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MATCH NOTES: BRISBANE, AUS | JANUARY 1-7, 2016 | USD $1,000,000 PREMIER EVENT

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2017 BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL – SINGLES FINAL MATCH NOTES Ranking data reflects week of January 2, 2017

PAT RAFTER ARENA [3] KAROLINA PLISKOVA (CZE #6) vs. ALIZE CORNET (FRA #41) Cornet leads 1-0

SINGLES FINAL RECORDS (WTA MAIN DRAW)

PLAYER LAST FINAL REACHED FINAL W-L [3] Karolina Pliskova 2016 US Open (R-Up) 6-10 Alize Cornet 2016 Hobart (W) 5-5

SINGLES FINAL QUICK HITS  The Brisbane International welcomes two first-time finalists: Karolina Pliskova and Alize Cornet  Both have played finals in previously – Cornet was champion at Hobart in 2016, while Ka.Pliskova was runner-up at Sydney in 2015  Ka.Pliskova is the first Czech finalist here since Petra Kvitova won the title in 2011, while Cornet is the first French finalist since was runner-up to in 2009; would be first French champion  As was the case in 2016, Brisbane’s final features an unseeded player – Cornet. Last year, Azarenka was unseeded when she lifted the champion’s trophy (d. Kerber in F)  Not including unranked in 2010 (l. Clijsters in F), Cornet is the lowest ranked finalist in the history of the Brisbane International; previously, No.36 was runner-up to in 2013. In terms of lowest-ranked champions here, Kvitova was ranked No.34 when she won the title in 2011, and was ranked No.34 when she was victorious in 2012  Of the nine WTA Top 10 players in action this week across events in Brisbane, Auckland and , Ka.Pliskova is the sole top tenner to advance to one of the finals

PRIZE MONEY AND RANKING POINT BREAKDOWN

SINGLES USD $ RANK POINTS DOUBLES USD $ RANK POINTS Winner 196,670 470 Winner 44,835 470 Runner-Up 104,890 305 Runner-Up 23,597 305 Semifinalist 56,298 185 Semifinalist 12,979 185 Quarterfinalist 21,780 100 Quarterfinalist 6,607 100 Round of 16 11,681 55 Round of 16 3,581 1 Round of 32 6,371 1

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MATCH NOTES: BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL BRISBANE, AUS | JANUARY 1-7, 2016 | USD $1,000,000 PREMIER EVENT WTA SINGLES RANKING PROJECTIONS

Projected WTA Top 10 for week of January 9, 2017 – week determining seedings:

1. : Will enter Australian Open at No.1, but Serena Williams will have a chance to regain the top spot in . The American would need to (at least) reach semifinals 2. Serena Williams 3. Agnieszka Radwanska 4. 5. Dominika Cibulkova: Unless Ka.Pliskova wins title 6. Karolina Pliskova: Can return to career-high No.5 if she wins the Brisbane title, overtaking Cibulkova 7. Garbiñe Muguruza 8. 9. 10.

Former world No.11 Alize Cornet is projected to rise as high as No.31 by reaching the final – thereby securing a seeding for the – and No.26 with the title

WORLD NO.1 DOUBLES RANKING ON THE LINE TODAY has held the WTA Doubles No.1 Ranking since April 13, 2015, a total of 91-consecutive weeks (as of Jan 2, 2017), which includes 31 weeks as co-No.1 with . Mirza faces a difficult task defending her top spot, though, as she is defending 2,960 points during the Australian swing. Last year she teamed up with Martina Hingis to win titles at Brisbane, Sydney and the Australian Open. This year in Brisbane, Mirza is the top seed along with partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands, currently No.5 in the WTA Doubles Rankings. If they go on to win today’s doubles final against No.2 seeds Makarova/Vesnina, Mattek-Sands will overtake Mirza for the No.1 WTA Doubles Ranking. The American would become the 34th woman in WTA history to secure the doubles top spot. Last year at the WTA Finals in Singapore, Mattek-Sands came within one win of climbing to No.1, but Makarova/Vesnina defeated Mattek-Sands/Safarova in the championship match.

Most Consecutive Weeks at WTA Doubles No.1 (As of Jan 2, 2017) 181 (237 in total) 145 ^ 134 ^ 91 Sania Mirza 73 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario ^ Black & Huber held co-No.1 Doubles Rankings for 127 weeks (Nov. 12, 2007 until April 18, 2010)

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2 MATCH NOTES BRISBANE - AUSTRALIA | Jan 01 - Jan 07, 2017 | $1,000,000 | PREMIER

[3] KAROLINA PLISKOVA (CZE #6) vs. ALIZÉ CORNET (FRA #41)

Head to : ALIZÉ CORNET leads 1-0

2013 HARD O R16 ALIZÉ CORNET 7-6(4) 6-0 80 mins

KAROLINA PLISKOVA ALIZÉ CORNET 6 WTA RANKING 41 - ROAD TO SINGAPORE LEADERBOARD - 21-03-1992 (24) DATE OF BIRTH (AGE) 22-01-1990 (26) $0 YTD PRIZE MONEY $0 $6,932,726 CAREER PRIZE MONEY $5,041,335 0 / 6 SINGLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 0 / 5 0 / 5 DOUBLES TITLES (YTD / CAREER) 0 / 3 5-1 BRISBANE W-L (MD) * 6-2 4-0 / 159-101 YTD / CAREER W-L (MD) * 4-0 / 236-225 1-0 / 53-32 YTD / CAREER 3-SET W-L (MD) * 1-0 / 84-75 0-0 / 34-36 YTD / CAREER TIE-BREAK W-L (MD) * 1-0 / 49-49 4-0 / 117-66 YTD / CAREER HARD W-L (MD) * 4-0 / 137-131 0-0 / 12-23 YTD / CAREER TOP 10 W-L (MD) * 2-0 / 12-43 2-0 / 29-45 YTD / CAREER TOP 20 W-L (MD) * 2-0 / 27-83 0-0 / 15-15 YTD / CAREER Left Hander W-L (MD) * 0-0 / 16-14 * Updated entering Brisbane final

BRISBANE Tournament Performance - 2017 * Qualifying match Rnd Result Duration Rnd Result Duration SF K. PLISKOVA d. E. SVITOLINA 6-2,6-4 64 mins SF A. CORNET d. G. MUGURUZA 4-1 28 mins

QF K. PLISKOVA d. R. VINCI 3-6,6-2,6-2 111 mins QF A. CORNET d. D. CIBULKOVA 6-3,7-5 123 mins

R16 K. PLISKOVA d. A. MUHAMMAD 6-1,6-4 74 mins R16 A. CORNET d. C. MCHALE 6-2,6-1 81 mins

R1 K. PLISKOVA d. Y. PUTINTSEVA 6-3,6-1 62 mins R1 A. CORNET d. E. VESNINA 3-6,6-4,7-6(5) 157 mins

BRISBANE Tournament History * Qualifying match

KAROLINA PLISKOVA ALIZÉ CORNET 2015 2016 R16 L - (RUS #100) 4-6 6-3 6-3 R16 L - ANASTASIA PAVLYUCHENKOVA (RUS #28) 6-2 1-6 6-4 R1 W - VICTORIA AZARENKA (BLR #42) 4-6 7-6(7) 6-4 R1 W - (FRA #29) 6-3 6-4 2013 2013 R1* L - (RUS #106) 7-6(6) 7-6(1) R16 L - SERENA WILLIAMS (USA #3) 6-2 6-2 R1 W - (AUS #331) 2-6 6-3 6-1

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Ka.Pliskova: • Making second main draw appearance at Brisbane – finalist here for first time • Won 96% of first points against Svitolina in SF on Friday • Enjoyed a career-best season in 2016, ending the year at No.6 (up from No.11 in 2015), and posting a career-high ranking of No.5 (week of October 10, 2016) • Could return to No.5 by winning the Brisbane title today • 2016 season highlights included winning her fifth and sixth career singles titles, at Nottingham (d. Riske in F) and Premier 5 Cincinnati (d. Kerber in F, delaying the German’s ascent to the World No.1 ranking). Record in WTA finals stands at 6-10, having won titles on clay (2015 Prague), grass (2016 Nottingham) and hard (2013 Kuala Lumpur, 2014 Linz, Seoul and 2016 Cincinnati) • Reached career-first final at 2016 US Open (l. Kerber); first Czech to reach US Open final since Helena Sukova in 1993 (l. Graf in F). Defeat of No.1 S.Williams in US Open SF was career-best victory, and ended the American’s 186 consecutive week reign at the top of the rankings. Became first Czech to defeat a World No.1 since Kvitova at 2015 (d. S.Williams). Defeat of V.Williams (R16) made her the eighth player to defeat the sisters at the same tournament • 22nd active player to advance to a Grand Slam final; prior to , was only Top 20 player yet to surpass 3r at a major. Made simultaneous Grand Slam R16, QF, SF and final debuts at US Open • Other notable results in 2016 included R-Up finish at Eastbourne (l. Cibulkova in F) and SF runs at Indian Wells (l. eventual champion Azarenka) and at home event in Prague (l. eventual champion Safarova) • Captured fifth career doubles title at 2016 Birmingham (w/Strycova). Is now 5-2 in doubles finals • Qualified for season-ending 2016 WTA Finals in Singapore, going 1-2 in the group stage and failing to progress. Also contested the doubles competition (w/Goerges), losing opening match to top seeds Garcia/Mladenovic • Helped Czech Republic defend Fed Cup title in November 2016, going 1-1 in singles (d. Mladenovic, l. Garcia) before teaming w/Strycova to defeat Garcia/Mladenovic in decisive doubles match. Czech Republic have won the title in five out of the last six years, and now three-in-a-row • Hit the most aces on tour in 2016 – 530 from 61 matches • Currently the No.1 Czech player – claimed status as country’s top-ranked player for first time in mid-August, overtaking Kvitova • Made Top 10 debut after 2015 Stanford R-Up finish, meaning that for the first time in WTA history, three Czech women ranked inside Top 10 at the same time (along with Kvitova and Safarova) • Became eighth Czech woman to crack singles Top 10 since computer rankings were introduced in November 1975, after Navratilova, Mandlikova, Sukova, Novotna, Vaidisova, Kvitova and Safarova • At 2013 Linz, with sister Kristyna, became first set of twins to ever win a tour-level doubles title • Nominated in 2016 WTA Awards for Player of the Year; also nominated in 2014 for WTA Most Improved • In juniors, won girls’ singles title • Coached by David Kotyza, former longtime coach of Kvitova, with 2017 Brisbane marking their first tournament together

Cornet:  Making third appearance at Brisbane; playing second final on Australian soil – won 2016 Hobart  2017 Brisbane marks second career final at Premier level after 2014 Dubai (l. V.Williams in F)  Quarterfinal defeat of No.5 Cibulkova here marked 11th career win over a Top 10 opponent and SF defeat of No.7 Muguruza (via retirement; right thigh injury) is the 12th, earlier wins coming over No.5 Kuznetsova (2008 Rome), No.8 Chakvetadze (2008 Rome), No.9 Halep (2014 Dubai), No.1 S.Williams (2014 Dubai), No.3 A.Radwanska (2014 Katowice), No.1 S.Williams (2014 Wimbledon), No.1 S.Williams (2014 Wuhan), No.2 Halep (2015 Madrid), No.10 Suárez Navarro (2015 Toronto) and No.8 Cibulkova (2016 Beijing); faces No.6 Ka.Pliskova at Brisbane today  Currently the French No.2 behind Garcia, of five women in Top 100 (week of January 2, 2017)  Entering 2017 season has played 43 Grand Slam main draws (42 consecutive). Advanced to R16 at a major on three occasions (, 2014 Wimbledon and 2015 Roland Garros)  Best Slam results in 2016 were 3r efforts at Roland Garros (l. V.Williams) and Wimbledon (l. Keys)  Finished 2016 season with SF run at WTA 125K Series event in Limoges, (l. Alexandrova)  Member of French Fed Cup Team that advanced to competition final vs. Czech Republic in 2016 (l. Strycova)  Did not play between (l. Zhang in 2r) and Miami due to continuing back injury (bruised vertebrae). Had announced in February she would be out for six months, however recovery was quicker than expected  Opened 2016 season at Brisbane (l. Pavlyuchenkova in 2r) before winning fifth singles title of her career at Hobart (d. Bouchard in F). Was first final since runner-up finish at 2014 Guangzhou. Owns 5-5 record in singles finals  Aside from Hobart run, best result in 2016 was QF at Hong Kong later in season (l. Jankovic)  Former world No.11 (achieved in February 2009) who broke back into Top 20 at end of 2014 for first time since May 2009; dropped out of Top 20 again after 2015 Dubai  Owns four wins over Top 2 ranked opponents: No.1 S.Williams (2014 Dubai, 2014 Wimbledon and 2014 Wuhan via ret.) and No.2 Halep (2015 Madrid)  Wins over S.Williams made her the first player to defeat the American in three straight meetings since Henin in 2007  Qualified for 2013 and 2014 Tournament of Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria  Three-time doubles champion: 2008 Budapest (w/Husarova), 2010 Strasbourg (w/King), 2015 Hong Kong (w/Shvedova); owns a 3-2 record in doubles finals  French Fed Cup Team, 2008-16; French Olympic Team, 2008, 2012, 2016  Made WTA debut at the age of 15 at 2005 Roland Garros, advancing to 3r  Won 2007 Roland Garros girls’ singles (d. Duque Mariño in F).  Coached by Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh

MATCH NOTES: BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL BRISBANE, AUS | JANUARY 1-7, 2016 | USD $1,000,000 PREMIER EVENT

THE DOUBLES FINAL

[1] BETHANIE MATTEK-SANDS (USA #5)/SANIA MIRZA (IND #1) vs. [2] (RUS #8)/ (RUS #6)

Head-to-Head: First meeting

DOUBLES FINAL QUICK HITS

Mattek-Sands/Mirza:  Mattek-Sands/Mirza are through to the Brisbane final for the second time – they were champions here in 2013 (d. Groenefeld/Peschke in F)  Mirza is also the defending doubles champion here, having won the title in 2016 w/Hingis (d. Kerber/Petkovic in F)  Mirza has held the WTA World No.1 Doubles Ranking for 91 consecutive weeks (since April 13, 2015), but victory today would see her partner Mattek-Sands assume the top spot for the first time in her career  Mattek-Sands/Mirza have won five titles together: 2007 Cincinnati, 2012 Brussels, 2013 Brisbane, 2013 Dubai and 2015 Sydney  Mattek-Sands owns a 22-12 record in doubles finals. She won five titles in 2016: Indian Wells (w/Vandeweghe), Miami, US Open, Wuhan, Beijing (all w/Safarova)  The team of Mattek-Sands/Safarova were also finalists at Charleston and the WTA Finals in 2016. Had they defeated Makarova/Vesnina in the final at Singapore, Mattek-Sands would have ascended to No.1  Mattek-Sands’ 2016 season was also highlighted by winning mixed doubles gold medal at Rio Olympics (w/Sock)  Mattek-Sands has won two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles: (w/Tecau) and 2015 Roland Garros (w/M.Bryan)  In singles, Mattek-Sands is a four-time runner-up with a career-high rank of No.30 (July 2011)  Mattek-Sands is coached by Adam Altschuler  Mirza is playing her 59th career doubles final (40-18 record). She won eight titles in 2016: Brisbane, Sydney, Australian Open, St Petersburg and (w/Hingis), Cincinnati, Tokyo [PPO] (w/Strycova) and New Haven (w/Niculescu)  Having parted ways during the North American summer, the team of Hingis/Mirza reunited for the WTA Finals at the end of 2016 – l. Makarova/Vesnina in SF  To date, Mirza won all three of her career women’s doubles Slams w/Hingis – 2015 Wimbledon, 2015 US Open and 2016 Australian Open  In singles, Mirza rose as high as No.27 in August 2007 and won one singles title, at 2005 Hyderabad  Mirza owns three mixed doubles Grand Slam titles from five finals, most recently winning the (w/Soares)  Mirza is coached by her father, Imran

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MATCH NOTES: BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL BRISBANE, AUS | JANUARY 1-7, 2016 | USD $1,000,000 PREMIER EVENT

Makarova/Vesnina:  2017 Brisbane represents Makarova/Vesnina’s 18th doubles final as a pair – going 8-10 in finals to date  Both Makarova and Vesnina are contesting the doubles final at Brisbane for the first time  Makarova/Vesnina reached five doubles finals in 2016, finishing runners-up at Rome and Roland Garros before sweeping to titles at Montreal (d. Halep/Niculescu in F), Rio Olympics (d. Bacsinszky/Hingis in F) and the WTA Finals in Singapore (d. Mattek-Sands/Safarova in F)  Prior to winning three titles in 2016, their most recent title came at 2014 US Open, their second Grand Slam title as a team  Makarova/Vesnina became the first all-Russian pairing to win the US Open and only all-Russian team to hold multiple Grand Slam titles  Earlier titles were won at 2012 Beijing, 2012 Moscow, 2013 Indian Wells and 2013 Roland Garros  The pair qualified for the 2015 WTA Finals in Singapore, however were forced to withdraw due to Makarova’s right leg injury. They finished runners-up at 2013 WTA Finals in (l. Hsieh/Peng)  In all, Makarova owns nine career doubles titles (9-15 record), while Vesnina owns 15 (15-21 record) – including two won w/Mirza (2011 Indian Wells, 2011 Charleston; runners-up at 2011 Roland Garros)  Makarova achieved a career-high singles ranking of No.8 (April 2015) and career-high doubles ranking of No.3 (June 2015)  Vesnina reached her current (and career-high) singles ranking of No.16 in November 2016; she hit her doubles career- high of No.3 in February 2014  Vesnina reached her first Grand Slam singles SF at 2016 Wimbledon (l. S.Williams)  Makarova has two singles titles to her name (2010 Eastbourne, 2014 Pattaya City), as does Vesnina (2013 Hobart, 2013 Eastbourne)  Makarova is a Grand Slam mixed doubles champion at 2012 US Open (w/Soares) and finished runner-up at 2010 Australian Open (w/Levinsky)  Vesnina won the 2016 Australian Open mixed doubles title (w/Soares) and is a three-time mixed doubles runner-up, at 2011 Wimbledon (w/Bhupathi), 2012 Australian Open and 2012 Wimbledon (both w/Paes)  Vesnina is coached by father Sergey; Makarova is coached by Evgenia Manyukova

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4  Currently the French No.2 behind Garcia, of five women in Top 100 (week of January 2, 2017)  Entering 2017 season has played 43 Grand Slam main draws (42 consecutive). Advanced to R16 at a major on three occasions (2009 Australian Open, 2014 Wimbledon and 2015 Roland Garros)  Best Slam results in 2016 were 3r efforts at Roland Garros (l. V.Williams) and Wimbledon (l. Keys)  Finished 2016 season with SF run at WTA 125K Series event in Limoges, France (l. Alexandrova)  Member of French Fed Cup Team that advanced to competition final vs. Czech Republic in 2016 (l. Strycova)  Did not play between 2016 Australian Open (l. Zhang in 2r) and Miami due to continuing back injury (bruised vertebrae). Had announced in February she would be out for six months, however recovery was quicker than expected  Opened 2016 season at Brisbane (l. Pavlyuchenkova in 2r) before winning fifth singles title of her career at Hobart (d. Bouchard in F). Was first final since runner-up finish at 2014 Guangzhou. Owns 5-5 record in singles finals  Aside from Hobart run, best result in 2016 was QF at Hong Kong later in season (l. Jankovic)  Former world No.11 (achieved in February 2009) who broke back into Top 20 at end of 2014 for first time since May 2009; dropped out of Top 20 again after 2015 Dubai  Owns four wins over Top 2 ranked opponents: No.1 S.Williams (2014 Dubai, 2014 Wimbledon and 2014 Wuhan via ret.) and No.2 Halep (2015 Madrid)  Wins over S.Williams made her the first player to defeat the American in three straight meetings since Henin in 2007  Qualified for 2013 and 2014 Tournament of Champions in Sofia, Bulgaria  Three-time doubles champion: 2008 Budapest (w/Husarova), 2010 Strasbourg (w/King), 2015 Hong Kong (w/Shvedova); owns a 3-2 record in doubles finals  French Fed Cup Team, 2008-16; French Olympic Team, 2008, 2012, 2016  Made WTA debut at the age of 15 at 2005 Roland Garros, advancing to 3r  Won 2007 Roland Garros girls’ singles (d. Duque Mariño in F).  Coached by Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh