When considering a debate revolving around the British tennis in general, Andy Murray and his brother Jamie are the ones who have been bearing the flag for years. But that's on men's tennis side only, a place where a young and ambitious Kyle Edmund aims to arrive.
When it comes to women's tennis, United Kingdom has been under the radar for years now Therefore, it may not come as a surprise the hype growing around Johanna Konta and her quest for glory.The lack of an alternative forced some voices to built an entire fortress around Jo Konta. She will turn 27 later this year in May and, up to this point, her achievements aren't worthy of the hype surrounding her.
The future won't bring any change
Currently ranked 12th in the world, Johanna Konta has previously achieved a career-high of world No. 4. It was the result of her probably having had her best season. Back in 2017, Konta was able to clinch the title in Miami. Later, in the summer, she made it into her second Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon only to lose to Venus Williams.
The No. 1 British female Tennis Player for years, Konta has no one to pass the torch to. Currently, there are only two players inside the top 100 WTA and Jo Konta is one of them. Heather Watson used to be a tennis young rising star but the injuries and lack of form threw her into the meanders of the top 100. Aged 25, Watson achieved a career-high of No.
38, but that was more than three years ago. Currently ranked 38th in the general rankings, she is yet to make a genuine breakthrough.
Jo Konta must press the reset button soon
Making an enthusiast run into the last four at Wimbledon last summer was the pinnacle of her carer. Since then, she has been struggling with form and lack of success.
Now, as the season is heading for the Sunshine Double she will have to defend many points. But first, she will try it one more time at a Premier event this week at Dubai.
Seeded seventh in Dubai, Konta had an early test as she got into Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (22 WTA) in the opening round where she scored a straight-set win.
The next round will bring in another Russian representative as Daria Kasatkina got past Agnieszka Radwanska.
Overall, the 26-year-old won three WTA titles up to this point in her career. Her showcase consists of two Premier titles, the first one at Stanford (2016) and the second one at Sydney (2017). Her biggest title came last year in Miami (Premier Mandatory) after a final against Caroline Wozniacki. All her three titles were captured on outdoor hard surfaces.
Konta is what people call as being a late bloomer. But she has benefited greatly from an extended media coverage and a constant focus on her persona. Still, she cannot be put inside the top players' boxes due to a lack of success in the biggest WTA events.
