I flew from Doha to Washington DC to on 3 September. It is a really long flight to the USA with a big time difference and I wanted to take the opportunity to adjust and settle and get some quality training in before the tournament in Phoenix began. After arriving I was able to watch the final stages of the WISPA Dread series number one in DC which was eventually won by my friend and South African team mate Siyoli Waters in a hard fought battle against another close friend Lauren Selby, from England.
After the end of the tournament I headed to Baltimore to train with an old friend of my brother Lefika Ragontse who is based as a coach at the Bare Hills Racquet and Fitness Club. It is an amazing set up there and it was great to get some work in while adapting to the 7 hour time difference and getting over the 14 hour flight from Doha. I had had a very long break this summer travelling around Italy for a few weeks and I really needed to find my feel around court again before playing competitively.
I headed to Phoenix on US Air on 13 September. Aside from the excitement of playing again I also couldn’t wait to get to Phoenix to see my friend Tenille van de Merwe the South African number 1 who was also a bridesmaid at my wedding last year. Tenille and I are very close and it was going to be great to see her.
We were sharing a billet together in Pheonix at Susan Vasquez’s home. I was lucky enough to stay at Susan’s last year at the same event and she is a wonderful host and really makes you feel at home. This year Susan had invited Tenille to stay with me so I was looking forward to seeing both of them again.
Susan Vasquez and Me at Southwest Open
After a couple of days adjusting to yet another flight (5 hours) and time difference (3 more hours from Baltimore) it was time to for the tournament. In the first round I would be playing the 6th seed Miranda Ranieri from Canada (currently ranked 44 in the world).
On the morning of the match I felt really good. I was up for the game and in my hits during the week I had felt accurate. However, once on court with Miranda things changed. I did not feel under an enomous amount of pressure from her but I made a huge number of unforced errors. I hit far too many tins and was simply not accurate in my execution of the basics. Perhaps my expectations were too high after such a long lay off over the summer but the match ended 3-0 to Miranda (11-7, 11-9, 11-2) and I felt very disappointed.
On reflection I realise my preparation had not been the best for the very high standard of a WISPA tournament. I had spent 4 weeks in Italy and another 4 weeks relaxing in the UK and Doha without much serious training. I cannot expect to compete against the best in the world with this run up to a tournament. I will have several weeks of training and playing before my next event the Dread Series number 2 in Washington DC on 14 October.
My friend Tenille won her first round match in a hard fought 5 gamer against the young Egyptian Salma Hany. Unfortunately Tenille lost her ¼ final match against the number one seed and evenutal winner Latasha Khan.
After a couple of days enjoying Susan’s hospitality in sunny Phoenix Tenille and I flew together to New York. We had hoped to play there in the Carol Weymuller event but an extremely strong field meant we were not even able to secure a spot in qualification. Our tickets had been booked though so we took the opporunity to visit NYC and see the sights in that amazing city. No place like it on earth.
Back to training for me in Baltimore where I will be based until the Dread event in DC in October.
The first game started well, she surprised me with her random drops from the back of the court which I struggled to pick up. I got frustrated in the match because no matter where I put the ball Natalie was there with time to spare. Trying my best to keep the ball tight and deep was not enough and I lost 11-5 11-4 11-3. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed myself. Natalie went on to the finals where she eventually lost to the French number 1 Camille Serme (world number 10)
Watching the rest of the matches I saw some things I need to wo
rk on in my game.
rove straight through to my brother Alwin’s house where I will be staying for almost 3 weeks.
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