Week 9 - ITF ($10K) - Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt Hard

emma · Strong Club Player

RE: Week 9 - ITF ($10K) - Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt Hard

Mervatron · Masters Series Champion

Shame she couldn't sneak the win.

Is she playing a few more events here now?

indiana · Tennis legend

Katie is entered for the next two weeks here at Sharm.

Will no doubt have to qualify unless they care to give a WC to a potential future star ( we hope ! )

Actually, I would imagine that she's happy to play qualifying just now.

TennisLover · Strong Club Player

Qualies will be good for her. No need to rush it. She has time on her side.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

It was a good effort from Katie.

But, at the same time, Cici Bellis (friend of same age) was off winning the final of the 25k event in Rancho Santa Fe, and now nearly top 200.

Not trying to put more pressure on her, by the comparison, quite the opposite in fact, saying that she's 'good, but not that good'. Which is meant as a promising thing.

TennisLover · Strong Club Player

No need to put pressure on Katie CD :). Everyone has a unique path to follow and should really focus on that. Tennis is a marathon and not a sprint. Katie might end up being a much better player.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I was actually trying to put LESS pressure on her. By saying that, in the big picture, she's not as good as people are making out. Which sounds cruel. But is sort of meant to be cruel to be kind.

I absolutely agree that she may end up the better player. And am a huge advocate of the older player and the stats that back it up.

But the problem with UK tennis is we have so few truly promising players that everyone gets very hyped when there's a half-way decent one. That's the pressure, I think. Talk of her playing Fed Cup very soon etc. etc. If, as per most other countries, she was just one of the pack, then she could quietly get on with her own thing.

vohor · Grand Slam Champion

Having these 3 weeks at Sharm seems like a very good plan by way of allowing her to gauge for herself where she is and what's the course to adopt for the future; fingers crossed for a maiden MD match win next week anyway :)

indiana · Tennis legend

And how good are people making Katie out to be, CD ??

While I think we almost all accept that players develop in their own separate ways, to me she is undoubtably an extremely good and promising 15 yo. She is clearly overall a way behind Bellis just now and maybe a few ( but at most just a few ! ) others. And she's a way behind Laura at the same stage.

I haven't seen anyone say she was the best, and nothing can be assumed about the future ( see Laura, who could, of course, still really come right through ) but she is clearly looking a great prospect and we have followed and recorded what she has done.

I for one am following her with great interest.

indiana · Tennis legend

PS : To be fair, CD, I did read some Fed Cup talk about Katie apparently eminating from Judy Murray about next year ?! )

But I think we in the forum have been controlled :)

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

I agree with you, Indy. She's a very, very good prospect. I love the sound of her family too, the comments about college, the fact that she's got her tennis really sorted out in the US and knows what she's doing.

But I think Judy Murray's comments (re Fed Cup etc.) and some of the press after the Oz Open was a little OTT and counter-productive. As said, I mean it in a kindly way - it's not meant in any way to put her down, just to put a sense of perspective.

add: just crossed with your post, yes, I wasn't targeting the forum as such. smile

-- Edited by Coup Droit on Friday 6th of March 2015 01:03:13 PM

TennisLover · Strong Club Player

Coup Droit wrote:
I was actually trying to put LESS pressure on her. By saying that, in the big picture, she's not as good as people are making out. Which sounds cruel. But is sort of meant to be cruel to be kind.

I absolutely agree that she may end up the better player. And am a huge advocate of the older player and the stats that back it up.

But the problem with UK tennis is we have so few truly promising players that everyone gets very hyped when there's a half-way decent one. That's the pressure, I think. Talk of her playing Fed Cup very soon etc. etc. If, as per most other countries, she was just one of the pack, then she could quietly get on with her own thing.

I understand and agree with you there. I just couldn't fathom why she was talked about being considered for the Fed Cup. She should be left alone to develop.