Dear Member,
Eid Murbarak! Find out all the latest news from Rackets Academy in this newsletter! Our fancy new indoor courts at Madinat Arena are now open! Find out our A League winner for May and our overall A League Champion for 2021. We’ve got results from the finals of the Ace for Good Tournament last weekend and an interview with Rackets Academy Ladies League Player, Elena Lyzhnikova. Check out our Rule and Tip of the Week from Coach Fuad…Read on!
***Indoor Courts at Madinat Arena are NOW OPEN***
Our fantastic new indoor courts at Madinat Arena are now open! Lots of players have tried them out already and LOVE them! Try them for yourself by booking NOW though our mobile app:
- 3 Indoor Tennis Courts
- 2 Indoor Padel Courts (opening 1st June)
- 1 Indoor Mini Tennis Court
Our Adult Social Nights (Monday’s & Friday’s) and Ladies Coffee Morning (Sunday’s) on these indoor courts can all be booked through our mobile app, but book well in advance to avoid disappointment!
Ace for Good Tournament
Ace for Good 2021 tennis tournament has successfully come to a close after two intense weekends of exceptional sporting talent. The event, organised by Rackets Academy, is an initiative created by one of its top players Hussein Nada, 17 years old and a grade 11 student in the American School of Dubai.
Nada created a platform called “ACE FOR GOOD” to connect tennis lovers to play and support a good cause. The tennis matches featured some of Dubai’s top players from different nationalities and age groups. The tournament collected aids to the Dubai Autism Center through players participation fees over two weekends in April, through the support of numerous sponsors such as Brand for Less, Daoud Group, Loca Restaurants, Head, Marina Pharmacy Group, The Flower Company and many others.
Congratulations to our doubles Champions Kirk and Jordy who beat Simon and Paul 6-3 6-4 in the final.
Interview with Elena Lyzhnikova
This week’s interview is with our lovely Rackets Academy Ladies League Player, Elena Lyzhnikova.
1. Who is your favourite professional player (male & female)?
My favourite male player is Roger Federer. He shows beautiful classic tennis. He’s very kind and polite, and he has never broken a racket. My favourite female player is Simona Halep. She has great endurance and can come back and win the match.
2. Who is your favourite Rackets Academy Coach?
It’s quite difficult to say who is the best coach at Rackets Academy, all of them are very nice and professional. I think I will choose Moro as a more creative and stylish coach.
3. Why do you love tennis?
I love tennis because it’s a social sport on one side, and on another side, it engages you not only physically but also mentally, because you need to think about the tactic of the game and predict every step of your opponent.
4. How did you get into tennis?
I got into tennis when my family moved to Brunei. We were members of the sports club where there was a tennis section and I wanted to try this sport, and I loved it.
5. How long have you been playing tennis for?
I’ve been playing tennis for five and a half years.
6. List 3 things you like about Rackets Academy:
- Rackets Academy has many different events (Social Night, Coffee Morning, Tournaments, League and others) where people can play with different opponents (sometimes even stronger) that helps to increase skills and find people with the same interests.
- The Academy has very good and professional coaches.
- Rackets Academy has many locations around Dubai and players don’t need to spend much time to get to a tennis court.
Coach Fuad’s Rule of the Week – Calling Let when the Ball rolls on Court
During our Mrs Miyagi’s Ladies League match last week, we had a couple of instances of Let being called when the ball rolled on court. One occasion, was when one of the players mis-hit an overhead off her racket frame, resulting in a loopy floater that obviously headed out. Since the second match in the tie was happening on the next court, one of my players moved out wide so she could stop the ball from going into the next court. Before the ball even bounced, a ball from the neighbouring court rolled into their net on my team’s side. The opponents immediately called a let and demanded to replay the point, however, my team felt that no let should be given. After all, the ball was hit before the ball came onto the court, and it landed nearly 3 feet out!
So Who’s Right? When a ball from another court enters the playing area, any player on the court affected may call a let as soon as the player becomes aware of the ball. The player loses the right to call a let if the player unreasonably delays in making the call.
So… Even though the opponent who hit the ball, verbally recognised her error before the other ball rolled into the net, she and her partner were still entitled to a let and to replay the point (two serves), which they did.
On the other occasion, the ladies continued playing the point even though a ball rolled into the court and stopped right on the baseline.
I think the point should be stopped to avoid any injury. But that’s just me… what do you think? Does that rule need to be more specific, or removed, or is it fine the way it is?
Coach Fuad’s Tip of the Week: Do you feel like you are always hitting the Balls late?
“Hitting the ball late in tennis is one of the most common challenges you will encounter and only early stroke preparation on your forehands and backhands will allow you to hit the ball on time. You may have heard your coach say, “Prepare early” or “Turn quickly”.
What’s missing in the above tip is when you should initiate your preparation of the stroke. As soon as the ball leaves your opponent’s racket and a few tenths of a second later, you cannot yet tell whether that ball will land deep, bounce high or come in very fast. But you CAN tell whether it’s going to your forehand or your backhand!
Reading the direction of the ball is easy, and it takes just a split second to recognize. THAT’S the moment you must catch and quickly initiate your stroke.…Good luck!“
Mrs Miyagi’s Ladies League: Season 7 – W/c 2nd May: Results
It was our A League ladies who took to the courts last week for the final month of the season. Congratulations to Mareen Orlander who is our A League winner for May.
Congratulations to Rachael Robinson who is our overall A League Winner for 2021. Rachael played some amazing tennis and was consistent throughout the tournament with every player she drew. Congratulations Rachael on your well-deserved win! Shout out to Courtley Winter and Steph Edwards who took 2nd place and to Elena Yiasemides for 3rd place. Well done ladies!
Well done to our B Team ladies who played last week, bringing their match forward from June before the temperature soars! Another extremely close match with just a 2-game difference! Congratulations to the winners, Las Chicas. See scores below.
Las Chicas vs The Match Makers:
Line 1: 6-2 6-4 (Winner: Las Chicas)
Line 2: 1-6 7-6 8-10 (Winner: The Match Makers)
Overall Winner: Las Chicas
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Have a great week!
Rackets Academy