Kayla Day (born September 28, 1999)[1] is an American professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 84 by the WTA. As a junior, she won one junior Grand Slam title, at the 2016 US Open. There, she finished runner-up in the doubles event, partnering with Caroline Dolehide.
Despite having success as junior, Day has mostly spent time playing on the ITF Women's Circuit instead of WTA Tour, due to her ranking. She officially turned professional in 2017, at the Australian Open.[2]
Early life and background
Day started playing tennis when she was seven years old.[3] Her mother is from the Czech Republic.[4]
Junior career
She was No. 1 in the girls' 12s, 14s, 16s, and 18s national US rankings.[3] In 2016, Day climbed to the top of the ITF junior rankings by winning the 2016 Junior US Open, reaching semifinals at the 2016 Wimbledon, and reaching the final at the Orange Bowl the previous year.[5][6] She also achieved her best doubles result at a major event as a runner-up at the 2016 Junior US Open with partner Caroline Dolehide.[7] She won the 2016 USTA Girls 18s National Championships to earn a wildcard into the main draw of the US Open.[6][8] Day has been coached from the beginning by Larry Mousouris, who has coached two other Junior US Open winners (Michael Falberg and Tim Trigueiro).
Professional career
2016-2017: Turned professional, first title, Grand Slam & Premier-level debut
Day made her WTA Tour debut at the Connecticut Open in New Haven, after reaching the main draw as a lucky loser, having defeated Naomi Broady and Kirsten Flipkens along the way. The following week, she played in her first career Grand Slam at the US Open, and won her first match against compatriot Madison Brengle.
Shortly after turning 17, Day won her first career title at the $50k tournament in Macon, Georgia. The following week at Scottsdale, she reached the semifinals to enter the top 200 for the first time. With her combined performance at these two events, she won the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge to earn a spot in the main draw at the first major event of 2017.[9]
Day picked up her first tour wins of the season — and first wins of her career at a Premier Mandatory event — at the 2017 Indian Wells Open, including a victory over 2017 Australian Open semifinalist Mirjana Lučić-Baroni to reach the third round of the tournament.
2022: WTA 1000 debut
After almost five years of absence at the WTA 1000 level, she qualified for the main draw at the Guadalajara Open where she lost in the first round to Eugenie Bouchard.[10]
2023: French Open third round, top 100
Day won three matches in the French Open qualifying to make her first main draw at Roland Garros, as well as her first Grand Slam tournament appearance since the 2017 US Open.[11] She defeated wildcard Kristina Mladenovic[12] and 20th seed Madison Keys to reach the third round of a major for the first time.[13][14] Day lost to Anna Karolína Schmiedlová in round three.[15]
She claimed the title at the Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby, defeating Katherine Sebov in the final and moving to world No. 94 as a result.[16]
2024: Career-high ranking in top 85
Day lost to Viktoriya Tomova in the first round at the Australian Open.[17]
At the Indian Wells Open, she entered the main draw as a lucky loser replacing fourth seed and defending champion, Elena Rybakina, directly in the second round[18] where she lost to Nadia Podoroska.[19] She reached a career-high ranking of No. 84 on 1 April 2024.[citation needed]
She lost to lucky loser Hailey Baptiste in the first round at the French Open.[20]
Performance timelines
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, Hopman Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.
Singles
Current through the 2023 Korea Open.
| Tournament | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ... | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 1R | Q3 | A | Q2 | 1R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% | |
| French Open | A | Q2 | Q1 | A | 3R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% | |
| Wimbledon | A | Q1 | A | A | Q2 | Q2 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |
| US Open | 2R | 1R | Q1 | Q2 | 1R | Q1 | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% | |
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0 / 7 | 3–7 | 30% | |
| WTA 1000 | ||||||||||
| Qatar Open[a] | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Dubai[a] | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Indian Wells Open | A | 3R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% | ||
| Miami Open | A | Q1 | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Madrid Open | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Italian Open | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Canadian Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||
| Cincinnati Open | A | Q1 | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Guadalajara Open | A | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||
| Wuhan Open | A | A | A | NH | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |||
| China Open | A | A | A | NH | Q1 | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0 / 4 | 2–4 | 33% | ||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | ... | 2022 | 2023 | SR | W–L | Win % | ||
| Tournaments | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Career total: 17 | ||||
| Titles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 0 | ||||
| Finals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Career total: 0 | ||||
| Overall win–loss | 1–2 | 3–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–6 | 0 / 17 | 7–17 | 29% | ||
| Year-end ranking[b] | 195 | 154 | 300 | 195 | 87 | $860,655 | ||||
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 12 (5 titles, 7 runner–ups)
| Legend |
|---|
| $100,000 tournaments (2–0) |
| $80,000 tournaments (0–1) |
| $60/75,000 tournaments (1–1) |
| $25,000 tournaments (2–5) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | May 2016 | ITF Naples, United States | 25,000 | Clay |  Valeria Solovyeva
|
4–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Oct 2016 | Tennis Classic of Macon, United States | 50,000 | Hard |  Danielle Collins
|
6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Feb 2017 | Rancho Santa Fe Open, United States | 25,000 | Hard |  Bianca Andreescu
|
4–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Sep 2021 | ITF Fort Worth, United States | 25,000 | Hard |  Kaia Kanepi
|
2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1–4 | Oct 2021 | ITF Austin, United States | 25,000 | Hard |  Mirjam Björklund
|
6–2, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2–4 | May 2022 | ITF Naples, United States | 25,000 | Clay |  Ana Sofía Sánchez
|
6–1, 6–1 |
| Loss | 2–5 | Jun 2022 | ITF Wichita, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Elizabeth Mandlik
|
3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 3–5 | Oct 2022 | ITF Redding, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Jamie Loeb
|
6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 4–5 | May 2023 | ITF Bonita Springs, United States | 100,000 | Clay | Ann Li
|
6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–5 | Jul 2023 | Championnats de Granby, Canada | 100,000 | Hard | Katherine Sebov
|
6–4, 2–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 5–6 | Oct 2023 | Tyler Pro Challenge, United States | 80,000 | Hard | Emma Navarro
|
3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 5–7 | Apr 2024 | Charlottesville Open, |
W75 | Clay | Louisa Chirico
|
1–6, 5–7 |
Doubles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner–up)
| Legend |
|---|
| W100 tournaments |
| W75 tournaments |
| W25/35 tournaments |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Feb 2017 | Midland Tennis Classic, US | 100,000 | Hard (i) | Caroline Dolehide
|
Ashley Weinhold Caitlin Whoriskey
|
6–7(1), 3–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Feb 2017 | Rancho Santa Fe Open, US | 25,000 | Hard | Caroline Dolehide
|
 Anhelina Kalinina Chiara Scholl
|
6–3, 1–6, [10–7] |
| Win | 2–1 | Feb 2019 | Rancho Santa Fe Open, US | 25,000 | Hard | Sophia Whittle
|
 Eudice Chong  You Xiaodi
|
6–2, 5–7, [10–7] |
| Win | 3–1 | Oct 2024 | Edmond Open, United States | W75 | Hard |  Jaimee Fourlis
|
Sophie Chang Rasheeda McAdoo
|
7–5, 7–5 |
Junior Grand Slam finals
Girls' singles: 1 (title)
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2016 | US Open | Hard |  Viktória Kužmová
|
6–3, 6–2 |
Girls' doubles: 1 (runner-up)
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2016 | US Open | Hard | Caroline Dolehide
|
Jada Hart Ena Shibahara
|
6–4, 2–6, [11–13] |
Notes
- ^ a b The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009 until 2024. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status, while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
- ^ 2015: WTA ranking–988, ... 2019: WTA ranking–440, 2020: WTA ranking–475, 2021: WTA ranking–375.
References
- ^ a b "Kayla Day | Player Stats & More". WTA Official. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ Rubin, Stephanie (January 11, 2017). "Kayla Day to make Slam debut as Pro in Melbourne". Baseline. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "Kayla Day cruises into Junior singles' semi-final". Wimbledon. July 7, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
- ^ "Meet Kayla Day, American Teenager with Plenty to Smile About". WTA Tennis. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
- ^ Pantic, Nina (September 13, 2016). "A brand new day: U.S. Open Junior Champ Kayla Day is as confident as she is talented". tennis.com. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ a b "Kayla Day Junior Singles Activity". ITF Junior. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
- ^ "A Brand New Day: U.S. Open Junior Champ Kayla Day is as confident as she is talented". Tennis.com. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ "Michael Mmoh, Kayla Day earn US Open Wild-card Entries". Tennis Magazine. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
- ^ "Tennis Phenom Kayla Day Goes Pro". independent.com. January 4, 2017.
- ^ "Andreescu solves Kvitova to reach Guadalajara last 16". October 18, 2022.
- ^ "Santa Barbara's Kayla Day outlasts Avanesyan to reach French Open main draw". keyt.com. May 25, 2023.
- ^ "Kayla Day wins French Open first round match". keyt.com. May 30, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ "Tracing Kayla Day's path to a milestone moment at the French Open". Women's Tennis Association.
- ^ "Keys hits remarkable 74 unforced errors during match against Kayla Day at Roland Garros". tennisuptodate.com. June 2, 2023.
- ^ "Roland-Garros: Schmiedlova cruises past Kayla Day to reach the last 16". Tennis Majors. June 3, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ "Kayla Day wins Granby 100k and cracks top 100 rankings". keyt.com. July 23, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ "Australian Open: Tomova into second round, Svitolina next". Tennis Majors. January 15, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ "BNP Paribas Open: Last year's champion Elena Rybakina withdraws 4 hours before first match". Desert Sun.
- ^ "Indian Wells: Podoroska advances to third round". Tennis Majors. March 9, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ "Roland-Garros: Baptiste into second round". Tennis Majors. May 27, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
