In a previous article, I discussed how college tennis was a new pathway to the ATP tour for young American talent. That pattern has proved to be consistent for the women's side of the game, as the WTA tour is seeing a new class of Americans who have played on the DI courts in the past few years.
#1: McCartney Kessler
The 24-year-old from Calhoun, Georgia is playing the best tennis of her life. Currently sitting at a career high #120 in the rankings and is the most recent young American to taste success on the tour. Kessler started her career at the University of Florida back in the fall of 2017 and stayed in a Gator uniform for five seasons. In her five-year career, she amassed a total of 106 singles wins and 75 doubles wins. She earned the #1 singles spot in Gainesville in her junior season and went 5-3 due to the shortened Covid season. In her first full season on the Gators roster, McCartney went 18-3 and was awarded a First Team All-SEC selection. She then came back for one last season as a graduate student and went 19-7 and had a 13-match winning streak mid-season. At the end of her graduate season, Kessler won another First Team All-SEC award and SEC Player of the Year. She then decided it was time to try her talent at the pro ranks.
She ended the 2022 professional season at #942 due to half the season being taken up by college tennis. 2023 was her first full season and tour, and she went 34-21 with a W60 title in Rome, Georgia. This skyrocketed her ranking to #221 by year-end. McCartney has continued this success into the new season as she is already 13-3 on the season. In the first week of February, she picked up her second title, but this time a W75. Kessler then took two weeks off before entering the qualifications for a Challenger event in Puerto Vallarta. Kessler went on to lose in the qualifying round in a tight 3-set match and was granted a lucky loser spot in the tournament after another player's withdrawal. That lucky loser spot proved to be a crucial opportunity for McCartney as she raced into the final without dropping a set, and then beat Talyah Preston in the final 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 to lift the biggest trophy of her career this past Sunday. If Mccartney Kessler keeps up this level, she can find herself cracking the top 100 of the WTA rankings in a few weeks.
#2: Emma Navarro
The University of Virginia alum is having a standout young career already at the age of 22. Navarro ended the 2023 season at #32 and is currently up to #26. The #4 American, who has a career-high of 23, has arguably slipped through the cracks of the women's game. It's hard to catch a lot of headlines when the three Americans before you are international stars Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and Madison Keys.
Navarro had her freshman season in a Cavaliers uniform in 2020-21. Emma had arguably the best college tennis freshman season of all time, as she went 25-1 in singles. She also won the 2021 NCAA Singles Championship, becoming only the second winner in Virginia history. That championship win was also revenge for the one loss she had on the season. In the 21st season, Navarro picked up the #1 ITA spot, ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC First Team, and the ITA National Freshman of the Year. The 2022 season was no different, as she finished #2 in the ITA rankings after a 26-2 campaign that also earned her a spot as an ITA Singles All-American.
While playing in Charlottesville, Navarro also played in lower-level professional tournaments and won a W25 in Orlando on clay in 2021 and a W60 on clay in Liepaja Estonia in 2022. That is extremely impressive considering most of her training and all college matches are played on hard courts. 2023 was a breakout season for Navarro, as an astounding 64-24 leapfrogged her from 149 in the rankings to the top 40. 2024 has fared well so far, as Emma is already 13-4 on the season and collected her first main tour title in Hobart, Australia, leading up to the Australian Open. Navarro will be looking to crack the top 20 of the world rankings in the upcoming sunshine double of Indian Wells and Miami Masters.
Image Credit: @UVAWomensTennis:X / Florida Gators
