2015 Review: American Teens (WTA)

A follow up on the 10 American Teens to Watch in 2015 (WTA).  How did the girls do as they tried to transition to the pro tour?

Louisa Chirico (Pic credit: @TennisAtlantic)

Louisa Chirico

Age: 19 (16 May 1996)
Height: 5-9

Plays: Right Handed (Double Handed Backhand)

2015 Year End WTA Ranking: 120

2014 Year End WTA Ranking: 189

Career High WTA Ranking: 109 (11/16/2015)

2015 Highlights: The highest ranked American teen on the list, Chirico had a steady rise in 2015.  The 19 year old qualified for her first WTA tour event in Acapulco, Mexico and won her first WTA tour match in Washington, defeating Heather Watson and  Alize Cornet to reach the quarterfinals.  Chirico's title at the $50K Dothan and a runner up finish at the $50K Indian Harbour Beach secured her the USTA French Open wildcard where she made her grand slam debut.  The New Yorker also reached the $100K and $125K finals in Midland and Limoges, respectively.

May Rankings, March & April In Review

Previous Rankings: None (Skipped April, was busy).

ATP - Top 15 Americans

Notable Changes/Results

• John Isner is back inside the Top 20 with a much needed semifinal run at the Miami Masters and R16 in Monte Carlo.
• Congrats to your new American No.2, Jack Sock, on his maiden ATP in Houston.
• Also in April, Rajeev Ram won the $100K Guadalajara Challenger (defeated 1st time finalist and University of Michigan alumni Jason Jung) to become the MVP in Racket Rally during that title clinching week...thanks Raj for the court coins.
• Prior to the breakthrough in Mexico, Jung won the $15K Little Rock futures the previous week and is currently at a career high of ATP 194.
• Bjorn Fratangelo continued his good form, reaching SF and QF of Savannah and Tallahassee challengers respectively.
• Jared Donaldson also had a good start to the clay season, reaching QF of Sarasota and Savannah, as well as reaching the SF of Tallahassee.
• Congrats to former Cal Poly Mustang, Andre Dome, on his maiden title at the Thailand F2.
• Dennis Novikov broke into the top 200 for the first time after winning his 6th futures title in Calabasas, CA.

Q&A With Junior US Open Semifinalist: Katerina Stewart

Get to know Katerina Stewart, one of Just Drop the Ball's 10 American teens to watch in 2015 (WTA).  Katerina hails from a tennis family.  Her mom, Marina, is a teaching pro from Argentina while dad, Caesar, is the director of Next Level Tennis Academy in Coral Gables, Florida.  The teenager is at a career high WTA ranking of 349 and hopes to carry the momentum into 2015.  Check out the Q&A below to learn more about her game, tennis goals, and more!

Katerina Stewart in 1st round qualifying action at the US Open

 

Questions and Answers

Can you tell us a little bit about your game style?

Best way to describe my game style is a grinder. I'll work for every point. Don't win by hitting winners.

10 American Teens to Watch in 2015 (WTA)

This is the WTA version of "10 American Teenagers to Watch in 2015 (ATP)".  I'm not as knowledgeable in this field so I inquired some names from @rrjuki and @jokelly_tennis (thanks guys!).  There were so many names and it was tough to narrow the list down to ten so I decided to exclude players who turn 20 years old in 2015.  This list focuses on the 1996 born players and younger.

Taylor Townsend

Age: 18 (16 Apr 1996)
Height: 5-7

Plays: Left Handed (Double Handed Backhand)

2014 Year End WTA Ranking: 102

Career High WTA Ranking: 102 (03/11/2014)

2014 Highlights: Since ending 2012 as the world top-ranked junior, Townsend’s ascendant to the professional rank was steady despite her weight struggle.  The former Junior Australian Open champion jumped 574 ranking spots over the span of two years to a career best of 102.  Under the watchful eyes of the 1990 Wimbledon finalist, Zina Garrison, Townsend won two $50K titles in Indian Harbour Beach and Charlottesville to score the 2014 USTA French Open wildcard.  In her grand slam debut, the 18 year old defeated fellow American Vania King and later upset World No.24 Alize Cornet (FRA) before falling to Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro (WTA 15).  She also received wildcards into Wimbledon and US Open, but fell in the first round to Klara Koukalova (CZE) and 18-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams, respectively.  Earlier this year, the powerful left hander claimed her first premier win over Italian Karin Knapp at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and made the doubles finals at the Citi Open in Washington D.C., partnering Eugenie Bouchard of Canada.