Minor in main draw of Junior ITF event

 After completing two tournaments in Australia, CNMI junior tennis player Thea Minor is heading to New Zealand this weekend to  compete in three Junior ITF events.

Minor will debut in the Sunsmart 18 & Under Summer Championships 2012 to be played in the hardcourt at the Ashburton Trust  Tennis Centre in Ashburton. The 15-year-old netter is in the main draw of the girls singles event, joining fellow Oceania ITF Touring  Team members Assya Trimari, Jade Pain, Sarah Vigneron, Yaelle Honakoko, and Samuelle Bull of New Caledonia, Lorish Puluspene and Marcia Tere-Apisah of Papua New Guinea, Lorraine Banimataku of Vanuatu, Annie Shannon and Tarani Kamoe of Fiji, and Alesi Molotii of Tuvalu.

The six-day tournament (Jan. 23 to 28) will also feature junior players from Japan, Korea, France, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Mexico, Australia, Taipei, Singapore, Latvia, Serbia, Hawaii, and Poland.

So far Minor, who is still in the Land Down Under watching games at the 2012 Australian Open, and 43 other players are in the main draw and these netters are either top-ranked in their respective nation or hold ranking points in the Junior ITF circuit. Japan’s Yukina Saigo is the highest-ranked player in the field with her No. 360 ranking, followed by Tere-Apisah (No. 368), New Zealand’s Claudia Williams (No. 397), Hong Kong’s Carina Ma Ka Man (No. 478), and Mexico’s Carmen Araceli Cordoba (No. 479).

Minor’s first tournament in New Zealand is a Grade 4 event, which gives 40 ranking points to the champion, 30 to runner-up, 20 to semifinalist, 15 to quarterfinalists, and 10 to losers in the Round of 16. The Saipan Southern High School student is aiming to become the first female CNMI junior player to earn Junior ITF ranking points. Ji Hoon Heo was the first CNMI player to receive the coveted ranking points when he joined in the same tournaments Minor is scheduled to compete in.

Minor’s second tournament in New Zealand will be the U18 ITF Summer Champs, which will run from Jan. 29 to Feb. 8 in Auckland. This time, the Commonwealth netter is in the qualifying draw, along with 25 other players. She needs at least two wins to make it to the main draw.

The competition in Auckland offers more ranking points, as it is a Grade 3 event. Sixty ranking point go to the champion, 45 to runner-up, 30 to semifinalists, 20 to quarterfinalists, and 15 to losers in the Round of 16.

Minor’s last stop in New Zealand will be Wellington and she will participate in the Tennis Central U18 Junior ITF Tournament from Feb. 7 to 11. Again, Minor has to go through a qualifying event to advance to the main draw of her last competition in New Zealand. The Wellington event is a Grade 4 competition.