https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/articles/wimbledon-qualifying-second-round/
đŸWe have an exclusive court-Side snippet with @katrinaallen21 from the @QueensTennis đŸ#FeverTreeChampionships #QueensTennis #courtside #tennis #Exclusive pic.twitter.com/DVKG89Jtq0
— Wimbledon Debenture Holders (@WDH_Tennis) June 22, 2018
This article appeared in Diva Magazine in June 2018
Back in 2014, I wrote an article for Diva Magazine about Amélie Mauresmo, a former World No 1 tennis player. She had just been appointed coach to Andy Murray, which rocked the tennis world since it was the first time a woman, let alone a lesbian, had coached a top ten male player.
Read MoreThis article appears on the Wimbledon Debentures website
https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/
Murray vs Krygios at The Queenâs Club Fever Tree Championships, Tuesday 19 June.
https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/articles/murray-vs-krygios-special-court-side/
This article appeared in Givemesport.com
- by Katrina Allen
Rafael Nadal has just won his 11th Roland Garros title at the age of 32.
Roger Federer, at the age of 36, is favourite to win this year’s Wimbledon.
These two players have won all the Grand Slam titles between them since Melbourne last year and appear to be unbeatable.
So, who might be future contenders for those Slam titles?
Read MoreThe Queenâs Club, London
24 April 2018
Rob Fahey vs Camden Riviere
DAY ONE
A taster â from the previous world championships
Camden Riviere was here to defend his title! Fahey was very much the underdog, mostly due to the considerable age difference. You can train as much as you like but giving away nearly 20 years is a pretty tall order. Read More
The Queen’s Club, London
April 2018
Real Tennis World Championship
DAY TWO
photo : wikimedia commons
For the first day’s report go to Day One
What an extraordinary day’s play! Rob looked finished at the end of day one where he managed to win the first set and then appeared to run out of steam.
Today, he came out looking fresh and squeezed the first set in a tight 6-5. He then managed to take the second with a real nail-biting 6-4 which made them level at three sets all.
A Site (sic) for Sore EyesâŠ
We get beyond our 50âs and start to collect injuries: bad backs, tennis elbow, dodgy knees, and then the eyes start to go. That bit has only hit me in the last few years and itâs depressing. Read More
and a mere club game in Bordeaux! Jacques Pouyot finishes with a winning gallery…
by Katrina Allen
This article appeared in  LanguedocLiving  July 2017
Usually, Iâm really sad when Wimbledon finishes but this year I was particularly sad, and not for the usual reasons. Read More
This article first appeared on Campden Hill LTC Â Website, May 2017.
Halle (The Gerry Weber Open) Tournament, Katrina Allen
Have you been lucky enough to see the sublime Roger Federer play live? This time last year, I hadnât, and was pretty desperate to do so before he retired.
And then I came across William Skidelskyâs book âFederer and Me, a Story of an Obsessionâ. Itâs a brilliant read, both funny and informative but, best of all, in his chapter about the German tournament in Halle, he revealed how I might realise my dream. For this is where Federer plays his Wimbledon warm-up and where he has a lifetime contract (so thereâs no chance of seeing him at the rival tournament at Queenâs). And, unlike Queenâs, thereâs a sliding roof so play is guaranteed in the main stadium where they naturally schedule all his matches. Read More
This article first appeared in Languedoc Living in June 2016
Halle Tennis
by Katrina Allen
âGet yourself to Halleâ urges William Skidelsky in his excellent book âFederer and Meâ.
Like the author, I am a complete Roger Federer nut. Why? Because he is the most beautiful, elegant and creative tennis player there has surely ever been. I get goose bumps just thinking about his game.
(photo: Katrina Allen)
Like a Muhammad Ali or a David Beckham, he transcends his sport, adored by people who donât even like tennis.
Pancho Gonzales once said of Pete Sampras: âHe moves on oilâ. Nothing like Roger he didnât, but then Pancho was no longer alive when Fed. really came into his own.
The Gerry Weber Open â Der Besondere Profi
THE SPECIAL PRO.
Real Tennis player, Katrina Allen, is at the GWO (The Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany) for the first time.
She was the World no. 1. She took part in the British, Australian, US and French Open tournaments in both singles and doubles and she won them all.
She isnât a big name in tennis history but thatâs because we arenât talking about our game but a different form of tennis âthe original game, invented in the 12th century by the Frenchâ explains Katrina Allen, who is working at GWO at a journalist. âItâs a complicated game with complicated rulesâ. But this is what inspired her. âThe sport is very challenging. The court is massive, the balls hard and the wooden rackets heavy. âI loved all thatâ says the Londoner. Today Real Tennis is not particularly well-known and is played in only a few countries.
Katrina has come to Halle just to be at the GWO. âThis tournament is like a festival. I have been at many major tennis tournaments, but none as impressive as this one. The atmosphere is great, very relaxed and informal. My main reason for coming was to see Roger Federer. He is just wonderful, an exceptional player.â Roger was the only top ten player she hadnât seen so she has finally ticked him off her list.
The French Open Tennis, Roland Garros 2016
by Katrina Allen.
This article first appeared in Languedoc Living in June 2016.
(photograph by Katrina Allen)
So, yet again, no French singles winner, male or female, at Roland Garros. The last man to do so was Yannick Noah, so cherished by the French, back in 1983. As for the women, the nervy and somewhat histrionic Mary Pierce won in 2000 but she was Canadian-born and raised in the States so Iâm not sure that really counts. The French probably think it does as the previous winner was Francoise Durr back in 1967 and I expect they were a bit desperate. For a âFrench womanâ Iâve never heard such a deeply-entrenched American accent.
Â
LâEquipe 20/06/2016   http://bit.ly/28InNlN
Translated by Katrina Allen
katrinaallen.co.uk
@katrinaallen21
The Queenâs Club Tournament: Andy Murray wins for the 5th time.
The Scot, Andy Murray, triumphed at Queenâs for the 5th time in his career by beating Milos Raonic on Sunday.
Murray has now overtaken several outstanding former champions: John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and Roy Emerson, each one a four times winner. His previous triumphs were in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015. This time he beat Milos Raonic (6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in 2h12) in the final. The match didnât start well for the Scot (a recent finalist at Roland Garros). Everything rested on the serve in the first set and the Canadianâs was impenetrable (72% on his first serve) and Murray, although fairly strong himself in this department, lost it in the tie-break.
Lendl left before the prize-giving
Raonic was the more rested of the two players, having had quick wins in his previous two matches, whereas Murray struggled over three sets in his quarter final against Edmund and then against Cilic in the semis. Raonic forged on, going 3-0 up in the second set. And then his game started breaking down. A few moments of doubt, particularly on the volley, (3/10 in the second set),  producing just two aces, and the world no. 9 lost his way. Murray, always solid on the serve, was rewarded each time in his six approaches to the net. As Murray started reading the ball better, the Canadian couldnât come up with any solutions. Murray got back to 2-3 and then romped away with the match. He won 5 games in a row to go 5-3 up and pocketed the set at the first time of asking.
In a flawless display, Murray broke in the first game of the third set and closed it out on his third match point. This is the British manâs 37th career title. Since the beginning of this tournament, Ivan Lendl has been re-appointed as Murrayâs coach while Lendlâs old rival John McEnroe was in the other playerâs box, as Raonicâs new coach. For some strange reason, as Murray lifted the trophy, Lendl disappeared from sight. No matter. Andy Murray did what he had to and can go into Wimbledon in a weekâs time with confidence.
From the viewing gallery (the “dedans”)
This article appeared in the Wild Tomato Magazine, Nelson, N.Z. where I lived for a number of years.
A Kid in Sport Stays out of Court – Wild Tomato Magazine; by Katrina Allen.
 I recently spotted a slogan on some dilapidated wall on Rutherford Street: âA kid in sport stays out of courtâ. That saying may be old hat to Kiwis but it struck a chord with me.
I was reminded of that slogan a few days later while I was playing a gentle game of tennis doubles at the courts in Richmond. I later learned that this was, in fact, the main Nelson tennis training centre for the juniors. On the court next to us there were four teenage boys also playing doubles. However, their game was somewhat more energetic; grunting in theatrical fashion with every stroke and grinning broadly when they outwitted one another with a cunning passing shot. They could have saved a good deal of energy and played a little more within themselves but that wasnât really the point. They were having a great time and ridding themselves of a huge amount of testosterone into the bargain. They probably had no need to get âhammeredâ down Bridge Street that night.
The thing about sports like tennis is that you can play them into your dotage. With team sports like rugby or soccer, for example, kids get beyond school years and then usually just stop, unless they are particularly talented and, letâs face it, most of us arenât â which means sporting activity often goes out the window and Bridge Street beckons.
With tennis all you need is one opponent, a racket, a few balls, and a court, of which there are a number of free public ones around Nelson.
So, having just arrived in Nelson, I wondered why those free courts were so under-utilised.
Most of our friends had young kids and they were really keen for them to get involved in tennis but there seemed to be very few coaching opportunities. OK there was one great coaching weekend for kids in which I helped out but that wasnât repeated the following year.
And then I heard through the grapevine that a new tennis coach with the rather grand title of âTennis Development Officerâ had arrived to try and do something about all this â her name was Lynnie Nevin. A few weeks later I heard that was she was running a programme for kids … and then Lynnieâs name seemed to be everywhere. In fact, she seemed to have exploded onto the scene.
Her first very canny step was to offer a couple of free coaching weekends to some 2,500 school-kids and, as a result, the courts were swarming with them. They were aged from about 5-13 years and just loved it â happy kids and lots of happy parents! Lynnie has a way with kids (and adults too, incidentally). She makes tennis fun, is incredibly supportive and positive, and is an amazing role model. She looks absurdly fit and happy in her job and her attitude is infectious. Actually, just being in her presence seems to make people feel fit and happy.
The thing is, Lynnieâs aim is not to find proteÌgeÌs and turn them into Wimbledon champions (although Iâm sure she wouldnât mind if she stumbled across the right candidate) but she makes the game inclusive even for those with virtually no ball sense. Unlike many coaches (and some tennis parents for that matter), she doesnât need that sort of reflected glory. Her aim is actually to get as many people as possible, young and old, involved and out there enjoying the game. She has had an incredible effect in the short time she has been here. In just three years since she arrived on the local scene, new courts have been built and there are programmes galore. Coaching programmes are now being offered at Motueka, Mapua, and Tapawera; the Golden Bay club membership has gone from zero to over 100.
In fact, if Lynnie did find a potential champ, sheâd probably do something like pass them onto John Gardiner, our regional coach who handles the really serious stuff (or to be more precise, he runs the Nelson Bays Tennis Association Regional Development Programme). Johnâs one of those strong silent types who naturally commands respect â I suspect the juniors are more than a little in awe of him. Some friends of mine who live in Christchurch fly their boys up for regular coaching because they approve of the way he teaches them not just how to play and compete, but to do so with grace.
The press goes on about lack of success at international level, but what would we rather have; one Wimbledon winner (which, granted, would put NZ on the sporting map) or a whole community of kids in sport and staying out of court? Well I suppose if we were really honest, it would be nice to have both.
For more information about tennis coaching and events in the Nelson region go to: www.tennisnelson.co.nz or contact Lynnie at lynnie@tennisnelson.co.nz or 03 547-0971.
@katrinaallen21
I finally made it to the O2 ATP tennis event last week. A shoot-out between the top 8 men. It seemed so promising. Read More