Vote, please — WTA Finals Riyadh kicks off
By Joey Dillon
The IX: Tennis Tuesday with Joey Dillon, Nov. 5, 2024
Howdy, y’all, Happy Tennis Tuesday! It seems like yesterday, I was pleading on Election Day in 2020 and here we are a quick four years later! We’ll hop into tennis shortly, but I have to step on my soapbox again. Because I know we have the most awesome subscribers, I’m sure most of you have already voted early or plan to do so at some point today and like I tell everyone — if you don’t vote, you can’t complain. And to be messy, you can check if your friend actually voted in the past just to call them out if you’d like.
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This year’s election, as always, is critical. I’ll never forget watching my sister’s kids in 2016 while seeing the results unfold. She is one of my heroes — she worked on Al Gore’s campaign out of college in 2000 and volunteered for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 campaign. At 34, she went back to get her PhD and teaches at a local university hoping to inspire our future like she was growing up. The same woman I watched nearly die in school when she was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy and she was able to get the healthcare she needed to continue seeing my nephews grow up. The helplessness I personally felt putting her kids on the school bus in 2016? Then going to my then-office job where barely anyone acknowledged what happened and crying at my desk watching Clinton concede to Donald Trump is still a memory I can never shake off.
Then, in 2020 — in the midst of a global pandemic — things started to shift, but we had to wade through waters shouting election fraud and an insurrection of our Capitol. Things aren’t perfect and they haven’t been, but there’s a clear line in the sand. There is so much on the line for seniors all the way down to children in the future. Just vote.
Vote so a woman can choose what she does with her body. Vote so people like my sister won’t die being forced to carry.
Vote to help end gun violence. Vote because the 20 first-graders killed at Sandy Hook can’t cast their first ballots today.
Vote to keep gay marriage in place. Vote so I can continue to have the same, equal protections as everyone else.
Vote so the United States isn’t the world’s laughingstock.
Vote so we don’t continue to ruin our planet at alarming rates.
Vote so press freedom and voting access isn’t compromised.
Vote so we can continue being the world’s melting pot, bringing in so many cultures and continuing to show off that “American Dream.”
Just please, vote.
And be sure to vote not just for President, but your entire ballot — top to bottom. Go to vote.org for a list of resources including what’s on your ballot to your voter registration. Here is also a list of businesses, including Lyft and Uber, offering discounts for Election Day.
On to links and WTA Finals business!
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This Week in Women’s Tennis
The WTA Finals Riyadh has commenced and we already have a semifinalist in Aryna Sabalenka and some scenarios entering Tuesday play.
I get having the Finals in Saudi Arabia is bringing a boatload of cash to the WTA and can pave the way for the sport to grow in a new market. However, having women’s tennis’ crown jewel in a place that doesn’t fully respect women was a choice. The (lack of) crowds certainly was a sight thus far:
Couldn’t we have maybe started small — have the WTA Future Stars clinics, have some ITF World Tour events or perhaps a WTA 125 event. Saudi Arabia ranks No. 126 out of 146 in the global gender gap index and doesn’t have one player ranked on the WTA rankings. In fact, they only have two players ranked in the ITF Junior rankings with Haniya Aman Minhas the top-ranked player at No. 868. Saudi Arabia’s top senior player, Yara Alhogbani, has only played five professional matches this year — including losing in her WTA debut to Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 6-0. It simply shows that the WTA preferred money over anything else. Sure, the years of full crowds at Madison Square Garden might be a thing of the past, but the WTA front office really needs to open their eyes when it comes to promoting their product and top event.
Next week, we’ll recap everything Riyadh, but Aryna Sabalenka is knocking on finishing the year as the No. 1 player in the world, while the doubles event is a little up in the air. Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend look to be a lock for a semifinal berth, while Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens aim to recapture the Martina Navratilova Trophy for the second time each.
Diana Shnaider continued her impressive 2024 by knocking out Katie Boulter to win her fourth title of the year at the Hong Kong Tennis Open. Ulrikke Eikeri and Makoto Ninomiya took home the doubles title, outlasting Shuko Aoyama and Eri Hozumi.
At the Jiangxi Open, Viktorija Golubic won her first WTA singles title since 2016 with a win over Rebecca Sramkova while Guo Hanyu and Moyuka Uchijima took a tight final Katarzyna Piter and Fanny Stollar to win the doubles crown.
Zeynep Sonmez became the second-ever Turkish woman to win a WTA singles title, blitzing Ann Li to take the Merida Open Akron. In doubles, top-seeded Quinn Gleason and Ingrid Martins defeated Magali Kempen and Lara Salden.
Anca Todoni captured her second WTA 125 of the year at the Bolivia Open, downing Emiliana Arango in the championship. The doubles title was won by Nuria Brancaccio and Leyre Romero Gormaz, who upset Aliona Bolsova and Valeriya Strakhova.
In coaching news, Elena Rybakina has added Goran Ivanisevic to take over her team, while one of Jessica Pegula’s coaches, Mark Knowles, opened up about working with the American this year.
Belinda Bencic continues her comeback from maternity leave with another ITF World Tour stop before playing in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. The 2020 Olympic gold medalist won her opening match last week at a W75 event in Hamburg, Germany before bowing out in the second round.
Good on Naomi Osaka for speaking out about dealing with body issues following pregnancy and her comeback from maternity leave:
Per Nilsson, who brought Pepperdine’s program to national prominence, has been appointed the Head Coach for the University of Florida.
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Tweet of the Week
What’s after seven? Because the WTA Finals players ATE!
Quotes: WTA Finals Riyadh
I asked if press conferences would be sent to media outlets, but the WTA Communications department unfortunately said they were keeping transcripts to those who traveled on-site to Riyadh. I’ve included the Quotes of the Day sent in their daily recaps thus far:
Aryna Sabalenka on her pre-match routine: “I just have fun with my team, talking to my family, friends, sometimes sending funny reels to my mom and making fun of her! I think that’s what helps me to stay a little bit separated from the match situation. And then, like, two hours before the match, I’m locked in, I’m focusing. I’m thinking, what should I do to get that win? I’m thinking about tactics and everything.”
Iga Swiatek on the strong levels of Polish support: “Polish fans really made this pretty special. They were cheering for me even though I knew that my level wasn’t really great. I really focused in on that support. Any place I go, I see Polish people and Polish flags and it feels great.”
PIF WTA World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka on her match win against Zheng Qinwen: “I’m super happy with the win, especially against Qinwen. It’s always tough matches against her, tough battles against her, and I’m really, I’m really glad I was able to finish this match in straight sets. I’m definitely happy with my performance.”
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