It was a summer of much activity for Thorpe Tennis. There has been a lot of enthusiasm and the results have followed. Here’s what happened:

The story of summer was that players like Mckenna Madden, Conrad Perry, Atty & Maiya Roddick, Ben & Alex Furukawa, Martin Barnick, Phillip Hicks, and Daniel Newton all took it upon themselves to vastly improve their games. Between tournament play and regular lessons and practice matches, they’ve all achieved marked progress.

Ben has finally begun to move out of the “good athlete” category and into the “good tennis player” classification. Over the summer, we worked on improving his ability to hit with the big boys and go on the offensive more often and he’s becoming quite potent, while retaining his fitness and consistency. He is primed and motivated to make the most of his senior year and currently sits at #173 in California and #1411 in the country for his class.

Phillip improved his patience and fitness. He also managed to win his first match in the 16’s age-group, at the USTA SoCal Sectional, no less. He’s always had the power, but with his newly acquired skills he looks set to have a very successful school year and improve on his current one-star ranking on tennisrecruiting.net.

Mckenna had some frustrating injuries, but still managed to make a successful return to tournament play, beating a two-star opponent at the Knowlwood Open Tournament and losing a very close three-setter in the quarterfinals. She looks set to dominate the Condor League this fall and potentially make a run in CIF Individuals.

Martin is more fit and hungrier for tennis than ever. He has literally become a beast at the net and he’s firing service bombs with ease. He looks set to move up a few steps this spring in the Condor League doubles heirarchy.

Atty & Maiya Roddick are a fun pair to set against each other competitively. Maiya’s got a traditional style to her game and perfect form on serve and Atty’s got raw talent (though more refined every day). Atty’s groundstrokes and volleys are looking quite solid these days and he’ll be scary once he gets some more match experience. The sibling rivalry definitely spurred them both on this summer, but luckily they seem to get along great, regardless.

Daniel Newton had a very successful summer, making the finals of the Knowlwood Open and beating a number of well-ranked players in tournaments throughout the summer. He currently sits at 109 in California and around 700 in the country for his class and is sure to continue in his upward trajectory.

I’ve been saying it for a while now, but I think Alex is on the verge of a major tennis breakthrough. He’s become more refined in his technique and is executing some very high-level strategy in practice play, and had some great success this summer in Santa Barbara Tennis Patrons tournaments.

Conrad is perhaps the most improved player I’m currently working with. His passion for learning the game and consistent efforts have drastically improved his volleying, groundstrokes, and understanding of the game.

As we move into the girls’ tennis season, there’s a lot to be excited about at Thorpe Tennis, and I look forward to bringing the details to you here at thorpetennis.com!