February 18th 2022
Dear Members,
We have an exciting weekend ahead of us. Tennis week at Expo 2020 is coming! Read through and stay tuned to find out the latest news at Rackets Academy.
Dubai Expo 2020
Do not miss out on the exhibition matches taking place at the Expo Sports Arena this weekend (Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th). On Saturday at 19:00, former world number one Caroline Wozniacki will play an exhibition singles match against another former number one player in the world, Kim Clijsters. After their match, there will be a men’s doubles exhibition game. John McEnroe, Greg Rusedski, Richard Krajicek and Mark Philippoussis will start playing at 21:00. Sunday at 18:00, Mansour Bahrami will face the French player Fabrice Santoro. Email us to get your tickets for a full weekend of tennis at the Dubai Expo 2020.
Have you ever pictured yourself playing with a professional tennis player? Now it is your time. You will have the opportunity to play with former professional players John McEnroe, Greg Rusedski, Richard Krajicek and Mark Philippoussis on Saturday and Mansour Bahrami and Fabrice Santoro on Sunday before their exhibition matches start at the Dubai Expo 2020. Rackets Academy coaches are organizing a clinic with them and all the players that want to participate in it. Apply now for a chance to play at our clinic! 13+ players only
The Elite Program players will be training at the Dubai Expo 2020 on Monday 21st and Wednesday 23rd. These players will be training these two days at the Expo 2020 to showcase UAE junior talent.
On Tuesday 22nd and Thursday 24th Rackets Academy is putting together a Davis Cup Tournament style, The Expo Cup Tournament, at the new three and a half thousand sitting stadium. Get ready to represent your country playing tennis at the Expo Cup Tournament 2020.
Round Robin Doubles Format
Group 1: 22nd Tuesday 5-10pm
Group 2: 24th Thursday 5-10pm
Final: 26th Saturday 5-9pm
Each Team consist’s of 2 Juniors and 2 Adults
If you want to take part then please email us.
Interview of the week
Get to know our coach: Mariano Pettigrosso
Where are you from?
Argentina
For how long have you been involved with tennis?
More than 30 years
Where did you work before coming to Rackets Academy in Dubai?
I have worked all over the world but the last 3 places were: Schultler-Waske Tennis Academy (Germany), Kim Clijsters Academy (Belgium) and a collaboration with the Omani Tennis Federation with their best professional players right before I moved to Dubai.
When did you arrive to Rackets Academy?
September 2018
What brought you here?
My girlfriend (now my wife) got a job opportunity in Dubai, so we decided to start a new chapter together in this exotic country.
What do you enjoy the most about coaching?
I love coaching and I do it with a lot passion and commitment. I really enjoy the process of developing relationships with the players and understanding what motivates them, seeing them improve as tennis players and evolve as a person. At the same time, they also are the ones making me a better coach and teaching me real life lessons as well.
How does an ideal tennis practice look for you?
Good question. Practice should be prepared and planned in advance based on the area of focus we set as objective. There are many factors that we can’t control during the session, so it is also important to be able to adapt the exercises to the players and the dynamic of the group. My goal will be to keep everyone engaged, having fun and working hard, at the same time.
Best memory that you have as a coach at Rackets Academy?
I have plenty of great moments that I spent with my players and my team since I joined rackets. It would be not fair to pick only one!
What do you like the most about Rackets Academy?
My players, the Coaching Team and of course, the beautiful venues that we are very lucky to work on all over Dubai.
Tournaments
Registration ends today at 12pm for the UTR Round Robin Format U12 Boys and Girls Tournament. The tournament will take place this weekend (19th and 20th of February). All matches on Saturday will be played at Motor City and semi-final and final will be on Sunday at Sofitel, The Palm. The Round Robin format guarantees a minimum of three matches per player, best of three sets (3rd set super tie break).
There is another tournament coming up soon at Rackets Academy on the 26th and 27th of this month, Men’s Singles 4k Tournament. The format is singles knock out, best of three sets (3rd set super tie break) and there is a prize money of 4.000drh. The matches will take place at Motor City and Atlantis. Registration ends February 25th at 12pm.
Travel Tour
Everything is set for the players who signed up for the Ten Pro Global Tournament at Mallorca. Coach Alejandro and the players Larissa Brasil, Federica Barbieri, Idhant Kastwar and Enzo El Kahi will jump on a plane on March 12th to Spain to compete at the Ten Pro that the Rafa Nadal Academy hosts.
“We are very excited to have the chance to bring our players to one of the most important Academies in the world. It will be a great opportunity to our players to experience high level competition. It is my first-time taking players from Rackets Academy to play a tournament outside of the UAE and I think it is going to be special for them but also for me because I take them to where I spent five years coaching before coming to Dubai and I can say that I consider Mallorca my second home”. Coach Alejandro’s words on travelling to the Rafa Nadal Academy Ten Pro Global Tournament.
The Elite squad will also be travelling in March. The players will be competing at the ITF Tournaments that take place in Cyprus, a J4 in Larnaca from the 8th – 12th of March and J3 in Limassol from the 14th to the 19th of March. Both tournaments are played on hard court. Stay tuned to follow our Rackets players in their journey throughout the tournament.
Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
After a great week of watching women’s tennis at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, it is time for some men’s tennis. We are excited to have in Dubai top 10 players like Novak Djokovic, Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner playing in the same tournament. We will be giving away FREE tickets for the afternoon matches, check out our Instagram page and have a chance to win FREE tickets for next week’s matches.
Rackets Academy Ladies League
Due to half term week some matches have been reschedule for next month but these were the results of this week’s team matches.
Get a Grip v Baseliners
Line 1 6/2, 6/1
Line 2 6/2, 6/3
Get a Grip wins
Get a Grip v No Strings Attached
Line 1 6/1, 6/1
Line 2 6/1, 6/1
Get a Grip wins
Giveaway Alert
Check out our Instagram page and participate to get a chance to win a semi – private lesson with one of our coaches at Rackets Academy, this giveaway end on Sunday 20th of March, so hurry up. We will also be giving away free tickets to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Do not miss out on the opportunity to get free tickets to this week’s matches! Follow us on Instagram and stay tuned, we will have more giveaways coming up.
Padel Tennis
JA Padel Tennis Weekly Tournaments coming up every Thursday starting on the 24th of February from 7pm to 9pm. For bookings or more information you can contact the club Jumana reception.
The first ever Padel Tennis court in Mudon Ranches is available! If you still have not tried padel, make sure you download the Rackets Academy App and book your session, exclusive 10% off for all Fitness First members. This is the first of many padel courts, there are another six courts opening very soon.
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