Hickey: Girls's tennis is booming, however will an all-time nice emerge?

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There has by no means been as a lot depth in ladies’s tennis as there may be right this moment, nevertheless it stays to be seen if any of the present cohort will ever be ranked among the many sport’s all-time greats.

The depth is mirrored within the discipline for the Nationwide Financial institution Open, the Canadian championships whose qualifying rounds start Saturday at Jarry Park.

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The WTA Premier occasion has attracted 19 of the highest 20 gamers within the ladies’s rankings — the lone absentee is Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur, who introduced out Tunisian followers in her final Montreal look in 2021 — and 13 out of 56 gamers within the tourney have gained a minimum of one Grand Slam title.

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The large query is whether or not any of the present gamers are able to reaching double figures in Grand Slam wins. The just lately retired Serena Williams holds the Open Period report with 23, yet one more than Steffi Graf. Longtime rivals Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova every gained 18.

Serena Williams gained her final Grand Slam title on the 2017 Australian Open and the world’s most prestigious tournaments have grow to be a free-for-all. There have been 25 Grand Slam occasions since Williams’s final win they usually have been gained by 17 totally different ladies.

It ought to be famous that the all-time report for Grand Slam singles wins is held by Margaret Smith Court docket. The Australian gained 24, however solely 11 of these had been within the open period. The sport was far totally different within the Sixties with no gamers from Japanese Europe. She gained 11 Australian Open titles at a time when few gamers had been keen to make the trek Down Below. When she gained her first Aussie Open in 1960, there have been solely two non-Australians within the draw.

The present participant with essentially the most potential to succeed in double-figure Grand Slam wins is Iga Swiatek, who arrives in Montreal because the No. 1 participant on the planet. The 22-year-old from Poland has gained 4 Grand Slams, nevertheless it’s puzzling why she hasn’t gained extra. She hits her floor strokes with a velocity that matches a number of the prime gamers on the boys’s aspect, which ought to give her a bonus on the onerous courts employed on the Australian and U.S. Opens. However three of her Grand Slam titles have been on the gradual purple clay at Roland Garros and she or he gained the 2022 U.S. Open.

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Swiatek would be the favorite in Montreal, however given the way in which the WTA Tour has unfolded this yr — 23 totally different gamers have gained a minimum of one match — anybody may win. Aryna Sabalenka gained the Australian Open and leads the season-long race to the WTA Finals; Marketa Vondrousova turned the primary unseeded participant to win at Wimbledon and Elena Rybakina climbed to No. 3 after she gained two WTA 1000 occasions at Indian Wells and Rome and was the runner-up on the Australian Open and Miami.

There will likely be a minimum of three Canadians in the principle draw on wild playing cards and they are going to be hoping for a lift from the house crowd after so-so seasons.

Bianca Andreescu, who gained in Toronto in 2019 and went on to win the U.S. Open, has handled accidents and emotional points lately. She reached the third spherical at Wimbledon the place she misplaced a three-setter to Jabeur and she or he’s able to pulling off an upset.

So is Leylah Fernandez, who had a string of them en path to the U.S. Open remaining in 2021. The 20-year-old from Laval got here via the qualifying at Washington this week and gained a spherical in the principle draw earlier than shedding to Greece’s Maria Sakkari Thursday evening.

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Fernandez, whose singles rating has dropped to No. 88, ought to be one of many prime seeds within the doubles. She has climbed to No. 20 within the doubles after partnering with American Taylor Townsend. They reached the ultimate on the French Open.

Rebecca Marino, who wants a win to take care of her place within the prime 100, is the opposite Canadian in the principle draw, whereas former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard is among the many Canadians hoping to come back via the qualifying draw.

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