Tornado Hits NY

[RJD11]

Hurricane on the way......Chance of Reign


It’s too early to tell whether they’ll be the next Venus and Serena Williams, but two young racket-swinging sisters from Boca Raton, Fla., are already taking the tennis world by storm.

Fifteen-year-old "Tornado" Alicia Black and 12-year-old Hurricane Tyra Black have unconventional names — Hurricane’s is her legal name; Tornado’s isn’t — and you better get used to them, because the sisters are climbing up the junior tennis ranks.

“They wanted us to be tennis stars so they picked storm names,” Tornado told the New York Post of her parents, Sylvester and Gayal. “I used to hate it because a lot of kids made fun of me, but now I’m getting used to it. I like it now.”


http://msn.foxsports.com/tennis/story/tornado-black-hurricane-black-tennis-playing-sisters-chance-of-reign-daily-buzz-090513

 

[RJD11]

The Boca Raton, Fla., native’s older half-sister, Nicole Pitts, played professionally, but it is her younger sister who is one of the most promising prospects in the country, as the top-ranked 12-and-under player in the nation.

The emergence of Tyra, who is coached by her father, has brought the inevitable comparisons to the Williams sisters, even though Alicia is not yet ready to commit to a future doubles partnership wit her sister since she is unsure they can get along together on the court.


http://nypost.com/2013/09/04/sisters-named-tornado-hurricane-taking-tennis-by-storm/



Alicia understands the comparison, even listing Serena as one of her favorite players. She just has no interest in joining the list that includes Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend, and declares each young African-American female tennis player as the next Williams.

“I just want to be myself and do my own thing and not follow other people’s steps."

 

[RJD11]

For now, Black is still very much a teenager who likes going to the movies and gets nervous before press conferences, one who is still “too scared” to approach Roger Federer one table over in the cafeteria of the player’s lounge.

But the stage, the travel, the professionals passing by, it’s all becoming normal. It’s the path she was prepared for.

“She keeps getting better,” Carpio said. “She just needs a little more time.”

The storms are starting to swirl.



Tornado has reached the finals of the USO vs Konjuh

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

Thanks for sharing RJD!

 

[colleen66]

Just started hearing about the girls a few days ago. Cool names!

 

[tossip]

its nice to see the impact that the sisters have made on tennis in the minority communities.I know a lot of them secretly idolize the sisters and publicly mention the likes of Clijsters because thats acceptable to the mainstream .
The sisters journey is a once in a lifetime story that will never be replicated.There will never be another visionary like Richard nor unique siblings like Venus and Serena...all these are copycats.

 

[RJD11]

its nice to see the impact that the sisters have made on tennis in the minority communities.I know a lot of them secretly idolize the sisters and publicly mention the likes of Clijsters because thats acceptable to the mainstream .
The sisters journey is a once in a lifetime story that will never be replicated.There will never be another visionary like Richard nor unique siblings like Venus and Serena...all these are copycats.

Right, But this guy is making the attempt with his daughters

apparently he started when Tornado was 3 yrs old.

Wishing Tornado luck vs Konjuh.


I heard about another pair of Sisters from Florida a few years

ago that would have been a better story because their name

was also....Williams. But haven't heard anything from them

lately.

 

[RJD11]

Tornado Alicia Black has a memorable name. The question is, does she have a memorable game?

This will certainly be a memorable U.S. Open for the 15-year-old from Boca Raton, Fla. She will play Ana Konjuh of Croatia Sunday for the girls junior title at the Open. Black is a wild card playing in her second Slam event. Konjuh is the No. 2 seed among the girls and defeated Black in the second round of last year's Open juniors

"She will have to be aggressive and stay committed to her shots," coach Lawrence Carpio said. "She's done a good job of that throughout the tournament. She's feeling nerves a little bit, but she has been fighting through them very well."

"Yeah, I like to fight a lot in matches," she said.

Sunday, she fights for a title.


http://www.newsday.com/sports/tennis/us-open/tornado-alicia-black-takes-u-s-open-juniors-by-storm-1.6030769

 

[RJD11]

Alicia Black, who has collected $565 to date.

Black, 15, has yet to turn professional, but has already learned of the financial demands of world-competitive tennis.

“I’m a single mother, devoting my life to my children’s tennis career, and there are tournaments we can’t go to because we can’t afford to travel,” said Alicia’s mother, Gayal Black, who lives in Boca Raton, Fla.

Alicia Black, who is known as Tornado, had managed to accumulate a professional ranking (896th) after performing well in a few minor league tournaments, but she lost her ranking points this year because she could not afford to travel.

“She’s young, so I just can’t put her on a plane by herself,” Gayal Black said.

The same goes for Alicia’s younger sister, Tyra, who has a matching nickname (Hurricane), and is currently the country’s top-ranked under-12 player.


Patrick McEnroe:

He said that the Black sisters received several U.S.T.A. grants, and that Alicia traveled with the national team, which is funded by the U.S.T.A.

“Now, are our grants enough to cover all the expenses that are associated with raising a professional tennis player? No,” McEnroe said. “It’s a very expensive sport, and our budget isn’t unlimited.”

“Just to have the money to spend an extra night before a tournament and acclimate is a big help,” Gayal Black said. “Some people have given $5, and that’s helpful. It’s a lot of money to me.”

Alicia will be traveling to New York to play in the United States Open juniors tournament. Her mother said she hoped contributions through Involved Fan would help with the expenses.

 

[tossip]

its nice to see the impact that the sisters have made on tennis in the minority communities.I know a lot of them secretly idolize the sisters and publicly mention the likes of Clijsters because thats acceptable to the mainstream .
The sisters journey is a once in a lifetime story that will never be replicated.There will never be another visionary like Richard nor unique siblings like Venus and Serena...all these are copycats.

Right, But this guy is making the attempt with his daughters

apparently he started when Tornado was 3 yrs old.

Wishing Tornado luck vs Konjuh.


I heard about another pair of Sisters from Florida a few years

ago that would have been a better story because their name

was also....Williams. But haven't heard anything from them

lately.

why is it so bad for these girls to be compared to the sisters uzzled...the sisters are champions and business savvy..

 

[zalvar]

Can't wait for their baby sister Tsunami Black

 

[colleen66]

Hurricane on the way......Chance of Reign


It’s too early to tell whether they’ll be the next Venus and Serena Williams, but two young racket-swinging sisters from Boca Raton, Fla., are already taking the tennis world by storm.

Fifteen-year-old "Tornado" Alicia Black and 12-year-old Hurricane Tyra Black have unconventional names — Hurricane’s is her legal name; Tornado’s isn’t — and you better get used to them, because the sisters are climbing up the junior tennis ranks.

“They wanted us to be tennis stars so they picked storm names,” Tornado told the New York Post of her parents, Sylvester and Gayal. “I used to hate it because a lot of kids made fun of me, but now I’m getting used to it. I like it now.”


http://msn.foxsports.com/tennis/story/tornado-black-hurricane-black-tennis-playing-sisters-chance-of-reign-daily-buzz-090513

RDJ11, I thought I read that "Tornado" is her actual birth name? Do you know if this is true?

 

[kskate2]

I like the fact that they want their kids to play tennis, but why these parents name their children all of these unusual names is beyond me. They don't have to sit in school when other kids are making fun and being brats. They don't see behind the scenes how jobs discriminate in the hiring process because a name on a resume or application is too unique or strange.

 

[RJD11]

Hurricane on the way......Chance of Reign


It’s too early to tell whether they’ll be the next Venus and Serena Williams, but two young racket-swinging sisters from Boca Raton, Fla., are already taking the tennis world by storm.

Fifteen-year-old "Tornado" Alicia Black and 12-year-old Hurricane Tyra Black have unconventional names — Hurricane’s is her legal name; Tornado’s isn’t — and you better get used to them, because the sisters are climbing up the junior tennis ranks.

“They wanted us to be tennis stars so they picked storm names,” Tornado told the New York Post of her parents, Sylvester and Gayal. “I used to hate it because a lot of kids made fun of me, but now I’m getting used to it. I like it now.”


http://msn.foxsports.com/tennis/story/tornado-black-hurricane-black-tennis-playing-sisters-chance-of-reign-daily-buzz-090513

RDJ11, I thought I read that "Tornado" is her actual birth name? Do you know if this is true?

No it is not. Hurricane is really her sisters birth name.

One of the articles explains about her name on the marquee

 

[RJD11]

I like the fact that they want their kids to play tennis, but why these parents name their children all of these unusual names is beyond me. They don't have to sit in school when other kids are making fun and being brats. They don't see behind the scenes how jobs discriminate in the hiring process because a name on a resume or application is too unique or strange.

If they continue the way they are I don't think

they will have to worry about the job market.

And its not that difficult to change your name

 

[RJD11]

Ana Konjuh def Tornado Alicia Black .........3-6 6-4 7-6(6)

Close match. Looks like it came down to the wire.

 

[RJD11]

“Alicia got her name ‘Tornado’ when she was 3 and playing out of her mind,” she said. “We couldn’t believe how amazing she was and we knew then we had a champion. When the next one was born, we knew she could do it, too, and so her [legal] name is Tyra Hurricane.”

But raising champions was only a part of the strategy.

“I have a marketing degree . . . and I knew I needed to do something for them to stand out, and we thought it was cute,” Gayal said. “[Tornado didn't like her name] a few years ago. Kids tease you. But now they understand it’s marketing and it’s very big to say a storm blew through the US Open.

“It’s great for everybody, for publicity. Greg Norman was the Great White Shark. Sir Richard Branson said you have to have a brand to use. We don’t want them to be the next Williams sisters or those African-American sisters. They’re Tornado and Hurricane so people can identify them as something other than the next Venus and Serena

 

[Iona16]

I've just seen this article posted on twitter. I'm glad I'm not the only one that finds it disturbing on so many levels.

http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/article/9683950/espnw-tornado-black-shows-remarkable-game-go-memorable-name-junior-girls-us-open-tennis-tournament

 

[tossip]

“Alicia got her name ‘Tornado’ when she was 3 and playing out of her mind,” she said. “We couldn’t believe how amazing she was and we knew then we had a champion. When the next one was born, we knew she could do it, too, and so her [legal] name is Tyra Hurricane.”

But raising champions was only a part of the strategy.

“I have a marketing degree . . . and I knew I needed to do something for them to stand out, and we thought it was cute,” Gayal said. “[Tornado didn't like her name] a few years ago. Kids tease you. But now they understand it’s marketing and it’s very big to say a storm blew through the US Open.

“It’s great for everybody, for publicity. Greg Norman was the Great White Shark. Sir Richard Branson said you have to have a brand to use. We don’t want them to be the next Williams sisters or those African-American sisters. They’re Tornado and Hurricane so people can identify them as something other than the next Venus and Serena

they will never be the Williams sisters..:nono..maybe the Maleeva or Radwanska sisters.Why is it so hard for these people to accept that the sisters really paved a way for these wannabes.These girls are African American and the sooner they accept it now the better...Venus and Serena never made excuses for who they are and Richard instilled in them a sense of self that helped their careers.
Why not let their game market itself....why all the silly gimmicks.The sisters story is compelling and not fake and usually fans see through the lack of substance.

 

[tossip]

All these girls were inspired by the sisters...Sloane started at 9yrs whe Venus and Serena were at their peak in the early 2000s,Madison saw Venus winning Wimbledon....most of the parents saw the money that the sisters were making and want a piece of that pie...its all about $$$$.
I think if the Williams sisters looked like Alicia Keys or Beyonce a lot of the upcoming black girls would embrace them...thats the sad part about all the youngsters.