New South Wales talent Jizelle Sibai won two 14/u national titles at the 2023 December Showdown.
Melbourne, Australia, 8 December 2023 | Leigh Rogers
Jizelle Sibai proved she is a star on the rise at the 2023 December Showdown, claiming the girls’ singles and doubles titles at the 14-and-under Australian Junior Tour Masters.
“It’s pretty good, I can’t believe it,” the 14-year-old beamed after recording a dominant 6-2 6-0 win against fellow New South Wales talent Brooke Komorowski in the singles final.
“Before the match I was pretty nervous. I felt it was the moment I had to really shine and when I got out on court, I just wanted to be ruthless to take it out. The first point, the first game, I knew I wanted it.”
The top seed raced to a 5-0 lead in the opening set to heap the pressure on her 14-year-old opponent.
It set the tone for the match, with the left-handed Sibai dictating play with her powerful groundstrokes to seal victory in 77 minutes.
The Sydneysider took added inspiration from seeing world No.1 doubles star Storm Hunter practising on an adjacent court at Melbourne Park’s National Tennis Centre, where the match was moved to due to inclement weather.
“That was awesome. I really liked that, being able to see her strike the ball,” Sibai said. “I was looking around a bit and thinking ‘Oh, I can do that too’.”
Hunter then presented Sibai with her champion’s trophy, which has previously been won by former top-10 stars Alicia Molik and Jelena Dokic.
More recent champions include Jaimee Fourlis, Destanee Aiava, Olivia Gadecki, Talia Gibson and Taylah Preston, who are all now starring on the world stage.
“It’s been a really good week I feel,” Sibai said.
“I’ve learned so much about my game, my style, how I play on the court and how I move, what I need to improve on. My coaches and parents have been so supportive, everyone has been helping me so much to get to this stage.”
It provides another highlight in a memorable season for Sibai, who competed at the Wimbledon 14/u competition in July and claimed her first junior singles title on the ITF World Tennis Tour in Fiji during October.
“I’ve had a pretty big year and achieved a lot of goals,” Sibai said. “This is just another step in my journey.”
Sibai then teamed with Queensland’s Georgia Campbell to record a hard-fought 2-6 6-2 [10-6] victory over New South Wales pair Emilie Chen and Vesna Marinkov in the…
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