Kentucky event: America's Jennifer Brady wins her maiden WTA title
America's Jennifer Brady clinched her first WTA title, defeating Swiss left-handed player Jil Teichmann 6-3, 6-4 in the Top Seed Open final on Sunday. Notably, Brady did not drop a set throughout, on the way to her first WTA title. Following the win, the 25-year-old rose to a career-best 40th spot in the latest rankings. Let's have a look at her journey so far.
Brady represented the Bruins tennis team initially
Brady attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), having made her debut for the Bruins tennis team in the fall of 2013. During her freshman year at UCLA, she helped her team win the 2014 Division One Women's Tennis National Championship in Athens, Georgia. Following the win, she completed her final year of college and turned professional in 2014.
Brady played her debut WTA tournament in 2014
Brady made her WTA debut at the 2014 US Open as she received a wild-card entry along with Samantha Crawford in the doubles segment. She featured in the singles main draw of Carlsbad Classic in November 2015, wherein she reached the semi-finals. In the 2016 WTA tour, Brady reached the quarter-finals at the Guangzhou International Women's Open (singles and doubles).
Breakthrough year for Brady
In 2017, Brady reached the singles main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the Australian Open. She won the first three rounds, however, her run came to an end in the fourth round with a straight-set loss to Mirjana Lučić-Baroni. Notwithstanding, Brady secured a spot in the main draw of the remaining three Grand Slam events.
Brady found more success in doubles
Brady continued to excel in doubles rather than singles as she reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 Australian Open with Vania King. Soon after, the pair also reached the final of a WTA 125K series event (WTA Indian Wells).
Major victories of Jennifer Brady
At the 2020 Brisbane International, Brady went on to defeat the great Maria Sharapova in the first round. Notably, she also handed world number one Ashleigh Barty a straight-set defeat (6-4, 7-6) in the competition. Brady then trounced two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza in the Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-finals. She remained unbeaten at the Charleston tournament before winning her first ever WTA title.
'Sky is the limit', says Brady
Jennifer Brady expressed her contentment after sealing a historic victory at the Kentucky event in Lexington. "The sky is the limit, so let's keep going," Brady said. "There's nothing better than playing at home in America, especially to win the title on home soil is a great achievement and something I'm going to be very happy about."
