Women’s tennis tour, WTA, in commercial partnership with CVC

Associated PressMar 7, 2023, 9:51 AM EST

Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

The women’s professional tennis tour launched a commercial enterprise with CVC Capital Partners to increase revenues for the sport, with the investment manager contributing $150 million for a 20% stake in what will be known as WTA Ventures LLC.

“Obviously, the ambition is to materially grow women’s professional tennis. Grow our profile, its value, the prize money,” WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said. “This arrangement is certainly going to provide for us to create more investment opportunity to our players and our tournaments.”

He said the new entity is completely separate from St. Petersburg, Florida-based WTA Inc., which oversees the tour itself, and will manage all of the sport’s commercial activities, including rights for broadcast, data, gaming, sponsorship, licensing and NFTs.

“We can begin, hopefully, gaining more audience and more engaged fans,” Simon said. “That will then drive the asset value of each of those properties through the growth of the audience.”

In late 2021, Simon announced that the WTA would be suspending all of its tournaments – including the season-ending WTA Finals – that were held in China because of concerns over the safety of former player Peng Shuai, costing the tour millions of dollars. That ban on competition in China remains in place; Simon said there will be a decision about where to hold this season’s WTA Finals by the end of March.

He called the CVC investment “completely unattached from any of those issues.”

Simon also said the agreement announced Tuesday “doesn’t prohibit, in any way, from us continuing to have discussions with the ATP (men’s tennis tour) and potentially doing a bigger deal with the ATP involved.”

CVC says on its website that it is a “global alternative investment manager” with more than 137 billion euros ($145 billion) in assets under management.

It has worked with Formula One, European soccer leagues, rugby, volleyball and other sports.

The WTA-CVC partnership has been in the works for a while, from the initial concept to the work to complete the deal over the past 12 months.

“It’s been a long journey,” Simon said. — AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Elena Rybakina hits 10 aces in Miami for 12th straight win

Associated PressMar 28, 2023, 9:50 PM EDT

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina extended her winning streak to 12 matches by delivering 10 aces – her fourth consecutive outing with at least that many – in a 6-3, 6-0 victory over 25th-seeded Martina Trevisan in the Miami Open quarterfinals.

Rybakina has 46 aces through four matches at the hard-court tournament in Florida and a WTA-leading 201 this season.

The 23-year-old, who represents Kazakhstan, improved to 20-4 in 2023, including a run to the Australian Open final in January and a title at Indian Wells, California, last week.

She is trying to become only the fifth player to win the women’s trophies at Indian Wells and Miami in the same season. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek did it a year ago; she withdrew from Miami this time because of a rib injury.

“Of course it would be amazing to achieve something like that,” the 10th-seeded Rybakina said about the prospect of completing what’s known as the Sunshine Double, “but it’s still far away.”

So far in Rybakina’s career, 13 of her 18 semifinal appearances have come on hard courts. She will face No. 3 Jessica Pegula for a berth in the final after the American fought off two match points and outlasted No. 27 Anastasia Potapova 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in a match that ended just before 1:30 a.m. after play had been delayed by rain.

“I haven’t been that physically tired in just a really long time,” Pegula said. “Just the humidity was taking so much out of me, and I haven’t been able to play in humidity like that in a while. It was just really tough, so really, it was just pure will.”

Trevisan reached the French Open semifinals in 2022.

In fourth-round men’s action Tuesday, No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was beaten 7-6 (4), 6-4 by No. 14 Karen Khachanov, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner all beat seeded opponents in straight sets.

Alcaraz, who returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings last week, got past Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-4 to set up a meeting against Fritz, the top-ranked American man and seeded ninth in Miami.

Fritz compiled twice as many winners, 22, as unforced errors, 11, and only dropped serve once during a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 7 Holger Rune. That put Fritz into his first quarterfinal in seven appearances in Miami – and his first matchup against Alcaraz, a 19-year-old from Spain who won the U.S. Open in September for his first Grand Slam title.

“I’m really excited for it,” Fritz said. “I think that a lot of people are really excited for that, too.”

No. 10 Sinner eliminated No. 6 Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 and has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Sinner’s next opponent will be unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori, a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 winner against No. 26 Botic van de Zandschulp.

No. 4 Daniil Medvedev, forced to start late and off his scheduled court after the rain, beat Quentin Halys 6-4, 6-2. He will face American Christopher Eubanks, who edged Adrian Mannarino in a pair of tiebreakers.

Khachanov will play Francisco Cerundolo, a semifinalist in Miami last year, in the other men’s quarterfinal.

Fritz, Sinner reach Miami Open quarterfinals with 2-set wins

Associated PressMar 28, 2023, 4:31 PM EDT

Getty Images

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner beat seeded opponents in straight sets at the Miami Open to move into the quarterfinals.

No. 9 Fritz compiled twice as many winners, 22, as unforced errors, 11, and only dropped serve once during a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 7 Holger Rune.

That put Fritz, the highest-ranked American man, into his first quarterfinal in seven appearances at the hard-court tournament.

He will face either No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz or Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul next. Alcaraz is the defending champion in Miami.

No. 10 Sinner eliminated No. 6 Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 and has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Sinner’s next opponent will be No. 26 Botic van de Zandschulp or unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori.