UP-AND-COMING tennis player Saw Jo Leen proved both her form and confidence are building up nicely this season after scoring her first doubles title at the ITF Juniors (J5) in Zimbabwe on Saturday.
Jo Leen and South African partner Suzanie Pretorius emerged victorious in the Bulawayo J5 girls' doubles competition after downing Tadiwanashe Eunice Mauchi-Tanyaradzwa Midzi (both Zimbabwe) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in the final.
The Subang Jaya-based player had also reached the final of the singles event where she lost 6-2, 6-1 to Suzanie.
The 14-year-old was pleased with her doubles win but admitted she fell short in the singles decider.
"I am happy with my performance but at the same time a bit sad because I did not play very well in the singles final," said Jo Leen yesterday.
"The win in this tournament means a lot to me as I managed to gain ranking points and also improve my confidence."
Jo Leen is making the step up to ITF-level junior competitions this year.
Besides Zimbabwe, she has also been touring in Namibia, Egypt and Turkey.
She was given wildcards to compete in the events thanks to her No 1 ranking on the ATF standings.
She had also reached the doubles final in Namibia (J4) with India's Pavitra Parikh and the semi-finals in both the singles and doubles (with Russian Taisia Yakunina) in Egypt (J5). Both events were held last month.
"I have played in five events so far since April.
"In the first tournament, I was really nervous, but my confidence improved after each competition."
Jo Leen thanked her South Korean coach Jeon Cheonglyong and parents for guiding her on and off the court.
She will compete in another J5 competition in Bulawayo this week before returning to Malaysia.