Allie Kiick may not be playing the same tennis that took her to that ranking at 19. Her results haven't been amazing. She won 2 rounds of US Open qualifying, and then Duval retired on her in Q3. On paper that's her most impressive achievement in her return. She's only ranked 444 right now and since she's been through much more than Laura, so who knows how close she is to who she used to be.

If Kiick is top 100 in 12 months of so, then we'll know. For now, there is the replay of their previous match to see what you think of their levels. I think Boulters level was poor in that match, and it sounds like it was poor again.

Priesty wrote:

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Reading the article before Wimbledon, posted in another thread, I sort of got a sense (rightly or wrongly) that Laura was almost enjoying her new life at $25-60K level, visiting new places and staying with an Amish family in Landisville. I didn't really get the impression of someone with a burning desire to get back to the heights she once occupied and it seemed in stark contrast to the culture shock Hev felt when she had to briefly drop down into the ITFs which proved to be her motivation to climb back up the rankings. Don't know what others thought.

-- Edited by Priesty on Thursday 14th of September 2017 07:53:26 PM

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To conclude something like that is both uninformed and unfair on Laura. At least, that's what some people wil tell you. But not me, I picked up the same feelings from it that you did. But I think all that stuff on her attitude is already established and old news.

skibbarriz wrote:

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Priesty wrote:

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Reading the article before Wimbledon, posted in another thread, I sort of got a sense (rightly or wrongly) that Laura was almost enjoying her new life at $25-60K level, visiting new places and staying with an Amish family in Landisville. I didn't really get the impression of someone with a burning desire to get back to the heights she once occupied and it seemed in stark contrast to the culture shock Hev felt when she had to briefly drop down into the ITFs which proved to be her motivation to climb back up the rankings. Don't know what others thought.

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 To conclude something like that is both uninformed and unfair on Laura. At least, that's what some people wil tell you. But not me, I picked up the same feelings from it that you did. But I think all that stuff on her attitude is already established and old news.

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 Well, I don't know what life is like at that level, or whether she's still got any sponsors. But if it works for her, it's a waste of talent, but it's her choice.

Maybe training hard and being in the limelight just isn't her thing. I like the quitea few on this forum haven't got really high hopes for her now. I'm much more interested in Jo, Hev and the two Katies.

I still think someone who could shift her mental attitude could result in a big difference in her grain. At present she is very ingrained with bad faults and thus far there has been little sign of these shifting; if anything the faults have become more consolidated and evidenced over the past year. It was a sports psychologist that made the breakthrough difference with Jo too. With Laura, not sure it is going to happen though for many of the reasons suggested above. Personally, I'm sure she'd like to be back on the main tour and I doubt if the ITF tour is where she wants to be. I would suspect that any 'contentedness' at being on the second tour level is covering up a degree of shame at not being competitive on the main tour any longer, I doubt if its truly genuine. But what is certainly not clear is whether Laura really has the stamina and ability to face up to the weaknesses that are keeping her where she is right now, or if anything leading her to regress gradually. She has not given any recent signs of being up for this battle, even if she continues to practice relatively hard. She needs to do some tearing up the script and fresh starting if she really wants to be back.

What we don't know is what affect Laura's wrist operations had on her hand/eye coordination and on her confidence to hit the ball as freely as she used to. At her best she could consistently hit the ball hard close to the lines even against the best opponents. Only Laura and people close to Laura will know what is limiting that ability now.

Undoubtably movement is a very big problem. And a lot is little close to the ball final movements, sometimes where no bigger movements are required. She is just not quite in the right position a lot of the time, sometimes a bit more than "not quite" when she could / should be. Also undoubtably she still at times strikes the ball like old.

She did have movement issues before her injury but still, as said, largely on consistently hitting the ball hard and accurately got where she did. And I do think the little movements into position were maybe better, which is rather strange.

What with her wrist injury she did have is over a year to do a lot of specific movement training. I know you can't fully replicate moving without racquet in hand and hitting a shot but well thought out and structured she could surely have done a hell of a lot of useful work in that area with dance experts or whoever. If she didn't, and there's very little evidence, then that is, being kind, very neglectful.

But never too late, to work on that movement for #1, especially at her age, unless there just is some issue(s) that is just not at all clear that can't be overcome.

Laura was not particularly good at moving when she was in the top 50 but her consistent hitting to the lines made it hard for her opponents to exploit her lack of mobility.