Katie Boulter is ready to take her relationship with clay to the next level.
Already building up the best season of her career, the highest-ranked Brit joins the podcast to talk federation life, fitness gains, and training on the dirt during Covid.
Osaka: "A couple years ago, I had a dinner with her in Australia, and she was telling me she might go to college. I was telling her, Don't do that.
"You're welcome, Iga. Anyways... (Smiling)."
Two historic milestones in the
#AusOpen
juniors today:
🇮🇷 Meshkatolzahra Safi became the 1st girl from Iran to win a Grand Slam juniors match.
🇰🇪 Angella Okutoyi became the 1st girl from Kenya to win a Grand Slam juniors match.
Naomi Osaka: “When I shook her hand, I saw that she was tearing up a little. It reminded me how young she was.
"I wanted her to have her head high, not walk off the court sad. I want her to be aware that she's accomplished so much and she's still so young.”
#USOpen
Osaka: I was thinking about when we had dinner in Australia. Watching ur journey is incredible. I hope u continue having fun.
Swiatek: When I watched u win USO, I wouldn’t have even thought I'd be playing vs. u. You’re an inspiration, this sport is better with u. So keep going.
20-year-old Iga Swiatek is set to become Poland’s first World No.1 in tennis history.
With her 2R win at
#MiamiOpen
, Swiatek will take over the No.1 ranking from retired Ash Barty on Monday, April 4th.
Swiatek will be the 28th
@WTA
singles No.1.
The Swiatek Streak and Sweep
- 17 consecutive wins
- 20 consecutive sets
- 1st to sweep the 1st 3
@WTA
1000s in a season
- 4th woman and youngest to win the Sunshine Double
- 6-1 in WTA finals
- Has won 12 straight sets in finals
1st Polish World No.1 on Monday.
Iga Swiatek starts her press conference announcing that for
#WorldMentalHealthDay
she’s donating her 3R prize money to a mental health non-profit.
#BNPPO21
Swiatek: "It wasn't easy to find solutions and to find other tactics and do something differently, because I wasn't sure what I was doing wrong.”
Says she stopped focusing on the technical and started…singing Dua Lipa.
"That's not the 1st time. I'm always singing something."
On ESPN, Osaka says there’s so much that people don’t see. They don’t read transcripts or watch press interviews. “They don’t know that we go into the locker room and cry.” Says she wanted Coco to have the opportunity to speak to the people who were supporting her so hard.
World No.1 Iga Swiatek finishes one of the best seasons of the century with a 67-9 record, capturing 8 titles including 2 Slams, 4 WTA 1000s, running of a century-best 37-match win streak, and going 15-2 against the Top 10.
Gauff: I have known Iga since she was probably ranked lower, and now that she's No.1, nothing has really changed other than her tennis. But behind the scenes, she's as nice as I think you guys see in the press conferences. I think that's really important and rare to see.
🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱
19-year-old Iga Swiatek is the 1st Polish woman in the Open Era to advance to the semis
@rolandgarros
and the 2nd ever after 1939 runner-up Jadwiga Jedrzejowska.
Swiatek defeats Martina Trevisan 63 61. Has not lost a set.
Faces Podoroska for a spot in the final.
#RG20
Emma Raducanu’s 20
#USOpen
sets from qualifying through the final:
61 62
63 75
61 64
62 63
62 64
60 61
62 61
63 64
61 64
64 63
Raducanu made her WTA MD in June. Wimbledon was her 1st Slam MD. US Open her 2nd. Never played a Top 40 player until New York.
History made.
Tunisia's Ons Jabeur becomes the 1st Arab or North African player to ever reach the semifinals of a major.
The World No.2 comes back to beats Marie Bouzkova 36 61 61 to make the
#Wimbledon
semifinals.
Serena Williams returns to Title Town.
Serena wins her 1st title since 2017, defeating Jessica Pegula 63 64 to win
@asbclassic
.
Serena won her 1st WTA title in February 1999.
She’s won her 73rd WTA title in January 2020.
Excellence across 4 decades.
#ASBClassic
Gauff on the exchange at the net on BBC: “She said congratulations. I told her thank you for everything that you did. I wouldn’t be here without you. I always wanted to tell her that."
Said this is the 1st time she’s cried after a win.
#Wimbledon
.
@CocoGauff
: “After the match
@Naomi_Osaka_
proved she is a true athlete.
"For me a definition of an athlete is someone who treats you as their worst enemy on the court but after they treat you like you’re their best friend. That’s what she did.”
15 years old.
#USOpen
Ashleigh Barty confirms that she’ll have her name removed from the
@WTA
rankings in the next rankings cycle.
There will be a new World No.1 on Monday after Miami.
Naomi Osaka got to bed last night at 12:30am and she’s been up since the crack of dawn doing media. Asked her if she’s ready for her life to change. “I really just want green tea ice cream right now. And katsu-don or katsu curry. If my life changes like that, that’d be cool.”
Q: When you look in the mirror in the morning, do you see the No. 1 player in the world? If not, how long do you think it will be before you get comfortable with that?
IGA SWIATEK: Well, when I wake up and look in the mirror, I see a mess basically (smiling).
Naomi Osaka fires 18 aces to defeat Belinda Bencic 46 63 64 in the Miami Open semifinals, the most aces in a single match this season.
Osaka eclipses Ash Barty’s mark of 17 aces hit vs. Kenin in Adelaide.
18yo 🇬🇧 Emma Raducanu becomes the youngest woman to win a major since Maria Sharpova at 2004 Wimbledon, defeats Leylah Fernandez 64 63 to win
#USOpen
becoming the 1st qualifier in to win a Slam.
Raducanu the 1st to win
#USOpen
without losing a set since Serena Williams in 2014.
Since 2000: Most 6-0 sets in a single season:
25: Serena Williams, 2013
18: Kim Clijsters, 2003
17: Martina Hingis, 2000
16: Vera Zvonareva, 2008
16: Martina Hingis, 2001
15: Victoria Azarenka, 2012
15: Kim Clijsters, 2005
15:
@iga_swiatek
, 2022*
*As of May 26
Osaka: I fought for every point. I can't be sad about that. I'm not God. I can't win every match. I just have to take that into account and know that it would be nice to win the tournament but that’s really special. I can’t win the Grand Slam at the start of the year every time.
Ons Jabeur: History Maker
The Tunisian trailblazer is the 1st Arab woman to:
- Win a junior Slam (2011 RG)
- Make a Slam 3R (2017 RG)
- Make a Slam QF (2020 AO)
- Win a WTA singles title (2021 Birmingham)
- Rank inside the Top 70 - Currently highest-ranked ever at No.24.
Iga Swiatek in tears after hearing the Polish national anthem: “I just told Coco don’t cry, and what am I doing right now?
“Coco, when I was your age it was my 1st year on tour and I had no idea what I was doing.”
#RolandGarros
Ashleigh Barty defeated Amanda Anismova, Danielle Collins, Madison Keys, and Jessica Pegula to win the 2019 French Open.
Did the same en route to the 2022
#AusOpen
title.
Ash Barty: "I hit as recently as 10 days ago. I’ll never stop hitting tennis balls, I just won’t be doing it selfishly for me to try and progress my career. It’ll be for different reasons. I can’t wait to get out there with young girls and boys to contribute in different ways."
Maria Sakkari becomes the 1st 🇬🇷 woman to break into the Top 10:
“People don't realize how big it is for someone who at the age of 26 - not the age of 20 - cracks into the Top 10. When no one believed I could do it, myself and the people around me really believed in me."
Iga Swiatek’s last 16 sets
@WTA
finals:
2020 RG: 64 61
2021 Adelaide: 62 62
2021 Rome: 60 60
2022 Doha:62 60
2022 IW: 64 61
2022 Miami: 64 60
2022 Stuttgart: 62 62
2022 Rome: 62 62
She has now won 5 of the last 9 WTA 1000s.
Iga Swiatek is the new World No.2.
The 20yo captures her 5th career title, 2nd consecutive WTA 1000 title, and extends her career-best WTA win streak to 11 to win
#IndianWells
.
Has now won 10 consecutive sets in finals.
20-3 on the season.
On August 17th, Anett Kontaveit was on a 5-match losing streak after losing to Ons Jabeur in 1R Cincinnati.
Since August 17th: Went 26-2, 4 titles, and will surge from No.30 to No.8 on the Porsche Race to the WTA Finals.
On Monday, the Estonian will make her Top 10 debut.
Shelby Rogers and Ash Barty crossed paths en route to their press conferences, shared a hug and some laughs.
Shelby on Ash: “Honestly, I could do this for another 20 minutes.”
#USOpen
Osaka on Gauff: "She's very much a star. It's very clear. She's very important to the game.
"After RG last year when I withdrew, she was the 1st player to message me and I've never forgotten that. I have so much love for her and I think she behaves well beyond her age."
Coco Gauff to Iga Swiatek: “What you’ve done on tour the past couple of months has truly been amazing and you totally deserve it. Hopefully we can play each other in more finals and I can get a win over you one of these days.”
#RolandGarros
Fernandez: “A teacher told me to stop playing tennis, you'll never make it, just focus on school.
"I'm glad she told me that b/c every day I have that phrase in my head saying: I'm going to keep going, push through, prove to her everything I've dreamed of I'm going to achieve."
Iga Swiatek at 22yo:
Youngest since Seles to win consecutive titles at
#RolandGarros
1st woman to defend the title since Henin
Joins Seles & Osaka as the only women in the OE to win their 1st 4 Slam finals
Youngest to 4 Slams titles since Serena.
Osaka: "I just couldn't really figure out what to do on her 2nd serve. I didn't really know if I should go forward or go back…. But other than that, I thought it was kind of cool to see her movement up close.
"Yeah, all in all, it was a sad outcome but it was a fun day."
From
@ashbarty
to
@iga_swiatek
:
"There is no better person. The way that she's brought this fresh, fearless energy onto the court has been incredible.
"I hope she can take it and still be her, do it her own way, and really chase what she's after in her career and her dreams."
Iga Swiatek has now won 18 consecutive sets in finals, has not lost more than 5 games in her last 9 finals.
2022 RG: 61 63
2022 Rome: 62 62
2022 Stuttgart: 62 62
2022 Miami: 64 60
2022 IW: 64 61
2022 Doha: 62 60
2021 Rome: 60 60
2021 Adelaide: 62 62
2020 RG: 64 61
18yo Coco Gauff is the youngest
#RolandGarros
finalist since Kim Clijsters in 2001 and the youngest major finalist since Maria Sharapova at 2004 Wimbledon.
No.4 Naomi Osaka vs. Petra Kvitova.
- They’ve never played each other.
- Neither has been No.1
- Neither has won the Australian Open
All that changes on Saturday.
#AusOpen
Iga Swiatek has won 23 consecutive matches in the last 61 days. The last time a player has won 23 matches in a row in fewer days was Serena Williams in 2013 in 58 days between Miami.
Nice moment at the net between
@Simona_Halep
and
@zhangshuai121
:
Zhang: "I wish she can win the tournament because she's the best player I like. I like her not only because she play good tennis, because she's great person."
#Wimbledon
Coco Gauff: "I know I've been saying a lot, Oh, it's just a tennis match, you know, it doesn't matter. Really, that's what I believe. It doesn't matter. I mean, with the emotions now I'm feeling it a lot, but tomorrow I'm going to wake up and be really proud of myself."
Iga Swiatek in 2022:
- Tour-leading 21-3 record
- No.1 on the Race to the WTA Finals
- 4-1 vs. Top 10
- 1st AO Semi
- 2 WTA 1000 titles (Doha, Indian Wells), tied for title lead with Barty
- Current 12-match win streak
- 1st player since 2009 to win 5 career titles before 21.
In 3 of her last 4 finals, Iga Swiatek has thrown in a bagel set.
2021 Rome: d. Pliskova 60 60
2022 Doha: d. Kontaveit 62 60
2022 Indian Wells: d. Sakkari 64 61
2022 Miami: d. Osaka 64 60
Has now won 12 of the 13 finals she’s played across ITF and WTA.
Coco Gauff on Serena: "I grew up watching her. I mean that's the reason why I play tennis.
"Tennis being a predominantly white sport, it definitely helped a lot. Because I saw somebody who looked like me dominating the game. It made me believe that I could dominate too."
#NBO22
Serena: We had a lot of fun. Our opponents played amazing! We were just trying to stay in there.
Ons: It was so mcuh fun. I was little bit nervous, playing with such a legend. Even when I made mistakes on court she was supporting me.
Serena: I got you.
Swiatek on Barty: "I really think she's brave b/c with all the expectations around, there is not many people who would stop at this point and put their happiness on the first place.
"That's an example not only for tennis players or another athletes, but every person."
Iga Swiatek vs. Naomi Osaka for the
#MiamiOpen
title.
This will be the first match since the two met for the 1st time at 2019 Toronto.
In the electric encounter, Osaka won 76 64.
Iga Swiatek moves to 7-1 in finals, having won her last 7 in straight sets:
2020 Roland Garros: 64 61
2021 Adelaide: 62 62
2021 Rome: 60 60
2022 Doha: 62 60
2022 Indian Wells: 64 61
2022 Miami: 64 60
2022 Stuttgart: 62 62
#PorscheTennis
Muguruza: "Overall I think it's the best year for me. I might not have won a Grand Slam, but I deeply feel like I've been happier and more stable, less dramatic, and in general very happy about it.”
#AKRONWTAFinals
“It’s been 5 years since I retired. In that time, I had two children. It’s great.
"Sadly, same husband."
- Li Na brings one last zinger at the expense of Dennis into the
@TennisHalloFame
.
“What message do you have for your mom?”
“Mom! I love you. I did it!”
“And a message to Serena?”
“I love you?”
“Anything else?”
“I love everybody!”
Welcome to the show
@Naomi_Osaka_
.
#USOpen
Maria Sakkari was 0-4 in WTA 1000 SFs before tonight.
“It might look silly to some people because it might look like I've won the title, but sometimes it's not about winning the tournament. It's just that some moments are very special for every player and today was one of them."
Barty: "It sucks in tennis that there's a winner and loser every single day, but sometimes you don't mind losing to certain people. I think Shelby in a sense of her personality and her character, she's certainly one of those for me.”
#USOpen
.
@Ons_Jabeur
earlier: I hope Badosa and Kerber play for 5 hours.
@paulabadosa
: "I hope tonight she eats a lot of burgers and she cannot play.”
Two good friends set to play for a spot in the biggest final of their careers on Friday.
#BNPPO21
Ons Jabeur is the champion in Madrid.
The Tunisian star wins the biggest title of her career, defeating Jessica Pegula 75 06 62 to win her 2nd career title.
#MMOPEN
Since 2000, 4 WTA Finals have ended 6-0, 6-0.
Two of them have been tallied by Poland’s finest:
2006 Quebec City: Bartoli d. Puchova
2013 Sydney: Radwanska d. Cibulkova
2016 Bucharest: Halep d. Sevastova
2021 Rome: Swiatek d. Ka.Pliskova
The
#USOpen
is Iga Swiatek's 7th title of her remarkable 2022 campaign - Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome, Roland Garros, US Open.
The last woman to win seven or more titles in a single season was Serena Williams in 2014.
Raducanu: "I'm still very, very new to the tour. Experience just comes from playing week in, week out and experiencing all these different things.
“Kind of glad what happened today happened so I can learn, take it as a lesson, so going forward I'll have more experienced banked."
With her title run in Stuttgart, Iga Swiatek has now won 30 WTA matches in 2022.
She won 36 in all of 2021.
Having come into 2022 with 3 career titles, Swiatek has won 4 in the last 9 weeks.
#PorscheTennis
Barty on Keys: “It’s so nice to have Madi back playing her best tennis. She’s a top player, she deserves to be at the top of the game. One of the most incredible girls in the locker room, has set up so many good things off the court with some charities that she’s worked with."
Rybakina: "I already [won a Slam] once, and of course I got confident that I can do it again. I did really good preparation with the team. I'm not really surprised with the results. I'm happy.
"I'm just hungry to work and improve more."
#AusOpen
Sakkari: “More than anything we're human. She's only 20yo. She's going to have many more chances than I'll have in the future because it's only the beginning for her.
"She's a very, very nice girl. We always have great practices and great chats.”
#AKRONWTAFinals
Luisa Stefani blew out her knee at the 2021 US Open. She returned to competition in September.
On return:
🏆 Chennai 250 (w/ Dabrowski)
🏆 Guadalajara 1000 (w/ Hunter)
🏆 Montevideo 125K (w/ Gammara Martins)
🏆 Adelaide 500 2 (w/ Townsend)
🏆
#AusOpen
Mixed (w/ Matos)
Cornet: "I have eternal respect for the Grand Slam winner because it's such a long way. My God, I have the feeling I'm playing this tournament for a year. I'm so exhausted mentally, physically. When you go all the way & win these freaking seven matches, it's just huge.”
#AusOpen
Swiatek: "I'm more aware of how it is to win a Slam, what it takes, how every puzzle has to come together, every aspect of the game has to work. W/ that awareness, even more happy & proud of myself, b/c in 2020 I just felt that I'm lucky. This time I felt I really did the work."
Barbora Krejcikova’s remarks during the trophy ceremony, paying tribute to the Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic on this day 32 years ago.
#AKRONWTAFINALS
Iga Swiatek has held the
@WTA
No.1 ranking since April 3, 2022, a streak of 50 weeks.
Only 3 women have held the No.1 ranking for more consecutive weeks in their 1st stint at No.1:
Stefanie Graf (186)
Martina Hingis (80)
Serena Williams (57)
Madrid champ Jabeur is feeling the love in Rome: "It's great to see all the players happy for me. Honestly I'm just really overwhelmed.
"I got a lot of hugs, I got to tell you, a lot of hugs. I love hugs. Great energy. People were really happy for me. It's amazing."
Iga Swiatek is donating her Ostrava prize money to charity for
#MentalHealthAwareness
Week. Had a similar initiative last fall at Indian Wells. “I want people to know they can use the help when they need it or help others if they have the resources.”
No.1 Ash Barty since returning to the tour after being sidelined for 8 months last year:
Yarra Valley Classic 🏆
Miami Open 🏆
Stuttgart 🏆
Madrid Final
Wimbledon 🏆
Cincinnati 🏆
And Olympic bronze in mixed.
Tour leader in match wins (40) and titles (5).
14-1 vs. Top 20.
Suárez Navarro: “
#Wimbledon
make me a really good gift. I really enjoy. I cannot ask for anything else better than this day. One of my last match here against Ash, No. 1 of the world, Centre Court, with the roof. Was amazing. I am the most happy player on tournament, for sure."
"I called my mom after I did all the press. She didn't even say congratulations. She just yelled at me to go to sleep. So I felt really loved.” 😂
Champions Corner: It’s deja vu all over again for the new
@WTA
World No.1
@Naomi_Osaka_
.
Listen:
#AusOpen
With Jessica Pegula rising to No.3 and Coco Gauff making her Top 5 debut at No.4, this is the 1st time 2 Americans are ranked in the Top 4 since October 2010 (No.2 Serena Williams, No.4 Venus Williams).
Halep on Cornet: "I have only nice words about her, because I like her on court, how she's fighting. She deserves what is happening to her now. She works hard all the time, and I wish her good luck. I really want her to make this dream coming true.”
#AusOpen
WTA Top 10 on Monday
1. Iga Swiatek
2. Ons Jabeur
3. Anett Kontaveit
4. Paula Badosa
5. Jessica Pegula*
6. Maria Sakkari
7. Aryna Sabalenka
8. Coco Gauff*
9. Simona Halep
10. Caroline Garcia
*New career-high.
- Pegula will make Top 5 debut
- Gauff will make Top 10 debut
Iga Swiatek on her preparation: “We were practicing in Phoenix, in the mountains, because Bethanie
@matteksands
invited us. She provided some good clubs.
“Good tennis clubs, I mean. Don't get me wrong, I am not partying that hard.”
#AKRONWTAFinals
Suárez Navarro: "I think I have a good time this week practicing, good level on my match. I know that if I don't close the match in 2 sets, it will be so difficult for me. But I'm really proud, too, of myself and really happy to have the chance to play here one last time."
#RG21