JELANI DAVIDSON is only 14 years old but his story makes one wonder if he is not another Keshorn Walcott in the making.
The odds are against him-no coach, no system to groom him, and insufficient finances to take him to important international tournaments. But with raw lawn tennis talent and unceasing support from close relatives, he has already managed to stroke his way to the number one spot in his age category in Trinidad and Tobago and the number two rank in Central America and the Caribbean-the highest rank any local player has attained in more than a decade. That means Jelani has already beaten the best regionally.
Yet it appears little is known of him.
He is unassuming, so that you would never know how high he has set his sights. But he has a dream; a big dream. Before he turns 18, Jelani wants to be in the top 500 professional players in the world. It will take some doing but he wants to start beating the best internationally.
See him with his lanky stroll around his Queens Royal College school grounds and you won’t readily picture him crouched, focused and agile on the tennis court, slapping ball after ball across the net with almost consummate ease. But, from a layperson’s view, that could be a little deceiving. It has taken a lot of his own hard work and persistence to do it. To climb to the professional level however, Jelani needs more than his raw talent.
Looking at his short history playing competitively, you can understand why he not only wants, but can reasonably expect, to compete against the world’s best in the very near future.
A year ago he went with some other local players to Suriname to play for Trinidad and Tobago in the 13 and under Development Championship. There, he blew past 24 regional players to place fifth out of 29, emerging as the top local talent.
In March of this year, he copped the International Tennis Federation (ITF) double crown, winning both the Singles and doubles titles and followed that up in April by running away with the Catch National Championship title.
Then just four months later, in August, he competed in three back-to-back ITF Junior Championship tournaments held in St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Tobago and won them all, becoming the first player in the history of Trinidad and Tobago Tennis to win three consecutive ITF Singles titles.
His next stop? He wants to compete at the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl Tournament and the 2012 Eddie Herr International Tournament, scheduled to be held in Miami, Florida, between November 26 and December 23 inclusive.
The Junior Orange Bowl Tournament, now in its 51st year, has produced the best of the best young talent over the years. Players like Justine Henin, Janko Tipsarevic, Juan Del Potro, Andy Murray, Bernard Tomic and Mary Jo Fernandez have all competed at the tournament.
Similarly the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Tournament has served as a springboard to the professional tennis tour for many others. Players such as Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, David Nalbandian, Anna Kournikova, Mardy Fish, Xavier Malisse, Marcelo Rios, Jelena Jankovic, and Ana Ivanovic, all cut their international teeth in the tournament.
Jelani wants to be next and in the process create more national lawn tennis history by becoming the first Trinidad and Tobago player to successfully compete at both tournaments.
His father, Anthony Davidson, is cautiously optimistic that Jelani has the natural ability to do it. Davidson is not just his father but currently performs the duties of manager and coach.
“While Jelani gets to practice once or twice a week with his elder brother, Jabari, these international players are training every day; they have dieticians, professional coaches, state of the art facilities, everything. He has none of that,” he noted.
Davidson and other close relatives seem to be the only wind beneath Jelani’s wings. Late nights on the courts and strong emotional support from them has kept him going.
“ Jelani has proven himself on and off the court. He has shown a lot of maturity, consistent growth, discipline and most of all a high level of emotional intelligence. I really believe he can do it,” his father says.
Davidson has started knocking on the doors of the Sports Company and other officials whom he hopes will recognize another sporting champion in the making and help accelerate his growth.
Jelani’s requests are far
from demanding or extravagant. He wants a coach, facilities and some sponsorship-all reasonable for his age and talent.
“I just need the international exposure. I want to move into the under-18 championship and become among the top 500 in the world. To get up I need to play a lot of tournaments and they are expensive. I would need a sponsor and certainly help from the Tennis Association.”
He names some coaches he considers to be good. But they are all based in Tobago.
“I can’t go Tobago twice a week and every weekend.”
But, with help from sponsors, he could make it to Florida. It would cost him roughly $75,000 to get to the prestigious tournament courts. But then, once again, he hopes to pick up his trademark stance and give himself and the country a shot once more at sporting fame.
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