SF Tennis Freak

My name is Kevin, and my first memories of tennis were of watching Arthur Ashe win Wimbledon back in 1975. I was in 5th grade and I knew two things from that point onward. The first was that I absolutely had to visit Wimbledon, the second was that I wanted to play this game. And now having done both my life is still far from complete when it comes to tennis. I want to continue seeing as much of it as I can, playing as much as my body will allow, and engage lively discussion/debate about all aspects of the game with friends.

Welcome to my first official steps in the direction of the last one.  This blog is the first step towards a hopeful transition to doing more of the thing I love as maybe part of a career change.  Who knows.  We’ll see.  For now it’s just all about putting it out there and enjoying the conversation.

Some other stats/info:

• I play on a USTA adult league team as a 4.0, though there are some days when I feel like a 3.0.
• I’m pursuing certification as a USTA official.
• I play with Head Youtek Speed MP 315 racquets (18×20), and feel like they’re great racquets to help me in terms of control. They are also pretty forgiving, which is good in terms of my technique AND my body. I string my racquets with a hybrid stringing of Wilson NXT 16g in the crosses and Wilson Stamina 17g in the mains, at 53lb. Yes, they are the same racquets that Novak Djokovic uses.  I often find myself grunting like him on some of my ground strokes!
• Tournaments I have been to include Wimbledon, the SAP Open, the Bank of the West, and the Sony Ericsson Open.
• My favorite current male players to watch are Djokovic, Federer, Murray,  Nadal, Federer, Ferrer and Del Potro.  My favorite current female players are Serena Williams, Radwanska, Schiavone and Bartoli.
• I play tennis because I love it!  Winning matches is all well and good, but as long as I can hit the ball where I want it, how I want to hit it, and hit that shot at the time I want to hit it, everything else is gravy! 🙂