The head coach of the EMPIRE Tennis Academy Vladimir Platenik has left for the USA with the member of our Academy Darya Kasatkina. The Russian tennis player will train there and then play three tournaments in Florida.
Kasatkina, the Junior Player of the Year 2014 in Russia, is going to play three $25,000 tournaments in the cities of Plantation, Daytona Beach and Sunrise. The first one is starting on January 12. "Before that, we're going to train at the Julian Vespan Academy in Boyton Beach, Julian is my friend. I'll stay in Florida to watch the first tournament. We'll see how she copes with all the changes in the transition from the junior category to women and how she plays the tournament. She had the indoor training in Trnava and these tournaments are played on clay outdoor. I will be happy if she plays one singles semifinal at least in Florida," said Platenik for the tcempire.sk website. Any semi-final would mean 18 points for the player No. 354 of the WTA rankings. To the main draw, however, she will have to fight her way through qualifying.
Platenik will come back to Slovakia after the first tournament because he's going to travel with another member of the EMPIRE Tennis Academy, Anna Laguza from Ukraine. Thirteen years old teenager will play the prestigious Tennis European Junior Tour tournament in the town of Tarbes, France.
After that, Platenik is leaving with Artem Dubrivnyy for Russia to play junior tournaments.
Vladimir Platenik & Kasatkina in Florida, USA:
