We had a thread last year which largely allowed us to keep tabs on the progress of Anna McBride and other players in the Para tennis world, so felt a new one for 2025 would be useful.
If Anna's Dad reads this, I guess Anna and our other players are down in Australia now for the Aussie Open event?
I can't see a draw on the AO website, not sure if there is one yet or it is somewhere else?
Apart from Anna, which other Brits are taking part?
How are things down there and good luck to Anna and the other players for when play starts?
Final question for now! In terms of the Para calendar this year, what other big events are taking place to keep an eye on? I don't think this is a World Championships year, is it? Is the AO the biggest event in terms of prestige?
We had a thread last year which largely allowed us to keep tabs on the progress of Anna McBride and other players in the Para tennis world, so felt a new one for 2025 would be useful.
If Anna's Dad reads this, I guess Anna and our other players are down in Australia now for the Aussie Open event?
I can't see a draw on the AO website, not sure if there is one yet or it is somewhere else?
Apart from Anna, which other Brits are taking part?
How are things down there and good luck to Anna and the other players for when play starts?
Final question for now! In terms of the Para calendar this year, what other big events are taking place to keep an eye on? I don't think this is a World Championships year, is it? Is the AO the biggest event in terms of prestige?
So far only Lily and Anna are in Oz. Anna since last Sunday. Both are in the heat of Brisbane for training. Anna has hit with some decent men while here and it is a great place to visit. The rest of the team arrives on Sunday. You can see the three GB men and two GB women in the AO draw further down this page.
We are flying back to Melbourne on Sunday for a 3K warmup tournament on Monday. https://tournaments.tennis.com.au/sport/event.aspx?id=8253CEEC-0A91-456F-87BF-423DD55DF1E8&event=2
The AO draws and GB players will be here: https://tournaments.tennis.com.au/sport/events.aspx?id=540e0fd7-b2bc-4b04-8a9e-2b8f4f98091a
As of this week, the LTA are still conducting a risk assessment regarding going to Khazi. Ashtana is probably fine as long as you don't wander around the back streets at night. The costs of going are not cheap either. Tennis Austrailia are only sending half a normal team. So this event is in the balance right now for us. Not going would cede the World title to Eva. Who spent six weeks prior to the Annecy World Champs training for 3-4 hours a day. Anna would love to have that input.
They are all in to find a way for Eva to beat Anna.
I'm not sure about the other events. Will there be a Queens event? Will Anna get invited? We only find out very close to the events. The LTA should really be promoting its World medalists, so keep your fingers crossed.
So far, the AO has outshone all the other events, with Queens a good 2nd. Although, that was just an exhibition event.
The AO have heavily invested in inclusion and are proud of their many events at the AO.The AO carries a lot of weight and in my view is the main event right now.
The World and Global Games should up there, or higher, but seem to struggle, as the much lower level Special Olympics steal all the limelight. It would be good if the other Grand Slams to emulate the AO.
Anna attended a cardio tennis last night. It had been 39C earlier, but had cooled to 30-32C fr the evening session. For some reason the upload ends up side on.
-- Edited by AnnaM on Friday 17th of January 2025 04:54:29 AM
