Born In 1993, Lauren Davis is an American female professional tennis player living and training out of Boca Raton, Florida. Davis turned professional in 2011 at the age of 17. Lauren Davis is known for her skill and accomplishments on clay-courts and uses an extremely aggressive back coupled with quickness to defeat her opponents. Since turning professional, Lauren Davis has secured 7 titles of singles matches on the International Tennis Federation Tour. Her rankings peaked in mid-2014 when she became the 43rd-ranked participant in the WTA.
Personal Background
Lauren Davis was born in Gates Mills, Ohio. Her father Bill works in Wisconsin as a cardiologist and her mother Traci continues to reside in Gates Mills, Ohio. Davis began her first tennis lessons and training at the age of 9 after her mother, a friend of former professional Oksana Beilensen, suggested it. Seven years later, Davis decided to move to Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida at the age of 16. Davis has an older brother, William.
Early Career
In 2008 at the US Open, Lauren Davis made her debut as a junior competitor and faced off against Ajla Tomljanovic as a wild card and lost the match.
Her first junior tournament win was a Grade 3 tournament held in Philadelphia, PA. She faced off against Brooke Bolender and won after 3 sets against the fellow American. In 2009, Davis once again appeared at the US Open, finishing in the quarterfinals and eventually losing in the 3rd round at the Dunlop Orange Bowl.
Davis lost the Easter Bowl to Krista Hardebeck in the finals and again lost the finals of a tournament against Beatrice Capra. By the end of 2010, she had managed to accumulate an 18-match win streak. In 2010, she also won multiple Grade 1 tournaments including the Eddie Herr youth tournament, the Yucatan World Cup, and also won the Grade A Orange Bowl.
By the end of 2010, she was ranked number 3 as a junior tennis player. Following the 2011 Australian Open, Davis became a professional in 2011.
Professional Career
After turning professional in 2011, Davis lost against Samantha Stosur in the first round of the 2011 Australian Open. By 2012, she defeated Petra Martic in the 2012 BNP Paribas Open and subsequently lost to Nadia Petrova. In the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, Davis lost in the opening round to Russian player Vera Yevenyevna Dushevina. She made the main draw of the French Open in 2012 where she defeated Mona Barthel. Afterwards, she lost to Christina McHale.
In 2013, she won the USTA Down Corning title and continued to do well that year. She defeated Madison Keys in the Miami Masters. She also made it to the quarterfinals of the 2013 Bell Challenge where she faced off and lost to Lucie Safarova.
By 2014 Davis once again appeared in the Australian Open and it marked the first time she made it to the third round of a Grand Slam event. She was able to defeat both Julia Gorges and Eugenie Bouchard. She also defeated Victoria Azarenka who was ranked number 4 at the time. She upset Flavia Pennetta in 2014 at the Wimbledon Championships and ended the year with a career-high ranking of number 57 in the world.
In 2015 Davis lost in the semifinals to Venus Williams, the furthest she had made it in a Women’s Tennis Association tournament by that date.
Tennis Playing Style
Lauren Davis is only 5 feet 2 inches (157 cm) and 121 pounds (54.9 kg), making her one of the smaller players on the court. Despite her size, Davis has an extremely powerful and aggressive backhand which she couples with quickness and speed. As a right-handed tennis player, she favors a two-handed backhand.
Her best surface is on clay, which is different than many of her fellow American players, who typically do better on other surfaces. She attributes her ability to play well on clay-court because of her speed, quickness, and ability to slide on the surface. In addition to clay-court, she has stated that hardcourt is her second favorite surface to play on.
Twitter: @LaurenDavis93 WTA: Lauren Davis Profile
