Kristina Mladenovic is celebrating her 23rd birthday today, giving me a wonderful occasion to feature these old photos of the WTA player in my Little Tennis Stars series.
Born in a sporting family, to mother Dzenita who was a pro volleyball player and father Dragan who was a pro handball player, Mladenovic started playing tennis at the age of seven.
Year 2015 was a breakthrough year for Mladenovic, as she made her first WTA final during the season, finishing runner-up to Samantha Stosur in Strasbourg, and also reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the US Open.