Yes, I don't even want to think about Wimbledon WCs right now, they are not good thoughts. Keep wondering too whether Gabi would have been better off returning to Aus and the scenes of some of her triumphs last year. Japan has stronger fields, but I suspect the fact there is an unbroken run of 25ks there is the real drawcard. Of course, regardless of where she is playing, if Gabi and Katy want to move upwards again they have to be able to take on whatever 25k fields they are facing. Gabi has a few more weeks out here now and Katy at least one more... let's hope for some continued signs of improvement, but both will now end the IW fortnight with rankings only marginally in the 300s (Gabi around 280, Katy at or near 300 itself).

Anyway, Gabi does at least one win to show for her 21st, handy partner that she has to (who beat Katy D today). Top seeds next.

QF: Elena Gabriela RUSE / Gabriella TAYLOR (ROU/GBR) 684 (177+507) beat Robin ANDERSON / Catherine HARRISON (USA/USA) 1041 (422+619) 6-2 4-6 10-8

SF: Elena Gabriela RUSE / Gabriella TAYLOR (ROU/GBR) 684 (177+507) vs Ji Hee CHOI/ Na-Lae HAN (KOR/KOR) [1] 265 (134+131)

 

-- Edited by Michael D on Thursday 7th of March 2019 10:31:48 AM

Currently Naomi, Gabi and Katy D are all falling down the rankings. Maia is staying about where she is, and question now is whether she can break into the top 300 and continue to climb, and probably the most promising right now is Jodie, not far behind, and seen the largest climb this year (and Fran some way back a bit too, and Emma R, much further back yet). At the moment of those players, Jodie is on the best trajectory, but we know Gabi has more to her than she is currently showing, and maybe if she can turn it around it might inspire Katy too... As for Maia, I guess she's still at Stirling so for her it's deciding where to play since she still hasn't gained that many points (and wins) outside the UK. But for now the ONLY focus is seeing if this group can gain some further wins and small runs, that's all that counts for now!! (And sorry, I expect Naomi to be commentating with Laura this Wimbledon. In fact I'd rate Laura's chances of coming back greater than Naomi's but Laura has very few WTA points left now and so her ranking has fallen through the floor).

Gabi squared were thumped today

SF: Elena Gabriela RUSE / Gabriella TAYLOR (ROU/GBR) 684 (177+507) lost to Ji Hee CHOI/ Na-Lae HAN (KOR/KOR) [1] 265 (134+131) 1-6 4-6

ROSAMUND wrote:

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What are the reasons for the fall in ranking of Gabi Taylor apart from the fact that she hasn't won many matches  recently. This time last year she was on a par with Katie B. and Harriet Dart. If your contemporaries are doing well, in theory it is supposed to act as a spur. I have to be honest that at the time I thought she could have played 2nd singles in the Fed Cup match against Japan. In hindsight( a wonderful thing) I think Katie Boulter would have been a better bet. Her ranking seems to be in absolute free fall. In her time she  was a quarter finalist in Junior Wimbledon which is no mean feat for a British player. 

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I think there have been a contribution of factors Rosamund. First of all is the fact that after playing so well in the early part of the year, and then doing ok but not brilliantly in the higher level grass court tournaments, Gabi got injured again during the fall period and didn't play much again last year until late in the season. That definitely took away quite a bit of her momentum, and maybe her confidence too.

Second, she has changed her coaching set up since the early successful part of last year, and neither of those two coaches remain. Her current set up seems much more of an unknown at the moment.

But third, and probably most importantly, even when she was successful last year Gabi did not beat many higher ranked players (ie players ranked within the top 200). She won because of the variety in her game, her ability to keep her game together in breezy conditions (there were some very windy days in those tournaments she won), and her comparatively error free play. In short she won by playing smartly rather than having any brilliant weapons. She also remained very much in control of her temperament during that successful run.

This year - and at the end of last year since her return - she has lost those factors somewhat. Her game hasn't been quite so varied or smart, it's been much more error prone, she's shown a tendency to get upset quickly, and even the better weapons she had eg a good backhand down the line, some good cross court forehands at times, have not been there in the same way. To get to around 170 in the rankings last year was definitely a great achievement, and she looked like she needed a period of consolidation and firming up some of her strengths before trying to kick on. With her time out, coaching changes, and loss of the tightness that got her into the 200s, she's now failing to put any runs together and losing to players in the 200s not 100s this year. We hope she can get back, but without natural weapons, I think the quality of her coaching is probably really important for her, and not sure where that is right now... 

Yeah, very good summary.

It's interesting to note that the coach is, or certainly was up until a few week ago, working with Paula Badosa Gibert, and in the 5, 6 months they have been working together, the Spaniard has risen from 180+ to 129.

Rosamund wasn't alone either in thinking Gabi should have played Nara in Fed Cup singles. I remember at the time there were various people suggesting it across a number of social media platforms, but it does look a bit ambitious now in hindsight.

I think the level of competition is most crucial, because as impressive as the India/Aussie run was, as Michael says, she hardly beat anybody in the top 200 in that period (and later in the year as well). She did beat Watson on grass and pushed Vekic very close at Nottingham, but then again, most players in the top 200-300 will have that odd noteworthy result / performances - Fett with MP against Wozniacki before the Dane went on to win the Aussie Open, Muchova beating Muguruza at the US Open etc. unfortunately though, she is now losing to these 200-300 ranked players.

I'm not sure what her post Japan 25k / pre grass plans should be. Michael has mentioned elsewhere that he thought she should have played these current Aussie events instead of the generally stronger Japanese fields to get back to a happier place, probably against easier opposition, but I think the events have been a little sparser this year, only one Perth iirc and maybe more spaced out.

On the plus side, she should get more chances than the average 21 year old ranked 280-350 over the summer, but this time there is much more pressure on her. Last year there was an opportunity to push nearer the top 100 like what Katie B and even Harriet did, that didn't happen, but she still remained where she was, got to play in US and Aussie Open quals and could get into pretty much any 25k event he wanted, but this time if she does play Surbiton, Manchester, Ilkley, Eastbourne Q (or Wimbledon Q if no MDWC), there will be huge pressure for her to use those chances to get back inside the top 250 as we have seen with the likes of Maia and Jodie (and others) you're not guaranteed to play 25k's when you are in the 300's. There will be withdrawals (although most have it as their priority 1), but it looks like she will have to go through Kofu Qs on w/c 25th March and the more that ranking slips (which it is forecast to do), she might not even get into 25k Q's until the period when the number of events increases.

I wish her well and hope that she can get back into some form, but it's crazy to think of the contrast between now and this time last year when she just beat Katy on her way to another 25k final and title in Mildura.

SuperT wrote:

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This is a really interesting discussion, and it's clear that lots of factors have affected her performance, not least her injuries and coaching arrangements. One other thought is that I remember lots of comments at last year's Fed Cup, not just over whether she should be playing singles, but over the fact that throughout the whole tournament she looked really isolated form the rest of the team, to the extent that we almost wondered what she was doing there. This was very strange as normally there is huge camaraderie between everyone whether they play live runners or not. I can't help wondering whether this experience might have dented her confidence a bit?

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I agree I don't think it helped her. I still recall her posting pictures about the event, ie she was proud of her participation, but Anne's over emphasis on using just Jo and Heather really excluded Gabi. The views at the time - in addition to Ace's earlier points - was that Anne should not have been relying on Heather to win two matches in a row - singles and doubles - when just one was needed for the GB victory. It was rather decide which Heather was most like to win and then lay someone else for the other match to make sure Heather is fresh. That was really the debate about using Gabi in the reverse singles. Annie K included Gabi because she was the GB #3 at the time (together with Anna Smith who also wasn't used), but didn't appear to have any confidence in her, and the whole experience may indeed have had a negative effect on Gabi. She never really got going again after that event either. She had the one very good grass match against Donna Vekic, when she really did play well but just lost, but otherwise the grass season was disappointing for her (apart from a QF at the Surbiton 100k), as she met an array of quite strong opponents if I recall (including Bouchard in Wimbledon). But as with the year before, after the grass season she seemed to be afflicted by a couple of ailments, didn't appear again until US qualifiers, and then not again until late in the year as Ace mentioned. With all her wins now having fallen away, Gabi has another 29 pts coming off end of this month for a Canberra 60k SF, then after that her only significant points are for another Aus 60k SF at Bendigo end of Oct, and the aforementioned Surbiton QF. So for a year now after that glorious run she hasn't done too much further, which is why her ranking is now rather plummeting. She has ability, but I'm sure does need a team now who can really help her rebuild her confidence.  

 

Greet Minnen, who beat Gabi in the second round has reached the final now and will play Elena Gabriela Ruse, Gabi's doubles partner, in it. Both are unseeded with rankings in the mid 200s, so both will receive a boost from this week, whoever wins.