Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals

Writer: Sylvie Sparks
Published: Updated:
Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett

You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.

The young Bonita Springs resident is competing in the FineMark Women’s Pro Tennis Championship at the Bonita Bay Club after receiving a wild card.

“It’s definitely a monumental moment in my tennis journey to be here right now,” Jarvis-Tredgett said.

Cookie actually lost her first round singles match, but so did current world number three Coco Gauff when she played this event at 15, before beating Venus Williams at Wimbledon that summer.

“As an aspiring professional tennis player it’s so cool to be able to see all these amazing, competitive players, how they play, interact.”

Cookie was a ball girl that year, 2019. She recalls meeting fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez.

“It motivated me so much. I was like, I want to do what she’s doing. It’s the coolest thing so now I just honestly can’t believe that I’m here playing this.”

Being up close to the pros so early in her career sparked a fire in the young talent that’s earned her her own spot on the baseline which she calls, a learning experience.

“I love to compete. I think my grit and my determination on court. I always try to have a positive attitude and outlook. I love the game so I just try to figure things out.”

Cookie and her doubles partner Isabella Barrera Aguirre won in the round of 16 but came up short in the quarterfinals.

The event boasts a $100,000 purse and is one of only five annual Women’s USTA Pro Circuit Tournaments in the U.S. so it attracts a lot of North American talent trying to become the next big name in the sport.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.