The youngest player in the WTA Top 100, American prodigy Catherine “CiCi” Bellis decided to forego a Stanford University scholarship last September and turn professional less than two weeks after reaching the third round of the 2016 US Open and, apart from the occasional yearning for college life, the teenager is happy with her decision.
The right call "I think it was definitely the right decision," said Bellis, 17, who has been dreaming of a life on the pro tour since she first watched the US Open on TV at the age of five. "Even if it hadn't gone as well as it had last year, I think that still would have been the right decision for me and for my tennis just as a growing player."
Delayed start to the season The decision allowed Bellis, who kick-started her Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships campaign on Monday with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Yulia Putintseva, to keep the US$140,000 (Dh514,000) she had won in prize money at US Open. Later in November, she won her first WTA title in Hawaii. A strained hamstring, however, delayed her start in the new season and Dubai is her first main draw appearance of 2017.
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Kid in the locker room "I'm still trying to fit in a little bit, but it will come eventually with age and experience," said Bellis about her life on the tour. "They [the other players] are a little bit older. I know a few people, so I'm fine with that. I just don't know everyone like I did in the juniors. Once more of my age group starts coming in, I think it will be a little more comfortable. But I think it's going well."
Living the dream "I watched all the players – Venus, Serena, Sharapova, everyone like that when I was younger, travelling with a team on the pro tour, I mean, when I was 10 years old watching them on TV," Bellis said. "It's crazy for me now doing that. It's so fun. I'm so lucky to be able to do what I do."
Inspired by the Williams sisters Bellis, ranked No 70, was forced miss the Australian Open because of her injury, but she did watch the finals on television and she liked what she saw. "Oh, it was amazing," she said. "I think both finals, men's and women's, were inspiring. It brought back, like, 10 years ago what a final would be. I thought that was really cool. Players like Venus and Serena who are still so amazing at their ages are a real an inspiration."
arizvi@thenational.ae
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