At the WTA tournament in Indian Wells, some of the top players and title favourites had to travel home early. The reason for this are up-and-coming young players.
What do Amanda Anismova, Marketa Vondrousova, Aryna Sabalenka, Caroline Dolehide and Naomi Osaka have in common? They are all less than 20 years old and have kicked established players out of the tournament in Indian Wells. Up to now, the tennis community has always talked about the young savages on the ATP tour. There’s no denying that there’s a lot going on on the teen front in California.
Anismova, for example, beat the experienced Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6:4 and 6:1 at the age of just 16. Fearless and determined, the US-American went to work and stands in her home country for the next round.
Only two years older is Vondrousova, who pushed Johanna contacts out of the tournament. In a close match, the young Czech won 7-6 (5-5) and 6-4 and caused a great deal of disillusionment for the Miami winner.
Vondrousova will face another young player in the next game. Sabalenka took out last year’s finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova on her way to the next round. 6-4 and 6-3 was on the scoreboard after the match point and Sabalenka made the teen duel against her one-year younger opponent Vondrousova perfect.
The 19-year-old Caroline Dolehide, who was also 19, fought down Dominika Cibulkova in three sets and now meets world number one Simona Halep. The oldest in the quintet of young ladies is Naomi Osaka, who caused a sensation in the first round with her victory over Maria Sharapova, also kept her nerves against Agnieszka Radwanska. With a clear 6-2 and 6-3 win, the Japanese will now face US American Saschia Vickery.
The 22-year-old sobered up the Spanish fans in particular. Vickery prevailed over the former number one and Wimbledon champion Garbiñe Muguruza in three sets and showed what she was capable of with a clear 6:1 in the third set,”This is the biggest night of my life, I still can’t believe it. I’ve worked so hard all these years and never really made it,”said Vickery with glowing eyes. After the loss of the first set, she had already covered 0:3 in the second set.
After the transformed match ball, the surprise offender folded her arms into a “W” in front of her chest and told the press conference why:”It was very clear for Wakanda-Forever. I love this movie and have seen it four times:” Twice in the days of Indian Wells alone. Wakanda is an invented country that plays an important role in the current movie “Black Panther”. The new Marvel strip depicts a figure named Shuri, originally from Guyana – the birthplace of Vickery’s mother. This relationship makes the film so special for her.
It seems that the tournament in Indian Wells will have to become a teen festival and the established competitors will have to dress warmly.
The ladies’ single tableau in Indian Wells