WTA Tour Winners This Week – Julia Goerges, Karolina Pliskova and Aryna Sabalenka
ASB Classic
December 31, 2018 – January 6, 2019
Auckland, New Zealand
$250,000
Singles – Final
[2] J. Goerges (GER) d [Q] B. Andreescu (CAN) 26 75 61
Doubles – Final
E. Bouchard (CAN) / S. Kenin (USA) d [WC] P. Hourigan (NZL) / T. Townsend (USA) 16 61 10-7
Final Facts
• Goerges wins her seventh career title and second at Auckland, having also triumphed 12 months ago; her record in WTA singles finals improves to 7-8.
• Goerges is the third player to defend the title here, following in the footsteps of Fendick (1988-89) and Daniilidou (2003-04).
• Goerges dropped two sets en route to the title, saving match point in her quarterfinal win over Bouchard.
• Andreescu was appearing in her first WTA final; her best previous showing at this level was a quarterfinal run at Washington DC in 2017.
• Bouchard and Kenin win their first WTA doubles title as both a team and individuals.
Brisbane International
December 31, 2018 – January 6, 2019
Brisbane, Australia
$1,000,000
Singles – Final
[5] Ka. Pliskova (CZE) d L. Tsurenko (UKR) 46 75 62
Doubles – Final (played Saturday)
[3] N. Melichar (USA) / K. Peschke (CZE) d [4] H. Chan (TPE) / L. Chan (TPE) 61 61
Final Facts
• Pliskova wins her 12th WTA title and second at Brisbane, having also triumphed in 2017; her win-loss record in finals improves to 12-11.
• Pliskova is the third player to win multiple Brisbane titles, joining Azarenka (2009 and 2016) and S.Williams (2013 and 2014).
• Pliskova has now won at least one title in each of the past seven seasons.
• Pliskova dropped three sets during her title run, including coming from 6-4 5-3 down in the final against Tsurenko.
• Tsurenko was appearing in her fifth WTA final and first at a Premier-level tournament. Her record in finals falls to 4-1.
• Pliskova is projected to rise to No.7 in the new rankings, while Tsurenko will move to a career-high No.24.
• Melichar and Peschke win their third WTA doubles title together; Melichar now has four titles to her name, while Peschke has 32.
Shenzhen Open
December 30, 2018 – January 5, 2019
Shenzhen, China
$750,000
Singles – Final
[1] A. Sabalenka (BLR) d A. Riske (USA) 46 76(2) 63
Semifinals
[1] A. Sabalenka (BLR) d Y. Wang (CHN) 62 61
A. Riske (USA) d [WC] V. Zvonareva (RUS) 60 10 ret. (left hip injury)
Doubles – Final
[2] S. Peng (CHN) / Z. Yang (CHN) d Y. Duan (CHN) / R. Voracova (CZE) 64 63
Final Facts
• Sabalenka lifts her third WTA title, having previously won New Haven and Wuhan in 2017; her win-loss record in WTA finals is now 3-3.
• Sabalenka dropped two sets en route to the title, against Maria in the first round, and also against Riske in the final.
• Riske was appearing in her third final at Shenzhen, after finishing runner-up to A.Radwanska in 2016 and Siniakova in 2017; her win-loss record in WTA finals now stands at 1-6.
• Sabalenka rises to No.11 in the new rankings, and Riske returns to Top 50.
• Peng and Yang win their first WTA doubles title together; Peng now has 22 WTA doubles titles to her name, while Yang has four.
