Waiting for 2023: 2 1/2 Weeks Until the United Cup 2023

It has seemed like a long 2022 Off Season, however one of MCM's diehard tennis fans has been following the Challengers closely for us and we thank Peter F for his recaps for the last two weeks!  

In two and a half weeks the 2023 Season will begin with the inaugural United Cup, which is an ATP-WTA event presented in partnership with Tennis Australia and offers USD $15 million in prize money as well as up to 500 Pepperstone ATP and 500 WTA rankings points. The Cup will be held in three cities in Australia - Brisbane, Perth and Sydney - beginning December 29 through January 8, 2023.

While we wait, this week our Star Researcher and Contributor Shirley Hartt treats us to a summary of a select few of the young WTA standouts and their journeys in 2022  - Iga Swiatek, Cori Gauff, Amanda Anisimova, Zheng Qinwen and Leylah Fernandez.  So let's see how these young ladies got here, fared in 2022 and what may be in store for them in 2023👇

"At the end of last season I wrote about the top ATP youngsters. This year I will look at the 5 top WTA youngsters, players who are 21 or younger." ~Hartt

IGA SWIATEK

Heading the list is the No. 1 player, Iga Swiatek. The young Polish player was born on May 31, 2001, so she's now 21-years old. She already has a remarkable career with 11 titles, nearly $10 million in prize money. Iga was the Wimbledon girls' Champion in 2018, but she really caught the attention of fans and experts when she won Roland Garros in 2020 at age 19, winning her maiden WTA title (without losing a set).

Swiatek began the 2022 season ranked No.9, reaching No.1 on April 4. She had several highlights, including winning RG again plus the US Open. Iga had an incredible 37-match winning streak, the longest in WTA history since Martina Hingis in 1997. 

During that streak she won the Sunshine Double, comprised of Indian Wells and Miami, just the fourth woman to do so. Her win-loss record for the season was an amazing 67-9, when she often inflicted bagels or breadsticks on her opponents. Iga did not simply defeat her opponents, she crushed them.

Swiatek has several strengths as a player, in fact her opponents talk about her lack of weaknesses. She is a shot-maker, is very quick around the court and is extremely competitive, able to focus totally in the moment. She credits her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, with encouraging her to take a more aggressive approach to her game. She is also mentally tough, and has worked with a psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, since early in her career.

Iga has spoken out on different issues and has donated prize money to Polish non-profit organizations dealing with mental health. She organized “Iga Swiatek and Friends for Ukraine” which raised more than half a million euros for Ukrainian children.

Iga and her idol - Rafa (2 players who need no last name)

Iga’s idol is Rafa Nadal, and she was very excited to practice with him a couple years ago (a birthday present from her team) and to play doubles with him in the charity exhibition, “Tennis Players for Peace” just prior to this year’s USO.

CORI GAUFF

CoCo after defeating Venus Williams - Wimbledon 2019

American player Coco Gauff has been in the tennis news for so long that it is easy to forget that she is just 18, born on March 13, 2004. Coco won junior Roland Garros in 2018, and was the No.1 junior that year. She rose to prominence when, in 2019, she received a wildcard for the Wimbledon qualies, and became the youngest player in Wimby history at age 15 to qualify for the main draw. She defeated Venus Williams in the first round of that tournament, reaching the fourth round where she lost to Simona Halep. Later that year she reached the third round of the USO, losing to Naomi Osaka. With these results, expectations and hype went through the roof. Coco has acknowledged that this did affect her, and she started to believe she should win every match, and let the pressure get to her. 

Gauff did have some good results in 2020, including beating defending champion Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open. In 2021 she won the Parma tourney in both singles and doubles, the youngest player to win titles in both since 2004.

She started 2022 ranked No.22, reaching a career high of No.4 in October, and finishing the season ranked No.7. Coco did not win any singles titles during the past season, but a highlight was reaching the final of Roland Garros, where she lost to Iga. She did win doubles titles, partnered with Jessica Pegula, in Doha, Toronto, and San Diego, briefly reaching No.1 in doubles. Coco qualified for the WTA Finals in both singles and doubles, but unfortunately did not win a match in either. 

Youngest title winner at 15 - Linz 2019

Gauff is an athletic player with excellent movement. She has a strong serve and backhand, but her forehand is considered a weakness, and many experts have stated she needs to improve that shot to reach her potential. 

Coco comes across as a mature, articulate young woman who speaks about racial and social inequality, and who wants to be a role model for Black youngsters. Of her idols, Serena and Venus Williams, she said:

“Seeing someone that looked like me holding up all the trophies in a sport that not many Black people play definitely meant a lot. I hope that one day somebody can say that I did the same for them.” (Washington Post, August 11, 2021)

AMANDA ANISIMOVA

Amanda Anisimova is another successful American youngster. Her parents emigrated from Russia before she was born, so Amanda speaks Russian as well as English. Born on August 31, 2001, she is now 21 years old. Amanda won the girls’ Roland Garros in 2017 and that same year defeated CoCo Gauff in the USO Girls' final for the championship.  She won her first WTA Tour title at Bogota in 2019 at age 17. That same year she reached the semifinals of Roland Garros after defeating defending champion Simona Halep in the quarterfinals.

Tragedy struck later that year when her father and former coach, Konstantin Anisimov, died a week before her 18th birthday. This had an obvious effect on her tennis, and she had modest results in 2020 and 2021.

Amanda began the 2022 season ranked No.78, reached a career high of No. 21 and finished the season at No.23. One highlight was winning the Melbourne 250 tourney. Others were defeating Naomi Osaka in the third round of the Australian Open and making the quarterfinals of Wimby for the first time, defeating Coco.
Anisimova suffered a broken toe at the Cincinnati tournament and had to withdraw, with the injury impacting the remainder of her season.

16 yo Anisimova defeated 13 yo Cori Gauff for the 2017 USO Girls' Championship 

A tall player at 5’11” -  Amanda is an aggressive baseliner. 

“The cleanness of her ball-striking, point construction, and powerful groundstrokes make her a formidable opponent on any surface.” (Wikipedia)

Her tennis idols when she was growing up were Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

LEYLAH ANNIE FERNANDEZ

Canadian player Leylah Annie Fernandez was born in Montreal on September 6, 2002, making her 20 years old. Her father and coach, Jorge Fernandez, is from Ecuador and her mother is Filipino-Canadian. Leylah speaks French, English and Spanish fluently. 

Leylah won the Roland Garros girls' title in 2019 at 16. That same year she won her first pro tourney, the Gatineau Challenger, where she also won the doubles, partnering Rebecca Marino.

In 2021 Fernandez won the Monterrey title, but it was her run at the USO that year that caught peoples’ attention. She defeated No.3 Naomi Osaka in the third round, former champion Angelique Kerber in the fourth, No.5 Elina Svitolina in the QFs, and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the SFs before losing to Emma Raducanu in the final. Leylah became a crowd favourite in the process.

At the end of 2021 Leylah received the Canadian Press award for female athlete of the year.

She began the 2022 season ranked No.24, reaching a career high of No.13 in August, and is currently ranked No.40. She successfully defended her Monterrey title, winning a tough contest vs Camila Osorio. 

At Roland Garros, Fernandez suffered a severe foot fracture during her QF match vs  Martina Trevisan. Her father wanted her to retire from the match, but she ignored his advice. This meant that she did not play in another tourney until the Canadian Open in August, and also lost valuable training time, which may have played a role in her disappointing results during the fall. 

Canada's top tennis athletes - Leylah and Felix Auger-Aliassime - at US Open Exo - having fun and making Canadians proud!

A good description of Leylah Fernandez is small but mighty. Throughout her career she has been told she was too small to be a successful pro tennis player, which simply spurred her to work even harder. While she cannot match the power of some of the larger players, she uses her quickness, tennis IQ, and tough shots using angles, plus her strong fighting spirit, to make her competitive. 

Like many players Leylah cites Serena and Venus as influences, but also adds Justine Henin, Martina Hingis and Rafa Nadal. 

ZHENG QINWEN

Twenty-year-old Chinese player Zheng Qinwen was born on October 8, 2002. 

She made her WTA Tour debut in 2021 at the Palermo Ladies Open, recording her first win (versus Liudmila Samsova). But it wasn’t until 2022 that many of us took notice of the youngster. Zheng began the year ranked No.126, and said her goal was to reach the top 30 by the end of the season. She succeeded, getting to No.27, having reached a career high of No.25 in October. She had a successful Roland Garros, making it to the round of 16, where she lost to Iga, but did manage to win a set. Qinwen also reached the final of the Pan Pacific Open in Japan, and had some big wins during the season, including ones over Paula Badosa and Simona Halep.

At 5’ 10” Qinwen can hit with power, and has a strong serve. She trains on clay courts in Barcelona, believing this will improve her game. Zheng also watches videos of tennis greats:

 “I’m watching a lot. Djokovic, and then of course Roger Federer, Nadal, all the best players, and yeah, others that are the best.” (Tennis.com, May 28, 2022)

Zheng's Idol - Li Na - the 1st and so far only Asian to win a Grand slam - Roland Garros 2011 and the Australian Open 2014 and reached World No. 2

She has said Li Na is her idol:

“In that moment I was still a child, and then she gave me a dream that, oh, the Asian player, the Chinese player, also can won(sic) the Grand Slam. In that moment that I have the dream in my heart that I want to be like her.” (Tennis.com, May 28, 2022)

SHIRLEY HARTT

"With these terrific young players, next season should be very enjoyable for tennis fans. But four of the five will face the same challenge as many WTA players – beating Iga Swiatek, who seems very motivated to work hard and to continue to improve her game. The possibility of an even better Swiatek has to be a daunting prospect for her opponents. Hopefully those players are also working very hard to improve their levels and to add more variety to their games. That can only be a plus for women’s tennis." ~ Hartt

Thank you Hartt for highlighting some of the best, young prospects for the years to come! ~ JoJo and Trini!