Story by Colin Tung/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports
Ashley Yim of Singapore prepares to return a shot during the preliminary round of the WTA Future Stars Girls’ U14 Tournament. Ashley finished with two victories in the tournament. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
Kallang Tennis Centre, Monday, October 20, 2014 — Singapore’s Nicole Tan and Ashley Yim were both eliminated after the preliminary rounds of the WTA Future Stars Under-16 and Under-14 tournaments respectively.
Both drawn in groups of six players, Nicole failed to win any match while Ashley won two matches.
Playing two matches per day over the first two days of competition with the final preliminary round match on Sunday morning, Nicole’s quest for her first win of the tournament – for girls in the Asia Pacific – was always going to be tough coming up against eventual group winner Eri Shimuzu of Japan, who triumphed 6-0, 6-1 in their pink group encounter.
Nicole, 16, said, “Even though I wasn’t able to win, I played my best in all the matches. This tournament has been a really memorable and exciting once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and I am really glad that I got to participate in it.
“The players are all very good and I aspire to play like them in the future.”
14-year-old Ashley, on the other hand, could not complete her last preliminary round match after being forced to retire with abdominal muscle spasms at 6-1 down against Indonesia Shevita Aulana. The tournament third seed and Singapore Sports School student finished with two wins – over Vietnam’s Thu Uyen Dao and Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Tzu-Hsun. She finished fourth in her group.
“I felt really upset, like I let my whole family down since they all came to support me. These matches have taught me that I have to work even harder in tennis in order to take on these girls. My aim now is to work harder to get a higher ITF ranking,” said Ashley, who is currently ranked 1127th.
Thasaporn Naklo of Thailand and Karman Kaur Thandi won the under-16 and under-14 finals, played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, respectively. Thasaporn beat Yuki Ando of Japan (5-7, 6-3, 10-4) while Karman defeated Huan Hsiang-wen of Chinese Taipei (6-4, 6-2).
Nicole’s Results (Under-16)
Lost to Cao Siqi (China) 6-0, 6-1
Lost to Manikam Bootsarakomvisit (Thailand) 6-1, 7-6(4)
Lost to Rafaella Villaneuva (Philippines) 6-3, 4-6, 10-3
Lost to Rifanty Khafiany (Indonesia) 6-3, 6-1
Lost to Eri Shimuzu (Japan) 6-0, 6-1
Ashley’s Results (Under-14)
Beat Thu Uyen Dao (Vietnam) 6-2, 6-0
Lost to Mahak Jain (India) 2-6, 4-6
Beat Hsu Tzu-Hsun (Chinese Taipei) 3-6, 7-6(4), 10-7
Lost to Thasaporn Naklo (Thailand) 6-2, 6-1
Lost to Shevita Aulana (Indonesia) 6-1 (retired)
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