[the cat]

He's holding her out of the juniors. And I disagree with it. He did the same thing with Monique Viele, and that backfired miserably. I hope the same thing doesn't happen to 14 year old Katia.

I wonder if skipping junior hockey would have been a good move for Katia's brother Maxim? I don't think so. He is a world class hockey player, who plays for the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. He obviously needed junior hockey to get to the next level. Just like I think Katia needs junior tennis. She needs to play against her peers in junior tennis. And to think Katia is in the midst of a 10 year deal with Macci! Her bloodlines say Katia is a fine athlete. But is she so special, that she chooses to pass over junior tennis?

Katia needs to be playing against the likes of Maria Sharapova and Tatiana Golovin. That way she'll know how good she is. I hope Katia returns to play some junior tennis in 2002. But I wouldn't count on it.

[tenn_ace]

well there are always arguments against playing the junior curcuit. There are athletes who are doing great despite of skipping it. Venus is #3 in the world with 4 GSs, Serena needed 1.5 tournaments in pros to start defeating top20 players. So you never really know what the best, but if Katia is really talented and hard working girl she'll find her way up.

[the cat]

tenn_ace, do you think this is a good move? There is no way Katia will ever have the great size and great power of the Williams sisters. I just can't believe that leaving the juniors is good for her tennis developement. I hope her team knows what it's doing.

[the cat]

I hope TBE can fill us in on what kind of year Katia has had in 2002. I think she was injured at some point. I hope she is healthy and playing well.

[auntie janie]

Cat, I remember earlier in the year Katia played in Challengers for several weeks in a row. So it's not like she wasn't playing at all. But i don't know what the strategy is.