Sunday 29 January 2012

Manchester Tennis Centre - 29/01/12

Today I played at Manchester Tennis Centre and had a great day.
I had 4 matches and won 3 of them, the one I lost was a very close match, the score was 6-7, 7-6, 6-7, and I think that next time we play I will win.
I am very happy with the results of today because my win/loss ratio was very good (for me), I won 75% of my matches.
Another positive I have gained today is that I have beat at least 1 Orange 2 player who I have not played before, so this will count towards my rating. I am still a long way off becoming an Orange 1 but week by week I am slowly building up qualifying wins.
There is also another positive, one of the players I beat today, I have played before and lost to them. It was when I was a Red player which seems so long ago but its only been 6 months. This win has given me confidence because I can struggle when playing against players who have beaten me before.

Friday 27 January 2012

LTA Leaderboard, Ormskirk Tennis Competition, Evening Training & Thank You

My position on the LTA Lancashire County boys 9 & under leaderboard has dropped to 18th, I was 16th. The season has not finished so there is still time to try and get back to 16th which is the highest position I have ever been in.
The competition at Ormskirk Tennis Club has been cancelled due to them replacing the shale tennis courts with clay ones and also updating their perimeter fence. I will apply for their next mini tennis competition and hopefully it will go ahead.
For the first time in approximately 2 months I have managed to play tennis tonight after school. It rained and hailed but had a great time working on my game and made some improvements. My tennis is changing all the time, over the past 5 months I have gone from a player who hit every ball as hard as possible, which was good when I could keep it in the court. To a player who tried to return every ball in the court, which improved my rallying but I could not hit winners. I am now trying to combine the best of each strategy to try and improve my tennis and win/loss ratio.
On a final note, earlier today I received a email informing me of an future competition and would like to say 'thank you'. Sometimes it can be a nuisance being on a mailing list but I was very grateful. It can be difficult finding suitable competitions so to have one emailed to you makes a pleasant change.

Thursday 26 January 2012

A couple more tennis competitions for February

I have applied for 2 more tennis competitions in February, they are at:
South Ribble Tennis Centre on the 5th, I have played here before and had experiences at both ends of the spectrum, winning and losing, so I have no idea what to expect. I do know that I seem to play better when the competitions are played in the second hall opposed to the main hall, but it does not matter where I play, I will just try and play my best tennis.
The other tennis competition I have applied for is at;
Ormskirk Tennis Club on the 19th, last year I applied for a tennis competition here but unfortunately it got cancelled, so lets hope it goes ahead because I have never played there before and I really enjoy playing at 'new' clubs/centres even though may play suffers slightly, I am very slowly getting conditioned to it.
My training is going well and I am pleased the nights are starting to get lighter so I can play in the evening during the week.
I am looking forward to playing this weekend at Manchester Tennis Centre and at the other competitions I have lined up so far for February, which are Bolton Arena, Widnes Tennis Academy and the two I have just applied for. I only have to find a competition now for the last weekend in February.

Sunday 22 January 2012

Cheshire County Grade 4 - Birchwood Tennis Centre

This morning I took part in a grade 4 tennis competition at Birchwood Tennis Centre.
It started off with 4 round robin groups and the winner and runner up of each group qualifying for the main draw, and the other players going into the consolation draw.
I came second in my group so qualified for the top eight but did not manage to win any further matches.
Although I could have played better and finished in a higher position I am very happy because I have only played in one grade 4 competition before and ended up in the consolation event. Today, I have also managed to beat an orange 2 player which will count towards my rating, which is still a very long way off becoming an orange 1.

Sunday 15 January 2012

A new personal best

Today I played at South Ribble Tennis centre and had a great day. I managed a new personal best since becoming an orange player. I won 4 of my matches and previously my best was 3 which I managed on 3 occasions (I think).
My skills are improving and today has proved that. I still need to improve certain aspects of my game, but everything can not be done at once, its one step at a time.
I am looking forward to next weeks competition at Birchwood Tennis Centre and I have also been approved for the Widnes Tennis Academy competition next month.
On a final note, the LTA Leaderboards have been updated and my position has not changed from 16th which I was not expecting, I thought I may have dropped a few places due to the lack of competitions I had done/not done.

Wednesday 11 January 2012

A busy weekend in February, Bolton Arena and Widnes Tennis Academy

The second weekend in February could be a busy one as there are 2 competitions, one on the Saturday and one on the Sunday.
On the 11th its at Bolton Arena, I have applied and been accepted. I have played there several times before and know that you have to not just play well but exceptionally well. All the players who compete there are very good and I will have to play my best tennis to win any matches. This year, another goal I have set myself if to get into the top half / main draw at Bolton as I have never achieved this and I know I can do it.
On the 12th its Widnes Tennis Academy, this is a postal event and I have posted my application and payment and will hopefully be accepted. I have competed there before, so am feeling optimistic about playing there again.
I will be applying for more competitions shortly, but at the moment I am just looking forward to playing at weekend, its been 4 weeks since I last played in a competition.

Monday 9 January 2012

January Tennis Competitions

Well, its the new year and I am ready for it. Training has gone well over the holidays and I am feeling confident in my game and am hoping to improve my win/loss ratio this year, as well as get a tennis rating of Orange 1 before becoming a green player.
I have applied for 3 tennis competitions in January and they are:-
South Ribble Tennis Centre on the 15th, my application has been approved so I will be playing next weekend. I have been there a couple of times before, but the experiences have been totally different so I don't know what to expect. All I can do is turn up and try to play my best tennis.
The next is at Birchwood Tennis Centre on the 22nd, my entry has not been approved yet but I should find out on the 15th (I think). This is a Cheshire grade 4 competition so if I can compete I will have to play well.
And the last one for January is at Manchester Tennis Centre on the 29th, my entry has been approved so I will be playing. I have played at Manchester Tennis Centre before and last time the competitors were grouped with players of the same rating. If they do the same again this could be good because if I win any matches they will count towards my rating and it could do with a boost. I am still a long way off becoming an Orange 1.