Jessica Pegula reveals she pretty much has a quite humble mentality when it comes to approaching matches as she always gives her full respect to every opponent and she believes that’s one of the big reasons behind her consistency.

Since the start of 2022, world No. 6 Pegula has been one of the most consistent players on the WTA Tour. And although the 30-year-old American has “just” bagged four titles over the last two and a half years, it should be highlighted that the majority of her tournaments during this period ended between the quarterfinal and final stage. 

Also, Pegula was 28 when she broke into the top-10 for the first time in her career in 2022 June. Since then, the American tennis star hasn’t exited the top-10 company not even once. 

Now in her first North American hard-court swing tournament, Pegula reached the final at the National Bank Open in Toronto – where she is the defending champion.

Pegula what made her such a consistent player

“Yeah, I think I always approach every match as it’s going to be a really tough match. I like to keep up and watch a lot and look at scores and matchups and different things. I don’t think I take any match lightly. I think the depth right now is really kind…

The 2024 Paris Olympics ended yesterday and gave so many emotions as in every edition. The Olympic tennis tournament took place in the first week of the Games and was held in the same venue as the French Open, a suggestive setting that made the event even more exciting.

The men’s tournament final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic was one of the most beautiful matches of the season so far, with the Serbian champion finally achieving his dream of winning the gold medal for his country.

Tennis was very popular at this edition of the Olympics, thanks to the epic second round match between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal that attracted the attention of many fans of other sports. Despite some male and female absences, the Olympic tennis tournament was a success in every respect.

The Olympic tennis tournament no longer awards ATP and WTA points, but there were almost all the best players in the world. The biggest absences were certainly those of Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, but the spectacle of the Olympics manages to overcome any unforeseen event. Tennis does not have the same Olympic tradition as other sports, but it is making its way into the world over the years.

The next Olympics…

Danielle Collins revealed in a health update shared with fans that she was also diagnosed with rectus abdominitis after suffering a heat stroke at the Paris Olympics but confirmed that she is planning to return to action in Monterrey next week and also play at the US Open. 

In her first and last Olympic appearance, Collins made a very promising start as she reached the quarterfinal before retiring injured to Iga Swiatek while 1-4 down in the third set. Unfortunately for the 30-year-old American who is retiring later this year, being unable to finish the Swiatek wasn’t the only negative thing since she was also forced to skip back-to-back WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati. 

“Little update for all who have been reaching out and checking in on me since my injury at the Olympics. After having a heat stroke in Paris, I strained my rectus abdominis. I had a similar injury to this area almost four years ago that kept me from competing for over four months. Obviously I don’t want to have a repeat of that,” Collins wrote on Instagram.

Collins won’t have to miss the US Open

Collins’ withdrawals in the last few weeks sparked some concerns as fans started fearing that she may not be able to play at…

The 2024 National Bank Open final in Toronto will be a matchup between two American players: defending champion Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova.

The 22-year-old Amanda Anisimova took a mental health break from competition last season, which caused her WTA ranking to drop outside the Top 350. However, she has made an impressive comeback on the hard-court swing leading up to the US Open. While she played just eleven matches in 2023, she has played ten in the last 16 days, including a quarterfinal run at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C., as a qualifier, and now reaching the final of the National Bank Open.

In an all-American semifinal held under windy conditions in Toronto, Anisimova defeated the eighth seed, Emma Navarro, 6-3 2-6 6-2. The former world No. 21, now ranked No. 132, has taken down four Top 20 players in Toronto, including No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 12 Daria Kasatkina, No. 15 Navarro, and No. 17 Anna Kalinskaya. This remarkable run makes Anisimova the lowest-ranked finalist at the tournament in 40 years and the second-lowest-ranked finalist in a WTA 1000 event since the format’s introduction 15 years ago.

Amanda Anisimova says taking a break to address her mental health was absolutely something she needed since she felt “very burnt out” and restarting herself was the key to rediscovering the joy for the game. 

On Saturday in Toronto, 22-year-old Anisimova achieved a milestone after upsetting Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 6-2 to reach her first WTA 1000 semifinal. 

But just 12 months ago, 2019 French Open semifinalist Anisimova was deliberately out of action after she previously in 2023 May announced that she was taking an indefinite break from tennis. At the time, Anisimova – a former world No. 21 – said she could no longer continue playing in her current state. After not playing for seven months, the American felt ready to make a comeback at the start of the 2024 season.

“Yeah, I think that after the break I felt very refreshed and just had a different kind of head space, like more clarity. I just was very burnt out before I took the break, so coming back I was enjoying it a lot more, and the training and all the process, I had like a different perspective for it. Yeah, I think that I just gained a different perspective when it comes to traveling and the training process,” Anisimova explained after beating Sabalenka when what did the break do to her.

“As I said. I’m…

Emma Raducanu officially didn’t make the Cincinnati main draw and that means she has missed the last two WTA 1000 tournaments and has been left with limited preparation and options ahead of the US Open. 

After concluding her solid Wimbledon run, Raducanu started her summer on hard courts early in Washington where she made it past her opening two matches before losing a three-setter in the quarterfinal to Paula Badosa. 

But then, the Toronto organizers overlooked Raducanu in the wildcard selection. And since the 2021 US Open champion didn’t take part in the Toronto qualifying, she was automatically out of the opening WTA 1000 event of this summer. 

The Cincinnati organizers went the same route as the Toronto officials as Raducanu also didn’t get a main draw wildcard there either – Cincinnati announced Caroline Wozniacki, Bianca Andreescu, Peyton Stearns and Caroline Dolehide. 

But still, there were a couple of days left before the tournament main draw was released and there was still hope that somehow a place for Raducanu could open up or she could maybe play in the qualifying. However, the chances of seeing Raducanu play in Cincinnati ended on Saturday after it was confirmed she didn’t make the main draw or signed up for the qualifying.

Coco Gauff has learned her possible path to defending her Cincinnati title as the American tennis star could have a few tricky matchups early on in the tournament.

Gauff, seeded at No. 2, has a first-round bye and she will probably start her campaign by taking on Yulia Putintseva in the second round. While the second-seeded American would enter that match as the big favorite, it should be noted that world No. 31 Putintseva upset Iga Swiatek earlier this summer at Wimbledon.

In the round-of-16, Gauff could face No. 13 seed Anna Kalinskaya or Paula Badosa, who won a WTA 500 tournament in Washington at the start of the North American hard-court swing.

If there are no major surprises, Cincinnati quarterfinal action could see Gauff taking on Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen. Then, the projected semifinal in the bottom half of the Cincinnati draw sees Gauff meeting fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina in a blockbuster clash. 

Should Gauff make back-to-back Cincinnati finals, she would likely meet there either No. 1 seed Swiatek or third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. 12 months ago, the 20-year-old American famously beat Swiatek in the semifinal for her first win over the Pole in the eighth meeting. 

On paper, Gauff’s Cincinnati draw doesn’t look like an easy one but if…

Naomi Osaka is one win away from reaching the Cincinnati main draw after overcoming Anna Blinkova 6-2 2-6 6-2 in her qualifying opener at the American hard-court WTA 1000 tournament. 

On Sunday, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka made her first qualifying appearance since 2018. And after a very strong start, Osaka’s level suddenly dropped but she managed to regain it and ultimately seal a qualifying final-round meeting versus 82nd-ranked Ashlyn Krueger. 

In case you haven’t read or heard, Osaka found out that her luggage and rackets were lost when she landed in Cincinnati. But after taking to X, the former world No. 1 was able to locate with the help of United Airlines and didn’t have to withdraw from Cincinnati.

How Osaka beat Blinkova?

Osaka made a lightning start to the match, winning the first five games before earning her third break of the set in the eighth game to seal the opener. 

But after easily winning the first set, the Japanese former world No. 1 lost her serve twice in the second set and didn’t get any breaks as Blinkova forced a decider.

Early in the third set, Osaka blew a break. However, she didn’t panic and still completed a three-set win after breaking Blinkova in the sixth and eighth…

For a star who is about to make her farewell, there is one who wants to shine: Danielle Collins will say goodbye to tennis at the end of 2024 while her countrywoman Emma Navarro has started to shine on the WTA Tour this year and, for her, a great career is in sight.

Emma spent beautiful words for her countrywoman, always calling her herself without half measures. Both share a past as NCAA singles winners and at the Paris Olympics they shared the court (even some drama in singles, Emma with Qinwen Zheng, Danielle with Iga Swiatek). Despite their different personalities, the two players have proven to complement each other, which could also suggest they will reunite in some doubles event before the end of 2024. Maybe at the US Open?

“Danielle is very outgoing and expressive on the court, and she is unapologetically herself, which I think is really cool. Off the court, she’s just been super supportive. We got to play together at the Olympics and cheer each other on, so that’s been really cool. We have very different personalities on the court, but I think she’s taught me a little bit about just being myself, and not everyone is going to like the way you approach things, but don’t let that affect you,” said Navarro.

The WTA 1000 in Toronto was a disappointment for Coco Gauff, who came after the Paris Olympic campaign that did not give the results that the American tennis player had hoped for. Out in singles against Sofia Kenin, out in doubles together with Jessica Pegula and out in mixed doubles with Taylor Fritz. At the Canadian Open another painful defeat, this time against the young rising Russian star Diana Shnaider.

Now Coco is reflecting on her future, to regain her tennis and confidence.  At the US Open she will defend the title and, as a first move, she has decided not to play the women’s doubles in Cincinnati or New York, to focus on her singles tournament, underlining that she could return to play some women’s doubles event in 2025, but that in any case it would not be a priority.

“I’m not playing doubles. It’s tough going week after week on the tour, that’s why. But maybe next year I’ll play here and there. I won’t play doubles as consistently as I have in the past. The goal was just to try to be as good as I can for the Olympics and then, yeah. Every week, week after week, I get to the end of the week, if I play singles and doubles I’m usually there in the semifinals at least in one event,” she explained.