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Katie O'Brien  Katie
enjoyed her
best season on the tour to date in 2006, reaching career highs in
singles (185) and doubles (175). She reached 25K finals in China and Madrid in the summer before winning her first title at that level in Nottingham. During a successful spell in the Far East she also made her first 50K final in China. Katie took up tennis at the age of 5 (sport is in the family as her father was a professional footballer and her elder siblings also play tennis) and was Britain's top junior before turning pro in 2004 at the age of 18. She also made her Wimbledon debut that year, losing in rd1 to the experienced Spaniard Maria Sanchez Lorenzo, having sat an A level exam earlier that day ! At the 2005 championships, she had the misfortune to be drawn against Kim Cljisters in rd1 but used the experience to spur herself on and finished the year strongly with good performances in Europe and the USA. Katie says that Wimbledon is her favourite place to play and hopes to break her duck there in 2007. Anne Keothavong  The
23 year old from Hackney enjoyed
a successful 2006 season which saw her reach a career high of 134 and
end the year in the world's top 150. Anne made four 25K finals and
played a major part in Britain reaching the world group playoffs in the
Fed Cup. Anne's parents are originally from Laos, they introduced her to tennis at the age of four. Anne was a top junior, winning the national championships for her age group several times. She turned pro in 2001, a year in which she reached the junior Wimbledon semi-finals. In 2004 she won her first grand slam match on the main tour at Wimbledon, defeating Australia's Nicole Pratt before losing to eventual champion Maria Sharapova. Unfortunately, a month later she suffered a career threatening knee injury which curtailed her season and she had to work her way back up again from the futures circuit in 2005. Anne's aim for 2007 is to break the world's top 100. She's currently without a coach after splitting from Colin Beecher in 2006. Melanie South  2006
was a
big breakthrough season for the 20 year old from Surrey as she
increased her world ranking by around 300 places to reach the world's
top 200. A purple patch of form in June and July saw her sensationally
defeat world no 14 Francesca Schiavone on her Wimbledon debut. Mel
continued that form in the post-Wimbledon 25Ks, reaching a semi-final
in Felixstowe and then heading to the Far East where she won her first
25K title in China. Successful partnerships with Katie O'Brien and
Rebecca Llewellyn led to her also reaching the doubles top 200.Mel's parents are both tennis coaches and she took up tennis at the age of 6. She turned pro in 2004 but that year she suffered tendon problems in her right knee and was forced to take 5 months off. She's currently coached by Lucie Ahl and her favourite surface is grass, where her serve and forceful groundstrokes are most effective. Mel's aim is to make the top 100 and she'll be looking for a good run of form in the first half of 2007 when she doesn't have too many points to defend. Check out Mel's official website: HERE Elena Baltacha  Born: 14th August 1983Birthplace: Kiev, Ukraine Lives in: Enfield, Middlesex Plays: Right-handed Coach: Alan Jones/Jo Durie Elena's breakthrough year was 2002. She made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, as wildcard ranked No. 295, and reached the 3rd round with an upset of No. 32 seed Coetzer before falling to No. 48 Likhovtseva. As a result of her explots at Wimbledon, she cracked the Top 200. She also won her maiden pro title at 25K Felixstowe with wins over No. 2 and No. 3 seeds and captured her second pro title at 25K Pamplona The former British No. 1 reached her highest world ranking in March 2005, when she was ranked 118 in the world. 2005 was perhaps her best year on the tour as she matched her best ever when she qualified for the Australian Open and reached the 3rd round beating Srebotnik and Cohen-Aloro along the way and eventually being downed by No.15 seed Farina Elia. In the same year she also won 25K Jersey. However, much of Elena's career so far has been plagued by injury and has held her back considerably. In 2002, she fell victim to illnesses including two bouts of tonsillitis, chicken pox and fatigue brought on by an ongoing liver complaint. In 2003 she underwent two liver biopsies and was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, and decided to take six months off to try and recover. Finally, in 2006 almost crippled by back pain, with sciatica running down from her hip to her ankle and with a prolapsed disc, she had to undergo keyhole surgery and intensive rehabilitation and has been making tentative progress. Elena comes from an extremely sporting family. Her father and brother used to play professional football and her father even represented the USSR whilst her mother Olga represented the USSR in thepentathlon and heptathlon at the Olympic Games. Elena on Wikipedia: HERE Amanda Keen  Born:
15th January
1978Lives: Wimbledon, Surrey Plays: Left-handed Favourite surface: Grass Age started tennis: 8 Coach: Martin Beim 2006 saw the renaissance of the tall, left-handed serve-volleyer. In 2005 Amanda quit the game after a dispiriting loss against Sesil Karantcheva at Wimbledon, in which she had match points, married her fiance and became an English teacher. However, in April, Amanda decided to return to professional tennis and enjoyed immediate success. In her first two tournaments back, she won a 10K in Bath and then reached the final of a 25K in Spain. More good results followed in the latter half of the year, including another 25K final in Nottingham and Amanda finished the year ranked 234, just 20 places off her career best. Amanda's mother is Christine Truman, a former Wimbledon finalist. She has coached Amanda until last year when a sponsorship deal enabled her to hire the services of Martin Beim. Amanda says that she has yet to fulfil her talent and feels that she can go much higher than her current career high ranking of 214. Sarah Borwell  Born:
20th
August 1979Lives: Middlesbrough Plays: Right-handed Favourite surface: Slowish outdoor hard Age started tennis: 5 Coach: Pete Russell Sarah took the collegiate route to professional tennis, gaining a degree in sports administration and marketing at the University of Houston before turning pro at the relatively late age of 23. In 2004, she joined forces with Pete Russell and trains with his squad, which also includes Richard Bloomfield. 2006 saw her claim her first senior title in Sheffield and she was on the way to winning her first 25K in Japan when she was forced to retire with a pulled stomach muscle whilst leading 3-0 in the first set of the final. Having made her Wimbledon debut in 2005, Sarah won her first grand slam match at the All England club in 2006, beating Poland's Marta Domachowska in 3 sets before losing to Ana Ivanovic. Check out Sarah's online blog: HERE Georgie Stoop  Born:
13th January 1988Lives: Royston, Hertfordshire Plays: Right-handed Favourite surface: Grass or outdoor hard Age started tennis: 4 Georgie is without doubt one of the most improved British players over the past year, increasing her world ranking by over 500 places to break the top 300. In the summer, she reached two 10K finals and then a superb run of form during the autumn saw her make a 25K semi in Jersey and then win her first 25K title down under. Georgie's success has been down to the hard work she's been putting in on and off court and now the teenager has her sights set on reaching the world's top 200 and making her debut at the All England Club in 2007. More profiles to follow soon, keep checking back for further updates |