Coco Vandeweghe conquer's of the Netherlands’s open 2016

'S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands

Coco Vandeweghe overcame Kristina Mladenovic and the worst of the Dutch weather to recapture the Ricoh Open on Sunday afternoon.

Despite contending with multiple rain delays, Vandeweghe maintained her composure to break in the penultimate game and wrap up a 7-5, 7-5 victory.

After serving herself out of trouble on more than one occasion, Vandeweghe produced a couple of smart backhand returns to manufacture the decisive break in the penultimate game of the second. A lengthy downpour stalled her momentum, and on the resumption she fell a break behind.

The American reached the final without dropping the set and maintained her flawless record by reeling off the final four games of the match.

Congrats #Flavia Pennetta. The original pic

Ana Ivanovic blog. #Mallorca the original pic

AEGON CLASSIC BIRMINGHAM BIRMINGHAM, GREAT BRITAIN JUN 13 - JUN 19 , 2016

TOURNAMENT INFO

TIER: Premier
PRIZE MONEY: $780,900

SURFACE: Grass
DIRECTOR: Patrick Hughesman

Many WTA stars descend upon the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, Britain's most populated city outside of London, to compete for the Maud Watson Trophy and to prepare for Wimbledon.

Previous winners include Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King - who was Birmingham's inaugural champion in 1982 and collected the last of her 67 Open Era singles titles here in 1983 - and more recently, Jelena Jankovic, Li Na, Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova, who in 2004 became the only player to capture Birmingham and Wimbledon in the same year. Pam Shriver has the most titles in tournament history, having secured four consecutive from 1984 to 1987. Larisa Neiland leads in doubles with six titles.

The Aegon Classic, which was upgraded from International to Premier level in 2013, is hosted less than a mile from the Birmingham city center at the Edgbaston Priory Club, a 12-acre private members facility that includes 29 tennis courts and 10 squash courts. It is one of the country's largest and most popular racquet and leisure clubs. On top of that, the origins of the modern game of lawn tennis are believed to have started in Edgbaston as early as 1859.

Kristina Mladenovic into final of the Netherlands’s open 2016

S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands

It's never easy to face a close friend on the tennis court, and it's even harder to do so when a final is at stake. But that's exactly what No.3 seed Kristina Mladenovic was asked to do and she delivered in emphatic fashion, coming back from a set down to defeat belinda bencic 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach her second career WTA final at the Ricoh Open.

"It feels actually quite nice to play against her," Bencic said after the match. "Obviously we are best friends, and it's nice because it's quite rare that you can have your best friend on the tennis circuit.

"We obviously expected to play each other someday, but we were both prepared."

Maria Sharapova blog. The best pic

Kristina Mladenovic into QFS of the Netherlands’s open 2016

S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands

Kristina Mladenovic battled through fatigue and a surging Russian qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva to reach the quarterfinals at the Ricoh Open, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Mladenovic acknowledged that the quick turnaround from the roland garros clay - where on Saturday she won a Grand Slam doubles title with partner caroline Garcia - to the grass of 's-Hertogenbosch was tough on her. In fact, it left her participation in the Ricoh Open up in the air.

"I have to be honest, I'm a bit surprised to be in the quarterfinals here," Mladenovic admitted. "But I love the tournament, grass is one of my favorite surfaces.

"I was thinking about maybe pulling out, because obviously there is fatigue. I'm a bit tired, but I wanted to commit because I love this tournament and that's why I keep coming back a couple of years in a row."

Ana Ivanovic, cirstea and kerber in mallorca 2016. The best pic

Dominika cibulkova sexy! The original pic

The ITF has released the decision of the Tennis Anti-Doping Programme's independent tribunal in the case on Maria Sharapova

The ITF has issued a ruling in the case of Maria Sharapova. An independent tribunal has found that Sharapova has committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, and has been imposed a period of ineligibility of two years, commencing on January 26, 2016.

"It is important at all times for players to be aware of the rules and to follow them," says WTA CEO Steve Simon. "In this case, Maria has taken responsibility for her mistake from the outset. The WTA supports the process that the ITF and Maria have followed. The ITF has made its ruling and, under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program, the decision may be appealed to the Court Arbitration for Sport. The WTA will continue to follow this closely and we hope it will be resolved as soon as possible."

Maria Sharapova blog. The original pic

Ana Ivanovic blog. #mallorca the original pic

'Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age of Technology' Costume Institute Gala - Arrivals 2016

Ranking wta 6 Jun 2016 . Top 20

AEGON OPEN NOTTINGHAM 2016. Main draw singles

AEGON OPEN NOTTINGHAM NOTTINGHAM, GREAT BRITAIN JUN 06 - JUN 12 2016

TOURNAMENT INFO

TIER: International
PRIZE MONEY: $226,750

SURFACE: Grass
DIRECTOR: Rebecca James

The Nottingham Tennis Centre was one of the principal beneficiaries of the extension of the grass court season, with its long-standing ITF tournament upgraded to a fully-fledged WTA event.

A number of household names have made their way to the Midlands for the inaugural Aegon Open Nottingham, including former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska.

Serena Williams into final of the French open 2016

PARIS, France
Serena Williams emerged victorious after a difficult semifinal encounter with Kiki Bertens, saving set points to win, 7-6(7), 6-4, and reach her fourth french open final.

Bertens injured her left lower leg in her stunning quarterfinal win over No.8 seed timea Bacsinszky, but acquitted herself well from the start against Serena, who endured a tricky win against Yulia putintseva less than 24 hours before.

"I think she obviously has a lot more confidence," Serena told journalists when asked about Bertens' improvements since their last meeting. "She's had a couple big wins in this tournament. Being in the semifinals of a Grand Slam and having nothing to lose just really makes a big difference."

Kiki Bertens into semis of the French open 2016

PARIS, France
Kiki Bertens  continued her french open  fairytale on Thursday afternoon with a straight set victory over No.8 seed timea Bacsinszky.

Prior to this fortnight, Bertens had only ever been beyond the second round of a major once before - reaching the fourth round here in 2014 - but after defeating Bacsinszky, 7-5, 6-2, she will now face reigning champion Serena Williams for a place in the final.

An opening set littered with breaks and momentum shifts hinged on the 11th game when Bertens bucked the trend by holding serve. A sequence of errors from Bacsinszky brought three set points, Bertens wrapping it up courtesy of a thumping forehand.

By contrast, the second set was all Bertens, her confidence soaring after prevailing in the 70-minute opening stanza. Understandably given her recent exploits - this was her 20th match in singles and doubles in the past 20 days - the Dutchwoman began to run out of steam as the finishing line approached.

Serena Williams into semis of the French open 2016

PARIS, France
Defending champion and top seed Serena Williams was on the ropes for much of her quarterfinal encounter with  Yulia putintseva, but the American found a way to outgut the inspired young Kazakh, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, to reach the last four at the French open.

Undaunted, the American appeared on course to quickly level the contest when she recovered from an early break to race out to a 4-1 lead in the second, but Putintseva dug deep to earn two break points in the ninth game, which would have given her the chance to serve for a spot in the semifinals.

"I just kept hitting balls out," Serena told press, assessing her performance. "I just wasn't firing the way I wanted to. I definitely knew I needed to do something different if I was going to stay in the tournament

Timea Bacsinszky win's over venus williams into french open 2016

PARIS, France
Timea Bacsinszky  continued her serene progress through the French open draw with a straight set victory over former finalist venus williams on Wednesday.

Entering the tournament as many people's dark horse, Bacsinszky has lived up to her billing, reaching the last eight without dropping a set. Against Williams she was particularly impressive, withstanding a late rally to run out a 6-2, 6-4 victor.

"Being in a quarterfinal in a Slam is like every player's dream," Bacsinszky said. "Like some have achieved it way more times than others, but for me it's my third. I still sometimes cannot believe it, especially if you have a great win on such a good player."

Serena Williams win's over Svitolina into French open 2016

PARIS, France 
Serena Williams fired out a warning shot that echoed around roland garros by swatting aside Elina Svitolina in straight sets on Wednesday morning.

The players had originally been due on court 48 hours earlier, only for the Paris weather to intervene. When they did finally make it onto Philippe Chatrier, Williams was clearly intent on making up for lost time, reeling off the first four games in the blink of an eye.

Svitolina did eventually get on the scoreboard but was unable to stem the tide for long, dropping the first set in under half an hour. The second set was almost as brief, the American wrapping up a 6-1, 6-1 victory to reach the last eight for a 10th time.