Clara Tauson

Clara Tauson (born 21 December 2002) is a Danish professional tennis player. In 2016, at age 13, she became the youngest Danish champion in tennis. Caroline Wozniacki held the previous record when she won at age 14.[2] Since 2019, the year she turned professional, she has attended Justine Henin's tennis academy in Belgium.[3] Her career-high rankings are world No. 33 in singles and No. 432 in doubles reached February 2022. She has had two WTA Tour victories both on hardcourt indoor. Former tennis player Michael Tauson is her uncle.[4]

Clara Tauson
Tauson, the winner of the 2019 Meitar Open
Country (sports) Denmark
ResidenceKongens Lyngby, Denmark
Born (2002-12-21) 21 December 2002
Copenhagen
Height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Turned pro2019
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachOlivier Jeunehomme
Prize moneyUS$ 820,377
Singles
Career record129–36 (78.2%)
Career titles2 WTA, 1 WTA 125K
Highest rankingNo. 33 (7 February 2022)
Current rankingNo. 40 (7 March 2022)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (2022)
French Open2R (2020, 2021)
Wimbledon1R (2021)
US Open2R (2021)
Doubles
Career record7–6 (53.8%)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 432 (21 February 2022)
Current rankingNo. 432 (21 February 2022)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (2022)
Wimbledon1R (2021)
Team competitions
Fed Cup5–5 (50.0%)
Last updated on: 9 March 2022.

As a junior, she played amateur tournaments from 2013 till 2019 and started professional tournaments in 2017. Her best amateur result was girls' 2019 Australian Open winner. The same year, she became the first Danish girl to top the junior world ranking.[5] On the professional ITF Circuit, she has won nine titles, the first at age 14. Her WTA Tour debut came in April 2019 and her debut in a senior level Grand Slam came at the 2020 French Open. She also represented Denmark in Fed Cup with a win–loss record of 5–5. She ended her junior years in top 200 on the WTA ranking.

In her first year as a senior, she won her two first WTA singles titles at the Lyon Open and at Luxembourg Open on top of one Challenger and two ITF tournament wins. At the same time she broke into top 50 on the WTA rankings.

Career

Overview

Clara Tauson's talent for tennis was discovered when she was six years old. Age 10 she left her local school to attend one that would allow her to focus on tennis. In the beginning she was often compared to Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark's best player at the time. She did not find herself to be the same kind of player as Wozniacki, whom she saw as more of a baseline player.[6] Clara Tauson started playing junior tournaments in 2013 age 10. Her family financed her until 2017 when she started playing professional tournaments.[6] In 2019, she became a full time professional. She focuses on singles but has also played doubles tournaments and Fed Cup. Since 2019 she has attended Justine Henin's academy in Belgium.[7]

2009-2016: Early career and Danish champion

Tauson started playing tennis at age six.[8] In 2011 she won the U9 tournament at the Zealand championships and the club championship for the U10.[9] In 2014, she became triple Danish U12 champion, winning girls' singles, girls' doubles and mixed doubles with Holger Rune.[10] She debuted on the Tennis Europe junior tour on 26 August 2013.[11] Her first tournament victory came in 2015.[12] In February 2016, Tauson debuted on the ITF Junior Circuit, the premier level for worldwide competition among U18 tennis players.[13] During the year she reached five finals, winning one.[14] In girls' doubles she reached four finals, winning one.[15] In August 2016, aged 13, she won the Danish Tennis Championship, beating Hannah Viller Møller in the final, and breaking the record of Caroline Wozniacki, who won it aged 14.[16] She was awarded Danish Junior Tennis Player of the Year for 2016 for her overall performance.[17]

2017-2020: Junior professionalism and top 200
Tauson wins her first ITF title in Stockholm, 2017

In 2017, Tauson made her debut for the Denmark Fed Cup team. She lost her doubles but Denmark won the match.[18] At the European Youth Olympic Festival in July, she won the tennis tournament as the top seed.[19][20] In September she made her Grand Slam debut at the junior competition of US Open but did not make it to the main draw.[21] The same month, she debuted on the professional ITF Women's Circuit.[22] In October, she entered the WTA world-rankings when she reached her first ITF final.[23] The following month, she took her first ITF title.[24] Her biggest victories in 2018 were the European Junior Championship in girls' singles and Osaka Mayor's Cup, her first Grade-A junior tournament win.[25][26] She got a sponsor contract with Japanese sports equipment producer Yonex.[27] At the end of the year, she won bronze at the ITF Junior Masters.[28]

She played her first Junior Grand Slam main draw at the 2019 Australian Open where she was top-seeded in girls' singles, and won the title—the first Danish girl to do so.[29] The next week, she also became the first Dane to top the girls' singles world ranking.[30] In April 2019, she entered her first WTA Tour tournament on a qualifier's wildcard.[31] She made it to the main draw and lost her first-round match.[32] In May, she played her last amateur tournament becoming a full time professional.[33] In February 2020, she helped bringing Denmark back to Europe/Africa Group I in Fed Cup.[34] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her career was put on a hold until August. In September, she broke in to the WTA top 200 for the first time in her career. This allowed her to enter the French Open qualifying. The French Open, which was postponed due to the pandemic, was her first senior level Grand Slam appearance. After winning her qualification matches, Tauson beat world No. 25, Jennifer Brady from the United States, in her first main-draw match before losing in the second round to Danielle Collins, another American.[35][36]

2021: First WTA titles and top 50

Following wins at two ITF tournaments, Tauson entered the Lyon Open as a qualifier at the end of February. There, she won her first WTA title, beating the top seed Ekaterina Alexandrova en route,[37] and fellow qualifier Viktorija Golubic in the final. With the win, Tauson entered the top 100 for the first time, becoming the second youngest player in the top 100 behind Coco Gauff. The next week, she qualified for her first WTA 500 tournament in St. Petersburg Throphy, before losing to eventual winner Daria Kasatkina in the first round.[38]

At the opening of the clay-court season in April, she was seeded for the first time on the WTA Tour at the Copa Colsanitas.[39] However, she lost to qualifier Daniela Seguel, in the first round.[40] Her next competition was the WTA Charleston 2 event. She reached the quarterfinals but had to retire against Maria Camila Osorio Serrano, because of a knee injury.[41][42] The injury prevented her from participating in the WTA 1000 Madrid Open. Instead, she participated in the Open de Saint-Malo in both singles and double. While she was eliminated early on in the singles, she managed to reach the semifinals in doubles with her partner Aliaksandra Sasnovich from Belarus.[43][44] In May, she entered the main draw of the French Open, losing to Viktoria Azarenka in the second round.

In July she entered her first Wimbledon tournament in both singles and doubles.[45] Later that month, she was, due to cancellations, offered a ticket to the Olympic tournament in Tokyo but declined because of an injury.[46] In the run-up to the US Open, Clara Tauson won the Chicago Challenger, defeating Emma Raducanu in the final.[47] At the US Open, she entered the main draw and won her first round match against Clara Burel from France while losing her second to world No. 1, Ashleigh Barty.[48] Two weeks later, she won her second WTA title at the Luxembourg Open, beating the defending champion Jeļena Ostapenko in the final.[49] Even though an injury kept her out of tournaments for the next two weeks, the points earned helped her to climb into the top 50. She ended the season as runner-up in the Courmayeur Open.[50]

2022: Australian Open Debut

Tauson made her Australian Open main draw debut as a senior, defeating Astra Sharma in the first round. She then upset 6th seed Anett Kontaveit in straight sets; this marked her first top 10 win. She lost the following round to later runner-up Danielle Collins in three close sets. From February till March Tauson played three WTA 1000 tournaments in a row: Qatar Total Open, Indian Wells and Miami Open. Qatar marked her WTA 1000 main draw debut. Here she defeated olympic champion Belinda Bencic in the first round before losing to third seed Paula Badosa in straight sets. In Indian Wells she entered in the second round as a seeded player and made it to the third round where she lost to eventual champion Iga Świątek in three sets. In Miami she retired in the first round against Zhang Shuai.

Playing Style

Tauson is a Power Baseliner. She is able to produce a high number of winners from her forehand and backhand side as well as overpower her opponents. She possesses a reliable serve and good movement on the court as well.

Performance timeline
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Billie Jean King Cup, Olympic Games and Grand Slam tournaments are included in win–loss records.

Singles

Current through the 2022 Madrid Open.

Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 SR W–L Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A Q1 3R 0 / 1 2–1 67%
French Open A 2R 2R 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Wimbledon A NH 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
US Open A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Win–loss 0–0 1–1 2–3 2–1 0 / 5 5–5 50%
WTA 1000
Dubai / Qatar Open A A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Indian Wells Open A NH A 3R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Miami Open A NH A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Madrid Open A NH A 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Italian Open A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Canadian Open A NH A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Cincinnati Open A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Wuhan Open Q1 NH 0 / 0 0–0  – 
China Open A NH 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 1 12 6 Career total: 20
Titles 0 0 2 0 Career total: 2
Finals 0 0 3 0 Career total: 3
Overall win–loss 0–1 1–1 19–10 6–6 2 / 20 26–18 59%
Win % 0% 50% 66% 50% Career total: 59.09%
Year-end ranking 267 152

WTA career finals

Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Legend
Grand Slam (0–0)
WTA 1000 (0–0)
WTA 500 (0–0)
WTA 250 (2–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Mar 2021 Lyon Open, France WTA 250 Hard (i) Viktorija Golubic 6–4, 6–1
Win 2–0 Sep 2021 Luxembourg Open WTA 250 Hard (i) Jeļena Ostapenko 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Loss 2–1 Oct 2021 Courmayeur Open, Italy WTA 250 Hard (i) Donna Vekić 6–7(3–7), 2–6

WTA 125 tournament finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)
Result W–L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Aug 2021 Chicago Challenger, United States Hard Emma Raducanu 6–1, 2–6, 6–4

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 12 (9 titles, 3 runner–ups)
Legend
$100,000 tournaments (0–0)
$80,000 tournaments (0–0)
$60,000 tournaments (2–0)
$25,000 tournaments (3–1)
$15,000 tournaments (4–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (7–1)
Clay (1–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2017 ITF Stockholm, Sweden 15,000 Hard (i) Jacqueline Awad 4–6, 0–6
Win 1–1 Nov 2017 ITF Stockholm, Sweden 15,000 Hard (i) Ekaterina Yashina 6–3, 6–2
Win 2–1 Mar 2019 ITF Monastir, Tunisia 15,000 Hard Arianne Hartono 6–2, 6–1
Win 3–1 Mar 2019 Pingshan Open, China 60,000 Hard Fangzhou Liu 6–4, 6–3
Win 4–1 Mar 2019 ITF Xiamen, China 15,000 Hard Guo Meiqi 2–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss 4–2 Jun 2019 ITF Kaltenkirchen, Germany 15,000 Clay Yuki Naito 6–4, 4–6, 0–6
Loss 4–3 Jun 2019 ITF Darmstadt, Germany 25,000 Clay Olga Govortsova 1–6, 6–7(3)
Win 5–3 Sep 2019 Meitar Open, Israel 60,000 Hard Katharina Hobgarski 4–6, 6–3, 6–1
Win 6–3 Feb 2020 GB Pro-Series Glasgow, UK 25,000 Hard (i) Viktoriya Tomova 6–4, 6–0
Win 7–3 Aug 2020 ITF Oeiras, Portugal 15,000 Clay María Gutiérrez Carrasco 6–3, 6–2
Win 8–3 Jan 2021 ITF Fujairah, UAE 25,000 Hard Viktorija Golubic 6–0, 4–6, 6–3
Win 9–3 Feb 2021 ITF Altenkirchen, Germany 25,000 Carpet (i) Simona Waltert 3–6, 6–1, 6–3

Doubles: 1 (runner–up)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 2020 GB Pro-Series Glasgow, UK 25,000 Hard (i) Lara Salden Myrtille Georges
Kimberley Zimmermann		 6–7(2), 6–7(5)

Junior Grand Slam finals

Girls' singles: 1 (1 title)
Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 2019 Australian Open Hard Leylah Fernandez 6–4, 6–3

Record against top 10 players

Tauson's record against players who have been ranked in the top 10.[51] Active players are in boldface.

Player Years Record Win % Hard Clay Grass Last Match
Number 1 ranked players
Victoria Azarenka 2021 0–1 0% – 0–1 – Lost (5–7, 4–6) at 2021 French Open
Ashleigh Barty 2021 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (1–6, 5–7) at 2021 US Open
Iga Świątek 2019 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (3–6, 6–7(7–9)) at 2019 Fed Cup
Number 2 ranked players
Barbora Krejčíková 2021 0–1 0% – – 0–1 Lost (3–6, 2–6) at 2021 Wimbledon
Number 3 ranked players
Paula Badosa 2021 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (7–5, 6–1) at 2021 Lyon
Number 5 ranked players
Sara Errani 2020 1–0 100% – 1–0 – Won (6–3, 7–5) at 2020 Prague
Anett Kontaveit 2022 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (6–2, 6–4) at 2022 Australian Open
Jeļena Ostapenko 2021 1–0 100% 1–0 – – Won (6–3, 4–6, 6–4) at 2021 Luxembourg
Number 7 ranked players
Ons Jabeur 2020 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (4–6, 4–6) at 2020 Billie Jean King Cup
Number 10 ranked players
Daria Kasatkina 2021 0–1 0% 0–1 – – Lost (4–6, 6–7(0–7)) at 2021 St. Petersburg
Total 2019–21 4–6 40% 3–4 1–1 0–1 updated 20 January 2021

Top 10 wins
Season2022 Total
Wins11
# Opponent Rank Event Surface Rd Score CTR
2022
1. Anett Kontaveit No. 7 Australian Open, Australia Hard 2R 6–2, 6–4 No. 39

Billie Jean King Cup / Fed Cup participation
Results for Tauson representing Denmark in Fed Cup.[52][53]
Result Date and place Round Surface Partner Against Opponent Score
Loss 2017, 20 Apr., Šiauliai, Lithuania Europe/Africa Group II Hard (i) Mai Grage Egypt Ola Zekry, Rana Ahmed 6–7(5–7), 4–6
Win 2018, 18–21 Apr., Athens, Greece Europe/Africa Group II Clay (Single) Egypt Lamis Aziz 6–4, 6–2
Loss Greece Valentini Grammatikopoulou 7–6(7–3), 6–7(4–7), 0–6
Win Promotional Play-off Israel Vlada Ekshibarova 6–2, 6–1
Loss 2019, 6–9 Feb., Zielona Gora, Poland Europe/Africa Group I Hard (i) (Single) Russia Natalia Vikhlyantseva 6–7(3–7), 1–6
Loss Poland Iga Świątek 3–6, 6–7(7–9)
Win 2020, 4–7 Feb., Helsinki, Finland Europe/Africa Group II Hard (i) (Single) Finland Oona Orpana 6–4, 6–2
Win Portugal Francisca Jorge 6–1, 6–1
Win Egypt Mayar Sherif 6–1, 6–1
Loss Promotional Play-off Tunisia Ons Jabeur 4–6, 4–6

References
  1. "Tauson Clara - profile". Tennis Explorer. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  2. Vestergaard, Andreas Erboe (7 September 2016). "Danmarksmester som 13-årig: Er Clara Danmarks nye Wozniacki?". BT. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  3. "Tauson dropper juniortennis - har fuld fokus på seniorkarrieren". TV2. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  4. Bakke, Peter (1 November 2017). "Dansk tennis-komet har slået Wozniacki-rekord: 'Hun spiller som en dreng'". Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  5. "Tauson becomes first Danish girl to secure No. 1 spot". ITF. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  6. Seistrup, Daniel (21 August 2017). "14-årige Clara kaldes den nye Wozniacki: 'Hun kan blive den bedste i verden'". BT. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  7. "Legende skulle bruge ét møde med Tauson for at se, at danskeren var speciel". TV2 Sport. TV2. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  8. Lilholt, Mathias. "14-årige Clara fra Lyngby: Danmarks næste tennishåb". TV2 Lorry. TV2. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  9. "Generalforsamling - Referat 18/3 - 2012". Lyngby Tennis Klub. 18 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  10. Østergaard, Mikael (14 July 2014). "Gentoftes tennistalenter med i 10 finaler". lokalavisen.dk. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  11. "Coretennis 2013". coretennis.net. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  12. "Copenhagen TE14". coretennis.net. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
  13. International Tennis Federation (20 February 2016). "DISPUK Copenhagen Winter Cup 2016". Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  14. "Clara Tauson Juniors Singles Activity". ITF, profile: Clara Tauson. ITF. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  15. "Clara Tauson Juniors Doubles Activity". ITF profile: Clara Tauson. ITF. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  16. Burkal Nielsen, Ronni (6 August 2016). "Clara er yngste DM-vinder nogensinde: Det er meget overvældende". TV 2. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  17. Dansk Tennis Forbund (3 February 2017). "Caroline Wozniacki og Clara Tauson er Årets Tennisspillere 2016". Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  18. Ritzau (20 April 2017). "Danske tenniskvinder henter endnu en Fed Cup-sejr". BT. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  19. Dalsgaard Jensen, Ole (28 July 2017). "EYOF Györ: Clara Tauson i finalen efter fire komfortable sejre". tennisavisen.dk. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
  20. Andersen, Jens (29 July 2017). "Ny Wozniacki? Dansker tager guld ved ungdoms-OL". DR. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  21. Seistrup, Daniel (23 August 2017). "Den 'nye Wozniackis' drøm gik i opfyldelse: 'Jeg vågnede til et jubelskrig fra køkkenet'". BT. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  22. Dalsgaard Jensen, Ole (24 September 2017). "ITF Antalya: Russisk taktisk geni-streg stoppede Clara Tauson i semfinalen". tennisavisen.dk. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  23. Amter, Jesper (1 November 2017). "Ny Wozniacki på vej? 14-årigt dansk tennistalent når milepæl". TV 2. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  24. Burkal Nielsen, Ronni (5 November 2017). "Ung dansk tenniskomet vinder sin første seniortitel". TV 2. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  25. Bentsen, Bo (29 July 2018). "Clara Tauson er europamester for juniorer". TV2. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  26. Laursen Bjerg, Maja (21 October 2018). "Overlegen Clara Tauson vinder 'en af de helt store' turneringer". TV2. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  27. Dalsgaard Jensen, Ole (15 December 2018). "Sponsoraftale: Yonex støtter Clara Tauson på vejen mod tennis-toppen". Tennisavisen. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  28. Roth, Christopher (8 October 2018). "Tauson sikrer medalje ved sæsonfinalen". TV2. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  29. Christensen, Troels (26 January 2019). "Høj klasse, Clara: Vinder Australian Open og tager førstepladsen". Ekstra Bladet. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  30. International Tennis Federation (28 January 2019). "Tauson becomes first Danish girl to secure No. 1 spot". Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  31. Burkal Nielsen, Ronni (4 April 2019). "Tauson tildelt wildcard til sin første WTA-turnering". TV2. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  32. Idskov, Thomas (10 April 2019). "Tabte sin WTA-debut: "Super-Clara" er blevet klogere". BT. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  33. "Clara Tauson Juniors Singles Activity". ITF. ITF. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  34. "Clara Tauson". Billie Jean King Cup. The World Cup of Tennis. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  35. "Teen Tauson triumphs over Brady in overtime thriller".
  36. "Collins marches past teenager Tauson at Roland Garros".
  37. "Tauson upsets top seed Alexandrova in Lyon opener". WTA. WTA. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  38. Christopher/Bentsen, Roth/Bo (16 March 2021). "Tauson ryger ud i første runde". TV 2 Sport. TV 2. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  39. "Clara Tauson". WTA. WTA. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  40. "Copa Colsanitas". WTA. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  41. "Tausons skade efterlader ekspert bekymret". TV2 Sport. TV2. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  42. "Tauson trækker sig med store smerter". TV2 Sport. TV2. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  43. "WTA 125 Saint-Malo: Clara Tauson uden "easy power" måtte forlade turnering efter 1. runde". 4 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  44. "Clara Tauson". WTA Tour. WTA. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  45. "Clara Tauson". WTA. WTA. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  46. "Tauson takker nej til OL-billet". TV2 Sport. TV2. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  47. Dvinge, Nicolai. "Tauson vinder turnering i USA". TV2 Sport. TV2. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  48. Busk Stie, Hans-Henrik. "US Open-sensation kan få stor betydning for Tauson". TV2 Sport. TV2. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  49. "WTA Luxembourg 2021 - Clara Tauson takes down defending champion Jelena Ostapenko for second tour title". Eurosport. 19 September 2021.
  50. "TENNIS Syg Clara Tauson kastede op under finale". TV2 Sport. TV2. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  51. "Head to Head". WTA Tennis. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
  52. "Denmark". Fed Cup - The World Cup of Tennis. ITF. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  53. "Clara Tauson". Billie Jean King Cup. The World Cup of Tennis. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.