Introduction to Taylor Townsend
The new top women’s doubles player in the world is from the South Side. For Taylor Townsend, 29, who hasn’t held a No. 1 ranking since she was a junior, the achievement is both a “dream come true” and part of a larger lesson for a player who hasn’t fit the mold of professional tennis. Townsend’s game itself is unlike that of most of her peers. A lefty who aggressively rushes the net, she is a throwback to a bygone era, more Martina Navratilova than the power baseliners of today. Last year, she finally cracked the top 50 in singles rankings.
Doubles Success
In doubles, though, she’s an absolute force. With a boxer’s lightning reflexes and quick feet, she seems everywhere at the net, leaping backward to smash a lob or pouncing to cut off a ball hit to her partner’s side of the court. “Doubles allows me to see things in a more creative way,” Townsend said in an interview from Montreal, where she was competing in a high-level tournament considered a hard-court warm up for the U.S. Open in New York.
Taylor Townsend plays a forehand during a singles match at the Cincinnati Open in early August.
Early Life and Career
Starting next week, Townsend will try to win her first U.S. Open doubles title, alongside her frequent partner Katerina Siniakova from the Czech Republic. Townsend believes all her success in doubles can carry over to her singles matches there as well. “Winning begets winning,” her coach, John Williams, explained. “You have to have a certain mindset.”
A Rising Phenom, An Ugly Incident
Townsend spent her early summers in Chicago playing at public courts around the South Side. At Tuley Park, on 90th Street; at Jackson Park; at Lake Meadows, which is still home to the Chicago Prairie Tennis Club, a group formed in 1912 by Black players who were barred from segregated leagues. Townsend says Chicago’s Black tennis scene during her childhood felt close-knit and supportive, “a family affair.” Her mother, Sheila, an educator who played college tennis, often partnered in doubles with Ilona Young, who along with her husband, Donald, ran a tennis program for kids.
Overcoming Adversity
As a junior player, Townsend was called overweight by the sport’s national governing body. Of the painful incident, Townsend now says, “I had to grow up early. But it also taught me how to take a stand on something.”
Professional Career and Motherhood
Symone would suffer a serious leg injury. But Taylor continued to improve. In 2012, at 15, she won the junior Australian Open, in both singles and doubles. Townsend turned 16 that spring and captured the junior doubles title at Wimbledon. Since returning from maternity leave — and joining a small but growing club of mothers on tour — Townsend has been on a doubles tear. She has now won 10 doubles titles overall, including last year’s Wimbledon and this year’s Australian Open, both with Siniakova.
<img class="Image" alt="2E4A6426.JPG" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/533a08f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2304×1536+0+0/resize/840×560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F0e%2F46%2F032c9501444f9ee77f6506c50b69%2F2e4a6426.JPG 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c3fc688/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2304×1536+0+0/resize/1680×1120!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F0e%2F46%2F032c9501444f9ee77f6506c50b69%2F2e4a6426.JPG 2x" width="840" height="560" src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/533a08f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2304×1536+0+0/resize/840×560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F0e%2F46%2F032c9501444f9ee77f6506c50b69%2F2e4a6426.JPG" data-lazy-load="true" bad-src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWx
