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Alex Eala has emerged as a new superstar on the WTA Tour over the last year, with her army of fans around the world eager to find out any nugget of information on the Filipina hero.

The tennis media ecosystem has been given a huge boost by Eala’s engaging presence on the biggest stages around the world, with websites, podcasts and TV networks seeing big boosts in interactions when the 21-year-old is on court.

Her impressive run to the last-16 at Wimbledon last month included a memorable win against defending champion Iga Swiatek and she backed that up by lifting her first WTA Tour title with a thrilling series of wins at the Washington Open earlier this month.

Everything associated with Eala is big news and there is plenty of interest in two of the most important pieces of equipment she takes onto court – her tennis racket and her trainers.

Here is your Tennis365 guide to two of the most important pieces in Eala’s armoury.

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The Rafael Nadal connection

Eala became part of the Rafael Nadal Academy programme in Mallorca at the start of her career and that may explain why she uses a Babolat racket and is wearing Nike clothing.

The tennis legend who set-up the Academy used a Babolat racket throughout his career and was also a long-time brand ambassador for Nike, with Eala following in his footsteps.

What racket does Eala use?

Eala uses a Babolat Pure Aero racket, with the frames she uses likely to be modified to suit her requirements.

The inscription on this racket on the Babolat website offers some details behind the racket, giving a glimpse of the technology that has gone into the frame.

“After two years of extensive research with experts and endorsed by professional players, the Pure Aero Gen9 features an even more aerodynamic frame, allowing your racquet to slice through the air with each stroke,” reads the description.

“Inspired by the explosive play of Carlos Alcaraz and other Babolat Tour professionals, the Pure Aero Gen9 empowers you to fully harness your arm’s strength. Your balls will spin faster, your strikes will be more powerful, and your forehand shots will achieve a new level of decisiveness. With an ideal balance between power and control, you can make every shot count, regardless of the conditions.”

The racket retails for around £250 in the UK or $299.00 in America.

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What shoes does Eala use

Eala uses the Nike Vapor Pro 3 trainers, with the description on the Nike website offering some insight into the product.

“The Vapor Pro 3 provides bounce and burst from side-to-side movements to scrambles to the net, so you can stay in the point,” it reads.

“With springy Air Zoom cushioning and a new rubber compound that makes the shoe lighter than previous Vapors, it’s primed to last to match point.

The Vapor Pro 3’s are available for £119.99 in the UK and $150 in America.

READ NEXT: Andy Roddick explains why the ‘slow’ serve of Alex Eala is deceptively dangerous

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As another big tournament nears, another big name in the sport has ruled themselves out of participating.

For the past couple of years, Masters 1000 events have expanded from one week to two. And while that has made a host of top players, and tournaments themselves, richer, the backlash against them is growing.

An increasingly physical tour is seemingly getting longer with these elongated Masters. But rather than improve the sport, more and more players are withdrawing from them to look after their health.

Seven-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz has been out since April with a wrist injury, and just when the tennis world hoped he would return in Cincinnati, he too pulled out.

World No 1 Jannik Sinner joined him soon after with a knee problem, raising concerns both of the world’s two best players may not be fit for the US Open.

While that seems unlikely, certainly for Sinner, another big name of tennis has withdrawn from this prestigious competition. Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka has dropped out of Cincinnati, citing “fatigue”.

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The world No 13 made it to the semi-finals of Washington and the quarter-finals in Toronto, with Osaka now deciding to fully turn her attention to the US Open.

In a statement, the Japanese said, “I’m really sad to have to withdraw from Cincinnati this year due to fatigue. I love playing here and am looking forward to coming back and competing in Cincinnati next year.”

This comes after the Canadian Open’s tournament director Valerie Tetreault called for changes to be made to tennis’ “demanding schedule”. Sinner, Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic were among the big names to not take part in this year’s tournament.

Tetreault said, “We are obviously very disappointed that Jannik and Novak won’t be joining us in Montreal this year, especially after they also withdrew from last year’s tournament in Toronto.

“We respect their decisions and understand that, with such a demanding schedule, players’ health must remain the priority. That said, we believe the frequency of these last-minute withdrawals in the last few years raises a broader issue for our sport.

“Masters 1000 events are among the flagship tournaments on the tour, and fans rightfully expect to see the world’s best compete. We are already in discussions with the ATP to ensure this matter received serious consideration.”

Aside from that, Osaka’s development takes the number of withdrawals on both the men’s and women’s draw to 15 overall in Cincinnati. Below is a breakdown of that list.

ATP Cincinnati Open withdrawal list

• Carlos Alcaraz (world No 2) – replaced by Mattia Bellucci
• Alexander Bublik (world No 11) – replaced by Marton Fucsovics
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (world No 25) – replaced by Adam Walton
• Sebastian Korda (world No 50) – replaced by Valentin Royer
• Ethan Quinn (world No 51) – replaced by Lorenzo Sonego
• Holger Rune (world No 99) – replaced by Daniel Merida
• Jannik Sinner (world No 1) – replaced by Stefanos Tsitsipas

WTA Cincinnati Open withdrawal list

• Victoria Mboko (world No 12) – replaced by Tamara Korpatsch
• Jasmine Paolini (world No 15) – replaced by Taylor Townsend
• Hailey Baptiste (world No 32) – replaced by Tatjana Maria
• Jacqueline Cristian (world No 39) – replaced by Maria Timofeeva
• Emma Raducanu (world No 49) – replaced by Maya Joint
• Karolina Muchova (world No 6) – replaced by Simona Waltert
• Lois Boisson (world No 281) – replaced by Kamilla Rakhimova
• Naomi Osaka (world No 13) – replaced by qualifier/lucky loser

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The post Cincinnati Open withdrawal list: Naomi Osaka pulls out as absentee list grows to 15 appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic has been making adjustments to his game for several years, but the Serbian has incorporated nothing as dramatic as Roger Federer’s SABR (Sneak attack by Roger).

That is according to Andy Roddick, who has outlined how the 24-time major winner has tweaked his stock offering when Father Time has finally started to catch up with him.

The former world No 1, who had a 21-3 losing record to Federer, explained how the 39-year-old has increased his second serve speed; he now tries to shorten points, whereas before he would happily extend them, and Djokovic approaches the net more, too.

All of this is to make up for him being a step slower than in the past and not having the endurance he once possessed. Rewind to 2015, and a 28-year-old Djokovic was faced with Federer’s SABR at the Cincinnati Masters.

This involved the Swiss essentially half-volleying the Serb’s serve and charging towards the service box. It worked a treat in the final in Cincinnati that year but a few weeks later, Djokovic was wise to it as he beat his great rival in four sets in the US Open final.

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Roddick described Federer’s SABR as a “circus”, partly because he used it so sparingly after those two 2015 tournaments. Djokovic, though, is continually looking for ways to give himself an edge as he approaches 40.

On the latest episode of Served, the American said, “SABR was a bit of a circus. Like Roger would do it and it was fun, but did we ever see him really do it more than like one time? Every third set, it wasn’t something that you could go to all the time. Novak has already made adjustments.

“The second serve goes bigger, goes into the body. He doesn’t defend as well out of the corners. You might see him making more errors. That’s because he is trying to get on the front foot more often.

“It’s not as nuts as like SABR, where we’re all just waiting for him to be like, I mean, basically Roger is playing a game of horse (shooting a basketball from different locations on the court), but during matches, ‘Um, can I pull this off? Yeah. I mean, he’s certain.

“Novak serves and volleys way more than he used to. Every player who was fantastic at defence, you lose a step. How do you make up for that? It’s by getting on the front foot and playing less defence. How has that done? It’s by hitting bigger from the baseline.”

Roddick did point out that in the final set tiebreak in Djokovic’s quarter-final win over Felix Auger-Aliassime, he rolled back the years from a defensive standpoint. But that is not something he can do nearly as much.

Roddick continued, “I think we’ve seen Novak do that. I don’t know that you see him as often settle in and defence [it] up. Now he still does it when he needs to. The fifth set buster against Felix Auger-Aliassime [at Wimbledon], he went vintage, but can his body take that defensive load for five sets? I think the answer is no.

“Now it’s not as like obvious as SABR or Roger hitting one handed backhand and return winners with a bigger frame or something to talk about. But he’s already made a bunch of adjustments.”

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The post ‘Bit of a circus’ – Roger Federer rival contrasts Swiss’ changes to Novak Djokovic’s new approach appeared first on Tennis365.

Andy Roddick has explained why some players are struggling to deal with Alex Eala’s relatively “slow” serve.

The Filipina’s rise into the top 20 has sparked a huge debate about whether or not she can win a Grand Slam with a serve that is outside the top 50 for aces and first and second serve win percentage.

Serena Williams’ coach Rennae Stubbs initially said that the 21-year-old could not win a major with her first and second delivery but has since softened on that view after her Washington Open triumph.

Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski does feel she needs to improve her serve but thinks with time, she can shore up that shot a great deal. Now, one of the best servers of all time, in Roddick, has commented on this hot topic.

The 2003 US Open champion said that Eala – whose first serve can reach around 100mph but her second is often between 60-75mph – is so good at “crushing” the next ball after her serve, therefore you need to do a lot more with the return.

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The left-hander’s ball-striking ability often gets her out of trouble but by taking pace off her second serve in particular, it can flummox the opposition.

On Roddick‘s Q&Andy show on Thursday, the American was asked if we could see more WTA players intentionally adding slower serves or preparing specifically to receive them as part of their match strategy.

He responded on the latest episode of Served, “Here’s the difference. It’s not just anybody goes out there and hits a slow serve and they get away with it. It’s Eala’s ability to crush the next ball if you don’t square up that return.

“I was a returner who had a hard time creating pace on a slow second serve. Like I used to play Mardy [Fish] and he’d hit this little bunny 81mph kick serve where I had all day, but he knew that I couldn’t bruise him off the back end side. Right?

“Therefore he wasn’t in a rush to hit it. So the difference is it’s not just making the serve or hitting a good return. It’s against Eala. If you don’t square it up, she’s able to hit that middle ball, both directions, with pace on the next shot.”

Roddick added that if you serve slowly, without much spin on it, to an Iga Swiatek, she will punish you. However, when Eala beat the Pole at Wimbledon, she struggled with the youngster’s slower delivery.

The former world No 1 continued, “You can’t take someone who doesn’t have Eala’s ball striking ability or ability to hit directionally to the corners and just say, ‘I’m going to serve slower against Iga Swiatek’. Welcome to your death.

“Like that’s not the way it works. It’s being able to create enough pace to offset what Eala is trying to do on that next ball. I think Eala’s serve or second serve, especially, is probably more effective with the slower version than if it was 10mph faster.

“Like I think she’s starting to kind of figure out how to use it as well and maybe not being obsessed with pace, but like, ‘I’m going to throw you this one and you better hit it’. You better hit it firm. Otherwise you’re going for a ride on the next ball.”

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Alexander Zverev has been told to ditch the excuses after the German blamed the “conditions and the balls” following his Canadian Open exit.

In his first match back since his Wimbledon final loss, Zverev went down in three sets to Tallon Griekspoor, as the Dutchman’s aggressive tactics proved too much for the French Open champion.

After the defeat, the 29-year-old revealed he was not happy with the playing conditions in Montreal and the Wilson tennis balls, which play quite differently to the Dunlop balls used at Wimbledon.

He said, “I think with the conditions and the balls, I think there is going to be some strange-ish results, ranking-wise, player-wise, that you maybe don’t expect during other tournaments. And, again, it’s the first hard court event for us in a couple of months.

“I think everybody is still trying to find their form. The balls are just not controllable. It’s the same every year. It’s nothing new. The Wilson balls are difficult, but again, that’s not the reason I lost today. I think I’m just not in form yet that I was the last couple of months.”

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While many players have criticised the quality of tennis balls being used on the tennis tour for years now, with some speculating that manufacturers have dropped their standards since the coronavirus pandemic, Rennae Stubbs has laid into Zverev for his recent remarks.

The former world No 1 doubles player stressed that the all-time greats would never do that after a defeat.

The Australian said on the latest episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, “Every time he [Zverev] loses, as you said, there’s always a frigging excuse.

“It’s like, have you ever heard Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer or Serena Williams complain about the balls and that’s the reason why they lost? I mean, what are we doing here? Yes, the balls are very different.”

Her co-host Caitlin Thompson pointed out that tennis legend Billie Jean King once said, “Champions adjust”.

Stubbs, who is coaching Serena Williams at present, could not agree more. Plus, both players have to deal with these conditions but the best find a way to win.

She added, “Exactly, that is my point. So you know that. Get your strings tighter, whatever it is, we’ve all been there. I know exactly how that ball feels after coming from London and it does fly. And some players love it, some players hate it, and you need to adjust.

“I can tell you one thing. When Rafa, or Roger, or Novak or any great player has lost in Canada, they haven’t blamed the f****** balls. Because guess what? They know what the balls are. They’re Wilson, they’re different.”

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The post ‘Haven’t blamed the f****** balls’ – Ex-world No 1 slams Alexander Zverev for Canadian Open excuse appeared first on Tennis365.

Roger Federer has been enjoying a sporadic return to tennis in 2026 and it’s only set to get bigger in the coming months.

The Swiss star enjoyed a practice set against Casper Ruud at the Australian Open, as well as a doubles exhibition with Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter at the Melbourne event.

He also returned to Wimbledon as a spectator, where he was famously the only person left in the Royal Box for Alexander Zverev’s clash with Jiri Lehecka.

Later this month, Federer will be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame before he returns to the US Open to play an exhibition match with John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, and Andy Roddick.

Before his return to the biggest stages in tennis, Federer has been spotted playing the sport he dominated for so many years at a local club in Italy.

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Federer played Taormina Tennis Club alongside French businessman Bernard Arnault, who is the current CEO of LVMH, the world’s largest luxury goods company.

Fans were stunned to see the 20-time Grand Slam champion playing alongside them and one club player revealed their thoughts on Instagram after spotting the Swiss icon on the court next to him.

On Instagram, Antonio Gullotta wrote: “Watching him play just a few meters away is already extraordinary. Seeing him do it in your own city—Taormina—makes it all the more special.

“A star-studded doubles match alongside Monsieur Arnault, set in a location that once again proves it can host world-class figures and champions.

“Kudos to the Taormina Tennis Club for welcoming a champion of such stature and for giving us a moment we will not soon forget. What a privilege. What a spectacle. Thank you, Taormina!”

While fans might be surprised that Federer decided to play a tennis match on clay, which is considered his weakest surface by a long margin, the star actually grew up on the surface.

Speaking in 2018, Federer said: “I am a clay-court player, essentially. I grew up on clay. I played even indoors on clay, that was my court in the winter.”

“I was enjoying playing on clay, at the beginning on the Tour it was hard because I lost my first eleven [matches] and then at the French Open it took time to win, and then people thought, he doesn’t like clay.”

Federer only won Roland Garros on one occasion, in 2009, when he defeated Robin Soderling in the final. Despite Rafael Nadal’s dominance on the surface, Federer did manage to win 11 ATP Tour titles on clay.

The post Roger Federer stuns fans with surprise tennis match with high-profile partner in Italy appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer are undoubtedly the best three tennis players in the history of men’s tennis.

The trio dominated the sport for two decades, collecting 66 Grand Slam titles between them, with Djokovic topping the lot with 24 major honours.

The trio met several times at the backend of major tournaments and they left very little for any of their other rivals, despite the quality of the likes of Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, and Juan Martin del Potro.

There have been plenty of debate around which of Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal were the better player and now Goran Ivanisevic has chimed in with his view.

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In an interview with SportKlub, the Croatian said: “For me, Novak is one of the greatest athletes in history, and he is arguably the greatest tennis player.

“If we take Federer, who plays the most beautifully, and who is nice to watch even when he plays badly, then Nadal, who always gives his all and to whom I would entrust a match if my life depended on it.”

However, the 2001 Wimbledon champion did concede that he believes Djokovic stands above Federer and Nadal when you compare their entire careers.

“Novak is the most complete, he plays the best tennis,” said Ivanisevic. “He is like a shark or a snake, he catches you and just chokes you, there is no going back.”

Of course, Ivanisevic is biased as he worked as Djokovic’s coach for many of the years he was on top of the ATP Tour.

He worked with Djokovic between 2019 and 2023, which was a very fruitful time in the Serbian star’s career.

During their time together, Djokovic won three Wimbledon titles, two Roland Garros titles, three Australian Open titles, one US Open, two ATP Finals, and seven ATP 1000 events.

The former world No 2 has also worked with Marin Cilic, who won his sole Grand Slam title under Ivanisevic at the 2014 US Open.

Ivanisevic is currently working with Arthur Fils, who is widely considered to be one of the ATP Tour’s next great players.

The pair have been working together since the start of the 2026 season and the Frenchman currently sits at world No 21 in the ATP Tour rankings following his comeback from a back injury.

The star has collected the Barcelona Open title and reached the semi finals of two Masters tournaments, at the Miami Open and the Madrid Open, under Ivanisevic’s guidance.

He has picked up victories against Felix Auger-Aliassime, Rafael Jodar, Lorenzo Musetti, and Jiri Lehecka already this season.

The post Goran Ivanisevic picks the ‘most complete’ player out of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic appeared first on Tennis365.

Alexander Zverev has called for an “an easy fix” to be implemented at Masters 1000 tournaments as he addressed the high number of players who have withdrawn from Canada and Cincinnati.

A total of 16 players — eight men and eight women — pulled out of the Canadian Open before main draw play got underway, while 14 players have withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open, which will begin tomorrow.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Karolina Muchova, Victoria Mboko, Jasmine Paolini and Emma Raducanu are some of the high-profile stars to miss both events, while Novak Djokovic skipped Canada.

In 2023, the ATP Tour extended the Masters 1000 events in Madrid, Rome and Shanghai to two weeks (12 days) and increased the number of players in the singles draws to 96.

The same expansion was applied to tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami and Shanghai in 2024, while it was introduced in Canada and Cincinnati starting with the 2025 editions.

Prior to the changes, seven of the nine Masters tournaments were played over a single week and featured 56-player singles draws, with Indian Wells and Miami each lasting 10 days.

Zverev is one of a host of big name players to criticise the extended Masters 1000 format.

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In his pre-tournament press conference in Cincinnati, Zverev was asked if players are under pressure to prioritise Canada or Cincinnati.

“I think that’s what two-week events do, unfortunately, if there is a Slam coming after that,” replied the 29-year-old.

“If you play everything and you’re a top player, you spend seven weeks here in North America. That is quite a long time.

“And I think that’s why a lot of top players, they choose not to play Canada for multiple years now. That’s unfortunately the sad reality of it.”

Asked how this issue can be fixed, Zverev called for the one-week Masters format to be brought back in Canada and Cincinnati.

“How it always was. Quite simple,” Zverev said. “Make us be here for two weeks, not seven.

“For the Masters, it’s two weeks for both of them, and I think that’s an easy fix, regarding top players playing.”

Zverev was also asked if players would be willing to earn less money if Masters tournaments reverted to the traditional one-week format.

The French Open champion questioned whether the longer Masters events have led to an increase in prize money as he compared what he earned for his Rome titles in 2017 and 2024.

“It’s an interesting question, you know why? Because we’ve had this conversation,” said Zverev. “And the money that tournaments are spending is obviously more because there’s more [players in the] first round that you have to pay.

“But actually if you win the tournament; I can compare because I won the Rome Masters back in 2017, and I think I got close to a million euros back then.

“And then I won it seven years later, 2024, I got 900 grand, so actually, I got less money for winning the same tournament seven years later than I did seven years prior.

“So I don’t think it’s less money if you win, necessarily, if the weeks are shorter.”

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The post Alexander Zverev reveals ‘easy fix’ to ‘sad reality’ of Canadian Open and Cincinnati withdrawals appeared first on Tennis365.

Kim Clijsters believes there have been precedents that stand Alex Eala in good stead to win a maiden Grand Slam.

The 21-year-old has been a breath of fresh air for the WTA Tour as the left-hander climbs up the rankings, as an army of diehard fans back her to the hilt.

After a steady rise since turning professional in 2020, Eala has exploded into life, particularly in 2026, with an impressive fourth-round Wimbledon run and a first WTA Tour title triumph in Washington.

The Filipina is now 20th in the world, despite many questioning if her serve is good enough to challenge the game’s elite.

Serena Williams’ coach, Rennae Stubbs, initially doubted whether Eala could win a major with her serve, which is well outside the top 50 in terms of effectiveness. The Australian then somewhat rode back on those comments after her win in the American capital.

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The topic about her serve still rages on, with some saying that her lefty delivery makes it harder to return than you would expect, while acknowledging that Eala can improve both the first and second serve for the 2027 campaign.

Now, four-time major winner Clijsters has come out and said both Eala and Washington finalist Jessica Pegula, 32, can win a Grand Slam thanks to their strong ground and return game, despite not being big servers.

The former world No 1 said on the latest episode of Love All, “I do think they have a chance. Winning a Grand Slam is hard no matter what, whether you have a great first or second serve.

“But Eala and Jessie [Pegula] have such strong weapons when it comes to the return game and because of it they can break an opponent’s serve down.

“Just by being so good and aggressive on the return. And we saw with [Aryna] Sabalenka and [Ekaterina] Alexandrova… those players have bad service games and days too. If you have Sabalenka winning 33% of first service points, of course Eala and Pegula can win a slam if that happens in the final.”

Clijsters continued by saying that you need a bit of “luck” to win a slam and she had played majors where she could have lost earlier in the tournament, before lifting the trophy at the end of it.

The Belgian also said that the likes of Anastasia Myskina, who had a slow serve, and Ana Ivanovic, who had a ball toss that was “out of control” at times, didn’t have great deliveries but still won the French Open in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

Moreover, Angelique Kerber didn’t have the most powerful serve but the left-hander still won three Grand Slams and topped the rankings, too. Clijsters did say that former US Open finalist and world No 3 Pegula is closer to winning a major in 2026 than Eala, though.

She added, “I definitely think someone like an Eala…because of the mindset… Jessie too. She is so strong mentally, the way they are able to move side to side, the groundstrokes that they have. I definitely think they can win [a slam].

“Maybe Eala not as much yet as a Pegula but I think Jessie believes she can win a Grand Slam. I think that is where it starts most of all, you have to believe you can beat every player out there.

“Whether you haven’t done it in a Grand Slam yet or you’ve done it in the smaller tournaments. To beat the top players, the [Elena] Rybakina’s and the Sabalenka’s, that’s super important because every match you play is different.”

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After her breakthrough year on the WTA Tour in 2025, Alex Eala has become a stalwart during her follow-up season in 2026.

The Filipina star has especially been impressive during the summer months, during the grass court swing and the start of the North American hardcourt season.

Eala won the Birmingham Challenger on the grass and followed it up by getting to the semi finals of the Berlin Open and her very first fourth round at Wimbledon.

In North America, Eala won her first WTA Tour level title at the Washington Open, by defeating Jessica Pegula, Naomi Osaka, and Elina Svitolina consecutively.

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As a result of several deep runs at tournaments over the last few months, she now sits above every other player on the WTA Tour in one key area.

Eala has played more matches than any other player so far this season, as she currently sits on 56 matches throughout the first eight months of the year.

Players who have played the most WTA Tour matches in 2026

• Alex Eala – 56 matches
• Jessica Pegula – 51 matches
• Elina Svitolina – 51 matches
• Mirra Andreeva – 50 matches
• Elena Rybakina – 48 matches

That’s more than Pegula, Svitolina, Mirra Andreeva, and Elena Rybakina, the latter of which have won Grand Slam titles during the 2026 season.

Eala has played a whopping 21 tournaments already this year and she shows no signs of slowing down, either. The star is set to play the Cincinnati Open and the US Open and she has already signed up for the Singapore Open in September.

The 21-year-old is at an age where she can play all of these tournaments, but it hard not to think she is burning the candle at both ends in recent months.

She looked particularly tired at the Canadian Open in matches against Caty McNally and Belinda Bencic, the latter of which knocked her out of the tourmament.

She was bagelled in the second set against Bencic and it certainly looked like the amount of tennis she has played recently is starting to catch up with her.

She is yet to take a lengthy break this season, while other players around her have enjoyed a month of two off.

Perhaps the Asian swing is where Eala takes it a little slower, although she will be keen to continue to climb up the rankings and she has points to defend at the back-end of the year.

However, last year she played smaller tournaments such as Jingshan and Suzhou, while she will more than likely play the WTA 1000 events, the China Open and Wuhan Open, so there’s more of a chance to earn much-needed ranking points.

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