Hey all

I have just finished training Christina and Stefi with Jimmy in Bolton before they go on to Bath and Jersey! It went really well and after such an intense training camp in America they have come on leaps and bounds, just need to keep up all the strength training and putting in the hard work and we will all keep seeing big improvements in their games. The big thing now is for the players to use all of this training and mental strength on the match court and bring the confidence from the training camp to the match court!

I loved my time working along side Jez. It opened my eyes to new ideas and ways of training and I now feel confident on what my goals are for the players physically in the year to come. It brought back funny memories of when I did the 400s and all the other tough sessions and how sickening and tiring it can be! I was really pleased how both of them approached the camp and were so hard working with no moaning and as they got more confident the competitiveness started to show. I was extremely lucky to get this experience and work hands on and learn from one of the best and I soaked as much information up as I could. What was funny is how much food the girls had to take in because of all the calories they were burning. One time Stefi was sat by the pool and was stuffing the last bit of her sushi in her mouth and was talking to us saying how she used to love eating and now she is never hungry because she always has to eat and it’s just something she has to do. I felt sympathy thinking of how much food they were eating just to keep level with the energy they were putting out (around 3500 calories a day). If they didn’t you were punished out in training because if you don’t intake the right amount of calories you will start feeling light headed and weak when half way through a 400s session (as Christina experienced) and you have to finish it somehow.

Hey guys,  it´s Christina and this is my first blog, since i joined the MCTA Group.

I am now back in England, after a successful week in Costa Rica.

When we arrived in Costa Rica we were very pleased, that somebody from the tournament came to pick us up, but it was a pretty crazy journey because they drove like absolute animals. :-P

It was a lot windier than I thought it would be, which made it even harder to get my rhythm back after not playing for 2 weeks, because of the training camp.

The first 2 matches were not very pretty at all, my legs were very stiff and my arm just couldn't loosen up, I just tried focused well and keep it simple.

It seems then that the benchmark for greatness is number of Grand Slams won – equivalent to majors in golf. That has been determined by the public, media, sponsors and players alike. Contrast that to rugby and cricket and you will find that greatness is determined by how well you perform for your country.

The reality is that the importance of Davis Cup (and alarmingly Olympics) comes second after Grand Slams…. “HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!” Surely the pinnacle of any sport should be to play for your country? Well I agree but it does not happen that way in tennis.