Tennis prodigies take trip of lifetime to Europe

Breaunna Addison, Madison Keys play in prestigious international tournament

Published February 24th, 2008

By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR

Recently, two Boca Raton tennis phenoms had the opportunity to go overseas and compete against some of the best players the world has to offer.
Thirteen-year-old Breaunna Addison, who moved to Boca Raton from Texas in October, was one of four girls in the girls U14 bracket to be chosen by the USTA to compete in the Teen Tennis event in Bolton, England Jan. 20-25.

Twelve-year-old Madison Keys, who has lived in Boca Raton for the last 2 1/2 years, earned a wild card and played doubles with Addison at Le Petits As Junior Championships in France Jan. 28-Feb. 3.

Keys, who is ranked No. 3 in the USTA Girls’ 12s, won four qualifying singles matches to enter the main draw. She lost to No. 13 seed Jessica Ren of Great Britain, 6-2, 6-2.

Addison, who is ranked No. 16 in the USTA Girls’ 14s, won her first round match in England, but fell against No. 12 seed Joanna Henderson of Great Britain, 6-2, 6-2.

In doubles, she teamed with Grace Lin to reach the semifinals, where they lost to the top seed.

In France, Addison again won her first round match and fell in the second, 3-6, 2-6 to Slovakia’s Petra Uberalova.

In doubles, she and Keys played together for the first time, knocking off the No. 6 seed before falling in the second round.

All in all, it was valuable experience for the girls, who were competing in the most prestigious international tournament in their age group. Past winners at Les Petits include Rafael Nadal, Donald Young, Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis.

“You got to meet a lot of new people and friends, and got to taste a lot of new foods, but as far as the tennis goes, it was pretty good,” Addison said. “I didn’t exactly play my best. The courts were much faster (in England). Then when we went to France, the courts were much slower.”

Addison had played at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in Texas, where she heard about the Chris Evert Academy. She, her mother Bridgette and father Freddie moved to Boca Raton, where Addison’s days have consisted of school and tennis.

Addison started out as a runner on her track team, even qualifying for the Junior Olympics. Then, at age eight, she caught a glimpse of Venus and Serena Williams playing tennis. That was when she decided to start playing, and her game steadily improved.

Addison is a hustler, someone who covers every inch of the court and is difficult to get a ball past. Just ask Keys.

“She’s really fast, she gets to everything,,”  Keys said. “And she’s really good, like when she’s out and she can get to the ball and she can hit it high.”

Keys had been trying to enter Les Petits for several months, and she was helped by the USTA and the Evert Academy. She said her lasting impression of France was “it was cold, but it was fun.”

Keys, who was coming off a victory in the Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship in December, said the event got her used to the high-caliber competition she faced in France.

Addison said of Keys, “She has a really big game, especially for her age. She’s able to take advantage of the points early and come in. I actually really like her game. I think it’s better than mine.”

Keys and Addison knew each other before Addison moved down from playing in various tournaments, and they’ve become fast friends.
The two said they complemented each other well on the court, and they plan to play together again in the future.

When asked if it was a good partnership, Keys said with a laugh, “We won a round.”

Keys’ coach, Mandy Wilson, said the trip was good for her player in other ways.

“I thought it was great,” she said. “The whole purpose of the trip was a learning experience for her. We really had no huge expectations. She won four rounds to qualify; she lost to a girl who got to the quarterfinals.”

The biggest advantage Wilson said Keys got from the experience was “that there’s not that big a difference between her and the other girls.”

It was the biggest event Keys had ever played in, and it was the biggest one Keys had attended alone, without her family. Wilson said the trip has had an effect on Keys.

“The biggest thing I’ve seen is her maturity,” she said.

From here the girls will continue to play in various tournaments to try and improve their ranking. But they both want to return to Les Petits next year, and maybe with another 12 months of seasoning, they can add to their reputations abroad.