King Ascends to Top 200

King Ascends to Top 200~~~
©Colette Lewis--

With friend, doubles partner and junior rival Alexa Glatch sidelined with an injury (see below), Vania King now vaults to the top of the list of U.S. favorites for the junior girls title at the Orange Bowl next month.

King has been on a tear since late August when she qualified for the U.S. Open main draw, beat a top 50 player in the first round, then reached the doubles final, pairing with Glatch, in the junior tournament.

In the $75,000 Tucson Challenger this past week, King reached her first pro circuit final, with her biggest win of the week the 6-4, 6-1 result over 55th ranked tour veteran (and doubles partner) Amy Frazier in the quarterfinals.

The sixteen-year-old from Long Beach raised her ranking forty points this week--to 162-- and won't need another qualifying wild card for her second Grand Slam, the 2006 Australian.

This story on Sunday's final from the Arizona Daily Star is a bit muddled, especially in the third paragraph. I finally figured out that if I substituted the word "match" for "event", I could make sense of it. Anyway, the reporter is probably correct in assuming that the ten matches took their toll. It's no surprise King is still learning to cope with the physical demands of the pro circuit. But the experience and confidence she's gained certainly make her an odds-on favorite for the next big junior tournament.