Welcome to the monthly review of the #WTATour on this blog.
Check out January's edition HERE.
Check out February's edition HERE.
Check out March's edition HERE.
April is usually a quiet tennis season, but it has been a month of fantastic action as the WTA Tour transits onto the dirt. The first clay-court tournaments of the year were played and there were a couple of surprise winners and huge breakthroughs, with Madison Keys and Petra Kvitova lifting the biggest trophies of the month in Charleston and Stuttgart respectively.
Player of the Month: Petra Martic
If there is one player silently enjoying a solid 2019 season thus far, it has to be #PetraMartic. The Croatian, who has battled through so many injuries in her young career, seemed to have found some of her best tennis as she creeps up the rankings with several good runs. She started the month with a fantastic run to the semifinal of the #VolvoCarOpen, beating quality players like Amanda Anisimova and Belinda Bencic en route.
Martic then rattled off five consecutive wins at the #IstanbulCup, ousting Kristina Mladenovic in the longest WTA match of the year thus far while also retrieving from an early deficit to beat Marketa Vondrousova 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the final to lift her first career WTA title. It was a huge breakthrough for Martic, who had to experience so many tough times to enjoy such success. Amassing a 9-1 win-loss record in the month, she found herself back inside the top-40 after a brief absence.
Honourable Mention: Petra Kvitova (Stuttgart champion)
Breakthrough of the Month: Jil Teichmann
Starting the month with a semifinal appearance at an ITF 25k event, who would have expected #JilTeichmann to end April inside the Top-100 with a WTA title? The Swiss youngster was handed a first-round exit at the Samsung Open, but her career took a sudden turn at the J&T Banka #PragueOpen at the end of the month.
Surging through the qualifying rounds without losing a set, Teichmann upset world number 57 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the opening round of the main draw, before stunning former Roland Garros champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and home favourite Barbora Strycova to reach her maiden tour-level final. There, she defeated yet another crowd favourite, this time fellow surprise finalist Karolina Muchova.
Teichmann prevailed over the wildcard in three tough sets to seal the deal, rising to a new career-high ranking of 87. This was the first time the Swiss had even progressed to the quarterfinal stage of a WTA event.
Honourable Mention: Karolina Muchova (Prague finalist), Astra Sharma (Bogota finalist), Iga Swiatek (Lugano finalist)
Disappointment of the Month: Jelena Ostapenko
#JelenaOstapenko has had a torrid record in 2019 — gathering no more than six wins throughout the first four months. A former Roland Garros champion in 2017, the Latvian looked to recover her top form on the red dirt but found herself on a five-match losing streak in the month.
Reaching the third round in Charleston after saving a match point to beat the resurgent Shelby Rogers, Ostapenko was beaten by eventual champion Madison Keys in straight sets. That kickstarted the five-match loss streak for the former world number five, who was stunned by world number 205 and lucky-loser Kristie Ahn in the opening round of the #CopaColsanitas where she was the overwhelming favourite.
Carrying her country hopes on her shoulders, Ostapenko certainly found it a huge burden as she was upset by the lower-ranked Andrea Petkovic and Mona Barthel in front of a full home stadium as Latvia was ultimately beaten without claiming a singles win in Fed Cup. Being ousted by compatriot Anastasija Sevastova in Stuttgart, it was a month to forget for Ostapenko.
Honourable Mention: Mihaela Buzarnescu
Best Performance in a Match: Kiki Bertens d. Angelique Kerber (Stuttgart)
It was a stunning performance by #KikiBertens to defeat two-time champion Angelique Kerber in front of a packed German crowd at the #PorscheTennisGrandPrix to reach the semifinals. Without facing a break point throughout the match, the Dutchwoman played some exceptional tennis and showcased her improvements over the past year which saw her rise into the top-10 for the first time in her career.
Winning 78 percent of her first serves and a massive 68 percent behind her second serves, Bertens completely dominated the proceedings and never gave Kerber a chance in the match, blasting a total of 29 winners and committing just 21 unforced errors. The scoreline was an injustice of how well Bertens played — and that could be reflective of her chances of being a threat in Paris.
Honourable Mention: Barty d. Sabalenka (Fed Cup SF)
Best match of the Month: Victoria Azarenka d. Angelique Kerber (Monterrey)
Two former Australian Open champions and world number ones #AngeliqueKerber and #VictoriaAzarenka met in a blockbuster semifinal clash at the #MonterreyOpen. Azarenka dominated their head-to-head and continued to assert her dominance over the three-time Major champion as she battled past the German in three tough sets after two-hours and 11-minutes of action.
Close to bagelling Kerber in the decider, Azarenka blasted 35 winners to just 32 unforced errors as she truly announced her return to her top form in emphatic fashion. This win saw her reaching the first WTA final of her comeback and earning her first top-five win since 2016.
Honourable Mention: Azarenka d. Ka.Pliskova (Stuttgart)
Biggest Upset of the Month: Ysaline Bonaventure d. Garbine Muguruza (Fed Cup)
#YsalineBonaventure earned the biggest win of her career at the best possible moment — right in front of an exuberant home crowd. With Belgium and Spain tied at 1-1, Bonaventure, the 115th-ranked player in the world, was substituted in for the higher-ranked Alison Van Uytvanck and carried the high expectations of the home crowd against Garbine Muguruza, two-time Major champion.
Down 1-4 in the opening set, it seemed as though a straightforward loss would ensue. However, the underdog came roaring back with five consecutive games to stun Muguruza and take the first set 6-4. Nonetheless, the former world number one was able to restore parity with a bagel in the second set but lost her way in the decider as she failed to convert her sole break point to ultimately fall in three frames.
Despite Belgium unable to close out the tie, it was a valiant effort from Bonaventure who, for an instant, became a local hero after the fantastic win.
Honourable Mention: Ahn d. Ostapenko (Bogota), Lottner d. Bencic (Lugano)
Best Comeback of the Month: Naomi Osaka d. Donna Vekic (Stuttgart)
In her first career clay quarterfinal, world number one #NaomiOsaka found herself in huge trouble as she was down 1-5 in the deciding set against the talented Donna Vekic in a high-quality encounter. Being pushed to the brink, the Japanese produced some of her best tennis as she played each point with extra focus and intensity, ultimately producing one of the most remarkable comebacks to seal the huge win.
It was certainly a huge win for Osaka, especially in terms of her mindset. In Madrid, she had mentioned how this comeback always gives her the belief that no matter the deficit, there is always still a chance for a possible fightback. Although this win helped her reach her first clay semifinal, she was forced to withdraw due to an abdominal injury.
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