Noppawan Lertcheewakarn
| Country (sports) |  Thailand |
|---|---|
| Residence | Chiang Mai, Thailand |
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in) |
| Plays | Right handed (double handed both sides) |
| Prize money | US$ 18,606 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 40–20 |
| Career titles | 0 WTA, 2 ITF |
| Highest ranking | 354 (November 24, 2008) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | - |
| French Open | - |
| Wimbledon | - |
| US Open | - |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 16-11 |
| Career titles | 0 WTA, 2 ITF |
| Highest ranking | 606 (August 6, 2007) |
| Last updated on: December 30, 2008. | |
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (Thai: นพวรรณ เลิศชีวกานต์; born November 18, 1991) is a female Thai tennis player currently in the junior circuit. She ranked number 1 on December 28 2008 in the ITF World Junior Circuit. Later on she was crowned ITF World Champion in junior, the first Asian female player to hold the position.[1]
One of her most recognizable performances was in 2008. When she entered the 2008 Wimbledon Championships Girls' Singles Tournament as 3rd seed, and made her first grandslam final. But the Thai rising star who was eventually defeated in the final by British opponent Laura Robson in three sets 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, became the second Thai player, after Tamarine Tanasugarn in 1995, to reach Wimbledon final.
One month later, with Sandra Roma, Lertcheewakarn won the 2008 U.S. Open girl's competition in doubles, winning against Mallory Burdette and Sloane Stephens, 6–0, 6–2, became the first Thai tennis player to achieve any kind of grand slam title. [2]
WTA Tour and ITF Circuit Titles
Singles (2)
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tour Championships (0) |
| Premier Mandatory (0) |
| Premier 5 (0) |
| Premier (0) |
| International (0) |
| ITF Event (2) |
Singles wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in final | Score in final |
| 1. | 4 May 2008 | Balikpapan, Indonesia | Hard |  Isha Lakhani |
6–3, 6-2 |
| 2. | 3 August 2008 | Chiang Mai, Thailand | Hard | Wannasuk Nungnadda |
6-2, 6–3 |
Doubles (2)
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tour Championships (0) |
| Premier Mandatory (0) |
| Premier 5 (0) |
| Premier (0) |
| International (0) |
| ITF Event (2) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in Final | Score in Final |
| 1. | September 26, 2006 | Jakarta, Indonesia | Hard | Varatchaya Wongteanchai
|
 Lavinia Tananta Ayu Fani Damayanti
|
6-2, 6-4 |
| 2. | November 19, 2006 | Manila, Phillippines | Hard | Varatchaya Wongteanchai
|
 Shao-Yuan Kao Thassha Vitayaviroj
|
3-6,6-3,7-6 (7-2) |
Junior title
Wins(8)
- US Open 2008 (Girl's Double)
- ITF junior Rohampton 2008 (Girl's Double)
- Asian Closed Junior Tennis Championships 2008
- 19th Mitsubishi-Lancer International Juniors Championships 2008
- 11th Sarawak Chief Minister's Cup ITF Junior Tennis Championships 2008
- Asia/Oceania Closed Championships 2008
- Asia/Oceania Closed Championships 2007
- TrueVisions Thailand Open 2007
Playing style
Lertcheewakarn, is a respectable powerful groundstroke player in her age, with her two-handed both with backhand and forehand. However, her serve is considered as her weak point. She has been developing her game with new American coaches, since October 2008. [3]
Career
Early life
Lertcheewakarn has been playing tennis since the age of four.The sport was introduced by her parents as it is a family's favourite sport. Having played tennis almost everyday in the tennis court around her own house, Lertcheewakarn fell in love with the game. She once said "it just gives me a bonding feeling, it's like I could be in a tennis court all day and I'll never get bored". During the age of 10 while she was practising tennis, Marek Malaszszak, Steffi Graf's Junior-career coach who is married to a Thai woman and revitalised in Thailand, coincidentally, saw her and suddenly recognised her potential and knew that she could be big. He took her in his training and coached her for two years for free, then he introdced her to Rico Fowler the establisher of RICO Foundation[4]. , who also saw something in her, he dealt to sponsor the girl. Thanks to the Rico foundation, Lertcheewakarn's opportunity has opened up, she participated much more in the major events, both junior and women circuits, at the age of 14 she finally broke into top 100 in Junior Circuit and the rank kept rising . One year later, she was chosen to be in the Rising Star Programme, organized byLawn Tennis Association of Thailand, which meant a great chance for her to develop her career, she dropped out from the middle school, and travelled from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. Yet, there's still one rough condition, both of her parents couldn't move along with her and the 15 year-old girl needed to live by herself. Luckily, the former Thai politician and the vice chairman of Lawn Tennis Association of Thailanhd, Chaipak Siriwat, has voluntary adopted her and became the rightful guardian. She has then lived with his family and started her own path in becoming a professional tennis player.
Junior career
Named world NO.1 in ITF junior circuit, became the first female Thai player to hold that position. In following weeks ITF has renounced Lertcheevakarn, the 2008 Junior World Champion with her most consistent effort among the players in the girls’ circuit, capturing four singles in Asia and two doubles titles the year including US Open double title.[5]
2006-2008
Won two singles and two doubles in ITF women circuit.
2009
Lertcheewakarn has started the year with the number one ranking in junior circuit. After being disappointed by the Australian Open committee in the matter of getting chosen to be a wildcard player in the senior maindraw, she began with her first quarterfinal of the year in G1 Loy Yang Power Traralgon International before lost in close three sets to Ksenia Kirillova of Russia, 0-6, 7-5, 7-5. Her next tournament is G1 Optus Nottinghill International which she got through to the quarterfinal, again being upset by a Russian player, Yana Buchina, 6-3, 6-1. In first round of Australian Open 2009 Girls' Singles, she beat Brazil's Fernanda Feria 6-0, 6-0. She went on to lose in the semi-final after she was defeated by Laura Robson in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. In double, Lertcheewakarn partnered with Indonesian, Beatrice Gumalya. The number two seeds cruised to the semifinal for the first time, however they were defeated by Alexandra Krunic and Sandra Zaniewska 6-2, 7-6(2).
In Fed Cup, Asia Oceania Group, Thailand was in group B with Australia, Korea and Taiwan. Lertcheewakarn teamed up with Varatchaya Wongteanchai, they beated Korean and Taiwan team but lost to Australian double specialists, Rennae Stubbs and Casey Dellacqua, 6-4, 6-2. Thailand finished in third place behind Australia and New Zealand, after upsetting Indonesia, in which Lertcheewakarn partnering with Tamarine Tanasugarn took their double winning point to Thailand. In 2009 Pattaya Women's Open, Lertcheewakarn, as a wildcard, lost early in first round match against Shahar Peer, which lasted nearly 52 minutes with a score, 6-1, 6-0.
As in 18 February, Chaipak Siriwat, Lertcheewakarn's gurdience and personal manager has announced that Lertcheewakarn decided to turn down IMG's offer to sponsor her. The reason was given that according to the contract, the players will allow IMG to supply his/her coaches and trainers, which Siriwat disapproved this condition and said that her recent coach, Chuck Kraise, has been making the progressive results with her, he also felt that changing coach would have an effect on her game. However, Lertcheewakarn hasn't totally shutted down the gate to IMG, she mentioned that if there's an oppurtunity in the future, when she is able to participate in women's circuit full-timedly, to work with the IMG again she would be more than willing to reconsider the deal. IMG is a prestigious enterprise which it also sponsors the super star tennis players like Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova.
Lertcheewakarn started out her first women's circuit matches in Sydney with 25,000 prize, she beated the japanese player Kimiko Ijima in two sets but lost to Ryoko Fuda in the next round in three sets. In the following week in New Zealand, North Shore City, she was upset in the first round by the unseeded player from Hong Kong Zi Jun Yang 6-4, 6-1. However, in Hamilton, New Zealand, Lertcheewakarn performed impresively, she reached the final without dropping a set and didn't lose more than 4 games in each set to her opponents. In the final, facing the indonisean Ayu-Fani Damayanti, Lertcheewakarn battled in three sets match, she eventually lost, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.[6]
Personal life
Enjoy playing Internet, Shopping, listening to music. Role models are Tamarine Tanasugarn and Monica Seles.
References
External links
- Noppawan Lertcheewakarn at the Women's Tennis Association
- {{ITF profile}} template using deprecated numeric ID.
- Lertcheewakarn Noppawan CoreTennis Profile