American Varvara Lepchenko wants to crack the No. 15 next year. Lepchenko will continue working with her coach, Alberto Mancini, who began with her last spring.
“It's definitely been an amazing to work with [Mancini], someone with so much experience and who has been on such high level,” Lepchenko told TENNIS.com. “The goal next year to expand my capacity to play deeper in the tournaments and stay mentally tough till the end. And obviously get to the Top 15.”
Before retiring, Mancini won three singles titles and reached the French Open quarterfinals in 1989.
Lepchenko reached her highest ranking, No. 19, in 2012. Currently ranked No. 35, the 28-year-old left-hander had a fairly solid year, going 32-23 while reaching the Stanford semifinals and Seoul finals. In both tournaments, she defeated Top 10 player Agnieszka Radwanska.
At the start of the season, Lepchenko will play Brisbane, Hobart, and the Australian Open.