The Insider Wrap is a recap of everything you need to know from the week that was. This week, we look back at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose and the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
Performance of the Week: Daria Kasatkina
In San Jose, Kasatkina dropped her first set of the event against reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, but as is her recent custom, she turned that match around, then never looked back. Kasatkina won two more matches from one set down on the way to her first title since March of last year.
“I’ve been playing many, many three-set matches, maybe more than two-set matches,” Kasatkina told WTA Insider after her title. “I like these battles. … Of course, I would like to play shorter ones, but at the end of the day, I’m happy with my mentality in these comebacks. I’m not giving up, which is important.”
Read more: Kasatkina feeling ‘more free and happy’ after coming out
Kasatkina returns to the Top 10 of the WTA singles rankings for the first time since Jan. 14, 2019, hitting a new career-high ranking of World No.9 to boot. Kasatkina, who reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros this year, is now No.3 in the Race to the WTA Finals.
It is a full-circle moment for Kasatkina, who finished 2018 at her previous career-high ranking of No.10 but fell to No.70 12 months later and spent the entirety of the 2020 season outside of the Top 60. With a career-best season looking quite likely, her comeback to the elite has taken another big step.
Breakthrough of the Week: Elizabeth Mandlik
The 21-year-old American Mandlik came into her main-draw debut in San Jose with a intriguing backstory — she is the daughter of four-time Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlikova — but she exited the even making a name of her own.
Read more: Getting to know Elizabeth Mandlik
Mandlik made it through qualies and then upset World No.33 Alison Riske-Amritraj to earn her first WTA main-draw win. Mandlik then gave Paula Badosa a scare in the second round, leading the World No.4 5-3 in the final set before Badosa used her experience to tough out the win.
“To be honest, I think I played pretty good and she only played unbelievable, and I have to accept it,” Badosa said of Mandlik, who shoots up from No.240 to No.182 in the rankings. It is doubtless that Badosa will be the last top player to be impressed by the rising American.
Honor Roll
Liudmila Samsonova: The big-hitting 23-year-old won her second career…