After a busy 2024, Kayla Cross has a lot to be thankful for ahead of the holidays. ‘I feel healthy,’ the Canadian said during an exclusive interview on Match Point Canada. ‘I think over the last few years I’ve always had these little dips due to injury or illness. Now that I’m feeling good, I’m unstoppable.’
‘Unstoppable’ is an understatement. The 19-year-old London, ON native reached new career highs in both singles and doubles to close out the season. In singles, she finished second at the Championnats Banque Nationale de Granby in July. Just a month later, she won her first professional singles title at the W35 Saskatoon Challenger, defeating Canadian compatriot Mia Kupres in the final.
Cross gained further ground in the autumn with a second place at the Tevlin Challenger in Toronto and has continued to compete ever since. With 52 singles victories this year, one title and two finals, she has increased her singles ranking by 378 positions to a career high of 266.
In doubles, the Canadian has shown her versatility, working with multiple partners throughout the year with great success. She won consecutive clay court titles with Ariana Arseneault in Punta Cana in September, won both the W35 Edmonton and W75 Calgary National Bank Challenger with Maribella Zamarippa in October, and recently won another ITF event in Miami with American Anna Rogers.
She attributes her adaptability as the reason why she has been able to win with multiple players. ‘I’m pretty open when it comes to playing doubles. I try to see what they want to do, what patterns they like, so I think that’s why I’ve been so successful with different players.’
With six doubles titles in 2024, she is now ranked 180th in the world. Although the huge ranking improvement in both singles and doubles has paid off, it was never a focal point for her in 2024. ‘This year was more about getting fit and doing things myself. I didn’t set myself huge ranking goals. It obviously worked out pretty well,’ laughed the Canadian.
Besides her successes on the court, Cross enjoyed the friendships and experiences she gained on the tour. Travelling from tournament to tournament, she has prioritised making connections with familiar faces she meets along the way.
‘You can go to dinner with people. It was really important for me to make friends and those connections on the tour, so I continue to have fun while I’m out there.’ ‘I made so many friends on the tour this year, which was great.’ With the knee problems that have plagued his 2023 season now in the rear-view mirror, Cross is looking at a more specific performance target for next year.
‘Looking a little further ahead, my goal is to qualify for the French Open.’ She will start by competing in ITF events in the US in the first few months of the season to build on that. With her experiences so far, the 19-year-old is taking every opportunity to play, travel and connect. When asked which female player she would most like to face, Cross didn’t shy away from the possibility of meeting the world number 1.
‘Maybe (Aryna) Sabalenka. Someone who has a lot of power, I want to see if I can hold my own,’ laughs Cross. As for a dream doubles partner, why not a U.S. Open champion and Olympic medallist from the same country? ‘Obviously Gaby Dabrowski. As a Canadian, it would be so special to play with her.’ With her health restored and her confidence high, 2025 promises to be another great year for Kayla Cross.
Leave a comment