Hispanic Heritage Spotlight: Christina McHale

Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month. To celebrate, USTA.com is taking a look at past, present and future stars of Hispanic heritage who have helped to shape the game, as well as those who could soon cement their place in it.

Here's a closer look at world No. 71 Christina McHale, whose maternal grandparents and mother were born in Cuba:

• McHale, who turned pro in 2010, reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 24 in 2012, her best season to date. That year, she reached the quarterfinals at Doha and Carlsbad, advanced to the fourth round at Indian Wells and reached the third round at three Grand Slam tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon).
  
  
• She won her first WTA title at the Tokyo International in September 2016. She also captured two WTA doubles titles last year, in Hobart (with Xinyun Han) and Tianjin (with Peng Shuai).
  
  
• McHale has finished in the Top 100 of the world rankings for six straight years, beginning in 2011, when she finished at No. 42. She has notched two other Top 50 year-end rankings, in 2012 (No. 33) and 2016 (No. 45).
  
  
• The 25-year-old from New Jersey represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and has competed for the U.S. Fed Cup team seven times, earning a 5-5 singles record in ties played from 2010-12 and 2014-16.
  
  
• McHale visited Havana, Cuba, with her grandmother, mother and sister in 2016. It was her grandmother's first trip back to her home country in 54 years. “I had always wanted to see where she grew up, and see it with her," McHale said of her grandmother in a story on Tennis.com. "It was so emotional for her, and for us. It was amazing to see the places she had talked about."