racket sports, a speciality. Otherwise, anything quirky! Former real tennis champ and tennis tournament player. London based.
More About Me
Real Tennis at Queen's Club
Koh Lanta, Thailand
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 Queen’s Club Fever Tree Championships, Tuesday 19 June.
https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/articles/murray-vs-krygios-special-court-side/
This article appeared in Givemesport.com
It’s the scandal that shocked the cricket world and two months on, it is still a hot topic of debate.
Read MoreThis article appeared in Givemesport.com
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 More
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
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.
‘Robert?’
‘Yes, do I know you?’
He looked puzzled, embarrassed.
‘Err, hang on..’
But why would he after so long? We were both drunk, it was a one-off, and it was dark in that cramped car.
‘It’s Kate.’
He still didn’t register.
‘Don’t worry, it’s been a long time. I take it these boys are yours? They look just like you, that pudding bowl haircut you used to have.’
We get beyond our 50’s 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 it’s depressing. Read More
and a mere club game in Bordeaux! Jacques Pouyot finishes with a winning gallery…
My friend Scott Barclay’s article on that disgraceful opening ceremony. The organisers have apologised but what were they thinking?
Usually, I’m 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 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 hadn’t, and was pretty desperate to do so before he retired.
And then I came across William Skidelsky’s book ‘Federer and Me, a Story of an Obsession’. It’s 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 there’s no chance of seeing him at the rival tournament at Queen’s). And, unlike Queen’s, there’s a sliding roof so play is guaranteed in the main stadium where they naturally schedule all his matches. Read More
(I have interviewed the Mistress, Her House Slave, Her P.A., a Freudian Psychoanalyst and a sex therapist for a comprehensive article on this subject.)
(the word Mistress and related pronouns are traditionally in capital letters)
A friend told me one day – ‘I have a really interesting opportunity. If I tell you, promise not to laugh.’ I duly promised. ‘I’m going to be helping a Dominatrix. It’s mostly personal assistant work, answering the phone, taking bookings, optimising the website etc. It’s also a really great writing opportunity.’ Read More
“This is a recipe from the tribal territories,” he booms in his usual stentorian fashion. I suppose it’s because he was a Major in the army in Pakistan.
“You Brits never use enough spice” he carries on, tipping a waterfall of ground coriander into the bubbling tomatoes. No wonder those Asian supermarkets sell spices in such huge quantities. Read More
‘Traveleyes’ is an intriguing travel concept geared towards both blind and sighted travellers. Swopping on a daily basis, blind and sighted people are paired up, the sighted ones guiding and explaining what they see. It’s a brilliant way to wake up all our senses: smell the game in Africa, sniff perfumes in a perfume house in France, feel snow crunching underfoot, smell spices in Morocco, taste Italian cuisine and experience the world through a blind person’s perceptions. These tours tend to attract solo travellers, a lot of whom are single or who simply decide to leave their partners at home! The sighted people also get a considerable discount on the trips.
Can’t wait to go on one!
I recently went back to the Calais Jungle as a volunteer for the third time within the last twelve months.
(photograph by Katrina Allen)
So, what’s changed during that time?
Well, when I was first there last October, there were an estimated 5,000 migrants at the camp. According to a census a couple of weeks ago, conducted by two of the charities helping out, the numbers have now reached 9,000, with a 29% increase in just one month and around 70 new arrivals every day.
This article first appeared in Languedoc Living in June 2016
by Katrina Allen
“Get yourself to Halle” urges William Skidelsky in his excellent book “Federer and Me”.
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 don’t even like tennis.
Pancho Gonzales once said of Pete Sampras: “He moves on oil”. Nothing like Roger he didn’t, but then Pancho was no longer alive when Fed. really came into his own.
The Gerry Weber Open – 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 isn’t a big name in tennis history but that’s because we aren’t talking about our game but a different form of tennis “the original game, invented in the 12th century by the French” explains Katrina Allen, who is working at GWO at a journalist. “It’s a complicated game with complicated rules”. But this is what inspired her. “The sport is very challenging. The court is massive, the balls hard and the wooden rackets heavy. “I loved all that” 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. “This 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.” Roger was the only top ten player she hadn’t seen so she has finally ticked him off her list.
