WTA teen brigade sweeping the 2013 French Open

It was the match on Wednesday evening which finished in near darkness that caught the attention of many tennis aficionados around the world. It had ripping winners, superb defensive skills and a bit of drama – everything to illuminate Court 7 and keep fans engaged.

What stood out was the fact that this was an 18-year-old fighting against a 19-year-old portending what was to come in future WTA battles. 19-year-old Monica Puig of Puerto Rico, who counts eminent singer Ricky Martin amongst her fans, was showing her indomitable spirit against one of the fastest-rising and most talked about teens, American Madison Keys, who wouldn’t let go of it that easily.

In the end, the 86th ranked Monica Puig, who had upset Nadia Petrova, pulled out the grinding win over the 58th ranked teen in straight sets. But the display was amazing, even though raw and unsteady at times. Mixing up lobs when required, slicing at will and venturing near the net, Puig came back from breaks down in the second set to sail into the third round.

Puig and Keys are a part of a vivacious teen brigade in WTA that swept the main draw of the French Open. As many as 15 teenaged girls entered the main draw of the second Slam of the year. They are hungry, full of zeal and ready to test themselves against the world’s best. Many of them have had prolific records at junior Grand Slams and are trying to translate that success on the senior circuit.

Monica Puig herself had been a runner-up twice – at the junior 2011 Australian Open and the junior 2011 French Open. She had caught fire right before making her Grand Slam debut at the French Open by reaching the Oeiras quarter-finals. Madison Keys, who plays an explosive game, has been handpicked as one of America’s next best hopes. She validated the expert views by reaching two quarter-finals this year – Sydney and Charleston.

Amongst the others, World no. 69 Jana Cepelova is one Slovak player to watch out for. She turned 20 on Wednesday and was one of those 11 teens sitting pretty in the second round before she bowed out to Angelique Kerber. She had captured the 2010 Australian Open girls doubles title with Chantal Škamlová and had been slowly proving her worth when she entered the Wimbledon third round last year.

Girls like Annika Beck and Eugenie Bouchard have been taking the big leap from last year’s junior glory to this year’s senior success. Bouchard delighted her nation with Canada’s first ever major title of any kind when she captured the junior Wimbledon crown last year. Quickly rising to become the Canadian No. 1, the 19-year-old currently holds the 77th position in the rankings.

British No. 1 Laura Robson’s best friend, Bouchard, lovingly called Genie, is an effervescent girl who swooned the world with her moves in a Gangnam style video with her pal. She enjoyed a recent surge of form by fighting into the Strasbourg semi-finals and in her Roland Garros second round, will be facing the superstar who designed her Nike attire – Maria Sharapova.

Adding to the bevy of rising stars from Germany, 19-year-old Annika Beck showed her mastery over red clay last year by becoming the queen of Roland Garros in the junior section. This year, the World No. 62 reached the French Open second round, where she had a tough hurdle in Victoria Azarenka. She had been in the Katowice semi-finals this season and brought all that confidence against the Belarusian. She lost in straight sets, but not before showing Azarenka a glimpse of the future star she can be.

The girl Beck beat in her junior French Open final last year, No. 150 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, herself exhibited maturity to show Belgian Yanina Wickmayer the door. This was a Grand Slam main draw debut for the 18-year-old Slovak and her campaign was ended by the talented American Jamie Hampton, but this will surely give her loads of confidence.

Ashleigh Barty is another youngster making confident strides after her thunderous doubles performances at the year’s first Slam. Junior Wimbledon champion in 2011, Barty just turned 17 this April and she already is a Grand Slam doubles runner-up, which she achieved in Melbourne with Casey Dellacqua. The 185th ranked Aussie followed up her Slam final appearance with a last-eight showing in Kuala Lumpur and set up a second round meeting with Maria Kirilenko at the French capital this year.

Caroline Garcia almost made the headlines a couple of years back when she nearly ousted Maria Sharapova in the Roland Garros second round. Her sterling performance even got a certification from Andy Murray as the future No. 1. With a 114 ranking, the 19-year-old is a diligent girl coming from the French talent reserve and her run was ended in the second round this year by Serena Williams.

18-year-old Ukrainian Elina Svitolina is another fledgling talent gradually climbing up the ladder. The 2010 junior French Open winner, who had made it to the Cali semi-finals back in February, holds the 90th position in the world rankings and she was stopped by Varvara Lepchenko in the French Open second round. Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, famous for getting embroiled into controversies, was the 2010 US Open runner-up and she has been making her ascendancy for quite some time. The 18-year-old World No. 98 reached the Brussels pre-quarterfinals and followed it up by a second round loss to the accomplished clay-courter, Sara Errani, on the Parisian terre battue.

That brings us to Garbine Muguruza, who has been holding the fort against some prominent players on the Tour for quite some time. Perched at No. 72 in the rankings, the Spanish 19-year-old continued her winning spree at Miami by ousting Caroline Wozniacki and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. That was her second consecutive pre-quarterfinal appearance after Indian Wells a fortnight earlier. Muguruza, who is scheduled to have an ankle surgery post-Wimbledon, lost to the in-form Jelena Jankovic in the second round in Paris.

Some of the gifted young girls, however, were not so successful as the 2011 girls US Open winner Grace Min, 2012 Tashkent runner-up Donna Vekic and Lauren Davis, who made it to two quarter-finals this season, all had to bite the dust in the first round. The biggest disappointment was the British 19 year-old Laura Robson. Having delivered stunning upsets at the last two Slams, she flattered to deceive in Paris.

It is indeed refreshing to see so many teenagers trying to carve out their niche in the competitive world of tennis. Does that mean this bunch of passionate and talented racquet-swinging teens will soon take over the rankings in an age dominated by the oldest World No. 1 called Serena Williams? That does not look quite feasible when tennis is witnessing a power era where hard-hitting skills, supreme fitness and mental fortitude are simultaneously required to sustain at the highest echelons. And it becomes more prominent when the Grand Slam record books show that since 19-year-old Maria Sharapova’s US Open success in 2006, not a single teen has excelled in a major final.

Definitely, maturity is the mantra for success for these teenaged girls arriving on the scene with dreams in their eyes. Talking about Eugenie Bouchard, Maria Sharapova explains it succinctly, “But when you’re at that point in your career, every month is a learning experience for someone her age and at that level. You have to respect anyone that’s across the net from you. There is a reason why they’re there, whether they have had a good week or a bad week or they’re not having a good month or they’re having a great month.”

Sharapova is right. The unflinching will to learn, develop and mature is what will take these industrious girls forward in their pursuit of eternal glory on the big stage.