Monday 2 September 2013

Tennis Rating 9.2 - My New Tennis Rating

My tennis rating has moved from a Green 1 to a 9.2 which is a full rating. I had been a Green 1 for approximately 9 months but it felt a lot longer and I was ready for a change.
I can now play in yellow ball competitions and will also get a county and national ranking which is very exciting!
Now I have to win 4 matches against 9.2 rated players or better to move to a 9.1.
Yesterday I cut into this target greatly. I lost my first match because my serve took far too long to warm up, but I am very happy because I then went on to beat 2 very good players, one was a 9.2 and the other had just become a 9.1. I played well and really enjoyed the day.
My primary goals for this season are to get my rating to a 9.1 (8.2 would be even better) and to get a national ranking of 1000 or better in the 12 & under age group.

Sunday 11 August 2013

Babolat Propulse 4 Review - My New Tennis Shoes

For the past 5 years I have been a loyal user of Nike Air Court Ballistics but decided to try a different shoe and my choice was Babolat.
The reason for my change was down to the parent of another competitor at a tennis competition who quoted to my mum that 'they are heavy and slow players down' referring to the Court Ballistics. I did like my Court Ballistics they were comfortable, looked great (possibly the best looking tennis shoe out there), were very durable but I needed all the help I could get with speed and agility.
My Dad and I started to look at different shoes and realised that Nike do a lighter shoe for speed, but we could not find it in my size, there was also Adidas Barricade which had very good reviews but the long break-in time put me off, and that left the Babolat Propulse 4.
Comfort - Its great they did not require breaking in and after hours of playing are still comfortable.
Speed/Agility - They have definitely sped me up and there is no issue with support even though they are light-weight. My only complaint is grip in the wet. I play on outdoor courts in all weathers and never really had an issue with slipping, last week I slipped over 4 times in an hour when it was raining. This could be the grip on the sole or it could have been due to the improvement in my speed, thanks to the shoe.
Looks - When I ordered them the only option was the black and I would have preferred white, but since ordering have discovered that they do a white version (not sure if they do them in a junior size). They look good but not the best, but its not how they look its how they perform.
Overall the Babolat Propulse 4's are fantastic and I will definitely buy then again, just not from Decathlon. They do not stock them in-store so we had to order them over the internet and the delivery took 10 days. There are other companies with better customer service that I will use in the future.

Sunday 28 July 2013

Ruthin County Tour, 12 & Under, Grade 5 - Winner

What a day!, Today I played a Ruthin LTC,  I have played here a few times and really enjoy it due to always being made to feel welcome.
The courts drain really well so despite the heavy downpour last night, they were great to play on. The sun was shining down on me and I responded in kind by playing well.
In the semi final my opponent hit the ball quite hard but I positioned the ball well to force a few errors eventually triumphing to take the win. On to the final I managed to control the match earlier on to take a hold of it but in the second set it got a bit trickier. I battled though to get a result.
I am so happy I won the competition!

Saturday 27 July 2013

Time for an update

Hi again, I know it has been a while but I have been busy!
Over the past 12 months I have became a Green 1 which was a great achievement, played in several grade 3 competitions and ventured into the world of 12 and under.
From this experience I have gained lots of knowledge and better court skills, hopefully this shows in my improved game.
I have had a mixture of success getting to few finals and winning a couple as well!
Since playing yellow ball I have really enjoyed playing a faster game with more skill involved and have won 6 of my 9 matches.
My initial goal for next season is to get to a 9.1 asap and my long term goal is to get back to doing Grade 3 competitions.
I have lots of things to write about and will hopefully add more posts over the next couple of weeks.