The 2010 Generation is already winning official matches

It is not normal to write an article about a girl who is only 15 years old without a strong reason to support it. In this case, there is one. First of all, let me introduce you to the protagonist, although be careful as her name is not the easiest to remember: Nauhany Vitoria Leme Da Silva. The Brazilian, still unknown within the circuit, made headlines this week after achieving her first professional victory at the WTA 250 in Sao Paulo, a tournament that extended a helping hand to her through a wildcard invitation. With that said, let's delve into the story of the first tennis player born in 2010 to win an official match.

Currently ranked #1206 in the world, we can almost say that Leme Da Silva is still a player without a ranking, although the points she earned last September already allowed her to make history and lead a whole generation. Nearly a year later, her name is back in the spotlight after defeating her compatriot Carolina Alves (6-7, 6-2, 6-0) a couple of days ago, who was ranked #237. The gap seemed large enough not to expect a surprise, but there was the 15-year-old to clinch the victory in 1 hour and 49 minutes.

It was only her seventh professional event - encompassing all levels of the pyramid, from ITF onwards - but this opportunity was enough for her to wave the flag of the 2010 generation and achieve that first triumph that will always be remembered, even though it may not mean anything in the future. It is interesting that it happened against Alves, considering that the WTA circuit had not seen a direct duel between Brazilians since Miami 2016, when Teliana Pereira and Beatriz Haddad Maia competed. To add to this, Alves initially took the lead in the match with a whitewash tiebreak, not losing a single point. What a personality Nauhany must have to turn the score around and secure the last eleven games.

SOUTH AMERICA SMILES

As you can imagine, South America is not the region with the most racquets on the world circuit, neither on the men's nor on the women's side. In fact, Beatriz Haddad Maia (#26) is one of the few chosen ones who can boast of dining at the table of the greats, those who never fail in major tournaments. In the Brazilian context, there are only two more women currently making a living from this: Laura Pigossi (#177) and the aforementioned Carolina Alves (#236). What is the issue? By 2026, none of them will be under 30.

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In Sao Paulo, the first WTA tournament held in Brazil since 2000, a 15-year-old girl managed to stir the emotions of the entire audience, opening the door to a promising future where South America can continue adding pieces in this battle. By the way, her journey did not go beyond the second round, where reality hit her abruptly with a clear loss to Solana Sierra (6-0, 6-4), an Argentine who is having her best professional season. Starting next week, we will see 'Nana' -as they call her- taking a leap in quality to reach #787 in the rankings, becoming the eighth best racket in the country. Who knows if in a decade we will be recalling this article with a smile on our face.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La generación de 2010 ya gana partidos oficiales