Tennis News: Junior British player Heather Watson beats Sania Mirza
It’s exciting to see newer tennis players overthrowing existing professionals. A recent demonstration was displayed by junior British player, Heather Watson, who went on to win the $25,000 AEGON GB Pro-Series tournament. This 18-year-old Brit was up against the top seed of the tournament, Sania Mirza of India, in the final. Despite the mismatch, the Brit blew away her opponent in straight sets with a final score of 6-2, 6-4. The Indian player was helpless against the new entrant which was Watson’s fifth consecutive straight set win of the week.
Mirza is ranked amongst the top thirty in the world whereas Watson is the world number 249. The championship win in Wrexham has been Watson’s biggest in her career as a senior till now, as she was able to overthrow Mirza with so much ease.
Before this title, Watson’s only success as a senior came in a $10,000 event in Frinton. She also played her first Grand Slam in 2010 when she qualified for the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. However, she was knocked out in the first round without any difficulty. However, her early elimination may have occurred because she continued to play despite the fact that she had a slight abdominal tear. This injury may have been the reason as to why she did not perform at her best. On the other hand, her recent performances have proved that this young tennis player is an upcoming star in the days to come.
Although Watson is a tennis player from Great Britain, she is currently training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, USA. She left her home in Britain at the age of twelve to attend this academy as it is one of the most famous tennis academies in the world and some of the best professional tennis players have attended it. Some of these players include Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and many others. As of March 2010, Watson was ranked as the top junior player in the United Kingdom and was the world number five in female junior rankings. As far as her senior rankings are concerned, she is ranked as the number seven in Britain.
Heather Watson has had a promising career as a junior tennis player. She was a champion at the 2009 U.S. Open Juniors where she prevailed over her opponents with straight set victories. In the final, she was up against her doubles partner, Russia’s Yana Buchina, whom she beat with a score line of 6-4 and 6-1. This young player considers this triumph as the proudest moment in her career till now. Watson has also won two International Tennis Federation (ITF) titles along with a gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games.
Serena Williams is a living inspiration for this rising tennis star. She wishes to play tennis with as much energy and passion quite similar to how Williams plays her game. If Watson keeps up her pace as a senior, she may be able to face her role model very soon.
The future looks bright for Heather Watson. Her enthusiastic approach to the game gives her an edge over other emerging players. She has travelled across the globe in search of better opposition and challenges at the age of just twelve years which proves that this tennis sensation has a lot to prove.
Tags: