Some big news on the American coaching front. Teenage sensation CiCi Bellis has hired Lisa Raymond as her head coach. Ben Rothenberg was the first to report the news. Bellis was a former ITF Junior Champion and was the top ranked junior female back in September 2014. Currently, the American is ranked just outside the world’s top 200 at 234, but the 16-year-old still has plenty of time before she reaches the top.
Bellis’ Claim To Fame
In 2014, Bellis defeated Tornado Alicia Black to earn a main draw wild card for the US Open. At just over 15 years old, she was the youngest person to win the event since Lindsay Davenport. the draw didn’t look too kind for the then 15-year-old, drawing Australian Open finalist and then world number 13 Dominika Cibulkova.
Bellis went on to pull off the shock of the tournament by taking out the Slovakian in three sets. She was a set away from pulling off another upset, this time over Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas, but fell short after dropping the final set 6-2.
Lisa Raymond’s Career Highlights
The American retired just last year and was one of the most decorated American doubles players of all-time. In June 2000, she reached world number one in the WTA doubles rankings and completed the Grand Slam in women’s doubles after capturing the French Open in 2006.
She won five mixed doubles titles as well, just falling short of a mixed Grand Slam, missing out on the Australian Open. The experience of Huber in singles and doubles will be of utmost importance when teaching Bellis. At 16, Bellis knows that if she sticks with Raymond for a long time, that her imprint will clearly be evident in helping the American grow and work her way to the top of the women’s game.