My Experience Playing on the ITF Pro Circuit

ITF PRO CIRCUIT

In June 2015, aged 36, going on 37 in July, I decided to experience playing on the ITF Pro Circuit for the first time outside of Ireland. I had previously played in some ITF junior tournaments in 1995 & 1996, aged 17 & 18 and ITF futures tournaments. All events were held in Dublin, Ireland. As a junior, I was ranked in the top 8 in Ireland and inside the top 10 as a senior.

The tournament I entered was at Soho Square in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. A player who I was practicing with and her fitness trainer encouraged me to enter and travel with them, as she was also playing an ITF tournament in Sharm El Sheikh. It’s something I always wanted to do and would have regretted it if I didn’t. I was also inspired by seeing fellow Irish tennis players on the Tour and how well they were doing.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing the match. I played 20 year old, Ugo Santomenna from France in the qualifying round. I played a good match losing 6-4 6-2 but I was obviously disappointed. Ugo was very complimentary after the match, saying he liked my style of play. That was nice of him. I wished him luck in his future matches. Ugo made it through to the last 16 of the Main Draw, winning 6-0 6-0 in his 2nd qualifying match and 6-1 6-2 in the last 32 of the main draw.

I would highly recommend the experience. Not only did I get to play, I got to watch some great matches. I learned how much fitness came into play, having trained in 40 degrees celsius (104 fahrenheit) and the legs struggled to keep going! Luckily my match was in the evening so it was a bit cooler!

Since then I was honoured to be chosen as playing captain for Ireland twice at over 35 level, in 2016 at the Young Seniors World Team Championships in Umag, Croatia and in 2017 at the Young Seniors World Team Championships in Cape Town, South Africa. Since then I started a new job in Elm Park Golf & Sports Club. I hope to one day return to playing tournaments and represent Ireland again.

How to Sign Up for the ITF Pro Circuit

https://begreatattennis.com/how-to-sign-up-for-the-itf-pro-circuit/