Talented American Kristie Ahn is feeling “pretty sweet” after reaching the first WTA quarter-final of her career. She defeated Poland’s Magda Linette 6-3, 6-1 to record her fourth victory on the grass courts of Nottingham.
The 24-year-old – who had never played on a grass court before this year – has now racked up a handful of victories at the Nottingham Tennis Centre after coming through qualifying. Her scalps in qualification were French Open Mixed Doubles champion Gabriela Dabrowski and the first player born in this millennium to play in a Grand Slam Destanee Aiava.
“I’ve never stepped on a grass court ever”
Ahn then wasted little time in following up those straight set victories in her opening round. This time it was hot prospect Naomi Osaka who was dispatched 6-1, 6-1. Four matches, four victories. Eight sets won, no sets lost. If this is the kind of performances Ahn can produce on the surface then why has she not graced it sooner?
In her 1st tour-level tourney on grass, American qualifier @kristieahn takes out [8] Naomi Osaka 61 61 in Nottingham for her 1st top-60 win!
— Parsa (@Parsa_Nemati) June 12, 2017
“When I was in juniors I always had school during the grass swing so I never came over to England,” she explains. “Then I went to college for four years so obviously didn’t have a chance. I would have been in last year but it was my first year on red clay so I decided I’m just going to have one new surface at a time. So I decided I’m just going to skip grass and play a couple of tournaments on red clay.”
“Disastrous”, chuckled a high-spirited Ahn when describing the decision to skip grass for red clay in 2016. “Worst plan ever so then I decided next year [2017] I’m going to play it. I had a decent red clay swing and then I was like alright, let’s go to the grass.”
While this may be her first foray on British soil, she got a brief taste of the grass earlier in the year in Mildura, Australia. “I’ve never stepped on a grass court ever so I thought I might as well embarrass myself on a 25k level. I didn’t have grass court shoes so I had to buy some and they were two sizes too big. It was fun though, it was a mixed tournament and I had some friends there so it was good vibes.”
Wearing oversized shoes and on a surface she had never played on, she made the semi-finals. Clearly there is something about the grass that has clicked with Kristie Ahn’s playing style.
“It’s definitely advantageous for my height”, she said. Ahn, who stands at 5″5, realised that on grass, “its a little more in my strike zone and I’ve been constructing points really well.”
So where has Kristie Ahn come from?
Kristie Ahn’s tennis interest was first sprung out of family outings to the park with her older brother. Among a group of family friends she found her first coach who worked with her and a few other children – although she admits in the early days they did more running around and playing baseball than they did focusing on tennis.
Aged just 16 came her first huge break. A wildcard into US Open qualifying which she fully capitalised on, progressing through three rounds into the main draw. Once there she faced the then world #6, Dinara Safina, who would win 6-3, 6-4.
“I just remember being fearless. At 16 you’re just carefree and you really don’t have that many problems going on apart from high school. It was fun – I got to play on Armstrong and I got to play Safina who was #6 in the world at the time. It was cool to see how I matched up against the best”.
Unlike many of her compatriots though, she did not leap headfirst into the professional circuit. Kristie Ahn opted for College. Stanford to be exact. There she studied Science Technology and Society – a combination of business and technology.
“It was a pretty obvious choice for me”, she says when asked why she chose this route. “Education comes first for my family and I also did well in the middle of high school so if I did turn pro that would have been the time but after that I didn’t do so well in tennis so it was pretty much for sure I’m going to school.
“I don’t regret it in the slightest bit – it was the four best years of my life. I wasn’t really loving tennis by the time I graduated high school so college was good because you get to be part of a team, you have 7 or 8 other girls who are just like you so it was really fun.”
You can take the girl outta Stanford, but you can’t take Stanford outta the girl. @StanfordWLax how do I look? ? pic.twitter.com/kU8uq6JOJJ
— Kristie Ahn (@kristieahn) October 8, 2015
Life after College
After graduating in 2014, the decision was made that the time was right to have a crack at the professional circuit. Moving to Florida however, away from all her Stanford friends in San Francisco, proved much harder than she initially thought.
“It was one of the toughest things. The first two years out of college are definitely the toughest because you go from having this massive support system as, not just a team, but as a school.
“Then I moved to Florida, dropped everything and didn’t know anyone and it was really sad. I would just watch Netflix and order in every night because I didn’t know anyone there. Motivation wise its much tougher to figure out why am I doing this?”
During those two years Kristie Ahn fluctuated around #200 in the world and decided at the start of 2017 that this would be a make or break year.
“I’d been floating around the 200s for the past year and a half so I thought if i’m still there at the end of the year i’ll probably call it just because I want to move on with my life and if I’m not making moves I’m honestly happy with packing it up.”
Absolutely ecstatic to be in the 100’s for the first time…career high 194. Best is yet to come! #onwardsandupwards pic.twitter.com/yhOQiJYhtP
— Kristie Ahn (@kristieahn) April 4, 2016
Kristie Ahn poised for a 2017 breakthrough
This relaxed approach to life on tour makes a refreshing change and it appears to have translated onto the court. Six months into the season and Ahn has risen to the brink of the top 100. Two consecutive $60k finals in April yielding one title has provided a springboard to launch an assault on the top 100. Much of this newfound success Ahn attributes to former player Shenay Perry, who she joking insists on calling coach despite the former not being quite so keen on the title.
Speaking fondly of Perry, Ahm said, “She used to play and she’s helped me really see the game differently.
“I would probably say right before Monterray I had a couple of good weeks of training and that’s when it all started unfolding for me.”
“Double digits would be nice but I’m not forcing it”, Ahn relaxedly stated. “I’m just going to keep seeing every match as an opportunity and every tournament regardless of what level it’s at and just being in the right mindset it should unroll pretty well.”
If the remainder of the grass court season – including Wimbledon qualifiers – unrolls pretty well then it could be extremely fruitful. A strong few weeks would launch her bid for direct entry to the US Open or, at the very least, would enhance her position as a leading contender for a wildcard.
It has been nine years since Kristie Ahn was last in a Grand Slam. Armed now with a wealth of college experience and a refreshingly relaxed mindset, this looks like it will be the year she returns.
Kristie Ahn will face either Alison Riske or Magdalena Rybarikova on Friday at the Aegon Open Nottingham.
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