Former world number one Karolina Pliskova is confident that splitting with coach David Kotyza will not be a hindrance as she attempts to go it alone over the home stretch of the season, leading up to the WTA Finals in Singapore next month.
Pliskova, who began working with Kotyza last December, won three WTA singles titles this season and reached the French Open semi-finals and US Open quarter-finals, but parted company with the 50-year-old last week after losing the number one ranking.
The 25-year-old Czech does not plan on hiring a replacement until next season, and will work with her father for the last few tournaments of the year.
“Obviously I need a coach, but it’s not the main thing in my team. I can play good even without a coach,” Pliskova was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.
Pliskova, who is down to fourth in the rankings after her exit from the US Open, said she was still hopeful of regaining top spot from Spaniard Garbine Muguruza because of how open the women’s tour was this season.
“This year, it’s very open when Serena (Williams) is not there. There’s a chance for everybody, every grand slam has had a different winner. It’s very close in the top 10,” she added.
“For now, my main goal is to get to Singapore. Anything can happen. I think it’s about few points so every tournament it can change. I just want to play well and if I play well, I have a chance to get to world number one again.”
The top eight singles players qualify for the Oct 22-29 event in Singapore which offers $7mn in prize money.
Pliskova, who is in action in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo this week, faces either Poland’s Magda Linette or Daria Gavrilova of Australia first.
Cibulkova tears through
Tokyo opener
Fifth seed Dominika Cibulkova pummelled Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-3 yesterday to storm into the second round of the Pan Pacific Open.
The Slovakian world number nine produced glimpses of the red-hot form that won her four of her eight career titles last year with some brutal hitting in the Tokyo sunshine.
Cibulkova, who climbed as high as fourth in the women’s rankings in 2016, underlined her early dominance by ripping a backhand down the line to take the first set.
It was one-way traffic in the second set too as the 28-year-old from Bratislava broke in the fourth game, before putting Suarez Navarro out of her misery with a thumping forehand on match point after one hour and 24 minutes.
Elsewhere, Caroline Garcia restored a measure of French pride after eighth seed Kristina Mladenovic was humiliated 6-0, 6-0 by China’s Wang Qiang in the first round on Monday.
Garcia, seeded ninth, had no such trouble and comfortably overpowered Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-4, 6-3.
Last year’s surprise Rio Olympic gold medallist Monica Puig also advanced but had to work to beat Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.
The Puerto Rican will face top seed Garbine Muguruza in the last 16.
In other matches, Russia twice got the better of their American rivals, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova battling past Catherine Bellis 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 and Daria Kasatkina also taking three sets to see off Madison Brengle 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Karolina Pliskova
