Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt

On Oct 18th, we naively hopped on a flight to travel to our first pro tournament. Our knowledge of the pro circuit upon departure was very minimal. We figured there is no better way to learn than to jump in head first. After 24 hrs and 34 minutes of traveling, we landed in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on October 20th. We were picked up by a private van, organized by the tournament, and taken to the Sierra Hotel, an all inclusive resort a short 5 minute drive away.

Before making this journey, we had many obstacles that almost got in our way. About 2 weeks before we were scheduled to depart Tampa, the attack on October 7th occurred just a mere 6 hours away from Sharm el-Sheikh. The area was considered to be unpredictable due to numerous protests. There were numerous concerns regarding our safety and whether or not we would be putting ourselves in a vulnerable position. After taking into consideration the resort security and the proximity of the tennis courts to the resort and the airport, we concluded that our lives would not be in danger.

To make things more excited, 1 week before our departure, Madison rolled her ankle during a practice match and partially tore her AMFL. This left her not being able to practice the week before the tournament and left her playing in pain throughout the duration of the trip. Despite these obstacles, Madison and Anastasia were not going to let anything stop them from competing in their first professional tournament.

The all inclusive resort was not a bad place to spend 25 nights playing tennis. There were 4 hard courts directly on the resort, a downtown shopping center a 5 minute walk away, and gorgeous views of the Red Sea less than a 10 minute walk away. We had so much knowledge to gain during our first few days at the Sierra Hotel and had to get used to the 7 hour time change. We were glad that we chose to fly in 5 days before the tournament began to allow ourselves time to adjust.

The tournament director graciously gave us a wildcard into the first tournament which was a W35K, the second lowest professional tournament offered. The tournaments offered are as follows:

W15k

W35k

W50k

W75k

W100K

WTA125

WTA250

Grand slams

For our first pro match ever, in the round of 16, we faced the 3rd seeds who were from Romania and France and ranked around 300 in the world. We put up a solid fight in the first set getting to 4-4. This was a level of tennis that we had yet to experience and ultimately the more experienced team broke away at this point. We lost this match 4-6, 1-6. With the preparation we had going into this tournament, we were happy with how we played. This match allowed us to see where exactly we lie with the competition out there and what we need to change to be able to compete with the top girls. The style of play at this tournament was completely different than the style of play in college. This was something we were going to have to get used to.

This early loss gave us multiple days to practice, learn more about how these tournaments work, and be better prepared for the next tournament. For the second tournament, we received a wildcard into a W15k, the lowest professional tournament offered. In the round of 16, we faced an unseeded team from Japan and Norway. After an insanely close first set, we were able to secure the win 7-6 (8), 6-2. This marked our first win on the pro circuit and we couldn’t have been happier! There was so much progress and development in just a couple days. Being on a resort with no work and lots of time to practice and workout was really making a difference.

We had one day after our win to get our bodies ready for our quarterfinal match. We faced the 2nd seeds from Egypt and Russia who were ranked 400 in the world. Not knowing all of the details as to how these tournaments work, we were put in a situation where our match was moved earlier than we anticipated. This left us going into the match with no warm up or preparation. Despite the lack of warm up, we put up a fight with these girls but fell short with a score of 4-6, 2-6. This tournament was definitely a learning experience, however, we were very happy with our results and were excited to have the opportunity to compete in one more tournament before making the trek home.

We received another wildcard into a W15k, giving us the opportunity to play 3 tournaments during our time in Egypt. Now that we were used to the competition, we decided to sign up for the singles qualifying round in the 3rd tournament. Madison lost a close 3 set match, 7-5, 3-6, 6-10 while still recovering from her ankle injury. Anastasia won 2 matches and qualified for the main draw. In the round of 32, she faced the 4th seed ranked 750 in the world from Russia. After an insanely physical match, she fell short 3-6, 3-6. These singles matches helped better prepare us for our doubles match the next day.

In the round of 16 for doubles, we were paired up against 2 Russians ranked 800 in the world. We started the match extremely strong and took the first set 6-2. These girls changed their style of play and we struggled to adjust ours to match this new style. This led us to lose the second set 3-6. In the event that we split sets, there is a 10 point super tiebreak instead of a full 3rd set. After a long 2 hour match, we lost the super breaker 5-10. This loss was a tough one to digest. We expect a lot out of ourselves and we knew we were better than this team. However, we had to take a step back and look at the big picture. This was our first trip to play professional tournaments, we knew very little coming into this, and we did not have the best practice leading up to these tournaments. Despite wanting more, we were happy with how this trip went and were excited to head home and get back to the drawing board.

This trip was a wake up call as to how expensive the professional tour was going to be. This experience was a great way to start our career. However, due to expenses, we were not able to play another tournament for about 6 months. Despite these roadblocks, we were determined to keep playing and doing whatever it took to be able to afford this lifestyle.

You receive a number of WTA points for each match you win and depending on what level of tournament you play. The prize money and number of WTA points increases as the tournament level increases. In order to obtain a ranking, we needed to collect 3 WTA points. This system is in place to make sure that rankings are not handed out easily. There are too many girls attempting to play on the pro circuit, therefore, WTA had to make the criteria more difficult. We were leaving Egypt with 2 WTA points, therefore, we were not yet going to have a ranking.

Total WTA Points Earned: 2

Price Breakdown

  • Flight: 2 x $1295 = $2590

  • Lodging: 2 x $2350 = $4,700

  • New travel bags: 2 x $100 = $200

  • Strings for racquets: 2 x $115 = $230

  • Tournament Entry: 6 x $20 = 120

  • Total Cost: $7,840

  • Total Earnings: $559

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