My name is Petra Januskova, and I'm a professional tennis player. Tennis has been a central part of my life since the first time I held a racquet, at age four. With two older sisters that played competitively, there was never a doubt about what I wanted to do in life. Growing up, I participated in many sports including soccer, swimming, gymnastics, and rope skipping. I won a National Championship in Rope skipping when I was eight, but tennis always came most naturally to me.
At the age of nine I suffered a serious skiing accident, which meant I had to train and play my entire junior career with a knee brace. Rather than letting this dampen my enthusiasm, I learned the power of mental tenacity and intelligent tennis. This led to national success and international exposure and included winning 3 national titles and representing Canada at the World Junior Championships. Through 2004-2009, I was consistently top 5 in both singles and doubles, peaking at #2 in Canada in both singles and doubles in 2005. In 2009, I finally got surgery on my ACL and recovered quickly. I was determined to speed up the healing process with continuous rehab and physiotherapy after school everyday.
In March of 2009 I finally decided that NCAA was the right path for me but I always had the intention of going professional after University depending on the success in my NCAA tennis career. I decided to attend Penn State University for their prestigious athletics/ academics, and for their highly respected business program. Penn State not only gave me a Marketing degree, but also the opportunity to work with top strength and conditioning coaches, play in great facilities, and compete against the best. At Penn State, my physical and technical skills were allowed to develop more completely, and the results were extremely positive. Having reached an NCAA ranking of #27 in singles and #21 in doubles in the nation and doing well in the classroom taught me the importance of time management.
I was also received the Ernest B. McCoy Award given to one female and male athlete at Penn State each year who have combined successful athletic participation with academic excellence. I also received Penn State's Big Ten Medal of Honor, the conference's most prestigious award given to one male and female graduating student-athlete who "attained the greatest proficiency in athletics and scholastic work". I graduated from Penn State University last in 2013, and I am currently ranked 715 in singles and 440 in doubles professionally (WTA). I am also ranked #12 in Canada in Open Women's singles.
I am currently seeking financial sponsors to assist me in pursuing my dream. Unfortunately, I will be unable to continue on tour without such assistance. I would be very grateful if you could join me on tour and help me on my journey to breaking the top 500 at the end of this year. I am raising money to fund my traveling costs for 5 months. I am eager to get back on tour and play professional tournaments all around the world, but with out financial assistance I will not be able to. The total money donated will go towards paying for:
1.Traveling (flights, buses, gas) and hotel costs
2. Re-stringing at tournaments
3. Gear, shoes, etc.
4. Physiotherapy
5. Tournament Entry Fees