By BRENT STUBBS 

Chief Sports Editor 

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SINCE graduating from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Sydney Clarke was hoping to get her breakthrough on the professional circuit as a tennis player.

But the 22-year-old 5-foot, one-inch player noted that it has not been easy after she lost her ranking in May which resulted in her having to start over.

“So it’s a challenge to get into tournaments because it’s ranking-based,” she said. “I wasn’t able to play any tournaments prior to the month I lost my ranking because I was still in school.

“I’m hoping that later in this year I will be able to get into a pro tournament. However, if I don’t, I will have to wait until January which is a slower time and it’ll be much easier.”

Clarke, however, did manage to get into the Battle of Boca Tournament over the weekend in Boca Raton, Florida , where she played in both singles and doubles.

After making an exit in the round of 16s in singles, Clarke teamed up with Najah Dawson from Jamaica, who is also playing professionally after graduating from Louisiana Tech University, in doubles where they made it to the final, only to lose 6-4 to S Alicea and R Lacasse.

“I felt the tournament went really well for me,” Clarke said. “Sadly I fell short than I expected but that’s tennis. “I am glad I played because I can go back to the drawing board to work on the weak areas of my game. I’m not able to get this kind of match play at home so I am very grateful and proud of myself for entering.”

Looking at her performance in the tournament, Clarke said she pushed mentally, which is one of the weakest areas of her game that she feels she has to work on.

“I think I did a great job being mentally tough and holding myself more accountable despite things not going my way in singles,” she said.

“Improving my mental and tactical skills will help me in the near future so I’m going to work on those things in practice going forward.”

Despite losing in the final, Clarke said she enjoyed playing with Dawson.

“This was our first time playing together, so I am happy with the results,” said Clarke, who indicated that they hope to continue to play together as a doubles team whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Although this was just her first tournament, Clarke said she will take some time off from tournaments and start playing again in October.

“I’ll be doing lots of rehab and light workouts for the rest of August and begin regular high intensity training September 1,” she stated.

Perennial Billie Jean King Cup player Clarke, a former student of CR Walker Secondary High and Windsor Academy, is the daughter of Shayvon the older sister to Sarai and Bernard Clarke and Clarke.