Alison Riske defeated Belinda Bencic at the Tianjin Open on Sunday, 6-3 6-4, to win her first career WTA title. Regardless of her results in Moscow this week, the championship culminates a season of peaks and valleys for the American, ending on an up note.

2014 has been a season where Riske has shown potential but has also failed to produce consistent success. Aside from her title this weekend, the Atlanta resident can take positives from victories against Sara Errani, Flavia Pennetta and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who have all spent time ranked inside the top 20. With her feisty on-court demeanor, she has been competitive in losses to top-10 players, such as Ana Ivanovic and Angelique Kerber, as well.

On the other hand, Riske has found difficulties at times this season. Returning to the United States after Wimbledon in preparation for the U. S. Open, she lost in the first round at Washington and Montreal and failed to qualify for Cincinnati. There, she fell to Taylor Townsend in the first round of the qualification draw. Riske salvaged her summer North American swing with a quarterfinal run at New Haven, but she was easily defeated by Ivanovic in the first round at Flushing Meadows the following week.

Interestingly, her Grand Slam results have somewhat mirrored her season. Whereas she was eliminated early at the U. S. Open and Roland Garros, Riske advanced to the round of 32 at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Nonetheless, the American has used her mental toughness and discipline to remain competitive with higher-seeded players. Consistent on all surfaces, whether in victory or defeat, her opponent will typically receive her best shot. The 24-year-old appears comfortable taking the ball early, attempting to maintain a forward position on the court in a tactic that has paid dividends at times.

It is due to hard work and effort that Riske remains an up and coming competitor. To use a cliché’, the American generally “leaves it all on the court.”

Now reaching her prime in an era where more seasoned players are finding success, Riske will approach 2015 with a collection of Americans who will attempt to establish themselves behind Serena and Venus Williams, who have dominated American tennis. Riske is among this fine accumulation of young women who currently sit between No. 32 and No. 57 in the world rankings. With the exception of Varvara Lepchenko who is 28, six other players from the United States fall into this group, all ranging from 19-24 years of age.

With Riske among a tier of Americans who are rising, the future appears bright with the imminent changing of the guard from the Williams sisters to the next generation. To what point she is capable of advancing remains to be determined.

However, Riske did reach a career peak of world No. 40 in June, and she has an opportunity to finish the year with her peak career season-ending ranking. She will seek to build upon her success in the Kremlin Cup this week. Regardless, she is pleased with her recent success, “It's a huge accomplishment for me to win my first WTA title,” she said. “I was here by myself, which made it even more special, just to know that I was able to do it by myself.”

Despite her ebbs and flows this season, Riske will finish by having improved from the beginning and will look to jump out to a fast start in January in preparation for the Australian Open. With a number of young Americans lining up within the top 50, which if any will experience breakout seasons in 2015 could alter the landscape of women’s tennis in America.