Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard are the two obvious leading young stars this year, and like Simona Halep, Eugenie Bouchard, hardly needs any introduction. Some stories just write themselves, and #Genie's tale does just that...
Over the next couple of weeks I may cover Eugenie briefly, amidst the slew of young stars I have on the WATCH-list.
My goal, however, is to bring your attention to the new wave of players just waiting in line to make the Champions Roles on the WTA tour. Those who has yet to make the kind of splashes akin to that of Simona and Genie. The ones that are stirring the current, and those who are displaying some fantabulous talent.
Today my attention falls on someone who has captured my attention over the past Wimbledon fortnight.
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| Ana Konjuh, at 16 this Croatian is ready to splash in the BIG pond |
Ana Konjuh, from Zagreb, Croatia ended 2013 at #274 and since January she has bounded up the rankings with a whopping 137 spots to a career high of (yes, exactly) #137 on 7 July. This period includes a 4 month injury recovery period due to elbow surgery, which makes her charge up the rankings even more notable.
Ana began her year at the ASB Classic in New Zealand, freshly turned 16, and making her WTA International Level tournament debut as a wildcard.
She won her first WTA tour match, upsetting the tournament top seed, world #14 and doubles specialist, Roberta Vinci in the first round. She lost in the next round to another young player on our list, Lauren Davis.
Hereafter she won through the the qualifying rounds for the Australian Open, where she defeated the 16 seed Mathilde Johannson, another promising player from France and accomplished player Olga Savchuk from the Ukraine, 10 years her senior. Her wings were to be clipped in the 1st round of the main draw by the eventual champion Li Na.
After the Australian Open Ana underwent elbow surgery and returned to tournament play on the ITF circuit in Saint Gaudens mid May, after that aforementioned 4 month injury layoff. She lost... in the Semi Finals.
She failed to qualify for the French Open, falling to her Saint Gaudens conqueror Danka Kovinic, the 5th seed in both events. However, this time, she won an additional 3 games, showing an improvement within 2 weeks.
After a 2nd round defeat in the ITF Clay court tournament in Maribor, Slovenia and a 1st round defeat in qualifying for the Grass of the Nottingham ITF event, she sured up her game and won 5 straight matches at Wimbledon, 3 in qualifying and 2 in the main draw before bowing out to former world number one Caroline Wozniaki.
Her second round win over Yanina Wickmayer was as impressive as they come. Fighting from a 3-6 set down, she handled the pressure well and won the next two sets 6-2, 6-2. Wickmayer, another player fighting to break out of the Superstars' shadows, beat Samantha Stosur in the first round, under the tutelage of Kim Clijsters.
With Wimbledon only one week behind us, Ana Konjuh is on my list to watch. She is still very young and may take some time to translate junior success into WTA success, but she has all the indicators that says she will be a force to reckon with in the future.
I am curious to know how she will progress through the hardcourt summer swing, a young talent that is worth keeping your eyes on.
Look out for some post Wimbledon tournament round-ups next week.
To explore the ITF circuit for future stars
http://www.itftennis.com/procircuit/home.aspx
and for all your other Women's tennis information
and for all your other Women's tennis information
you can visit http://www.wtatennis.com/
Who have you spotted that you think is going to advance to the top of the game over the next few years. I would love to hear your thoughts.
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