Double AJ tennis champion seeks to shine in Florida
Published:Friday | August 28, 2020 | 12:18 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
Freshly minted All-Jamaica under-16 and under-18 girls’ singles champion Katherine Dibbs is now aiming to put on a special showing at this weekend’s United States Tennis Association (USTA) Level Four tournament in Florida.
The 15-year-old Dibbs, who comfortably won both singles titles earlier this week, told The Gleaner that she is looking forward to a very competitive tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Sunday.
“I am kind of nervous because it is an under-18 tournament and so there might be a lot of high-level players playing in it, and so it should be very competitive,” said Dibbs.
“But I feel confident with my game right now and I am hoping to do really well,” she said.
MENTAL TRAINING
Dibbs, who is a student at Hillel Academy, underlined that she has been working very hard to improve her mental strength ahead of this highly anticipated tournament.
“Mentally, sometimes I go into different zones, like sometimes I kind of lose my focus and I start daydreaming, and so I am working on that,” Dibbs said.
“Physically, I think I am doing really well because I am going to the gym and I think I am very fit now and so, physically, I should be good,” she said.
Reflecting on her performance at the All-Jamaica tournament this week, Dibbs underscored that she was really pleased about her efforts because she worked very hard during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve all aspects of her game on court.
“I am feeling really good and am proud of myself that I was able to win both singles titles,” Dibbs said. “The competition was good and I think that I played really well, and so I was very pleased with my performance. I have been training a lot, twice a day, since this coronavirus pandemic started, and so the work that I have put in really came out in this tournament,” said Dibbs, who left the island yesterday for the tournament.