Taylor Townsend came back from the brink to defeat compatriot Caroline Dolehide in a third-set breaker to advance to the second round of the Cincinnati Open.
It’s been a hectic few weeks for the American, who has already contested 11 singles matches so far in August.
After clinching the doubles title in Washington, Townsend jetted off to Toronto to play in the Canadian Open.
The 28-year-old entered the main draw as a lucky loser but capitalized by crushing the likes of world number 11 Jelena Ostapenko in a stellar run to the quarter-final stage.
Despite a frantic overnight journey from Toronto, Townsend has now been able to come through qualifying unscathed in Cincinnati and muscle her way into the second round of the main draw.
Taylor Townsend compares herself to ‘regular people’
Townsend posted a video to her Instagram on Saturday after her loss to Emma Navarro in the Toronto quarter-finals that explained her ‘stressful’ situation.
After deliberation, she resorted to hiring a car and driving overnight so that she would arrive in time for her afternoon qualifying match at the Cincinnati Open.
Speaking to Tennis Channel after her first-round win in the main draw on Wednesday, Townsend elaborated on her eventful few days.
“I literally have not had a day off in three and a half weeks,” she said. “From Toronto, we drove eight hours to come here [Cincinnati] – we arrived at 05:30 am.
“I slept for four hours, came on-site, warmed up, played, and then qualified. The next day I played and qualified.
“I’ve just been going day after day after day. But the travel day to come here was crazy. It was the only thing we could do that made sense.
“It’s been tough but it’s part of the grind, part of the journey. This is the stuff that I pull strength from because I know I’ve got this in me. If it was regular people, they wouldn’t be able to do this – that’s what I tell myself.”
Townsend has a lot on her plate with singles and doubles
It goes without saying that Townsend is an extremely gifted tennis player, whether that be on the singles or doubles court.
Despite only being 28 years old, she has navigated the professional tennis circuit since 2012.
But since giving birth to her son in 2021, Townsend’s results have catapulted her up the WTA rankings in both disciplines.
She is the reigning Wimbledon doubles champion – alongside Katerina Siniakova – and sits at a career-high of 51 in the singles.
But despite the accolades, juggling priorities in both singles and doubles is always a tall order for anyone in the sport, despite their quality.
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