I am pretty optimistic about this year, this group of players here are really pushing themselves ie on the cusp of their talent level, they will loose plenty and win some rounds. The younger players with realistic chances of wins at 25K or above are all playing fed cup even Emma R, shame Fran wasnt there too.

To be frank Harriet and Katie Boulter out performed my expectations for them last year, Katie Swan is ticking along nicely, Fran and Emma R transitioning from juniors. I think we will see Jo maintain a place in the top 50 for the next 5 years hopefully closer to 10 than 40, Hev will hover around the 100 and hopefully the other girls mentioned continue to push on and through.

Katie Boulter has done this and s now top 100 with a better all round game than Naomi who has drifted a bit but did amazingly well to get where she got too with the tools she has, perhaps there may be a way back and Laura R has been playing some tennis. Compared to where we were two or three years ago this is Bostin! Glass definitely half full

Coup Droit wrote:

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I'm with TomT in that I like a lot of GB players to follow at low level, just for interest sake. And, just personally, I liked following all the quali players at the weekend (it seemed a 'weekend' sort of thing to do) and I miss it.

But I agree with most above that the situation for the women is looking pretty promising.
And I don't agree (unfortunately) that if we don't have the 15k players now, then there'll be nothing in the pipeline for the top level.
I fear that the federations will take care of their own and Matilda Mut, Holly Fischer (if fit) etc. for instance, will have their wildcards into WTA scoring events and will not really need 15ks.
The likes of Katie B are largely where they are due to wildcards too (not complaining, it's a very good use of wildcards, and that's what they're for, but she's hardly like a player from a tiny country who's had to work her way up through every level purely on results).
Now, I don't agree with the system - it means you're going to have to court favour with the federation even more than normal.
And you risk losing a couple of players who come through later or are not the favoured few.
But 15ks are not really the feeder system in the UK, and haven't been for quite a few years. So it won't make a huge difference to the look of GB tennis.

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Yes, I also miss following some of the q scores over the weekends, certainly makes the weekends now much emptier regards tennis, unless we have one or two finalists. 

But one other point you make there CD, is that the wall that now exists between W25s and W15s is now much greater than just the UK not putting on W15 tournaments. Previously our players could still go to Sharm or elsewhere in Europe for a few weeks, complete their 3 W15 counters, and then be relatively free to move on, as their standard improved. Now you cannot pick up WTA counters that way, you only can by not just entering 3 W25 tournaments, but having to get at least to winning a FQR match to get the first solitary W25 point. So if you are trying to do this under your own steam, the wall is such it will be incredibly hard to climb. It's such a blatantly unfair and unjust system, it feels it should be illegal, but I guess the main tennis tours can do what the hell they like unless their own players strike, which they won't. Also from Steven's twitter post, it seems the ITF sold its soul to the betting companies, and is the major reason the separate point systems have been established. I wish them ill will, they don't deserve to exist for selling out their players that way. 

L16: Estelle CASCINO (FRA) Elixane LECHEMIA (FRA) 699 (467+232) def Katy DUNNE (GBR) [3] Valeriya STRAKHOVA (UKR) [3] 491 (160+331) 6-2 2-6 10-8

We have a win

L16: Alicia BARNETT (GBR) (WC) Eden SILVA (GBR) (WC) 929 (503+426)v Katharina HOBGARSKI (GER) Kimberley ZIMMERMANN (BEL) 1169 (525+644) 6-2 7-6(4)

QF: Andreea MITU (ROM)/Elena Gabriela RUSE (Rom) [1] 307 (122+185) v Alicia BARNETT (GBR) (WC) Eden SILVA (GBR) (WC) 929 (503+426)