Lauren Davis

Current through the suspension of the 2020 WTA Tour.

In May 2019, Davis beat Ann Li to win the inaugural ITF FineMark Women's Pro Tennis Championship event at Bonita Springs. In doing so, she qualified as a wild card for the French Open.

Playing her first red clay-court tournament of the year, she easily advanced to the quarterfinals of the Morocco Open in Rabat, winning each of her victories in straight sets before dropping a three-set match to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. In May, she reached a new career-best ranking of world No. 26. However, she lost in the first round of all four Grand Slam tournaments in 2017, including defeats to fellow Americans Varvara Lepchenko at Wimbledon and Sofia Kenin at the US Open, and by the end of the year her singles ranking had dropped to 48.

At Wimbledon, Davis lost in the final round of qualifying to Kristie Ahn, but entered the main draw as a lucky loser. She beat Kateryna Kozlova in the first round in straight sets. In the second, she defeated the defending champion, Angelique Kerber, in three sets. Davis recovered from an injury break after losing the first set and ended the match with 45 winners to Kerber's 15, winning 12 of the last 15 games to claim her first top-10 victory since 2017. She was then defeated by Carla Suarez Navarro in the third round.

Davis is also noted for her backhand defense. At the 2015 Family Circle Cup, she returned a 102-mph serve from Eugenie Bouchard with a backhand winner. During their 2014 meeting, Victoria Azarenka repeatedly lost points while attacking Davis's backhand up the middle of the court—including on match point—allowing Davis to create angles. While discussing Davis in an interview, Christina McHale noted, "You don't get free points with her very often", and described her backhand as "very tough".

In a 2015 article, WTATennis.com noted Davis's "speed and court coverage", while the BBC recognized her for "whizzing round the court." Following her title victory at the ASB Classic in 2017, Michael Burgess of The New Zealand Herald declared "only David Ferrer and Michael Chang are comparable to her ability to make an opponent play another shot." During Davis's final junior year, Mary Joe Fernández commended her "speed, quickness, competitiveness and heart."

Davis reached the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open, equalling her result in 2014. She was also part of the United States team that reached the Fed Cup final with a victory over the Czech Republic.

It was a windy day, and a whole big camera just blew onto my head. I didn't do anything physical for a long time. I didn't read anything. The only thing I could do was watch TV, eat and sleep. I had a headache, 24–7, that never went away. — Davis, on her injury

In October 2013, Davis filed a lawsuit against Production Design Associates and High Output, who had been hired by sponsors Dove to provide and install video and lighting equipment for the interview booths. Her complaint stated:

To start the year, Davis was unable to defend her title at the ASB Classic after losing to compatriot Sachia Vickery in the first round. Nonetheless, she put together an excellent tournament at the Australian Open, matching her career-best result at a Grand Slam event after not winning a match at any of the four majors the previous year. In the third round, she pushed world No. 1 Simona Halep to a nearly four-hour match, losing 13–15 in the third set and tying the tournament record for most games played in a match at 48.

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.

Davis was awarded a wild card into the Australian Open, where she lost her first Grand Slam appearance against fifth-seeded Samantha Stosur in the first round. She officially turned professional in 2011 and won her first WTA match at the Miami Masters qualifiers by beating Jill Craybas in three sets. She then lost to Anastasiya Yakimova.

In 2010, Davis reached one quarterfinal in the first four months, before reaching the final of the Easter Bowl, losing to Krista Hardebeck. She again lost in the final of a tournament, this time in the 51st Trofeo Bonfiglio to Beatrice Capra. In November 2010, she went on an 18-match winning streak, winning the Grade-1 tournaments Yucatán World Cup and the Eddie Herr youth tournament, as well as the Grade-A Orange Bowl tournament. She finished the year a career-high world No. 3 on the junior tour.

While still a junior, Davis won her first professional title on clay at a United States Tennis Association tournament in Williamsburg, Virginia in 2010. She then went on a 27-match win streak, and won her second pro title in Puerto Rico. She ended her junior career after a third-round appearance at the 2011 Australian Open.

Her first professional title came on clay at a USTA tournament in 2010. In contrast to some of her American peers, who have been perceived as being uncomfortable on the surface, Davis is recognized for her skill on slow courts. Following her second-round win at the 2015 Family Circle Cup, WTATennis.com labeled her performance "a clay-court masterclass." While discussing the surface, Davis noted, "I think clay really works for me, because I'm pretty fast. I can slide really well and I can make a lot of balls, so it really works for me." Davis has named hard-court as her other favorite surface.

After a third-round appearance in a Grade-1 tournament in Carson, California, she won her first junior tournament at a Grade-3 tournament in Philadelphia, defeating Brooke Bolender in three sets. She finished 2009 with a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open, before a third-round loss at the Dunlop Orange Bowl.

Davis made her junior debut via wild card at the 2008 US Open, losing to Ajla Tomljanović.

Lauren Davis (born October 9, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. Known for her aggressive backhand, quickness, and clay-court ability, she won her first title on the WTA Tour at the ASB Classic in Auckland and reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 26 in May 2017. Davis has also won eight singles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.

Davis made it through the qualifying rounds to get her into the main draw of the French Open, where she won her first main draw Grand Slam match against 30th seed Mona Barthel in straight sets. In the second round, she lost to compatriot Christina McHale in straight sets.