18-year-old Taylor Townsend of USA just became the youngest player to advance to the third round of the French Open in the past 5 years. Formally the no. 1 ranked junior player, Townsend won the 2012 Australian Open junior tournament lost in the finals at the 2013 Wimbledon junior tournament.
How good is Taylor Townsend! #talent
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) May 28, 2014
At 16-years-old in 2012 she was not permitted to enter the U.S. Open’s junior tournament because of her weight. The USTA said she needed to “slim down and get into better shape” according to BusinessInsider.
Every since then Townsend departed her connection with USTA coaches and is now coached by former no. 3 ranked player Zina Garrison via USAToday. They also live together in Maryland close to where she trains.
Playing in her first Grand Slam, Townsend has just won a major upset against Alize Cornet, a Frenchwoman playing in front of her home crowd. She was also ranked 20th in the world. In the third round she will be facing Carla Suarez, the no. 14 ranked player.