Athlete of the Week: Caroline Dailey

Out-of-Door Academy junior Caroline Dailey, 17, recently was awarded with a wildcard entry into the 2012 Women’s USTA Pro Circuit Event March 25 through April 1, at The Oaks Club. This will be Dailey’s second time winning the wild card and competing in the event. Last year, Dailey lost a hard-fought match in the first round against Japan’s Erika Sema, ranked No. 91 in the world. Dailey won this year’s wild card spot after defeating 16-year-old Wendy Zhang, of Bradenton 6-2, 6-1.

When did you start playing tennis?
I started playing tennis when I was 4, hitting the ball against my garage in my driveway, but I believe I had my first lesson at 6 and started to really play then.

What are your strengths?
My strength is definitely my all-court aggressive game. I am not one-dimensional. I play aggressive from the baseline and come to the net whenever possible.

Where do you practice?
I practice at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club at my coach Mike Wilson’s academy called Start to Finish. I just play for myself now, I don’t play for a club, and I am not playing for my school this year, because of conflicts with tournaments. I played for ODA the last three years.

What brand of racket do you use?
I use Dunlop, and I play with the Biomimetic 300.

How did you feel before and after your wildcard match?
I felt really good going into the wildcard tournament, ready for more good matches. Then, I felt even better after I won the tournament again, because I was able to play through the pressure of trying to win the tournament again this year.

How are you feeling about playing in the 2012 Women’s USTA Pro Circuit Event?
I am extremely excited to play in the Pro Circuit Event. It will be my second main draw match of a women’s event, the first being this tournament last year. I have played many qualifying events in between making me a lot more experienced this year, and I am ready to play, and I know what to expect now. I am a lot more confident going into it this year, and I am ready to win my first main draw match in the Pro Circuit.

How are you preparing yourself for this tournament?
I am practicing normally to prepare for the tournament every day after school and also doing my training the three days a week at Athletic Edge. We aren’t changing anything in my routine just for this tournament, it’s just another tournament to get good high-level matches.

If you could play a match against any professional player, who would it be and why?
Victoria Azarenka, because my coach says that I play exactly like her, but I come to the net, so I would want to play against her to play against the player that I am most like and see what difference it would make having a net game to go along with the strong game from the baseline. I would also like to see where I would stack up with her.