ITF

30 ITFWorld // AUTUMN 2019 D E V E L O P M E N T Lauren's sentiments regarding the value of her European odyssey are echoed by Dina. She said: "The grant was a God-sent gift. We were struggling, but suddenly we could plan things. She always wanted to go to Europe and play in these tournaments. "She came back so positive and so pumped. Her goal for the next year is get into the main draw of every Junior Grand Slam." With a year-end junior ranking of No. 99 in 2018 and having represented Puerto Rico in Fed Cup alongside reigning Olympic champion Monica Puig in the competition earlier this year, Lauren is getting serious about her plans to enter the professional ranks in the not-too-distant future. "That's always been my long-term goal," said the 16-year-old. "I've learned so many things over this past year, especially about mentality. "There are plenty of things I have to work on tennis-wise, but at this level everybody is ready to fight and to grind in every match – singles, doubles, qualifying or main draw. That's something you have to be prepared for. You have to be ready to give it your all." There is also unfinished business regarding her homeland. Immediately after escaping the terror of Maria, Lauren resolved that she wanted to assist her nation and the victims of the tragedy in any way she could. "We were very sad and concerned," Dina said. "We started to consider how we could help. Lauren tried to help a little bit – she said: 'I'm going to take my old clothes and shoes out for them'. She didn't know at the time, but I'd been talking to her sponsor, Fila, to see if they could help." Within weeks a care package arrived, and the Anzalotta Kynochs headed back to Puerto Rico to distribute the donated goods to those worse affected. "Fila gave me clothes, shoes, jackets and wristbands," Lauren recalled. "We took these huge bags of shoes to the airport and flew with it to Puerto Rico." Dina added: "Lauren's returning again in December to give back. Her main goal is to try and fix homes, maybe get Monica Puig and Gigi involved, although that's a different story." No doubt it will be a tale very much worth telling if the narrative of Lauren's fledgling career is anything to go by. ■ While their family and friends had all survived the storm, with no television broadcasts after the hurricane, the scale of the devastation only became apparent when they returned to Maryland. The Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rossello, estimated that Maria – the tenth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record – caused at least $90bn of damage to the island and, while official figures vary, a Harvard study estimated the island's death toll exceeded 4,600. Although there were clearly more important considerations, Lauren's tennis career also suffered in the aftermath. Firstly, there was the emotional strain, but also practicalities such as her run of positive form being halted, her training schedule interrupted and a falling ranking due to the cancellation of tournaments in the affected area. Financial repercussions also started to bite. Economically, Puerto Rico was pillaged and work for Lauren's father, an electrical contractor, was increasingly hard to find. Dina said: "The money wasn't flowing and we were running on empty. I don't even know how we stayed afloat. "We were constantly thinking: 'Can we use flight points here, hotel points there?'. Lauren's grandparents, who live in Florida, helped us with points but we were just scrapping to keep our heads above water." But then came the $25,000 ITF grant, notification of which arrived prior to the 2019 campaign and enabled Lauren, who was part of the Grand Slam Development Fund touring squad in the Americas in 2018, to travel and train in Europe for the first time. "I had never played on grass before," said Lauren, who lost in qualifying for the Junior Grand Slams at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. "People train totally differently in Europe than in the USA. To get the grant and be able to go to Europe and take a peak at the competition out there, it was a total eye-opener." BELOW: Simona Halep posed for a photograph with Lauren at the US Open three years ago " The tennis courts where I used to train, they were pretty much all washed away. L A U R E N A N Z A L O T T A K Y N O C H 30 ITFWorld // AUTUMN 2019 ABOVE: Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico in 2017

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