THE PEDIGREE: It was an eventful 2006 for Vania King. In one season, she broke into the Top 50, won her first tour singles title (in Bangkok), and nearly quadrupled her career earnings. California born and bred, the 18-year-old King is the last in a line of prolific tennis siblings. Phillip, the oldest, won the Kalamazoo title in both 1999 and 2000 and turned pro in 2004 after four All-American years at Duke. Since then he’s been hard at work playing Challengers around the world and is ranked in the 300s. King’s fraternal-twin sisters, Mindy and Ivana, were nationally ranked juniors and now attend the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University, respectively (Ivana plays for the Princeton Tigers).

THE PERSONA: It’s not easy turning pro. King had been accepted early to Stanford and, like fellow Californian Sam Querrey, for the first half of 2006 fully expected to be in college come fall. “It was a very, very tough decision, one that I spent many hours pondering,” she says. “It wasn’t until I broke the Top 100 [in early April] when I started to entertain ideas of turning pro. My family is very academically oriented, so I always knew I would go to one of the best colleges. When I started to wonder if that was the right path for me, it was very difficult.” It wasn’t until Wimbledon, where King lost to Jelena Jankovic in three close sets, that she realized she could play top-level tennis. She turned pro soon after. “I felt there was an opportunity that was one I might never have again,” she says, “and I know I’ve made the right decision.”

THE GAME: “To play at a high level in tennis, there are many factors,” King says. “You need to have a solid technical, physical, and mental foundation.” This awareness has helped King make herself a well-rounded and determined player. “I think what separates me from the rest is my all-court game and drive,” she says.

THE PROGNONSIS: King finished 2006 precisely at No. 50, a goal she had set at the beginning of the year. “I was quite surprised that I fulfilled [that goal], but every time I succeed at something, I know I can do better,” she says. For now, King hopes to make the Top 30 by the end of next year. She seems to have learned how to handle the stress. “Setting goals for myself doesn’t put any pressure on me, it helps motivate me to move forward. All I expect of myself is to give 100 percent.”