Saturday October 15, 2022

Draws are here.

Today was my last day in Mallorca this year. I played well in singles and doubles, beating Katrin Dippner in the singles final and with Sabine Schmitz (who played great doubles all week), won the doubles over the British duo of Pat Wire/Diana Smith.

After we finished singles and doubles we waited for the medal ceremony (much nicer I must say than the one at the Super Seniors World Championships this year in Florida). The players are presented with medals and for singles, prize money; for doubles, a towel that says either “Winner” or “Finalist” plus some strings and grips. The national anthem of the winner(s) country is played after the medals are presented. It’s really a very nice finish to the tournament! The consolation winners and finalists also receive towels and medals.

Helge did a really nice job with his wonderful team of putting on a fun tournament for everyone there, from playing to daily happy hours with drawings for prizes.

After I left the medal ceremony, I got my (too much) stuff ready and did a last load of laundry. I was on the road near to 5pm which was when I hoped to leave. I stopped a couple of times, for gas and snacks, then got to the airport and realized I had no idea where to return the car. Eventually I just went into the terminal and asked the rental agent, then found the right spot…whew! That took 30 minutes. Then in the terminal finally…I waited in line…for the wrong airline (in my defense when I looked at the board, it did say Vueling was in that area). On the other hand…there was no line at Vueling. So I checked in then tried to get to security…but they had closed the one I was approaching as it was full. After doing a u-turn, I got through security quickly, and rushed towards the gate…to find out my flight was delayed 75 minutes. Not surprising, Vueling is always late to Barcelona by the end of the day.

And that’s a wrap in the Mallorcan open. Big thanks to Helge and his team, Beach Club Font de sa Cala, and to Sabine Schmitz for warming up every day and playing doubles and to Volkl for great racquets! Till 2023.