Grand Slam Dream
Amy Bowtell
- 148.10% funded
- € 14,810.00 pledged
- 0 Days Left
Hello! My name is Amy Bowtell. I am a 20 year-old professional tennis player from Greystones, Co.Wicklow. I am currently based in Bath, UK.
I am Ireland’s number 1 female tennis player. 7 months ago I was ranked 449 in the world. I tore the cartilage in my knee and underwent surgery, leaving me unable to compete for 5months causing a drop in my ranking. After a successful start to 2014 I have already managed to jump over 100 places in the world rankings. Last month I travelled to Estonia with Ireland’s Federation Cup team and helped them to gain promotion to Group 2, winning 6 from 6 matches.
I started tennis aged 5 in my local club, Greystones LTC. When I was 9 years old I was selected to be a member of the National Tennis Academy, under coach Garry Cahill where I trained for the next 10 years. Aged 14, I was selected to represent Ireland on the Federation Cup team, the youngest Irish player ever selected. A couple of months later, I won the Irish National Championships U18 in Fitzwilliam LTC. For the next 2 years I competed in U18 World Junior Ranking tournaments until aged 16, where I reached a career high ranking of 206.
My goal is to reach the top 100 in the world. Here I can compete in Wimbledon and all the Grand Slams and I would be able to earn my living from tennis. To play in the qualifying of Grand Slams I need to be ranked in the top 200 which I aim to do in the next 12-24 months. Since October of 2013 I have been training with Team Bath in England. Here I can train and travel with other players and coaches from the academy.
I am currently playing the ITF Pro Circuit, which consists of a year long calendar of tournaments worldwide. In my career so far I have only played 2 weeks outside of Europe due to expensive long haul flights. I am currently receiving no funding from anywhere, except for the incredible support from my family, which allows me to continue trying to achieve my goal. Financial support is vital. I need to travel outside of Europe to compete in the higher-level tournaments, which the 2014 calendar reveals will be mostly based in Asia, Australia and North America. This campaign with PledgeSports is my only chance to receive funding for this year. All contributions make a huge difference and are massively appreciated!
+Thank Yous and Updates
A massive thank you to Excel Glass Ltd, Diamond Glass, Ardagh Group, First Glass Ltd, Tipperary Glass Ltd, Carey Glass, Pilkington Glass UK and to GoHop.ie for their incredibly generous donations. Big thank you to all my funders so far: Maura Tully, Peter Campbell, Betty and Alice Hennessy, Evelyn and Mary McKenna, Jeanne Cornick, Helen O'Brien, James Reidy, Olwyn Roche, Peter Roberts, David Woodward, Roy and Sara Horsfield, Patricia McKenna, John Campbell, Tanya Murtagh, Grainne McGukian, Martin Fitzgerald, Sunniva O'Brien, Ivan Durcan, Valeria Noonan, Mary Lawless, Fr. Joe Murphy, Eileen Kavanagh, Jacqueline Smith, Catherine Allen, Lisa Lucey, Jill Campion, Will Morrogh, Jane Stephenson, Rory and Mary O'Hanlon, Liz O'Kane, Sheena Gogarty, Aistis Slajus, Monica Popa, Zorica Nedovic-Budic, Rebecca Rae, Fergus Murphy, Ulster Tennis, Paul and Georgina O'Brien, Brian Naughton, Tom Shelly, Catherine Chapman, Adam Bowtell, Beth McKenna, Art and Allie Naughton, Tara Sundy, Rachel Diggin, Lynsey McCullough, Allyn Wade, Gordon Horsfield, Noel McLean, Ann McKenna, Stephen Cole, Etain McGukian, Roy Scott, Niamh Coveney, Cathy Donnelly, Maeve Naughton, Jane Fennelly, John Gillooley, Eimer Kennedy, Jimmy Fennelly, Paula Hickey, Edwin Jebb, Stephen McKenna, Simon Thornton, Mark Bowtell.
Huge thanks to Ardagh Group http://www.ardaghgroup.com/ for finishing my campaign on a very happy note!
Thank you to everybody for the amazing support!