Yolande Leacock from Trinidad and Tobago seems to be a promising and rising player. right now she plays itf tournaments in the united states. her highest singles ranking was no. 919 at the end of last year, right now she's ranked no. 932. i just wanted to start a platform for everybody who's interested to follow and discuss her results and post news about her. so everybody feel free to post your thoughts.
here are two older articles i found about her in the internet:
http://www.caribzones.com/trinidadte...er18-2006.html
and
"Trinidad and Tobago may hardly be a household name when it comes to the sport of tennis, but young tennis starlet Yolande Leacock has that ambition at the top of her to-do list.
Leacock, who has silently been climbing the ranks of local women's tennis, reached the local peak this year when she was not only ranked number one in singles and doubles play this year, but was also the 2005 First Citizens Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year nominee for the sport.
She surpassed local doubles partner Olivia Bennett as the country's leading overseas-based player last year.
The young Tobagonian edged a step closer to this goal when she achieved her first International Tennis Federation senior ranking of 1177 last month.
Leacock, like another promising local youngster, Olivia Bennett, currently based in Florida in the USA, has had an inconsistent 2006, going through a transition with a new coach in Jamaican Greg Russell.
The 15-year-old, though, already has her eyes on the prize, and with the support of her dad, George Leacock, who is also a physical education instructor, can only be on the way up.
To get her first ranking, Leacock needed to qualify for at least three tournaments with a top prize of US$ 10,000 or more. It took her just seven of these "tens" tournaments, reaching the qualifying round in four, and eventually getting success in three-- ITF tournaments in Wichita, Kansas ; Salt Lake, Texas; and Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
Leacock, who favours playing on a hard court, has been competing on the professional circuit as an amateur, her record thus far stands at 18 wins and seven losses, and she has gotten past a South African Alicia Tillay, ranked 543 at the time.
The senior Leacock is also putting his full faith in his daughter's ability.
"I can only go by what the coaches say and so on," he told Sport Express in a recent interview.
"The president of the Jamaican Federation, who has been around tennis for over 30 years, has said that she is the player with the best opportunity that he has seen in his history of seeing players coming out of the Caribbean.
"She is the best in terms of age and athletic ability."
Yolande, though is adamant she wants to excel in her chosen field of sport, and is already thinking ahead, while admitting she still has a long way to go to fulfill her full potential.
"Right now," she explained, "I think I have to do a lot more work to get where I need to go, because I'm only 15. It's going to be a lot of hard work."
Leacock also revealed she's aiming to get into senior competition in the US Open, which will provide her with a real test of her talents.
"I want to be the number one tennis player in the world, that's my goal in tennis," she stated plainly and convincingly. And with such a huge drive toward success, it is no surprise her favourite player is men's world number one Roger Federer.
The elder Leacock expressed special gratitude to Sports and Games, and by extension Wilson International, who he said have been the only continuous source of sponsorship for Yolande.
Leacock, who returned to her Florida base on Sunday, has the possibility of a "tens" tournament before month's end, and is also looking at another pair in Guadalajara and Guarez in Mexico next month.
With such a passion for the sport and World class goals though, Yolande Leacock could likely be the name that puts T&T on the international tennis map."
Right now she's playing qualies at the 25k in Lutz. she won her first round.
Q1: Yolande Leacock def. Annie Mulholland 75 64
Q2: Yolande Leacock vs Maria-Fernanda Alves
gl in the 2nd round!
~Trinidad and Tobago Tennis: Yolande Leacock~
AMANDA COETZER FOREVER
