By Bill Simons
She’s big.
She has a big body, a big smile, a big game, and now some big wins, and you would think Taylor Townsend has a very big future.
Never mind that she’s just 18, and before Paris—stuck with an unimpressive No. 205 ranking—had won only one match in her career on the regular circuit. Things change fast. After her wins over Vania King and France’s best, Alize Cornet, Townsend was the toast of this town.
But while her storming of Paris showed us a lot, her mini-run opened up a slew of big questions about American tennis’ next big hope.
WHAT IF SHE COULD HAVE STEPPED UP? In the third round, Townsend came out and played some shaky ball, promptly losing the first set against the Spanish baseliner and No. 14 seed Carla Suarez Navarro, who has a wondrous backhand. Early in the second set, Townsend had a golden opportunity to change the nature of the match. But she shanked a makable forehand on break point in one of Suarez Navarro’s service games, and promptly squandered more four break points in the next. Suarez Navarro won 6-2, 6-2.
Afterward, Townsend’s co-coach Kamau Murray said, “You have to protect your opportunities. She had a little too much time to think. The first step in tennis is to get into Grand Slams, and the next stage is to step up. The top seeds had lost here. There was an opportunity.”
Townsend’s other coach, Zina Garrison, spoke of the pressure the teen was under: “It’s a little tough when one day nobody knows you and then the next day everyone does.” Taylor herself said, “Going from one level to the next is not an easy task.” But just imagine if she had converted one of those break points—the compass would have tilted a bit.
JUST HOW UNIQUE IS TT? Let us count the ways. She’s a lefty, with a stout physique unlike any other player. She has two coaches and trains in two not-so-fancy rust belt centers. She possesses surprising quickness, an uncanny court sense, and a sweet touch. She leans into her groundies and delivers awesome power, and—get this—she is the first player in eons who plays serve-and-volley ball, even on clay. It’s so much fun seeing her charging the net. She even starts her warmups there.
And, shock of shocks, Townsend actually likes the media. Is she unique? Heck yes—she’s the most refreshing entrant into this game in years.
IS SHE FOR REAL? It’s nice to make a splash. What’s not to love about sparkling Cinderella stories? But often tennis’ wretched and powerful stepmother, the brutal grind of the tour, steps in. Tennis rarely lies, rankings speak loud, ruthless reality checks are a constant. Just ask earlier darlings like Melanie Oudin or even Townsend’s friend, Donald Young.
Still Garrison states the obvious, “She has nowhere to go but up. It was a big thing for her to get here in the first place [Townsend emerged from a fierce playoff system in which she had to win two tournaments, including two singles and two doubles matches in one day] and then to win two matches in her first Grand Slam.”
Taylor has a fab resume: good strokes, good feet, good hands, good mind and tennis IQ, ambition, a great junior history, and special coaches. She reminds some of a the old lefty power ballers, such as France’s Henri LeConte and Chilean Marcelo Rios (minus the ‘tude.)
Taylor told IT, “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel in my gut, in my heart, that I could do this … There are a lot of things that I miss about home … My phone [here] doesn’t work … But I would rather be here grinding and … going through these ups and downs … So, no I believe 100% in myself that I can do great things. But it’s a matter of time. I have to trust the process … it is a long process, it doesn’t happen overnight. But I see that, being here, I believe … I can compete on this level … I want to see how far I can go. So I’m excited, and I do think that I can do it. Just keep looking out.”
CAN SHE CHANGE THE GAME? Townsend and her camp have a refreshing “big picture” perspective. Already, Taylor speaks of wanting to be a game changer. Lest we repeat, it would be a startling breakthrough if such a full-figured woman became a top champion. What a role model! If she succeeds big time with her serve-and-volley game, it would shake up the stranglehold the power baseline style has long had on the woman’s game. Garrison repeatedly says Taylor is an “old school player in a new age.”
Plus, Townsend’s development is based on a kind of open “It takes a village” mentality. Garrison and Murray are her main coaches, but she’s been tutored at length by Billie Jean King (who spoke with her on the phone for 45 minutes the other day), tennis whiz John Wilkerson, and former pro Lori McNeil, among others.
Garrison bristles at the proprietary, possessive mindset of some coaches and the concept that all prospects should go through the same system at certain training centers. American tennis would be far better off, she argues, “if we just allow coaches from all over to contribute. We have great coaches around our country … There are different styles out there.”
Garrison also talks of the importance of giving back, and a collaborative approach among coache. She says Taylor “wants young people to look at her and say they want to play all aspects of the game.”
WHAT DOES IT SAY ABOUT AMERICAN PLAYERS AND COACHES THAT THERE HAVE BEEN VIRTUALLY NO TOP-LEVEL AMERICAN SERVE-AND-VOLLEYERS? Is the preeminence of the power baseline game just because of the new strings and rackets, the courts and balls—in other words, is it a worldwide trend? Or does it say something about a kind of unimaginative group-think approach?
WHAT ABOUT BODY TYPE? Garrison says she tells Townsend, “‘This is your body, this will be your body, embrace it.'” Still some wonder, should she lose weight? Should she even try? Does it matter, and will she inspire other big kids to give the sport a try? Does everyone have to look like Maria Sharapova?
HAS TAYLOR GREATLY IMPROVED? Townsend has had great junior results, but little experience on the main tour. In Indian Wells this year, she won her first main tour match and then took a set off eventual champion Flavia Pennetta in the next round. Still, some claim she has improved greatly. Taylor says, “I have just been working a lot on my mental game … [and] learned how to play the game … how to be a student of the game and … embrace my strengths and strengthen my weaknesses … just to trust myself. I have a lot of weapons and gifts and talents that not many people have, that I have to believe in. Just trust it. That’s going to separate me from a lot of people.
WHAT IS HER TAKE AWAY FROM PARIS? To be more patient. Sometimes it’s important just to get the ball in play. Garrison says Taylor needs to cool it with what she calls her “all-or-nothing ESPN shots.” Others feel she has to use her backhand slice more, particularly on the return of serve.
CAN SHE DO EVEN BETTER AT WIMBLEDON? Grass suits Townsend’s style, and she reached last year’s junior final. But she has to go through qualifying or maybe get a wild card. If she actually did get a wild card, she says, “I would pass out right right now … wow! Wimbledon is like my favorite tournament, I swear, I love the grass … the tournament, the atmosphere. That would mean the world to me … Oh my God, I’ll probably cry.”
ARE MATCHING INITIALS A GOOD-LUCK CHARM? Will TT or SS—Taylor or Sloane Stephens—be the next American woman not named Williams to win Wimbledon one day? (Don’t forget about Madison Keys.)
COULD HER THIRD-ROUND LOSS ACTUALLY BE A BLESSING IN DISGUISE? Top developmental coaches stress the importance of taking one step at a time. And many a young highly-hyped prospect hasn’t progressed as some had hoped. Early fame is a dicey deal. The hype machine can eat you up and spit you out. So you might say, “Okay, Taylor had a somewhat soft launch.” Reaching the third round is different from going deep into the second week.
But Garrison will have nothing to do with any soft, touchy-feely psycho-babble. “I’m a tough customer,” she says. “All I see are the misses. Still, I want her to take the positives from this tournament.” So do a billion American tennis fans—starved for a new compelling story line—who see a raw but bright young potential phenom
Was a star born this week in Paris? Who knows? But we do know that the big girl with the big game has dazzling talent, a. winning personality, a thoughtful perspective, and a good heart. And all of that is pretty great news.
