Congrats to Orlando Tennis Center (OTC)

Big Shout out to Orlando Tennis Center,  http://www.orlandotenniscenter.com/ located in downtown Orlando Florida, who hosted the ITF Pro-Circuit Tournament.  What a great weekend in Central Florida.   We took in the tennis tournament and Winter Park Arts Festival all in the same weekend.  We visited the tournament many times throughout the week but by far our favorite day was Saturday morning singles and the doubles finals.  This was followed up by the rest of the afternoon and evening enjoying the festivities in Winter Park. 

OTC made this event a great success for both the players and fans.  The courts were in great shape, and the tournament ran exceptionally smoothly.  As a fan, this event was a great opportunity to see many upcoming players. 

The singles final gave the fans a classic.  Masa Zec-Peskiric of Slovakia took on Michaela Boev of Belgium.  Michaela won the first 9 games.  At 6-0, 3-0, it appeared that this was going to be a blow out.  However, Masa won a hard fought 10th game, and from their stole all of the momentum of the match.  Masa ended up winning   0-6, 6-4, 6-1.  Congrats to Masa and Michaela for a great well fought contest.  

 Masa ZEC-PESKIRIC (SLO)~ Singles champion

 Nikola FRANKOVA (CZE)  /   Nathalia ROSSI (BRA)~ Doubles Champions

It was great to get a glimpse of the gritty, tennis trenches of the ITF pro-circuit.  A wonderful day of watching tennis could only be appropriately followed by a stroll of the cute shops, cafes and boutiques of Park Ave, Winter Park.  The WP Art Festival was underway, and it appeared that all of Central Fl was strolling the Ave that day.  

We sat outside on the patio for an evening of Delicious Mexican food, mojitos and margaritas with friends.  The atmosphere was wonderful and so was the food.  A little pricy for your typical Mexican menu but the surroundings and the drinks makes up for that.  My personal favorite was the mojitos!!  Woot woot.  

Conny Perrin~ Gisele's Sassy Girl of the month!

Gisele's Sassy~Girl Player of the month goes to Conny Perrin, of Switzerland and Zec-Peskiric doubles partner.   Conny and Masa played each other in the semi-finals in Orlando ITF Pro Circuit event.  It was an exciting match and I love Conny's spunky, jumpy, sassy girl energy.  She even had her opponent cracking up at one point during the match.  Keep it up Conny you got style!!   Love it.  Unfortunately, the laughter and spunky attitude couldn't help her defeat Masa. I'm keepin my eye on you girl!!!  

 

                                          

                 

Conny Perrin~ Gisele's Sassy Girl of the month!

Conny and Masa, partners and competitors, gettin sassy!!!!

Getting Geared Up for The 2013-2014 Tennis Season (And Loving It)

Are you excited about next years tennis season??

I sure am!  I've been down and out with this broken foot, thanks to slipping on clay, catching the line, twisting my ankle.  We did finish that match, won it and 2 more after that before I decided I needed to have my foot checked.  It wasn't the tennis matches that killed me, it was the wedding I had to go to 3 weeks later and wear high heals!!  I was done, finished, tennis season over me!!

So what have I been doing to pass the time... Shopping!!  My teams have selected out uniforms for next year, and I can't quit buying!!  Today I ordered and am so excited about....

 This bag has a compartment for your shoes!!!  If you have read my article about the perfect pedi you will understand why this compartment is so important to us ladies!! 

http://www.midwestsports.com/asics-court-diva-tennis-bag/p/ZR1181-9392/#.UV7wIKX3MQI

Love this dress, had two from last years line, the purple and the liquid lime!  Perfect for the super hot Florida summers!

http://www.midwestsports.com/nike-print-dress/p/542486-010/#.UV7cP6X3MQI 

 I  added these cutie shorts to wear under dress with matching visor!!   How cute is this gonna be???

http://www.midwestsports.com/nike-perfect-match-printe-short/p/523567-734/#.UV7sgqX3MQJ

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Nike_Womens_Spring_Featherlight_Visor_Yellow/descpageWANIKE-NWSVVLPTE.html

My team will be sporting the Nike Electric Yellow with the Anthracite Grey, black and white!  Super excited.  Some of my favorites that I have ordered are from Tenniswarehouse.com, midwestsports.com and these below are from Macy's...  Don't forget to use your Macy's coupons!!

http://www1.macys.com/search/results.ognc?sortOption=*&Keyword=nike%20yellow&resultsPerPage=24&Action=sd&attrs=Gender:Gender:Womens

All this shopping~ I'm exhausted!!  Is it time for a cocktail?  Maybe I should try a Skinny Girl Cocktail????  It's time to slim down for the summer bikini season.

http://www.skinnygirlcocktails.com

Martina Hingis and Tonic Team-up to Develop Tennis Wear

Give a better performance when you are comfortable!

                                       

Martina Hingis has been working with Tonic to create a new line of tennis appeal for ladies. She worked hands on with Tonic to create a line that is comfortable, easy to wear for all types of tennis players.  Tonic's yoga collections are known for their comfort, performance and odor free material for even the heaviest of sweaters.  I happen to be one of those girls unfortunately.    I like to mix yoga performance wear into my tennis wardrobe all the time. It's extremely flattering and comfortable to play in.  Martina actually mentions club players as one of their target audiences.  Yay!  We are all not the same size and shape of Maria Sharapovia, sometimes I find it hard to squeeze myself into those fabulous inspired fashions.  However, many ladies go for it anyway, not a good look for them, not to mention can be very distracting for the opponent from the other side.  At times, I feel a let should be allowed to be called for excessive giggle, improper bra fit-age and too much bouncing!  It is incredibly distracting sometimes even more so than a ball that rolled over from an adjacent court.  Perhaps ladies are doing it on purpose to distract me and my partner.... it works we talk about it in between every point!!!  ...But I digress.

Martina is quoted as saying "When you go out to play tennis, you want to feel nice.  You want to feel like a woman and know that your clothes won't let you down."  That's right ladies... don't let your clothes let you down!  Get the proper fitting tennis apparel.  You will look better, feel better and play better.  And your opponent will thank you!

 

This tank from Tonic can hide a multitude of sins ladies!  I love it.  Tonic tennis apparel can be found at tenniswarehouse.com.

Tonic Women's Spring Flux Adjustable Tank

Old School Skirts... Love them or Hate them?

Old School Skirts... Love them or Hate them?

Jelena Jankovic was sporting the new Fila Spring Heritage line this past week in Indian Wells. I totally understand where they came up with the name "Car Wash" dress.  It certainly does resemble a car wash.  Hummm... I can't come up with any body type that this style would flatter except for the under 15 age bracket.  When you head over to Midwest Sports, http://www.midwestsports.com/fila-womens-tennis-apparel/c/611/,  the entire collection, as a whole, looks kinda cute.  However, I'm not a huge fan of coral and blue together. Sorry Fila.  Maybe thats why this collection is already on sale.  Sounds like a great deal for all the tennis mom's out there.... go get your little girl this dress!  They will be super cute and super sassy.  

2. 18		J. Jankovic	6	2	5	2nd Round
   		S. Kuznetsova	0	6	7	Mar 8, Completed

1. 
   

   3		N. Petrova / K. Srebotnik	6	77		2nd Round
   		J. Jankovic / M. Lucic-Baroni	2	64		Mar 10, Completed
   		J. Jankovic / M. Lucic-Baroni	6	6		1st Round
   		E. Birnerova / D. Cibulkova	2	2		Mar 6, Completed

2013, Julia Goerges, Yaroslava Shvedova, Indian Wells, Fila

                               PS... Julia and Yaroslava sort of a hot mess, don't ya think???

A Great Day of Tennis--How the Right Mindset can be a Great Weapon

A Great Day of Tennis--How the Right Mindset can be a Great Weapon

What more can we ask for?  Playing tennis at the Isleworth Country Club, a beautiful sunny day (high of 70).  Mimosas in the morning as you are watching your friends play an amazing match.  The only bummer is that I'm sitting on the sidelines with a broken foot :(  But was there as the dutiful captain and cheerleader for my team.

The opponents this day were the number 1 team in our league.  I realized that it's just so exhilarating to go into a match feeling that you are quite possibly out of your league... That you are just going to do your best and hope that you keep it close.  Then to your amazement you actually pull out the second set and have forced what was thought the better team to go to a 3rd set.  No one should ever under estimate the level of pressure the 17-1 opponents, has on them.  They are suppose to win.  They have all the pressure.  My teammates, my friends just kept calm, had fun, played steady.  They didn't let the opponents get into their heads, in their minds they had already won simply by taking that second set, now they really had nothing to lose.  The third set was on, they stayed calm and just played one point at a time.  It's funny how everything you learn about the mental aspects of the game are true.   Even when you are maybe out matched in the physical aspects of the game... a good partnership and calm mind can win the toughest of matches!  Yay for my team~ up the entire 3rd set  3-6, 6-3, 6-3!!  What a great day! This is what club tennis is all about!  I love my team and this sport.

Yes, a great win for my teammates.  And to celebrate this great win, and to put us in an even better mindset, our team decided to have lunch at a great bistro on the west side of of Orlando: Yellow Dog Eats.   http://yellowdogeats.com

We had the most enjoyable lunch at this energetic bistro and wine bar in Windermere.  Not only was the tennis talk fabulous, so was the food, chardonnay and sangria.  We did have to drink our chardonnay out of a red neck wine glass, kinda heavy for my taste, but funny. :) We enjoyed delicious barbecue specials and the yummy "Holy Crap" and "Rufus" sandwiches.   This is a tennis teams must stop next time you are playing in Windermere.   Or take your husband for a Saturday lunch!! He will love it.  I'm definitely taking mine!  

  

What's all the hype about the Grunt-O-Meter??? I'm proposing a Bitch-O-Meter!!!

What's all the hype about the Grunt-O-Meter???  I'm proposing a Bitch-O-Meter!!!

"It's time for us to drive excessive grunting out of the game for future generations," WTA chairman and chief executive Stacey Allaster has stated.  I do believe that excess anything is not good for anyone or anything.  I also believe that many of these athletes like Sharapova, Azarenka, Wozniaki, or the Williams sisters have be trained in certain breathing techniques that help them with their game.  Can this grunting be considered in excess at this point?  Maybe!  Even Sharapovia has been quoted as saying...“Bottom line is, the right answer has been taken by the tour,” Sharapova told Reuters. “The WTA created a plan. That’s the smart way to go about it, rather than, like, taking someone’s forehand and grip in the middle of their career and telling them to change it.”  Sounds like we won't be hearing any objections or grunts from Maria on this matter anyway.  Very diplomatic Maria.  But I do believe there will not be a  shortage of grunts from Maria on the court this year.   

I personally, grunt at times, it was not something I was taught... it just happens.  Its not used as a intimidation technique either, which many club players feel that it is indeed used for that very reason.  It has contributed to many snarky looks, snide commits... Hey I'm just breathing~ don't get your panties all in a wad. Which brings me to my new proposition for ladies tennis at the club level.  Instead of a Grunt-O-Meter, I think we should have a Bitch~O~Meter.  A meter that determines when someone has reached an excessive amount of what would be considered a reasonable bitchyness level.  Like that lady who gets upset when she's feeling down or loosing and has to go to a third set, who calls for a line judge every match.  Every single time~  what's up with that?  I say that's excessive Bitchyness!  Or how about one of your own team mates, you know the one... the one who complains all the time... about clinic, about the pro, about the number of people there or not there, "I don't wanna play with that girl", "I will only play with that other girl"   I say slap that girl with a Bitch-O-Meter fine of about $50 and maybe that will shut her up.  Or how about the lady that stands at the net and won't back up as you keep beaming your net volleys in her direction?  I say back up (of course I don't tell her that during the match, I'm just thinking it)  she proceeds to call you a bully, blames you and says you are using her as a target.   Not right... that is just another bitchy tactic used when they are not winning!  
Maybe the WTA needs a grunt~o~meter, but we at the club level... we need a Bitch~O~Meter!!  Lets get rid of the excessive Bitchyness!!!