The next weekend after competing at the Yonex Calgary Junior ITF, Martyna Ostrzygalo was in Victoria in another ITF (International Tennis Federation) event, June 3-8, hoping to build on her quarter-final result in Calgary.
The 32-player roster included fellow 13-year old Canadian, Kayla Cross, who won the Calgary event that previous weekend.
Ostryzygalo and Cross were teamed up as doubles partners, seeded number two, a promising duo. In singles, Cross was seeded #7, and Ostrzygalo #4.
Doubles Goes Well
The Ostrzygalo/Cross pairing was a strong one in the doubles arena. They cruised to the final, including a win over the Alberta duo of Alexia Jacobs and Hailey Murphy in the semi-finals. Their only split-set match was in the quarters against an American team (2-6, 6-3, 10-4).
In the finals they faced the #1 seeded team, Danielle Tuhten and Chae Yoo from British Columbia, well seasoned junior ITF players. Ostrzygalo/Cross showcased their skills, winning handily at 6-2, 6-2.
This was the first ITF doubles win for Martyna, and the third ITF doubles win in less than a month for Kayla. Both girls are in their first full year of ITF competition.
Ostrzygalo Works Her Way To The Singles Final
Ostrzygalo’s venture to the finals was not an easy run. Her second round match against Albertan Alexia Jacobs was a tight back-and-forth. Martyna lost the first set 3-6, then gained an edge to take the next two sets, 7-5, 6-4.
Her quarter-final match against qualifier M. Ruja from the U.S. was also a close encounter. After losing the first set 4-6, Martyna bounced back to win the next two sets 6-0, 6-3.
In the semi-finals she faced Danielle Tuhten of British Columbia, seeded #2. Again Martyna lost the first set 4-6 and was forced to call on her comeback magic. The second set could not have been closer. Martyna came through on the biggest points and won 7-6 (6), forcing a third set. The third set was all Martyna’s at 6-2. And she moved on to her second junior ITF final. (Her first was in Burlington, Ontario in November 2018).
There she faced off against her doubles partner, Kayla Cross, fresh off her Calgary singles and doubles wins the week before. Kayla is currently ranked #1 in Canada in the U14 category. Martyna is ranked #4.
Martyna came out strong. Unlike her previous matches, she won the first set 5-7. Now it was Kayla’s turn to come from behind. In true champion form, Kayla Cross won the next two sets, 6-4, 6-3. With this she claimed her second singles junior ITF win in two weeks. Quite a run for Kayla, and quite a run for Martyna as well.
Other Alberta Junior Results
Alberta juniors who made the second round are:
- Gianna Oboniye
- Karin Hamilton
- Hailey Murhpy
- Alexia Jacobs
Repeating her Calgary result, Karin Hamilton went on to the quarterfinals in Victoria where she lost to the tournament champion, Kayla Cross, in a two-set match. The Jacobs/Murphy duo from Alberta also made the semi-finals in doubles.
On the boys side, Tyler Waddock from Calgary moved to the second round with a heroic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) win over his Chinese opponent, Kaiwen Jiang.
Coming Up
Upcoming junior ITF tournaments in Canada are:
- Kamloops (J5), June 24-29
- Edmonton (J4), July 1-5
- Vancouver (J5), July 8-13
Quotable quote:
From W. Timothy Gallwey’s “The Inner Game of Tennis”:
“Both Arthur Ashe and Billie Jean King used these phrases (“playing out of one’s mind,” or “over one’s head”) to describe their performances while winning the finals at Wimbledon in 1975. . . . The player loses himself in the action, continually breaking the false limits placed on is potential. Awareness becomes acutely heightened, while analysis, anxiety and self-conscious thought are completely forgotten. Enjoyment is at a peak, pure and unspoiled.”
Feature photo above: Martyna Ostryzygalo at the Yonex Calgary Junior ITF, Photo by Kyle Clapham.
