The Wait For New Young Talent Is Over!

On Sunday watched the Nottingham challenge finals played on grass. First Zemlja beating Beck and then the Womens final. Surprised to discover that one of the finalists Ashleigh Barty was just 16. She was introduced as last years junior Wimbledon champion and we were told that she had won a smaller grass tounament in Australia. This was her first senior tournament at this leval and she got to the final beating both the number 2 and 3 seeds.

We were very impressed with what we saw. Her shots had pace and accuracy and she had a great serve. She wasn't just a baseliner as she was quick to get upto the net and got herself out of some tricky situations with a couple of beautifully placed lobs. She appeared to have a nice calm attitude too. Her opponant a much more experienced player Malek looked flummoxed as she lost 6-1 6-1. We even thought Barty could have given Zemlja or Beck a good game.

Have just discoverd Barty has been given a wild card for Wimbledon. The wait for a new young talent may be over?

Good to hear that Barty played so well, but as for her being "a new young talent," only time will tell of course so we shall to wait & see

Much was expected of Laura Robson after her own Junior Wimbledon a few years back but - whilst still very young - she's not yet inside top 100.

Laura has certainly shot up height wise. Was amazed to see that she's almost six foot ...!!

Laura will be a top 100 player when the WTA ranking list is published next week - aged 18 years and 5 months. Hopefully she can make as rapid a rise to the top as Murray - probably not.

Good that she's about to crack the 100 and fingers crossed she pushes on from there.

As quickly as Murray ...? That I doubt.

But then what do I know

You do know Barty had a wildcard into the US Open, Australian Open and French Open? She actually lost to Kvitova at Roland Garros.

Interestingly, she was Robson's doubles partner at the AO.

She won two 25k events in Australia at the start of the year and got to the final in another. Although, those events tend to be where players go for some cheap points, so although impressive, this win in far more so.

Hope you're joking about giving the men's finalists a good game though. That's a bit silly.

No I didn't know about RG. Some would say tough getting Kvitova in first round but I'm sure it would be fun for such a young player. Checked and she only turned 16 on 24th April. Also forgot to mention she won the doubles in Nottingham too (not sure who she was playing with).

She played with Sally Peers, the girl who got to the quarter finals of the Australian Open partnering Laura Robson in 2010.

Must be all good mates.

hawkeye there is also new young talent in the womens game, Kvitova was relativly unheard of last year before she won Wimbledon, womens tennis does well at developing junior players into top 10 players, mens tennis is really far behind in comparison. I reckon Luke Saville and Kyle Edmund could be exceptional players on the mens tour, Kyle defeated Gimeno-Traver in qualifying, who is a regular in slam draws!

Josiah Maiestas. I saw a bit of Kyle Edmund too in Nottingham. He lost to (is it Josh) Goodall in an early round. Maybe he was having an off day but he didn't stand out. Unlike Barty. She did look really good. Like others have said it is early days.

I didn't notice until I read this that 16 year old Ashleigh Barty played in the Hopman Cup and from this account is coming along nicely.

Jason Stoltenberg, the coach of 16-year-old Ashleigh Barty, tells The Australian that despite her young age, it was a good move to have her play Hopman Cup against elite pro competition. Barty upset former Roland Garros winner Francesca Schiavone and also defeated Andrea Petkovic when the German retired with an injury. The Aussie also played respectably in a loss to former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, and took part in a mixed doubles match (with Bernard Tomic) against Ivanovic and Novak Djokovic. Barty has received a wild card into the main draw of the Australian Open.

“I think it is going to do her the world of good,” Stoltenberg said. “She can go there now and if she plays on a big court, it will be like, ‘I have just played in front of 14,500 people against the best male player in the world and one of the best women’, so I think she is going to walk out of here with a spring in her step. [Her forehand] is her big shot and I think her serve, for someone that size, is going to be quite good. … The good thing is that there is a lot of variety in her game and she is pretty tough under pressure and she loves to compete, so there is a lot of upside.”

http://www.tennis.com/news/2013/01/coach-bartys-hopman-cup-experience-will-pay/45893/#.UOtU6ayy5QQ

There is definitely "a lot of upside" as unlike some of the so called male "young" hopefuls in their mid twenties she is still a relative baby but already showing such potential. I feel quite pleased that I noticed how good she was last year...