Player Profile

Francesca Kinsella was born in Bolton, in Lancashire, on 4 September 1987 and lives in Astley, Greater Manchester, when she is not training in New Orleans or competing on the international circuit. Her parents are Neil Kinsella, a lawyer, and Susan Kinsella, a nurse; Francesca's brother, Jonathan, who is also a tennis player, is the number one player on the Arizona State University Division 1 team and plans to play professionally from summer 2007.

In her tennis career so far she has been number one in Lancashire Girls, and ranked number 6 in GB Juniors. Francesca has been a quarter finalist in tournaments in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates, and a finalist in the Qatar International Open and the Jamaica Cable and Wireless Tournament.

Her favourite players are Steffi Graf and Patrick Rafter, and her professional ambition is to make an impact on the WTA tour by the time she is 21.

Francesca's coach, Bob Butterfield, is the head of the International Academy of Tennis and was formerly coach to players including Peter McNamara and Mary Pearce. He says of Francesca: "[Since July 2004] I have seen her game come on in leaps and bounds. She is an exceptional athlete with a work ethic which is second to none. We haven't begun to see the best of her talent as she has a big time game that is more suited to the main tour than it is to juniors.

It is extremely rare for me to advise a junior to take the plunge and go full time with a view to becoming a professional player. In Francesca's case I have no doubt that this is the right choice. She has the potential to make a big impact in the senior game and the dedication to make it happen."

Tournament schedule 2006

October 17 – Croatia

October 30 – Stockholm

November 2 – Sheffield

November 9 – Sunderland

12 October 2006
Chess has just finished her matches in Greece (Mytillini), and has won her first singles ranking points. She beat Israel’s Natalie Handler 6-1 6-2 in the final round of qualifying and but lost 7-5 7-6 to the number 7 seed in the main draw.

She has also received a doubles ranking at another tournament in Greece, this time at Volos. Chess and her partner Dana Laadan beat Natalie Handler and Lisa Brinkman 6-2 6-1 and reached the quarter finals.

May 30 2006
Francesca is very pleased let us know that so far her club has won its first four matches without losing a game, and that they are at the top of the league.

Francesca is now in the first year of her professional career, and played in both the Bournemouth and Edinburgh Opens in April. She is learning a lot and really enjoying the professional tour. She has made the last round of qualifying in several tournaments and expects to win her first singles points soon; she has doubles points already from Tipton in January this year.

With that foundation for her progress she should move up the rankings by the end of this year. Her aim is to achieve a singles ranking of 900 and to make the later rounds of a £10,000 women’s event.

Baltic Boy Upsets Top Seed
A 14-year-old from the Baltic Sea is the king of Caribbean junior tennis, adding another major title in Barbados to his regional collection.
Ricardas Berankis, of Lithuania, turned back everything thrown at him by St Lucian No.1 seed Alberton Richelieu to lift the boys' under-18 singles title in the final of the 2005 FirstCaribbean International at the National Tennis Centre, Wildey, yesterday.
[...]
Among the girls, No.1 seed Jade Curtis of England played true to form to capture the under-18 singles title, defeating No. 5 Yolande Leacock of Trinidad and Tobago, 6-4. 6-3.
The 14-year-old Leacock, attached to the Bill Adams academy in Florida, fought gamely but encountered a determined opponent who gave little away throughout the tournament.
They featured in several exciting rallies, as both players changed pace and worked angles, but Leacock was never able to fully control the match.
Curtis, with a big forehand as her stock weapon, closed out the encounter on serve when Leacock launched a return behind the baseline.
Curtis was a double-crown winner in the tournament, teaming with fellow Briton Francesca Kinsella to defeat Leacock and American Ashley Spicer, 6-3, 6-4 , in the doubles final.
—Barbados Daily Nation 17 April 2005

Leacock cruises in B'dos
[Trinidad and Tobago's] Yolande Leacock was among the winners as the First Caribbean International junior tennis championship continued on Wednesday, at the hard courts of the National Tennis Centre in Barbados.
In the under-18 girls, No.5 seed Leacock stopped Barbados' Maya Morgan, 6-1, 6-1.
The younger Morgan fell to the experience and court-craft of the Florida-based Leacock, who was scheduled to meet Francesca Kinsella of England in yesterday's quarterfinals.
Kinsella stopped American Juliana Naso 6-2, 6-1.
—Trinidad Guardian 15 April 05

Richelieu beats Skinner, moves to quarter-finals.
Top seed Alberton Richelieu of St Lucia booked a quarter-final berth with a fighting victory over Englishman Harry Skinner in the FirstCaribbean International Tennis Tournament yesterday.
Richelieu, a 17-year-old Davis Cup player, fought off wretched serving and a dogged opponent to advance 7-6, 6-3 in the Under-18 Boys Division.
Skinner took early control of the match as he raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set, breaking the No.1 seed twice, but was unable to dominate and turn it into a victory.
In windy conditions, Richelieu broke back and levelled scores as the set was forced into a tie-break which the St Lucian eventually won.
It was also a struggle for both players to hold serve in the second set where they traded crisp ground-strokes in a number of exciting rallies.
Skinner dropped serve to give his opponent a crucial 5-3 lead and Richelieu served out the match after the Englishman had saved two match points.
In another second-round encounter, Barbadian Devard Wharton found the going tough as he was eliminated in straight sets by Akshay Bajoria of India.
Bajoria, the No. 2 seed, won 6-2, 6-0 in a match in which the Barbadian often matched his opponent with positive groundstrokes.
However, it was a lesson in consistency for the 14-year-old Wharton who, with more hustle and self-belief, could be one of the best local prospects in coming years.
Among the Under-18 girls, No.5 seed Yolande Leacock of Trinidad and Tobago stopped Barbados Maya Morgan, 6-1, 6-1, in a match dominated by the Trinidadian.
The younger Morgan fell to the experience and court-craft of the Florida-based Leacock, who will meet Francesca Kinsella of England in today's quarter-finals. Yesterday, Kinsella stopped American Juliana Naso 6-2, 6-1.
No. 1 seed Jade Curtis of England, ranked No.150 in the world, also rolled along with an easy 6-1, 6-0 win over Megan Jones of the United States.
—Barbados Daily Nation 12 April 05

TOBAGONIAN Yolande Leacock was in sparkling form for the second week in succession as the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Tennis Circuit continued in Guadeloupe.
Five players from Trinidad and Tobago participated in the second leg of the three-stage circuit and Leacock, who had reached the under-18 singles and doubles finals in the opening leg ("IBM") in Trinidad a week earlier, went out in the semifinals on Friday.
The 14-year-old Leacock narrowly lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 to second-seeded Briton Francesca Kinsella after beating Croatian Antonia Bagaric 6-2, 6-2 and then American Juliana Naso 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
But the United States-based player was forced to withdraw from doubles when her partner Ekaterina Rybakova, who had whipped Kinsella in straight sets in the "round of 16" en route to winning the title in Trinidad, pulled out of the event after the draws were made.
Kinsella was beaten in the final by top-seeded compatriot Jade Curtis, who did not play in the "IBM".
—Trinidad and Tobago Express 11 April 05

"British Exiles Come Up Short In Aussie Juniors"—Read about Francesca's showing at Melbourne

Francesca has beaten stiff competition to become the only British girl to qualify for the Junior Australian Open Championships and is now in the quarter finals.

Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski may have been sent packing from Melbourne... but there is still British interest in the Australian Open. It comes in the form of Astley teenager Francesca Kinsella - the only British girl to qualify for the junior championship Down Under. After battling through the qualifying rounds, she beat tough Czech Barbora Hodinarova 4-6 6-3 6-0 in the first round and tonight faces seventh-seeded Romanian Monica Niculescu.
The 17-year-old - known as Chess to family and friends - only finished her GCSEs in the summer but after coming away with 10 A-grades, she took up tennis full time. "We are all highly delighted with her progress because we all know how hard she has worked," said proud dad Neil Kinsella. "The competition is fierce and it is a great achievement just to qualify for the final draw in an event of this calibre. "She has only been playing full time since she finished her GCSEs because we insisted she had to do well in her studies. "Well she did that and now she is concentrating on her tennis. Everyone at school was supportive of her and she has been very focussed."
Francesca started playing tennis when she was six and developed her interest while at St Mary's RC High School in Tyldesley. She represented Lancashire and 18 months ago was given a world ranking. She is currently being coached by Bob Butterworth in the United States and has already played tournaments in Jamaica, Dohar and India. Despite being one of the top 10 juniors in the country, she has managed to succeed without the help of the Lawn Tennis Association. "Chess feels you have to be able to succeed on your own merits," added Neil. "She is not one of the LTA pupils - she has never been part of the system. She would like some support but she's not complaining."
—The Manchester Evening News 24 Jan 2005

Chess is out of the Australian Open girls after losing 6-2, 6-2 in the second round to Monica Niculescu of Romania. However. She has ensured an improvement to her ITF combined junior ranking of 323 in the world, with her 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 first round win over the Czech Republic's Barbora Hodinarova. 26 Jan 05

Nov 2004 G18 Dbles Quarterfinalist (with Courtney Ulery USA), Chanda Rubin Evert, Florida, USA, ITF G4
Oct 2004 G18 Dbles Quarterfinalist (with Sanaz Marand USA), Canadian Int'l 2, Montreal, CAN, ITF G3
Oct 2004 G18 Dbles Quarterfinalist (with Roxana Alexandru CAN), Chanda Rubin Texas, Fort Worth, TX, USA, ITF G4
Jul 2004 G18 Sgles Finalist, Cable & Wireless, Kingston, JAM, ITF G4
Jul 2004 G18 Dbles Quarterfinalist (with Julie Wijnakker BEL), Cable & Wireless, Kingston, JAM, ITF G4
Jul 2004 G18 Sgles Quarterfinalist, Leeuwenbergh Open, NED, ITF G4
Feb 2004 G18 Dbles Quarterfinalist (with Daria Bykodarova RUS), Adidas Juniors, New Delhi, IND, ITF G2
Oct 2003 G18 Dbles Semifinalist (with Judith Koenig GER), Qatar Int'l, Doha , Qatar, ITF G5
Oct 2003 G18 Sgles Finalist, Qatar Int'l, Doha , Qatar, ITF G5
Oct 2003 G18 Sgles Quarterfinalist, UAE Dubai, Saudi Arabia, ITF G5
Oct 2003 G18 Dbles Quarterfinalist (with Anna Sadovnikova RUS), UAE Dubai, Saudi Arabia, ITF G5
Aug 2003 G18 Dbles Quarterfinalist (with Lucy Scott GBR), Corfu, GRE, ITF G5
Aug 2003 G18 Sgles Quarterfinalist, Corfu, GRE, ITF G5
Aug 2003 G18 Sgles Quarterfinalist, LTA Int'l, Nottingham, GBR, ITF G5
Jul 2003 G18 Sgles Quarterfinalist, Donnybrook, Dublin, IRL, ITF G5
Jul 2003 G18 Sgles Quarterfinalist, Rushbrooke, County Cork, IRL, ITF G5
Jul 2003 G16 Sgles Quarterfinalist, Slazenger Winchester, GBR, ETA C3
Feb 2003 G18 Dbles Semifinalist (with Jenny Broughall GBR), LTA Int'l - Wrexham, Wales, GBR, ITF G5

Francesca with Pat Cash at the Family Circle Cup tournament in Charleston, South Carolina.
Francesca with Lord Coe

Francesca with Sir Steve Redgrave

Francesca with James Cracknell