One to Watch: Dayana Yastremska is back in business...

Thursday 17th February 2022

Dayana Yastremska first appeared in our annual Ones to Watch report as an 18-year-old, at the start of the 2019 season.

Things went well for Dayana that year. With the Ukrainian winning two WTA titles. And by January 2020, she’d climbed to a career-best ranking of no.21 in the world.

But by the end of 2020, things had gone pretty awry for the young Ukrainian. Injury, a split with her coach, getting into trouble on social media, and then a positive test for coronavirus…

And then the biggest headline-maker of all: a doping ban. Yastremska always maintained that she was innocent of any intentional wrongdoing (citing contamination). And after several failed attempts to overturn her suspension throughout the course of the 2021 season, Dayana finally had her name cleared, and was free to return to competitive action.

It's been a long road back. The initial summer 2021 comeback saw the now-21-year-old make the semi finals at WTA Hamburg. But that was as good as it got in terms of tournament results last season.

The new year began with two 1st-round losses Down Under, first at WTA Adelaide, and then at the Australian Open. But this month, something seems to be finally clicking again for Dayana…

Dayana Yastremska is back in business…

As I write this Thursday afternoon, Yastremska is in the quarter finals at the prestigious WTA 500 event in Dubai. Having coming through the Qualifying rounds at the weekend, including an underdog win against Ones to Watch in 2022 teenager Clara Tauson.

Current world No.146 Yastremska has put together her best run since returning to the tour – winning five matches in a row here in Dubai. Including a big victory over reigning French Open champion and world No.3, Barbora Krejcikova.

All of a sudden, 2022 looks promising for this 21-year-old…

And although I’ve been following her for some years already, the fact remains that Dayana Yastremska still very much has youth on her side. And that makes her One to Watch from now on. I’ll keep you posted with her progress.

• Don’t miss any of my players to watch and betting picks this month. There are seven tournaments still to come in February, as well as the five competitions currently in play… 

• Before we head into March with two huge events to look forward to, Indian Wells and the Miami Open. Otherwise known as the Sunshine Double… also known as the Fifth Majors!

To get my tournament and match advice on all of those upcoming events, get onboard my full, members-only Ones to Watch service here.

We’ve had a winning 11/1 match accumulator this week. And our two Each Way picks are in the running and playing well at ATP Delray Beach…

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P.S

Also in my notebook this week….

Hot-shots:  

• After Felix Auger-Aliassime lost his first 8 finals on the ATP Tour, in this season’s new Ones to Watch in 2022 report we asked the question – will it be a case of 9th time lucky for Felix? It was. He won his maiden title in Rotterdam on Sunday
   
• Anett Kontaveit has now won 20 matches in a row when playing on indoor hard courts. After winning the WTA St Peterburg indoors last week, Kontaveit is now up a new career-high ranking of No.6 in the world
   
• On the lower-tier ITF circuit, the 14-year-old (!) that we discussed in Ones to Watch EXTRA last week won the silverware again. Brenda Fruhvirtova has now won back-to-back W25-grade titles on clay in Argentina – putting together a 10-match winning streak. The Czech teenager is starting to make a name for herself

That’s all from me today. Remember, to get all my picks and analysis, become a full member here.

Enjoy the tennis…

Best wishes,

Tom Wilson

Ones to Watch