Last year, following Roland Garros, I wrote an article very critical of Cici Bellis' decision to play in the junior French Open tournament. You can go back and read the article for yourself, and the accompanying comment section featuring an argument I got into with Bellis' mother, but I really felt as though Bellis was hurting her career, and damaging the sport, by occasionally continuing to play in junior tournaments. Well, I am happy to be able to now write a post praising Cici for great results and scheduling in the right manner.
Bellis, this year especially, is really putting in the work on the ITF level of women's tennis, which is exactly how she should be going about her business. In my opinion, Bellis got a little full of herself, and this lead to overconfidence which was eventually lost when the results didn't come on a consistent basis. This led me to question whether her win over Dominka Cibulkova at the US Open was merely a fluke. However, she has shown great growth with her game this year.
Starting out the year with a Quarterfinals appearance at a $25,000 tournament at Daytona Beach, Bellis used this result to buoy her to a successful year and a more mature mindset this year, as well. Bellis didn't let a Round of 16 loss in Wesley Chapel get her down, as she beat Tatjana Maria (currently number 104 in live rankings) in Midland, a huge, confidence-boosting win. And while Bellis lost in the following round in Midland, the win over Maria once again, as the 2014 Cibulkova victory and her tournament wins previously have shown, that she had what it takes to play tennis at a very high level.
Despite ultimately losing, CiCi's run to the Final of the February $25,000 event in Surprise, Arizona was very impressive. Bellis won a set 6-0 on three different occasions in that tournament and did not drop a set until the Final. In that Final, Bellis even won the first set, meaning that she was won set away from another singles title at the $25,000 level. Even so, This was a great week for Cici and showed that she was starting to return to the level of play that excited so many Americans at the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015.
Another Quarterfinals appearance at a $25,000 tournament was in the cards for Bellis following the run in Surprise, but after this, Bellis went into a little bit of a rut. She lost early in the next four tournaments she played. And while she manage to get a set off of Monica Puig in Miami, she did lose that match, and ultimately, winning a set and winning a match are two entirely different manners. It seemed, following a three set loss to Shelby Rogers in Indian Harbor Beach (a $75,000 tournament) that Bellis might never advance to the level of play needed to be a mainstay on the WTA Tour. However, as her recent results show, Bellis might be finally ready for a breakthrough.
When Bellis went to Naples, Florida to play a $25,000 tournament, it must have been hard on her. This tournament was played the same week as the qualifying tournament for the French Open. Just the year prior, Bellis had been in Paris, playing in the qualifying draw and (to my ire), playing in the junior draw too. So, to go from playing from playing on the grounds of Roland Garros the previous year to playing in a small tournament in Florida was probably humiliating to Bellis. If she still had any of the arrogance that I believe to have been part of her downward turn in results, this most likely zapped of the arrogance that was left.
And perhaps this was the wake-up call that CiCi needed, for she played quite well in this tournament. During this tournament, Bellis won three sets 6-0, including a double-bagel in the First Round of the tournament. She only lost one set on her ways to the semis, and while she did lose that semifinal match fellow American Kayla Day, Bellis had obviously made strides in the right direction with her results in Naples.
CiCi then did something that she hasn't done since 2014, which is post consecutive semifinal-or-better results. Bellis took some time off from tournament play following her good showing in Naples, before returning the court last week with a $25,000 tournament in Sumter, South Carolina. Bellis dominated the field in Sumter, winning all five of her matches in straight sets. This included the Final, where Bellis only lost four games in a resounding victory over Valeria Solovyeva. This was CiCi's first tournament victory since a tournament win in Rancho Santa Fe in the beginning of 2015 and Bellis' fourth ITF tournament, overall. CiCi Bellis finally seems to have figured out how to be a professional tennis player.
Now, you might be asking yourself, why is this tournament victory different than the previous three that Bellis had won? I believe this is because Bellis has finally undergone some adversity in her career, as opposed to when she first burst upon the scene in 2014. Bellis beat Cibulkova in just her fifth tournament ever as a professional player, and this included tournaments as low as the $10,000 level.
Just two tournaments after her spectacular win at Flushing Meadows, and her seventh overall, she won her first tournament at a $25,000 event in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Then, in her next event, she won another $25,000 title in Florence, South Carolina. Then, not too much later, Bellis won her third event ever at yet another $25,000, this time in Rancho Santa Fe, New Mexico. This was your classic example of a player experiencing huge amounts of success without having the maturity that the situation called for.
And that's why, as saddening as CiCi's decreased results were, I believe they were, ultimately, necessary in order for her to have a successful career. I believe the poor results that eventually struck Bellis provided her with the adversity needed to remember that being a professional tennis player isn't so easy. I think that her mediocre to poor results during much of 2015, and some of 2016, helped to give Bellis a different perspective on what a professional tennis has to go through, and will be invaluable to her throughout her career.
That's why, seeing Bellis fight through these problems, and have the successful results that she was once accustomed to, is so rewarding as an American tennis fan. Despite the setbacks, Bellis has continued to fight, and her hard work is finally being rewarded. I think that that Bellis almost certainly looks at her run in Sumter with a better appreciation than she did for her previous titles.
Today, CiCi Bellis won her opening match in yet another $25,000 tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. However, if what I see from Bellis' results hold true, her time at the $25,000 level will be ending shortly. CiCi Bellis will be a WTA-level professional tennis player in the near future.
Showing posts with label Cici Bellis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cici Bellis. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Monday, June 8, 2015
Cici Bellis Hinders Tennis Development at the French Open
We all remember the US Open last year for many reasons. Serena Williams finally tied Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with 18 majors, Kei Nishikori stunned Novak Djokovic in the Semifinals, and Marin Cilic won the first major of his career. However, we also remember the 2014 US Open for Cici Bellis. Cici was the 15 year old (at the time) girl who defeated 2014 Australian Open Finalist Dominka Cibulkova in her first major on the WTA Tour. And while Bellis lost in three sets to Zarina Diyas in her Second Round match, it was a great start to Bellis' career.
To understand why Bellis hindered her development at the French Open, we must first look to last year. In 2014, Bellis played 11 tournaments on the ITF Junior Circuit. Being only 14/15 during that year, it was certainly understandable that Bellis did not play on the main circuit. Of these 11 tournaments, Bellis played the Juniors in three of the four, excluding the Australian Open, (more on this later) and even the prestigious Metropolia Orange Bowl International Championship. And Bellis, for the most part, succeeded on this junior circuit last season. Not only did Bellis make the Round of 16 in the Junior French Open and the Semifinals of the Orange Bowl, but she also made the Final of a tournament and won four other junior circuit tournaments.
So, the fact that Bellis not only grabbed the chance to play in the main draw of the US Open, but also won a match is not a total shock given her recent form on the junior circuit. It was almost as if the US Open were merely icing on the cake. Bellis would play a couple more tournaments on the junior circuit, but the Orange Bowl would be the last junior tournament she would play for a very long time. By the looks of it, Bellis was moving up the ladder of women's tennis.
Bellis' next non-Junior tournament following the US Open was not nearly as glamorous. Playing at Captiva Island, a $50,000 dollar , hard court tournament at the very end of the 2014 season, Bellis lost in straight sets to Tatjana Maria. And while Maria is a decent player, she beat (a struggling) Bouchard this year, she was definitely an opponent that Bellis could defeat. After her what seemed to be her last Junior tournaments she would ever play at the end of 2014, Bellis next played at the beginning of 2015, in a $25,000 dollar, clay court tournament in Daytona Beach. Playing in her first match at the tournament Bellis got only six games in another straight set loss to Arantxa Rus. This was an opponent that Bellis definitely should have beaten, so the fact that she went down so meekly was indicative that perhaps Cici wasn't ready for the rigors of the professional tour.
However, Bellis definitively proved the doubters wrong. In her next tournament, she qualified for a $25,000 dollar event in Sunrise, and this time, she beat Maria in her first match. She even won the last set of the match 6-0. And while she lost her next match. to win four matches in a non-Juniors tournament was very impressive. A few weeks later, in one of Bellis' biggest successes to date, Cici won a $25,000 dollar hard court tournament in Rancho Santa Fe, only dropping one set in the entire tournament and losing a total of two games in the Final. Bellis proved that she could contend, even if it was merely a $25,000 dollar tournament.
But perhaps Bellis' biggest triumph since the US Open was her run to the Round of 32 in Miami, a WTA Premier Mandatory event. Bellis only lost seven games combined in her two wins in South Florida. This included a 6-2, 6-1 win over Zarina Diyas, a fantastic win given the fact that Diyas is currently the 32nd ranked player in the world. And while Bellis got destroyed by Serena Williams in the Round of 32, it was a great learning experience for Cici.
So, you might be wondering, what does this all have to do with Bellis' development at the French Open? Well, there are two things that my readers need to learn from all of this about Cici Bellis. First is what I mentioned at the beginning of the post, that Bellis has had a ton of success on the ITF Junior Circuit and had not played a Junior match since 2014. This certainly suggests to that Bellis has outgrown the junior circuit. Second is that, not only has Bellis outgrown the junior circuit, but she is holding her own, if not thriving on the professional circuit. She won a match at the US Open, won a couple matches in Miami, and even won a small tournament in Rancho Santa Fe. Playing a Juniors tournament seemed to be a thing of the past for Cici.
However, as we learned at the French Open this year, that was not the case. Bellis signed up for, and played qualifying for the professional French Open qualifying draw for the chance to get into the main draw of the tournament. But, qualifying ended up being a full-blown disaster for the young American. Bellis played Paraguayan Veronica Cepede Royg in the First Round of Roland Garros qualifying. Bellis lost the match 6-4, 6-0 in an extremely disappointing result for her. It wasn't extremely disappointing in the sense that she lost the match, it was more the way she lost it. The way Bellis couldn't hang with Cepede Royg must have deeply disappointed Cici.
But, this type of loss didn't necessarily hinder Cici Bellis' development. Sometimes, you have to go through losing in order to experience the winning that follows. Sometimes it takes a poor loss to really motivate a player to practice harder and develop a winning attitude. It's quite possible that Bellis' development could have been advanced due to the outcome of her match with Cepede Royg rather than hindered. This was not the case, however, because Bellis decided to take the "easy way out". She did this by playing in the Junior French Open.
Cici Bellis made the decision to attempt to play in the women's French Open main draw when she entered the qualifying draw. But, really, there wasn't even a decision to make. She had previously played six professional tournaments where she even attempted to qualify and/or was in the main draw since her last Juniors tournament and had not played a Juniors tournament this entire season. It was quite obvious that Bellis was focusing on the main tour and that playing other women attempting to make it on the tour was best for her development. But, yet, Cici shot herself in the foot.
It was later learned that Cici Bellis had signed up for the Junior French Open tournament. Now, I'm not trying to claim that Bellis didn't win matches at the Junior Roland Garros, because she certainly had a good tournament. Cici made the Semifinals, only losing one set in her first four matches. But, I propose the question, What good did this really do for Bellis? Despite the fact that she could have gained confidence from the Junior wins, for one, a lot of the players she played in the Junior French Open and others that she could have played, depending on the draw, are of a lower caliber than Bellis would be (and should be) playing in order to sufficiently improve Cici's game. But, it's more than that.
Playing at the Junior Roland Garros teaches Cici Bellis that when you lose, you can get a second chance to try to make everything right in your world. The world of professional tennis is cutthroat. Cici has hundreds upon hundreds of women, young and old, fighting just like her for a spot on the WTA Tour main circuit, and these women don't normally get a second chance in a $25,000 dollar or $50,000 dollar tournament in some random corner of the world. And while a counter argument may be, "Well, what about lucky losers?" (and trust me, I don't like those either), my response would be that while those are given out randomly (hence the "lucky" in lucky loser), Bellis made the conscientious decision that she deserved a second chance from her failure in the qualifying draw. She made the decision that she was entitled to a second chance.
Now, another doubt that may enter your mind is, "Why aren't you getting on her after playing Juniors after two matches in the main draw of the US Open?". And my answer is simple, her mindset was most likely much different at the time. Before those main draw matches at the US Open, Bellis had never played a match at the professional level in her life. When Bellis got the wildcard to the US Open, she most likely intended on playing a match to see what the professional tour is like for a match before returning to the junior circuit. And while that mindset may have a changed a bit once she beat Cibulkova, one must give her the benefit of doubt that with such little time to soak in the win over Dominka, her mindset did not drastically change in such a short period of time. So, for the US Open, I give Bellis a pass for playing in the Juniors.
But, I do not give Cici a pass for playing in the Junior French Open. In fact, Cici Bellis hindered her own development as a tennis player at the French Open as a result her decision.
To understand why Bellis hindered her development at the French Open, we must first look to last year. In 2014, Bellis played 11 tournaments on the ITF Junior Circuit. Being only 14/15 during that year, it was certainly understandable that Bellis did not play on the main circuit. Of these 11 tournaments, Bellis played the Juniors in three of the four, excluding the Australian Open, (more on this later) and even the prestigious Metropolia Orange Bowl International Championship. And Bellis, for the most part, succeeded on this junior circuit last season. Not only did Bellis make the Round of 16 in the Junior French Open and the Semifinals of the Orange Bowl, but she also made the Final of a tournament and won four other junior circuit tournaments.
So, the fact that Bellis not only grabbed the chance to play in the main draw of the US Open, but also won a match is not a total shock given her recent form on the junior circuit. It was almost as if the US Open were merely icing on the cake. Bellis would play a couple more tournaments on the junior circuit, but the Orange Bowl would be the last junior tournament she would play for a very long time. By the looks of it, Bellis was moving up the ladder of women's tennis.
Bellis' next non-Junior tournament following the US Open was not nearly as glamorous. Playing at Captiva Island, a $50,000 dollar , hard court tournament at the very end of the 2014 season, Bellis lost in straight sets to Tatjana Maria. And while Maria is a decent player, she beat (a struggling) Bouchard this year, she was definitely an opponent that Bellis could defeat. After her what seemed to be her last Junior tournaments she would ever play at the end of 2014, Bellis next played at the beginning of 2015, in a $25,000 dollar, clay court tournament in Daytona Beach. Playing in her first match at the tournament Bellis got only six games in another straight set loss to Arantxa Rus. This was an opponent that Bellis definitely should have beaten, so the fact that she went down so meekly was indicative that perhaps Cici wasn't ready for the rigors of the professional tour.
However, Bellis definitively proved the doubters wrong. In her next tournament, she qualified for a $25,000 dollar event in Sunrise, and this time, she beat Maria in her first match. She even won the last set of the match 6-0. And while she lost her next match. to win four matches in a non-Juniors tournament was very impressive. A few weeks later, in one of Bellis' biggest successes to date, Cici won a $25,000 dollar hard court tournament in Rancho Santa Fe, only dropping one set in the entire tournament and losing a total of two games in the Final. Bellis proved that she could contend, even if it was merely a $25,000 dollar tournament.
But perhaps Bellis' biggest triumph since the US Open was her run to the Round of 32 in Miami, a WTA Premier Mandatory event. Bellis only lost seven games combined in her two wins in South Florida. This included a 6-2, 6-1 win over Zarina Diyas, a fantastic win given the fact that Diyas is currently the 32nd ranked player in the world. And while Bellis got destroyed by Serena Williams in the Round of 32, it was a great learning experience for Cici.
So, you might be wondering, what does this all have to do with Bellis' development at the French Open? Well, there are two things that my readers need to learn from all of this about Cici Bellis. First is what I mentioned at the beginning of the post, that Bellis has had a ton of success on the ITF Junior Circuit and had not played a Junior match since 2014. This certainly suggests to that Bellis has outgrown the junior circuit. Second is that, not only has Bellis outgrown the junior circuit, but she is holding her own, if not thriving on the professional circuit. She won a match at the US Open, won a couple matches in Miami, and even won a small tournament in Rancho Santa Fe. Playing a Juniors tournament seemed to be a thing of the past for Cici.
However, as we learned at the French Open this year, that was not the case. Bellis signed up for, and played qualifying for the professional French Open qualifying draw for the chance to get into the main draw of the tournament. But, qualifying ended up being a full-blown disaster for the young American. Bellis played Paraguayan Veronica Cepede Royg in the First Round of Roland Garros qualifying. Bellis lost the match 6-4, 6-0 in an extremely disappointing result for her. It wasn't extremely disappointing in the sense that she lost the match, it was more the way she lost it. The way Bellis couldn't hang with Cepede Royg must have deeply disappointed Cici.
But, this type of loss didn't necessarily hinder Cici Bellis' development. Sometimes, you have to go through losing in order to experience the winning that follows. Sometimes it takes a poor loss to really motivate a player to practice harder and develop a winning attitude. It's quite possible that Bellis' development could have been advanced due to the outcome of her match with Cepede Royg rather than hindered. This was not the case, however, because Bellis decided to take the "easy way out". She did this by playing in the Junior French Open.
Cici Bellis made the decision to attempt to play in the women's French Open main draw when she entered the qualifying draw. But, really, there wasn't even a decision to make. She had previously played six professional tournaments where she even attempted to qualify and/or was in the main draw since her last Juniors tournament and had not played a Juniors tournament this entire season. It was quite obvious that Bellis was focusing on the main tour and that playing other women attempting to make it on the tour was best for her development. But, yet, Cici shot herself in the foot.
It was later learned that Cici Bellis had signed up for the Junior French Open tournament. Now, I'm not trying to claim that Bellis didn't win matches at the Junior Roland Garros, because she certainly had a good tournament. Cici made the Semifinals, only losing one set in her first four matches. But, I propose the question, What good did this really do for Bellis? Despite the fact that she could have gained confidence from the Junior wins, for one, a lot of the players she played in the Junior French Open and others that she could have played, depending on the draw, are of a lower caliber than Bellis would be (and should be) playing in order to sufficiently improve Cici's game. But, it's more than that.
Playing at the Junior Roland Garros teaches Cici Bellis that when you lose, you can get a second chance to try to make everything right in your world. The world of professional tennis is cutthroat. Cici has hundreds upon hundreds of women, young and old, fighting just like her for a spot on the WTA Tour main circuit, and these women don't normally get a second chance in a $25,000 dollar or $50,000 dollar tournament in some random corner of the world. And while a counter argument may be, "Well, what about lucky losers?" (and trust me, I don't like those either), my response would be that while those are given out randomly (hence the "lucky" in lucky loser), Bellis made the conscientious decision that she deserved a second chance from her failure in the qualifying draw. She made the decision that she was entitled to a second chance.
Now, another doubt that may enter your mind is, "Why aren't you getting on her after playing Juniors after two matches in the main draw of the US Open?". And my answer is simple, her mindset was most likely much different at the time. Before those main draw matches at the US Open, Bellis had never played a match at the professional level in her life. When Bellis got the wildcard to the US Open, she most likely intended on playing a match to see what the professional tour is like for a match before returning to the junior circuit. And while that mindset may have a changed a bit once she beat Cibulkova, one must give her the benefit of doubt that with such little time to soak in the win over Dominka, her mindset did not drastically change in such a short period of time. So, for the US Open, I give Bellis a pass for playing in the Juniors.
But, I do not give Cici a pass for playing in the Junior French Open. In fact, Cici Bellis hindered her own development as a tennis player at the French Open as a result her decision.
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