Heather Watson
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Heather Miriam Watson (born 19 May 1992) is a British professional
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player. A former British No. 1, Watson has won nine titles over her career, including the mixed-doubles title at the
2016 Wimbledon Championships The 2016 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament which took place at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The main draw commenced on 27 June 2016 and concluded on ...
, partnering
Henri Kontinen Henri Kontinen (; born 19 June 1990) is a Finnish former professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. After being forced to end his singles career at a young age due to injuries, having reached a career-high ranking of No ...
, making her the first British woman to win a
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
title since
Jo Durie Joanna Mary Durie (born 27 July 1960) is a former world No. 5 tennis player from the United Kingdom. During her career, she also reached No. 9 in doubles, and won two Grand Slam titles, both in the mixed doubles with Jeremy Bates. Born in Bri ...
in 1991, and the first to win a Wimbledon title since Durie in 1987. In October 2012, Watson won her first
WTA Tour The WTA Tour (also known as the Hologic WTA Tour for sponsorship reasons) is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women and organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125 series, and third-tier is the ITF Wome ...
singles title at the Japan Women's Open, becoming the first British woman to win a WTA tournament singles title since Sara Gomer in 1988. In her junior career, Watson won the US Open and a gold medal at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. She reached No. 3 in the world on the ITF Junior Circuit.


Early life and junior career

Heather Watson was born in
Saint Peter Port St. Peter Port () is a town and one of the ten parishes on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It is the capital of the Bailiwick of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2019 was 18,958. St. Peter Port is a small tow ...
,
Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
to Michelle and Ian Watson. Her mother is from
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
and her father is British, and was the managing director of Guernsey Electricity from 1995 until retirement in 2010. She has one brother and two sisters. Watson started playing tennis at the age of seven, and at age twelve she went to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida. In 2006, Watson won the British Under-14 Championship. The following year she won the British Under-16 Championship, and reached the semifinals of the British Under-18 Championship. She lost in the under-18 semifinals again in 2008 to eventual winner Tara Moore. In October, Watson travelled to Pune in India to compete at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games where she won the gold medal, winning the final against Kyra Shroff. Mother Michelle left her job in 2008 to travel full-time with her daughter around the World Junior Circuit. Watson played her first senior tournament in March 2009 – the $25k Jersey Open, but lost in the second round to Katie O'Brien. At the beginning of July, she became the highest-ranked British junior, overtaking Laura Robson. She achieved her first senior women's world ranking on 27 July 2009, entering at No. 756. She won her first senior title at the Frinton $10k tournament. Watson beat
Anna Fitzpatrick Anna Fitzpatrick (born 6 April 1989) is a British former professional tennis player. Personal life Fitzpatrick attended St Thomas of Canterbury school in Sheffield, St Mary's Roman Catholic High School, Chesterfield and Woodhouse Grove Scho ...
in the final. At the 2009 US Open, Watson was seeded 11th for the girls' singles. She reached the quarterfinals on 10 September before rain interrupted the tournament schedule. The tournament moved indoors and Watson beat second seed
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn Noppawan "Nok" Lertcheewakarn (; born 18 November 1991) is a former professional Thai tennis player. At 2009 Wimbledon Championships, she won the junior singles title. She reached career-high WTA rankings of 149 in singles and 97 in doubles. ...
in the quarterfinal on 12 September. She played her semifinal on the same day and was victorious against
Daria Gavrilova Daria Saville (née Gavrilova; born 5 March 1994) is a Russian-born Australian professional tennis player. She competed under her maiden name until her marriage to Luke Saville in 2021. On 28 August 2017, she reached her best singles rank ...
to reach the final, where she faced doubles partner Yana Buchina. Playing on court 7, Watson won in straight sets. At the
2009 French Open The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 108th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 24 through J ...
, Watson and her partner, as the third seeds, reached the girls' doubles final where she and
Tímea Babos Tímea Babos (; born 10 May 1993) is a Hungarian professional tennis player who is a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. She has won three WTA Tour titles in singles and 27 in doubles. Babos is a f ...
faced the second-seeded pair of Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and Elena Bogdan and were beaten in a match tie-break. Partnering Yana Buchina, that year they were the seventh seed at the
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
girls' doubles and sixth seed at the US Open girls' doubles, but they lost in the first round at both tournaments. At
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
, she teamed up with Magda Linette and they were seeded sixth in the girls' doubles but eliminated in the second round.


Junior Grand Slam performance

Australian Open: QF (
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
)
French Open: 1R (
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
)
Wimbledon: 1R (
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
,
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
)
US Open: W (
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
)


Junior Grand Slam finals


Singles: 1 (title)


Doubles: 1 (runner-up)


Career


2009

Watson began competing on the
ITF Women's Circuit The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players. History It serves as a developmenta ...
in March when she entered the qualifying tournament for the $10k event in Bath, Somerset, but failed to win a match. She entered her next tournament, a $25k event in Jersey, on a wildcard and beat compatriot Jade Curtis in the first round. She was defeated by another Britain, Katie O'Brien, in round two. In July, she reached her first ITF semifinal as a qualifier in the $10k grass-court tournament in Felixstowe, before losing to Anna Smith. She went on to qualify for the next tournament she entered and again faced Smith in the semifinals; however, this time Watson was victorious and went on to beat
Anna Fitzpatrick Anna Fitzpatrick (born 6 April 1989) is a British former professional tennis player. Personal life Fitzpatrick attended St Thomas of Canterbury school in Sheffield, St Mary's Roman Catholic High School, Chesterfield and Woodhouse Grove Scho ...
in the final to win her first title. Continuing to compete on the ITF Circuit for the rest of the season, Watson beat Melanie South in round one of a $50k in Barnstaple in October, before being defeated by
Kristina Mladenovic Kristina "Kiki" Mladenovic (born 14 May 1993) is a French professional tennis player and a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. Her best singles ranking is world No. 10. She is a nine-time Grand Slam ...
in round two. She ended the 2009 season with a singles ranking of 588.


2010: Turned professional, Grand Slam debut

Watson began 2010 with a wildcard into the $25k event in Sutton, London, where she made the quarterfinals. She immediately flew to the $100k Midland Classic, losing to qualifier and fellow 17-year-old
Beatrice Capra Beatrice "Trice" Capra (born April 6, 1992, in Ellicott City, Maryland) is a former American tennis player who attended Duke University. Her highest WTA singles ranking is no. 201, which she reached on September 20, 2010. She is the daughter ...
in the first round. Two weeks later, she entered the $25k event in Hammond, Louisiana. Watson qualified and went on to reach her second quarterfinal of the year, defeating former world No. 7 and two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, Nicole Vaidišová, and fifth seed Monique Adamczak, en route. The following week, Watson entered another $25k event in Clearwater, Florida. In the final qualifying round, she lost to fellow Brit Georgie Stoop, before being handed a
lucky loser A lucky loser is a sports competitor (player or team) who loses a match in a knockout tournament or loses in qualifying, but who then enters the main draw. This can occur when another competitor withdraws during the tournament because of illness ...
spot in the main draw and defeating
Anna Tatishvili Anna Tatishvili ( ka, ანა ტატიშვილი, tr, ; born February 3, 1990) is a Georgian-American former professional tennis player. In her career, Tatishvili won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, 2014 at the Linz Open, partneri ...
in the first round. She lost to
Zhou Yimiao Zhou Yimiao, also spelled as Zhou Yi-Miao, (; ; born 7 February 1991) is a former professional Chinese tennis player. Zhou was born in Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial- ...
in round two. Watson was then given a wildcard into the main draw of the Miami Open, but lost to
Tsvetana Pironkova Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova ( ; born 13 September 1987) is a Bulgarians, Bulgarian former tennis player. Considered to be one of the best grass court players of her generation, she has been noted for her "cerebral" skills on the surface, reachi ...
in the first round. This was the first time in her career that Watson competed on the
WTA Tour The WTA Tour (also known as the Hologic WTA Tour for sponsorship reasons) is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women and organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125 series, and third-tier is the ITF Wome ...
. In April, she reached the quarterfinals of a $25k event in Jackson, Mississippi. Following this, she qualified for the WTA Tour event in Charleston, South Carolina, before losing to
Elena Vesnina Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player who was List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. Vesnina is a four-time Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam champion, h ...
in the first round. At the
Eastbourne International The Eastbourne Open (also known as Eastbourne International, formerly Rothesay) is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and the ATP Tour held at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Held since 1974, it is classified as ...
, Watson qualified for the main draw by defeating Anna Smith, Tsvetana Pironkova and Bojana Jovanovski. Watson defeated world No. 48,
Aleksandra Wozniak Aleksandra Wozniak (; born September 7, 1987) is a Canadian former tennis player. She turned professional in November 2005, and achieved a career-best ranking of No. 21 in June 2009, making her the fifth highest-ranked Canadian singles player of ...
, in the first round. In the second round, she was defeated by former top-10 player
Victoria Azarenka Victoria Fiodaraŭna Azarenka (born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), having held the position for a total of 51 weeks ...
. She then entered the first Grand Slam tournament of her career, after receiving a wildcard into the main draw of
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
. Watson met Romina Oprandi in the first round and lost in three sets. Moving back onto hardcourts, her next tournament was a $25k tournament in Wrexham. She defeated four fellow British players (including Anna Fitzpatrick and
Naomi Broady Naomi Broady ( ; born 28 February 1990) is a British former tennis player. She won one WTA Tour doubles title, as well as nine singles titles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 7 March 2016, she reached her best singles ranki ...
) on her way to the final, where she defeated former top-30 player
Sania Mirza Sania Mirza (; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian former professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles ...
to win her second ITF title. In October 2010, she was seeded fifth for the women's singles at the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
, taking the rare opportunity to represent Guernsey. She eventually lost to top seed,
Anastasia Rodionova Anastasia Ivanovna Rodionova (; born 12 May 1982) is a Russian-born Australian former professional tennis player. Rodionova has won 11 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as eight singles and 13 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 16 Au ...
of Australia, in the quarterfinals. Partnering Patrick Ogier, Watson also reached the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles, where they were defeated by the third seeds Sarah Borwell and Ken Skupski, representing England.


2011: First major match win at the French Open & top 100 debut

Watson began the season by qualifying for the Auckland Open. She continued her winning streak in the main tournament and beat ninth seed
Carla Suárez Navarro Carla Suárez Navarro (; born 3 September 1988) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A former top 10 singles player, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 6 on 29 February 2016, and a best WTA doubles ranking of 11, o ...
to get into the quarterfinals, where she lost to
Peng Shuai Peng Shuai (; ; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 doubles player by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA ...
. Watson qualified for the Cellular South Cup., going on to reach her second quarterfinal of the year where she lost to Evgeniya Rodina. On 3 April 2011, Watson won two matches to qualify for the
Charleston Open The Charleston Open, currently sponsored by Credit One, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in America with a $1,064,510 purse. The t ...
, where she lost a close three-set match to Christina McHale in the first round. Watson next attempted to qualify for the Estoril Open. In the first round of qualifying, she beat former world No. 17, Karolina Šprem. She went on to beat
Katarzyna Piter Katarzyna Piter (; born 16 February 1991) is a Polish professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. In May 2014, she reached her career-high ranking of No. 95 in singles and in July 2022, No. 66 in doubles. She has won three doubles ti ...
in the second round of qualifying, but eventually lost to
Tamira Paszek Tamira Shelah Paszek (born 6 December 1990) is an Austrian tennis player. On 11 February 2013, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 26. On 6 May 2013, she peaked at No. 93 in the doubles rankings. Paszek has won three single ...
in the final qualifying round. Watson qualified for the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
on her debut. She beat
Raluca Olaru Ioana Raluca Olaru (born 3 March 1989) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. The winner of eleven singles and fifteen doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, Olaru reached one WTA Tour singles final, at the 2009 Gastein Ladies,WTA ...
and
Sally Peers Sally Peers (born 1 June 1991) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is 145, which she achieved on 11 April 2011. Her highest doubles ranking of world ...
in the first and second rounds, respectively, to reach the final round, where she defeated
Stefanie Vögele Stefanie Vögele (born 10 March 1990) is a Swiss professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 42 on 11 November 2013. Her highest WTA rankings, WTA ranking in doubles is 100, which she reached on 5 January ...
to gain a place in the main draw for the first time. This was the first time a British woman had qualified for the French Open since Kate Brasher, the daughter of Shirley Bloomer and
Chris Brasher Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, Olympic champion, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon. Early life and education Born in Georgetown, British Gui ...
, in 1983. She played French wildcard Stéphanie Foretz Gacon in the first round and won. The victory saw her break into the top 100 for the first time. In the second round she lost to 16th seed
Kaia Kanepi Kaia Kanepi (; born 10 June 1985) is an Estonian inactive professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 15 on 20 August 2012 and has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour. Described as a 'resident Grand Slam up ...
in the second round. Watson continued her good form entering the grass-court season when she beat 15th seed
Chanelle Scheepers Chanelle Scheepers ( ; born 13 March 1984) is a retired South African tennis player. She won one singles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as 12 singles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit in her career. On 10 Octobe ...
in the first round of the Birmingham Classic. She followed this up by beating Misaki Doi in the second round. However, she lost to third seed and eventual semifinalist Peng Shuai in the third round. On 22 June 2011, Watson played Mathilde Johansson in her first round match in the
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...
, winning the opening set before suffering an arm injury in the second set. Johansson then went on to win in three sets. On 29 August 2011, in the first round of the US Open, Watson lost in three sets to former champion
Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (, ; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. Sharapova won 36 WTA Tour-level sin ...
. After the match, Sharapova stated "There's no doubt that she's a great up-and-coming player".


2012: Wimbledon 3rd round, maiden WTA Tour title, top 50 debut

Watson lost in the first round of the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
to the eventual champion Victoria Azarenka. Watson was selected for the British Fed Cup Team to play in the Europe/Africa Group-1 match at Eilat, Israel on 1–4 February 2012. In the group stages she played doubles with Laura Robson, defeating pairs from Portugal and the Netherlands and
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in the group stages. Robson and Watson were not required to play their doubles in the play-off match against Austria as Anne Keothavong and
Elena Baltacha Elena Sergeevna Baltacha (; 14 August 1983 – 4 May 2014) was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-term British No. 1, a position she held intermittently ...
won their singles rubbers, and the 2–0 lead qualified the team for a place in the World Group II promotion play-off in April 2012. Watson won three rounds in qualifying for the French Open at Roland Garros in May 2012. She then defeated Elena Vesnina in the first round, matching her 2011 result in the tournament. In the second round, she was defeated by the 25th seed Julia Görges of Germany. In June, ranked No. 103, Watson defeated world No. 52,
Iveta Benešová Iveta Benešová () (formerly Melzer, ; born 1 February 1983) is a Czech former tennis player. She began playing tennis aged seven and turned professional in 1998. She won two WTA Tour singles and 14 doubles tournaments, and one Grand Slam tit ...
, in her first singles win at 2012 Wimbledon Championships. She then beat
Jamie Hampton Jamie Lee Hampton (born January 8, 1990) is an American former professional tennis player. In July 2013, she reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 24. Due to many injuries, she needed to stop playing in 2014, and officially retired i ...
, becoming the first British woman since 2002 to reach the third round of Wimbledon. In the third round, Watson lost to the third seed and eventual runner-up,
Agnieszka Radwańska Agnieszka Roma Radwańska (; born 6 March 1989) is a Polish former professional tennis player and current coach. She was ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), in July 2012. Radwańska won 20 WTA Tour sing ...
. At the Stanford Classic, Watson lost in the second round to world No. 37,
Yanina Wickmayer Yanina Wickmayer (born 20 October 1989) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals at the 2009 US Open – Women's singles, 2009 US Open, and a career-high WTA ranking of No. 12, on 19 April 2010. In doubles, she achieve ...
, after a victory over the world No. 49,
Sloane Stephens Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She has achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 3 by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Stephens has won eight WTA Tour-level singles titles, including the 2 ...
. She won the doubles competition of the Stanford Classic, where she played with Marina Erakovic to beat
Vania King Vania King (born February 3, 1989) is a retired American tennis player. A former top-10 doubles player, King won both the Wimbledon and US Open women's doubles titles in 2010 with partner Yaroslava Shvedova, with whom she also reached the fi ...
and
Jarmila Gajdošová Jarmila Wolfe (née Gajdošová, formerly Groth; born 26 April 1987) is a Slovak-Australian former tennis player. In her career, she won two singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as 14 singles and ten doubles titles on ...
in a second set tiebreak. This was her first title on the full WTA Tour. At the Carlsbad Open, she beat
Eleni Daniilidou Eleni Daniilidou (; ; born 19 September 1982) is a Greek former tennis player from the island of Crete. She is considered one of the best Greek tennis players of the Open Era, winning five singles titles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tou ...
to set up a second round meeting with qualifier
Chan Yung-jan Latisha Chan (born 17 August 1989), formerly known by her Chinese name Chan Yung-jan (; ), is a Taiwanese professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. She has won 33 career titles in doubles, including a Grand Slam title ...
. However, she lost the match. She received an ITF wildcard into the singles tournament at the London Olympics, where she defeated Sílvia Soler Espinosa, before losing her second-round match to
Maria Kirilenko Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲenkə, a=Ru-Maria_Kirilenko.ogg; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champio ...
. She also played in the women's doubles in the Olympic tournament with Laura Robson, losing in the first round to
Angelique Kerber Angelique Kerber (; born 18 January 1988) is a German former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 34 wee ...
and
Sabine Lisicki Sabine Katharina Lisicki (; born 22 September 1989) is a German inactive professional tennis player. Lisicki turned professional in 2006, and her breakthrough came in 2009 when she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships ...
. Her next tournament was the Texas Open where in the singles she lost to Yanina Wickmayer in the first round. However, she went on to win the doubles competition alongside Marina Erakovic. Watson gained automatic entry into the main draw of the US Open but was beaten in the first round by
Li Na Li Na (born 26 February 1982) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She was WTA rankings, ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association. Li won nine WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two Grand Slam (t ...
. She then qualified for the Pan Pacific Open and beat Sabine Lisicki in the first round, but then lost to Maria Sharapova. Watson made a WTA Tour singles final for the first time in her career at the HP Open where she beat
Polona Hercog Polona Hercog (, born 20 January 1991) is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA rankings are 35 in singles and 56 in doubles. She has won five titles on the WTA Tour, three in singles and two in doubles. Hercog also has had ...
, sixth seed
Anabel Medina Garrigues Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues (, ; born 31 July 1982) is a Spanish tennis coach and former professional player. As a player she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 16 in 2009, and won 11 singles and 28 doubles titles, including the 2008 ...
, Pauline Parmentier and Misaki Doi. In the final, she saved four match points to beat
Chang Kai-chen Chang Kai-chen ( zh, t=張凱貞, p=Zhāng Kǎizhēn; ; born January 13, 1991), also known as Kelly Chang, is a Taiwanese former professional tennis player.https://www.wtatennis.com/players/313923/- Career Her father is Chang Chin-lai and mo ...
in a match lasting 3 hours and 12 minutes. With this win, Watson attained a top-50 ranking for the first time in her career, at the same time overtaking compatriot Laura Robson as the British No. 1. Watson also became the first Briton to win a WTA singles title since Sara Gomer in 1988. She also made the doubles final in the same event with
Kimiko Date-Krumm is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals of the 1994 Australian Open, the 1995 French Open and the 1996 Wimbledon Championships, and won the Japan Open a record four times. She reached a career-high ranking ...
, but lost to Raquel Kops-Jones and
Abigail Spears Abigail Michal Spears (born July 12, 1981) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Spears won 21 double titles including the 2017 Australian Open. Spears started playing tennis in 1988 when she was 7 years old, and turn ...
.


2013: Australian Open 3rd round & top 40

Watson began the year in the top 50 and therefore qualified for the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
. She reached the second round for the first time in her career thanks to a three-set victory against the Romanian
Alexandra Cadanțu Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thu ...
. In the second round, she came back from trailing Ksenia Pervak by a set and 6–3 in the tie break, to win in three sets. She faced world No. 4, Agnieszka Radwańska, in the third round, where she was beaten in two sets. This run saw Watson rise to a career-high world ranking of 40. Watson's next tournament was the Pattaya Open where she was eighth seed and reached the second round but lost to Anastasija Sevastova. She then competed in the Fed Cup, helping Great Britain reach a World Group II Play-off tie with victories over Tímea Babos of Hungary and
Tsvetana Pironkova Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova ( ; born 13 September 1987) is a Bulgarians, Bulgarian former tennis player. Considered to be one of the best grass court players of her generation, she has been noted for her "cerebral" skills on the surface, reachi ...
of Bulgaria in the Euro/Africa Group I Play-off. Her next tournament was the U.S. National Indoor Championships in Memphis where she was seeded fourth. In the first round, she overcame a tense battle with world No. 109,
Galina Voskoboeva Galina Olegovna Voskoboeva (; born 18 December 1984) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani former tennis player. She reached career-high rankings of world No. 42 in singles and No. 26 in doubles. Career Born in Moscow, Voskoboeva turned pro in 2002. Du ...
. She then defeated
Andrea Hlaváčková Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ...
in another three-setter before losing to Stefanie Vögele in the quarterfinals. Watson was forced to miss Great Britain's Fed Cup Play-off against Argentina after contracting glandular fever. Her first game back after recovering was at the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, where she lost to Stefanie Vögele in three sets, saying after the match she knew it would be tough but that she was very disappointed. Beginning the grass-court season, she entered the Birmingham Classic seeded 14th and defeated Melinda Czink in the first round, her first victory since returning from her illness before she lost to qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva. At the
Eastbourne International The Eastbourne Open (also known as Eastbourne International, formerly Rothesay) is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and the ATP Tour held at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Held since 1974, it is classified as ...
, Watson upset world No. 27, Varvara Lepchenko, in the first round in two sets. At
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
, she lost in the first round to
Madison Keys Madison Keys (born February 17, 1995) is an American professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 5 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Keys has won ten WTA Tour-level career singles ...
. Before the US Open Series, she decided to change coaches by hiring Jeremy Bates and won her first post-Wimbledon match against wildcard Alexandra Mueller at the Washington Open. Watson then lost in the next round to fourth-seed
Alizé Cornet Alizé Cornet (; born 22 January 1990) is a French professional tennis player. She has won six singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as three singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, ITF Circuit. ...
, in straight sets.


2014: Third tour doubles title

Watson qualified for the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
. She faced 31st seed
Daniela Hantuchová Daniela Hantuchová (; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Open, defeating Martin ...
and lost in three sets. In
Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
Watson continued her impressive run winning all four of her singles rubbers in the Europe/Africa Zone. Despite her victories, which included two top 40 scalps defeating Yvonne Meusburger of Austria and Romanian world No. 26,
Sorana Cîrstea Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea (; born 7 April 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013. In doubles, her career-best ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March ...
, Watson then proceeded to compete at the second-tier
Midland Classic Diamond East Midlands, formerly Midland Classic, is a bus company from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. Since August 2022, the company is a subsidiary of Rotala. History Midland Classic Midland Classic was founded in July 2005 by Ja ...
where she defeated Ksenia Pervak in the final to win her fourth ITF title and, partnering Anna Tatishvili, she also reached the doubles final and won after a deciding champions tiebreak. Watson re-entered the WTA top 100 after winning the Sparta Prague Open in May. She defeated three top-100 players –
Klára Koukalová Klára Koukalová (formerly Zakopalová; born 24 February 1982) is a Czech former tennis player. She was born and still lives in Prague. Having turned professional in 1999, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20, on 15 April 2 ...
,
Karolína Plíšková Karolína Plíšková (; born 21 March 1992) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), holding the position for a total of eight weeks, and has been ...
and Tímea Babos – en route to the final of the $100k event. Due to poor weather, Watson was forced to play her semifinal with Babos on the final's day. She claimed a two-set victory, before defeating sixth seed Anna Karolína Schmiedlová (who had played most of her semifinal the day before) in the final. Her impressive form carried over to the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
where she came through three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw. In the first round, Watson defeated
Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Barbora (; ) is a Czech and Slovak female given name. It was derived from the Greek word ''barbaros'' () meaning "foreign", a variant of " Barbara". It is the 36th most popular given name in the Czech Republic (as of 2007). Notable people with th ...
in straight sets before falling to world No. 4,
Simona Halep Simona Halep (; born 27 September 1991) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 64 w ...
, in the second round. At
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...
, she defeated sixth seed
Flavia Pennetta Flavia Pennetta (; born 25 February 1982) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top-ten female singles player on 17 August 2009 and the first Italian to be ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis pla ...
, in three sets, in the second round on the way to the semifinals where she lost to
Madison Keys Madison Keys (born February 17, 1995) is an American professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 5 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Keys has won ten WTA Tour-level career singles ...
. At
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
where she played Ajla Tomljanović and defeated her in straight sets. She then played
Angelique Kerber Angelique Kerber (; born 18 January 1988) is a German former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 34 wee ...
, the ninth seed, in the second round losing in three sets. Watson won her third career doubles title at the Baku Cup, partnering with
Alexandra Panova Alexandra Alexandrovna Panova (; born 2 March 1989) is a Russian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. She has a career-high WTA doubles ranking of world No. 30 achieved on 28 October 2024. She peaked at No. 71 in singles on 3 ...
. In the final, they crushed
Raluca Olaru Ioana Raluca Olaru (born 3 March 1989) is a Romanian former professional tennis player. The winner of eleven singles and fifteen doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, Olaru reached one WTA Tour singles final, at the 2009 Gastein Ladies,WTA ...
and
Shahar Pe'er Shahar Pe'er (, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player. Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the International Tennis Federation, ITF circuit in her career ...
. Watson qualified for the Rogers Cup, making it to the third round where she was defeated by eighth seed Victoria Azarenka. She then qualifyed for the Cincinnati Open, before losing to
Zhang Shuai Zhang Shuai ( zh , s = 张帅 , p = Zhāng Shuài ; ; born 21 January 1989) is a Chinese professional tennis player. She has a career-high doubles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 2, achieved in July 2022 and a singles ranking of No. 22 re ...
in the first round in three sets.


2015: Second career singles title

Watson won her second tour title at the Hobart International. On her way to it she did not drop a set, beating Madison Brengle in the final. During the Indian Wells Open, she recorded her first top-ten win with a two-set victory over world No. 8
Agnieszka Radwańska Agnieszka Roma Radwańska (; born 6 March 1989) is a Polish former professional tennis player and current coach. She was ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), in July 2012. Radwańska won 20 WTA Tour sing ...
to move into the fourth round for the first time, where she lost to
Carla Suárez Navarro Carla Suárez Navarro (; born 3 September 1988) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A former top 10 singles player, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 6 on 29 February 2016, and a best WTA doubles ranking of 11, o ...
in three sets. At Wimbledon, Watson made it into the third round for the second time in her career. She was then pitted against the world No. 1,
Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...
, and was two points away from winning, but lost in three sets in a match described by pundits as a "thriller". Following the match, Williams applauded Watson's efforts and went on to say that "she should have won the match". Watson's efforts at Wimbledon pushed her back up to world No. 55. Over the course of the rest of the season, her best result was a quarterfinal showing at the Hong Kong Open where she lost to former major champion
Samantha Stosur Samantha Jane Stosur (born 30 March 1984) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She is a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and ...
.


2016: Third career singles title, Wimbledon mixed-doubles champion

Watson represented her nation at the
Hopman Cup The Hopman Cup is an international tennis tournament that plays mixed teams (one male and one female) on a country-by-country basis. It was first held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, played on indoor hardcourt, before b ...
with Andy Murray. She was beaten by
Caroline Garcia Caroline Garcia (, born 16 October 1993) is a French professional tennis player. She had a career-high WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 4 in singles and world No. 2 in doubles. Garcia was the 2022 WTA Finals – Singles, 2022 WTA Finals champi ...
in the tie against France, but went on to win against
Daria Gavrilova Daria Saville (née Gavrilova; born 5 March 1994) is a Russian-born Australian professional tennis player. She competed under her maiden name until her marriage to Luke Saville in 2021. On 28 August 2017, she reached her best singles rank ...
and Sabine Lisicki. Great Britain almost reached the final against Ukraine, but the Australia team of Daria Gavrilova and
Nick Kyrgios Nicholas Hilmy Kyrgios ( ; ; born 27 April 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. Kyrgios has been ranked as high as world No. 13 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 24 October 2016. He has won se ...
won their tie against France, placing them ahead of Great Britain in the round-robin results. As the world No. 53, Watson then started her season at the Hobart International, attempting to defend her title. The tournament was interrupted by multiple rain delays, with Watson losing in the quarterfinals, playing twice in one day. At the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, she was narrowly beaten in the first round by Tímea Babos. In Mexico at the Monterrey Open, Watson defeated No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki and No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia on her way to the title, beating
Kirsten Flipkens Kirsten "Flipper" Flipkens (; born 10 January 1986) is a Belgian tennis coach and a former professional player. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 13 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Flipkens has won one singles title on the WTA T ...
in the championship match for her third WTA title. At the Miami Open, her strong form continued with two wins over higher-ranked players including world No. 22, Sloane Stephens, before a fourth round defeat by world No. 5, Simona Halep. On grass courts, Watson's second-round appearance at the Birmingham Classic with a win over
Camila Giorgi Camila Giorgi (; born 30 December 1991) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She had a career-high singles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 26, which was achieved on 22 October 2018. Giorgi was known for her aggressive style of pla ...
resulted in her re-entry into the world's top 50. At
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
, she won the mixed doubles title with
Henri Kontinen Henri Kontinen (; born 19 June 1990) is a Finnish former professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. After being forced to end his singles career at a young age due to injuries, having reached a career-high ranking of No ...
, defeating Robert Farah and
Anna-Lena Grönefeld Anna-Lena Grönefeld (also spelled Groenefeld; married name Herzgerodt; born 4 June 1985) is a German former professional tennis player. Competing as a professional from 2003 until 2019, she won one singles title on the WTA Tour, at the 2006 M ...
in the final. Watson represented
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
at the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
.


2017: Wimbledon 3rd round

Starting the year at the
Hopman Cup The Hopman Cup is an international tennis tournament that plays mixed teams (one male and one female) on a country-by-country basis. It was first held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, played on indoor hardcourt, before b ...
partnered with Daniel Evans, the duo were knocked out in the group stages, between them winning only one of nine matches. In Melbourne at the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, Watson beat seeded Samantha Stosur to get through to the second round.  She was the Europe/Africa Zone Group I 2017 winner of the ''Fed Cup Heart Award'', which is awarded for commitment to their players
team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...
and the Fed Cup competition. Watson was runner-up at the ITF event of Surbiton and reached
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...
semifinals, defeating top-10 player Dominika Cibulková in the second round, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third and Barbora Strýcová in the quarterfinals, before falling to Caroline Wozniacki. At
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
, she defeated 18th seed Anastasija Sevastova in the second round before bowing out against Victoria Azarenka in three sets.


2018: Loss of form, doubles quarterfinal at Wimbledon

A first round defeat at the
Prague Open In tennis, Prague Open may refer to: * Prague Open (1987–1999) * 1992 HTC Prague Open, HTC Prague Open, held only in 1992 * BVV Prague Open (1993–1994) * I.ČLTK Prague Open, Advantage Cars Prague Open * WTA Prague Open, Livesport Prague Open * ...
in April to Anna Karolína Schmiedlová was Watson's eighth consecutive loss on the WTA Tour. She finally snapped her losing streak when she defeated Kateryna Bondarenko in the first round of the Nuremberg Cup at the end of May to record her first win in four months. As the top seed, Watson lost in the first round of the Surbiton Trophy to world No. 184, Gabriella Taylor. and went on to fail to win a match during the grass-court season. Watson was docked a point for swearing as she and
Tatjana Maria Tatjana Maria (née Malek; born 8 August 1987) is a German professional tennis player. In January 2024 she reached her career-best singles ranking of world No. 42, and in June 2016, she peaked at No. 54 in the doubles rankings. She has won four ...
lost to Katerina Siniaková and
Barbora Krejčíková Barbora Krejčíková (; born 18 December 1995) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles by the Wome ...
in the doubles quarterfinals in
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
. At San Jose she beat
Claire Liu Claire Liu (born May 25, 2000) is an American professional tennis player. On 30 January 2023, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 52. Liu has won one singles title and one doubles title on the WTA Challenger Tour as well ...
before succumbing to
Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American inactive tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA for 11 wee ...
. Watson showed signs of form when she reached the final of an ITF event in Canada, before losing to Misaki Doi. She carried this form into the US Open qualifying where she won three successive matches to reach the main draw. However, Watson was unable to get her first main-draw win in New York as she lost in three sets to
Ekaterina Makarova Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova (; ; born 7 June 1988) is a Russian former professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, and world No. 8 in singles. She is a four-time Gra ...
. Watson reached the semifinals in Quebec, but lost in a deciding set tiebreak against Pauline Parmentier.


2019: Tianjin Open final

In October 2019, she reached the final of the
Tianjin Open The Tianjin Open was an International-level WTA tennis event held at the Tianjin International Tennis Center. The venue has a center court that seats 3,500 people, as well as 12 outdoor courts with lights, four indoor courts and a tennis club. I ...
, which she lost to Rebecca Peterson.


2020: Fourth WTA Tour title

Her 2020 season started well, reaching the semifinals as a qualifier in Hobart. On her way to the semifinals, Watson defeated top seed Elise Mertens, before losing to eventual champion
Elena Rybakina Elena Andreyevna Rybakina (born 17 June 1999) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked world No. 3 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA, making her the first Kazakhstani ...
. She took this form to the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, where she defeated
Kristýna Plíšková Kristýna Plíšková (; born 21 March 1992) is a Czech inactive professional tennis player. In her career, she won one singles title and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, with three titles on the WTA Challenger Tour (two in doubles). She a ...
in the opening round, before losing to Mertens. In the
Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
Play-offs, Watson represented Great Britain in their crunch tie away in Slovakia. She lost to Anna Karolína Schmiedlová in the opening tie, before beating Rebecca Sramkova on the following day. Great Britain eventually lost the tie 1–3. In February 2020, Watson played at the Mexican Open in Acapulco, winning her fourth career singles title. She defeated CoCo Vandeweghe, Kateryna Bondarenko, Christina McHale and
Wang Xiyu Wang Xiyu (; ; born 28 March 2001) is a Chinese professional tennis player. She reached a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 49 on 9 January 2023, and a best doubles ranking of No. 98 on 19 August 2024. Wang became junior world No. 1 on ...
to reach the final, where she overcame qualifier Leylah Fernandez in three sets, clinching the match on her tenth championship point. The win propelled Watson back into the world's top 50 (No. 49) for the first time since 2016. She participated in th
Battle of the Brits Team Tennis
event, held in London in late July, notching up a number of wins in singles and teaming up with
Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray (born 13 February 1986) is a British professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam (tennis), major doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men's doubles), a Davis Cup winne ...
in mixed doubles. When the WTA Tour resumed following the COVID-19 pause, Watson lost in the first round at Flushing Meadows to British No. 1 and world No. 13,
Johanna Konta Johanna Konta (born 17 May 1991) is a British-Australian former professional tennis player. Konta won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, along with eleven titles in singles and four in doubles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She was British No. ...
. Watson won th
Battle of the Brits Premier League
women's event, held in December 2020.


2021: Birmingham semifinal

The highlight of Watson's 2021 season was a semifinal appearance at the Birmingham Classic, defeating third seed
Donna Vekić Donna Vekić (; born 28 June 1996) is a Croatian professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 17 on 27 January 2025. Her best performance at a Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major is reachin ...
, 6–4, 6–2, to become just the third Brit player to reach the last four in the Birmingham tournament's 31-year history, following Anne Hobbs in 1984 and Jo Durie in 1992. She also took part in her third Olympics at the delayed Tokyo Games.


2022: Wimbledon fourth round, BJK Cup semifinalist

At the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
beating Mayar Sherif in a close three-set encounter, before losing to Zidanšek. She qualified for the main draw at Indian Wells where lost in the first round to
Tereza Martincová Tereza Martincová (; born 24 October 1994) is a Czech professional tennis player. Martincová has won one doubles title on the WTA Tour and four singles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 14 February 2022, she reached her best WTA singles ranking ...
. At the Miami Open, Watson broke a six-year losing streak at the event when she defeated
Arantxa Rus Arantxa Rus (; born 13 December 1990) is a Dutch professional tennis player. She won one WTA Tour singles title at the 2023 Hamburg European Open – Women's singles, 2023 Hamburg Open and four in doubles. Her biggest singles successes to date ...
in the first round where after a 3-hour 25 minute battle. She then overcame 15th seed
Elina Svitolina Elina Mykhailivna Svitolina (, ; born 12 September 1994) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. She reached career-high rankings of world No. 3 in singles and No. 108 in doubles by the WTA rankings, WTA. Svitolina has won 18 WTA Tour single ...
before losing her next match to 22nd seed
Belinda Bencic Belinda Bencic (; born 10 March 1997) is a Swiss professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 4 which she achieved in February 2020. Bencic has won nine career singles titles, including Tennis at the 2020 ...
. At the Nottingham Open, she defeated Katie Volynets in the first round despite needing a medical timeout towards the end of the first set. In the second round, however, she lost in straight sets to Viktoria Golubic. In her 12th attempt, Watson finally reached the fourth round at
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
defeating Kaja Juvan, before she lost to Jule Niemeier. At the close of the season she helped the Great Britain team reach the semifinals of the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup


2023: Nottingham semifinal

At the
2023 Australian Open The 2023 Australian Open was a Grand Slam level tennis tournament held at Melbourne Park, from 16–29 January 2023. It was the 111th edition of the Australian Open, the 55th in the Open Era, and the first major of the year. The tournament ...
, she went out in the first round of qualifying. It was the first year since 2012 that she did not play the main draw in Melbourne. She reached her first WTA Tour quarterfinal in almost two years at
Hua Hin Hua Hin (, ) is one of eight districts (''amphoe'') of Prachuap Khiri Khan province in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula in Thailand. Its seat of government, also named Hua Hin, is a beach resort town. The district's population was estim ...
with wins over second seed
Yulia Putintseva Yulia Antonovna Putintseva (, ; born 7 January 1995) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20 on 27 January 2025 and a doubles ranking of No. 76 on 17 March 2025. Puti ...
and Han Na-lae. She lost in the last eight to seventh seed Wang Xinyu. Watson made it through qualifying at the Austin Open where she defeated Danka Kovinić in the first round, before losing to fifth seed
Sloane Stephens Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She has achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 3 by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Stephens has won eight WTA Tour-level singles titles, including the 2 ...
. At the 2023 Nottingham Open, she made her first tour semifinal since 2021 with wins over Jule Niemeier, Tatjana Maria and Viktorija Golubic. Her run was ended by eventual champion Katie Boulter.


2024: Fourth Olympics and doubles quarterfinal

After being given a wildcard entry, Watson lost to Greet Minnen in the first round at
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
. She was selected to play doubles alongside Katie Boulter at the
2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...
which was her fourth appearance at the Games. The pair reached the quarterfinals, defeating sixth seeded Brazilian duo Beatriz Haddad Maia and Luisa Stefani in the second round, before losing to third seeds and eventual gold medalists,
Sara Errani Sara Errani (; born 29 April 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. Errani is one of only seven women who have completed a career Grand Slam (tennis)#Golden Slam, Golden Slam in doubles. She is an Olympic Games gold medalist, a former ...
and Jasmine Paolini from Italy. Watson went out in the second qualifying round for the US Open, losing in straight sets to
Aliaksandra Sasnovich Aliaksandra Aliaksandraŭna Sasnovich (born 22 March 1994) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She achieved her best singles ranking of world No. 29 on 19 September 2022, and peaked at No. 39 in the WTA doubles rankings on 23 August 2021 ...
. Watson qualified for the newly upgraded WTA 500 Korea Open, defeating Ku Yeon-woo in the final round of the qualifying competition. She overcame
Lu Jiajing Lu Jiajing (; ; born 18 November 1989) is a Chinese tennis player. On 18 March 2019, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 162. On 29 June 2015, she peaked at No. 139 in the doubles rankings. Lu has won 18 titles in singles ...
in the first round to record only her third main draw singles win of the season. This was her twelfth win in fourteen singles matche
180
Watson lost in the second round to Marta Kostyuk. At the Billie Jean King Cup finals in November, Watson and Olivia Nicholls lost to Viktória Hrunčáková and Tereza Mihalikova in the decivisve doubles match as Great Britain were eliminated in the semifinals by Slovakia.


2025: Puerto Vallarta semifinal

Watson defeated Lola Radivojević to reach the second qualifying round at the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, where she was eliminated by Varvara Lepchenko. In March at the WTA 125 Puerto Vallarta Open, Watson overcame Whitney Osuigwe, sixth seed
Sara Sorribes Tormo Sara Sorribes Tormo (; born 8 October 1996) is a Spanish professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high singles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 32 on 7 February 2022 and No. 17 in doubles on 6 May 2024. She has won two singles titl ...
and Marina Stakusic to reach the semifinals, where she lost to Linda Fruhvirtová. Watson lost to Daria Saville in the first round of qualifying at the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
. In June, she qualified for the main-draw at the grass-court
Queen's Club Championships The Queen's Club Championships is an annual tournament for men's and women’s tennis, held on grass courts at the Queen's Club in West Kensington, London. The event is part of the ATP Tour 500 series on the Association of Tennis Professionals, ...
in London and defeated world No.27
Yulia Putintseva Yulia Antonovna Putintseva (, ; born 7 January 1995) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20 on 27 January 2025 and a doubles ranking of No. 76 on 17 March 2025. Puti ...
to reach the second round, where she lost to fourth seed
Elena Rybakina Elena Andreyevna Rybakina (born 17 June 1999) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked world No. 3 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA, making her the first Kazakhstani ...
.


Playing style

Watson is right-handed and plays with a two-handed
backhand The backhand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and pickleball, where the back of the hand precedes the palm when swinging the racket. Except in the phrase ''backhand volley'', the term refers to a groundstr ...
. Her game is often likened to that of
Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (, ; born 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 209 weeks ( fifth-most of all time) and as the world No. ...
and she has been praised by
Nick Bollettieri Nicholas James Bollettieri (July 31, 1931 – December 4, 2022) was an American tennis coach. He pioneered the concept of a tennis boarding school, and helped develop many leading tennis players during the past decades, including Andre Agassi, J ...
for her "amazing footwork". Her on-court intelligence, court sense and timing have been other talking points about her game. According to Nigel Sears, head of women's coaching at the
Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man founded in 1888. The LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. The organization believes tennis can provide ...
, Watson possesses "a complete game", with variety including a consistent one-handed
backhand The backhand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and pickleball, where the back of the hand precedes the palm when swinging the racket. Except in the phrase ''backhand volley'', the term refers to a groundstr ...
slice, volleys and angles. Her game has been described as similar to ATP player
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (; born 17 April 1985) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 5 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he achieved in February 2012. Tsonga won 18 singles titles on th ...
due to her "big serve" and athleticism. Upon Watson reaching the 2011 French Open second round,
Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...
commented "When I saw her for the first time, I thought she was good. I like the way she moves on the court. She's very balanced". Bollettieri stated that Watson's "game is based on great movement, but she's not afraid to whack the ball. She's not easy to beat. She has very good ground strokes, though she can over-hit and strike the ball a little too flat at times".


Playing equipment

In 2011, Watson used the Dunlop Biomimetic 300 Tour tennis racquet, and has also played with, and endorsed, the Dunlop Srixon CX 200 LS. Since the end of 2020, Watson has started to use the Babolat Pure Strike racquet, that she used in 2016 and 2017 as well.


Personal life

From 2016 to 2018, Watson was in a relationship with fellow tennis player
Lloyd Glasspool Lloyd Glasspool (born 19 November 1993) is a British professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He has a career-high doubles ranking of No. 7 reached in June 2023 and a singles ranking of No. 282 reached in July 2016. Glasspool has w ...
. Between 2019 and 2022, she was in a relationship with Yeovil Town and
Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district of Lancashire, England, on Morecambe Bay, part of the Irish Sea. In 2011 the parish had a population of 34,768. Name The first use of the name was by John Whit ...
footballer Courtney Duffus. As of August 2024, Watson was in a relationship with footballer Shaun Rooney.


Career statistics


Grand Slam performance timelines


Singles


Doubles


Mixed doubles


Grand Slam tournament finals


Mixed doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Heather 1992 births Living people Tennis players from Bradenton, Florida British expatriate tennis players in the United States British people of Papua New Guinean descent British female tennis players Guernsey tennis players Guernsey sportswomen Tennis players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games US Open (tennis) junior champions Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic tennis players for Great Britain Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles Wimbledon champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Commonwealth Games competitors for Guernsey Hopman Cup competitors People from Saint Peter Port Tennis players at the 2024 Summer Olympics 21st-century British sportswomen