Grand Slam Winner Francesca Schiavone Returns To Tennis As Coach For Top 25 Star - UBITENNIS
Connect with us

Latest news

Grand Slam Winner Francesca Schiavone Returns To Tennis As Coach For Top 25 Star

The former world No.4 is teaming up with a old rival of hers on the Tour.

Published

on

Francesca Schiavone will be returning to women’s tennis next week but as a coach for the 21st best player in the world, according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The 2014 French Open champion has agreed to start working with Croatia’s Petra Martic who she will be mentoring throughout the entire clay swing. It is understood that their first tournament together will be at the Istanbul Open which will start next Monday. Matic has been ranked as high as 14th in the world and reached the quarter-finals of the French Open back in 2019.

It is not the first time Schiavone has taken on a coaching role after previously collaborating with Caroline Wozniacki during 2019. That also occurred during the clay swing of the Tour. Since then the Italian has experienced her own personal battle after being diagnosed with cancer shortly after her stint with Wozniacki. She has since beaten the illness and even written a book detailing her memoirs.

“I was supposed to do something different, but then I got sick and that year (2019) was very difficult,” Schiavone told wtatennis.com last year. “In that moment, I had some projects I had to totally change. I couldn’t fly, go anywhere to see people. It changed everything. Once I started feeling better, COVID happened. Every project went in a different way.”

The 40-year-old has previously crossed paths with Martic on the Tour as a player. In 2016 she beat the Croat in the semi-finals of the Rio Open en route to the trophy. Rio was the second last title she ever won on the WTA Tour. They have also played against each other in doubles at the 2010 US Open and the 2012 Italian Open.

It is understood that Schiavone’s latest mission will also see her work with Martic in Madrid, Rome and the French Open. It is unclear as to if the partnership is just for the clay swing or a longer stint. Neither person is yet to publicly comment on their plans but they have been confirmed by multiple Italian media sources.

Schiavone has been ranked as high as 4th in the world. She has won eight WTA titles during her career and played in 70 Grand Slam main draws over a 18-year period.

Latest news

Ekaterina Alexandrova upsets Jessica Pegula to reach the semifinal at the Miami Open

Published

on

World number 16 Ekaterina Alexandrova came back from one set down to upset Jessica Pegula 3-6 6-4 6-4 in 1 hour and 58 minutes reaching the semifinals at the Miami Open.

Alexandrova has drawn level to 1-1 in her head-to-head matches against Pegula. 

Alexandrova beat top 5 players In back-to-back matches for the first time in her career with her wins over world number 1 Iga Swiatek and Pegula. In her previous two rounds of the Miami Open she had defeated Donna Vekic and Anastasya Pavlyuchenkova. 

Alexandrova also beat 2022 Elena Rybakina in Adelaide last January and has the most wins in 2024 against players ranked in the top 5. She has a record of 6 wins to 17 defeats against top 5 players in her career.   

Pegula won four consecutive games from 2-3 down with two breaks to seal the first set 6-3. Alexandrova fought back breaking serve in the first game of the second set. The Russian player went up a double break in the seventh game to open up a 5-2 lead. Pegula pulled one break back in the eighth game for 3-5. Alexandrova served out the second set at love to force the match to the decider. 

Alexandrova earned an early break in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Pegula broke straight back in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3, when Alexandrova double faulted on her fourth break point. Pegula held serve in the seventh game after a fantastic rally, but Alexandrova earned the decisive break, when Pegula went long with her backhand return on the second break point. Alexandrova held serve on her second match point and fell to her knees in joy.  

“It was extremely difficult for me because Pegula played amazing. In the third set, there were sometimes the kind of rallies where I could not understand how it was possible to return that ball, but it always came back. I just tried to play every single point like I knew she was going to be everywhere, so I need to do something and I was trying to wait and use any opportunities that I got”, said Alexandrova. 

Alexandrova set up a semifinal against Danielle Collins, the last remaining US player. It will be the first head-to-head match between Alexandrova and Collins.  

Continue Reading

Latest news

Jannik Sinner reaches his fourth semifinal of the year in Miami

Published

on

This year’s Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner converted four of his eleven break points in his 6-4 6-2 win over Tomas Machac in 91 minutes to reach his fourth semifinal of the season at the Miami Open. 

Sinner has claimed a tour-leading 20th match win this season to reach the Miami Open semifinal for the third time. The world number 3 finished runner-up to Hubert Hurkacz in 2021 and Danil Medvedev in 2023 in his finals in Miami. 

Sinner started the match with an immediate break in the first game to take a 1-0 lead. Machac, who beat Andrey Rublev and Andy Murray on his way to the quarter final in Miami, broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Sinner earned his second break in an eight-minute seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. The Italian star held on his next two service games to close out on his first set point. 

Sinner earned two break points on each of Machac’s first three service games. He broke twice in the third and fifth games to open up a 5-1 lead and served out the win on his second match point. Sinner dropped just three points on serve in the second set. 

Sinner will face the winner of the quarter final match between Danil Medvedev and Nicolas Jarry. 

“I did not exactly know what to expect today. The first games I was looking a little bit what kind of tactics could work or not. Today I played especially in the important moments of the match. I am really happy to play again in the semifinals here. Machac has an incredible talent to play this sport. He is super fast also physically . He is in great shape. I feel good. I am just happy to compete. We practise very hard to be in these positions and I am really happy I can play once again in the semifinals at this special tournament. I made my first Masters 1000 final here. I am really happy to be back in the semifinals ”, said Sinner. 

Continue Reading

ATP Challenger

Danielle Collins beats Caroline Garcia to reach the second semifinal of her career in Miami

Published

on

Danielle Collins beat Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-2 in 80 minutes to reach her second semifinal at the Miami Open. Collins became the first qualifier to reach the semifinal in the history of this tournament. 

Collins achieved her third win against a seeded player in five matches over the past seven days. 

Collins dropped just 11 points in nine service games against Garcia and hit 22 winners to Garcia’s 12. 

Collins earned a break in the eighth game and held serve to seal the first set 6-3. The US player broke serve in the third game of the second set and never looked back to close out the match in 1 hout and 19 minutes. 

Collins has extended her record to 4-0 in her head-to-head matches against Garcia and has not lost a set to her French opponent. 

Collins set up a semifinal match against the winner of Wednesday night’s match between Jessica Pegula and Elena Alexandrova, who beat world number one player Iga Swiatek in the fourth round.  

Collins won two WTA titles in Palermo and San José in 2021 but she has not reached a WTA Tour level final since losing to Ashleigh Barty in Melbourne in 2022. 

“I think Caroline Garcia comes out here and fights her butt off. She hits some really strong shots. I don’t think the set scores are a reflection of how close the match really is”, said Collins. 

Garcia beat Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff to reach the quarter finals in Miami for the first time in her career. The French player was troubled by an injury to her right shoulder and received treatment early in the second set. 

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending