Inspired by Wimbledon breakthrough, Taylor Townsend hustles to fruitful summer in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI—Taylor Townsend isn’t ready for a vacation yet.

“I honestly haven’t even thought of one, but it sounds nice,” she said, laughing through some likely—but understandable—fatigue. “Just the thought of it sounds great!”

The 28-year-old has taken exactly one day off through a wildly successful three-week stretch, one that helped her secure career-high rankings in singles and doubles—and put her on the precipice of a long-awaited Top 50 singles debut—but has left her little time to celebrate.

“Maybe I got a smoothie? I got a hug!” she joked of her doubles title at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. “Then I was booking flights.”

Townsend flew straight to Canada for the National Bank Open, where she lost in qualifying but stormed through the main draw to make her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal as a lucky loser. The same night she lost to Emma Navarro, she was on the road again, scrolling Instagram in the back seat of an over-stuffed car driving eight hours to Cincinnati.

“My bags stay pregnant, so it was not easy!” joked the mom of three-year-old A.J., who is already her biggest fan.

“He’s so cute because he’ll be in the stands and clapping like, ‘Come on, Mommy! Let’s go!’ He’ll actually sit there and watch the whole match.

“These stadiums are so hot, and you’re just cooking in the sun, so he had to come in and out a few times in D.C. because it was like, 90-something degrees. I was like, ‘Ooh, that baby’s sweating!’ You could just see the sweat dripping down his face, and when his curls start popping, that’s when I know he’s hot.”

I’m just comfortable in my skin and authentically presenting myself to the world. It’s so liberating for me, and I think people have really taken to that because it’s who I am. I’m unapologetically myself, and it’s hard to find that in a world where social media makes everyone want to be something that they’re not! Taylor Townsend

A mother’s intuition tells Townsend, who spent part of her maternity leave breaking down the game as a Tennis Channel analyst, that A.J. understands she’s hard at work, roaring through a career-best season that includes a maiden major doubles victory at Wimbledon. After two near misses at the US Open and Roland Garros, a winning partnership with Katerina Siniakova has only further motivated one of the game’s hardest working women.

“Getting over that hump was so important for me, psychologically,” she said on Wednesday after winning a third-set tiebreaker over compatriot Caroline Dolehide. “I knew I could do it, so it wasn’t like I felt like I was that far off. But it was really important for me to acknowledge the win and acknowledge the accomplishment.

“You see our lives on the tennis circuit, it’s always onto the next and the next. I literally won a 500 in D.C. and the next day I was playing in qualies of Toronto! So, it was so important to be able to celebrate and acknowledge the accomplishment, but then I took it like, how do I want to continue to improve? When I had that quiet time for myself, I had a list of things that I wanted to work on that I went over with my coach, and I was like, ‘These are the things I want to improve on next.’

“We were aligned and we hit the ground running in practice.”

That hit-the-ground-running mentality has paired well to her busy schedule, the likes of which has seen her catch fire in seasons past, but all-court lefty credits the melding of her practice and match persona as crucial to reaching these new heights.

“The person that I am in practice is the person I’ve wanted to be on the court, and I’ve struggled to bridge that gap sometimes, finding the person who shows up every single day for three-four hours consistently. I’d show up on the match court sometimes and that would all just disappear, so I’ve been working hard to bridge the gap between practice and matches.

“It’s all in between the ears. I know not everyone can handle this and I just keep telling myself that I’m a warrior. It’s in my blood. I’m a champion, and I’m built for this.”

Townsend’s commitment to authenticity and casual swagger has cemented her status as a fan favorite—not that she’s chasing IG likes.

It’s all in between the ears. I know not everyone can handle this and I just keep telling myself that I’m a warrior. It’s in my blood. I’m a champion, and I’m built for this. Taylor Townsend

“From when I was a junior and from being in the public eye for so many years, I felt like I kind of had to fit in or occupy this box. Being older, I realized there’s no box I fit in, and I’m just comfortable in my skin and authentically presenting myself to the world.

“It’s so liberating for me, and I think people have really taken to that because it’s who I am. I’m unapologetically myself, and it’s hard to find that in a world where social media makes everyone want to be something that they’re not!

“It gives me strength and I’m happy I can be who I am and that people are receptive to that. But if they didn’t, I could honestly stand here and say I don’t give a shit! I really mean that, and I think people know it. I receive the love and I’m so thankful for it, but equally, the haters roll off my back because I couldn’t care less.”

Townsend’s next vacation won’t come until October when she trades her tennis racquet for a bridesmaid’s bouquet.

“I’ll have five days in Cabo to hang out. I might be on edge though, because it’s going to be with a whole bunch of people I don’t know!” she laughed. But I’m going to do my best to relax.”

In the meantime, watch out for the warrior.