Week 17 - WTA International ($250K) - TEB BNP Paribas Instanbul Cup, Istanbul, Turkey (clay)

blob · All-time great

Week 17 - WTA International ($250K) - TEB BNP Paribas Instanbul Cup, Istanbul, Turkey (clay)

Michael D · All-time great

Yes, the Chinese pair have had some good results, but haven't really faced very difficult opposition to reach the final. They did beat Harriet and Aksu (who had already put out the 2nd seeds), so would be good to see a Brit win this time round. Fantastic result today for Anna, and let's have one more now tomorrow!

Anna is also incidentally now up to live WR 46, which will be a new CH for her, if she stays there (she still has one more 'live' person just behind her). And winning the final will take her up to about WR 41, which will be a great feat for her. This is on clay too this week, so augurs well one hopes for the next few weeks too, maybe with Xenia, who has benefited so far this week by moving up 4 places in the live rankings to WR 71, but will rise about a further 10 places if they win.

JonH · All-time great

Michael D wrote:
Yes, the Chinese pair have had some good results, but haven't really faced very difficult opposition to reach the final. They did beat Harriet and Aksu (who had already put out the 2nd seeds), so would be good to see a Brit win this time round. Fantastic result today for Anna, and let's have one more now tomorrow!

Anna is also incidentally now up to live WR 46, which will be a new CH for her, if she stays there (she still has one more 'live' person just behind her). And winning the final will take her up to about WR 41, which will be a great feat for her. This is on clay too this week, so augurs well one hopes for the next few weeks too, maybe with Xenia, who has benefited so far this week by moving up 4 places in the live rankings to WR 71, but will rise about a further 10 places if they win.

if Anna stays around 40 ranking, would she get into French main draw? Or even Madrid or Rome? What level partner would she need to achieve that, rankings wise?

PaulM · Tennis legend

Great stuff. Not exactly stellar opposition this week but wins are wins and at this level you need to take every opportunity you get.

Happy for her

Michael D · All-time great

JonH wrote:
Michael D wrote:
Yes, the Chinese pair have had some good results, but haven't really faced very difficult opposition to reach the final. They did beat Harriet and Aksu (who had already put out the 2nd seeds), so would be good to see a Brit win this time round. Fantastic result today for Anna, and let's have one more now tomorrow!

Anna is also incidentally now up to live WR 46, which will be a new CH for her, if she stays there (she still has one more 'live' person just behind her). And winning the final will take her up to about WR 41, which will be a great feat for her. This is on clay too this week, so augurs well one hopes for the next few weeks too, maybe with Xenia, who has benefited so far this week by moving up 4 places in the live rankings to WR 71, but will rise about a further 10 places if they win.
if Anna stays around 40 ranking, would she get into French main draw? Or even Madrid or Rome? What level partner would she need to achieve that, rankings wise?

Yes, I was wondering about those questions too Jon, and don't have ready answers. One problem is that it is hard to work out rankings when looking at past draws, since they are not shown. I'd like to see her make these main draws... but another part of me wishes more that she can form a successful partnership with someone and continue that. Xenia has a doubles CH of 40, even though her current ranking is higher, so maybe that is a partnership that has potential to continue. Since Anna has played with two different people now in her last two tournaments, guess we have to wait and see what she does next!

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

I may have the wrong Xenia completely but wasn't Miss Knoll the regular dubs partner of Mandy Carreras a few years back? (Surely there can't be that many Xenias around....)

blob · All-time great

In 2017, Anna played Roland Garros with Madison Brengle. They were the 3rd Alternates.
Anna was WR84 at time of entry, and WR82 when the tournament began; Brengle was WR88 on both dates - combined WR170.
If Anna can find a partner on or around her ranking, I submit she'd be very unfortunate not to secure a MD place by right.

The Optimist: I think you are thinking of Ximena Hermoso, who was a regular partner for Mandy. She has never played with Ms. Knoll.

Michael D · All-time great

blob wrote:
In 2017, Anna played Roland Garros with Madison Brengle. They were the 3rd Alternates.
Anna was WR84 at time of entry, and WR82 when the tournament began; Brengle was WR88 on both dates - combined WR170.
If Anna can find a partner on or around her ranking, I submit she'd be very unfortunate not to secure a MD place by right.

The Optimist: I think you are thinking of Ximena Hermoso, who was a regular partner for Mandy. She has never played with Ms. Knoll.

Talking of Mandy, not good news... I've posted on her thread.

blob · All-time great

Quick shout out to the decidedly unfashionable Pauline Parmentier, who here has made her first WTA final in ten years. 32? Just hitting your prime on the WTA these days

blob · All-time great

Press review:
Current top 50 British player makes full WTA tour level final: 0 articles
Returning former top 50 banned British player wins challenger level match: 21 new articles today

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

blob wrote:
Quick shout out to the decidedly unfashionable Pauline Parmentier, who here has made her first WTA final in ten years. 32? Just hitting your prime on the WTA these days

Nice post, blob. She's a real 'also-ran' in French tennis - a good player that no one ever gets excited about. Good luck to her,

PockyTastic · Futures level

blob wrote:
Press review:
Current top 50 British player makes full WTA tour level final: 0 articles
Returning former top 50 banned British player wins challenger level match: 21 new articles today

When she won Nuremberg she got next to no press coverage so Im not surprised shes been ignored again.

indiana · Tennis legend

PockyTastic wrote:
blob wrote:
Press review:
Current top 50 British player makes full WTA tour level final: 0 articles
Returning former top 50 banned British player wins challenger level match: 21 new articles today
When she won Nuremberg she got next to no press coverage so Im not surprised shes been ignored again.

I guess doubles vs singles is some factor in that and arguably reasonably so to at least some extent. Though I would imagine Evo would still have 'beaten' a British WTA tour singles finalist.

the addict · Tennis legend

Coup Droit wrote:
blob wrote:
Quick shout out to the decidedly unfashionable Pauline Parmentier, who here has made her first WTA final in ten years. 32? Just hitting your prime on the WTA these days
Nice post, blob. She's a real 'also-ran' in French tennis - a good player that no one ever gets excited about. Good luck to her,

Pauline did remarkably well in the recent FED cup match against Sloane Stevens and Madison Keys, losing both matches in two tight straight sets. I hope she does win - it would be her first WTA title, and first title since the $100k at Contrexeville in 2016.

blob · All-time great

A bit surprised Pauline doesn't get at least a little more support from the French, as she has been a faithful servant for them in Fed Cup - drafted in as honest cover whilst Alizé previously, and now Caro & Kiki have various fallings out with each other and the FFT and others and exempt themselves. Pauline has shown up whenever asked and done a loyal and uncomplaining job of best effort, in singles and doubles, as required.
Sacrificing these weeks from your schedule for the good of the national cause probably is a thankless task though unless you also just win. 5/12 in singles, and 6/12 overall not being sufficient to earn anything beyond a 'meh' apparently.
I have in the past, personally, been guilty of unoriginally and offhandedly calling her 'potato lady'

I hope she wins - though the Hercog story on the other side is not a bad one, either.

This Istanbul event does have a happy knack of throwing up good stories in it's winners. If only they could get any of the locals to actually watch it. Even Turkish sponsors are elsewhere this week, with Turkish Airlines very prominently plastered all over courtside... in Stuttgart

indiana wrote:
PockyTastic wrote:
blob wrote:
Press review:
Current top 50 British player makes full WTA tour level final: 0 articles
Returning former top 50 banned British player wins challenger level match: 21 new articles today
When she won Nuremberg she got next to no press coverage so Im not surprised shes been ignored again.
I guess doubles vs singles is some factor in that and arguably reasonably so to at least some extent. Though I would imagine Evo would still have 'beaten' a British WTA tour singles finalist.

Should have corrected my own post: Returning former top 50 banned British player wins qualifying match at challenger level: 21 new articles today

The 'reasonable extent' exchange rate is thus somewhere in the range of: win in round one of Challenger qualifying: 21+ articles. Win to reach WTA final: none
Got it. All the arguments that were put forward in Acapulco for a discrepancy in coverage magically disappear, being inconveniently inapplicable this time, but are readily replaced by any number of others to achieve the same status quo.

I'm going to have to ask you to plesse expand on that last line for me Indiana, as you seem to be arguing along a line that reductively ends at somewhere like: were Serena Williams British, it would be reasonable to never report her results or successes, because, well, Andy would just beat her anyway. Or even, no matter Serena's nationality, don't bother reporting the matches, because Rog & Rafa would just beat her anyway.
I'm pretty sure that's not what you mean, but after re-reading the comment over and over, I can't find any other way to interpret it.
Unless you have an ellipsis on the end of your statement to the effect of: '... would still have 'beaten' a British WTA tour singles finalist [in terms of the coverage each were given.]"?
Probably that? (Hopefully that) Hence the quoting of 'beaten'? Probably that.