Welcome to another recap post, the title speaks for itself.
June in general has been more on the quiet side in terms of practices because I’m currently dealing with a social and travel schedule that 20 year old me would have been envious of. Been putting more effort into following my PTs gym routines which are kicking my ass and took the week away from Belgium as an opportunity to rest my shoulder that randomly decided to start hurting from a new spot (and was then consequently fixed by my rockstar physio).
Played my first tournament with the 15pts ranking and did simultaneously better and worse than I expected. I played the first match against someone with 20pts in somewhat rainy conditions which made the clay court so annoyingly slow to play on. Lost the first set 3/6 but then thought that maybe I should try to put some real effort and conscious decision making in it. Outcome? Won the match 3/6 – 6/1 – 6/2. To a surprise of literally no one, when you have a plan for your shots, the likelihood of it going well is way higher than when you just let the match happen to you. Scheduling of the second match fell to the victim of proper rainfall so we were moved indoor to play on a concrete. The switch up in court speed was a bit surprising to say the least but what can you do. Opponent had 25pts this time and the match had good pace and some nice rallies. However, for whatever reason, I couldn’t really put it together like I did in the previous one and despite starting off strong in the second set, I lost 1/6 – 4/6. The points actually were relatively equal but when it came to wrapping it up to take the game, everything was just lacking the last good touch. You live and you learn. The loss was actually really motivating in a way that I realized I can match the level of higher ranked players as long as I can just keep it together between my two ears. Don’t know actually which one is easier to fix: physical/technical aspect of the game or the mental side of it. Onwards and upwards.
Had two coached practices as well, working a lot on ball placement and intentional direction changes. For whatever reason, while normal practices in my home club have been average to say the least, the two lessons have really knocked it out of the park. Hitting is generally very consistent, down the line shots are actually down the line and not mid court and when playing 2 games at the end, I get going straightaway without tossing the first game away for no real reason. Even got a new grip as a gift after beating my coach in two consecutive games. Of course that grip landed straightaway in my trophy cabinet which is my IKEA cupboard that besides my clothes is a home to my framed pizza coupon (1st ever tournament win), Belgian beer (the latest tournament win) and a printer that doesn’t work properly.
Total nr of hours spent on court 04 – 21/06: 9h
~ stay hydrated, S.