My experience at the end of the summer of 2009 is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. It all started when I won the 18 and under USTA National Championships held in Berkeley, California. As a result of winning both the singles and doubles, I was directly awarded maindraw wildcards into both the women’s singles and doubles of the US Open. This was something I had been dreaming of ever since I was a little girl, so words could not describe how excited and thrilled I was.
My family and I live only twenty minutes from the US Open site at Flushing Meadows, and each year since I was ten we would eagerly go and watch the matches. However, this past year when I walked into the facility to practice a couple days prior, I felt like a little kid going in there for the first time because I was just so excited to be one of the participants in the actual event. It was surreal to be eating lunch in the player’s lounge surrounded by my favorite players such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, etc.
After the official draw ceremony, I found out that I had drawn Polona Hercog from Slovenia. We were scheduled for the second day, fourth match on court number seven. The morning of my match I remember waking up and having to actually tell myself that it wasn’t a dream and that I would actually be playing in the US Open later that day.
We headed over to the courts to get a quick hit and a light lunch, and before I knew it my match was being called. The entire walk to the courts escorted by security was extremely nerve racking, but once I got to the courts and saw my whole family and all the people from my club and town sitting in the stands, I couldn’t help but smile and relax. I fed off the energy from the crowd, and I could not have played any better. I beat my opponent, Hercog, 6-3 6-1. It was an absolutely incredible feeling to have so many people supporting and cheering for me.
Later that day I discovered that my second round opponent would be Maria Sharapova. It felt so weird to me that I would be competing against someone who I had watched so many times on t.v. and who had won three grand slams. I had a day in between my next singles match, but on that day off my doubles partner and I played our first round against the number one seeds and defending champions, Liezel Huber and Cara Black. Although we lost 6-2 6-2, it was a great learning experience for us both.
Later that night, the schedule for the next day came out, and it was determined that I would be playing the feature match at 7 p.m. on Arthur Ashe Stadium against Maria Sharapova. I must have stared at the schedule for five straight minutes because I still could not believe it. They next day I just kept feeling rushes of nerves and excitement. My coaches and family tried to keep me as calm and relaxed as possible, but I had never before had remotely any experience playing on such a big stage.
The last scheduled day match kept lingering on, and it wasn’t until 8:30 p.m. that our match was called. As I walked out onto Arthur Ashe Stadium to the Black Eyed Peas song “I Gotta Feeling”, I remember looking around and being absolutely amazed that all these 20,000 people had all come to watch the match between Sharapova and I.
My nerves got the best of me in the match and I lost 6-2 6-1. There was however one forehand return winner that I distinctly remember hitting where the crowd just erupted, and it was like nothing I had ever felt before. I wish I could have played a little better in this match, but my entire US Open experience was just amazing. It left me even more motivated and determined that this is where I want to be and this is what I want to be doing.
Just two days ago I actually won the French Open wildcard tournament held in Boca Raton, Florida. The USTA and the French Tennis Federation exchange one maindraw wildcard for their respective grand slams. I am absolutely elated and cannot wait now to head to Paris later this month for my French Open experience to begin!