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Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus
I don't disagree, however she certainly has the tools to defend against some of the top players on tour. Over the last few tournaments she's actually shown glimmers of putting things together until it inevitably comes crashing down again with mental lapses a complete loss of drive on court.
She clearly has not put in the time to improve her ball striking and serving over the last 2 years and the added distractions provided by her social media accounts and modeling make it crystal clear where her priorities lie. The real problem will be whether or not the sponsors give a damn about a tennis player that isn't really playing high level tennis in a year or two if she doesn't turn her attitude around....which is what I truly believe is keeping her from being a top 25 player, even if she isn't winning events.
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Really the only time she showed the consistent ability to compete against other top 20 players was in that first year, when her approach was to take the ball very early. Once everyone else figured that out about her, it seems like she simply had no other ideas to win matches. Then she lost her confidence with that Wimbledon/Montreal stretch. I'd argue she's never actually recovered from that.
The sponsors care about her being in the news. Whether that's from winning events or being a socialite, they don't particularly care. Anna K was still the most searched female athlete in the world seven or eight years after she retired. Serena has been the best women's player in the world for years, yet it's Maria who rakes in a lot more sponsorship money. And so far Genie appears to be a good brand ambassador, makes the plugs and does the PR asked of her. So if she can stay in the news and keeps representing the brands well, she'll be fine.
Ultimately I think her best case scenario is probably a floater, a player who is somewhere between 20-40, who occasionally breaks the top 20 and occasional falls out of the top 40. Might make a few more quarters in majors, but probably never wins one. I worry more she'll just totally lose interest if she ever has to start qualifying to make every Premier event. That's where it becomes a grind just to try and become a top 60 player. Not sure she has the will to fight through that situation.