Express Sport's Yasmin Syed hits with the pros at UTS
The Ultimate Tennis Showdown has descended on London this weekend, an unconventional tennis league created by Patrick Mouratoglou where players try to score as many points as they can in eight-minute quarters. The tournament has attracted top players like Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune, and rising stars like Britain’s Jack Draper. I was put to the test against the three men to see whether I could win any of the all-important UTS rallies. But it was a tough ask given my lack of skill, with Mouratoglou – a former coach of Serena Williams – stepping in to give me some guidance.
The off-season is a crucial time for top tennis stars to work on their game and make some adjustments ahead of the new year. But plenty of big names have been enticed to compete in the Grand Final of the UTS, a fiery tournament where players are encouraged to show emotion and even break some rackets.
While regular tennis matches can sometimes feel endless, UTS promises something that other events don’t – a strict schedule that ensures each tie is over within an hour. It puts even more pressure on winning enough points before it’s too late. Ahead of the Grand Final in London’s ExCel, on behalf of Express Sport, I joined a group of reporters facing off against Rublev, Rune and Draper in a bid to win as many exchanges as possible in the allotted time.
But there was one issue, I have nowhere near as much skill as the average person who would join a tennis club or go for a hit in a park, let alone compared to the pros. Sensing that I needed some guidance, Mouratoglou decided to put his coaching hat back on to give me some pointers before I faced the ultimate test against one of Britain’s most promising stars and two top-10ers.
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The Frenchman is the creator of UTS but is better known for coaching Serena Williams for a decade from 2012. And he was back in the role of mentor once he saw me struggling. Having not played tennis since August 2022, Mouratoglou reminded me of some easy tweaks I could make to improve my forehand technique. And it made all the difference when we stepped up to take on the man himself as well as British No 4 Draper.
One of the great things about playing against the pros compared to one of your friends in a park is that their precision is so accurate that it’s much easier to get to the ball and react with your own semi-acceptable shot. My quick coaching refresher session did the trick as I earned compliments for one of the longest rallies of the day against Draper, who ran me side-to-side and drew me into the net as the clock counted down.
They then swapped with the tournament’s two highest-ranked players, Rublev and Rune, who were both at the ATP Finals as little as a month ago. I surprised myself by managing to hold my own, and Mouratoglou came over to inform me that I had “improved by 100 per cent in 15 minutes”. World No 5 Rublev was in good spirits as he tried to challenge the press pack, asking everyone to show him what they could do while making some errors of his own and joking around.
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It’s no surprise that the 14-time title winner was enjoying the hit-and-giggle, as he admitted that competing in UTS felt like a “holiday” because he enjoyed it so much. Rublev won on his UTS debut in Frankfurt earlier this year and said he was happy to keep playing in the event if it fits his schedule.
“If I have time and the tournament fits into my calendar, why not?” Rublev smiled. “You go here for three days, you have amazing organisation and they pay you great money for three days. It’s like a holiday if I will be honest.”
It wasn’t as relaxing rallying against the 26-year-old, however, and I found my heart rate creeping up a lot higher than expected. But now that I’ve conquered some exchanges with the pros, I’ll be more confident stepping out on the local park courts and won’t leave it more than a year until my next hit.
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