Dear Members
We hope you enjoyed the long weekend and have had a great week. Here’s your weekly update from Rackets Academy with exciting news of our exclusive international tournaments. We also bring you news from our youth and the Ladies, who were all in pink this week raising awareness of Breast Cancer.
*** NEW COURTS at Sports City ISD***
We are delighted to announce that from Monday 1st November 2021 Rackets Academy will be operating 3 padel and 4 tennis courts at Sports City. These courts will be available to book via the Rackets Academy app.
Rackets Academy Championships
December 12th -31st 2022
We will be once again be holding our biannual Rackets Academy Championships. Over 500 competitors from the Gulf region and around the world are expected this year. They will play over a two week period, competing for 30,000dhs cash prize.
In addition, this year the men’s event will be a qualifier for the $35k PTT events.
$70k PPT Event
January 3rd-16th 2022
Rackets Academy is proud to exclusively bring the PTT Tour to the Middle East for the first time with prize money of USD 70,000. Universal Tennis are investing over $20M and enabling 450 worldwide annual events in this three-year UTR Pro Tennis Tournament. These singles only events are for the top 200-2000 ranked male and female players in the world. This innovative format promises lots of matches and prize money.
Dubai Bowl
January 17th -23rd 2022
Rackets Academy are honored to be hosting the first ever Ten-Pro Event called the Dubai Bowl. Over 350 players will arrive in Dubai for our event. TEN-PRO works with the biggest academies in the world of tennis, like Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, IMG Bollettieri, Mouratoglou, Kim Clijsters, Boris Becker, Sanchez-Casal and is hosted in many cities throughout the world from Tokyo, Paris, Melbourne and Miami to name a few.
With more than 10,000 selected players from 144 countries, the TEN-PRO Global Junior Tour has become one of the largest junior series of tournaments in the world.
Tournaments
Just one youth tournament was played last weekend.
U13 Boys and Girls Singles– Frederica Barbieri beat Alistair Quadras 6-0 6-0
Congratulations Frederica! Well played!
U12 Boys and Girls tournament will be held weekend of 5th November 2021. Registration is now open
U16 Boys and Girls tournament will be held weekend of 5th November 2021. Registration is now open
Men’s Open singles and U15 Boys and Girls are being played this weekend. Good luck everyone
Tie Break Tens
In the Tie Break Tens, Rackets Academy’s very own Coach Simon did us proud. Unfortunately, he was defeated to finalist, Taylor Fritz but this didn’t stop the stadium enjoying some world class, exciting tennis from our man.
Taking place alongside the main event, the Tie Break Tens Dubai Grassroots Junior Tournament culminated in an equally thrilling display of high-quality tennis from some of the UAE’s own young talent, following several weeks of qualifying. In the U18 boys’ finals Rackets Academy’s Raed Rizvi, triumphed 12-10 to become Champion.
Breast Cancer Awareness morning
Thanks to everyone who took part in our Breast Cancer Awareness Ladies Doubles tournament. The event was very well attended, with more than 20 ladies participating. Everyone wore pink and played their hearts out in honor of this important cause. Meriem and Luana won the event, beating Mags and Laila in a thrilling tie break. The ladies then ejoyed coffee and pastries courtsey of The Void, Studio City
Player interview with Ladies League Player Laura Covington Poletti. Laura plays for the Baseliners team.
1. Who is your favourite professional player (male & female)?
Gael Monfils comes to mind because he’s always fun and enjoyable to watch. My favorite female player is Ashleigh Barty. I admire her diversity of skills and especially her awesome net play.
2. Who is your favourite RA coach?
I’ll have to go with my current team coach Sam for his depth and breadth of tennis knowledge.
3. Why do you love tennis?
It’s good for the body, mind and soul. It keeps me physically and socially active. Also, it’s always mentally challenging. In a nutshell, it’s a great lifetime sport for all ages!
4. How did you get into tennis?
Shortly after moving to Dubai, once all my kids were in school, I finally had extra time to take up a hobby or sport. Luckily Dubai was the perfect place as there were several venues that provided clinics for adult beginners… without meeting other like-minded people at a similar level, I probably would not have given it a try… I’m glad I did because now I love it!
5. How long have you been playing tennis for?
I first picked up a racket when I was in my forties and I’ve been playing ever since, so as long as I’ve been living in Dubai which is close to 15 years!
6. List 3 things you like about Rackets Academy.
First and foremost, the ladies league. Secondly, it’s great that there are multiple locations & courts to choose from, also a variety of clinics and social activities available for all levels.
Ladies league Player of the Week
Congratulations to Illaria Villani who is our Ladies League Player of the Week, who wins a brunch for two at The Void, Studio City. Ilaria was nominated by her coach, Raduan as she came back from injury and played a great, hard fought match against the Baseliners.
Coach Kirk’s tip of the week
Take your time. You have 20 seconds between points and 90 seconds when changing sides of the court. Unfortunately, many players lose the crucial points because they hurry up. They finish one point, take the ball, go to the baseline and quickly start a new point. That’s the easiest recipe for losing a few points in a row, decrease your quality of play and affect your confidence. Before a decisive point, make sure you use the whole time allowed. You should go through your routine to prepare your body and mind for the incoming challenge. But remember, you also have an obligation to keep a reasonable pace of play!
Etiquette- unspoken rule of the week
Regardless of the outcome of a tennis match, in normal times it’s proper etiquette to meet your opponent at the net and shake hands. The winner should commend their opponent on a well-fought match while the loser should congratulate the player on their win.
There’s a trend in professional tennis for embraces after an intense tennis match, especially between two players who are friends off the court and have a lot of respect for each other. However, it’s not at all necessary, and a simple handshake or fist pump will do the trick. Covid rules however dictate that we should touch rackets.
When you go to greet your opponent don’t be lame about it, look them in the eye. It’s a sign of respect on both ends, and although many players won’t look their opponent in the eye, don’t let that player be you.
Part of good sportsmanship involves being a humble winner and a graceful loser. If you win, it’s perfectly fine to celebrate, but be thoughtful about the fact that the player on the other side of the net suffered a loss. There’s a fine line between celebration and gloating.
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Have a great week!
Rackets Academy