JORDANE DOOKIE and Nathen Martin will be representing Trinidad and Tobago in the ITF (International Tennis Federation) Junior Tournament in Guadeloupe from today.
Martin will be making his debut in the 18 & under category at this level, after Dookie got her first taste a week ago in Dominican Republic.
The 14-year-old went out in the first round of the singles draw, but not before battling her opponent from the host country for three hours before eventually going down 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5.
And after a bye in the first round of the doubles draw, Dookie and Alexa Lerebours of Dominican Republic were beaten 6-1, 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
It was the first competitive action for the attacking all-court player since she led the T&T 16 & under team in the North/Central American and Caribbean pre-qualifying tournament for Junior Billie Jean Cup competition in the same country a month earlier.
There were 21 females on the entry list with world junior rankings last week, and top-seeded Monika Stankiewicz, who was rated at #304 at the time, went on to capture the title in the Grade 4 tournament. This week’s tournament is a grade lower (5), and the highest of the ten females with world junior ranking points is the 1,037-ranked Eleejah Inisan of France.
Martin was a member of the 14 & under team which flew the T&T flag in the North/Central American and Caribbean pre-qualifying tournament for the World Junior Tennis Tournament in 2020. His opposition in Guadeloupe will include ten ranked players, headed by world No. 975 David Asenov of Canada.
Two weeks ago Dookie became the first tennis player to ever receive a Junior Player of the Year prize during the annual First Citizens Sports Awards. The highlight of her fantastic season last year was reaching the singles and doubles finals of both 14 & under tournaments in a Central America and the Caribbean Tennis Confederation (COTECC) series in Dominican Republic in August.
And as a result, Dookie qualified for the COTECC Masters and competed in their most prestigious tournament in November in Mexico. The player who ended the season ranked fifth in COTECC also reached the 14 & under singles final in both USTA (United States Tennis Association) tournaments she contested in July.
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