was awarded a lucky loser spot after Anna Karolína Schmiedlová withdrew due to illness. She eased past Annika Beck in the opening round, but went out at the next stage to Madison Brengle. Her year-end ranking was 47. Konta's successful year was recognized by being nominated at the annual WTA Awards. She was a finalist in the Most Improved Player category, but missed out on the award to French Open semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky. 2016: First Grand Slam semifinal, top-ten debut, first WTA title Konta had a slow start to 2016 as she was eliminated in the first round at Shenzhen, where she was the fifth seed (her first seeding at WTA Tour level) and also at Hobart. Konta's next event saw her make her main-draw debut at the Australian Open. In the opening round she faced Venus Williams, who was seeded eighth. The match was played on Rod Laver Arena, with Konta winning in straight sets. Konta backed up her win by beating Zheng Saisai and Denisa Allertová, setting up a fourth-round clash with 21st seed Ekaterina Makarova. Konta recovered from a set behind to defeat the Russian and reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Konta defeated qualifier Zhang Shuai in the last-eight before her run ultimately came to an end in the semifinals, where she lost to eventual champion Angelique Kerber in straight sets. Nonetheless, she became the first British female player to reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal in 32 years. Konta also teamed up with countrywoman Heather Watson to play the doubles. They beat a seeded pair in the opening round before exiting at the next stage. Konta was at new career highs in the post-tournament rankings, moving up to world No. 28 for singles and breaking into the top 100 for the first time in doubles, at world No. 95. She also passed the $1 million mark for career earnings. Konta took a brief break due to illness following the Australian Open, returning to action for the spring North American hardcourt swing. She was the fourth seed for the Mexican Open in Acapulco, where she exited in the second round, and also for the Monterrey Open, where she reached the quarterfinals and lost to Kirsten Flipkens. Konta then moved to the United States to participate in the Premier-Mandatory events, the highest level on the WTA Tour, at Indian Wells and Miami. She was seeded 25th at