Brit tennis ace Konta goes into the top 10
JOHANNA Konta yesterday became the first British woman’s tennis player to reach the world’s top 10 for 32 years.
Ms Konta leapt to number 10 in the rankings with her defeat of American Madison Keys in the semi-final of the China Open in Beijing. The last British woman to make the world’s top 10 was Jo Durie in 1984.
Last night, a delighted Ms Konta, 25, said: ‘I know I’ve achieved something good when I’m mentioned in the same sentence as Jo Durie.’
Last June, Konta was ranked 146th in the world and she cites her mind coach Juan Coto for her amazing rise up the rankings. She is only the fourth British woman to make the top 10 since the WTA seeding system began in 1975 – after Durie, Virginia Wade and Sue Barker.
Former British No1 Durie said: ‘It has all happened in the last 15 months for Jo. She is very good at keeping in the moment.’
Ms Konta, who was born in Sydney to Hungarian parents and became a British citizen in 2012, faces Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska in today’s final.