Patterson began gymnastics after attending a cousin's birthday party at a Baton Rouge gymnastics club (Elite Gymnastics) in 1994. She was coached there by former Israeli Olympian Yohanan Moyal. She started competing internationally in 2000, when she was 12 years old.
In 2000, Patterson participated in the Top Gym Tournament in Belgium and won the silver medal in the all-around and the bronze on balance beam. The next year, at the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, she was ranked second in the all-around before the final rotation but missed three landings on the floor exercise and finished seventh.
Patterson became the U.S. junior national all-around champion in 2002. She then began her senior career by winning the 2003 American Cup, where she was the youngest competitor, having just turned 15. However, she was forced to sit out the 2003 U.S. National Championships, which would have been her first Nationals as a senior, because of a broken elbow.

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