OTW Extra Email Archive - November 2019
The return of CiCi Bellis…
Tuesday 12th November 2019
In your Ones to Watch EXTRA email today:
The return of Cici Bellis…
The women’s main tour is over for the year, but the lower-tier circuit is still going. And there’s a relatively big event this week with the WTA Oracle ‘Challenger’ tournament in Houston, USA.
There are some familiar names in the Houston draw, including this year’s Australian Open semi-finalist, Danielle Collins. The American is the top seed here.
Coco Vandeweghe is another former Grand Slam semi-finalist in action this week. In 2017, before injury, Coco made the semi finals in Australia and at the US Open, as well as the quarter finals at Wimbledon. Vandeweghe has been as high as No.9 in the world. The injury setbacks have seen her slip to No.328.
Another well-known name is Eugenie Bouchard. The Canadian, these days making more headlines off court than on it (recently hitting two million Instagram followers…), snapped a torrid 13-match losing streak by winning in the 1st round in Houston on Monday.
Back in 2014, Bouchard was a 50/1 early-bird One to Watch for us for Wimbledon, going on to reach the final and finish runner-up. Eugenie got as high as No.5 in the world. Now age 25, she’s currently No.220 in the rankings.
Also on the comeback trail, one name in particular catches the eye…
At the start of last season, the then 18-year-old Catherine Cartan Bellis – or ‘CiCi’’ Bellis is she is more commonly known – appeared on our Ones to Watch in 2018 list.
While two of the other young women on that 2018 list went on to contest this year’s French Open final (current World No.1 Ashleigh Barty beating Marketa Vondrousova), injury struck for Bellis…
Now aged 20, CiCi is getting back into things after a series of wrist and arm injuries – and a total of four surgeries. Once as high as No.35 in the world and on the way up, Bellis is currently without an official ranking after such a long layoff.
This week in Houston, the young American is making her first competitive tournament appearance since March last year.
CiCi has started well in Texas. She came through qualifying at the weekend, then won her 1st round match yesterday. The bookies have Bellis as a 4/11 (1.36) favourite to beat 33-year-old Varvara Lepchenko in the next round.
We’ll be monitoring CiCi Bellis over the weeks and months to come. If she stays fit, the future could be very bright. This is just one player that I have in mind for your upcoming Ones to Watch in 2020 report…
As usual, I’ll be publishing that annual list of new & improving players around Christmas, ready for the start of the new season in January. When it’s ready for release, you’ll be the first to know.
Enjoy the tennis…
Best wishes,
Tom Wilson