Heather Watson was born in Saint Peter Port, Guernsey on May 19, 1992, to parents Ian and Michelle. She started playing tennis at age seven and moved to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida at age 12. Watson achieved great success at the junior level.
Her honors before turning pro include a gold medal from the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games and a girls' US Open victory in 2009. She also reached the Roland Garros doubles junior final alongside Timea Babos. Her first professional event was in 2009 at the ITF event in Jersey where she reached round two.
However, she turned pro in 2010, made the main draw at the Miami Open, and won her first-ever WTA match at the Eastbourne International. Shortly after, she made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon 2010 but lost in round one. Watson excelled in the following two years to establish herself on the WTA Tour.
In 2011, she won her first Grand Slam match at the Roland Garros and climbed into the Top 100 for the first time in her career. She also competed at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2011. The British player kept progressing in 2012, reaching the second round at the French Open and round three at Wimbledon.
Late in the season, Watson became the first British female player since 1988 to win a WTA title. She lifted the HP Open title after beating Chang Kai-chen in the final This result lifted Watson into the WTA Top 50.
Watson made the early rounds of several tournaments, including the Australian Open third round in 2013. However, she struggled for most of the campaign with glandular fever. 2014 was a more consistent season for Watson. She won the ITF level Midlands Classic and the Sparta Prague Open before a deep run in Eastbourne and a second-round stint at Wimbledon.
Watson started 2015 in fine form and won the Hobart International - her second career title. She defeated Madison Brengle in the final and rose to 38th in the WTA Rankings. Some decent results followed at Indian Wells, where Watson reached the last 16. In addition, she made the third round at Wimbledon and was two points away from beating Serena Williams.
After an early exit at the 2016 Australian Open, Watson recovered with a third career title win at the Monterrey Open, beating Kirsten Flipkens in the final. Watson struggled in grass season and was eliminated in round one at Wimbledon. But she won her first mixed doubles Grand Slam title at Wimbledon with Henri Kontinen.
She then represented Great Britain at the 2016 Olympics and made the second round in singles and doubles. However, she fared better in mixed doubles alongside Andy Murray, as the duo reached the quarter-finals. Watson had a difficult start to 2017 and suffered several early round exits and failed to qualify for the Roland Garros.
She showed signs of improvement in mid-season, reaching the Eastbourne International semi-finals and third round at Wimbledon. Moreover, Watson made a second consecutive Wimbledon mixed-doubles final but lost against Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis.
Watson’s form declined in 2018 and she lost 10 consecutive first-round matches between January and May. Her struggles continued on grass courts as she lost in round one at Birmingham, Eastbourne, and Wimbledon.
Between 2019 and 2020, the British player had a gradual return to form. She reached the Tianjin Open final in October 2019 before reaching the Hobart International semi-finals in early 2020. Watson then won her fourth career title at the Mexican Open by beating Leylah Fernandez.
Since late 2020, Watson has produced credible runs at several events. She made the semi-final of the 2021 Birmingham Classic before losing to eventual winner Ons Jabeur. In 2022, Watson’s best-ever Wimbledon performance came as she reached the round of 16 for the first time. Watson also had some strong results in 2023 during a topsy-turvy campaign. She reached the quarter-finals in Hua Hin and Warsaw and made the semi-finals at the Nottingham Open.
