Fed Cup

It is that time of the year again. The start of a new year and the Australian Open behind us. The ladies have to recover from the first grand slam and enter into a clash of countries. I love the team aspect of Fed Cup. It is similar to high school or college tennis, just on a HUGE scale! Some of the highlights of last weekend were - Russia led by Sharapova defeats Isreal and the USA led by the surprise Ashley Harkelroad beat Germany. USA played in San Diego and I would have loved to have been there. I have been to a Davis Cup match before and it is AWESOME. Rules are out the window. Cheering your loudest is required. Noise makers are allowed! These team formats are a great thing for tennis...where usually it is one person for them self. When competitors come together as teammates they only get better. 

You know this just made me think of something. So often as girls playing sports we get cranky, jealous, or care too much what the other girl is thinking. These bad thoughts and attitude can take the fun out of team tennis - junior tennis tennis, high school tennis, college or a USTA team. We should imitate the pros in situations like these. If they make tennis a team sport then we should to! So embrace it. Enjoy everything that goes along with it - uniforms, cheers, coaches, captains, personalities, challenge matches, friendships, team trips and meals. I hope the next time you are on a tennis team you are able to make the best of it! Sharapova, Harkelroad and others "sparkled" while competing for their countries - why don't we "sparkle" for our club, school, or USTA team!! 

If anyone has a chance to watch some matches (Tennis Channel) I would encourage it. We learn so much from following and studying the best in our industry or sport. I got to be patriotic, and say, " GO USA!"