Meet Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva, the 15-year-old history maker from Brazil nicknamed after Aryna Sabalenka and making waves on WTA tour

Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva, a 15-year-old Brazilian player who is nicknamed after Aryna Sabalenka, has created history on the WTA Tour by winning her first-round match at the ongoing Sao Paulo Open.

Leme da Silva, playing at only her seventh professional event, created history by becoming the first player born in the 2010s to win a Main Tour-level match on the WTA Tour. She put together a splendid performance against Carolina Alves, winning 6-7 (0), 6-2, 6-0 over her fellow countrywoman.

In the match, the 15-year-old did not lose heart even after losing her first set tiebreaker without winning a point and being 1-2 down in the second set. Rather, she rallied back dominantly, not losing another game in the match from that point.

Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva's performance behind her serve was exemplary in the match as she hit six aces and won 84 percent of her first serve points. The 15-year-old is known by her nickname, 'Nana', and along with her strong serving performance, she has gotten the name of "Nanalenka", comparing the Brazilian youngster to the No. 1 player, Aryna Sabalenka, who has a big-serving style herself.

Before this event, Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva had played one more ITF event this year, in Sao Paulo, where she reached the second round as a qualifier, losing 4-6, 3-6 against Maria Kozyreva. At the Sao Paulo Open, she will now face a Top-100 player, Solana Sierra, in the second round.

Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva won a junior title this year

Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva had a major career milestone already this year, winning a J200 event in Asuncion, winning 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 over Candela Vasquez in the final. She also reached another final at a J300 event in Medellin, but could not get past Luna Maria Cinalli.

Barring the junior competitions, the 15-year-old also took part in all the Junior Grand Slams, with her best result coming at Wimbledon, where she reached the third round, losing to Mia Pohonkova.

Currently ranked 37 on the junior ITF rankings, Nauhany Vitoria Leme da Silva is slated to have a massive jump in the WTA rankings itself, as she is all poised to make her top-1000 debut. Her first-round win at the Sao Paulo Open helped her earn 30 points, and that saw her ranking jump by a massive 420 places, as she currently sits on World No. 786. If she wins her second-round match against Sierra, she will be within the top 650.

About the author

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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Edited by SAGNIK DATTA