As
Wimbledon 2019 looms ever closer, it’s a good time to take stock of a few young players in the WTA who are turning heads. These are the young women who are soaring up the world rankings and claiming the scalps of more established players en route.
Now, as the world’s attention turns to the grass court grand slam, will there be a new champion to hold the Venus Rosewater Dish on high? According to predictions from as far afield as the Aussie Outback, Zambia and Japan, there is every indication that the golden era of Serena Williams is at a close… so who will step into the breach?
Here are three young ladies who have the fire power and mental acuity to become the next WTA superstar:
Amanda Anisimova: 26th on the WTA Rankings
The powerful right hander from Florida may only be 17 but she’s already banked almost $1,4 million in prize money on the pro circuit. Her best and most consistent performance to date was on clay at this year’s French Open.
Anisimova fought hard to reach the semi final stage, only to bow out to the superior court craft of the eventual champion, Ashleigh Barty. She played some magnificent tennis over the two weeks, beating the likes of Petra Kvitová and third seed Simona Halep in straight sets.
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If the young American can emulate the best aspects of her game at Wimbledon, anything’s possible. What we do know is she is more than capable of winning the big ticket events as her Junior US Open and French Open Girl’s titles attest.
Naomi Osaka: Ranked 2nd in the World
The Japanese born baseline player shocked the world when she calmly prised the 2018 US Open crown from the clutches of Serena Williams. If that wasn’t enough to get the pundits buzzing, the 21-year-old followed up on her victory at Flushing Meadows with a dominant performance in Melbourne.
She won the 2019 Australian Open to become the first women since Serena Williams in 2015 to win consecutive majors titles. She also became the first-ever Asian to be ranked number one in the world.
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Naomi Osaka has earned the title of giant killer. Along with triumphs over Williams, she’s convincingly beaten the likes of Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska.
Although she’s had a bit of a stop-start year due to injury, the aggressive baseline player has been declared fit in time for Wimbledon… and is set to pounce!
Ashleigh Barty: Number 1 on the WTA Rankings
The incumbent world number one on the WTA Rankings, the inimitable Ash Barty is enjoying a purple patch. The likeable Australian is fresh off her first-ever grand slam win, a win she pulled off in convincing fashion at Roland Garros. Now the 23-year-old is champing at the bit to get onto her favourite surface which, rather fortuitously, is grass!
Barty is only the second Australian woman to win a major after the great Evonne Goolagong Cawley and, like her, she carries the hopes and dreams of hundreds of thousands of indigenous Australians. Along with her French Open title, the young Aussie reached the finals in Sydney, the quarter finals at the Australian Open and won in Miami in straight sets.
In her latest foray on grass, Barty reached the finals in Birmingham but lost in straight sets to Julia Goerges. Can she cement her place at the top of the rankings table with a second grand slam victory at the All England Club? I for one am backing Barty to win!
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