Robin Anderson of Matawan, N.J., graduated from UCLA last year after earning All-America honors in both singles and doubles for the fourth consecutive year, becoming the seventh player in school history to accomplish the feat. Anderson, who was named the ITA National Collegiate Player of the Year for the 2014-15 season, was part of UCLA’s NCAA title-winning team in 2014. After graduating, the 23-year-old won the American Collegiate Invitational, a tournament held at the US Open for the top U.S. college players. Since then, her WTA ranking has been on the rise, and she is currently at a career-high No. 195 in the world.
Anderson has had great success competing on the USTA Pro Circuit this year, with results that include reaching the final of the $100,000 event in Midland, Mich., in February and advancing to the semifinals of the $25,000 tournament in Jackson, Miss., in April. She is currently in Dothan, Ala., to compete in the $50,000 Hardee's Pro Classic, the first women's event of the USTA Pro Circuit Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge. In her blog below, she talks about arriving in Dothan, her preparation for the tournament and much more.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Hi everyone! It's Robin Anderson here, blogging from Dothan, Ala., the first stop on the USTA Pro Circuit Roland Garros Wild Card challenge!
I arrived in Dothan on Saturday afternoon, using the travel day as a day off after training last week at the USTA in Boca. I've spent the past two days practicing with some of the other players and playing points as well as getting some individual work with my coach, Roger Anderson.
Today marked the start of main-draw competition as well as the final round of qualifying. Since I drew a qualifier in the first round, I used the day to further prepare myself to compete. My day started off with playing a practice set at 10 a.m. It was a great opportunity for me to implement some of the shots I was working on last week. After practice, I saw Team USA physio Bobby Walls for stretching and treatment. With the amount of work we put in, it's important to take care of our bodies.
After the morning session, I grabbed lunch at Panera Bread with fellow American, Bernarda Pera. We both got in a good, healthy meal to fuel up for our afternoon sessions.
When I returned to the courts, I had time before my next hit, so I watched some of the matches that were being played, including my teammate at UCLA, Jenny Brady, playing against Catalina Pella of Argentina. Here's a shot from their match below:
After Jenny's match, I had a short practice with Roger. I did some feeds and a few drills just to fine-tune some shots for tomorrow. I had a pretty solid hit, so hopefully that carries over into my match.
After the work day, I went back to the house (staying in housing this week) and showered. I've been resting and getting in some more good fuel to prepare myself for a long day tomorrow. I play second on after 10 a.m. for singles and fourth on for doubles with USC's Sabrina Santamaria, my cross-town rival for four years.
The weather has been perfect, and the tournament has been running smoothly so far. I'm excited to compete, and hopefully I can extend my stay here in Dothan as long as possible!
Hope y'all have enjoyed! Thanks for reading!
Robin Anderson