Robin Montgomery’s mother wanted a tired child. She had a hyperactive five-year-old in Washington, D.C., so she put her in tennis to burn off the energy. Now, 17 years later, that same child is a WTA champion and a Grand Slam finalist who credits her mother before she talks about anything else.

In conversation with EssentiallySports at the ongoing WTA 250 Chennai Open, the 22-year-old American opened up about growing up in a home run by women. 

“So yes, I was raised by a single mother,” Montgomery stated in the press conference. “I know some people might not call their parents their best friends, but for my mom and I, we’re very close. And I do think it’s because she was a single mother and everything.” Her grandmother later moved in, and her aunt now lives with them too. “I definitely come from a household of strong, independent women. And I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

“She had the willpower to do what she wanted to do,” the American said. “Get her master’s degree and all that while still taking care of me and making sure that I went to dance lessons, I went to tennis practices.” 

“Knowing how much sacrifice she has put into making sure that I have the possibility to chase my own dreams is what I carry with me all the time,” the 22-year-old added. 

Tennis was never the end game. Robin Montgomery revealed that her family grew up in Oregon as skiers, and tennis was only ever “the summer fun sport.” Being born in D.C. took skiing off the table, so the racket became the second option. Her mother then read in The Washington Post about a summer festival at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, where coaches picked one or two children for a scholarship, and Montgomery was one of them. 

“And yeah, that’s how I started at College Park,” she said. “It’s like a second home to me. So whenever I go back to D.C., I still train out of there. It’s family.”

JTCC is also where the world No. 8 Frances Tiafoe learned the game, and Montgomery sees him exactly as the academy made him to her. 

“Frances is definitely like an older brother,” she said. “We are definitely polar opposites with how we play and everything.” The advice has mostly flowed one way, though she jokes that she returns the favor. “He’s taught me some things. He’s telling me to relax, enjoy the moment. And I hope I help him, I don’t know, maybe show up on time.”

The College Park pipeline gave birth to a big-time junior star. Montgomery swept the girls’ singles and doubles titles at the 2021 US Open, the latter alongside Ashlyn Krueger. Injuries made the jump to the pros harder. She has not played a full season since turning pro, missing at least three months every year. 

The worst came in 2025. A right wrist problem she had first managed in 2022 flared up again, and she had surgery during last year’s US Open. She was out for about nine months, from Wimbledon 2025 to April 2026 in the Colombian capital of Bogota, after just a few months of reaching a career-high ranking of No. 95. She did not spend that time just counting down to a return.

“I took that time just to kind of relearn myself and learn new things about myself on and off the court,” she said. “Even though I love tennis, and tennis takes up a lot of my time, I’m still Robin.” 

In only her eighth tournament back, she won six straight matches at ‘s-Hertogenbosch in June as a qualifier ranked No. 484, and lifted her first WTA title when Barbora Krejcikova withdrew from the final through illness. That’s the comeback on the paper, but what she has to rebuild in her head is evident from the conversation in Chennai.

Robin Montgomery on Coco Gauff, doubles and the change she wants to make

Her American circle goes beyond College Park. She counts Coco Gauff as a friend. So we asked Montgomery what she would take from the two-time major champion’s game, and her answer was not different from anyone else on the tour.  

“Probably her speed,” Montgomery laughed. “I mean anyone would love to have her speed and agility but then I mean Coco has a lot of great things about her, If I have to say another one then I would say her mental toughness.” 

Talking about the mental toughness, it reminded of what she had pulled off earlier in the day on the courts of Chennai. She won her round of 32 match against the fourth seed Panna Udvardy. The 22-year-old American took the first set 6-4, then lost the second 6-1 when the rallies turned into flat exchanges. In the third, she pulled things together to seal the victory 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. 

“It feels like a roller coaster,” the 2026 US Open doubles finalist said. “I think it is, like you said, just having perspective and enjoying the process and trying to focus on certain things that I can control, but I think sometimes we internalise things very extra and it seems like it is ten times more than what it actually is.” 

“Sometimes you have to just shift your focus to looking at the other girl. How is she looking? Is she moving her feet more? And things like that, to take the focus off of myself, it’s just time to regroup and play as solid as I can in the third, knowing that it’s okay to slow down,” she added. 

Montgomery hit seven aces, won 80 percent of her first-serve points with 75 percent of first serves in, and converted three of six break points. Next up is Belgium’s Jeline Vandromme, who beat Japan’s Kyoka Okamura in straight sets.

After the maiden title in Libema, another big breakthrough came at this year’s US Open. Montgomery and Krueger reunited in New York as wild cards, in their first event together since 2023. They beat the defending champions Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe in separate matches, saved a 2-8 deficit in a semifinal match tiebreak, and took the first set of the final before falling 5-7, 6-0, 6-2 to top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend. 

The Washington native pushed back on the idea that doubles is a sideshow. 

“Sometimes people are like, oh, doubles, it doesn’t matter. But in reality, it’s still time on the court,” she said. “Honestly, I think the pressure moments in doubles are way more intense than singles. You don’t want to let your partner down.” She said she is still trying to let that confidence “seep in” to her singles.

The doubles run also indicates the one thing she has the greatest desire to alter. When we asked her which aspect of her game has the most room for improvement, she didn’t pick a shot. 

“I think it’s more a mental side, more getting comfortable going to the net in singles,” she said. “I believe I have good volleys, and I think the doubles kind of proves that.” The court simply feels bigger when she comes forward alone. “But just knowing, like, I’m a pretty tall girl, so I can cover the net in singles too.” 

She has a little quirk to her game, too. Montgomery eats and writes with her left hand but hits right-handed overheads and throws with her right. She calls herself “probably a little bit ambidextrous.” 

Chennai is her last event of the year, and her goal for next season is simple. She wants to stay healthy and finally put together a full season.