The winds of change in the professional tennis world haven’t blown for quite some time. In the last 15 years, both the men’s and women’s games have been dominated by a select few with the rest left to fight it out over any scraps that were accidentally dropped. This is beginning to change and, all of a sudden, a slight breeze has started to blow as some of the sport’s top names are being uprooted by a surge of young stars.
Daria Kasatkina is breathing life into the women’s games after the domination of the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. This versatile 21-year-old has the world talking again after her victory over Caroline Wozniacki at the French Open. A lot of the headlines have described that result as an upset but, in fairness to the Russian, it has been a result she has grown accustomed to over the season.
Those that have been keeping an eye on Kasatkina’s young career by monitoring her progress wouldn’t have been surprised by the result on the famous Philippe Chatrier court on Sunday the third of June. There have been many upsets on this historic court over its 90-year history but this can’t be put into the same category given that Kasatkina has beaten Wozniacki twice before this season on hard courts.
The first victory in the St Petersburg Open in Russia this season may have had mitigating circumstances surrounding it, given that Wozniacki was suffering from jet lag, but the Russian has beaten the Dane twice since then. The following two victories were at the BNP Paribas Open, with the latest one occurring at Roland Garros.
A hat-trick of wins against Wozniacki, who is the second-highest ranked female player in the world, is no small feat and more than suggests we are witnessing the emergence of yet another young sensation. The manner of Kasatkina’s victory at the French Open illustrated how dynamic her game is and would have left no one in the dark about the potential she possesses, even if the natural light deteriorated to the point where the players had to stop the game and come back the day after to finish.
Glory at the French Open would have to wait another year for Kasatkina, after losing to Sloane Stephens in the quarter-finals signaled the end of the road for her at Roland Garros. Stephens would eventually lose to Simona Halep in the final as the Romanian won her first French Open title. For Kasatkina, it would have been a disappointing end as all losses in the knockout stages are but after some reflection, the 21- year old would have come to the conclusion that she’s very close to something big happening.
Kasatkina has claimed more than one big scalp during her career and has proven she is more than capable of mixing it with the best. The Russian has beaten Angelique Kerber three times already as well as getting the better of former world number one Venus Williams and current number one Simona Halep. The creativity she possesses is without a doubt the strongest weapon in her arsenal and Wozniacki admitted as much after her defeat.
Speaking after the defeat at Roland Garros, Wozniacki said she didn’t think she played that badly; carrying on, the Dane said of Kasatkina that “she didn’t miss one ball and was playing very close to the lines”. The most revealing quote was when Wozniacki said: “I was trying what I could, but it just wasn’t enough today”. That will send shivers down the spines of fellow competitors who have to play Kasatkina in the future.
The ability to win so convincingly even when your opponent is playing well is what all great tennis champions have in common and it seems Kasatkina has the game to do just that. When players like Wozniacki begin to pay you glowing endorsements like that, others begin to sit up and take note. After all, Wozniacki along with Simona Halep have surpassed Serena Williams at the top and are now the players to beat. If you begin doing that with the consistency and ease that Kasatkina has been doing it with, then there is a very good chance you’re on your way to surpassing them.
After the French Open, Kasatkina finds herself at number 14 in the official WTA rankings and is currently Russia’s number one ranked female player. The rankings are a good indication of where she is now but certainly don’t reflect where she will be in a couple of seasons. By the age of twenty-three, it is very plausible to think she could have won her first Grand Slam.
The Russian is a student of tennis and has a comprehensive understanding of her abilities in the game and what makes her the player she is. That’s very evident when you watch her play and as she dictates the tempo of the game by forcing her style onto the contest. You can only play that way by having a detailed knowledge of your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and that is what Kasatkina has. The number 14 in the world will never arrive on a court without having done her due diligence on the player she’s coming up against, which automatically gives her a clearer view of the task at hand.
When hearing about tales of professional sports stars getting to the top, the underlying feature will be that talent alone isn’t enough. Examples of having had the desire and will to get to the top are driven home every time a new face appears at the summit of any sporting code. It’s no coincidence this is the common denominator of success and, as old and worn as the message is, it rings true every time. Kasatkina is a work in progress but is showing through her extensive background knowledge of tennis that she’s intent on going places.
When you combine guile and talent, as well as a whopper of a forehand, the results normally speak for themselves. Tennis has a new competitor on the block who’s likely to put some very prestigious tennis names out to pasture as she brings in a new dawn of domination. If the winds of change are blowing ever so softly now, they will have turned into a howling gale force over the next two years.
