (Fernandez had 13 DF that day herself, vs. just 5 aces).

This time, in a 3:12 match that featured just two breaks of serve in a three-TB affair, Fernandez again staged a massive situational comeback to get the win. Though she never held a MP this time, Rybakina led 7-6/5-3, and served at 5-4. Fernandez survived with another 7-3 TB win, then went on to win *another* 7-3 TB in the 3rd.

In this instance, Rybakina again had a high ace total (17, vs. just 7 DF), but Fernandez turned around her previous 5/13 numbers from a year ago, with 12 aces this time (vs. 3 DF).

===============================================

4. Monterrey QF – Diana Shnaider def. Elise Mertens

…4-6/7-6(6)/7-6(4). Shnaider’s resurgent “Big Sascha Era” title-winning chapter in Monterrey included this three-hour comeback in which she saved a first MP at 5-4 in the 2nd set, then climbed out of a 5-1 hole in the 3rd, saving four more MP (three straight from 40/love on Mertens’ serve) at 5-2.

===============================================

5. Montreal 2nd Rd. – Naomi Osaka def. Liudmila Samsonova

…4-6/7-6(6)/6-3. As was expected (but not with great certainty), Osaka showed early signs to taking quite well to the arrival of summer hard courts. Of course, early on in Montreal she very nearly suffered her second straight early loss in two weeks, as well.

Samsonova led 6-4/5-3, and had multiple MP chances at 5-4, but couldn’t finish Osaka off. The Russian led 5-2 in the 2nd set TB, as well, before another push from Osaka gave her an 8-6 win. She claimed the 3rd set at 6-3, improving to 6-1 in three-setters on hard court this season (she lost her last four three-setters on clay/grass in ’25).

Osaka ultimately reached the Montreal final (a three-set loss to Victoria Mboko), then the U.S. Open semis (a three-set loss to Amanda Anisimova). Still, she’s 7-3 in hard court matches this season that have gone the distance, and was 12-3 overall this summer on her best surface.

===============================================

6. Montreal 4th Rd. – Madison Keys def. Karolina Muchova

…4-6/6-3/7-5. Though her U.S. Open didn’t go well, before that Keys was back to pulling matches out of the fire after starting her ’25 campaign doing just that en route to the AO title.

Muchova held two MP at 5-4 on Keys’ serve in the 3rd, but after failing to convert either saw the Bannerette sweep the final three games to notch her third win this season after being MP down.

===============================================

7. Cincinnati 2nd Rd. – Madison Keys def. Eva Lys

…1-6/6-3/7-6(1). Keys pulled another win out of the seemingly spent ashes here, rallying from 0-3 down in the 3rd, with Lys holding two MP on Keys’ serve at 6-5. It marked the *fourth* time this season that she’d won a match in which she was down MP, putting her in sole possession of the tour season lead.

===============================================

8. Cincinnati 2nd Rd. – Ella Seidel def. Emma Navarro 6-1/1-6/6-4

Cincinnati 3rd Rd. – Ella Seidel def. McCartney Kessler 6-4/2-6/7-6(6)

…Seidel’s consecutive Cincy saves, which inclued her biggest career win in the first, saw the young German come back from 4-1 down in the 3rd vs. Navarro, who dropped her last three service games.

Then, after neither player could carve out a break in the 3rd set, Seidel saved two MP from 6-4 down in the deciding TB vs. Kessler, sweeping the final four points to reach her first career 1000 Round of 16 in what was her debut 1000 MD appearance.

===============================================

WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2025 3Q Awards: Aryna’s Reign of Fire

1. Montreal 4th Rd. – Victoria Mboko def. Coco Gauff

…6-1/6-4. Gauff’s streak of self-generated “luck” finally ran out in Montreal after going 2-0 despite putting up a slew of DF and seeing back-to-back opponents either serve for the match (Collins) or hold a significant lead (Kudermetova 6-4/3-1).

For Mboko, it was her first career Top 10 win, after she’d taken Gauff to three sets in a loss in Rome this past spring. The 18-year old Canadian is the first player younger than Gauff to defeat her in a tour-level match, and this wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan moment, either. Mboko went on to win the title.

===============================================

2. Montreal 2nd Rd. – Aoi Ito def. Jasmine Paolini

…2-6/7-5/7-6(5). Paolini led 6-2/4-1, and held a MP at 5-4 in the 2nd, but Ito’s traveling road show wasn’t quite ready to pack up and leave town. Instead, she ultimately handed the Italian her second loss this season after having held MP.

Paolini came back from 3-1 down in the 3rd, breaking Ito to force a TB, where the score was knotted up at 5-5 before Ito swept the final two points to record her maiden Top 10 victory.

At the net, Ito’s customary bow was disarming enough that it managed to get a (semi-) bow back from the disappointed Paolini.

===============================================

3. U.S. Open 1st Rd. – Renata Zarazua def. Madison Keys

…6-7(10)/7-6(3)/7-5. While “New Madi” carried the day in the opening major of 2025, AO champ Keys (the #6 seed) could not find a way to put away world #82 Zarazua in the season’s final slam event, finishing off a greatly-diminishing slam season with a W-QF-3r-1r major results line.

Keys saved five SP vs. the Mexican player in the 1st set, but won it (12-10 TB) and led 3-0 in the 2nd. But Zarazua just wouldn’t go away. She won five straight games to lead 5-3 before Keys forced another TB, this one taken 7-3 by Zarazua, who then claimed another close set in the 3rd to steal the victory. It’s Zarazua’s second straight U.S. Open with a 1st Round win, her fourth in the last five majors, and her first career Top 10 victory.

Zarazua has appeared in eight consecutive major MD, the longest streak for a Mexican woman since Angelica Gavaldon played in thirteen straight from 1993-1996. At this year’s Wimbledon, Zarazua was the first from her nation to post a win at SW19 since 1995.

===============================================

4. U.S. Open 1st Rd. – Janice Tjen def. Veronika Kudermetova

…6-4/4-6/6-4. On the first opening Sunday in U.S. Open history, #24-seeded Kudermetova became the earliest seed to exit in the history of the tournament, sent packing when qualifier Tjen continued her remarkable 15-month stretch as a pro (100-13 after this win) by notching a three-set upset victory in her slam MD debut.

A recent college star at Pepperdine, Tjen is the first Indonesian to record a MD win in a major since Angelique Widjaja at the 2003 Wimbledon.

===============================================

5. Montreal 4th Rd. – Clara Tauson def. Iga Swiatek

…7-6(1)/6-3. Stunningly, a player who went over a year without reaching a final wasn’t suddenly invincible because she managed to win one tournament (no matter how important).

As for Tauson, the Dane *finally* managed to put up the clean and clear-headed performance she’s capable of vs. the Pole, the one that eluded her at SW19, showing her longtime underdog early-slam round mettle in both the 1st and 2nd in her straight sets win.

After taking an early lead in the opener but then not being able to serve out the set, Tauson saw Swiatek get things back on serve and take an on-serve lead. But the Dane didn’t back away and let the momentum get away from her, forcing a TB and winning it going away at 7-1. After (of course), waiting for Swiatek to return from heading off court after dropping the 1st, Tauson put the hammer down and closed things out in two.

With the win, Tauson adds her name to the list of players who’ve defeated both #3 Swiatek and #1 Aryna Sabalenka this season (w/ M.Andreeva, Gauff, Keys and Ostapenko). So far, no one has also managed to hit the Top 3 trifecta and also defeat #3 Coco Gauff.

===============================================

kosova-font

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *