Lauren Davis (born October 9, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. Known for her aggressive backhand, speed, and clay-court strength, she has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour and reached a career-high singles WTA rankings of world No. 26, in May 2017. She has also won eight singles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit.
She started 2009 season with a third-round appearance at the Grade-1 tournament in Carson, California, after which she won her first singles junior tournament, a Grade-3 International Grass Court Championships in Philadelphia, when she defeated Brooke Bolender in three sets. By the end of the 2009, she made a quarterfinal appearance at the US Open, won a Grade-1 Yucatán World Cup in Mérida on the hardcourt and made a third-round loss at the Orange Bowl.
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 a final, 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 event.
While still a junior, Davis won her first professional title on Clay court at a USTA 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 with a third-round appearance at the 2011 Australian Open.
In the qualifying for the Charleston Open, Davis lost to Stéphanie Foretz. While waiting to give a post-match interview in a corporate booth, she was knocked unconscious when lighting equipment fell on her head. She suffered a concussion that kept her out of competition for months and left her suffering from occasional for several months after that.
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:
She sought actual and punitive damages for negligence and gross negligence.
Davis made it through the qualifying rounds of the French Open, where she won her first major main-draw match against 30th seed Mona Barthel, in straight sets. In the second round, she lost to compatriot Christina McHale, in straight sets.
She replaced an injured Victoria Azarenka at the Miami Open, where she defeated Madison Keys in the second round. In the third round, she faced Alizé Cornet and lost in three sets. During the match, Davis was stung on the buttocks by a wasp in the third set. Though it caused her significant pain, Davis refused to blame her loss on it. The overwhelming heat affected Davis and Cornet as both players left the court in wheelchairs.
Davis then reached the quarterfinals of the Monterrey Open, where she lost to the eventual champion, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She was knocked out in the first round of the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Her furthest advance for the remainder of the year was a quarterfinal appearance at the Challenge Bell in September, where she lost to Lucie Šafářová.
At the Indian Wells Open, Davis defeated world No. 4, Victoria Azarenka, in the second round, marking her first victory over a top-10 player and a Grand Slam champion. She then defeated Varvara Lepchenko, but withdrew in the fourth round due to illness. At the Miami Open, she won her first-round match against Zhang Shuai, but lost in the second round to Ana Ivanovic. Following an early exit at the French Open, she advanced to the quarterfinals of the Eastbourne International, where she lost to Madison Keys.
At the Wimbledon Championships, Davis upset Flavia Pennetta in straight sets and advanced to the third round of the tournament for the first time. She ended the year ranked world No. 57.
She reached the fourth round of the Indian Wells 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.
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 and fifth seed 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 and only the fourth in her career. Her run was then ended by Carla Suárez Navarro, in the third round.
Davis advanced to the quarterfinals of the Washington Open, where she lost to the eventual champion, Jessica Pegula. At the Cincinnati Open, Venus Williams snapped a four match losing-streak by defeating Davis in the first round. At the US Open, Davis beat Johanna Larsson in straight sets but was eliminated in the second round by Ashleigh Barty.
At the Indian Wells Open, she reached also the second round defeating Nuria Parrizas-Diaz, before retiring against 22nd seed compatriot Danielle Collins.
At the US Open, she reached the third round for the first time by defeating the 28th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, before losing to the world No. 1, Iga Świątek. As a result, she returned to the top 100, rising close to ten positions in the rankings to No. 94 on 12 September 2022.
She then entered the Hobart International ranked No. 84, qualifying for the main draw and recording wins over Sloane Stephens, Ysaline Bonaventure, Wang Xinyu and Anna Blinkova to reach her first WTA final since Auckland in 2017. She defeated Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the final to claim the second WTA Tour title of her career. She did not drop a set throughout the entire tournament, and became just the fourth qualifier in the tournament's history to lift the trophy. As a result, she returned to the top 60 at world No. 57 on 16 January 2023.
Davis faced Kovinić again in her opening match at the Australian Open winning in three sets, before losing to Elise Mertens in the second round. However, she rose further to No. 48 in the rankings, on 30 January 2023.
While analyzing Davis's game, Mike Whalley of the BBC labeled her backhand "a big weapon", while E.J. Crawford of US Open.org described it as "terrific", likening her style to that of Amanda Coetzer. On offense, Davis hits deep ground strokes to move opponents backward, often setting up her backhand as a finishing shot. While playing on hardcourts, she will usually draw opponents forward and attempt cross-court winners, or send serves wide and hit backhands down the line.
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 victory at the Auckland Open 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."
Her first professional title came on Clay court 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 hardcourt as her other favorite surface.
2018: Third Australian Open 3rd round
2019: Wimbledon 3rd round, first top-10 win since 2017
2020–2021: Limited play during COVID-pandemic, loss of form
2022: US Open 3rd round & back to top 100
2023: Second career singles title, back to top 50
2024: Dow Tennis Classic semifinal
Playing style
Performance timelines
Singles
Grand Slam tournaments Australian Open A 1R A 1R 3R 2R 3R 1R 3R Q1 2R 1R 1R 2R A A 0 / 11 9–11 French Open A A 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R A 2R 1R 1R A 2R Q2 Q1 0 / 10 3–10 Wimbledon A A A 1R 3R 2R Q2 1R Q1 3R NH 2R 2R 1R 1R Q1 0 / 9 7–9 US Open A 1R Q2 1R 1R 2R 2R 1R Q1 2R 1R 2R 3R 2R 1R 0 / 12 7–12 Win–loss 0–0 0–2 1–1 0–4 4–4 3–4 3–3 0–4 2–1 4–3 1–3 2–4 3–3 3–4 0–2 0–0 0 / 42 26–42 National representation Billie Jean King Cup A A A A 1R PO A W A A A A A A 1 / 2 0–2 WTA 1000 Dubai / Qatar Open A A A A A A A QF A A A A A 2R A A 0 / 2 4–2 Indian Wells Open A 1R 2R 1R 4R 2R 2R 4R 1R 2R NH 2R Q1 A A 1R 0 / 11 11–10 Miami Masters Q1 Q2 Q1 3R 2R 1R Q1 1R 1R A NH 1R 3R A A 2R 0 / 8 5–8 Madrid Open A A A Q1 1R Q2 A 2R A A NH A Q1 1R 1R 0 / 4 1–4 Italian Open A A A Q2 1R Q2 A 2R A A Q1 A 2R 1R 1R 0 / 5 2–5 Canadian Open A A Q2 2R 1R Q1 A 1R A A NH A Q2 1R A 0 / 4 1–4 Cincinnati Open A A Q1 2R 1R 1R Q1 1R Q1 1R Q1 Q2 Q1 Q1 Q1 0 / 5 1–5 Guadalajara Open NH 1R 1R A 0 / 2 0–2 Pan Pacific / Wuhan Open A A A A Q1 1R A 2R A 1R NH A 0 / 3 1–3 China Open A A A 2R 2R Q2 A 1R A 1R NH A A 0 / 4 2–4 Win–loss 0–0 0–1 1–1 4–5 5–6 1–4 1–1 9–9 0–2 1–4 0–0 1–2 3–3 1–5 0–2 1–2 0 / 48 28–47 Career statistics 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 SR W–L Win % Tournaments 0 3 6 17 20 21 9 23 6 12 9 16 17 17 Career total: 176 Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Career total: 2 Finals 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Career total: 4 Hard win–loss 0–0 0–3 3–4 11–12 13–11 7–14 15–6 14–13 2–5 5–8 5–7 5–9 6–8 10–8 2 / 111 96–108 Clay win–loss 0–0 0–0 1–2 1–2 2–5 3–4 0–2 4–6 0–1 2–2 0–2 3–4 4–5 4–5 0 / 38 24–40 Grass win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–3 6–3 3–4 0–1 2–4 0–0 2–2 0–0 4–3 3–4 0–3 0 / 27 21–27 Overall win–loss 0–0 0–3 4–6 13–17 21–19 13–22 15–9 20–23 2–6 9–12 5–9 12–16 13–17 14–16 2 / 176 141–175 Win (%) Career total: Year–end ranking 437 319 94 72 57 87 62 50 252 62 74 88 86 70 309 $5,093,448
Doubles
Australian Open A A A 1R 1R A 2R 1R A 2R 1R A A 0 / 6 2–6 French Open A A 2R 1R 1R A 1R A A 2R 1R A A 0 / 6 2–6 Wimbledon A A A 1R 2R A 1R A A NH 1R 1R 2R 0 / 6 2–6 US Open 1R A 1R 2R A A 1R A 1R A 1R A 1R 0 / 7 1–7 Win–loss 0–1 0–0 1–2 1–4 1–3 0–0 1–4 0–1 0–1 2–2 0–4 0–1 1–2 0 / 25 7–25
WTA Tour finals
Singles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)
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!Legend
Grand Slam WTA 1000 WTA 500 WTA 250 (2–2)
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Hard (2–1) Grass (0–0) Clay (0–0) Carpet (0–1) Loss 0–1 Washington Open, United States International Hard Yanina Wickmayer 4–6, 2–6 Loss 0–2 Tournoi de Québec, Canada International Carpet (i) Océane Dodin 4–6, 3–6 Win 1–2 Auckland Open, New Zealand International Hard Ana Konjuh 6–3, 6–1 Win 2–2 Hobart International, Australia WTA 250 Hard Elisabetta Cocciaretto 7–6(7–0), 6–2
WTA Challenger finals
Singles: 1 (runner-up)
Loss 0–1 Houston Challenger, United States Hard Peng Shuai 6–1, 5–7, 4–6
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 13 (8 titles, 5 runner–ups)
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!Legend
$100,000 tournaments (2–1) $75/80,000 tournaments (0–2) $50,000 tournaments (1–0) $25,000 tournaments (2–1) $10,000 tournaments (3–1)
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Hard (4–3) Clay (4–2) Loss 0–1 Jun 2010 ITF Mount Pleasant, United States 10,000 Clay Petra Rampre 3–6, 2–6 Win 1–1 Oct 2010 ITF Williamsburg, United States 10,000 Clay Līga Dekmeijere 6–0, 6–0 Win 2–1 Oct 2010 ITF Bayamón, Puerto Rico 25,000 Hard Madison Keys 7–6(5), 6–4 Win 3–1 Jun 2011 ITF Buffalo, United States 10,000 Clay Nicole Gibbs 5–7, 6–2, 6–4 Win 4–1 Jul 2011 ITF Atlanta, United States 10,000 Hard Alexis King 1–6, 6–2, 6–2 Win 5–1 Jan 2012 ITF Plantation, United States 25,000 Clay Gail Brodsky 6–4, 6–1 Loss 5–2 Jan 2012 Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States 25,000 Hard Julia Boserup 0–6, 3–6 Loss 5–3 Sep 2012 ITF Albuquerque, United States 75,000 Hard Maria Sanchez 1–6, 1–6 Win 6–3 Sep 2012 Las Vegas Open, United States 50,000 Hard Shelby Rogers 6–7(5), 6–2, 6–2 Win 7–3 Feb 2013 Midland Tennis Classic, United States 100,000 Hard (i) Ajla Tomljanović 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(2) Loss 7–4 Oct 2016 Internationaux de Poitiers, France 100,000 Hard (i) Océane Dodin 4–6, 2–6 Loss 7–5 Apr 2019 Dothan Pro Classic, United States 80,000 Clay Kristína Kučová 6–3, 6–7(9), 2–6 Win 8–5 May 2019 ITF Bonita Springs, United States 100,000 Clay Ann Li 7–5, 7–5
Fed Cup performance
Singles (0–2)
2015 WG PO 18 Apr 2015 Brindisi () Clay Italy Sara Errani L 1–6, 2–6 2017 WG SF 23 Apr 2017 Tampa (USA) Clay Czech Republic Markéta Vondroušová L 2–6, 5–7
Doubles (1–0)
2014 WG QF 9 Feb 2014 Cleveland (USA) Hard (i) Madison Keys Italy Nastassja Burnett
Alice MatteucciW 6–2, 6–3
WTA Tour career earnings
Money list rank 2013 0 0 0 273,966 97 2014 0 0 0 474,760 57 2015 0 0 0 371,260 81 2016 0 0 0 307,694 101 2017 0 1 1 574,662 58 2018 0 0 0 192,431 164 2019 0 0 0 505,849 83 2020 0 0 0 273,983 93 2021 0 0 0 486,174 85
Head-to-head records
Record against top ten players
Player Record W% Hard Clay Grass Carpet Last match Angelique Kerber 1–1 0–1 – 1–0 – Won (2–6, 6–2, 6–1) at 2019 Wimbledon Victoria Azarenka 1–2 1–2 – – – Lost (2–6, 6–7(4–7)) at 2015 Wuhan Ashleigh Barty 0–1 0–1 – – – Lost (2–6, 6–7(2–7)) at 2019 US Open Naomi Osaka 0–1 – – 0–1 – Lost (1–6, 6–2, 6–7(4–7)) at 2017 Birmingham Karolína Plíšková 0–1 – 0–1 – – Lost (1–6, 1–6) at 2017 Rome Maria Sharapova 0–1 0–1 – – – Lost (1–6, 7–6(7–5), 0–6) at 2016 Australian Open Iga Świątek 0–1 0–1 – – – Lost (3–6, 4–6) at 2022 US Open Simona Halep 0–2 0–2 – – – Lost (6–4, 4–6, 13–15) at 2018 Australian Open Ana Ivanovic 0–2 0–1 – 0–1 – Lost (1–6, 1–6) at 2014 Birmingham Jelena Janković 0–2 0–1 0–1 – – Lost (7–6(7–5), 0–6, 4–6) at 2015 Indian Wells Garbiñe Muguruza 0–2 0–1 – 0–1 – Lost (1–6, 3–6) at 2019 Indian Wells Caroline Wozniacki 0–3 0–3 – – – Lost (1–6, 6–4, 4–6) at 2020 Auckland Venus Williams 0–4 0–4 – – – Lost (5–7, 2–6) at 2019 Cincinnati Svetlana Kuznetsova 1–0 1–0 – – – Won (3–6, 7–5, 7–5) at 2013 Toronto Agnieszka Radwańska 1–1 – – 1–1 – Won (7–6(7–1), 6–1) at 2017 Eastbourne Paula Badosa 0–1 – 0–1 – – Lost (2–6, 6–7(3–7)) at 2021 French Open Barbora Krejčíková 0–1 0–1 – – – Lost (4–6, 6–4, 4–6) at 2021 Melbourne 3 Li Na 0–1 0–1 – – – Lost (6–4, 1–6, 1–6) at 2013 Cincinnati Anett Kontaveit 0–2 0–1 – 0–1 – Lost (6–1, 0–6, 0–6) at 2021 Cleveland Petra Kvitová 0–2 0–2 – – – Lost (5–7, 1–6) at 2022 Miami Aryna Sabalenka 0–2 0–2 – – – Lost (0–6, 1–6) at 2023 Dubai Sloane Stephens 4–3 4–2 – 0–1 – Lost (6–1, 3–6, 1–6) at 2023 Cleveland Jessica Pegula 2–4 2–3 – 0–1 – Lost (2–6, 7–6(8–6), 3–6) at 2023 Wimbledon Coco Gauff 0–1 – 0–1 – – Lost (2–6, 6–7(2–7)) at 2021 Charleston Nadia Petrova 0–1 0–1 – – – Lost (3–6, 2–6) at 2012 Indian Wells Elena Rybakina 0–1 – 0–1 – – Lost (4–6, 3–6) at 2022 Rome Maria Sakkari 0–1 – 0–1 – – Lost (5–7, 4–6) at 2017 Charleston Elina Svitolina 0–5 0–5 – – – Lost (2–6, 6–7(6–8)) at 2020 Australian Open Sofia Kenin 2–1 67% 1–1 1–0 – – Won (4–6, 6–3, 6–4) at 2021 Charleston Kiki Bertens 1–1 1–1 – – – Won (7–6(7–3), 6–4) at 2017 Auckland Johanna Konta 1–3 0–2 1–1 – – Lost (3–6, 6–1, 3–6) at 2019 French Open Bianca Andreescu 0–1 0–1 – – – Lost (4–6, 4–6) at 2021 US Open Francesca Schiavone 0–1 – 0–1 – – Lost (4–6, 1–6) at 2017 Strasbourg Caroline Garcia 0–2 0–1 – 0–1 – Lost (3–6, 6–7(3–7)) at 2022 Nottingham Belinda Bencic 0–3 0–3 – – – Lost (1–6, 4–6) at 2023 Washington Samantha Stosur 0–4 0–3 0–1 – – Lost (6–3, 3–6, 3–6) at 2018 Indian Wells Eugenie Bouchard 2–2 1–2 1–0 – – Won (6–1, 6–2) at 2019 Washington Sara Errani 2–3 0–2 1–1 1–0 – Won (7–5, 7–5) at 2022 Parma Jeļena Ostapenko 2–3 1–1 1–1 0–1 – Lost (1–6, 3–6) at 2022 Guadalajara Daniela Hantuchová 1–2 0–2 – 1–0 – Lost (6–4, 6–7(6–8), 2–6) at 2016 Linz Lucie Šafářová 0–2 – – 0–1 0–1 Lost (2–6, 4–6) at 2013 Quebec Flavia Pennetta 1–0 – – 1–0 – Won (6–4, 7–6(7–4)) at 2014 Wimbledon Carla Suárez Navarro 1–3 0–2 1–0 0–1 – Lost (3–6, 3–6) at 2019 Wimbledon Markéta Vondroušová 0–1 – 0–1 – – Lost (2–6, 5–7) at 2017 Fed Cup Roberta Vinci 1–0 1–0 – – – Won (6–2, 6–3) at 2017 Doha Madison Keys 2–5 2–1 0–1 0–3 – Lost (4–6, 3–6) at 2022 Eastbourne Marion Bartoli 0–1 0–1 – – – Lost (0–6, 3–6) at 2013 Toronto Danielle Collins 0–1 0–1 – – – Lost (1–6, ret.) at 2021 Indian Wells Ekaterina Makarova 1–3 1–3 – – – Lost (2–6, 4–6) at 2017 Wuhan Andrea Petkovic 3–0 3–0 – – – Won (4–6, 6–0, 6–0) at 2018 Australian Open Julia Görges 2–1 2–0 0–1 – – Won (6–1, 6–4) at 2017 Indian Wells CoCo Vandeweghe 2–1 1–0 1–1 – – Lost (6–3, 3–6, 3–6) at 2022 Charleston Beatriz Haddad Maia 0–2 0–2 – – – Lost (3–6, 3–6) at 2019 Australian Open Q. Kristina Mladenovic 0–3 0–1 0–2 – – Lost (3–6, 6–1, 6–7(1–7)) at 2017 Madrid Total 34–96 22–64
()7–17
()5–14
()0–1
()current after 2023 Cleveland
Top 10 wins
2014 1. Victoria Azarenka No. 4 Indian Wells Open, United States Hard 2R 6–0, 7–6(7–2) No. 66 2015 2. Eugenie Bouchard No. 7 Charleston Open, United States Clay 2R 6–3, 6–1 No. 66 2017 3. Agnieszka Radwańska No. 10 Eastbourne International, UK Grass 2R 7–6(7–1), 6–1 No. 29 2019 4. Angelique Kerber No. 5 Wimbledon, United Kingdom Grass 2R 2–6, 6–2, 6–1 No. 95 2021 5. Sofia Kenin No. 4 Charleston Open, United States Clay 3R 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 No. 79
Notes
External links
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