Lauren has long road back to top of rankings

Seasoned tennis observers will be rubbing their eyes when they see the entry list for the ASB Classic.

Way down the chart is 2017 champion Lauren Davis, whose ranking has plummeted to No 173.

Had she not received the last wildcard for the main draw yesterday, Davis would have been forced to start in qualifying, a massive shift from 12 months ago when she arrived in Auckland to defend her title.

But the popular American is just grateful to be at the tournament, after the toughest year of her career.

Davis took an extended break in April, admitting she was “burned out” by the constant grind of travel, training and tournaments.

It was a big call for the 25-year-old, who turned professional in 2011. After a first-round loss at Charleston at the start of April, she headed home to Cleveland and didn’t play again until Wimbledon in July.

“It was a little bit too much at the time and I needed to take a step back,” said Davis. “I missed home, missed my family. It’s quite normal, I think, being burned out. We travel 35 weeks of the year and you have to be easy on yourself. [But] it was definitely tough. It was a growing experience for me and I had to learn to accept it. I made the decision to take a few months off, right when I had to defend a whole lot of points.”

Davis found herself playing tiny ITF tournaments to climb the ladder, at one point banking just US$533 for a first-round loss. But she persisted. Her run to the final of the US$125,000 Houston event improved her ranking almost 100 places.

“It was one of the toughest years I’ve had,” said Davis. “I’m grateful to be here. It’s a blessing in disguise. I’ve seen what it’s like to play the Challengers again and now I’ve come out of it knowing what I want.”

Davis will always be one of the great Cinderella stories in ASB Classic history. As an unseeded player, she came through a star-studded field — including Serena and Venus Williams, and Caroline Wozniacki — toppling four seeds to claim the trophy last year. And maybe she’ll write another chapter in the next week.