New USA Career-High Rankings, August 18, 2014

Each week I will endeavor to bring you a list of USAmerican players who have reached a new career-high ranking. This list is not exhaustive but will cover most players in the Top 1000. 

New ATP career-high rankings, August 18, 2014

Player name	New CHR	Last wk *= pvs CHR	+  from last wk	Pvs CHR If prior to last wk	Date achieved If prior to last wk
Steve Johnson	49	55	+6	54	7/21/2014
Jack Sock	55	56*	+1
Chase Buchanan	158	172*	+14
Jared Donaldson	305	308*	+3
Dennis Nevolo	409	412*	+3
Connor Smith	482	490	+8	489	8/4/2014
Mitchell Frank	508	601*	+93
Alexander Sarkissian	680	681*	+1
Peter Kobelt	698	717*	+19
Collin Altamirano	837	842*	+5
Raymond Sarmiento	865	869	+4	867	7/28/2014
Spencer Papa	891	895	+4	893	8/4/2014
Martin Redlicki	949	1168	+219	1086	6/9/2014
Tom Fawcett	1983	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

UPDATE! I totally forgot Ernesto Escobedo, #509 (previous high #511 set 8/11/2014)! And he'll rise after today's first round qualies win at the US Open!  Also forgot Nicolas Podesta, #1570 (previous high #1572, set 7/28/2014).  Sorry guys!

Welcome to the Top 50, Steve Johnson!  It seemed inevitable back in May that he'd reach this spot, given his rise into the Top 65 and few points to defend the rest of the year, but as we know we can't take *anything* in this sport for granted (other than Sharapova losing to Serena).  So it's great to have him here following straight-set wins over Paire and Gulbis in Cincinnati; even if he does drop down in the coming weeks, one suspects one hasn't seen the last mention of him on this list. 

Buchanan, meanwhile, had a triumphant entrance into the Top 160 with a solid run in Cincinnati qualifying.  Like Johnson, he was thwarted from rising even higher this week by a third-set tiebreak loss to a much higher ranked player (in his case, João Sousa; in Johnson's, Milos Raonic). Unlike Johnson, he does have a fair number of points to defend over the next couple of months - three futures wins and a challenger semi - so depending on how his USOpen goes (he drew top seed Malik Jaziri in the first round of qualies) it may take him a while to inch back up.

Mitchell Frank may not have the type of game most American kids idolize but through hard work, smarts, and determination the UVA rising senior put himself on the verge of the Top 500 and secured himself a wildcard to USOpen qualies, where he'll face none other than Stefan Kozlov.  Meanwhile, two Illinois kids off to the Pac 12 made some noise: Martin Redlicki (UCLA) rode his semifinal run in Edwardsville to a top 1000 debut while Tom Fawcett (Stanford) got his first ATP point by beating University of Illinois' Tim Kopinski after qualifying for Edwardsville.

New WTA career-high rankings, August 18, 2014

Player name	New CHR	Last wk *= pvs CHR	+  from last wk	Pvs CHR If prior to last wk	Date achieved If prior to last wk
Taylor Townsend	103	125*	+22
Grace Min	105	106*	+1
Nicole Gibbs	136	141*	+5
Sachia Vickery	142	143*	+1
Louisa Chirico	212	217*	+5
Asia Muhammad	290	291*	+1
Bernarda Pera	321	336	+15	329	7/21/2014
Danielle Lao	379	386	+7	383	7/21/2014
Tori Kinard	388	395	+7	392	7/21/2014
Denise Muresan	422	425*	+3
Jennifer Brady	538	540*	+2		8/4/2014
Alexa Guarachi	604	651*	+47
Josie Kuhlman	634	636*	+2
Anamika Bhargava	643	652	+9	651	7/28/2014
Alexandra Riley	770	807	+37	800	7/21/2014
Nadja Gilchrist	869	1032	+163	1028	8/4/2014
Maria Smith	1007	1115	+108	1110	8/4/2014	8/4/2014

Cincinnati was kind to two of our habitual CHRers: Taylor Townsend and Nicole Gibbs both qualified in front of my own two eyes (and thanks in no small part to my urgent cheers, I'm sure) with Townsend making the biggest jump of any player in the Top 500.  Her prodigious gifts and tremendous spirit portend many more mentions of her as we get into the fall months.  As for Gibbs, the highest-ranked former collegiate in the WTA singles rankings, a good draw in New York could lead to a Top 100 debut of her own (she is currently 137 points away).

Speaking of the US Open, it's interesting to see that Bernarda Pera, who has played a total of 4 pro tournaments in the US in her career, received a wildcard to US Open qualifying.  Her incipient Top 300 entry could take place very soon indeed.

Other big movers: Guarachi (for qualifying for Bogota $100K+), Gilchrist (for qualifying for Landisville $25K and winning a round), and Smith (for winning two qualifying rounds at Bogota).

Congrats to all, and let me know what you think of the new table format!