Is 14 Year old Deja ready for the US Open Wild Card?

J

jrod

Hall of Fame
T

tennis-silver

Banned
Mdubb23 said:
How about the junior (outside the top 300 in the country) who beat her 0 and 0 last weekend?
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Exactly. I mean the USTA needs to do a little better on the story investigation before putting this nonsense to print.

There are so many better stories to put out other than this girl.
And for the record - its not the child that should be criticized, its the
parent that should be held responsible for this nonsense.
 
J

jigglypuff

Rookie
tennis-silver said:
Exactly. I mean the USTA needs to do a little better on the story investigation before putting this nonsense to print.

There are so many better stories to put out other than this girl.
And for the record - its not the child that should be criticized, its the
parent that should be held responsible for this nonsense.
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With all the money the USTA is spending on the big cheeses, what's left to pay for someone to investigate stories? Read the article carefully and it's not hard to see that self-promotion can easily generate buzz and hype.
 
volleynets

volleynets

Hall of Fame
She is good but to be in the USO she will lose 6-0 6-0 to any qualifier or wildcard. Maybe a golden set somewhere in there.
 
T

tennis-silver

Banned
jigglypuff said:
With all the money the USTA is spending on the big cheeses, what's left to pay for someone to investigate stories? Read the article carefully and it's not hard to see that self-promotion can easily generate buzz and hype.
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Spend money? Wouldn't take a dime or longer than 60 seconds to pull up her playing record and see that its all hype and no substance lol.

And yes, your correct - much self-promotion for buzz and hype.
 
W

willshot

Semi-Pro
If i were to bet money, a big flat NO. Her technique alone will destroy her chances at that level. period. done. end of thread.
 
Marshredder

Marshredder

Semi-Pro
No, she has no chance. She's playing on a level which, from those videos, is lower than some of the college players I know. If these college players aren't good enough to play the USO, theres no chance she's ready.

She needs a lot more tournament practice. Playing the USO Junior title might be better.
 
W

willshot

Semi-Pro
lol. is the OP her dad? or someone related?

Why would you do this to her? sometimes a reality check is needed. Improve her backhand grip, swing then service grip. then come back and post a new video.
 
S

Soianka

Hall of Fame
Wow, you guys are so negative. Who knows what her potential is and how good she will end up being 4 or 5 years from now.

It's funny, I remember tennis "experts" saying that Venus would never become a champion much less win a grand slam...and certainly there wouldn't be two champions in the same family.

Bottomline, we should be encouraging of young people and not write anyone off.
 
W

willshot

Semi-Pro
Soianka said:
Wow, you guys are so negative. Who knows what her potential is and how good she will end up being 4 or 5 years from now.

It's funny, I remember tennis "experts" saying that Venus would never become a champion much less win a grand slam...and certainly there wouldn't be two champions in the same family.

Bottomline, we should be encouraging of young people and not write anyone off.
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No one is being negative. We are just stating our honest opinion based on her record and technique. Plus I don't think Venus's father ever got on TW to try to troll around and publicized how good Venus is.

No one really knows but we are making an educated assumption. I am at least and would eat my own shoe if i was wrong.
 
S

subban

Rookie
Who knows, she is only 14 and could be a late bloomer? Even though girls hit puberty much earlier I still think the 16s and 18s are the true measure of good you are. But I still doubt Serena ever got bageled when she played a match in the 14s. You dad should just be glad she will probably get a scholoraship to pay for her education and everything more is gravy.
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
What grip is she using on the serve? Looks like she is putting reverse slice on every serve. That is going to destroy her wrist unless she is very careful.
 
T

TennisCoachFLA

Banned
Soianka said:
Wow, you guys are so negative. Who knows what her potential is and how good she will end up being 4 or 5 years from now.

It's funny, I remember tennis "experts" saying that Venus would never become a champion much less win a grand slam...and certainly there wouldn't be two champions in the same family.

Bottomline, we should be encouraging of young people and not write anyone off.
Click to expand...

You have a strange memory then. Venus and Serena were a combined 91-4 in juniors, against the best competition they could find, before their dad pulled them out of juniors. Rick Macci was fielding sponsorship requests when they were kids. Serena would play Roddick and other top boys in practice matches and destroy them.

This girl has a hype dad who never lets her play anyone good, and her record is poor when then.

Please do not use the Williams sisters names in the same paragraph as this girl ever again. Thanks.
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
subban said:
You dad should just be glad she will probably get a scholoraship to pay for her education and everything more is gravy.
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Very interesting post. Got me thinking. Could it be that all he wants is a scholarship for her? That is no little amount of money. If a few posts here once in while results in a scholarship (due to exposure), wouldn't it be worth it? He will be laughing his way to the bank, as they say (though as Seinfeld pointed out, you never see anyone laughing on his way to the bank, only sporting a pained look in anticipation of a long line).
 
T

tenniscrazed

Guest
Is this thread for real. She's 2-7 (matches that were actually played), there are some w/o and wd's The only titles are 2 round final and a round robin.

Her first and foremost goal should be to play high school tennis.
 
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J

justinmadison

Semi-Pro
Why in the world is she playing G18s. Looking at tennis recruiting she has won a total of 1 set since May of ’09. That is just crazy.
 
S

Soianka

Hall of Fame
TennisCoachFLA said:
You have a strange memory then. Venus and Serena were a combined 91-4 in juniors, against the best competition they could find, before their dad pulled them out of juniors. Rick Macci was fielding sponsorship requests when they were kids. Serena would play Roddick and other top boys in practice matches and destroy them.

This girl has a hype dad who never lets her play anyone good, and her record is poor when then.

Please do not use the Williams sisters names in the same paragraph as this girl ever again. Thanks.
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No, actually I have a very good memory. As I am sure you know, the Williams sisters didn't play any junior tournaments in the later years of the juniors, they were an unknown quantity to much of the tennis community for a long time.

Do some research, even after 1997, Venus' run to the final of the US Open was being called a fluke by many. And before then, when the Williams sisters were mentioned so many people said you can't have 2 champions in one family. Venus and Serena will never make it because they didn't play enough junior tennis. Later on it was said that the Williams sisters would only make it if they fired mom and dad and hired a "real coach" etc.

Like I said, many so-called tennis "experts" wrote off the Williams sisters and many other players who went onto to great things.

I believe it was Chris Evert who said that Jennifer Capriati would never win a grand slam and she only kept playing because it was in her blood but she would never get very far. This was in about 97 or 98 or so. As we saw, Jennifer actually had an amazing comeback in the 2nd half of her career.

My point was not that this girl Deja is the next great player. I don't know that she is...you don't know that she isn't.

The point is, don't write anyone off and don't tell anyone what they cannot do because you will be proven wrong many times.
 
J

jrod

Hall of Fame
Soianka said:
...The point is, don't write anyone off and don't tell anyone what they cannot do because you will be proven wrong many times.
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True, but one has to be realistic as a parent as well. Based on his posts here and his daughters track record, I don't get the sense that DamonK is well connected with the reality of the situation, never mind his daughters own wants and desires. Quite frankly, DamonK strikes me as a typical obsessed tennis parent living out his own dreams and aspirations through his daughter. I find this prospect very disturbing, to say the least.
 
S

Soianka

Hall of Fame
jrod said:
True, but one has to be realistic as a parent as well. Based on his posts here and his daughters track record, I don't get the sense that DamonK is well connected with the reality of the situation, never mind his daughters own wants and desires. Quite frankly, DamonK strikes me as a typical obsessed tennis parent living out his own dreams and aspirations through his daughter. I find this prospect very disturbing, to say the least.
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You may be right about that. But from reading this thread and one about another kid Deiton something, it just seemed like a few posters really like knocking down other people's children.

I don't think posting about what your child may or may not do or may or may not become is a great idea to begin with....still I wouldnt want to say anything negative about someone's child.

Deja's father may be going about this the wrong way but her potential as a tennis player might be great and she might meet that potential if she wants to and if she is given the right instruction and development.
 
T

TennisCoachFLA

Banned
Soianka said:
No, actually I have a very good memory. As I am sure you know, the Williams sisters didn't play any junior tournaments in the later years of the juniors, they were an unknown quantity to much of the tennis community for a long time.

Do some research, even after 1997, Venus' run to the final of the US Open was being called a fluke by many. And before then, when the Williams sisters were mentioned so many people said you can't have 2 champions in one family. Venus and Serena will never make it because they didn't play enough junior tennis. Later on it was said that the Williams sisters would only make it if they fired mom and dad and hired a "real coach" etc.

Like I said, many so-called tennis "experts" wrote off the Williams sisters and many other players who went onto to great things.

I believe it was Chris Evert who said that Jennifer Capriati would never win a grand slam and she only kept playing because it was in her blood but she would never get very far. This was in about 97 or 98 or so. As we saw, Jennifer actually had an amazing comeback in the 2nd half of her career.

My point was not that this girl Deja is the next great player. I don't know that she is...you don't know that she isn't.

The point is, don't write anyone off and don't tell anyone what they cannot do because you will be proven wrong many times.
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Okay, here we go again, another poster who will defend their point when they are obviously dead wrong. It would not be possible for your post to be any more wrong.

This is apples and oranges. The Williams sisters played and beat every top junior, they were dominant. Their dad pulled them at age 12 AFTER they had demolished everyone.

Then they trained with some great players. They beat up the top boys in practice. Roddick said they would rip the racquet out of his hands with their shots.

So what if a few people said you could not have 2 champions in the family? Many others were lining up to sponsor the girls. They had major TV outlets and sports mags predicting their success.

This Deja had NO success at ANY age. Anyone who watches her does not see anything special.

That is 100000000% different than the Williams sisters. Your comparison is just wrong and trying to defend it is just silly.

Many of us have been around tennis a long time. By 14 you can tell a ton about the girls. This girl has zero, none, nada chance at making a penny at tennis where as the Williams sisters were as close to a sure bet by age 14.

Same with LeBron James. His high school games were on TV. About 90% of people said he was a sure thing, the rest were wrong. Same with the Williams sisters. 90% of people said they were a sure thing by age 14...who cares about the 10% dummies who were wrong?

You could not find even 1 tennis expert who would watch this girl and see her record and say she will be a tennis success, not one. This isn't 3rd grade, everyone wins, everyone can be a Princess. This is the real world....people bet money on Venus and Serena at age 13-14, ain't no one putting a dime on this girl.
 
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J

jrod

Hall of Fame
Soianka said:
....Deja's father may be going about this the wrong way but her potential as a tennis player might be great and she might meet that potential if she wants to and if she is given the right instruction and development.
Click to expand...

I really admire your optimism, but I respect TennisCoachFLA's realism even more in this instance. This particular case is not difficult to predict certain trajectories, and pro tennis is definitely not one I would be willing to place a bet on.
 
W

willshot

Semi-Pro
Forget about the record......

Here is the big difference I see if you are trying to compare Deja to the Williams.

1. Deja's service grip is totally phuked up.... using a 2.5 womens pancake grip. Williams doesnt have this problem

2. Deja's volley grip is totally jacked up.... using a 2.5 womens pancake like grip.Williams doesnt have this problem

3. Deja's backhand (1handed) grip is totally wacked up.... way too extreme.... and she uses the same grip to SLICE!Williams doesnt have this problem


don't look at her record just yet.... look at how she hits the ball. the basics. And tell me if she can get away with it at the pro level. no way at all.
 
S

Soianka

Hall of Fame
TennisCoachFLA said:
Okay, here we go again, another poster who will defend their point when they are obviously dead wrong. It would not be possible for your post to be any more wrong.

This is apples and oranges. The Williams sisters played and beat every top junior, they were dominant. Their dad pulled them at age 12 AFTER they had demolished everyone.

Then they trained with some great players. They beat up the top boys in practice. Roddick said they would rip the racquet out of his hands with their shots.

So what if a few people said you could not have 2 champions in the family? Many others were lining up to sponsor the girls. They had major TV outlets and sports mags predicting their success.

This Deja had NO success at ANY age. Anyone who watches her does not see anything special.

That is 100000000% different than the Williams sisters. Your comparison is just wrong and trying to defend it is just silly.

Many of us have been around tennis a long time. By 14 you can tell a ton about the girls. This girl has zero, none, nada chance at making a penny at tennis where as the Williams sisters were as close to a sure bet by age 14.

Same with LeBron James. His high school games were on TV. About 90% of people said he was a sure thing, the rest were wrong. Same with the Williams sisters. 90% of people said they were a sure thing by age 14...who cares about the 10% dummies who were wrong?

You could not find even 1 tennis expert who would watch this girl and see her record and say she will be a tennis success, not one. This isn't 3rd grade, everyone wins, everyone can be a Princess. This is the real world....people bet money on Venus and Serena at age 13-14, ain't no one putting a dime on this girl.
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You are silly.

It seems that you are dead set on arguing some point which has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with anything I said.

My point, and I'll explain it to you once again, is that so-called "tennis experts" (who have more qualifications than anyone on this messageboard) have been very wrong in the past. For an example, I gave the Williams sisters and Jennifer Capriati.

You only have to read the articles from pundits a few years back when it was said that Serena was "too fat" to win another grandslam. She ended up winning the Australian open that year.

If I cared to continue this conversation any further, I could post several articles with quotes from McEnroe, Evert, Austin, etc...stating either the Williams sisters would not make it as pros, would not win grand slams, etc...because they didn't have the proper training, proper junior tournament resume, etc.

That is my point and it is quite simple.

Nowhere did I compare the game of Deja to the game of Serena or Venus.

Like I said earlier, keep telling people what they can and cannot do, and you will be proven wrong many times over.

Besides what exactly do you get out of discouraging someone?

Wouldn't it be better to use your "expertise" to point out what they need to work on instead of telling them what they will never do?
 
S

Soianka

Hall of Fame
jrod said:
I really admire your optimism, but I respect TennisCoachFLA's realism even more in this instance. This particular case is not difficult to predict certain trajectories, and pro tennis is definitely not one I would be willing to place a bet on.
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TennisCoachFLA is arguing against a point that I never made. He is arguing against himself basically.

As a general rule, I don't ever tell anyone (particularly when it comes to young people) what their potential is and what they cannot do or what they will never do.

That was my point.

If I had to advise Deja's dad, I would say stop posting about your daughter on the internet. Find out how far in tennis she really wants to go and how hard she is willing to work. And then find her a good, competent coach who is willing to develop her.

We have seen the sure things that everyone would bet on fail and the people that everyone would bet against make it...so don't count anyone out ...especially at what 16 or 17 years old.

Peace.
 
S

Soianka

Hall of Fame
Same with the Williams sisters. 90% of people said they were a sure thing by age 14...who cares about the 10% dummies who were wrong?
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That's absolutely not true.

Most of the big name people said there was no way that what Richard Williams predicted for his daughters was going to happen.
 
J

jmdlaw

Banned
Like I said earlier, keep telling people what they can and cannot do, and you will be proven wrong many times over.

Besides what exactly do you get out of discouraging someone?

Wouldn't it be better to use your "expertise" to point out what they need to work on instead of telling them what they will never do?



Like this!
 
W

willshot

Semi-Pro
I think her Dad just made his goal.....

This thread now has 1,834 and 50 replies. At least 1,834 people out there has now heard of Deja.
 
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