VENUS WILLIAMS AND MARIA SHARAPOVA AWARDED CINCINNATI WILD CARDS
The former No. 1s join the previously announced field of 43 players who made the initial entry list.
Former multiple major champions Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova will join a strong field at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati after being awarded wild cards into the WTA Premier 5 event.
“Maria and Venus are two of the greatest champions in tennis history,” Tournament Director Andre Silva said. “We look forward to both joining our world-class field and are eager for the tournament to get underway next weekend.”
Williams and Sharapova suffered disappointing first-round exits at Wimbledon (Getty Images)
Williams is 14-8 this season but has seen her ranking drop outside of the Top 50. She returns to action this week in San Jose—where she also received a wild card—to play her first match since being upstaged by 15-year-old qualifier Coco Gauff in the first round of Wimbledon. Williams is expected to face countrywoman Bethanie Mattek-Sands on Tuesday.
Sharapova, who lifted the Cincinnati trophy eight years ago, has questions regarding her health. After returning in mid-June from a shoulder injury that sidelined her for nearly six months, the Russian retired down 0-5 in the third set of her opening Wimbledon match against Pauline Parmentier due to a left forearm issue.
The pair of past No. 1s join 43 players who made the initial entry list cutoff, including world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty, Wimbledon champion Simona Halep, 23-time major winner Serena Williams and defending Cincinnati champion Kiki Bertens. Three additional wild cards are yet to be allocated.
|
VENUS, Maria Accept WCs Into Cincy
Re: VENUS, Maria Accept WCs Into CincyAhhh... giving WC to past glories instead of given no them to up coming talents (obviously thinking of Rybakina)... Revenue of entry tickets prevails once more "Never argue with an idiot - they take you down to their level and then beat you on experience" "Don't wrestle with a pig: you both get dirty, but the pig actually likes it" Re: VENUS, Maria Accept WCs Into CincyLike Gauff this week @ DC, let Ribakina earn her place in the Main Draw from the Cincy Qualifiers. That should help her get used to the environment. IMHO, promising youngsters should get Wild Cards only in qualies. No Wild Card in any Main Draw, be it slams or regular tournaments. Let them fight for the main draw and earn it. If they can't beat the girls in the Qualifying rounds, maybe they are not yet ready for the big show. My only exception is for players who get in the Top-100 after the Slam cut-off, like the Qualifier that made 4th round at the French Open.. what's her name?? I didn't like it when she had to play Qualies at Wimbledon. Bolsova is her name, I think. The girl already did the had work to make it to top-100. No need to have her play Qualies again at the next slam. I think the slam cut-off date is too early. Ranking earned at French Open should count for Wimbledon. Come on, we are talking Grand Slam points.
Re: VENUS, Maria Accept WCs Into CincyDJOKOVIC, VENUS, SHARAPOVA JOIN OTHERS WITH VARIOUS COACHING CHANGES Grand Slam champions Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza have yet to announce their respective new coaches. The hard-court events are beginning with a slew of unusual mid-season coaching changes. Maria Sharapova, who has been on and off the tour with a shoulder injury, has spent two weeks training at the Riccardo Piatti tennis center in Italy, working with the experienced coach on her game. Russia's Karen Khachanov, who has been asking Nikolay Davydenko to join his team, has the former Top 5 player accompanying him in Washington, D.C., this week. The pair do not yet have a formal arrangement. Stephanie Myles @OpenCourt When asked, @karenkhachanov joked that Moscow was boring, so Davydenko asked him if he could come with him to D.C. But truth is that they have trained together, and the younger Russian is working on trying to make it more official. … Tennis.Life @tennislifenews New post! Khachanov working with Davydenko, working on "Team Karen" membership - https://tennis.life/2019/07/29/khachano ... embership/ … View image on Twitter 5 1:55 PM - Jul 29, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy See Stephanie Myles's other Tweets Eugenie Bouchard, who fell in the first round of Washington, was playing her first event with new coach Jorge Todero. The pair also trained together in Florida beforehand, according to TVA. Venus Williams's former coach, David Witt, is now working with Jessica Pegula. Ben Rothenberg ✔ @BenRothenberg David Witt, longtime coach of Venus Williams, is now working with Jessica Pegula. 20 2:17 PM - Jul 29, 2019 · Washington, DC Twitter Ads info and privacy See Ben Rothenberg's other Tweets Novak Djokovic has changed his trainer, bringing in Marco Panichi again instead of Gebhard Phil-Gritsch. Saša Ozmo ✔ @ozmo_sasa Marco Panichi will replace Gebhard Phil-Gritsch in Djokovic’s team as his new fitness trainer. Panichi previously worked with Novak during parts of 2017 and 2018. #djokovic #novak … Jelena Medic @jjmedic89 Marko Paniki je zamenio Fil-Griča u Noletovom timu. 54 12:23 PM - Jul 29, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 25 people are talking about this Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza have recently announced they were splitting with their coaches. Neither has announced a new coach. |
