CiCi Bellis may not be the best parallel parker (according to the *New York Times*), but she is driving full speed ahead as arguably one of the brightest young talents on the WTA Tour.
Most 17-year-olds are doing their best to earn junior rankings, likely in the hopes of snagging a college scholarship. But for Bellis, who is ranked No. 55 in the world, all she has to worry about is the 52 points she has to defend until the middle of June, leaving the door wide open for a march even further up the rankings.
“Last year at this time, I was planning on going to college,” Bellis told the *New York Times*. “My tennis wasn’t where I wanted to be, but I worked really hard, and it’s back now. And I’m really happy.”
And she should be. It wasn’t all that long ago that Bellis was planning to attend Stanford. There was nothing wrong with going to college first—world No. 94-ranked Nicole Gibbs is an example of a recent player who went to Stanford and moved on to a professional career.
But when Bellis advanced to the third round of last year’s US Open, she was convinced she had what it takes to make it on the professional circuit immediately.