well done lolade. found this article on her. http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Sport/5541532-147/story.csp
does anyone know if she has made a commitment either way?
Good spot. I can't answer your question, but from the couple of articles I have found the impetus appears to come from her father. There's an article in a Nigerian paper round the same time as your article (2010) with the following quote (there are also video clips of her training at Sanchez-Casal in 2009 which you can easily find on YouTube). One remarkable fact is that she had lost her 10 previous junior ITF matches in straight sets before this week, so it's a stunning upturn in fortune.
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"My father taught me how to play the game and he has been my coach up until I moved to Spain in January 2009. He still coaches me when I come home. I held my first racket when I was three, but started playing on a tennis court near our house when I was about six. I played my first tournament when I was eight. I always try to work hard and use the Williams sisters as my role models. Hard work and determination are my key words and I always remind myself of this when the going gets really tough" For a 14 year old, that is certainly the way to go. She currently trains and attends school at the Sanchez-Casal Academy where she is coached by Stefan Ortega. He coached Svetlana Kuznetsova to number 2 in the world and to the US Open title.
Yes, I'd also been having a bit of a look at Lolade on the ITF Junior site.
After playing quite a lot in the year to April 2010 with only one win ( a 6 - 0 6 - 1 win in July 2009 ) she has only further match in her activity since then prior to this tournament ( a 0 - 5 RET in October 2010 ). So looks as if she may have had real problems playing recently.
Anyway, these results do indeed represent some upturn. She is though born 12/05/95, so not far off her 16th birthday, so if she has real ability she needs to now manage to play regularly and get consistent results to move up through the grades.
Not sure I see her father's logic in pressuring her to choose Nigeria...surely keeping her nationality as British would be more beneficial for her career?
-- Edited by murray_2k9 on Friday 22nd of April 2011 08:50:00 PM
