I went up to the Delaware Paddle Barn, one of my favorite places to play, joining the power ladies and a friendly gentleman in some solid games. The man definitely had a much longer wing span than the rest of us making it tough to get much past him but the challenge was fun and the games were good.
This group I played with had a high probability of a lot of fastballs. I wanted to try to diffuse that as much as possible so I kept practicing my serve, trying to keep it deep and kind of loopy. I’d like to be able to do the same with my return but I was a little less successful with that because their serves have more power. For me to come around on it and do exactly what I want when it’s zipping along is tricky.
Tonight, despite saying it had to wait, I actually used my V2 icon in 2 games. I wanted to see what it felt like. I was nervous about using it because it is heavier than my paddle. It’s also skinnier than my paddle, longer than my paddle, and has a longer handle than my paddle, which means it’s not actually a longer paddle face, it is just longer because of the handle.
I don’t really need a longer handle. I don’t hit a two-hand backhand so it’s kind of a waste, but it is a very pretty paddle. It definitely plays different than the paddle I use. When I got it out of the box I thought oh my gosh, this is an Invikta Power Air, which is pure power and no touch. But thankfully it didn’t play like the Invikta. It has an interesting feel to it.
I love my white icon but I hate the yellow stain on it. It bugs me so much but I’ve tried to remove the stain and nothing takes it off. Anyway, I used it most of the night. There were a couple of times where I just kind of flipped the switch and did stuff that even surprised me. I did get to dink a little bit but not enough for an ATP opportunity.
These girls I play against are more of a power game. They do drop and they do set up shots, but it is a lot more power than I usually see and hopefully more power than I will see against the people my age.
I swear, I think the one girl could dunk a basketball. She hit a ball tonight that was super impressive. She was in a squat position, jumped so high, reached up and put away an overhead that was just unreal. Even when I was young I don’t think I could have jumped that high from basically a sitting position.
I got caught a lot in the middle with one gal. We didn’t communicate and I think that could really hurt me because there’s a chance I’m going to be playing with people that maybe don’t play with lefties a lot.
The key is to have good communication. I’m so comfortable leaving it for the righty to take, especially if they have tennis background. I want them to feel comfortable to rip it but they don’t know that about me so it ends up dropping between us.
I got a t-shirt from the barn and I’m super excited to have that because I spend so much time there. I’ll definitely wear it at the Combine to show where I’ve been treated so well and given so many opportunities to improve my game.
