Back in 2012, a 16-year-old Taylor Townsend was the No. 1 junior girl. That year, she clinched both the Australian Open junior singles and doubles titles, becoming the first American girl to do so since Lindsay Davenport at the 1992 U.S. Open. Later, in the summer, she won the Wimbledon girls’ doubles title, as well. All that after she had beaten an opponent twice her age to progress to the second round of the US Open qualifying the previous year. However, none of her accolades mattered to the USTA, which refused to cover the expenses required for her travel to tournaments like Girls 18s Nationals and U.S. Open until she lost weight.

While sharing his thoughts on this decision, the then general manager of the USTA’s player development program, Patrick McEnroe had then said, “Our concern is her long-term health, number one, and her long-term development as a player. We have one goal in mind: For her to be playing in [Arthur Ashe Stadium] in the main draw and competing for major titles when it’s time. That’s how we make every decision, based on that.” Eventually, it was her mother, Sheila, who had to foot the bill for New York. And while legends like Lindsay Davenport spoke up in her support, it was one of the darkest moments of her playing career.

But she has enough cause for celebrations now that she and Zhang Shuai have booked a spot in the final of the doubles event at the Citi Open. This comes shortly after Emma Raducanu and Elena Rybakina’s mid-match withdrawal from the nail-biting clash. But interestingly for Townsend, she has not only secured the spot in the final, but she will also become the new WTA doubles World No. 1 on Monday.

This will indeed make her the first mom ever to achieve this feat. Yet to win a singles title, but she has already won nine in doubles, and that includes two Grand Slam triumphs (2024 Wimbledon, 2025 AO). And now she’ll go past her usual doubles partner Katerina Siniakova, who is in her 161st week as World No. 1 at the moment. Ups and downs have been very much part of Townsend’s career, but throughout these years of professional tennis, it seems Townsend has not only developed a ‘thick skin’ to flick off unwanted negativity but also figured out a way to silence the naysayers.

In 2023, during an interview, Taylor Townsend claimed, “Every time that I step on the court, whether it’s singles or doubles or mixed doubles, whether it’s a Grand Slam or Challenger, I don’t take it for granted.” And even after the win, she couldn’t help but look back on her journey and be happy about how far she has come.

Taylor Townsend revisits her darker phases after becoming the new doubles number one

Previously, while sharing her thoughts about the hurdles that came in the way of her chase for excellence, Taylor Townsend said that it’s all about maneuvering through those things. This time, after putting up a stellar show at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, Townsend yet again opened up on her hardest struggles.

She spoke about how she had to defend herself right from a very young age and silence all her critics. “It’s made me who I am, and it’s made me appreciate every step of the way, and being able to have somebody say, externally, ‘You look so happy playing,’ that’s a win.” How does it feel to secure the top spot in the WTA doubles rankings?

“It is a dream. It’s one of the goals that I set for myself when I actually began to think it was attainable,” said Townsend. She claimed that there hasn’t been anyone who has gone through what she has gone through in these years. After all, the body positivity movement didn’t exist at the time, and “it was common to scrutinize body types and give a person a body archetype and what you should be and having to put people in this box.” But with time, she believes, those boxes have now been shattered, and it’s time to accomplish whatever she wants.

And one of the biggest motivating factors behind it has been her son. Being a working mom is never easy, and Taylor Townsend has often spoken about the hardships of being a tennis mom. She welcomed her son, Adyn Aubrey, on March 14, 2021, and talking about balancing her family life with her professional life, she once admitted, “Being a working mom, it’s not easy, but I try and make it worthwhile and always tell him I’m leaving for a reason.”

According to her, being a mother to Adyn motivates her on different levels. “Being a mother to Adyn also has given me a large amount of accountability,” said Townsend. She claims that before leaving her home, she now looks at the eyes of her son and tells him she’d be coming back with a trophy. Perhaps that’s what has been the secret to her recent success. Share your thoughts on Taylor Townsend’s amazing resurgence.