Love the Game, Love the Cause: Lets go Abigeyle!

Why not me? That is the question I ask myself everyday when I dream about becoming a Professional Tennis Player in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) league.

My name is Abigeyle Bhopal, I am a Sikh-Minority tennis player from #WesternCanada and I started playing tennis at 7 years old with my dad at the local tennis courts where I fell in love with the game. By the age of 10 years old, I was selected to the U12 National tournament in Calgary and that is where the dream of becoming a professional tennis player was born.

My journey thus far has come with its own unique challenges and barriers. I do not fit the mold of the "ideal-tennis-player". However, I love being the underdog and defying the odds. By 14 years old, I had won two BC Provincial Titles, a Doubles Canadian National title and began playing in the Junior International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournaments in the United States and Canada. At the age of 15 years old, I won my first Junior ITF Title and quickly moved up the ranking to 800 in the world.

Today, I am 16 years old, train 25 hours per week with Mamba Mentality and am ranked on the Women's Tennis Association. My goal is to reach the Top 100 in the WTA, however, the sport of tennis is very expensive because my matches are now against the international tennis players across the world in places like France, Dubai, Germany and more. I need to raise money for Flights, Accommodations, Food and Tennis Clothing while I look forward to inspiring the next wave of great athletes, giving back to my community and being an advocate for Fair Play in Tennis for young girls like me.