Southaven, MS
After two much-needed months off from traveling, we finally settled into our new home in Boynton Beach, FL. We made the move to South Florida in hopes of creating more opportunities—not just for work, but more importantly, for training. With this fresh start, our goal is to restructure our schedule to focus less on work and more on improving our game.
We had only been in our new place for about three weeks before deciding it was time to jump back into competition and get some practice in a tournament setting. So, on Sunday, August 3rd, we flew to Memphis, TN. The tournament was held in Southaven, MS, just across the border. There wasn’t an easy way to get there, so the trip required two flights and a rental car. After a long travel day, we finally arrived and managed to squeeze in a practice session on the tournament courts.
Coming from South Florida—where we’re practically at sea level and the ball moves slow—we immediately noticed a difference. In Southaven, the conditions were quite the opposite: the ball carried farther, and the courts played much faster. Our first hit didn’t feel great, but that was exactly why we came in early. We planned to get another session in on Monday to adjust before match play began.
After Monday’s hit, we felt much more prepared and were excited to finally get back to competing. In the round of 16, we faced an all-American team ranked around 1100 in the world. For once, we had a favorable draw. But as the match started, something felt off. We were definitely feeling the effects of not having trained or competed much over the past two months. Since moving to South Florida, most of our work had been focused on singles rather than doubles—and that showed. Being back in a cross-court, doubles setting felt almost foreign. Our timing was off, our positioning wasn’t sharp, and overall, we didn’t perform the way we had hoped. We lost 2-6, 2-6.
Still, despite the result, we knew this trip was necessary. We needed to get back into the tournament rhythm, and this was just the first step. It’s going to take time to rebuild our match readiness, but we’re motivated and know the direction we want to go. We’re heading home with a clear focus and a lot of excitement to build a new schedule centered around more consistent training. Next up: we’ve got our eyes on two tournaments coming up in Punta Cana. The next month will be all about putting in the work to prepare for those events.
Points Earned: 1
Price Breakdown
Flights: $250 x 2 = $500
Bags: $70 x 4 =$280
Tournament Entry: $20 x 2 =$40
Total Cost: $820
Total Earnings: $78
