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Coach Olivier Jeunehomme prefers a steady rise and improvement but says he will take Clara Tauson's rapid rise and a good ranking position. Tauson, 19, is one of the brightest stars on the Tour as she has two WTA titles and one WTA 125k title in her collection.
Tauson, ranked at No. 40 in the world, achieved a career-high ranking of No. 33 last month. As Tauson prepares to play the Indian Wells Masters, her coach Jeunehomme did an interview with the tournament's website. “I prefer to go steady, but it’s a good problem to have,” Jeunehomme said of Tauson’s recent rise up the rankings.
“From the first time I saw Clara I really thought that she had big potential, so I expected that she will move forward, but I didn’t know exactly at which speed”.
Jeunehomme hoping to make Tauson a major star
“It’s a very interesting challenge, and this is why I decided to enter in this project,” he says.
“First of all because I have the support of the parents and from Clara, to take the time to develop her into a complete player. It was very important in the beginning of our collaboration, we took the time to have a discussion about that, because when I saw her potential, I said ‘Okay, what is the approach, what is the project?’” At the Australian Open, Tauson made the third round before losing to eventual runner-up Danielle Collins.
Tauson was up by a set and a break against Collins but the American recovered to win in three sets. After beating Tauson, Collins went on to make her maiden Grand Slam final - in which she was beaten by world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty.
Meanwhile, coach Jeunehomme says the priority for Tauson is to be able to compete against the best. “Right now the priority is there: to try to compete with the best players and see what she can do and what she needs to improve to be at that level – that’s the goal now,” says Jeunehomme.