British tennis has been dominated by the men’s game for many years with the likes to Tim Henman and most recently Andy Murray having the hopes of a nation pinned on them every time a Grand Slam comes around. Although Henman was never able to win a Grand Slam, Andy Murray has renewed the hope of the British people by winning the US Open and, perhaps most importantly of all to British fans, Wimbledon. The truth is that before Murray was successful at Flushing Meadows in 2012, a British male had not won any Grand Slam since Fred Perry won his 8th major title at the US Open in 1936, so perhaps the optimism around the men’s game was more in hope than expectation until Murray arrived.
Interestingly, the women’s game is not met with such high hopes by British fans when Wimbledon comes around. In fact, if a British woman even makes the second week of a Grand Slam then it’s a huge achievement, but is that acceptable for a nation as advanced in tennis as Great Britain? France, Australia, and US–who host the other 3 major tennis tournaments–have all had at least one major winner in the last 15 years in both the men and women’s games (with the exception of a French male where you have to go back to 1983), so why is Great Britain so far behind? The women’s game is arguably more open than the men’s game and yet it is still a conundrum that Britain has yet to solve since Virginia Wade in 1977.
With Andy Murray understandably dominating both the British headlines and hopes, is there any hope for any of the British women to grab the headlines and be as successful as Murray has become for the men? Due to Laura Robson’s injury, Great Britain currently has just one player ranked in the WTA top 100, Heather Watson. At 23 years old the next few years will be huge for in terms of defining how Heather’s career will go. With a career high ranking of #38 and two WTA singles titles under her belt, the signs are certainly encouraging. What Watson lacks in size she makes up for in movement, desire, and tenacity on the court. Whilst occasionally inconsistent, with a small handful of defeats in 2015 to players ranked outside the top 100, Watson has also beaten the likes of Sloane Stephens, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Roberta Vinci so far this year, proving that she is more than capable of competing at a higher level than her ranking suggests. One thing that the British #1 will no doubt wish to improve is her performance at majors where the big ranking points, big prize money, and big plaudits are earned. Despite winning the US Open as a junior in 2009, something that is rarely spoken of in the British media, she has failed to get further than the third round of a Grand Slam as a senior pro.
Despite being currently unranked due to a nasty wrist injury keeping her out for 18 months or so, Laura Robson is another big hope for British tennis. At just 21 years of age, she has already reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and the US Open, but has yet to win a WTA singles title. With a career high ranking of #27, the first hope has to be that she can recover from her injury fully and work to getting back to the level she was at previously. Before the injury she was arguably the most dangerous young player on tour with 2013 wins over the likes of Venus Williams, Petra Kvitova, and Agnieszka Radwanska. This 2008 Wimbledon junior champion is still one to watch when she rejoins the tour this year.
In addition to Watson and Robson, the British public should have a few more names in their minds to look out for over the next few years. Katie Swan is aged just 16 years old and was runner up at the 2015 Junior Australian Open. She also won her first ITF title in Egypt after coming through the tournament as a qualifier in March 2015. This has been rewarded with a wildcard to the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, her WTA debut, where she was beaten 6-2 6-2 by experienced top 50 player and grass-court specialist Tsvetana Pironkova. In addition to Swan, Great Britain also has Katy Dunne aged 20, Harriet Dart (18), and Katie Boulter (18), to name a few, that are currently ranked in the WTA top 500 and are all players to look out for in the coming years.
Certainly the future of British tennis has the potential to be bright in the women’s game and there could well be four or five top 100 players within the next three or four years. Does this nation have a Serena Williams or a Maria Sharapova in the making? Perhaps not. However, that’s not to say there isn’t a potential Grand Slam winner. Marion Bartoli won Wimbledon as 15th seed and as the career of Serena Williams draws to a close, the British girls may have the chance of their lives.
Main Photo:
