Ivanov shapes as NZ’s best hope for singles stardom
There may have been many false dawns in the hope that New Zealand can produce another top singles player, but there is genuine belief that Valentina Ivanov could at last be the one.
Throughout the 21st century there has only been Marina Erakovic who has produced on the world stage for this country when it comes to singles.
There was hope that Sacha Jones would give New Zealand two players in the top 100, but she wasn’t able to reach those heights, even after she switched to be an Australian.
There have been about half-a-dozen other women players who showed promise, and most recently Jade Lewis was being talked up.
It did look promising when Lewis had a close match against Venus Williams at the ASB Classic a couple of years ago. But Lewis couldn’t handle the pressure or the grind of being on tour and after a string of disappointing results quit the sport in April, at the tender age of 19.
There is still hope that current players Erin Routliffe and NZ No 1 Paige Hourigan, who are both in their early 20s, can go onto great things, but it is worth getting excited about the prospects of 17-year-old Ivanov.
The Christchurch-born Ivanov lives in Sydney and over the past couple weeks has won the New Zealand Junior title and the National Championships, beating Hourigan in the final.
‘‘It meant a lot. Honestly, I didn’t expect it.’’ Ivanov said of winning the NZ Champs.
‘‘I came into the tournament wanting to see how well I could do.
‘‘I have had a few good weeks, I was a bit tired, so I didn’t expect to get all of the way to the final, let alone win it, especially in three sets.’’
Ivanov is ranked 159 in the world as a junior, but that doesn’t give a true indication of her talent.
A few years ago she was regarded as one of the best players for her age in the world, but she then had an injury which sidelined her for a year across 2016 and 2017.
Up until a year ago she had been receiving significant investment from Tennis NZ, but when head of performance Simon Rea brought in a new higher level of criteria for players reach to receive funding, Ivanov missed out.
There were fears then that Ivanov could switch to play for Australia, as she had a higher junior ranking than any Australian player.
But she chose to remain a Kiwi and represented New Zealand at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in October.
It was through this that she got to work with Nathan Carter, the son of Fed Cup captain, Neil Carter, and they built up a good player-coach relationship.
‘‘I worked a bit with Nathan when I went to the Olympics this year, so after that we kept in touch,’’ Ivanov said.
‘‘He said he’s happy to help me if I come back to New Zealand, so that’s what happened.
‘‘I met Neil a few weeks ago when I came back and they’ve both been helping me, mainly Nathan, but Neil has also put in a lot of work.
‘‘They’ve been a great energy to be around and I really appreciate their help.’’
Ivanov will spend Christmas at home in Sydney and be back in Auckland on Boxing Day to prepare for the Classic, where she’ll at least be given a qualifying wildcard.
She’s looking to play for New Zealand in the Fed Cup next year and also plans to spend more time on this side of the Tasman.
‘‘I hope so, now that I’ve got them,’’ she said of the Carters.
‘‘It’s a pretty good training base here. In the past, I didn’t see where I could train here or with who, that’s why I didn’t spend much time here.
‘‘But now with them two and also Paige and Erin when they’re around, it would be a great training environment.
‘‘But I still hope to travel and tournaments overseas.’’
Ivanov could play one more year on the ITF junior circuit, however she feels she’s ready to make the transition next year to professional tournaments.
It can be a tough slog for a player to work their way up the rankings, playing in small tournaments for little prize money, but it’s what every player has to go through.
There could be one more junior tournament ahead for Ivanov, but after that she’s committed to testing herself at the next level.
‘‘I might play the Junior Australian Open,’’ she said.
‘‘It would be qualifying, because I’ve dropped a lot in the rankings. But I’m not sure about it, it’s 50-50 and after that it will definitely be pro.’’ play