Late last night, we finally received the order of play for today. Stefi is scheduled for the third match, so we planned the morning carefully, ensuring enough time to prepare.
At 8:00 a.m., we started with breakfast, and right after, we moved into our usual morning mobility session. As we began, we decided to take a short walk to check on the courts and start discussing the match. It’s important for me to share my expectations as a coach—players need to know what we’re looking for in the match and where they should focus more.
When we arrived at the courts around 8:30 a.m., we found the baselines and corners still covered in ice and a bit of snow. Despite the sun being up, the temperature was below 0°C, and the ice wasn’t melting quickly. Organizers and hotel staff were working hard to clear it, and by 10:00 a.m., only one court was ready for play, with others slowly becoming available. Matches were already delayed.
Given this, we delayed our activation routine and started around 10:30 a.m. with mobility exercises, injury prevention work, and some band routines. After that, we did a bit of footwork in the conference room again. By 11:15 a.m., we had a court booked to warm up and get some ball contact, managing a solid 35 minutes of hitting and confirming good sensations with Stefi’s strokes.
At 12:30 p.m., it was time to fuel up with lunch. Stefi’s go-to meal lately has been a mix of salad, veggies, pasta, and protein. It might look like a mess, but it has everything she needs to power through the day.
As the matches progressed, the tension built up. My job was to keep Stefi focused on our game plan, the good things we’d worked on, and to maintain a positive mindset—no room for stress or negative thoughts.
Keeping an eye on the live scores, we saw it was finally our time to head to the court. The moment had arrived, and it was time to compete.
Today’s opponent was tough, but at this level, they all are. Stefi faced a young player from Kazakhstan, a flat hitter with an aggressive style, who also happens to be one of last year’s rising juniors. She’s just starting her journey on the women’s tour with an impressive WTA ranking of 650.
The first set went exactly as planned. Stefi was patient, mixing up the pace and heights, and quickly took control of the score. But as expected, the opponent began playing very aggressively, and the momentum shifted, leading to a tiebreak. The tiebreak, unfortunately, was dominated by our rival, who played fearless, aggressive tennis, leaving no room for Stefi to counter.
In these moments, frustration can creep in, but it’s my job to help Stefi stay positive and refocus. For the second set, we decided to turn up the aggression and not allow our opponent to dictate the points. This approach worked, and soon we found ourselves at 4-4, with Stefi serving. Just as the momentum seemed to swing in our favor, the ITF supervisor suspended play due to the fading light.
We headed back to the gym to stretch and prepare for tomorrow. If Stefi stays focused for the first two games tomorrow, we have a good chance to close out the second set and then battle hard in the third.
It’s tough to analyze the match fully since there wasn’t much rhythm, but overall, I’m pleased with Stefi’s performance, especially her ability to rebound after the tough end to the first set. She shifted to a more positive mindset and fought her way back into the match.
Tomorrow, we’re first on court, and if all goes well, Stefi may play another singles match and a doubles match. What a day we have ahead of us in Turkey!