In any line of work, labels and reputations are hard to shake. In tennis, Agnieszka Radwanska is the sport’s avant-garde artist, David Ferrer the untiring grinder and Gael Monfils the charismatic entertainer.
What about world No. 12 Carla Suarez Navarro? She lacks a defined label, but is proof that even in today’s insatiable sports environment, a great player can still slip by unnoticed.
Suarez Navarro recently cracked the Top 10 for the first time, and coming into this week’s Madrid Open was 23-8 on the season, including a run to the Miami final. But unless you’re a tennis diehard, you’d never know; it’s as if most people think the Spaniard’s success is a mirage.
Seeded 14th, Suarez Navarro reached the quarterfinals of last year’s French Open, where she lost to Eugenie Bouchard, the darling of the WTA and its biggest—and newest—star of 2014. The defeat was somewhat symbolic: There’s no doubt that the tour’s younger stars overshadow Suarez Navarro. The world, and especially sports fans, are obsessed with youth, but that doesn’t mean we have to ignore slightly older players. There’s room for both.
Suarez Navarro turns 27 in September—not quite a veteran, but not a rising star, either. The myth, especially in the women’s game, is that a player has to make it big before her teens are over. But even with the game aging in recent years, tennis is having a hard time shaking this theory. Fans can be quick to write a player off for old age, but on both tours, players in their late 20’s and 30’s are proving themselves time and time again.
