Talk About Tennis 2.0

I don't think Bencic will get to the top either but it will be good to have her back..her style is sort of unique..Svtolina is actually better now than she was before motherhood- she was never Tier 1 in my book but she is slightly better than she was..hits the ball harder, with more freedom, than before.

ashkor87 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 02, 2024 1:50 pm I think Sabalenka has a nonzero chance- her game has worked well on all surfaces..she is the only one who has that quality right now. Doesn't follow that she will do it but she has the game. nobody else does.

Agree. I I were forced to put $100 on any player that could do it, she is it.
But in the modern WTA, a grand slam is almost impossible to fathom.

The Tennis Letter
@TheTennisLetter



Qinwen Zheng tries to keep her distance from the other women on tour because it would be difficult for her to compete against a friend, ‘I decided don't try to make a friend on tour because there's so many people outside of the tennis world.. I come here to compete with them, to win the match’

“Do you have amongst the players good friends? Do you prefer to keep your distance because they're your rivals?”

Qinwen: “My answer is very clear: I prefer always to keep the distance with the player. Has a lot of competition with me. I am, like, the sensitive type with my heart. I don't feel if I become friends with someone and I have to compete with them on court, I feel I'm not able to 100% focus and fight. When I have to scream, ‘C'mon,’ I'm not able to do that because I will feel a bit weird. In my heart, I feel if it's a friend, I really want she win or she feels good in her life. This is the opposite side of a tennis tournament. Once I figure out that, I decided don't try to make a friend on tour because there's so many people outside of the tennis world. Why I have to just make friends here? I come here to compete with them, to win the match.
Yeah, that's my opinion (smiling).”

“How have you been with the other seven players here over the last few days?”

Qinwen: “We are just saying hello. Sometimes say congrats to your great season. No more talk with no more people. I never go for more. I don't try to go for more, as well, yeah.”

(via WTA Finals Riyadh Press)

Fair enough.

Wow. How can you play there? I would be looking at that mountain all the time.

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 06, 2024 10:30 am Wow. How can you play there? I would be looking at that mountain all the time.

No you wouldn't - you're a tennis fan, and as soon as someone started hitting that yellow ball around your eyes would be following the ball.

Lake Como - the prettiest large lake I've been to.

skatingfan wrote: ↑Wed Nov 06, 2024 10:36 am

ponchi101 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 06, 2024 10:30 am Wow. How can you play there? I would be looking at that mountain all the time.

No you wouldn't - you're a tennis fan, and as soon as someone started hitting that yellow ball around your eyes would be following the ball.

Thanks for the compliment . But one of the hardest things for me is concentrating on "keep your eyes on the ball".

WTA announces 2025 Hologic WTA Tour calendar

The WTA on Thursday announced the 2025 Hologic WTA Tour calendar, featuring over 50 tournaments across 26 countries and regions, providing the tour’s athletes with multiple opportunities to earn valuable points toward the WTA Rankings.

The 2025 season will mark the second full year of the revised calendar structure, which was introduced to better showcase the top athletes playing the top events and support sustainable long-term growth for players, tournaments and all stakeholders in the sport.

Key changes to the 2025 calendar include:

The WTA 500 in Eastbourne, UK will change location to The Queen’s Club, London and take place the week of June 9, in the first week of the grass season.

The Nottingham WTA 250 event, also in the UK, moves one week later to the second week of the grass court season, the week of June 16

A WTA 250 will run in Eastbourne the week of June 23, Week 3 of the grass season, combined with an ATP 250. The WTA 500 in Bad Homburg, Germany remains in the third week of the grass season, alongside Eastbourne

WTA 1000 events of The National Bank Open presented by Rogers (Montreal) and the Cincinnati Open will expand to become 12-day tournaments, taking place over three weeks in the summer.
“The 2025 calendar offers a clear and exciting narrative for our 1 billion global fan base to follow this incredible sport,” said Steve Simon, WTA Chairman and CEO. “We strive to create the best possible experience for everyone involved in women’s tennis, and from our first tournaments in Australia through to the WTA Finals Riyadh, it’s going to be another captivating season on the Hologic WTA Tour in 2025.”

2025 marks the 52nd year since the WTA was founded by Billie Jean King in 1973, uniting all of women’s professional tennis under one elite tour. Since then, the Hologic WTA Tour has grown to more than 1,600 athletes and $212 million in prize money at events around the globe.

https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4009675/ ... s%20season.

Major changes:

Omnium Banque Nationale présenté par Rogers
MONTREAL, CANADA
Jul 27 - Aug 7, 2025 (Sunday - Thursday)


Cincinnati Open
CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES
Aug 7 - Aug 18, 2025 (Thursday - Monday)


Abierto GNP Seguros 2025
MONTERREY, MEXICO
Aug 18 - Aug 23, 2025


Tennis in the Land
CLEVELAND, OH, UNITED STATES
Aug 18 - Aug 23, 2025



US Open
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES
Aug 25 - Sep 7, 2025

The women's final in Canada will be on a Thursday? Oof

That is dumb.
And no day off in between the tournaments.

The Canadian tournament has always been disrupted by rain..maybe scheduling it this way keeps the buffer at the end, which is what Theory of Constraints tells us to do ..so it could be good.

The fact that Alcaraz does better at W than at the USO, Krejcikova, Muguruza and Halep all won both the French and Wimbledon but never the USO..suggests - it is time to think of W as a slow court, and USO as an outlier...?