'Top 50 Singles Is My Next Marker I Want To Hit': Taylor Townsend On World Team Tennis All Star Event On CBS
(CBS Local Sports)-- Everyone is dying to watch sports these days and on Saturday April 4, CBS will air a World Team Tennis All Star event featuring some of the biggest names in tennis.
Maria Sharapova, Sam Querrey, Taylor Towsend, James Blake and Mardy Fish are just a few of the competitors fans will see on Saturday at 1:30pm EST/PST. The 23-year-old Townsend is one of the best young stars in tennis and is coming off a 2019 season when she made it to the 4th round of the U.S. Open and beat Simona Halep. This event was one of the last Townsend played in before the outbreak of coronavirus shut down sports around the world and she's excited for people to check out the event this weekend.
"It was really fun and that was one of the last real live events that anyone played," said Townsend in an interview with CBS Local's DJ Sixsmith. "I love playing World Team Tennis and it's obviously something different with a different format and different style. There were some really great players on the court and they always do a really great job in San Diego. The crowd was amazing and it was sold out. It was really fun to participate in something like that."
FULL INTERVIEW:
Townsend has played the last few years in the WTT for the Philadelphia Freedoms. The southpaw has won 158 matches in her career and is currently ranked just outside of the top 70. Townsend was a former #1 player in the world on the junior circuit and won singles and double titles as a junior at the Australian Open. While she's accomplished a lot, Townsend still has big goals in mind for her career.
"The climb has been tougher and I'm still not where I want to be at all," said Towsend. "That [the U.S. Open] was just a stepping stone. The climb has been really tough because there were lots of ups and downs along the way. I'm not too far from the top 50, I was at 73 when the ranking froze. Top 50 singles is my next marker I want to hit for myself. I think that I can do it."
Watch Townsend compete in the World Team Tennis All Star Match Saturday, April 4 at 1:30pm EST on CBS.