We ask Jason London about his experience in our tennis academy.

-Hi Jason! Glad that you found a minute to talk to me a little. I know that You were the first Australian at the Academy and you can tell me many experiences about your time in Europe and specially at the Academy. Also you have played a lot of Futures around the world. So, how did you get here? Australia is the other end of the world:) How old were you?
- ey dude…I spent 3 years at the academy and I look back now and appreciate that they have been some of the best years of my life so far. I first arrived in Villena at 15…it was the first time I went overseas!!!...i had spoken with Toni when he was in Melbourne the year before about going to the academy and that’s how it all started…
- What does it mean that you were the first Australian here? Were there any players from different countries or just all Spanish?
- first aussie there…yeh it was funny…I spoke no Spanish and most of the guys (there were like 12 others when I got there) spoke very little or no English at all…but they all made sure that I learnt the language reasonably quickly and I have them to thank that I can speak reasonable Spanish now…there was carlos pinto from Portugal and an English guy named tom Sampson…the rest of the players were Spanish when I first got there…but about 6 months later another portuguese player and now good friend, Jose Pires arrived…but the majority were Spanish.
-The question that I ask everyone, about the size of academy in your time? Courts? Coaches? training?
- it was totally different to now…it was very small when I got there…there were the 5 main claycourts and the academy were just starting to construct the first two hardcourts…there was also just the original house where all the players lived together…when I look back I loved that time the most…there was about 5 coaches in total when I first got there…they were all great…and training was ‘duro’ as usual.
- Was physical training hard in academy?
- very
- Tell us, please, the most interesting story that happened to u here.
- ha…it was at an ITF in Portugal with Madrona, Javi, Jose and some other players…I was in an ambulance at 2 am from the tennis club going to hospital with all the guys chasing after the ambulance in the academy van…and then they waited for me while I was in the hospital until 4 am…you have to ask madrona for more details….because there are many about that evening…but there was always something funny happening at the academy…it was never boring
- Do you remember your first tournament? How it was? What did you feel?
- not really…I remember my first ITF in Morocco and I was very nervous as most players are
- Could you give advice how players can prepare themselves mentally before a game?
- I liked to listen to music that got me in a very focused state of mind…but everyone has their own way of doing things…just having a routine which you’re comfortable with…I mean, you have JC there so im sure you don’t have to look far to see how the great players do it!!
- You played a lot of Futures around the world, what is the hardest part of it?
- when you have doubts about your progress combined with living away from home for most of the year is not easy…
-After losing the match, how did you prepare yourself to play the next one and be ready to win?
- first talk with the coaches about the match and then listen to them and try to do what they said…listening to them after a match and getting their opinion for me was very helpful…especially when there is a good connection with the coach

-What was the reason to leave the academy?
- 3 years in villena felt like a long time and some close friends from the academy had quit and I was thinking of doing the same at the time…but then I met some people from a small training base in germany and decided that maybe a change would get me fresh and motivated to continue playing…
- What did you get from the academy? If to compare when u came first and left the academy? How was your tennis?
- I cant tell you what the academy taught me…they taught so many things about living life and dealing with adversity that I could possibly write a book about it…part of the person that I am today has got to do with the years I spent at the academy…I am grateful of the people who guided me through those important years…as for the tennis…I learnt how to play from the baseline!!
-Can u compare Spanish tennis and Australian one? Any specific tips?
- this is easy…Spanish tennis is more tactical and as a consequence played more from the baseline…Australian tennis has been more on power and serve and volley…but this is not so much the case anymore…but the players here still like ti play points fast…sometimes too fast…as for tips…listen to your coaches
- What are you doing now if it’s not a secret?
- studying commerce and law at university in australia
- And the last thing what I would like to ask u, your Tennis Tips for guys who read our blog!!!
- be patient and if you’ve improved something by half a percent for the week you’ve done great!
-Thanks!!!!

Tennis tournaments under 16

Hello everyone im David Mckenna. Im am 15 years old. And i will be informing you of all the events that will take place this year in the under16 age group.

First i will tell u about our main tournament this year. Its and under 16 tournament.It takes place in almost every part of spain.There are 8 Marcas all over spain for example place like Barcalona,Alicante,Sevilla,Zaragoza and Madrid.......So at the end of all the 8 Marca tournaments you have a masters.Where the top 8 players who get the best results in all the tournament will go to Marbella. A beautiful tennis club.To play the masters. And on because of their top performaces everything is paid for the player hotels, food.......and lots more.

Now i will tell you about our journey to Barcalona. We left the academy in the morning at about 12 o clock. We arrived there at like 17:30 We went straight to the resturant because we were so hungry....So after about 5 mins we found a resturant. it looked good we went in everything was clean. But the waiters were so slow.Not a very good first impression hey.But i dont think it was because they are slow i think the waiter were still shocked at Barcalonas loss to Getafe 0_4 hahahaha Afer that we found a hotel. It was good but the beds were abit dodgeeeeeeeeee but we got to sleep. Woke up the next morning ready to play or shall i say ready to sleep hahaha.We went to eat breakfast and then we shot off to the courts.When we got there i was ready to have a look around.I did and so did the other there were 5 of us including the coach.The club was very nice and i was ready to play right then.But that was not our day for any of us we all lost first round except for 2 people Sergio ballester of spain and Suzy Larkin of England.The rest of us packed our bags and left on the train unhappy.Sergio went on to lose 64 in the third set in the second round.And we should all say well done to Suzy who played a really good tournament and got to semis.In a very difficult tournament. And Suzy is only 15 this year so she played people one year older than her.

And it dosent stop there..... on top of Suzys good tournament she was the first person in the academy to win the letter competition. I will explain.You have to get all the letters of E.Q.U.E.L.I.T.E.I will explain how. It sounds easy.

E stands for positive training

Q stands for food care like if u eat salads and stuff.

U stands for correct use of installations

E stands for positive physical training,

L stands for bedroom clean

I stands for intrest in tennis.

T stands for effort in tournaments.

E stands for positive attitude.

And every week for 8 months we have a meeting in the gym to see who gets and who loses letters. And this week we would like to say well done to Suzy Larkin who is have a great week.Her prize for winning was lots of lotto clothes like shoes,skirts,socks,t-shirts,wristbands and shorts.But if you work hard thats what you get. Im going will inform you how all the other tournaments go see ya.....and next time i will tell you more about all the players and coaches who go to these tournaments.

thxs

New era of blog

Hey everybody!!!

I’m still here with you guys and I’m so happy and proud to be with you. Thanks for your wishes. Thanks Academy for this big present what you published in the blog when I was sleeping and did not think about blog (hheeheh).

Today after my birthday I start to create our blog with my team. There are coaches from the academy, my new 2 partners –helpers(we are on photo). Now we are going to make it more interesting. You will know more about tournaments which I’m going to play and other players too. You will see all our tennis players and get more info about them.

We decided to create a new staff for you. Its called “Ask Equelite blog” Some words about our rules. Choose the proper category (Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4) for your question and leave it in comments. Every month we will answer to your questions in our blog. And every month we will choose the best question of the month. The winner will get presents from Tennis Academy. Now you can win for example Autograph of JC Ferrero or other good thing. Up to 21 date of next month you can post your questions, then collect them and start to answer. We update our comments in categories, so you can leave your questions for next month. In the first dates of the month we declare results.

You can ask questions to physical coach of JC Ferrero, JC Ferrero , Garcia, Marta, Javi (summer stage), or just about academy, tennis tips or to me. Ok guys I wish you goodluck. Now get ready for new era of blog. We are going to show you how we are going to be professional players. See you in some days. Let my partners warm up, me to do something for blog.

Ok see you bye. GUYS.

p.s. dont forget to vote to our poll. We'd love to know where our readers from.

Happy Birthday, Kirill!

Happy birthday KIRILL!!!!!!!!!

Today is Kirill Kucherov’s birthday, our player and blog-maker, and this is a surprise from all Academy!!!!

Last year he decided to create Equelite blog, being the first hand information about how future tennis stars like him practice in Spain.

What began in 1995 as a small, modest residential establishment with a few tennis courts is now one of the world’s best training centres.

And we are really proud of players like Kirill, he is giving his best during his time at the Academy and we are sure that he will arrive far.

Thank you very much Kirill, for being a member of our family and we wish you a great day and the best of luck in your sport career.


You always will be between us…

Let the world know our players! David McKenna

-Hey David!!! How r u?

- Im good today a bit tired from the 10km run today.

- Lots people want to know more about our players. Let them know U!!! Tell us about yourself a little.

- I was born in ireland moved to south africa, Cape town when i was 2.I grew up there. I loved it south africa is great. and at the age of 14 i came to the juan carlos ferrero academy.And now i have been here like 1 year and 2 months.And im enjoying it.

- When did you start to play tennis?

- At the age of 6

- Why tennis? (no hockey, golf, swimming)

- I played tennis,rugby,swimming,athletics,and cricket but i chose tennis because i loved the sport and I felt that i could go far in it.

- What does tennis mean for u?

- Everthing its a sport i that i have to play alot.If not i get upset.

- Describe your tennis, please!

- My tennis is a thing i concintrate on alot so every day im trying to make things better I play right handed and i play two hand backhand.And i play flat.

-Tell us, how did u get to this academy? How long have u been here? What do you think about the academy? What did the academy give to you?

- I came to the academy becaus e i did not train alot in south africa say i came here. i Have been here for 1 year and two months.Its taught me loads of stuff to many to think of.

- Is it difficult to live too far from home?

-Of course it is for anyone it is difficult to live away from home but thats whe u have to be tough and fight.

-If you have a chance to change anything at the academy, what would it be??

-The internet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

- tell me, 1 thing which you like most of all at the academy

-The people they are really friendly always making u feel at home.

- Do you play tournaments? What is the most difficult part of them?

- I play alot now that im here in spain but they are always difficult right from the first round you struggle so every round is difficult!!!!!!!!

- How do you spend your free time here? Any hobby? (except tennis, of course)

- I sometimes play golf and play padel.

-How do you solve problem with school (u are far from home but need to finish school)?

-I do an overseas thing where they send me work and i do it in english.And it good.

-Can you remember any funny moments in the academy that happen to you?

-WOW!!!!!!!!!There are way to many everyday 20 new things happen.

-And the last thing what I would like to ask u, your Tennis Tips for guys who read our blog

-That sometimes u feel like giving up but those are the moments where u have got to be strong. And fight for it.And thank you.

- Thanks!!!

Question about rackets

Hey Guys!

You know, I was a blog-maker for one week for www.itftennis.com/juniors. and I am sure, you all read it. I decided to post all days here as to save for history. Hope you will enjoy to read it again. Thanks guys for your questions. I will write more about our players soon.

Here is a good question from Ross K:

-Hi Kirill,Good to see you're still posting. Thanks for the update. I hope you have a good tournament and good luck with the blog as well.Actually I was wondering about something: what racquets do you all use? What's popular out there in Spain with you academy players? What's your choice, Kiril? Or are you just all sponsored and therefore are happy to use whateveer you are given? As you can see, I'm a bit of a racquet obssessive! But I'm interested in the whole issue of racquets and what aspiring pro's like yourselves are using. By the way, any personal details like what racquets you personally like and the qualities you look for, as well as what weight you like, do you lead it up (and if so where and how much lead tape) - etc? And what racquets would you recommend for 4.0 baseline players (2hbh, consistent if not very strong serve)... anyway, enough of the questions for now...Cheers amigo... have fun!

-Hey, you post pretty interesting questions about the rackets. Ok … the most popular here is WILSON. So many people are playing Wilson rackets. For example, Tommy Peric he is 400 ATP. He is using racket of Federer. Everybody started to play with new models. Other racket, which I'm using and some other people, is babolat (official racket of Andy Roddick). I like this racket pretty much. Its 315grams and I use strings Pro Hurricane. I'm the one who play that racket. Other players prefer 300 grams Babolat.( new model). I can tell u difference: Wilson racket has much control and babolat - more powerful racket with a little control. Its more easy to serve with this racket. Other racket is Head. Now in academy some players play Head prestige flexpoint. And some people started to try new racket of Head (Ljubicic and other players are using this racket).

All players have the style for rackets. For example, if you are a baseliner player. I think Tecnifiber,Head, babolat, Prince (aero) is really good rackets for baseline. If you are a player who use more power. Its good to use babolat, yonex,head and some models of Wilson. If u are more control player, you prefer playing on baseline, do passing shots and sometimes go to the net. Wilson, prince and maybe Yonex. That’s it I think.

If you have more questions. Ask, I will answer.

Bye and goodluck

Grade 3 tournament in Spain -Day 6

Hey everybody!!!

Today was the FINALS and it means that it's my last day as a blog-maker of ITF. But I will do my best to finish it perfectly.

Ok, guys first of all, the morning started with warming up on and off the court. Some people went to our doctor to put the tape. For them, it was the most important match of this week. Carlos Boluda came to watch final and JC Ferrero was with us too. Garcia Lopez left to go to the Estoril Open. All coaches and workers started to clean the courts after the rain, so many people came to watch the final, the central court looked perfect with so many sponsors, posters and etc. All matches started at 11 o’clock.

The first match was between Johanna Konta (AUS) vs Julia Goloborodko (UKR). The match started, everything was good, but after a couples of minutes the players had to change the court because that one was not good for the final. All the players and coaches from the academy helped to put chairs around the new court. It was alittle physical work for us but the changes did not spoil girls’ will to win. Ok, everything was ready; second try to start the match. It was really exciting match with so many passing shots. Konta Johanna(AUS) won this match. GAME SET MATCH AND CHAMPION OF THE TOURNAMENT.

The second final was between Milan Seculic(SWE) vs Rafael Mazon(ESP). Seculic has showed a great fight in this tournament. He is really the anti player of academy Equelite. He beat all players from our academy in main draw. Yeah, these were good matches, he showed his powerful tennis. What about the Spanish matador Rafael,he showed that Spanish players feel good on clay court like fish in the sea. The match was very difficult, three sets, a really long and very exciting match!!! Each side showed powerful passing, all the people were like VAMOS RAFA, but in this match Seculic was stronger. GAME SET MATCH AND CHAMPION OF THE TOURNAMENT. Congratulations!

From the courts everybody moved to enjoy the last final part - prize giving. The most important historical moment came, Samuel, Madrona, JC Ferrero , his father and sponsors presented the winners and finalists with the CUPS. The was a photographera (I think, for sure, its ITF not ATP and WTA photographer. Lol) After the main part, everyone could relax and enjoy the party: eat, drink and remember the most interesting and hard moments of this week. It was a really big day. Next year will be another tournament here (on clay or hard, maybe, grass, we will see hehe), more players, new winners and interesting matches.

Ok guys that’s it…..This week was such a fantastic week for me. I’m so happy that ITF gave me the chance to write the blog. Thanks ITF for this opportunity and YOU, guys, that have read my weekly reports from Spain.

Hope to see all of you in my Equelite Blog. I wish that all players find their way to success in tennis and in life (in the court and outside). And I will do my best to do it and show good tennis.

Good luck everybody and see you later.

P.S. Yeah, the word of the day: There is no rule to success it’s just only YOU!!!