WEEK:  11.28.2016

Mover of the week honors go to American teenager, Catherine Bellis.   Bellis first came to my attention in 2014 when I watched her play at the US Open.  Her feisty personality and self-confidence captivated me during her run at the US Open, where she defeated Dominika Cibulkova in the first round before losing in three sets to Zarina Diyas in the next round.  She got revenge for that loss in Miami last year, defeating Diyas in straight sets.  Since the rules have changed, she has not been able to play that many WTA Tour tournaments; however, she has been making her presence felt on the ITF Tour.  She won four titles this year, three of which were consecutive victories.  I expect that we will be seeing much more of this teenager as she has already demonstrated that she enjoys the spotlight and wants to win every match she plays.  So far she seems to be handling the pressure very well for someone so young and now that she is in the top 100, she will no longer need to qualify or get wildcards for the Majors.  How far will she go in 2017?  She is definitely one to keep an eye on in 2017.

ATP /WTA Tours: there were no changes in the top ten members from last week.  They all maintained their exact positions.

SPECIAL NOTE:  Our spotlight player, Alexander Zverev, ended his 2016 season ranked just outside the top 20 at number 24.  He won his first title this year and will be hungry to win more next year.  Is he ready to make the commitment week in and week out to play the consistently high quality tennis that is required to get to the top 10?

SOURCE OF IMAGE: Creative Commons