Mark's First ITF Tournament

Mark and I did something brave and unique this September--we traveled to Corpus Christi, TX for Mark's first ITF tournament. ITF stands for International Tennis Federation and is completely separate from USTA (US Tennis Association). You have to be 13 to play ITF tournaments and you cannot play those tournaments after Jan 1 of the year you turn 19. So it really stinks for Mark--he will turn 18 on Dec 28 in a year and a half and will not be able to play ITFs anymore although he will be still a senior in high school. 

The reason kids play ITF tournaments is because that means they can play wherever they want in the WORLD! They have different levels, of course, and it's hard to get into the ones that are more popular when you have no ITF points. The check in, the structure and regulations are pretty different from USTA, so we had a lot to learn.

Mark didn't get into the main draw but got into the qualifying draw which means he had to win two matches to get to the main draw. At the check in, you had to provide an ID and be present in person at a certain time the day before. Basically, a lot of people who are qualifying, don't even show up though they were selected. It's a weird system. 

Mark also played doubles with a guy who travels all over to Central America to play tournaments and he enjoys the relaxed atmosphere of the ITF tournaments.

We actually did have a lot of down time with Mark while in Texas. He warmed up in the morning, then played a match but sadly lost...then had to wait till doubles in two days to play a match which they won. And then wait till next day to play the second doubles match. Again...he had to win two doubles matches to get even one ITF point, but they didn't manage to do that. 

Corpus Christi has some delicious seafood, so we actually got shrimp boil twice while there! 

Mark, excited to play! 

We had some time to drive to the beach even! It was the end of September so the water was super nice and inviting.

I also made Mark walk a bit along the "boardwalk", sort of, without the boards. 

And we picked up some take out dinners to eat at the picnic area by the water. 

Mark hit with Emily, a girl from Cameron's as well (she is really good!).

And here is a picture from Mark's second doubles match when the boys played a very skilled pair and lost. 

I have to record here one very memorable (to me) experience. Right before the singles match, Mark was told that the logo on his hat was too big...I guess we forgot about the regulations about how logos and words have to be smaller than a certain size. So I drove quickly to the hotel room to look for a plain hat! As I am frantically searching for a hat, he calls me and as calmly as a surgeon tells me that his shirt will not work either. And even his spare shirt in his bag had Adidas stripes that were too large on his shoulders. So the ref said they will allow him to play the first match with his shirt inside out. I was very stressed, I won't lie--first ITF match and he would be defaulted for not having a proper shirt?? But he was SO calm, so mature and unemotional in his speaking that I realized--wow...that was a great skill this kid has! 

 So I drove back to the courts, gave him the hat and then dashed to search for a shirt with no logos as nothing, absolutely nothing, was sold at the pro shop on site. The tennis facility was situated in such a questionable neighborhood that I didn't dare to just drive around and had to go 15 min away to Academy sports in heavy traffic. I ran inside the store, grabbed the first two shirts I could find that didn't have big words or logos. The line was THE longest ever but I made it just in time for the first set to be over. Although Mark did not win this match, I think he won a big point in the "well done, Mark" game. I have thought of that moment, of when he called me in a stressful situation, many times and have drawn the same conclusion--grateful he had the coolness to stay that calm. 

I don't know when Mark will play another ITF tournament, or even IF he will. We talk a lot about going to Europe or Central American to play but that requires quite a bit of planning and financial resources. We talk about going to Istanbul and playing there as well as to see Lyena who is in Ankara. We will see! It's also tricky because these tournaments allow anyone ages 13-18 to play, with no divisions, unlike USTA where Mark plays 16s. 

So for the next six months, the plan is to stick to USTA tournaments and have fun competing in those.

Lyana.