Whatever happened to....

G

glenWs

Semi-Pro
Cici Bellis from what I heard has been injured most of last year. Something like 3 wrist ops? Anyone know if she's coming back?

Also, Kayla Day? Young hard hitting American seems to have vanished. Had such a promising junior career and last checked she hasn't played much over the past year and is at the bottom of the rankings. Anyone know? She hang it up?
 
2nd Serve Ace

2nd Serve Ace

Hall of Fame
Bellis actually had a worm damp AND a button damp on her babolats. I've never seen that in my entire life.

I guess nobody told her that those don't stop the low frequency vibrations that cause injury. [emoji17]
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
glenWs said:
Cici Bellis from what I heard has been injured most of last year. Something like 3 wrist ops? Anyone know if she's coming back?

Also, Kayla Day? Young hard hitting American seems to have vanished. Had such a promising junior career and last checked she hasn't played much over the past year and is at the bottom of the rankings. Anyone know? She hang it up?
Click to expand...


Great question. I saw Cici here in AZ at a $25k when she was just 14 and she was hitting bigger than most out there. Really great girl and good family (met her Mom too). She had those good runs and then had wrist issues. Went through surgery, started to try to get back and found she needed another wrist surgery. My understanding is that has been complete and she is training again or starting too. I hope she can come back. So much upside for her.

Interestingly, she mentioned she had signed with a college program (don't recall which), but then rescinded the offer to play pro. Wonder if she might choose that route, if still available.
 
MeatTornado

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
ChaelAZ said:
Great question. I saw Cici here in AZ at a $25k when she was just 14 and she was hitting bigger than most out there. Really great girl and good family (met her Mom too). She had those good runs and then had wrist issues. Went through surgery, started to try to get back and found she needed another wrist surgery. My understanding is that has been complete and she is training again or starting too. I hope she can come back. So much upside for her.

Interestingly, she mentioned she had signed with a college program (don't recall which), but then rescinded the offer to play pro. Wonder if she might choose that route, if still available.
Click to expand...
Stanford, iirc.

But I think as soon as you officially declare pro or accept any kind of prize money, you're not allowed to go back to college. It's too late for her.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
MeatTornado said:
Stanford, iirc.

But I think as soon as you officially declare pro or accept any kind of prize money, you're not allowed to go back to college. It's too late for her.
Click to expand...

Gotcha, kinda figure that was the case. Hopefully she will work back in.
 
BGod

BGod

G.O.A.T.
I miss Kirilenko.

01-0og7gii.jpg
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
From another Tennis World USA article from late Dec (12/29/18):

CiCi Bellis hires Dieter Kindlmann ahead of 2019

... In addition, CiCi has announced Dieter Kindlmann as the new coach for 2019, starting to work with the 36-year-old German who is a former hitting partner of Maria Sharapova and who was a part of the coaching team for Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Laura Robson, Madison Keys and Elise Mertens.

The young American will work on her recovery in the following month and it would be nice to see her ready for action at some WTA event in February or at least during the 'Sunshine Double' at Indian Wells and Miami in March.
.
 
MatsPhilander

MatsPhilander

Legend
ChaelAZ said:
Great question. I saw Cici here in AZ at a $25k when she was just 14 and she was hitting bigger than most out there. Really great girl and good family (met her Mom too). She had those good runs and then had wrist issues. Went through surgery, started to try to get back and found she needed another wrist surgery. My understanding is that has been complete and she is training again or starting too. I hope she can come back. So much upside for her.

Interestingly, she mentioned she had signed with a college program (don't recall which), but then rescinded the offer to play pro. Wonder if she might choose that route, if still available.
Click to expand...

I find her to have the best attitude-never complains about anything, no shouting at the umpire/judges/ballkids etc. She just gets on with her game with a smile. Perfect temperament. I remember her match against Woz from RG a couple of years back when some drizzle was coming down/bad light & Woz was acting like a total drama queen because she was struggling & because she is a brat that was trying to delay-demanding the tournament director come on court etc, while CiCi was just getting on with it & was happy to stay out there. Would love to see her become a top player.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
MatsPhilander said:
I find her to have the best attitude-never complains about anything, no shouting at the umpire/judges/ballkids etc. She just gets on with her game with a smile. Perfect temperament. I remember her match against Woz from RG a couple of years back when some drizzle was coming down/bad light & Woz was acting like a total drama queen because she was struggling & because she is a brat that was trying to delay-demanding the tournament director come on court etc, while CiCi was just getting on with it & was happy to stay out there. Would love to see her become a top player.
Click to expand...

I think her family really did great with keeping her grounded and she genuinely has that temperament and attitude.

And not to be rude guys, but she is under 18 in the bikini pics, so better to keep this on the tennis side of things.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
glenWs said:
Also, Kayla Day? Young hard hitting American seems to have vanished. Had such a promising junior career and last checked she hasn't played much over the past year and is at the bottom of the rankings. Anyone know? She hang it up?
Click to expand...

Just saw Kayla is supposed to be here in AZ for our $25k starting this week. She is Main draw ranked 311. Lots of the wildcard players are here trying to get those last 4 spots so was up meeting and watching them yesterday and this morning.
 
socalmd123

socalmd123

Professional
Saw Kayla Day at Indian Wells a few years ago and thought she’d be in top 20 by now. Saw her a year later and she looked pretty out of shape
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
2nd Serve Ace said:
Bellis actually had a worm damp AND a button damp on her babolats. I've never seen that in my entire life.

I guess nobody told her that those don't stop the low frequency vibrations that cause injury. [emoji17]
Click to expand...
glenWs said:
Last I checked she was swinging a Pure Aero.
Click to expand...

From what I've seen, the Babo Pure Aero does have a high stiffness rating (69) but the TW review has it with a very decent Comfort Score of 81. (But don't know if the model tested is identical to the ones that Bellis uses). Given the Comfort Score, her racket might not be an issue unless she's strung it with a stiff poly at anything other than low/moderate tensions.

ChaelAZ said:
... She had those good runs and then had wrist issues. Went through surgery, started to try to get back and found she needed another wrist surgery. My understanding is that has been complete and she is training again or starting too. I hope she can come back. So much upside for her...
Click to expand...

According to wiki, Bellis had three surgeries in Jun, Sept and Nov to treat her wrist and elbow issues. Seems she's been training since Jan or late Dec from what I've been able to glean from a couple of Tennis World USA articles. However, I just checked the Schedule listings on the Live WTA rankings site. Shows her ranking at 181 there. She is not listed for any of the Feb tournaments (Doha, Dubai, Budapest, Acapulco) or for Indian Wells at the beginning of March. Nor is she listed for qualies at IW (in Feb) or for any of the other venues mentioned.
 
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G

glenWs

Semi-Pro
socalmd123 said:
Saw Kayla Day at Indian Wells a few years ago and thought she’d be in top 20 by now. Saw her a year later and she looked pretty out of shape
Click to expand...

I saw her appear once last season and yes, she blew up. Looked about 20 pounds heavier. Haven’t seen her since. She was touted as 10 Americans to watch a few years back. Would like to see her get her act together.
 
MichaelNadal

MichaelNadal

Bionic Poster
glenWs said:
I saw her appear once last season and yes, she blew up. Looked about 20 pounds heavier. Haven’t seen her since. She was touted as 10 Americans to watch a few years back. Would like to see her get her act together.
Click to expand...

So she hit the shrimp and sausage at Golden Corral? :D

golden-corral-buffet.jpg
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
BGod said:
I miss Kirilenko.

01-0og7gii.jpg
Click to expand...

I also miss Maria K. One of my favorite doubles players on the tour. Made it to the top 10 in singles as well (QF finishes in 3 of the 4 slams events). Loved her very athletic style of play and her high level of physical fitness. Last I heard she had 2 kids (a boy 1st & then a girl). Not sure what she is up to these days. Don't know if any of her English sites are still up (and I have yet to master Russian). Could not find any pix of Maria with an arm cast. Hope this will suffice instead:

cf607636efef0515dfaa0deb375a0174.jpg
 
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SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Anyone remember Usue Arconada from Argentina? Moved to the US some years back (to train and live, I assume). She was was ranked in the ITF top 5 in juniors back in 2015. She is now 20 and was ranked just outside the WTA top 200 a couple of years back.

17622191772_d0cc9be812_b.jpg


I recall Usue being featured as one of the Prince's Who's Next back in 2011:
 
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SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Yifang Dang is another young athlete featured in Prince Who's Next back in 2011. Looked rather promising but not heard anything since his ITF junior days in 2013 (18 at that time). Not seen any record of him playing ATP or collegiate tennis.

Did he peak at 16?
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
The mysterious case of Yifang Dang:

Yifang attended/played at Edison Academy in Bradenton, FL. Graduated in 2013 and was recruited to play in 2014 at Lynn University, a private Div II school in Boca Raton, FL. Curiously tho', he never showed up on Lynn's tennis roster for 2014 or subsequent years. No stories of injuries or of his passing. Appears to have vanished from the face of the Earth after 2013. Alien abduction?

Lynn Univ: Men's Tennis Signs Yifan Dang for 2014 Season

http://lynnfightingknights.com/sports/mten/2013-14/roster
http://lynnfightingknights.com/sports/mten/2014-15/roster
http://lynnfightingknights.com/sports/mten/2015-16/roster
 
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ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
SystemicAnomaly said:
Anyone remember Usue Arconada from Argentina? Moved to the US some years back (to train and live, I assume). She was was ranked in the ITF top 5 in juniors back in 2015. She is now 20 and was ranked just outside the WTA top 200 a couple of years back.

17622191772_d0cc9be812_b.jpg


I recall Ursue being featured as one of the Prince's Who's Next back in 2011:
Click to expand...


Just watched her hit and talked with her on Saturday. She is playing here this week. She looks to be excellent form and wouldn't be surprised if she makes a deep run to the QF or better.
 
Shaolin

Shaolin

G.O.A.T.
tennisaddict said:
What happened to ‘He went to Jared’ Donaldson ?
Click to expand...

Interesting...he seriously did drop off the earth. Didnt care for his game but he was definitely a fighter. Wonder what happened.

Edit...looks like a knee injury. Didnt take a WC offered by Cincy last year and I'm not sure if he's played since.

Pretty serious even you dont take a WC into the most important tournament on the calendar.
 
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SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
ChaelAZ said:
Just watched her hit and talked with her on Saturday. She is playing here this week. She looks to be excellent form and wouldn't be surprised if she makes a deep run to the QF or better.
Click to expand...

Cool. Good to hear she's active & doing well. Is this an ITF tournament somewhere in AZ?
.
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
ghostofMecir said:
Aren’t those the same pictures she posts of herself on IG or wherever hoping for followers and likes and sponsor money?
Click to expand...

Probably so. I found the 2 pix with the cast on her arm on her own IG page last Fall. The others, I came across on wikiFeet and Pinterest -- but were probably originally from one of her own social networking pages.
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
tennisaddict said:
What happened to ‘He went to Jared’ Donaldson ?
Click to expand...

Ok, got the reference now. Was puzzled by your quote marks. Thought your question was merely awkwardly phrased. But I only just now recalled the Jared jewelry store catchphrase. Duh, a little slow on the uptake on my part.

Ok, don't say I didn't warn you about this:
 
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ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
ChaelAZ said:
Yeah, our Surprise AZ $25k ITF.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Sat with Usue, Safiya Carrington’s Dad and a few other players to watch Safiya play Louise Chirico. Was super solid play and keep a look out for Safiya...really big game. Dad said she is signed with LSU and will try to go pro after.

Chirico won though 6/4 6/4.

Also watch Alize Lim and I swear it was Grigor Dimitrov or his twin!

7d7ae6d2961dba6de6f6042b71a9c2b1.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
ChaelAZ said:
Sat with Usue, Safiya Carrington’s Dad and a few other players to watch Safiya play Louise Chirico. Was super solid play and keep a look out for Safiya...really big game. Dad said she is signed with LSU and will try to go pro after.

Chirico won though 6/4 6/4.

Also watch Alize Lim and I swear it was Grigor Dimitrov or his twin!

7d7ae6d2961dba6de6f6042b71a9c2b1.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Has Lim been linked to Dimitrov or just buds? Saw something about Alizé in Grigor's players box a while back.

Had not heard of Safiya but I do know that Louise Chirico is no slouch. She has a 2-0 h2h lead over Naomi Osaka. But the last time they played was just over 2 years ago and Louise is a year older than Naomi. At 20 yo, Louise was at her highest ranking (top 60) when they last met in 2016, but Naomi was closer to #40.
 
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SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
@glenWs
ChaelAZ said:
Sat with Usue, Safiya Carrington’s Dad and a few other players to watch Safiya play Louise Chirico. Was super solid play and keep a look out for Safiya...really big game. Dad said she is signed with LSU and will try to go pro after.

Chirico won though 6/4 6/4...
Click to expand...

Wow, just took another look at the live WTA Schedule to see if CC Bellis was now listed for IW or any of the Feb events. (She is not). She was no longer ranked at 181. Bellis had just lost 220 pts and dropped 191 spots to a ranking of 372. This is the very same ranking as Louise Chirico. They both have 100 WTA points. CC will be down to her last 10 pts in a few weeks if she doesn't play and pick up more.
.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
SystemicAnomaly said:
@glenWs


Wow, just took another look at the live WTA Schedule to see if CC Bellis was now listed for IW or any of the Feb events. (She is not). She was no longer ranked at 181. Bellis had just lost 220 pts and dropped 191 spots to a ranking of 372. This is the very same ranking as Louise Chirico. They both have 100 WTA points. CC will be down to her last 10 pts in a few weeks if she doesn't play and pick up more.
.
Click to expand...

I did message CiCi to see if she was going to be at this event, or doing ITF events to get her ranking back up. I thought she had a protected ranking but might have lost that since she was out, had surgery, played and then was out again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
ChaelAZ said:
I did message CiCi to see if she was going to be at this event, or doing ITF events to get her ranking back up. I thought she had a protected ranking but might have lost that since she was out, had surgery, played and then was out again.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Would be interested on an update if you do hear back from CC on this. I had also heard that she was going to have a protected ranking for AO 2019. Don't know if that was true or it this was just a temporary or one-off thing. Perhaps the Live Ranking or the official WTA Ranking don't reflect "protected rankings". Not sure how this all works.
.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

G.O.A.T.
glenWs said:
Also, Kayla Day? Young hard hitting American seems to have vanished. Had such a promising junior career and last checked she hasn't played much over the past year and is at the bottom of the rankings. Anyone know? She hang it up?
Click to expand...

Haven’t had a chance to talk with her but she is playing now or just finishing.

a6fd15884ccd3da9b1f8f650f1ec2555.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Simon_the_furry

Simon_the_furry

Hall of Fame
SystemicAnomaly said:
Anyone remember Usue Arconada from Argentina? Moved to the US some years back (to train and live, I assume). She was was ranked in the ITF top 5 in juniors back in 2015. She is now 20 and was ranked just outside the WTA top 200 a couple of years back.

17622191772_d0cc9be812_b.jpg


I recall Ursue being featured as one of the Prince's Who's Next back in 2011:
Click to expand...
I met her at the Indian Harbour Beach ITF event last year. Had a nice chat with her. It's Usue by the way. She's quite friendly, although not the most outgoing person out there.
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Simon_the_furry said:
I met her at the Indian Harbour Beach ITF event last year. Had a nice chat with her. It's Usue by the way. She's quite friendly, although not the most outgoing person out there.
Click to expand...

Ya got me. Spelled her name correctly at the top of my post but not at the end. She still have a heavy accent? She appeared to be rather outgoing in her interview as a 12 yo.
.
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
@Simon_the_furry
ChaelAZ said:
Just watched her hit and talked with her on Saturday. She is playing here this week. She looks to be excellent form and wouldn't be surprised if she makes a deep run to the QF or better.
Click to expand...
Just noticed that Usue Arconada won in qualifying at Indian Wells and is scheduled to play in the main draw against Ajla Tomljankovic (sp?) today
 
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