Kayla Day (born September 28, 1999)[1] is an American professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 84 by the WTA. As a junior, she won one junior Grand Slam title, at the 2016 US Open. There, she finished runner-up in the doubles event, partnering with Caroline Dolehide.
 Day at the 2023 French Open | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Lake Nona, Orlando, Florida |
| Born | September 28, 1999[1] Santa Barbara, California |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Turned pro | 2017 |
| Plays | Left (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Pat Cash |
| Prize money | US$ 1,004,627 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 208–163 (56.1%) |
| Career titles | 5 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 84 (April 1, 2024) |
| Current ranking | No. 84 (April 1, 2024) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2017, 2024) |
| French Open | 3R (2023) |
| Wimbledon | Q2 (2023) |
| US Open | 2R (2016) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 29–33 (46.8%) |
| Career titles | 2 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 133 (January 29, 2018) |
| Current ranking | No. 422 (April 1, 2024) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2024) |
| US Open | 2R (2017) |
| Last updated on: April 2, 2024. | |
Despite having success as junior, Day has mostly spent time playing on the ITF Women's Circuit instead of WTA Tour, due to her ranking. She officially turned professional in 2017, at the Australian Open.[2]
Early life and background edit
Day started playing tennis when she was seven years old.[3] Her mother is from the Czech Republic.[4]
Junior career edit
She was No. 1 in the girls' 12s, 14s, 16s, and 18s national US rankings.[3] In 2016, Day climbed to the top of the ITF junior rankings by winning the 2016 Junior US Open, reaching semifinals at the 2016 Wimbledon, and reaching the final at the Orange Bowl the previous year.[5][6] She also achieved her best doubles result at a major event as a runner-up at the 2016 Junior US Open with partner Caroline Dolehide.[7] She won the 2016 USTA Girls 18s National Championships to earn a wildcard into the main draw of the US Open.[6][8] Day has been coached from the beginning by Larry Mousouris, who has coached two other Junior US Open winners (Michael Falberg and Tim Trigueiro).
Professional career edit
2016-2017: Turned professional, first title, Grand Slam & Premier-level debut edit
Day made her WTA Tour debut at the Connecticut Open in New Haven, after reaching the main draw as a lucky loser, having defeated Naomi Broady and Kirsten Flipkens along the way. The following week, she played in her first career Grand Slam at the US Open, and won her first match against compatriot Madison Brengle.
Shortly after turning 17, Day won her first career title at the $50k tournament in Macon, Georgia. The following week at Scottsdale, she reached the semifinals to enter the top 200 for the first time. With her combined performance at these two events, she won the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge to earn a spot in the main draw at the first major event of 2017.[9]
Day picked up her first tour wins of the season — and first wins of her career at a Premier Mandatory event — at the 2017 Indian Wells Open, including a victory over 2017 Australian Open semifinalist Mirjana Lučić-Baroni to reach the third round of the tournament.
2022: WTA 1000 debut edit
After almost five years of absence at the WTA 1000 level, she qualified for the main draw at the Guadalajara Open where she lost in the first round to Eugenie Bouchard.[10]
2023: French Open debut and third round, top 100 edit
Day won three matches in the French Open qualifying to make her first main draw at Roland Garros, as well as her first Grand Slam tournament appearance since the 2017 US Open.[11] She defeated wildcard Kristina Mladenovic and 20th seed Madison Keys to reach the third round of a major for the first time.[12][13]
She reached the top 100 on 24 July at world No. 94.
2024 edit
At the Australian Open, she lost to Viktoriya Tomova in the first round.
At the Indian Wells Open, she entered the main draw as a lucky loser replacing fourth seed and defending champion, Elena Rybakina, directly in the second round.[14]
Performance timelines edit
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, Hopman Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.
Singles edit
Current through the 2023 Korea Open.
| Tournament | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ... | 2022 | 2023 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 1R | Q3 | A | Q2 | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |
| French Open | A | Q2 | Q1 | A | 3R | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | 67% | |
| Wimbledon | A | Q1 | A | A | Q2 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| US Open | 2R | 1R | Q1 | Q2 | 1R | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% | |
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0 / 5 | 3–5 | 38% | |
| WTA 1000 | |||||||||
| Dubai / Qatar Open[a] | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Indian Wells Open | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% | |
| Miami Open | A | Q1 | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Madrid Open | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Italian Open | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Canadian Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |
| Cincinnati Open | A | Q1 | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Guadalajara Open | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |
| Wuhan Open | A | A | A | NH | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| China Open | A | A | A | NH | Q1 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33% | |
| Career statistics | |||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ... | 2022 | 2023 | SR | W–L | Win % | |
| Tournaments | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Career total: 17 | |||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 0 | |||
| Finals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 0 | |||
| Overall win–loss | 1–2 | 3–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–6 | 0 / 17 | 7–17 | 29% | |
| Year-end ranking[b] | 195 | 154 | 300 | 195 | 87 | $860,655 | |||
Doubles edit
| Tournament | 2017 | ... | 2023 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| French Open | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| US Open | 2R | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% | ||
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 0 / 1 | 1–1 | 50% |
ITF Circuit finals edit
Singles: 11 (5 titles, 6 runner–ups) edit
| Legend |
|---|
| $100,000 tournaments (2–0) |
| $80,000 tournaments (0–1) |
| $60,000 tournaments (1–0) |
| $25,000 tournaments (2–5) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | May 2016 | ITF Naples, United States | 25,000 | Clay |  Valeria Solovyeva
|
4–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Oct 2016 | Classic of Macon, United States | 50,000 | Hard |  Danielle Collins
|
6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Feb 2017 | Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States | 25,000 | Hard |  Bianca Andreescu
|
4–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Sep 2021 | ITF Fort Worth, United States | 25,000 | Hard |  Kaia Kanepi
|
2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1–4 | Oct 2021 | ITF Austin, United States | 25,000 | Hard |  Mirjam Björklund
|
6–2, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2–4 | May 2022 | ITF Naples, United States | 25,000 | Clay |  Ana Sofía Sánchez
|
6–1, 6–1 |
| Loss | 2–5 | Jun 2022 | ITF Wichita, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Elizabeth Mandlik
|
3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 3–5 | Oct 2022 | ITF Redding, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Jamie Loeb
|
6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 4–5 | May 2023 | ITF Bonita Springs, United States | 100,000 | Clay | Ann Li
|
6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–5 | Jul 2023 | Championnats de Granby, Canada | 100,000 | Hard | Katherine Sebov
|
6–4, 2–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 5–6 | Oct 2023 | Tyler Pro Challenge, United States | 80,000 | Hard | Emma Navarro
|
3–6, 4–6 |
Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner–up) edit
| Legend |
|---|
| $100,000 tournaments (0–1) |
| $25,000 tournaments (2–0) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Feb 2017 | Midland Tennis Classic, United States |
100,000 | Hard (i) | Caroline Dolehide
|
Ashley Weinhold Caitlin Whoriskey
|
6–7(1), 3–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Feb 2017 | Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States |
25,000 | Hard | Caroline Dolehide
|
 Anhelina Kalinina Chiara Scholl
|
6–3, 1–6, [10–7] |
| Win | 2–1 | Feb 2019 | Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States |
25,000 | Hard | Sophia Whittle
|
 Eudice Chong  You Xiaodi
|
6–2, 5–7, [10–7] |
Junior Grand Slam finals edit
Girls' singles: 1 (title) edit
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2016 | US Open | Hard |  Viktória Kužmová
|
6–3, 6–2 |
Girls' doubles: 1 (runner-up) edit
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2016 | US Open | Hard | Caroline Dolehide
|
Jada Hart Ena Shibahara
|
6–4, 2–6, [11–13] |
Notes edit
- ^ The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status, while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
- ^ 2015: WTA ranking–988, ... 2019: WTA ranking–440, 2020: WTA ranking–475, 2021: WTA ranking–375.
References edit
- ^ a b "Kayla Day | Player Stats & More". WTA Official. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
- ^ Rubin, Stephanie (January 11, 2017). "Kayla Day to make Slam debut as Pro in Melbourne". Baseline. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "Kayla Day cruises into Junior singles' semi-final". Wimbledon. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
- ^ "Meet Kayla Day, American Teenager with Plenty to Smile About". WTA Tennis. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ^ Pantic, Nina (September 13, 2016). "A brand new day: U.S. Open Junior Champ Kayla Day is as confident as she is talented". tennis.com. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "Kayla Day Junior Singles Activity". ITF Junior. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ "A Brand New Day: U.S. Open Junior Champ Kayla Day is as confident as she is talented". Tennis.com. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- ^ "Michael Mmoh, Kayla Day earn US Open Wild-card Entries". Tennis Magazine. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ "Tennis Phenom Kayla Day Goes Pro". January 4, 2017.
- ^ "Andreescu solves Kvitova to reach Guadalajara last 16". October 18, 2022.
- ^ "Santa Barbara's Kayla Day outlasts Avanesyan to reach French Open main draw". May 25, 2023.
- ^ "Tracing Kayla Day's path to a milestone moment at the French Open".
- ^ "Keys hits remarkable 74 unforced errors during match against Kayla Day at Roland Garros". June 2, 2023.
- ^ "BNP Paribas Open: Last year's champion Elena Rybakina withdraws 4 hours before first match".
