Great Britain’s Heather Watson had a break-through year in 2011. The Guernsey native saw her ranking soar from No. 588 in the world in 2009 to No. 176 in 2010, then to No. 92 by November 14, 2011. When I caught up with the 19-year-old Watson at the New Haven Open prior to the US Open, she reflected on her banner season and what enabled her to climb the WTA rankings: “Gaining more experience, and being really determined and really fighting.”
“For the end of this year my goal, I set my goal at top 99,” said Watson. She is currently ranked No. 92 with a career high of No. 87 achieved back in late September. “I started very late on the WTA Tour. Lots of girls start very young so I’m just going to keep working hard and be patient I can’t rush anything and hoping that the results take care of themselves.”
Watson is currently ranked at No. 3 among British women. “It’s good to have Anne (Anne Keothavong) and Bally (Elena Baltatcha) around to keep pushing me. When I see them do well, I want to do well as well. We’re all very competitive and that’s nice.”
Watson names one of her biggest achievements in her young career as winning the 2009 Girls Championship at the U.S. Open. “Best day of my life, I was so happy,” said Watson. She also lists winning the gold in the Commonwealth Youth Games for Guernsey and qualifying and winning a round at the French Open as big accomplishments. “The week before I had an absolute disaster, I had match points and lost a match and I thought everything is going wrong with my life and then I had a really good week there (French Open).”
The 2011 season saw Watson reach the quarterfinals of tournaments in Auckland, Memphis, and Quebec City and playing in the main draws at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open.
At the 2011 U.S. Open, Watson came close to upsetting former champion Maria Sharapova, as she led the Russian a set and a break on the first day of the tournament. The Russian triumphed 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Sharapova noted that it was one of her toughest matches. She just came out and played really smart,” said Sharapova.“She was smart in making me hit another ball.…She stuck to her game plan. She kept grinding.”
Watson was one of the WTA Xperia Hotshots – a show that followed six players on the WTA 2011 Tour. “We’ve gotten to experience so many cool things. It’s just helped build our fan base and I’ve had a lot of fun doing.”
Watson currently trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
To quote Maria Sharapova after her narrow win over Watson at Flushing Meadows, “There’s no doubt that she’s a great up-and-coming player.”
In 2012, be on the lookout for a determined Watson to gain more experience, confidence and ranking points.
Stats from the WTA site
Residence: Guernsey, England & Bradenton, FL, USA
DOB: May 19, 1992
Birthplace: Guernsey, England
Height: 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Current Ranking: No. 92 (As of November 14, 2011)
Career High Ranking: No. 87
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Karen Pestaina has worked in various forms of media, from radio to television to the Internet. She is a member of the United States Tennis Writers’ Association, Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). Karen has contributed to On the Baseline, the New York Times Straight Sets Tennis blog, Peter Bodo’s Tennis World, and Bob Larson’s Daily Tennis News, among other tennis media outlets. She is the editor and publisher of Tennis Panorama News. Follow her on Twitter @TennisNewsTPN.
