A professional tennis player from Atlanta is returning to compete in the French Open this year.
Taylor Townsend clinched her spot late last month when she won a wild card challenge. This will be the 22-year-old's fifth consecutive main-draw appearance at the French Open.
When the direct-entry list for the Grand Slam event was finalized in mid-April, Townsend missed the cut-off because her Women’s Tennis Association ranking wasn’t in the top 100. As of two days ago, her ranking hit a career high at No. 71.
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If sustained, Townsend's ranking would be good enough for direct entry into Wimbledon and the US Open. It puts her at seventh best in the United States, with Venus Williams being the country's best. Simona Halep, from Romania, holds the No. 1 WTA ranking.
Townsend was born in Chicago, but she and her family moved south in 2004 to train at the South Fulton Tennis Center. She has won seven singles titles on the United States Tennis Association Pro Circuit to date, and has raked in $1,106,266 in prize money over her career.
Before turning professional, she became the world No. 1 junior in 2012.
Also called Roland Garros, the French Open is held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris. This year it runs May 21 to June 10.
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