Vania King says her game is coming around

Vania King feels like her tennis game is getting closer to where it was a few years back when she was the 50th-ranked player in the world and had a doubles ranking as high as No. 3.

King is in Macon this week playing in the Tennis Classic of Macon, tuning her game after suffering a herniated disc, and she is playing in the qualifying rounds, trying to get into the main draw. She moved one step closer to that Sunday with a straight-set win over Alyona Sotnikova of the Ukraine.

"I was happy with the way I played," said King, who won the doubles competition at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2010 with Yaroslava Shvedova. "I have only hit here one time before, and (Saturday), it was really hot and (Sunday) not so much so it kind of changed the speed of the ball. My opponent was playing a lot of high balls, and I play better when I can get in to a better rhythm. It was definitely not my best, but I am happy that I advanced. Hopefully, I will get better every match."

King said she was happy to be playing in Macon, but she has bigger goals down the line.

"I love the fact that I am getting to play tennis again, and I am always happy to be on the court, but my goal is to get back to where I was," said King, who played Serena Williams in the 2014 U.S. Open. "This is a great opportunity to get in as many matches as I can, but most of these players are on their way up, and I feel like they are great players, and I feel like my game will continue to improve over the next six months. I am definitely looking forward to the next year."

There were 16 matches Sunday, and qualifying will continue Monday before the main draw gets started Tuesday. Among the winners Sunday were Nina Stojanovic, Lindsay Lee-Waters, Sofiya Kovalets, Sandra Samir, Jacqueline Cako, Michaela Gordon, Angelina Zhuravleva, Nadia Podoroska, Maegan Manasse, Angelina Gabueva and Ingrid Neel.

This story was originally published October 25, 2015 at 9:51 PM with the headline "Vania King says her game is coming around ."