Anne Keothavong blog: From Warsaw

Apologies, it’s been a while since my last blog but I promise to be better at it over the next few weeks!

I’m in Warsaw now and I’m getting ready for the qualifying event to kick off this weekend. Last year I did really well here and made the semi-finals so I have good memories of this place. The clay courts here are heavy and slow, which I prefer as I find it easier to move on and I don’t mind grinding for that bit longer so hopefully it’ll work to my advantage again.

I’ve played two clay court tournaments previous to this in Fez, (Morocco) and Rome, (Italy). I produced some good tennis in Fez but it was a bit of rush getting to Rome and I failed to qualify there. After my loss in the quarter-finals of Fez, I had to find a way of getting to Rome in time for my qualifying match. There were no flights that evening so we had to take a four-hour car journey to Casablanca. I didn’t have time to sit down and have a proper meal that night so Pringles from a service station had to do on our way there. It wasn’t ideal but I felt like it was the safest option! I managed to get a few hours sleep that night before my flight to Rome and when I got there I had to play a match that very afternoon. It’s not something I’ve had to do before but fortunately, my opponent wasn’t very experienced and I got through fairly comfortably. I was pretty tired though and my performance the following day suffered.

Last year, before my injury, I didn’t have to go through the qualifying rounds of any of the tournaments I competed in as my ranking was a lot higher. Right now, it’s a different story and it’s a constant fight to get my ranking back up to where I want to be. The two tournaments I’m glad I don’t have to qualify for though are the French Open and Wimbledon, which I’m really pleased about. I’m in the draw for both Slams on merit without the need to use my protected ranking or a wild card and considering I was out of the game for six months, I think that’s a good effort. Now, I just have to win matches there!

If you haven’t noticed already, I’ve been wearing Wilson clothing and shoes for matches and training. Girls and women who want to look stylish and feminine should look out for it in sports shops as I really recommend it, it’s super comfortable too ;-)

Enjoy the rest of your week and I’ll be blogging more frequently from now on so keep checking back for all the latest news.

Anne