I ended my last article in Valencia, where I was going to play an ITF W15 tournament.
I will immediately tell the subsequent story – both on and off the court – and also that from the next W15, played in Melilla. But, before, I would like to quote Sorana, who after reaching the semi-finals of the Miami tournament said in an interview for Tennis Channel:
We are not defined by numbers. I love what I’m doing and as long as I still enjoy what I do, I will be here.
When I read her interview I didn’t fully understand the meaning of what she said above, but now, after the less pleasant experiences I’ve been through this year, I totally do.
I was thinking too much about my ranking, the number of points that I needed in order to reach top 300 and I had forgotten to enjoy being on court and playing without any pain.
But after the two consecutive injuries [the first one, the second one] I lost a lot of ranking positions in these few months, but instead I found again the pleasure of being on court and the peace of mind off court.
So, I will consider this second part of my career a new beginning and I will try, together with my team, to take advantage of the experience that I have accumulated so far. In any case, I will enjoy every moment and I will learn from defeats and victories as well. I will cherish every progress – even a small one – in my further professional development.
I started the first tournament with a busy Tuesday: one singles and one doubles match. I won both by pretty categorical scores. In singles I found a pretty good pace for a tournament start.
I was gradually finding my routine, getting used to the atmosphere of the tournament.
I followed up with another singles win but lost in the quarter finals after a 3 hour battle.
But, I continued in doubles where I won together with Inês Murta the 33rd ITF doubles title [you can find the statistics of the titles I won, in the article, where I wrote about the previous one].
Together with Inês, Doubles Champions in Valencia
We didn’t have time to enjoy this victory, because we had to plan our departure for the next day. We were going to play in the same country, but changing the continent: in Melilla, Spain’s exclave on the African coast.
Our travel itinerary was to drive to Malaga (about 6 hours) and then take the ferryboat for another 6 hours. So, our day off turned into a long 14-hour trip. Apart from Inês, I travelled together with Chantal Sauvant and Laura Boehner, so the journey was pleasant.
Together with Inês on the ferryboat
The Melilla tournament was a chaotic one, but most of them are like that, don’t they?
A first match where I didn’t feel neither my game, neither the rackets, the balls, but I fought and managed to turn the score around and then win it. A second one, where I gradually got into my rhythm. Next up was a third match against the 1st seeded, Chantal Sauvant. I fought well, found a good tactic and got a victory that pleased me.
But in the semifinals, I couldn’t maintain the level in the match against the teammate with whom I won the doubles title the previous week.
From one day to the next, everything changed. Was it a temporary mental breakdown or a physical one? Probably both, although physically I felt good during these two weeks. The knee and wrist reacted very well, no pain, no swelling.
But probably the body needed more time to adapt for more consecutive matches. I will analyze in detail the causes of this fall, together with my coach and the physical trainer, and we will apply the necessary corrections.
Anyway, even though the score was as harsh as possible, I tried to remain affected as little as possible. With the support of my close ones, I overcame the difficult moment, remembering what I was talking about above: to learn from defeats, to be happy that I am healthy and to continue my work.
The pleasure of playing official matches is still there and I love tennis just as much even after a harsh defeat.
Or even more, because during the injury period, I realized that this sport is my calling and if I don’t play, it’s like I’m not me anymore. And if I want to pass on my experience to new generations after I finish my career, personal example will count to a great extent.
It is interesting that again I shared the room with my next opponent. Towards the end of the tournament, not only there are less players on the draw, but also in the rooms, so those who remain are folding, in order to pay less.
That’s why Inês moved in my room. We went together dining and before the match we warmed up together.
If I was to make fun of this situation and especially of its denouement, I would say that she did cast a spell on me while I was sleeping.
I’m also proud after these two weeks because I didn’t panic about the financial side. There would have been reasons, because the organizers of the tournament in Valencia informed us that they will pay the prize money only after two weeks and not in a few days, like at most of the tournaments. We discussed in a previous article the similar case of the Australian player Destanee Aiava in one of the previous articles.
I remained calm – I said to myself that if I panic, it will be the same – although my bank account and cash were close to zero. With the help of Călin Moga, the owner of the club where I am registered, my parents and my best friend, I got out of this impasse.
I arrived on the Otopeni Airport with 20 euros in my pocket and 20 in my account – much more than Destanee at that time – but happy to have returned home.
Anyway, the 1,000 euros I won at the two tournaments, may help me travel to the first two tournaments that I will play in 2024, on another continent.
Here I want to add parenthetically that I did not start this website in order to ask for money, not even through the platforms – “Buy me a Coffee” and others – that many bloggers turn to for donations. And I didn’t change my mind, because the idea was to share my experiences with young people and to familiarize you, tennis fans, with life on the ITF circuit.
But if someone wants to help, you know where to find me, that is, on one of this website’s social media accounts.
Now I am at the end of a journey of 27 hours, during which I changed 4 means of transport – ferry, bus, taxi, plane, i.e. a marathon at sea, land and in the air.
I will relax for a few days and after that I will resume my work, so that the road of return continues with small but constant progress. I am grateful that I am healthy, so I’m able to continue to do my job, playing tennis at the professional level.
