American women lead the way for the wildcards at the Citi Open. Thanks to the withdrawal of Victoria Azarenka, Coco Vandeweghe received a wildcard into the event. Teen sensation Taylor Townsend will also be getting a wildcard into the main draw next week. Tournament director Jeff Newman was disappointed at the withdrawal of Azarenka but said this about having the Wimbledon quarterfinalist in the draw, “At the same time, we are very excited to have Coco join our field in her first event since her great run at Wimbledon.”
Vandeweghe back to work after Wimbledon run
Vandeweghe was not originally scheduled to play in DC until the announcement of Azarenka’s withdrawal was confirmed. With her late entry, the American will be seeded eighth jumping Zarina Diyas who was originally supposed to be seeded eighth. This will be Vandeweghe’s first tournament since her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon this year.
En route to that quarterfinal, she defeated three seeded women: 11th-seeded Karolina Pliskova, 22nd-seeded Sam Stosur, and sixth-seeded French Open finalist Lucie Safarova. She gave a valiant effort against Maria Sharapova, but the pressure of being a set away from her first Grand Slam semifinal took its toll on her as she crumbled 2-6 in the final set after she extended the match by winning the second set breaker.
Who is Taylor Townsend?
Townsend is a 19-year-old American who was a former two-time junior Grand Slam champion. She is the third-highest ranked teenager amongst American woman behind Louisa Chirico (playing in the qualifiers in DC), CiCi Bellis (wildcard into the Bank of the West Classic), and Katerina Stewart.
Townsend is oft-compared to Serena Williams thanks to the raw power she possesses on her serve and groundstrokes. Unlike Serena however, Townsend is a lefty, which gives her a unique dimension to her serve.
Last year, she announced herself to the world with a third round showing at the French Open. She defeated fellow American Vania King then knocked off 20th-seeded Frenchwoman Alize Cornet before getting downed by 14th-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro. She currently has no titles this year on either the WTA or Challenger Circuit. If the draw presents itself to Townsend, she may be a force to be reckoned with in the later rounds if she can hold it together. A lack of match play this year may catch up to her in the end, but she definitely has the talent to hang with the best.