Daily Bagel: 19 players competing for six remaining spots in WTA Finals
The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.
• Fabio Fognini and Flavia Pennetta at the China Open players party:
[tweet=https://twitter.com/fabiofogna/status/651052758997561345]
• Beijing or bust: A total of 19 players still have a chance to qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore, but only six spots remain. Ana Ivanovic needed to win on Tuesday vs. Venus Williams and did so, keeping herself in contention. Garbiñe Muguruza is on track to qualify for her first WTA Finals and can solidify a spot with a quarterfinal showing in Beijing.
• Belinda Bencic was having some trouble finding her footing in Beijing:
[tweet=https://twitter.com/wtareactions/status/650971646782763008]
[tweet=https://twitter.com/BelindaBencic/status/650997092878413824]
• Toni Nadal says that Rafa's team may experience changes in the future.
"It's true that this year he's going a little down but I am sure the comeback of Rafael is coming soon. Maybe if next year Rafael is playing not too good, then I think he can think about some changes in his game or in his team."
• Maria Sharapova set to take off on "Chanel Airlines" in Paris:
[tweet=https://twitter.com/MariaSharapova/status/651305459698167808]
• From Melissa Isaacson for espnW: A Q&A with new WTA CEO Steve Simon on Serena, American players and his vision for the game.
• From Courtney Nguyen for the WTA Insider: Andrea Petkovic ended a three-match losing streak at the China Open when Eugenie Bouchard retired with ongoing symptoms from a concussion, but Petkovic says she was surprised at Bouchard's condition and spoke with her on court after the match.
"I just asked her what happened, and she told me that she felt very dizzy," she said. "Then I asked if it still was the concussion. She said, yeah, it tends to come back when she gets physically very active. I think she didn't say that, that's my words now.
"But also with the stress, when it's a lot of people, adrenaline, it does stuff with your brain if you're healthy, so imagine having an injury. That's just my interpretation maybe of the whole situation. I just said I feel it's really bad luck because I thought she was playing so well again and I hope she gets better and keeps up her good play."
• In his loss to John Isner on Tuesday at the China Open, Dominic Thiem hit this tweener:
[tweet=https://twitter.com/Dimonator/status/651397364800978944]