Taylor Townsend just made history. Last week, she became the 50th player to reach the WTA doubles world No. 1 spot. Even more impressive, she is the first ever mother to hold that title. But her ambitions are not limited to doubles. She’s been turning heads in singles as well. At the Citi Open in July, she made it all the way to the quarterfinals before falling to the eventual champion, Leylah Fernandez. Now in Cincinnati, her doubles run ended early with a first-round exit. But that setback has only fired up her determination to make a deep singles run. Standing in her way is her Round of 32 opponent, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. Here’s everything you need to know about the rising Spaniard.

Jessica Bouzas Maneiro picked up a tennis racket at just five years old at Club de Tenis O Rial, her hometown club. By age 13, she had moved to Alicante to train at the Ferrero Tennis Academy, an academy renowned for producing strong players including Carlos Alcaraz and David Ferrer. In 2022, she shifted base to Madrid to work with Javier Martí, who used to coach Paula Badosa. More recently, in September 2023, she brought on Roberto Ortega Olmedo as her coach to fine-tune her game.

At 22 years old and in her second year on the WTA Tour, she’s grown leaps and bounds. This year, the Spaniard had her breakout moment as she secured a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win over Emma Navarro at Roland Garros. She followed that up with her best Grand Slam showing so far, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon. She carried that momentum into North America by reaching her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in Montreal.  However, she lost to Victoria Mboko, the eventual champion. She entered Cincinnati ranked a career-high No. 42 in the world, reflecting her steady rise.

What makes Bouzas Maneiro a player to watch is her ability to thrive as an underdog. She stunned many by knocking Venus Williams out of Cincinatti right at the start. Then, she shocked Washington champion Leylah Fernandez with a second-round win. Townsend, meanwhile, has also been impressive in Cincinnati with wins over Danielle Collins and Liudmila Samsonova. The upcoming match between these two could be a real battle and might even go the distance.

Townsend is keen to make the most of her current form. Playing both singles and doubles every week means she is getting plenty of court time. But it comes with a risk. After all, managing both singles and doubles is like doubling the trouble.

Taylor Townsend talks about the grueling tennis schedule

With tournaments coming thick and fast, Taylor Townsend has little choice but to keep playing. But the 29-year-old made her feelings about the packed calendar clear in an interview with Claytenis.com. When asked if tennis needs to take more risks, Townsend was direct: “Yeah, I do. There’s definitely room for improvement — with the rules, the scheduling, a lot of things need to be reassessed.”

Many tennis players, including Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz, have openly spoken about the hectic tennis calendar. Townsend echoed their concerns and added, “It’s not just the playing schedule — it’s also the travel, the constant changes in location, the surface shifts, the ball changes. We’re always adjusting. And the people making the rules don’t go through that. Yet we’re expected to perform at our best every single week. At the end of the day, we’re human beings — not robots.”

Taylor Townsend’s journey from record-breaking doubles star to singles contender is one to watch closely. Meanwhile, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro’s rise signals a new challenge for her in Cincinnati. Tennis fans are in for an exciting showdown. Who will come out on top? Only the court will tell.