Antalya, Turkey
We left Tampa, Florida on March 20th and arrived in Antalya, Turkey on March 21st after 17 hours of traveling. We stayed for 15 nights at the Megasaray Resort, an all inclusive resort located conveniently next to the tournament. The proximity of the resort to the courts was a huge bonus, as it eliminated the need for commuting.
For the first tournament, we still needed to receive a wildcard entry as our new ranking was not yet good enough to get in on our own. Since this tournament was played on red clay which neither of us had played on before, we signed up for singles qualifying to get acclimated to the courts. To our surprise, we both did well in singles. Madi won three rounds to qualify for the main draw but was knocked out in a close three-set match by a German player ranked #1182 in the world. Anastasia fell in the second round of the qualifying draw in straight sets to a former world #175.
Playing numerous singles matches paid off as we became more comfortable on the clay before our doubles match. In the first round of doubles, we faced a top-seeded team. We had many opportunities to win the first set, but in the end, we lost 7-5, 6-0. It was a tough loss, but it was also an important learning experience. We knew that continuously putting ourselves in these high-pressure situations would make us better in the long run.
We thankfully had another week of preparation before the start of the second tournament. Anastasia decided to play singles again making it to the second round of the qualifying draw before losing in a 3rd set tiebreak. Madison did not play singles due to food poisoning but thankfully she recovered in time for doubles. For this second tournament, we qualified for doubles with our own ranking, marking the first time we got into a tournament without a wildcard. In the first round, we faced a strong, unseeded pair from Bulgaria and Argentina ranked around 800 in the world. We had a grueling 2 hour match in which we won 7-5, 4-6, 10-4. This was the first team we had beaten that had a world ranking!
In the quarterfinals, we faced the #3 seed. The match was a nail-biter, with us having a set point in the first set and leads in the second, but we ultimately lost 6-7, 4-6. While we were disappointed by the loss, we were proud of the significant progress we had made in such a short time. Our game had grown stronger, and we left the tournament with many valuable takeaways.
Upon our return to Florida, we were met with the unfortunate news that our luggage didn’t make it back with us. It took nearly a month for the airline to locate and ship our bags home, but thankfully, everything arrived without damage or loss.
Overall, the trip was a great success. We gained invaluable experience, improved our game, and learned a lot about ourselves and each other as players. Despite the challenges along the way, we’re excited for what comes next.
Total WTA Points Earned: 3
Price Breakdown:
Flight: 2 x $1400 = $2800
Lodging: 2 x $1100 = $2200
Clay Shoes: 2 x $130 = 260
Tournament Entry : 4 x $20
Total Cost: $5,340
Total Prize Money: $369
