Playing in the qualifying rounds of a professional tournament is usually a pretty daunting task. When your ranking isn’t high enough to gain a direct acceptance into a tournament, you’re often required to play and win two or three additional matches for the right to compete in the main draw. If you don’t make it through qualifying, the prize money you earn is often negligible (but your expenses, including travel, are fixed and often quite high). And when you do make it through, the randomness of the draw can pit you against a seeded player with the talent and experience to humble you with a one-sided defeat. Every now and then, though, a qualifier makes an unexpected breakthrough and in this past week alone, we saw not one but four qualifiers play some fantastic tennis and make deep runs in tournaments:
In Luxembourg, Genie Bouchard showed flashes of brilliance that harkened back to her top-10 days of 2014. Ranked #108 in the world, Bouchard made it through three rounds of qualies and got all the way to the main-draw semi-final, where she lost a three-set battle to Julia Goerges, the #1 seed and ultimate champion (Bouchard’s results this past week will push her ranking up 20 spots to #88.)
Also in Luxembourg, Belinda Bencic made it through the qualifying rounds and all the way to the final, beating the dangerous phenom Dayana Yastremska along the way. While Bencic was fairly highly ranked at #47 in the world (it’s possible she missed the deadline for main-draw acceptance), she deserves credit for playing eight matches in one week, and putting up a great fight in the final where she would lose to Julia Georges (Bencic’s run to the final will move her 10 spots to #37 in the world, putting her within touching distance of being seeded at the 2019 Australian Open.)
In Moscow, Tunisian qualifier Ons Jabeur dazzled audiences with her athleticism and incredible drop shots. With a world ranking of #101, Jabeur made it all the way to the main-draw final, beating three high-ranked seeded players (Sloane Stephens, Anett Kontaveit, and Anastasija Sevastova) along the way. In the final, Jabeur put up an admirable fight, losing in three sets to the #6 seed Daria Kasatkina (Jabeur’s performance will move her ranking from #101 to #62 in the world, ensuring a main-draw entry in the 2019 Australian Open.)
In Stockholm, veteran ATP player Ernests Gulbis began the week ranked at #145, a far cry from his career high of #10. Gulbis would win his three qualifying rounds and go on to beat three seeded players including Denis Shapovalov, Jack Sock and John Isner. Ultimately losing to Stefanos Tstisipas in the final, this run in Stockholm was clearly one of Gulbis' best in the last three years (Gulbis’ stellar week will move him 41 spots to #104 in the world.)
So, was this “week of the qualifier” just a coincidence, or a sign of things to come? I’m always looking for clues of a change in the landscape of tennis, and this week gives me hope that the depth in both the men’s and women’s games is only getting better and better.
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