Qatar Trip Day 1 – Arrival & First Training
I landed in Qatar on Sunday evening after a full morning at CFTA working with our Junior Development Squad and preparing our Ball Kids team for the upcoming WTA and ATP events in February. No time to slow down — straight from the airport, we headed directly to the tennis courts for Rafa’s first practice session.
We were lucky to find a strong hitting partner right away: the No.1 seed from Iraq. The boys had a high-quality, intense training session, giving us the perfect opportunity to settle in and switch Rafa’s mindset into tournament mode. We also spent time reviewing last week’s semifinal loss, analysing what went wrong and identifying the adjustments needed — especially around footwork efficiency and decision-making under pressure.
To wrap up the evening (and with Jeff in town), we couldn’t resist some amazing Filipino food before heading back to the hotel for a much-needed early night. Rest, recharge, repeat.