Hard work is paying off for Isabelle Wallace as she continues world rankings climb
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UP-and-coming tennis star Isabelle Wallace is starting to see the results of her dedication in pre-season.
Wallace is now up to a career-high 447 in the world, following her performances at two $15,000 events in Manacor. She won the first one a fortnight ago, beating Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor in the final, before making the quarter-finals of another tournament the week after.
The Inverness-born player has continued in Mallorca this week, where she had been training at the Rafa Nadal Academy. In the $15,000 Palmanova contest, she made the last 16 before bowing out in three sets to Italy’s Giulia Gatto-Monticone.
Having already made a jump of 50 places in the rankings so early in the season, her target of reaching the world’s top 300 by the end of the year is not out of reach.
“I’m feeling really good just now. I worked really hard in pre-season and winning that first tournament, it felt like all that work had paid off,” she said.
“I was around 500 before that tournament and I’ve already jumped up to 450, which is a really good feeling. It’s only February, so hopefully there’s more to come for the rest of the year.
“My dad said to me just to keep chipping away, keep making quarter-finals and semi-finals and you’ll get the ranking points. I’m feeling confident and I’ll keep doing the best I can.”
That victory in Manacor a fortnight ago was particularly special for the 20-year-old, given that her mother Diane had taken time off work to come and watch her.
“She had people covering in the shop, so she was able to come and watch,” said Wallace, whose parents own The Bakery on Tomnahurich Street in Inverness. “She wanted to come out again this week too.
“My mum and dad love coming out here and are going to come out more often. I don’t really get home that often, so it’s great for them, especially mu mum. Their’s direct flights starting from Glasgow to Valencia, which will make things easier than having to go via London.”
The Cradlehall player plans to stay out on Mallorca, where her last three tournaments have been, for the remainder of this week before heading back to the Sport and Life Tennis Academy in Valencia, where she trains with her coach Jonathan Moll. She trains for two weeks before competing in two weeks worth of tournaments.
The plan after this week is to pick up a couple of $25,000 tournaments in Italy, which carry greater sway with ranking points.
She was previously at TenisVal Academy, also in Valencia, before changing to Moll last year, a switch she is reaping the benefits of.
“I have got to thank my coach and my physical coach, because my parents have seen a huge change in me,” said Wallace. “I have been there for seven months and all they’ve seen is progress.
“My previous academy merged with ours, so my old coach now works here too. He said to me that he’s seen a huge change in my game, that I have now become more of a tennis player.”
Wallace represents Australia and holds dual nationality, after spending six years living there, and choose to represent them due to greater support available to players.
