Lakewood, CA
June 30th marked another big milestone for us. Lakewood was the first tournament in the US that we got into with our ranking of 1,365. This tournament was a W15k and we had no idea if we were going to be able to get in, however, we felt that we had a good chance. Anastasia had a friend that lived about an hour from Lakewood that was gracious enough to let us stay with him and also use his car. We were even able to bring Madison’s dog, Guinness, saving money on a dog sitter. Having free housing and not needing to Uber or rent a car, cut our costs tremendously. This tournament was over 4th of July, therefore, we figured even if we don’t get into the tournament we can treat ourselves to a little vacation.
We ended up getting into the tournament and also received a nice first round match up. In the R16 we faced 2 Americans ranked around 1530. The courts felt very different than what we were used to so it took us a little bit of time to warm up. We luckily won that match 6-1, 6-4. On July 4th, we were schedule to play the quarterfinals. Upon arrival to the tennis center, the tournament director called to inform us that our opponent had pulled out (withdrew) due to injury. At the pro level, a withdrawal counts as a win, therefore, we were moving onto the semifinals picking up more WTA points and more money. We were able to celebrate a nice 4th of July by going to the mountains and having a day by the river which Guinness very much enjoyed.
We did not anticipate to make it this far in the tournament. We actually had to change our flights to a later date costing us a little extra money. We always try to fly home as early as possible, therefore, we don’t miss too much work. If needed, we will pay the change fee on our flight to stay longer. In the semifinals we played an American ranked 760 and a South African ranked 1100. These girls showed us a whole new level of pace. These girls were extremely aggressive and left us on defense practically the whole match. In that moment, we felt underprepared and like we were being blown off the court.
This tournament was a big wake up call for us. We realized that we are good enough to begin playing tournaments in the US which will help save money. However, we felt very underprepared for the level of pro tennis in the US. This is due to how little we were able to practice leading up to this trip. In the 2 weeks before we left, we played 1 practice match. This lack of practice is due to the fact that we need to work everyday to afford this lifestyle. This trip showed us that if we want to make the jump to the next level, something needs to change. We were going to need to head back to work and discuss the possibility of practicing more. Ultimately, we could not keep doing what we were doing if we want to be top in the world.
This trip was a big accomplishment for us and helped us pick up 6 WTA points in 1 week. It also showed us that our practice schedule is not good enough if we want to play pro tennis in the US. Overall, we had a successful trip and fun little getaway for not too much money.
Total WTA Points Earned: 6
Price Breakdown
Flight: 2 x $500
Bag: 4 x $35
Tournament Entry: 2 x $20
Groceries: $200
Gas: $150
Total Cost: $1530
Total Earnings: $294
