Fourth Grader Madison McLeod Wins Prestigious Holiday Jr. Open Tennis Tournament

Reprinted from the Montecito Journal

Laguna fourth grader Madison McLeod won the USTA-sanctioned Holiday Junior Open tennis tournament in the 10-and-under age bracket in Woodland Hills on December 18. Madison is ranked in the top 30 girls in all of Southern California and still has a year and a half before she ages out of this bracket. Which means she could conceivably make the top 10, if not the top 5, by that timeline.

Madison was the #1 seed in this tournament, and won the semi-finals in a nail-biting double tiebreaker. Her opponent was over a year older than McLeod and almost a foot taller and won the first set 6-3. In the second set, McLeod was focused and determined to keep up with her opponent until the score was 6-6, sending the match into a 7-point tiebreaker, which McLeod won. Tied at one set apiece, the match was determined by a 10-point tiebreaker, which McLeod won 10-6. The girls played for over two hours in 40mph winds at 45-degree temperatures.

McLeod advanced to the finals, where she swept the first set 6-1 and finished it off winning the second set 7-5. This was a huge victory for McLeod and a fantastic way to end the year. Madison, who began playing tennis at age four, trains at Dimitar Tennis Academy in Santa Barbara five days a week.

When you ask Madison what her dreams are, she says she plans on winning Wimbledon one day. She played back-to-back tournaments recently, taking second place in the Terry Lynch Open in Ventura on December 11 and coming in first at the Holiday Junior Open on December 18, so her determination and natural talent may have her well on the way toward accomplishing her dream!
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