Courtesy of Jamie Renton, ITF
When in Rome, win titles.
That appears to be the mantra for McCartney Kessler, at least.
The 24-year-old American doubled her career title tally on the ITF World Tennis Tour this weekend after winning her second title in five months on home soil in Rome, Georgia.
Her 6-4 6-1 victory over compatriot Liv Hovde, 18, at W75 Rome on Sunday propelled her to a career-high No. 152 this week – a remarkable rise for a player who began the 2023 season at No. 945 in the WTA rankings.
Kessler first competed on the ITF World Tennis Tour in 2016 but followed in the footsteps of both her parents, Carl and Julie, and brother McClain in playing college tennis in Florida, spending five seasons in action for the Florida Gators.
Her results at ITF level have put her in a position to compete at the upper levels of the game in recent months, and she has seized the opportunity.
Kessler qualified for the main draw at a WTA 250 event for the first time at Auckland at the turn of the year, before reaching the second round on her Grand Slam debut, as wild card, at the Australian Open.
In Melbourne, she pushed eventual quarter-finalist Linda Noskova – the conqueror of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, mighty close – ultimately falling 6-4 in the deciding set.
Signs suggest there’s plenty more to come from Kessler as she seeks to graduate to the WTA Tour full-time.
Photo credit – Wikipedia
