Wilkinson heads to IMG Academy

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 11 January 2018

Top Cayman Islands junior female tennis player Jade Wilkinson has been accepted to join the prestigious IMG Academy tennis programme in Florida.

Wilkinson, 17, left in early January for the Bradenton campus, where she will be based for the next year and a half.

“I am sad to be leaving but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am stoked that I am now an Ascender,” she said in a message to members and coaches of the Cayman Islands Tennis Club.

Jade Wilkinson (Photo by Martin Wilkinson)

The academy was founded by legendary coach Nick Bollettieri, who has helped with the development of several players who have gone on to achieve world number one rankings. IMG tennis also boasts of having helped more than 100 student-athletes commit to NCAA Division I universities and colleges.

“Joining the Academy will bring my tennis to the next level and help me get into a top ranked academic and sports university,” Wilkinson added. “I would like to say thank you to everyone that has helped me become the tennis player and person I am today.”

Last summer, she went to the IMG Academy Nick Bolletieri tennis camp where she received expert physical and mental training alongside the world’s future tennis pros. She earned the camp’s “G” award for outstanding work ethic, sportsmanship, and intensity during every training session.

The former Cayman Prep and High School student has shown consistent growth in her game and has been a dominant force on the local tennis scene in recent years, winning both junior and senior titles.