Tyra Caterina Grant, who is the rising star of tricolor tennis who stunned everyone in Madrid

First a nightmarish set, then the resounding comeback: Tyra Grant, rising star of Italian tennis and current No. 262 in the WTA rankings, gained access to the main draw of the WTA 1000 in Madrid after beating Hungarian Panna Udvardy in the last qualifying round. 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 the score in favor of the 18-year-old born in Rome and raised in Vigevano, daughter of former American basketball player Tyrone Grant and tennis teacher Cinzia Giovinco, among other things her current manager.

Born May 12, 2008, and representing the Italian colors since the spring of 2025, Tyra Caterina Grant has already experienced tennis at the highest level having been part of the Italian team that won, just last year, the Billie Jean King Cup, along with Jasmine Paolini, Sara Errani, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Lucia Bronzetti, captained by Tathiana Garbin.

At the individual level, she has won three tournaments on the ITF circuit (Antalya and Val Gardena 2024, Pula 2026), also making a name for herself in doubles at the Junior Grand Slam level, with successes in the junior tournaments of Paris 2023, Melbuorne and Wimbledon 2024 (the first with Clervie Ngunoue, the second and third with Iva Jovic, both from the United States).

This makes three Italian tennis representatives in the women’s tournament in Madrid: in addition to Grant there will be Jasmine Paolini, No. 9 in the rankings, who will start directly from the second round where she will face Germany’s Laura Siegemund (No. 47 WTA), and Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who will instead enter the game from the first round against another athlete to be decided among those from the qualifiers.