At the beginning of the year Johanna Konta was ranked 146, and Heather Watson had the British number one spot all to herself for the year it appeared. Fast forward the 2015 tennis season and the Brit has seen her ranking rise to a career high 46 before finishing at 47 and usurping Watson in the proccess.

Slow Start

It was an uninspiring start to the year seeing some disappointing losses for the Australian born 24-year-old. With a loss in the first round of qualifying in the Australian Open it was a very slow start to 2015. It was to be April which saw her first final in Jackson losing to Anhelina Kalinina after Konta had breezed through an easy draw for the Brit.

The first glimpses of Konta’s 2015 turning around were in Paris at the French Open where she qualified for the main draw putting in a good performance against Denisa Allertova before falling in three sets. This proved to be the catalyst for Konta as she returned back to the UK for the grass season. With quarter final appearances in both Nottingham and Eastbourne including wins against Monica Puig, Zarina Diyas and Garbine Muguruza, Konta was starting to make a name for herself on tour.

Her grass season ended with a nightmare first round draw at Wimbledon against Maria Sharapova with the Russian’s class persevering in a straight sets win.

Rise through the rankings

Moving onto North America for the hard court season, Konta entered two ITF tournaments in Canada’s Granby and Vancouver. After winning Granby without dropping a set she then moved onto Vancouver which contained a much tougher field. However, unfazed, she managed to win her second ITF title in a row defeating Kirsten Flipkens.

With little rest, Konta then moved onto the US Open qualifiers just a couple days later. With her form continuing, the US Open main draw beckoned as she managed to survive three qualifying matches including a tight three setter against Tamira Paszek in the final qualifying round.

Johanna Konta in Us Open action
Johanna Konta in US Open action

After brushing aside Louisa Chirico she was to face Wimbledon finalist Garbine Muguruza yet again, but this time in a much tougher scenario, surprisingly however, the result was to be the same with Konta emerging the victor after an incredible three set win. With the tennis world taking notice, she was to face Andrea Petkovic in round three, dispatching the German in straight sets to set up a third round clash against Petra Kvitova. However, her amazing run was ended as Kvitova powered through to hand Konta a much deserved rest. Little would Konta know after her loss to Sharapova that it was to be her last loss for an incredible 16 matches.

Moving onto China, Konta’s 2015 had already been a success before she had entered qualifiying for Wuhan. After qualifiying for the main draw, Konta made it to the quarter finals impressively knocking out Petkovic again, Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka seeing her ranking rise to a career high 49. It was then onto Linz as Konta entered the main draw as a lucky loser before losing in the second round to Madison Brengle.

What next?

Next year whatever it may bring, I know I will enjoy it all. #holidays #grateful

— Johanna Konta (@JoKonta91) October 26, 2015

After cracking the top 50, Konta’s next target may perhaps be a first WTA title or reaching the top 30. With talented players below her such as Eugenie Bouchard, Christina McHale and Carina Witthoeft, one thing is for sure, Konta will have to put in another great season to continue her rise.

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