Lauren Davis (born October 9, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. Known for her aggressive backhand, speed, and clay-court strength, she has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 26, in May 2017. She has also won eight singles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.
Davis was born on 9 October 1993 in Gates Mills, Ohio.[1] She began playing tennis at age nine. Upon turning 16, she left her hometown for training at the Evert Tennis Academy.[2] Davis' parents both work in the medical profession. Her mother is a nurse and still resides in Gates Mills, and her father, William Davis, a well known author of "Wheat Belly", is a cardiologist working in Wisconsin.[3]
She started 2009 season with a third-round appearance at the Grade-1 tournament in Carson, California, after which she won her first singles junior tournament, a Grade-3 International Grass Court Championships in Philadelphia, when she defeated Brooke Bolender in three sets.[6] By the end of the 2009, she made a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open, won a Grade-1 Yucatán World Cup in Mérida on the hardcourt and made a third-round loss at the Orange Bowl.[5][6]
In 2010, Davis reached one quarterfinal in the first four months, before reaching the final of the Easter Bowl, losing to Krista Hardebeck. She again lost a final, this time in the 51st Trofeo Bonfiglio to Beatrice Capra. In November 2010, she went on an 18-match winning streak, winning the Grade-1 tournaments Yucatán World Cup and the Eddie Herr youth tournament, as well as the Grade-A Orange Bowl event.
While still a junior, Davis won her first professional title on clay at a USTA tournament in Williamsburg, Virginia in 2010. She then went on a 27-match win streak, and won her second pro title in Puerto Rico.[7] She ended her junior career with a third-round appearance at the 2011 Australian Open.
Professional career
2011: Turning professional
... at the 2011 Australian Open
Davis was awarded a wildcard into the Australian Open, where she lost her first Grand Slam appearance against fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur in the first round.[8] She officially turned professional in 2011 and won her first WTA Tour match in the Miami Open qualifying by beating Jill Craybas, in three sets. She then lost to Anastasiya Yakimova.
In the qualifying for the Charleston Open, Davis lost to Stéphanie Foretz. While waiting to give a post-match interview in a corporate booth, she was knocked unconscious when lighting equipment fell on her head. She suffered a concussion that kept her out of competition for months and left her suffering from occasional migraines for several months after that.[9]
It was a windy day, and a whole big camera just blew onto my head. I didn't do anything physical for a long time. I didn't read anything. The only thing I could do was watch TV, eat and sleep. I had a headache, 24–7, that never went away. — Davis, on her injury[9]
In October 2013, Davis filed a lawsuit against Production Design Associates and High Output, who had been hired by sponsors Dove to provide and install video and lighting equipment for the interview booths.[10] Her complaint stated:
While plaintiff was waiting to be interviewed, a piece of lighting and video equipment selected, provided and installed by defendants fell and struck plaintiff in the head, knocking her unconscious. [Plaintiff] continues to suffer from serious, severe and painful head trauma and injuries including a concussion, post-concussion syndrome with its resulting emotional effects, and severe and long-term headaches. Plaintiff has required expensive and long term medical treatment including multiple emergency room visits, evaluation and treatment by specialists, diagnostic tests such as CT scans and MRI, prescription medications, and other treatments and will continue to require medical care in the future.[11]
She sought actual and punitive damages for negligence and gross negligence.[12]
Davis made it through the qualifying rounds of the French Open, where she won her first major main-draw match against 30th seed Mona Barthel, in straight sets.[13] In the second round, she lost to compatriot Christina McHale, in straight sets.[14]
She replaced an injured Victoria Azarenka at the Miami Open, where she defeated Madison Keys in the second round. In the third round, she faced Alizé Cornet and lost in three sets. During the match, Davis was stung on the buttocks by a wasp in the third set. Though it caused her significant pain, Davis refused to blame her loss on it. The overwhelming heat affected Davis and Cornet as both players left the court in wheelchairs.[16][17][18]
At the Indian Wells Open, Davis defeated world No. 4, Victoria Azarenka, in the second round, marking her first victory over a top-10 player and a Grand Slam champion.[20] She then defeated Varvara Lepchenko, but withdrew in the fourth round due to illness. At the Miami Open, she won her first-round match against Zhang Shuai, but lost in the second round to Ana Ivanovic.[21] Following an early exit at the French Open, she advanced to the quarterfinals of the Eastbourne International, where she lost to Madison Keys.
At the Wimbledon Championships, Davis upset Flavia Pennetta in straight sets and advanced to the third round of the tournament for the first time. She ended the year ranked world No. 57.[22][23]
2015: First WTA Tour semifinal
Davis reached the semifinals of the Auckland Open, her greatest success in a WTA tournament at the time, before she lost to Venus Williams.[24] Following the conclusion of the early hardcourt season, she entered the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. Playing on clay, one of her best surfaces,[3] she avenged her loss to Eugenie Bouchard at the previous year's Australian Open, defeating her in straight sets. She then advanced to the third round against Mona Barthel, who retired from the match while down a set. Davis exited the tournament in the quarterfinals.[24]
2016: First two career finals
Davis reached her first WTA Tour final at the Washington Open, where she was runner-up against Yanina Wickmayer. She reached her second final at the Canadian Coupe Banque Nationale in September, and ended runner-up to Océane Dodin.[25]
2017: Ascent into top 30 & Fed Cup champion
... and the 2017 Wimbledon Championships
Davis won her first WTA title at the Auckland Open, defeating Ana Konjuh in the final. She also reached the quarterfinals of the Qatar Ladies Open in Doha as a qualifier and the Dubai Tennis Championships.[26] As a result, she achieved a new career high of 37. Steve Tignor of Tennis.com noted, "Lauren Davis is playing the tennis of her life."[27]
She reached the fourth round of the Indian Wells Open, equalling her result in 2014.[26] She was also part of the United States team that reached the Fed Cup final with a victory over the Czech Republic.[28]
Playing her first red clay-court tournament of the year, she easily advanced to the quarterfinals of the Morocco Open in Rabat, winning each of her victories in straight sets, before dropping a three-set match to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.[26] In May, she reached a new career-best ranking of world No. 26. However, she lost in the first round of all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2017, including defeats to fellow Americans Varvara Lepchenko at Wimbledon and Sofia Kenin at the US Open, and by the end of the year her singles ranking had dropped to 48.[3]
2018: Third Australian Open 3rd round
To start the year, Davis was unable to defend her title at the Auckland Open after losing to compatriot Sachia Vickery in the first round. Nonetheless, she put together an excellent tournament at the Australian Open, matching her career-best result at a Grand Slam event, after not winning a match at any of the four majors the previous year. In the third round, she pushed world No. 1, Simona Halep, to a nearly four-hour match, losing 13–15 in the third set and tying the tournament record for most games played in a match at 48.[29][30]
2019: Wimbledon 3rd round, first top-10 win since 2017
At Wimbledon, Davis lost in the final round of qualifying to Kristie Ahn, but entered the main draw as a lucky loser. She beat Kateryna Kozlova in the first round in straight sets. In the second, she defeated the defending champion and fifth seed Angelique Kerber, in three sets.[35] Davis recovered from an injury break after losing the first set and ended the match with 45 winners to Kerber's 15, winning 12 of the last 15 games to claim her first top-10 victory since 2017 and only the fourth in her career.[36][37] Her run was then ended by Carla Suárez Navarro, in the third round.
2020–2021: Limited play during COVID-pandemic, loss of form
In August 2021, Davis entered the main draw at the US Open, where she defeated lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova in the first round in three sets, before losing to sixth seed Bianca Andreescu.
Although she entered the quarterfinals at the Adelaide International 2 and the third round at the Miami Open as a qualifier and rose to No. 82 on 4 April 2022, she dropped out of the top 100 to No. 102, on 9 May 2022. At Wimbledon, she defeated Madison Brengle in the first round, before exiting in three sets to Amanda Anisimova.
At the US Open, she reached the third round for the first time by defeating the 28th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, before losing to the world No. 1, Iga Świątek. As a result, she returned to the top 100, rising close to ten positions in the rankings to No. 94 on 12 September 2022.
2023: Second career singles title, back to top 50
Davis began her season at the Auckland Open, where she defeated Tamara Zidanšek before losing to Danka Kovinić in the second round. She then entered the Hobart International ranked No. 84, qualifying for the main draw with wins over Kamilla Rakhimova and Kateryna Baindl. She went on to defeat Sloane Stephens, Ysaline Bonaventure, Wang Xinyu, and Anna Blinkova to reach her first WTA final since Auckland in 2017. She defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the final to claim the second WTA Tour title of her career. She did not drop a set throughout the entire tournament, and became just the fourth qualifier in the tournament's history to lift the trophy.[42] As a result, she returned to the top 60 at world No. 57 on 16 January 2023.[43]
She then faced Kovinić again in her opening match at the Australian Open, winning in three sets before losing to Elise Mertens in the second round. However she rose further to No. 48 in the rankings, on 30 January 2023.
Playing style
Davis at the 2015 French Open; red clay is considered one of her best surfaces
Davis is primarily known for her backhand, quickness, and clay-court abilities.[3]
While analyzing Davis's game, Mike Whalley of the BBC labeled her backhand "a big weapon", while E.J. Crawford of US Open.org described it as "terrific", likening her style to that of Amanda Coetzer.[44][45] On offense, Davis hits deep ground strokes to move opponents backward, often setting up her backhand as a finishing shot.[46][47] While playing on hardcourts, she will usually draw opponents forward and attempt cross-court winners, or send serves wide and hit backhands down the line.[44]
Davis is also noted for her backhand defense. At the 2015 Family Circle Cup, she returned a 102-mph serve from Eugenie Bouchard with a backhand winner.[46] During their 2014 meeting, Victoria Azarenka repeatedly lost points while attacking Davis's backhand up the middle of the court—including on match point—allowing Davis to create angles.[48] While discussing Davis in an interview, Christina McHale noted, "You don't get free points with her very often", and described her backhand as "very tough".[49]
In a 2015 article, WTATennis.com noted Davis's "speed and court coverage", while the BBC recognized her for "whizzing round the court."[22][44] Following her victory at the Auckland Open in 2017, Michael Burgess of The New Zealand Herald declared "only David Ferrer and Michael Chang are comparable to her ability to make an opponent play another shot."[50] During Davis's final junior year, Mary Joe Fernández commended her "speed, quickness, competitiveness and heart."[51]
Her first professional title came on clay at a USTA tournament in 2010.[7] In contrast to some of her American peers, who have been perceived as being uncomfortable on the surface,[52] Davis is recognized for her skill on slow courts. Following her second-round win at the 2015 Family Circle Cup, WTATennis.com labeled her performance "a clay-court masterclass".[53] While discussing the surface, Davis noted: "I think clay really works for me, because I'm pretty fast. I can slide really well and I can make a lot of balls, so it really works for me."[53] Davis has named hardcourt as her other favorite surface.[3]
Performance timelines
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.[54]
↑ Edition is split into the two years due to COVID-19.
↑ The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
↑ Withdrew during the tournament. Not counted as a loss.
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