Game, set, world-class match-ups

World's top women tennis players start final showdown of 2022 in North Texas

The top 8 singles players posed with the trophy at Fort Worth's Hotel Drover.

Photo courtesy of WTA

While all eyes in Houston are on the Astros as they take on the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 3 of the World Series, tennis fans also have an eye on North Texas.

Though not as famous as Wimbledon or the US Open, the WTA Finals will crown a new queen of the women's pro tennis tour in North Texas this week — and all are invited to court.

For the first time, Fort Worth hosts the prestigious year-end finale for the WTA, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams in the world. Singles players vying for title, and their rankings, are:

No. 1 Iga Swiatek (Poland)
No. 2 Ons Jabeur (Tunisia)
No 3 Jessica Pegula (United States)
No. 4 Coco Gauff (United States)
No. 5 Maria Sakkari (Greece)
No. 6 Caroline Garcia (France)
No. 7Aryna Sabalenka*
No. 8 Daria Kasatkina*

U.S. superstars Gauff and Pegula are also competing in doubles.

The "round robin"-style competition will take place October 31-November 7 at Dickies Arena, and tickets start at $20.

The prestigious year-end finale has been moved to Fort Worth from Shenzhen, China, for one year only, WTA officials say. It's the first time the contest has been staged in North Texas, and the first time it's in the United States in 17 years. The total prize money pool is $5 million.

Players assembled at Fort Worth's Hotel Drover for a celebration and "draw party" on Friday, October 28. (More on the groupings, draws, and prize money each player picks up throughout each round here.)

Each day in the first rounds, play starts at 3 pm, and both singles and doubles matches will be played. Friday through Sunday, play begins at 1:30 pm. The finals in both doubles and singles will take place at 5:30 pm and 8 pm respectively, Monday, November 7.

The initial order of play, on October 31 and November 1 is:

Monday, October 31
3 pm:
(1) Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic) & Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) vs (8) Desirae Krawczyk (USA) & Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)
Not before 5 pm:
(3) Jessica Pegula (USA) vs (5) Maria Sakkari (Greece)
Not before 7 pm:
(2) Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) vs (7) Aryna Sabalenka
Followed by:
(3) Coco Gauff (USA) & Jessica Pegula (USA) vs (6) Yifan Xu (China) & Zhaoxuan Yang (China)

Tuesday, November 1
3 pm:
(4) Veronika Kudermetova & Elise Mertens (Belgium) vs (5) Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) & Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia)
Not Before 5 pm:
(1) Iga Swiatek (Poland) vs (8) Daria Kasatkina
Not before 7 pm:
(4) Coco Gauff (USA) vs (6) Caroline Garcia (France)
Followed by:
(2) Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) & Giuliana Olmos (Mexico) vs (7) Anna Danilina (Kazakhstan) & Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)

"I’m super excited to be in the finals," says top-ranked Swiatek. "I feel like it’s a celebration of what we’ve done in the past year. I’m just proud to be here."

The eyes of the tennis world will be on DFW, too. According to NBC5, the matches will be broadcast in 160 countries to a projected viewing audience of 900 million people. Find coverage at tennischannel.com.

To keep up with the tournament, follow WTA on Facebook or visit the website.

(*Per WTA style, players native to Russia do not have their country listed.)

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Gone Fishin'

State of Texas stocks Houston-area ponds with thousands of trout

Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center in Houston, Texas

tpwd.texas.gov/

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Anglers get ready, because the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will be stocking various Houston-area ponds with rainbow trout as part of their annual winter tradition.

"The goal of the rainbow trout (oncorhynchus mykiss) stocking program is to release catchable size rainbow trout into reservoir tail waters, lakes, ponds, and urban ponds in Texas to provide winter fishing opportunities," says TPWD press spokesman Kirk McDonnell. "The rainbow trout stocking program has increased from 10,000 rainbow trout stocked in four sites in 1966 to 359,000 rainbow trout stocked in 200 sites in 2023-24. Over 6,200,000 catchable size rainbow trout have been stocked by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department over the last 20 years."

The Kickerillo-Mischer preserve in Cypress and Tom Bass Park in South Houston were restocked in early December, though they are getting additional fish this month as well. Other Houston-area parks with ponds that will receive rainbow trout in January are Bane, Eisenhower, and Sheldon. Waterways in Friendswood, Conroe, Spring, Katy, Missouri City, Pasadena, and Rosenberg are all participating in the program. For a full list of parks and restocking dates, visit the TPWD website.

Anglers are encouraged to bag the five-fish maximum during the winter months. Rainbow trout do not do well in the warmer seasons and will not survive the summer. Recommended equipment are a light-action rod and reel with small hooks and light line, small bobbers, and small split shot. While rainbow trout can grow to almost 50 pounds., the ones being released into Texas lakes and ponds are generally between 1-5 pounds, so lightweight equipment is fine. Preferred baits are salmon eggs, whole kernel corn, marshmallows, small worms, or prepared trout bait. Bring a cooler if planning to keep catches.

"The Rainbow Trout Program is a very popular program with urban and rural Texans," says McDonnell. "Rainbow Trout are stocked in 18 urban fishing ponds during winter months as part of the Neighborhood Fishin’ program. An additional 190 sites around the state are stocked at the request of District Fisheries Conservation and Management Biologists and at the request of partner cities and local parks departments. Spending time outdoors has been shown to be very beneficial for children and families. Fishing is a great way to connect young people with nature and can be great fun in the process."

For full park hours, restrictions, and other fishing information, contact the park you are planning to visit. Texas anglers do not require a license or stamp to fish within the boundaries of a Texas State Park, but anglers should always confirm whether a particular fishing spot falls under that jurisdiction. Children under 17 do not require licenses. Good luck on the banks this winter.