Dear Member,
Hope you are well! Here’s all the latest news from Rackets Academy. Find out who our Player of the Week is and get results from week 4 of the Mrs Miyagis Ladies League. We have results from the U12 boys UAE Ranking event and an interview with Coach Simon. Find out which aspiring tennis players join our Elite Programme and check out our Rule and Tip of the Week from Coach Jordan. Take a look at our upcoming tournaments…Read on!
Player of the Week
Congratulations to Fitness First Rackets Academy Elite Magnus Oestergaard who is our Player of the Week. Magnus receives this award following his fantastic performance in the U12 Boys UAE Ranking Event last weekend in which he took home the champions trophy. Well done Magnus!
Results from U12 Boys UAE Ranking Event
Well done to all the boys who took part in the U12 UAE Ranking Event last weekend. Congratulations to our Champion Magnus Oestergaard who beat Mithun Sendilkumar 6-0 6-0 in the final. Well done boys!
Rackets Academy Elite Programme welcomes 3 new rising stars
We are delighted to welcome 3 new players who have recently joined our Rackets Academy Elite Programme, striving for excellence in competitive tennis. Welcome to Haqim Kamal , age 9 from the UK , Joaquin Heredia, aged 14 from Portugal & the USA and Garv Bahl, age 15 from India.
Our team of elite coaches and specialists are to super excited to have these hugely talented children join the programme, designing and implementing a comprehensive and bespoke tennis training programme for each of them. For more information about our Elite Programme and our aspiring tennis stars click here.
Covid19 Safety Measures
We would like to remind our players about the Covid19 Safety Measures that we have in place at all our locations;
1) Do not share a bench together
2) Each pupil will get their own ball collecting tubes which will be sanitized before each lesson
3) Use the hand sanitizer provided before and after the lesson
4) No spectators
5) Everyone must have their temperature checked at the desk before going on court and will receive a sticker to show to the coach that this has been completed.
A list of the safety measures and government hygiene rules can be found here.
Upcoming Tournaments
Check out our tournaments that are taking place over the next few weeks. To sign up, call 052 372 4224 TODAY or email register@racketsacademy.ae. To see the full tournament schedule for the term click here.
Friday 30th October 11am – 7pm – UTR Event U12 Boys Singles, Rackets Academy, Motor City – Sign Up
Friday 30th October 7-10pm – Mixed Doubles Tournament, Rackets Academy, Motor City
Fri 6th & Sat 7th Nov – U16 Boys & Girls UAE Ranking Event, Rackets Academy, Motor City
Friday 6th November – UTR U13 Invitational Singles, Sofitel Hotel, The Palm
Mrs Miyagi’s Ladies League: Season 6 – Results
Well done to all everyone who played in Week 4 of our Mrs Miyagi’s Ladies League. Congratulations to Rackettes, Queens of the Court, Bull Dogs and The Aces who won their matches. See scores below.
Division A
Full Metal Rackets vs Rackettes
Line 1: 1-6 2-6 (winner: Rackettes)
Line 2: 1-6 2-6 (winner: Rackettes)
Overall Winner: Rackettes
Passing Shots vs Queens of the Court
Line 1: 5-7 6-4 (4-10) (winner: Passing Shots)
Line 2: 6-3 6-3 (winner: Queens of the Court)
Overall Winner: Queens of the Court
Division B
The Aces vs The Mentalis
Line 1: 6-2 6-3 (winner: The Aces)
Line 2: 6-1 6-1 (winner: The Aces)
Overall Winner: The Aces
Bulldogs vs Simon’s Samurai
Line 1: 6-0 6-0 (winner: Bulldogs)
Line 2: 6-1 6-0 (winner: Bulldogs)
Overall Winner: Bulldogs
Interview with Coach Simon
This week’s interview is with our very own Coach Simon.
1. Who is your favourite professional player?
My favourite tennis players are Marcelo Rios & Monica Seles.
2. Why do you love tennis?
I love tennis because it’s a great sport to play all your life and you can always improve your game no matter how long you’ve been playing for.
3. How did you get into tennis?
I started tennis when a coach came to my primary school and he let everyone have a go. He picked me out as someone with great potential and I continued from there.
4. When did you start playing tennis?
I’ve been playing tennis for 30 years.
5. List 3 things you like about Rackets Academy
- I like being a part of a top team of coaches
- We get to work at a variety of great venues
- I get to work with some of the best players in the country!
Rule of the Week: Serving order for a Tie-Break
Here’s a re-cap on the serving order for a tie-break:
Point 1: Player A (right)
Point 2: Player B (left)
Point 3: Player B
Point 4: Player A
Point 5: Player A
Point 6: Player B
Point 7: Player B
Point 8: Player A
Point 9: Player A
…
This continues like so until a player reaches 7 points and therefore the tiebreak is over (at 6-6 it’s win by two clear points, 8-6, 9-7 etc.)
Coach Jordan’s Tip of the Week: The Split Step
“Tennis players use the split step to establish balance before reacting to the opponent’s shot. Both feet come off the ground and then hit the ground simultaneously. In the past, I instructed my students to do this right as the player is hitting the ball.
However, the game has gotten faster and faster, with very little time in between hits. This means that the split step must occur prior to the opponent’s strike of the ball. If you are at the baseline and have hit a good shot, it is possible to wait until just before your opponent’s contact point to split step. If you are inside the baseline or at the net, the split step should occur right as your opponent starts the racket moving forward.
Keep in mind that if you hit it to the opponent at the net, you need to split step even sooner—I would recommend doing this as your shot is approaching the net. This sounds a little crazy, but you’d rather be stopped and balanced, than moving towards where you think the ball is going to end up.
The exception to this split step timing might be when your shot is not hit well and you have to guess where that next shot is going. Hopefully, this will not happen too often.
Trust your reaction time and your ability to prepare quickly and you will reap the benefits of the perfectly timed split step..…Good luck!“
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Have a great week!
Rackets Academy
