Heather Watson

Heather Watson's 2020 season started well, reaching the semi-finals as a qualifier in Hobart. On her way to the semis, Watson defeated top seed Elise Mertens, before losing to eventual champion Elena Rybakina. Watson took this form to Melbourne and the 2020 Australian Open, where she defeated Krystina Pliskova in the opening round, before losing to Elise Mertens 3-6 0-6.

As number one seed, Watson lost in the first round of the Surbiton Trophy to world No. 184, Gabriella Taylor. This was Watson’s eighth first-round loss of 2018 (in 12 tournaments).

Heading into the U.S. hard court series short of wins, Watson played in San Jose where she beat Claire Liu before succumbing to Venus Williams. Watson began to show signs of form when she reached the final of an ITF event in Canada before losing to Misaki Doi. Heather carried this form into US open qualifying where she won three successive matches to reach the main draw. These were Watson’s first wins at the US Open since winning the girls' singles at Flushing Meadows in 2009. However, Watson was unable to get her first ever senior main-draw win in New York as she lost in three sets to Ekaterina Makarova. Despite this disappointment, Watson reached her third semifinal of 2018 in Quebec, but she could not make the final as she lost a tight match against Pauline Parmentier. In spite of this loss, Heathers upturn in results restored her place in the world's top 100.

In late April, Watson lost her tenth consecutive singles match of 2018, losing in the first round of the Prague Open to world No. 86 Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

Starting the year at the Hopman Cup partnered with Daniel Evans, the duo were knocked out in the group stages, between them winning only one of nine matches. In Melbourne at the Australian Open, Watson beat seeded Samantha Stosur to get through to the second round.  She was the Europe/Africa Zone Group I 2017 winner of the Fed Cup Heart Award, which is awarded for commitment to their players team and the Fed Cup competition.

The former British No. 1 won the mixed-doubles title at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships with Henri Kontinen.

Her final tournament in Australia was the Australian Open, where she was narrowly beaten in the first round by Tímea Babos. In Mexico at the Monterrey Open, Watson beat Kirsten Flipkens in the final to win her third WTA title. At Wimbledon Watson lost in the first round to Annika Beck in a match that spanned three days because of rain. She had greater success in the mixed doubles, which she won with Henri Kontinen in their Grand Slam final debut. Watson represented Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics reaching round two in both singles and doubles and the quarterfinals in mixed doubles.

From 2016 to 2018, Watson was in a relationship with fellow tennis player Lloyd Glasspool. Since late 2019, she has been in a relationship with Yeovil Town footballer, Courtney Duffus.

Watson continued her good form entering the grass court season when she beat 15th seed Chanelle Scheepers in the first round of the Aegon Classic. She followed this up by beating Misaki Doi in the second round. However, she lost to third seed and eventual semifinalist Peng Shuai in the third round.

Following the French Open Watson moved her attention to the grass season, where she entered the Aegon Classic in Edgbaston. Seeded 14th, she defeated Melinda Czink in the first round, her first victory since returning from her illness. However, Watson's success was short-lived after she lost to qualifier Alla Kudryavtseva. At the Aegon International Watson upset world No. 27, Varvara Lepchenko, in the first round in two sets. At Wimbledon she lost in the first round to Madison Keys.

Watson began the year in the top 50 and therefore qualified for the Australian Open. She reached round two for the first time in her career thanks to a three set victory against the Romanian Alexandra Cadanțu. In the second round, Watson came back from trailing Ksenia Pervak by a set and 6–3 in the tie break, to win in three sets. She faced world No. 4, Agnieszka Radwańska, in the third round, where she was beaten in two sets. This run saw Watson rise to a career-high world ranking of 40.

Watson re-entered the WTA top 100 after victory at the Sparta Prague Open in May. Watson defeated three top-100 players – Klára Koukalová, Karolína Plíšková and Tímea Babos – en route to the final of the $100K event. Due to poor weather, Watson was forced to play her semifinal with Babos on the final's day. She claimed a two-set victory before defeating sixth seed Anna Karolína Schmiedlová (who had played most of her semifinal the day before) in the final.

In the April Fed Cup promotional play-off tie, Watson lost both her singles matches and the doubles match (with Johanna Konta), resulting in a 2–3 loss to Japan. These were her eighth and ninth consecutive singles match losses in 2018.

In February, Watson played in the Mexican Open in Acapulco, winning her fourth career WTA title. Watson defeated Coco Vandeweghe, Kateryna Bondarenko, Christina McHale and Wang Xiyu to reach the final, where she faced Canadian qualifier Leylah Annie Fernandez in the final. Watson won the match 6–4, 6–7, 6–1, clinching the match on her tenth Championship point.

In October 2012, Watson won her first WTA singles title at the Japan Open, becoming the first British woman to win a WTA singles title since Sara Gomer in 1988.

At the start of 2012 Heather Watson suffered an ankle sprain. She then lost in the first round of the Australian Open to the eventual champion Victoria Azarenka.

Watson was selected for the British Fed Cup Team to play in the Europe/Africa Group-1 match at Eilat, Israel on 1–4 February 2012. In the group stages she played doubles with Laura Robson, defeating pairs from Portugal and the Netherlands and Israel in the group stages. Robson and Watson were not required to play their doubles in the play-off match against Austria as Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha won their singles rubbers, and the 2–0 lead qualified the team for a place in the World Group II promotion play-off in April 2012.

Watson won three rounds in qualifying for the French Open at Roland Garros in May 2012. She then defeated Elena Vesnina in the first round, matching her 2011 result in the tournament. In the second round she was defeated by the 25th seed Julia Görges of Germany.

Watson, ranked 103, beat world No. 52, Iveta Benešová of the Czech Republic, in her first singles win at Wimbledon in June 2012. She then beat Jamie Hampton of the USA, becoming the first British woman since 2002 to reach the third round of Wimbledon. In the third round Watson lost to the third seed and eventual runner-up Agnieszka Radwańska.

On 3 April 2011, Watson won two matches to qualify for the Family Circle Cup, where she lost a close three-set match to Christina McHale in the first round.

On 22 June 2011, Watson played Mathilde Johansson in her first round match in the Wimbledon Championships, winning the opening set before suffering an arm injury in the second set. Johansson then went on to win in three sets. On 25 June 2011, Heather and her mixed doubles partner Ross Hutchins beat Marcelo Melo and Rennae Stubbs in the mixed doubles.

On 29 August 2011, in the first round of the US Open, Watson lost in three sets to former champion Maria Sharapova. After the match, Sharapova stated "There's no doubt that she's a great up-and-coming player".

Upon Watson reaching the 2011 French Open second round, Andy Murray commented "When I saw her for the first time, I thought she was good. I like the way she moves on the court. She's very balanced". Bollettieri stated that Watson's "game is based on great movement, but she's not afraid to whack the ball. She's not easy to beat. She has very good ground strokes, though she can over-hit and strike the ball a little too flat at times".

In 2011, Watson used the Dunlop Biomimetic 300 Tour tennis racquet.

Watson began 2010 with a wild card into the $25K event in Sutton, London, where she made the quarterfinals. She immediately flew to the $100k Midland event, losing to qualifier and fellow 17-year-old Beatrice Capra in the first round. Two weeks later, she entered the $25K event in Hammond, Louisiana. Watson qualified and went on to reach her second quarterfinal of the year, defeating former world No. 7 and two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Nicole Vaidišová, and fifth seed Monique Adamczak, en route. The following week Watson entered another 25K event in Clearwater, Florida. In the final qualifying round, she lost to fellow Brit Georgie Stoop before being handed a lucky loser spot in the main draw and defeating Anna Tatishvili in the first round. She lost to Zhou Yimiao in round two. Watson was then given a wild card into the main draw of the Sony Ericsson Open but lost to Tsvetana Pironkova in the first round. This was the first time in her career that Watson competed on the WTA Tour. In April, Watson reached the quarterfinals of a $25K, this one in Jackson, Mississippi. Following this she qualified for the WTA event in Charleston, South Carolina. before losing to Elena Vesnina in the first round.

Watson's grass-court season began at the Aegon Classic which she entered courtesy of a wild card, losing to Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round. At the Aegon International in Eastbourne, Watson qualified for the main draw by defeating Anna Smith, Tsvetana Pironkova and Bojana Jovanovski. Watson defeated world No. 48, Aleksandra Wozniak, in the first round. In the second round though she was defeated by former top-10 player Victoria Azarenka. She then entered the first Grand Slam of her career after receiving a wild card into the main draw of Wimbledon. Watson met Romina Oprandi in the first round and lost in three sets. Moving back onto hard courts, her next tournament was a $25K tournament in Wrexham. She defeated four fellow British players (including Anna Fitzpatrick and Naomi Broady) on her way to the final, where she defeated former top-30 player Sania Mirza to win her second ITF title. After this, Watson continued to compete on the ITF circuit and in the qualifying rounds for WTA events. In September, at the $75K tournament in Shrewsbury, she defeated world No. 90 and former top-30 player Sabine Lisicki in straight sets before losing in the quarterfinals to Eva Birnerová. In October 2010 she was seeded fifth for the women's singles at the Commonwealth Games, taking the rare opportunity to represent Guernsey. She eventually lost to top seed, Anastasia Rodionova of Australia, in the quarterfinals. Partnering Patrick Ogier, Watson also reached the quarterfinals of the mixed doubles where they were defeated by the third seeds Sarah Borwell and Ken Skupski, representing England.

After the Baku Cup, Watson headed to the Rogers Cup, qualifying to reach the main draw. First, she defeated Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in three sets before beating Tamira Paszek. In the main draw, she defeated fellow qualifier Tereza Smitková and then caused an upset by defeating 10th seed Cibulková in a very tough match three set match that included two tiebreaks. She was eventually defeated by 8th seed Victoria Azarenka.

Watson played her first senior tournament in March 2009 – the $25K Jersey Open, but lost in the second round to Katie O'Brien. At the beginning of July, she became the highest-ranked British junior, overtaking Laura Robson. She achieved her first senior women's world ranking on 27 July 2009, entering at No. 756. She won her first senior title at the Frinton $10K tournament. Watson beat Anna Fitzpatrick in the final. At the 2009 US Open, Watson was seeded 11th for the girls' singles. She reached the quarterfinals on 10 September before rain interrupted the tournament schedule. The tournament moved indoors and Watson beat second seed Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in the quarterfinal on 12 September. She played her semifinal on the same day and was victorious against Daria Gavrilova to reach the final, where she faced doubles partner Yana Buchina. Playing on court 7, Watson won in straight sets.

At 2009 French Open, Watson and her partner were the third seeds and reached the girls' doubles final where she and Tímea Babos faced the second seeded pair of Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and Elena Bogdan and were beaten in a match tie-break. Partnering Yana Buchina, that year they were the seventh seed at the Australian girls' doubles and sixth seed at the US Open girls' doubles, but they lost in the first round at both tournaments. At Wimbledon she teamed up with Magda Linette and they were seeded sixth in the girls' doubles but eliminated in the second round.

Australian Open: QF (2009) French Open: 1R (2009) Wimbledon: 1R (2008, 2009) US Open: W (2009)

Watson began competing on the ITF Women's Circuit in March when she entered the qualifying tournament for the $10K event in Bath, Somerset, but failed to win a match. She entered her next tournament, a $25K event in Jersey, on a wild card and beat compatriot Jade Curtis in the first round. She was defeated by another Briton, Katie O'Brien, in round two. In July, she reached her first ITF semifinal as a qualifier in the $10K grass-court tournament in Felixstowe before losing to Anna Smith. She went on to qualify for the next tournament she entered and again faced Smith in the semifinals; however this time Watson was victorious and went on to beat Anna Fitzpatrick in the final to win her first ITF title. Continuing to compete on the ITF Circuit for the rest of the season, Watson beat Melanie South in round one of a $50K in Barnstaple in October before being defeated by Kristina Mladenovic in round two. Watson ended the 2009 season with a world singles ranking of No. 588.

In her junior career, Watson won the US Open and gold at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. She reached No. 3 in the world on the ITF Junior Circuit.

In 2006, Watson won the British Under-14 Championship. The following year she won the British Under-16 Championship, and reached the semifinals of the British Under-18 Championship. She lost in the Under-18 semifinals again in 2008 to eventual winner Tara Moore. In October, Watson travelled to Pune in India to compete at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. There she won the gold medal, winning the final against Kyra Shroff. Mother Michelle left her job in 2008 to travel full-time with her daughter around the World Junior Circuit.

Heather Watson was born in Guernsey to Michelle and Ian Watson. Her mother is from Papua New Guinea and her father is British, the managing director of Guernsey Electricity from 1995 until retirement in 2010. She has one brother and two sisters. Heather Watson started playing tennis at the age of seven, and at age twelve she went to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.

Heather Miriam Watson (born 19 May 1992) is a Guernsey-born British professional tennis player.

Heather Watson made a WTA singles final for the first time in her career at the HP Open where she beat Polona Hercog, sixth seed Anabel Medina Garrigues, Pauline Parmentier and Misaki Doi. In the final, she saved four match points to beat Chang Kai-chen of Chinese Taipei in a match lasting three hours and twelve minutes. With this win, Watson attained a top-50 ranking for the first time in her career, at the same time overtaking compatriot Laura Robson as the British No. 1. Watson also became the first Briton to win a WTA singles title since Sara Gomer in 1988. She also made the doubles final in the same event with Kimiko Date-Krumm, but lost to Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears.

Watson qualified for the French Open. She beat Ioana Raluca Olaru and Sally Peers in the first and second rounds respectively to reach the final round, where she defeated Stefanie Vögele to gain a place in the main draw for the first time. This was the first time a British woman had qualified for the French Open since Kate Brasher, the daughter of Shirley Bloomer and Chris Brasher, in 1983. She played French wild card Stéphanie Foretz Gacon in the first round and won. By winning this match, Watson became the first British woman since Clare Wood in 1994, to reach the second round of the French Open. The victory saw her break into the top 100 for the first time. She lost to 16th seed Kaia Kanepi in the second round.

With lots of ranking points to defend from last year's tournament, it was vital that Watson qualified for the Australian Open. Watson was one of five British players aiming to qualify. She was the sole qualifier, joining Andy Murray and Laura Robson in the main draw. Like in Brisbane, Watson was given a tough draw as she faced 31st seed Daniela Hantuchová and lost in three sets.