Girls: Osaka Mayor's Cup - World Super Junior Tennis Championships, Japan, hard: Grade A (Week 43)

paulisi · Tennis legend

RE: Girls: Osaka Mayor's Cup - World Super Junior Tennis Championships, Japan, hard: Grade A (Week 43)

Mervatron · Masters Series Champion

Ah that sucks But good to see both progressing nicely up the rankings

The 1999'ers look an exciting bunch

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

philwrig wrote:
BeefyDeedz wrote:
I would have thought that sticking to the LTA would be preferable in almost every sense, from being a big fish in a small pond to the LTA's apparent desire to have star tennis players and thus their willingness to fund and give wild cards galore?
I'd agree it makes sense commercially, but her transformation to a top junior has happened since her move to the states, plus her accent has changed dramatically.

Yes, the accent certainly has changed - not so much an American twang as sounding born and bred Stateside! I think there is zero likelihood of Katie changing nationality, but I can see her remaining based in that part of the world. By all accounts she loves and responds well to the positivity in their sports culture.

DavidC · Tennis legend

The doubles completes a miserable day for the Brits here. Xu and Birrell have won their semis (Xu dropping just one game again), so contest the final

QF

(1) Shilin Xu (CHN) d. Anastasia Mikheeva 6-0 6-1
(3) Kimberly Birrell (AUS) d. (5) Katie Swan 6-2 2-2 rtd

Doubles F

(1) Tomic/Xu (AUS/CHN) d. (5) Arbuthnott/Francati (GBR/DEN) 6-1 6-0

DavidC · Tennis legend

Shilin Xu went on to claim both titles, to add to the Youth Olympic Games singles, and with it the world number one ranking, albeit possibly only for 2 weeks

philwrig · Hall of fame

The Optimist wrote:
philwrig wrote:
BeefyDeedz wrote:
I would have thought that sticking to the LTA would be preferable in almost every sense, from being a big fish in a small pond to the LTA's apparent desire to have star tennis players and thus their willingness to fund and give wild cards galore?
I'd agree it makes sense commercially, but her transformation to a top junior has happened since her move to the states, plus her accent has changed dramatically.
Yes, the accent certainly has changed - not so much an American twang as sounding born and bred Stateside! I think there is zero likelihood of Katie changing nationality, but I can see her remaining based in that part of the world. By all accounts she loves and responds well to the positivity in their sports culture.

I find with accent's that if you don't want to lose your accent, you don't, take Miss Watson as an example. But as long as she's proud to be a Brit living in the US, and not an American in waiting, we'll be fine.

-- Edited by philwrig on Monday 27th of October 2014 07:04:33 PM

indiana · Tennis legend

Don't panic ! :)

Clearly Katie has not particularly tried to keep her accent, but also I doubt that she has deliberately lost it. I just think that it probably isn't something that has much concerned her at all and has just naturally happened by being so exposed to the US lifestyle through school, friends, her tennis training, much of her tennnis competition etc and at a much younger and more impressionable age than say Heather.

tharris · Intermediate Club Player

And to be honest, all her American friends probably think her British accent is so heavy. I've lived in the states since I was two and everyone thinks I speak the Queen's English. Mind you, I'd say I've made a point of maintaining my English accent.
As far as Katie becoming an American citizen, the photos from this past week in Japan with her laughing and having fun with her fellow Brits has helped ease my concerns about her switching allegiance.