Texas March UTR @ BARC

I had a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) tournament on Saturday, March 17-18, 2018. It was called the UTR Circuit#1. It was played at Bay Area Racquet Club. UTR tournament matches are based on ratings, not genders or age. So, it'll be fun playing against different people.

I was really excited to play in this tournament. I was going to be playing singles and doubles. The excitement put me in a really happy and positive state of mind. It took the nerves away and made me feel very confident. It is really hard to be in this state of mind before a tournament because of the competition and nerves. The good thing is, if you really love tennis, you probably will or have been in that state. If you have, you know how much more it makes you love tennis.

I'm not ready, but it's too late to turn back now.

My first opponent was Timur Esenaliev. He started off pretty consistent, letting me make the error. Sometimes, I would out rally him which earned me a couple games. In the second set, I stayed patient because he started making a lot of unforced errors. This led to a 10-point tiebreaker. It ended up a success! I won 5-7, 6-1, (10-2 in the tiebreaker.)

I really needed to carry the momentum from that win into the next matches in this tournament. It would help a lot. But before my next match, I rested a little and ate a lot of fruit for energy, protein, and carbohydrates. Then, it was time to play.

It's a classic position...

My second opponent was Heintje Unson. He was very aggressive in his game. He was very motivated to play. He also came with very powerful shots that overpowered me. He hit a lot of clean winners with his attacks. He made me do a lot of forced errors as well. A loss of 4-6, 2-6 was the outcome.

This loss hurt a lot more than other losses because I feel like I missed my chance. I didn't play the way I know I can. I played with no variety or plan. It really upset me and made me lose my self-confidence.

​I had one more singles match on Sunday, so that was my last singles match for the day. Next was my doubles match.

Always shake hands...

For doubles, my partner was Roshin Kamath, a friend and a classmate from tennis practice. We were playing Jill Legato and Chase Turley. It was a really fun match with a lot of volleys! Sometimes we would do really long rallies. It was a good match. Roshin and I won 8-4 (pro set).

Today was a fun day full of happiness and sadness. Sunday was still to come though! I can't choke up just yet. I still  have one more chance for singles since it was a UTR!

Priyanka and Lauren also came to watch.

It is now Sunday, March 18, 2018 and I am about to start my singles match. I ate some food for energy so I don't get fatigued. I warmed-up and took note of some strategies and tactics I could use during my match. Then, I heard my name loud and clear from the speakers.

My third opponent was Dylan Whited. He was a really consistent and patient player that was not afraid to attack whenever he get's the chance. In the first set I was able to out rally him back at the base line but in the second set it didn't work out so well for me. This led to a 10-point tiebreaker. I could tell he felt confident because he was not holding back and he was not afraid to attack. In the end, I lost 4-6, 6-1, 10-6 (in the tiebreaker).

Oh, the disappointment! Oh, the grief! It was hard to hold it in. I could feel the salty tears in my eyes. I couldn't give up just yet though. There's more tennis to come, the last doubles match was still to come. I needed to keep myself together.

My dad always supports me.

Yep, it's him again!

My partner, Roshin Kamath, and I were playing Joshua Lup and Thomas Gu in the finals. They had really smart patterns and usually out played us. We lost 3-8 (pro set); but, it was still a fun, learning experience for us!

It was a really interesting and enjoyable tournament for me. I feel like the disappointment turned into motivation in the end. I had to put this behind me and keep moving forward. It was just part of my tennis, my life.

​Lot's of love,
Karina Zaharieva