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|residence= [[Bradenton, Florida]], United States
|residence= [[Bradenton, Florida]], United States
|birth_date= {{birth date and age|1992|5|19|df=yes}}
|birth_date= {{birth date and age|1992|5|19|df=yes}}
|birth_place= [[Saint Peter Port|Saint Peter Port, Guernsey]], United Kingdom
|birth_place= [[Saint Peter Port|Saint Peter Port, Guernsey]]
|height = {{height|m=1.70}}<ref name="LTA"/>
|height = {{height|m=1.70}}<ref name="LTA"/>
|weight = {{convert|63|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|weight = {{convert|63|kg|lb|abbr=on}}

Revision as of 12:37, 27 June 2012

Heather Watson
Heather Watson at the 2011 Citi Open
Country (sports) United Kingdom
 Guernsey
ResidenceBradenton, Florida, United States
Born (1992-05-19) 19 May 1992 (age 32)
Saint Peter Port, Guernsey
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Turned pro2009
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$336,730
Official websitewww.heatherwatson.co.uk
Singles
Career record112–72
Career titles0 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 87 (26 September 2011)
Current rankingNo. 103 (25 June 2012)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (2012)
French Open2R (2011, 2012)
Wimbledon3R (2012)
US Open1R (2011)
Doubles
Career record29–36
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 114 (25 June 2012)
Current rankingNo. 114 (25 June 2012)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open–
Juniors: R32 (2009)
French Open–
Juniors: RU (2009)
Wimbledon2R (2010)
Juniors: R16 (2009)
US Open–
Juniors: R32 (2009)
Last updated on: 27 June 2012.
Heather Watson
Medal record
Tennis
Representing  Guernsey
Commonwealth Youth Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Pune Singles

Heather Miriam Watson[2] (born 19 May 1992) is a British female tennis player. Born in Guernsey, she trains and lives at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, USA.[3] Watson has won one major title at the 2009 US Open Juniors, two senior ITF titles and won gold at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games.[4] She has been as high as no. 3 in the world on the ITF Junior Circuit.[1] Watson is rated as the British senior women's number 4, behind Anne Keothavong, Laura Robson, and Elena Baltacha.[5] and is ranked at 103 in the world.[6]

Early life and junior career

Heather Watson was born 19 May 1992 in Guernsey to Papua New Guinea national Michelle and Manchester-born Englishman Ian Watson, who was the managing director of Guernsey Electricity from 1995 until his retirement in 2010.[7][8][9][10] She has one brother and two sisters. Heather Watson started playing tennis at the age of seven,[11] and at age twelve she left home to go to the American Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.[2]

In 2006, Watson won the British Under-14 Championship.[12] The following year Watson won the British Under-16 Championship,[13] and reached the semi-finals of the British Under-18 Championship.[14] She lost in the Under-18 semi-finals again in 2008 to eventual winner Tara Moore.[15] In October, Watson travelled to Pune to compete at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. There she won the gold medal, winning the final against Kyra Shroff.[16][17] Mother Michelle left her job in 2008 to travel full-time with Heather Watson around the world junior circuit.[2]

Watson played her first senior tournament in March 2009 – the $25k Jersey Open, but lost in the second round to Katie O'Brien. At the beginning of July she became the highest ranked British junior, overtaking Laura Robson.[18] She achieved her first senior women's world ranking on 27 July 2009, entering at number 756.[19] She won her first senior title at the Frinton $10,000 tournament. Watson beat Anna Fitzpatrick in the final.[20] At the 2009 US Open, Watson was seeded 11th for the girl's singles. She reached the quarter-finals on 10 September before rain interrupted the tournament schedule. The tournament moved indoors and Watson beat second seed Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in the quarter final on 12 September.[21] She played her semi-final on the same day and was victorious against Daria Gavrilova to reach the final, where she faced doubles partner Yana Buchina.[22] Playing on Court 7, Watson won in straight sets.[23]

At 2009 French Open Watson and her partner were the third seeds and reached the girl's doubles final where she and Tímea Babos, faced the second seeded pair of Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and Elena Bogdan and were beaten in a match tie-break.[24] Partnering Yana Buchina, that year they were the 7th seed at the Australian girl's doubles and 6th seed at the U.S. girl's doubles, however they lost in the first round at both tournaments. At Wimbledon she teamed up with Magda Linette and they were seeded 6th in the girl's doubles but eliminated in the second round.

Playing style

Watson is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand. Her game is often likened to Martina Hingis and she has been praised by Nick Bollettieri for her "Amazing footwork".[25] Moreover her great on-court intelligence, court sense and stellar timing have been other talking points about her game.[26] According to Nigel Sears, head of women's coaching at the Lawn Tennis Association, Watson possesses "a complete game",[27] with a massive amount of variety including the consistent use of a one-handed backhand slice, volleys and angles. Others, including Watson herself, have also identified her game as similar to ATP player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga due to her "Big serve" and "Tremendous athleticism".[28]

Upon Watson reaching the 2011 French Open second round, Andy Murray commented "When I saw her for the first time, I thought she was good. I like the way she moves on the court. She's very balanced".[29] Bollettieri stated that Watson's "game is based on great movement, but she's not afraid to whack the ball. She's not easy to beat. She has very good ground strokes, though she can over-hit and strike the ball a little too flat at times".[30]

Career

2009

Watson first began competing on the ITF circuit in March 2009 when she entered the qualifying tournament for the $10,000 event in Bath but failed to win a match. She entered her next tournament, a $25,000 event in Jersey, courtesy of a wild card and beat compatriot, Jade Curtis, in the first round. She was beaten by another fellow Brit, Katie O'Brien, in round two. In July she reached her first ITF semifinal as a qualifier in the $10,000 grass court tournament in Felixstowe before losing to Anna Smith. She went on to qualify for the next tournament she entered and again faced Smith in the semifinals however this time Watson was victorious and went on to beat Anna Fitzpatrick in the final to win her first ITF title. Continuing to compete on the ITF circuit for the rest of the season, Watson beat Melanie South in round one of a $50,000 ITF in Barnstaple in October before being defeated by Kristina Mladenovic of France in round two. Watson ended the 2009 season with a world singles ranking of No.588.[31]

2010

Watson began 2010 with a wild card into the $25,000 ITF event in Sutton, where she made the quarterfinals. She immediately flew to the $100k Midland, Michigan ITF event, losing to qualifier and fellow 17-year-old Beatrice Capra in the first round.[32] Two weeks later, she entered the $25k ITF event in Hammond, Louisiana. Watson qualified and went on reach her second quarterfinal of the year, defeating former world no.7 and two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, Nicole Vaidišová and 5th seed Monique Adamczak en-route. The following week Watson entered another 25k ITF event in Clearwater, Florida. In the final qualifying round she lost to fellow Brit Georgie Stoop before being handed a lucky loser spot in the main draw and defeating Georgia's Anna Tatishvili in the first round. She lost to Zhou Yi-Miao in round two. Watson was then given a wild card into the main draw of the Sony Ericsson Open[33] but lost to Tsvetana Pironkova in the first round.[34] This was the first time in her career that Watson competed on the WTA tour. In April Watson reached the quarterfinals of a $25,000 ITF, this one in Jackson, Mississippi. Following this she qualified for the WTA event in Charleston.[35] before losing to Elena Vesnina in the first round.[36]

Watson's grass court season began at the AEGON Classic which she entered courtesy of a wild card, losing to Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round. At the AEGON International in Eastbourne, Watson qualified for the main draw by defeating Anna Smith, Tsvetana Pironkova and Bojana Jovanovski.[37] Watson defeated world No.48, Aleksandra Wozniak, in the first round.[38] In the second round though she was defeated by former top 10 player Victoria Azarenka. She then entered the first Grand Slam of her career after receiving a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon. Watson met Italian Romina Oprandi in the first round and lost in three sets.[39][40] Moving back onto hard courts, Watson's next tournament was a $25,000 ITF tournament in Wrexham. She defeated four fellow British players (including Anna Fitzpatrick and Naomi Broady) on her way to the final, where she defeated former top 30 player Sania Mirza to win her second ITF title. After this, Watson continued to compete on the ITF circuit and in the qualifying rounds for WTA events. In September, at the $75,000 ITF tournament in Shrewsbury, she defeated world number 90 and former top 30 player Sabine Lisicki in straight sets before losing in the quarterfinals to Eva Birnerová. In October 2010 she was seeded fifth for the women's singles at the Commonwealth Games, taking the rare opportunity to represent Guernsey. She eventually lost to top seed, Anastasia Rodionova of Australia in the quarterfinals. Partnering Patrick Ogier, Watson also reached the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles where they were defeated by the third seeds, Sarah Borwell and Ken Skupski, representing England.

2011

Watson playing in the 2011 Fed Cup

Watson began 2011 by qualifying for the 2011 ASB Classic. She continued her winning streak in the main tournament and beat ninth seed Carla Suárez Navarro to get into the quarterfinals, where she lost to Shuai Peng of China. She also made the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament, partnering Kurumi Nara.

Watson then moved on to the 2011 Australian Open, where she beat Kristina Mladenovic in the first round of qualifying.

Watson then qualified for the 2011 Cellular South Cup, beating Andrea Hlaváčková and Stéphanie Foretz Gacon in the first and second rounds respectively to reach her second quarterfinal of the year. She lost to Evgeniya Rodina. She also reached the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament partnering Anna-Lena Grönefeld.

On 3 April 2011, Watson won two matches to qualify for the 2011 Family Circle Cup, where she lost a close three-set match to Christina McHale in the first round.[41]

Watson next attempted to qualify for the Estoril Open. In the first round of qualifying, she beat former world number 17 Karolina Sprem.[42] She went on to beat Poland's Katarzyna Piter in the second round of qualifying,[43] but eventually lost to Austria's Tamira Paszek in the final qualifying round.[44]

Watson qualified for the 2011 French Open. She beat Ioana Raluca Olaru and Sally Peers in the first and second rounds respectively to reach the final round, where she defeated Stefanie Vögele to gain a place in the main draw for the first time. This was the first time a British woman had qualified for the French Open since Kate Brasher, the daughter of Shirley Bloomer and Chris Brasher, in 1983. She played French wildcard Stéphanie Foretz Gacon in the first round and won. By winning this match, Watson became the first British woman since Clare Wood in 1994, to reach the second round of the French Open. The victory saw her break into the top 100 for the first time. She lost to 16th seed Kaia Kanepi in the second round.[45]

Watson continued her good form entering the grass court season when she beat 15th seed Chanelle Scheepers in the first round of the 2011 AEGON Classic.[46] She followed this up by beating Misaki Doi in the second round. However, she lost to third seed and eventual semifinalist Peng Shuai in the third round.[47]

On 22 June 2011, Watson played Mathilde Johansson in her first round match in the Wimbledon Championships, winning the opening set before suffering an arm injury in the second set. Johansson then went on to win in three sets. On 25 June 2011, Heather and her mixed doubles partner Ross Hutchins beat Marcelo Melo and Rennae Stubbs in the mixed doubles.

On 29 August 2011, in the first round of the US Open, Watson lost 6–3, 5–7, 3–6 to former champion Maria Sharapova.[48] After the match, Sharapova stated "There's no doubt that she's a great up-and-coming player".[49]

2012

In the first round of the 2012 Australian Open Watson lost to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka.

Watson was selected for the GB Federation Cup Team to play in the Europe/Africa Group 1 match at Eilat, Israel on 1–4 Feb 2012. In the group stages she played doubles with Laura Robson, defeating pairs from Portugal[50] and The Netherlands[51] and Israel in the group stages. Robson and Watson were not required to play their doubles in the play-off match against Austria as Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha won their singles rubbers, and the 2–0 lead qualified the team for a place in the World Group II promotion play-off in April 2012.[52]

Watson won three rounds in qualifying for the French Open at Roland Garros in May 2012. She defeated Elena Vesnina 6–2 6–4 in the first round, matching her 2011 result in the tournament. In the second round she came up against 25th seed Julia Görges of Germany. Despite breaking the German's serve 3 times, Watson lost 6–3 6–4.[53]

Watson, ranked 103, beat world No 52 Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6–2 6–1 in her first singles win at Wimbledon in June 2012. She made a convincing win in the second recond against Jamie Hampton of the USA, making her the first British Female since 2002 to reach the Third round of Wimbledon.

Playing equipment

Watson is sponsored by American apparel company K-Swiss for her clothing and footwear. She currently uses Dunlop rackets.[54]

WTA tour and ITF circuit finals

Singles: 4 (3–1)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
WTA Premier (0–0)
WTA International (0–0)
ITF Circuit (3–1)
Titles by surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (1–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 14 July 2009 $10,000 Frinton, Great Britain Grass United Kingdom Anna Fitzpatrick 4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner 20 July 2010 $25,000 Wrexham, Great Britain Hard India Sania Mirza 6–2, 6–4
Winner 1 November 2010 $50,000 Toronto, Canada Hard (i) France Alizé Lim 6–3, 6–3
Runner-up 24 September 2011 $75,000 Shrewsbury, Great Britain Hard Germany Mona Barthel 0–6, 3–6

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
WTA Premier (0–0)
WTA International (0–0)
ITF Circuit (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponents Score
Runner-up 18 March 2012 $25,000 Clearwater FL, United States Hard United Kingdom Naomi Broady Georgia (country) Ekaterine Gorgodze
Ukraine Alyona Sotnikova 		3–6, 2–6

Singles performance timeline

Current through 2012 French Open.

Tournament 2010 2011 2012 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A LQ 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
French Open A 2R 2R 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Wimbledon 1R 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
US Open LQ 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–Loss 0–1 1–3 1–2 0 / 2 2–6 25%
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics Not Held 0 / 0 0–0 0%
WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments
Indian Wells A LQ LQ 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Miami 1R 1R 3R 0 / 3 2–3 40%
Madrid A A A 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Beijing A A 0 / 0 0–0 0%
WTA Premier 5 Tournaments
Dubai A A A 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Rome A A A 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Cincinnati A A 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Canada A LQ 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Tokyo A A 0 / 0 0–0 0%
Career Statistics
Tournaments played 5 11 7 23
Titles–Finals 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
Overall Win–Loss 1–5 10–11 4–7 15–23
Year End Ranking 176 92 $252,524

References

  1. ^ a b c "Heather Watson". Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Mum toasts tennis champ". The National. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  3. ^ Kay, Alex (27 July 2009). "Heather Watson: I'm a female Tsonga". Daily Mail. London. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  4. ^ "Watson beats Russian". The Guernsey Press. 7 September 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  5. ^ "WTA Rankings (sorted nationally)". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  6. ^ "Player Biography: Watson, Heather". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  7. ^ New managing director arrives at Guernsey Electricity, Guernsey Electricity press release of 6 July 2010.
  8. ^ If I'd lost early in New York I might have given myself one more year as an amateur, guardian.co.uk Tuesday 20 October 2009
  9. ^ Harman, Neil (25 January 2009). "The Net Post: Late night starts blight credibility of tennis". The Times. London. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  10. ^ "Watson's father criticises Open". BBC Sport. 29 January 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  11. ^ "WATSON, Heather (GBR)". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  12. ^ "Ariel British Junior National Championships – 14U MD 14 & Under Girls Singles". Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  13. ^ "Ariel British Junior National Championships – 16U 16 & Under Girls Singles". Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  14. ^ "Ariel British Junior National Championships – 18U 18 & Under Girls Singles". Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  15. ^ "British Junior National Championships – 18U 18 & Under Girls Singles". Lawn Tennis Association. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  16. ^ "Tennis – Women's Singles – Gold Medal Match" (PDF). 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  17. ^ Le Prevost, Gareth (20 July 2009). "Our golden girl". The Guernsey Press. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  18. ^ "Watson is top GB junior". The Guernsey Press. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  19. ^ Batiste, Rob (28 July 2009). "Watson in at 756". The Guernsey Press. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  20. ^ Le Prevost, Gareth (20 July 2009). "Watson secures first senior title". The Guernsey Press. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  21. ^ "Robson & Watson reach semi-finals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
  22. ^ "Watson through to US girls' final". BBC Sport. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2009.
  23. ^ "Watson wins US Open girls' title". BBC Sport. 13 September 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  24. ^ "Draws / Girls' Doubles". Fédération Française de Tennis. Retrieved 12 September 2009. [dead link]
  25. ^ Daily Mail. London http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1213190/US-OPEN-2009-Brit-girl-Heather-Watson-gets-teenage-kicks-beats-Russias-Yana-Buchina-win-girls-singles-title.html/. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. ^ http://www.onthebaseline.com/2010/01/02/one-to-watch-heather-watson/
  27. ^ Baker, Andrew (14 September 2009). "US Open 2009: Heather Watson and Laura Robson lead new era of British talent". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  28. ^ http://www.imgacademies.com/nick-bollettieri-tennis-academy/heather-watson/
  29. ^ "'Happy' Murray salutes teen compatriot Watson". Times of India. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  30. ^ "Nick Bollettieri: Take it from me, feisty Watson has what it takes". The Independent. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  31. ^ "Activity: WATSON, Heather (GBR)". itftennis.com.
  32. ^ "Heather Watson crashes out in first round in Michigan". BBC Sport. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  33. ^ "Watson given wild card into Sony Ericsson Open". Daily Telegraph. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  34. ^ "keothavong and Watson crash out". Daily Telegraph. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  35. ^ "Watson qualifies for Premier event". LTA. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  36. ^ "Watson/Vesnina Charleston". The Guardian. 13 April 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  37. ^ "Watson books spot for Eastbourne". BBC News. 14 June 2010.
  38. ^ Jackson, Jamie (15 June 2010). "Heather Watson beats Aleksandra Wozniak in style at Eastbourne". The Guardian. London.
  39. ^ "Heather Watson draws Romina Oprandi at Wimbledon". BBC Sport. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  40. ^ Cheese, Caroline (22 June 2010). "Wimbledon day two as it happened". BBC News.
  41. ^ "Heather Watson beaten by McHale in Family Circle Cup". BBC. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  42. ^ "Watson through first round of qualifying". ESPN. 23 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  43. ^ "Watson closes in on Estoril spot". ESPN. 24 April 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  44. ^ "Heather Watson loses final qualifier for Estoril Open". BBC. 25 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
  45. ^ "French Open: Watson beats Gacon but Keothavong loses". BBC. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  46. ^ "Heather Watson wins first-round tie in Aegon Classic at Birmingham". The Guardian. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2011.
  47. ^ "Watson romps into third round in Birmingham". ESPN. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
  48. ^ "Maria Sharapova Shocked Out of US Open, More From New York". 2 September 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  49. ^ "Watson beaten in titanic struggle after Robson strides into second round". The Independent. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 30 Augsust 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  50. ^ "Great Britain defeat Portugal in Fed Cup match". Retrieved 3 February 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |source= ignored (help)
  51. ^ "AEGON GB Fed Cup Team defeat Netherlands". Retrieved 3 February 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |source= ignored (help)
  52. ^ "GB Fed Cup team progress to World Group II play-offs". Retrieved 6 February 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |source= ignored (help)
  53. ^ "French Open: Heather Watson knocked out by Goerges". BBC. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  54. ^ "Dunlop signs British tennis sensation". ESPN. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
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