Struggling with a wrist injury, Catherine Bellis sets to miss Hawaii Open
The 19-year-old Catherine Bellis has been among the most promising players of the new generation, finishing 2014 as the year-end number 1 junior and also as the youngest top-100 player on the WTA list in 2016 and in the top-50 in 2017! Back in October 2014, CiCi won two professional titles in back-to-back weeks, followed by another one in 2015 and an even better 2016 season when she had a breakthrough run that propelled her inside the top-100. After reaching the final on the ITF level in Surprise, Bellis had a chance to make her debut in Miami before winning her fourth pro crown in June, backed by the quarter-final run at the WTA event in Stanford where she lost to Venus Williams.
The best was yet to come at the US Open, qualifying for the main draw and reaching the third round where she lost to Angelique Kerber, earning valuable points and closing the season with 14 straight ITF wins to wrap up the year in the top-100. The start of 2017 season was not that good as CiCi had to skip the entire Australian swing due to a left leg injury, returning in Doha and reaching the quarters in Dubai after a top-five win over Agnieszka Radwanska. After an opening round loss at Indian Wells and Monterrey, Bellis found her form on clay, reaching the third round of the Roland Garros before switching her focus to grass, advancing into the last four at Mallorca.
In Stanford, CiCi demolished Petra Kvitova for another semi-final run but she lost the last five matches of the season, struggling with injuries and playing just two tournaments after the US Open. Nonetheless, Bellis was named the WTA Newcomer of the Year as the youngest player in the top-50 and she was ready to make another strong run in 2018. The youngster reached the quarter-final in Doha but there were some dark clouds gathering over her and threatening to halt her outstanding progress in the last couple of years. CiCi was unable to play at her best at Indian Wells and Miami, winning just three games against Victoria Azarenka at the start of Miami and not playing ever since, feeling the pain in the right wrist that sidelined her from the court in the last nine months.
Unable to recover without some more drastic moves, Bellic decided to undergo a surgery at the end of June and she had to go with another one in order to resolve the problems and start competing again. At the end of October, CiCi informed her fans she is finally ready to hit the ball again and it was planned for her to make a return at the Hawaii Open in a few days time. Unfortunately, Bellis was forced to withdraw from this event and it is uncertain when we will see her on the court again and will she be able to travel to Australia and play some matches in January. CiCi is currently ranked 129th and we will follow the news and updates from this outstanding young girl who is doing her best in order to hit the court again and start competing.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2EwD9Z1
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