What do you think about Meghann Shaughnessy?

Meghann's a great player, and I think the fact that she doesn't have a real "loud" sort of personality puts her out of the spotlight a lot more than others who have similar rankings.

I really don't think her year was a fluke, she basically got a ranking she deserved. She consistently reached the rounds she was expected to (holding her seeding at the slams generally, reaching later rounds as a higher seed), plus she also notched a few big wins over the course of the year with few losses that would be considered bad. That put her into the 9-16 ranking range that will get you to the 4th round as long as you can beat the players ranked below you. She didn't do anything that was really amazing, no grand slam semifinals, no tier 1 titles or finals, but she got the job done when she was expected to, and the few big wins along the way gave her some nice bonus points too. Consistency is a great thing to have, and I think Meghann will continue to show a fair amount of consistency.

I hope it's not a fluke! Go Meghann....

Here is the article on her in this month's tennis Mag

Working out with... Meghann Shaughnessy <br />From the November 2001 issue of TENNIS.<br />Photo by Ron Angle.

By the standards of a sport in which 17-year-olds win major titles and most players are washed up by 30, American Meghann Shaughnessy, 22, is a bona fide late bloomer. After five years on the tour, she made her first serious run up the rankings earlier this season, beating Venus Williams and Monica Seles on her way to a career-high position of No. 12.

One look at Shaughnessy’s body -- stick thin but muscular -- shows that she’s earned her success. Her <br />performance coach, Mark Verstegen, of the Athletes’ Performance training facility (www.athletesperformance.com), in Tempe, Ariz., has designed a workout regimen that keeps her as fit as any player out there. Here are two of their favorites.

RUSSIAN TWIST “This is an exercise that improves stabilizing strength in the hip, core, torso, and shoulder by using unstable objects,” says Verstegen. By forcing you to keep your body balanced, the Physioball Russian Twist works core muscles. Shaughnessy rolls down onto an anti-burst physioball until her shoulders rest in the center. Keeping her torso straight and her shoulders back, she holds a weight in both hands. She turns her shoulders until they’re perpendicular to her hips -- which she keeps in the starting position -- and then rotates her shoulders back.

<br />TAKE THE LUNGE “We run Meghann through a series of movement drills for mobility and stability in the hips and torso,” says Verstegen. This routine includes the lateral lunge.

Meghann's certainly got the talent. She's quick, great serve, and powerful strokes. But like so many players, her problem is her consistency. The first time I've noticed Meghann was her match against Venus at last year's U.S. Open where she was 1 game away from taking the 1st set! Since then I have followed her and since then have becom a fan. She's had great wins this year includes Conchita Martinez, Sandrine Testud, Kim Clijsters, Monica Seles, Venus Williams, and Amanda Coetzer.

But I disagree somewhat from cynicole. Meghann lost to Venus at the Australian but reached the 4th round of the French and Wimbledon. She gave Jen a run for her money in the 1st set at the French and took Kim Clijsters to 2 tiebreaks in Wimbledon. The only shocker was a loss to Bedanova at the U.S. Open but we all know how Daja's run came out to be. <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

She's also had good results in high Tier's reaching the SF at Gold Coast, QF in Paris, Finalist in Scottsdale, Finalist in Hamburg, SF in Stanford, QF in the Canadian Open and won a title in Quebec City.

Although she lost in the 1st round of her last 3 tournaments, I can definitely see a rise in her for next year. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

Thanks Julian for correcting me on some of that stuff I typed out. It just shows how little they broadcast her matches and the paltry attention she gets...and my puts me in the club with people who don't remember anything that happened more than 3 months ago. (You know, the people who think that those who didn't score an indoor win in the fall - Capriati, Hingis, Henin, Mauresmo, etc. - suck big-time compared to Venus and those who did garner titles.)

After Quebec she just bombed out of everything...though she did reach that Filderstadt doubles final. I think she had some injury (who didn't?) and she did play like crazy this year (how many tournaments? 26?).

BTW - when I made the "personality" comment I really meant "marketable personality."

Does anyone know how many different doubles partners she has had this year? I think she made finals with at least four of them (and at least three of them with Belgians).