London, Ont. future tennis star reflects on first Grand Slam finale appearance

Kayla Cross, 16, is making a name for herself in tennis, after reaching the Australian Open Junior Doubles final in January.

“Just getting to the finals of a Grand Slam. Just like having that. Just being able to say that to people is just incredible,” says Cross.

Cross is back at the National Training Centre in Montreal, preparing for her next tournament in mid-February in Brazil.

In the lead up to the Open, Kayla played in a warm up tournament in Australia, making the singles final, and winning the doubles with partner Victoria Mboko.

That success, according to Cross, raised expectations.

“When you do well in the lead up tournament, there’s a lot of pressure going into the next one.”

Cross had to face the number 1 seed in the singles draw of the Open, and fell short, turning her attention to doubles. Making the final was great, but she’ll be using the wins, and losses as a learning lesson.

“Obviously winning is great, but also when you lose, you learn a lot more because when you win, you’re just like, yeah, I did everything right,” says Cross. “When you lose, you just kind of go back and I got all my match tapes from the last few tournaments. So I’ll definitely go through them and try to improve stuff.”

Cross’s approach to a loss doesn’t surprise Anthony Glavanic of All Level Tennis, who coached her when she was younger.

“And this is going to help her through. I’m telling you she handled defeat very well she learns,” says Glavanic “I’ve always said she learns very well through wins and losses. That’s very important.”

At just 16, Cross will be making some very big decisions about her career over the next couple of years.

“I could still go to the university in the States for a year or two. Or I can turn pro Immediately, kind of depends on how the next year goes,” says Cross.

ext up is a couple of tournaments in Brazil starting next week, then she hopes to get home for a couple of days, before preparing for the outdoor season and more major tournaments.