Ivan Lendl does have enough to do (coaching Andy Murray) so he has decided to open his own International Junior Tennis Academy in Hilton Head Island, S.C. The spring class features students from Canada, New Zealand, Russia and the U.S.
“The enrollment influx from fall to spring is a tribute to the elite instruction our coaches provide students each day,” says Peter Orrell, President and CEO of Junior Sports Corporation, owner/operator of the Ivan Lendl IJTA. “Ivan Lendl IJTA offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for passionate junior tennis players to reach their ultimate potential.”
Ivan Lendl IJTA students (grades five through 12) will attend Heritage Academy as they see school as a vital piece of the puzzle.
p.s. In the photo it looks like Ivan has been eating a little too much over the Christmas period. Im hoping he starts to do some fitness training himself when coaching Andy
We recently found this video of 2011 Wimbledon Womens Singles Champion Petra Kvitova. The video was taken when Petra was only 4 and she is showing the world how she hits a forehand and backhand. Even great hand eye coordination at that age.
Marin Cilic is a young player from Croatia who currently finds himself at number 14 in the world singles rankings. Marin has had a very quick rise to the top. He was playing junior tennis up until 2006 in which he then received his highest ranking of the world number one junior. While at the same time as holding this junior ranking Marin was also trying to build up a senior career and as many points as possible.
After moving away from junior tennis in 2006 Marin focused on building up as many points as possible on the ATP and ITF tours so that he could really make a living from tennis and live up to his potential. Within his first season on the ITF tour he finished 2006 ranked 173 in the world. This season really pushed his career and pretty much put him where he is today. At the start of 2006 Marin was receiving a lot of wildcards into major tournaments in which he would not have received unless he was the top junior in the world, and he made the most of it. Following in 2007 Marin continued his rise to finish the year at 71 and to now be on the ATP tour fulltime. Finally the growth continued even further to finish 2008 at number 22 and top be now a top player who everyone else wants to beat.
It is amazing how Marin Cilic has risen in the world of tennis and this has really been a steady growth from the age of 16. Marin is now a top 20 player in the world who no matter what tournament he plays is seeded. Im a firm believer that when a player progresses from juniors to seniors they deserve a few wildcards in major tournaments to help them get experience and raise their rankings fast at the same time. However, at the same time the player needs to keep his eye on the ball and actually get strong results on the ITF tours, cause that is really where you learn as a player to fight for every point and every match.
The reigning Australian Open junior champion is eligible to spend another two years bolstering his already impressive age record, if he wants to.
But, after mixing junior and senior events in roughly equal measure in 2008, the talented Gold Coast teenager would prefer to speed up his development by committing fully to the men’s circuit next year.
“I’ve started this year to play more and more (open) Futures and Challengers, but then again I’ve played also juniors,” German-born Tomic said.
“I think it’s time to put juniors away next year hopefully and just focus on Challenger level and Futures and getting my ranking up to where I want it to be.”
Tomic is the junior world No.3, with the two players ranked above him both about 18 months older.
In the senior rankings, he is 772.
While he hopes to steadily cut that number, he needs to rely on the generosity of officials if he is to play in ATP events or senior grand slams.
His chief aims for the coming summer are to make his ATP debut at the Brisbane International, starting January 4, and then play in the Australian Open later that month.
He will need wildcards for both, a prospect that remains uncertain, particularly given Tennis Australia’s recent emphasis on awarding wildcards on a merit basis, with Tomic only the 26th-ranked Australian man.
Marin Cilic is a young player from Croatia who currently finds himself at number 14 in the world singles rankings. Marin has had a very quick rise to the top. He was playing junior tennis up until 2006 in which he then received his highest ranking of the world number one junior. While at the same time as holding this junior ranking Marin was also trying to build up a senior career and as many points as possible.
