Lauren Davis

Lauren Davis

Davis at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Boca Raton, Florida, United States
Born	(1993-10-09) October 9, 1993 Gates Mills, Ohio, United States
Height	5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)
Turned pro	January 2011
Plays	right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach(es)	Rodrigo Nascimento
Prize money	US $ 1,377,721
Singles
Career record	133–99 (57.33%)
Career titles	0 WTA, 7 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 43 (21 July 2014)
Current ranking	No. 63 (31 October 2016)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	3R (2014, 2016)
French Open	2R (2012)
Wimbledon	3R (2014)
US Open	2R (2015, 2016)
Doubles
Career record	18–28 (39.13%)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 147 (31 August 2015)
Current ranking	No. 292 (26 July 2016)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2014, 2015)
French Open	2R (2013)
Wimbledon	2R (2015)
US Open	2R (2014)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
US Open	1R (2014)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	1–1
Last updated on: 26 July 2016.

Lauren Davis (born October 9, 1993) is a professional American tennis player. Known for her aggressive backhand, quickness, and clay-court ability, she has won seven singles titles on the ITF tour.

In July 2014, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 43 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).^[1] She reached her first WTA final at the Citi Open in July 2016, where she was runner-up to Yanina Wickmayer.

Personal life

Born in Gates Mills, Ohio, Davis 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 a cardiologist working in Wisconsin.^[1]

Tennis career

Junior career

Davis made her junior debut via wild card at the 2008 US Open, losing to Ajla Tomljanović.

After a third-round appearance in a Grade 1 tournament in Carson, California, she won her first junior tournament at a Grade 3 tournament in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, defeating Brooke Bolender in three sets. She finished 2009 with a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open, before a third-round loss at the Dunlop Orange Bowl.

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 in the final of a tournament, 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 tournament. She finished the year a career-high world number three on the junior tour.

She ended her junior career after a third-round appearance at the 2011 Australian Open.

2011

Davis was awarded a wildcard into the 2011 Australian Open, where she lost her first Grand Slam appearance against fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur in the first round.^[3] She officially turned pro in 2011 and won her first WTA match at the 2011 Miami Masters qualifiers by beating Jill Craybas in three sets She then lost to Anastasiya Yakimova.

In qualifying for the Charleston Open on 4 April, 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.^[4]

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^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

She sought actual and punitive damages for negligence and gross negligence.^[7]

2012

In the 2012 BNP Paribas Open, she defeated Petra Martić in the first round and then lost to Nadia Petrova in the round of 64. Davis lost in the first round of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open to Vera Dushevina.

Davis made it through the qualifying rounds to get her into the main draw of the 2012 French Open, where she won her first main draw Grand Slam match against 30th seed Mona Barthel in straight sets.^[8] In the second round, she lost to compatriot Christina McHale in straight sets.^[9]

2013

Davis reached her second career quarterfinal at the Hobart International, where she lost to Sloane Stephens. In February, she won the USTA Dow Corning Tennis Classic title by defeating Alja Tomljanović in the final.^[10] She replaced an injured Victoria Azarenka at the Miami Masters, 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.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Davis then reached the quarterfinals of the Monterrey Open, where she lost to eventual champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She was knocked out in the first round of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Her furthest advance for the remainder of the year was a quarterfinal appearance at the Bell Challenge in September, where she lost to Lucie Šafářová.^[15]

2014

At the Australian Open, Davis beat Julia Görges to advance to the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. There, she was defeated by Eugenie Bouchard. At the BNP Paribas 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.^[16] She then defeated Varvara Lepchenko, but withdrew in the fourth round due to illness. At the Sony Open in Miami, she won her first-round match against Zhang Shuai, but lost in the second round to Ana Ivanovic.^[17] Following an early exit at the French Open, she advanced to the quarterfinals of the Aegon International, where she lost to Madison Keys.

At the 2014 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.^[2][18]

2015

Davis reached the semifinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland, her greatest success in a WTA tournament at the time, where she lost to Venus Williams.^[19] Following the conclusion of the early hard-court season, she entered the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. Playing on clay, one of her best surfaces,^[1] 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.^[19]

2016

Davis reached her first WTA final at the 2016 Citi Open, where she was runner-up against Yanina Wickmayer. She reached her second career final at the Coupe Banque Nationale in September, and was runner-up to Oceane Dodin.^[20]

Playing style

Davis swinging a backhand

Davis is known for her powerful backhand and her speed around the court.^[1] In describing her game, Mary Joe Fernández noted, "What Lauren Davis lacks in size she definitely makes up for in her speed, quickness, competitiveness and heart."^[21]

During extended rallies, Davis hits deep ground strokes to move opponents backward, often setting up her backhand as a finishing shot.^[22][23] She will usually take the ball on the rise near the service line. 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.^[24]

Davis is also noted for her aggression while receiving. At the 2015 Family Circle Cup, she returned a 102-mph serve from Eugenie Bouchard with a backhand winner.^[22] She often attacks short balls with approach shots from her forehand and volleys near the net.^[23]

In contrast to some of her American peers, who are often perceived as being uncomfortable on clay,^[25] Davis is recognized for her skill on the surface. Following her second-round win at the 2015 Family Circle Cup, WTATennis.com labeled her performance "a clay-court masterclass."^[26] 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."^[26] Davis has named hard court as her other favorite surface.^[1]

WTA Finals

Singles: 0–2

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	July 24, 2016	Citi Open, Washington DC, USA	Hard	Yanina Wickmayer	4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	2.	September 18, 2016	Tournoi de Québec, Quebec City, Canada	Carpet (i)	Océane Dodin	4–6, 3–6

ITF finals (7–4)

Singles (7–4)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	June 14, 2010	Mount Pleasant, United States	Clay	Petra Rampre	3–6, 2–6
Winner	1.	October 4, 2010	Williamsburg, United States	Clay	Līga Dekmeijere	6–0, 6–0
Winner	2.	October 25, 2010	Bayamón, Puerto Rico	Hard	Madison Keys	7–6(7–5), 6–4
Winner	3.	June 27, 2011	Buffalo, United States	Clay	Nicole Gibbs	5–7, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	4.	July 11, 2011	Atlanta, United States	Hard	Alexis King	1–6, 6–2, 6–2
Winner	5.	January 16, 2012	Plantation, United States	Clay	Gail Brodsky	6–4, 6–1
Runner-up	2.	January 30, 2012	Rancho Santa Fe, United States	Hard	Julia Boserup	0–6, 3–6
Runner-up	3.	September 17, 2012	Albuquerque, United States	Hard	Maria Sanchez	1–6, 1–6
Winner	6.	September 24, 2012	Las Vegas, United States	Hard	Shelby Rogers	6–7(5–7), 6–2, 6–2
Winner	7.	February 4, 2013	Midland, United States	Hard (i)	Ajla Tomljanović	6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–2)
Runner-up	4.	000000002016-10-30-000030 October 2016	Poitiers, France	Hard (i)	Océane Dodin	4–6, 2–6

Performance timelines

Singles performance timeline

Women's Doubles performance timeline

Women's Doubles partners: ^CM Christina McHale ^GM Grace Min ^LDL Lourdes Domínguez Lino ^MML Megan Moulton-Levy ^MP Mónica Puig ^NG Nicole Gibbs ^RV Renata Voráčová ^CWC Chan Chin-wei ^KN Kurumi Nara

Mixed Doubles performance timeline

Mixed Doubles partners: ^NM Nicholas Monroe

Wins over top 10 players

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Round	Score
2014
1.	Victoria Azarenka	No. 4	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	2nd Round	6–0, 7–6(7–2)
2015
2.	Eugenie Bouchard	No. 7	Charleston, United States	Clay	2nd Round	6–3, 6–1

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lauren Davis.

• Lauren Davis at the Women's Tennis Association
• Lauren Davis at the International Tennis Federation
• Lauren Davis at the Fed Cup
  

Women's Tennis Association: Top American female singles tennis players as of November 14, 2016
1. Serena Williams (2 ) 2. Madison Keys (8 ) 3. Venus Williams (17 ) 4. Sloane Stephens (35 ) 5. Coco Vandeweghe (37 )
6. Alison Riske (40 ) 7. Christina McHale (44 ) 8. Shelby Rogers (59 ) 9. Lauren Davis (61 ) 10. Louisa Chirico (68 )