IMG Bollettieri student Mariya Shishkina
Playing at her home Academy in front of a standing-room only crowd, 11-year-old Mariya Shishkina turned any pre-match jitters into a dominant preview of her potential as a tennis player.
Shishkina, an IMG Bollettieri Tennis Academy student, on Friday took the U-12 girls title in the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships — the world’s largest junior tournament held at one location.
Shishkina quickly dispatched Alicia Black 6-1, 6-0 to complete her roll through the U-12 bracket for her first major tournament win. Shishkina never dropped a set in the tournament.
Originally from Kazakhstan, Shishkina is now a U.S. citizen and one of the top up-and-coming juniors in the world.
Past winners of the Eddie Herr include notable names like Jelena Jankovic, Anna Kournikova, David Nalbandian, Marcelo Rios, Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova. Find more info, including brackets and the full list of past winners, at www.eddieherr.com.
Check out Mariya talking about her title minutes after the match ended:
