Peters Township native Alison Riske braces for Wimbledon
Primanti Bros. hasn't yet surpassed strawberries and cream as the trademark spectator snack at All England Club. But for the third time in four years, a Pittsburgh-area native is in the women's singles main draw at Wimbledon.
Fresh off a run to the semifinals of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, Alison Riske of Peters once again is part of the 128-player field at the Grand Slam event.
“Absolutely, I'm definitely looking forward to it,” Riske said. “Playing on that grass is always something just so special.”
The 22-year-old Riske will face Romina Oprandi, the player ranked No. 32 in the world and the No. 31 seed, in the first round Monday or Tuesday. Riske is ranked 126th by the Women's Tennis Association.
Her performance at Birmingham earlier this month earned Riske the wild card entry into Wimbledon. She has advanced to the semifinals in Birmingham twice in the past four years and was a quarterfinalist in 2011.
It's testament to how at home she feels on the British grass courts. Riske is 11-4 in main draw matches at the Birmingham tournament. At all other tournaments in main draw she is 0-13. Two of her victories this season came against top-30 players Sabine Lisicki and Tamira Paszek.
“It comes down to being comfortable there,” Riske said. “I love playing on grass, and I have some friends in Birmingham and people supporting me, and I think that's huge. I always seem to play well there, and I look forward to it every year.”
If Riske keeps up her strong grass-court play, she could look forward to playing at the All England Club every year, too. Although she lost in the first round at each of her two previous appearances, both were three-set matches against top-15 opponents, including No. 2 seed and reigning Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva in 2011.
“A few years ago, my breakthrough was kind of on grass courts, so I've always felt comfortable on it,” Riske said. “And obviously it brings out the best in me.”
Riske turned pro after winning the 2006 WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA singles championships during her only season competing in high school. She turned down a scholarship offer to Vanderbilt to do so and moved to Hilton Head, N.C., to train year-round.
She spent a large part of last year at the USTA's facility in Boca Raton, Fla., but late last fall moved to College Park, Md., to work on a more regular, formal basis with longtime coach Yves Boulais.
Boulais is a senior coach at the Junior Tennis Champions Center, a facility where Riske has access to fitness experts, renowned tennis coaches and reliable quality hitting partners.
“The USTA did a good job of making her more consistent,” Boulais said. “We've worked on making her more aggressive. When she's doing well, she plays a very big game.”
Riske, who also appeared in the main draw of the 2011 and 2012 Australian Open as well as the 2011 U.S. Open, has six career International Tennis Federation tournament singles titles and one double title to her credit. According to the WTA, she has earned $345,748 in career prize money.
To hear Boulais tell it, Riske hardly has scratched the surface.
“She's always been a great tennis player,” he said. “But she hasn't really fulfilled her full potential yet. The only thing holding her back is believing in herself.”
Chris Adamski is a freelance writer.
