McCartney Kessler is taking her career one step at a time, earning success at each stage along the way.
A former University of Florida standout, Kessler has moved from college tennis to winning matches on the UTR Pro Tennis Tour and ITF circuit, to now capturing a title on the WTA Tour.
She made waves recently, winning her first WTA 125 trophy at the end of February in Puerto Vallarta which bumped her to a new career-high world ranking of No. 120.
The 24-year-old captured the crown by making the most of her second chance after originally falling in qualifying and subsequently entering the main draw as a lucky loser. She reeled off five wins to take the title, ousting two seeded players along the way. She beat Australian Taylah Preston, a fellow UTR Pro Tennis Tour alumni, with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 comeback in the final.
A college-to-pro success story, Kessler played five seasons at the University of Florida, earning a bachelor’s degree in Health Education & Behavior in 2021 and a Certificate in Sport Management in 2022. She has been focusing on her pro tennis career for the past 18 months, proving she has what it takes to advance to the next level.
Her journey includes competing on the UTR Pro Tennis Tour, and appearing in the finals of three $25K events from 2021 to 2023. The Georgia native won her first ITF title in her home state last year, at a W60 tournament in Rome in October, and captured her second ITF trophy in the same city in February.
The 2024 season has already been a year of firsts for Kessler and it’s only March.
She opened by playing in her first WTA 250 event, qualifying in Auckland. The three-time All-American then competed at the Australian Open, her maiden Slam main draw. Earning her first Grand Slam win over France’s Fiona Ferro in the opening round, Kessler fell to eventual quarterfinalist Linda Noskova 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in the second round.
In March, Kessler backed up her biggest title milestone in Mexico by reaching the quarterfinals of the WTA 125K in Charleston as a qualifier and then making her WTA 1000 debut in Indian Wells.
Her steady ranking rise has followed her results. She currently boasts a UTR Rating of 12.22, putting her at No. 67 in the PTT rankings.
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At the start of 2023, she was ranked No. 944 on the WTA Tour. A year later, she sat at the No. 217 spot. Improving nearly 100 spots so far in 2024, Kessler is entering the upper echelon of pro tennis as she aims to compete at more top-level tournaments.