17-year-old Regina tennis player continues to shine on world stage

Regina’s Keegan Rice continues to make his mark in the international tennis world after the 17-year-old competed at Wimbledon and Roland Garros (French Open) in May and June.

“I had a really good time there, I really enjoyed Paris as a city. It was a beautiful place,” Rice said about his experience at the French Open.

CTV News last spoke to Rice in February after he had competed in his first Junior Grand Slam- the Australian Open- in both singles and doubles. Roland Garros was his second Junior Grand Slam.

“I knew what to expect more from the fans and just the atmosphere in general. It’s a completely different setting compared to other places and other tournaments. So I think I was a little bit more prepared and ready for what was going to happen on the court,” Rice explained.

Rice competed in both singles and doubles. He won his first round in singles then lost to an Italian in the second round. He and his partner also lost in the second round in doubles.

“It had been a long road getting to the French Open with so many tournaments in Europe the year before so I was really ready to kind of enjoy the experience and see what I could do,” he said.

Next up for Rice was Wimbledon, one of the biggest events in the sport.

“It was a little bit more prestigious than the rest of the tournaments I’ve ever played in my life. I enjoyed it the most, the environment, the scenery, the flowers on centre court,” he shared.

It was a new challenge for Rice competing on grass courts however the 17-year-old says his time training in Regina helped him adapt.

“Grass was a whole new surface to me. It was just really quick from off the clay courts. But I just had to learn how to adjust and see what I could do to figure out some new strategies. It’s a little bit similar to the Field House in Regina actually. It’s quick bounces, low, unforgiving for bad bounces. It’s a little more difficult but I think I enjoyed it probably more than the clay court season,” said Rice.

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Rice shared that his performance was similar to the French Open. He won his first round in singles and had a close second round match but ultimately lost out. In doubles they lost to the player who won singles and his Polish partner.

“I was happy with how I played the first one. The second one wasn’t my best set. But I was happy with the way I was still able to play and be in the match and have those opportunities. Next time I’ll be able to take them and hopefully win,” he shared.

Back in February Rice was ranked 37th in the world under 18 category according to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) rankings. Since then he has slowly climbed the ladder from his works at other Junior Grand Slams and international tournaments.

“It’s moving up and down. I got to 32, right now I’m sitting at 33. I had gone down. I had gone down a little bit after (37) maybe closer to 50. But I’d won a tournament in Austria and had a couple decent results in Europe. So I got some more points so moved up to 33 now,” Rice explained.

This is a rare down time for Rice who came back to Regina to see family and his old tennis stomping grounds as he usually trains out of Montreal between tournaments. From here he will head to Toronto then Winnipeg for a men’s challenger. Rice will then compete in the Junior US Open in New York in September in both singles and doubles once again.

“I’ve been there a couple times, haven’t played in it. I’ve been to New York, around the grounds. I remember most of it but I’m really excited to see it with people there and fans,” exclaimed Rice.

“Everybody always says it’s the most electric and there’s so many people cheering for you. Maybe I can get some new American fans on my side,” Rice joked.