The Broward-Palm Beach New Times recently published this in-depth story on three promising 12-and-under girls in South Florida, and the decisions and sacrifices their families must make to keep them on the path to tennis greatness. Where to live, when and how often to play, which coach, what schooling, what balance, who decides--every parent with a talented junior faces these questions over and over again.
I think this story is an interesting look at how three families deal with those questions, but I was disappointed in the reporter's description of the ladders of junior tennis. None of these girls are playing ITF tournaments--the minimum age to do so is 13--so the rather breathless description of the "stepping stones" to WTA tournaments seems both naive and incomplete. There's no mention of the ITF Women's circuit, which is an essential component in earning a WTA ranking, and the age restrictions now in place make the references to Tracy Austin and Jennifer Capriati irrelevant to any 12-year-old playing today.
A special thanks to the zootennis reader who passed this article along.
I think this story is an interesting look at how three families deal with those questions, but I was disappointed in the reporter's description of the ladders of junior tennis. None of these girls are playing ITF tournaments--the minimum age to do so is 13--so the rather breathless description of the "stepping stones" to WTA tournaments seems both naive and incomplete. There's no mention of the ITF Women's circuit, which is an essential component in earning a WTA ranking, and the age restrictions now in place make the references to Tracy Austin and Jennifer Capriati irrelevant to any 12-year-old playing today.
A special thanks to the zootennis reader who passed this article along.
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