Did You Know? 8 Interesting Facts About Our 8 Women’s Quarterfinalists

The BNP Paribas Open has an absolutely 🔥 quarterfinal line-up in its women’s singles event this year, and although you might not have heard of some of these fierce competitors, do not fret – we’ve done the work to keep you up to speed on each of the fresh faces that you’ll be watching in Tennis Paradise on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

1. Jessica Pegula is the daughter of sports & entertainment mogul Terry Pegula, who owns the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and NFL’s Buffalo Bills. She frequently speaks of the support she gets from the players of those teams, who often gather to watch her matches on the biggest stages.

2. Jelena Ostapenko was the flagbearer for Latvia at the Toyko Oympics this year and is one of her country’s most prolific sporting champions after her scintillating run to the title at Roland-Garros in 2017 as a 20-year-old.

3. Shelby Rogers hails from Charleston, South Carolina and was a ballgirl at the famous Charleston Open when she was eight years old. In fact, she gave flowers on court to Jennifer Capriati after her championship victory over Martina Hingis in 2001.

4. Victoria Azarenka has a four-year-old son named Leo, who she gave birth to the same year that she won both Indian Wells and Miami, the coveted ‘Sunshine Double.’ Fact: Leo is also the name of one of Roger Federer’s twin sons.

Can you say no to this face? 😂 pic.twitter.com/ugq94lrMoQ

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) October 9, 2021

5. Paula Badosa, a former junior Roland Garros champion back in 2015, has a career-best 38 wins on the WTA Tour this season and has had her best showings at three of the four Grand Slams in 2021, including a Roland-Garros quarterfinal where she barely missed out on the semi-finals.

6. Anett Kontaveit owns this flower pot. Enough said. (She’s also the second woman from Estonia to crack the Top 20 in the WTA Rankings and will become the first to reach the Top 10 if she wins the BNP Paribas Open title this week.)

7. Angelique Kerber has joint Polish-German citizenship and is fluent in both languages. Growing up competing on the junior circuit, she befriended Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki and Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska, who are also of Polish decent.

A lifetime of happiness for the newlyweds @carowozniacki & @Dlee042 👰💍🤵

It‘s been a magical wedding and I‘m so happy I could be there to celebrate your special day. ❤️💫 pic.twitter.com/8e3IsmkDFx

— Angelique Kerber (@AngeliqueKerber) June 16, 2019

8. Ons Jabeur is a trailblazer for Arab women in tennis, becoming the first Arab to win a girl’s singles title at a Grand Slam (Roland Garros in 2011) and the first to win a WTA Tour level title when she beat Daria Kasatkina to claim the trophy at the Birmingham Classic earlier this year.