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  1. #1

    Is it possible to go pro if you start tennis at age 13?

    I'm 13, and love tennis. I was wondering if it is even possible to go pro starting this late. Those like federer or sharapova start really young!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    vancouver,WA
    Posts
    146
    play tennis....(that includes, drills, coaching, tournaments.) for 6 hours a day for the next 5 years with a good coach you can do it. but you still got school, a social life. how about going to college first? play on the college team and go into the futures and satellites in between.

  3. #3
    I don't think it is impossible but it will tough. But I would say that even if you started at 8. Making it to the pro leagues is really difficult and being a successful pro is even more difficult. Have you played any other sports pretty regularly before you started tennis? If so that may help give you a little extra push considering the other juniors your age pretty much have the fundamentals down and are working on match play.But like I said it is not impossible, it depends on how hard you are willing to work. Also find a good coach or program and tell them your goals and see what they can do for you.

  4. #4
    i don't look much into when players startes playing but the latest i heard someone start playing of the pros right now in Jankovic which i heard she started playing at the age of 9 but they she had a lot of natural talent.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    173
    I think you can start almost any age short of 24 and make the first round of pro tournaments, get lucky and maybe make the 3rd rounds.
    If that qualifies as "pro", then you can succeed.
    As far as being top 50, that would be a long tough row to hoe.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    19
    Blog Entries
    2
    Yes you can, had a boy that started at 13 and now has points

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Kilkenny, ireland
    Posts
    45
    I dont know but I hope you can... I started when I was 13

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    19
    Blog Entries
    2
    Yes, you can. Depend of a lot of things, but if you have the talent, you will be able. Important ips: ILUSION, HARD WORK, MIND OPEN, MODESTY, and the most important, THE POWER OF YOUR DREAM, I m mean, if you really want to get it and you are ready to do it.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    173
    and don't forget, if you can crack the top 300, there will be teaching/coaching jobs open for you, and that makes more consistent money than playing pro money, at that level.

  10. #10
    how about 30? lol...i agree with elitennis..you can do it...but depends on how willing you are

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    173
    30 years old ?
    Takes 4 years to turn pro in womens.
    Takes maybe 6 to make 5.5 in mens.
    By then, you have already experience lots in life, and playing tennis for a living is NOT a dream anymore.
    Pro tennis players have to travel, book, find suitable food, taxis, play all sorts of weird hours, connect tournaments, deal with sponsors, deal with organizers, lots of stuff BESIDES just playing tennis. The ones that make it are great travellers and ad lib quick change guys. The ones that don't can't find the right amount of sleep, food, transport, recovery times.
    The actual SKILL has less to do with top level tennis than all the distractions that you deal with to get you there.

  12. #12
    not impossible, but tough

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    240
    Not impossible.
    It will be hard.
    I started when I was 5 and I still have a few mistakes.
    No player can be perfect.
    Even players who have been playing for 30 years make huge mistakes; at times.
    I think maybe you could get into the Top 150, but world number one may be slightly more difficult
    A professional career is hard though; don't underestimate the difficulty.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    703
    One should never under-estimate the Talent & Determination of an individual. Life has many success stories and let no one say, "You can't". You must make a personal inventory of your emotional stability for the purpose of seeing how you take disappointment. What do you do when Road Blocks get in the way? At 13yrs old, you are limited in how many Tournaments you can enter, which isn't a bad thing actually but you must also realize that your Muscles haven't fully developed and you haven't fully grown either.

    Both of those physical conditions will change your game dramatically. However until you do develop physically, older stronger Players are going to push you around and regardless of your talent level, you aren't going to be able to do much about it.

    Just think of a 13 yr old going up against Roger, Rafa, Djoko, Andy M. or Andy R.? Wouldn't be a pretty sight not to mention the level of stamina you'd have to endure in order to compete. Let's say you're 14 yrs old and you've gotten yourself into the Main Draw at Roland Garros. Oh Boy, are you in for it. Frankly, I don't care how good a player you are, you're going to have your hat handed to you. This is essentially what happened with Gail Monfis (sp) who is only now starting to win some tough matches whereas before, he was obviously talented but not strong enough to do the damage he needed to.

    On a bright note, if you did turn Pro at that age, by time you got into your late teens, you'd be a force to deal with. Lastly I'd say, in terms of whether 13 / 14 is too late to start thinking about turning Pro? No it is not .. but before you start talking your parents into mortgaging their home to jump start your career, play as many local and regional tournaments as you can to get a good look at your potential. If you are breezing through these types of events and feeling they lack real competition, then make the call.

    Coach
    The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
    It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    240
    I wouldn't think about this now, don't worry about professionalism now.
    If you focus on your play, your play ONLY and realize you mistakes and work harder to improve on those mistakes you could easily improve.

    And really to answer your question; it depends on the skills of the player.
    I mean if a thirteen year old child walked on to court and couldn't even hit one ball to other side the court then they aren't like to become a professional because for starters there going to have to spend another year learning to actually get their hits OVER the net and then anotehr 3 years perfecting their hits and by that time they will be 17 years old. And then they will have to work another year on become a grand slam standard players. At 18 years old they will ONLY be able to compete in Junior Slams. So no not likely.

    What standard do you think you play at?

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