Once a year, Redding's Sun Oaks Tennis & Fitness turns into a United Nations of sorts. This year's Ascension Project Women’s Open features players, literally, from all across the world.
Players hoping to climb the ladder are here to gain professional points and there are college players gaining experience while in school.
"It's really our opportunity, for our kids, to see what professional tennis look like," said Steve Kinder, Sun Oaks head tennis pro. "They may not have the dreams of being professional tennis players, but we want to show them what the next level is 'cause a lot of these player are collegiate players themselves that want to be professional tennis players some point down the road.
They come from all over: Mexico, Brazil, India, Japan, Australia, Spain, Israel and Ukraine. KRCR's Mike Mangas spoke with a couple of Ukrainians attending college in the states to ask them how they can concentrate on tennis while knowing what's going on with family and friends during the Russian invasion of their home country.
"All my friends are constantly under the possibility of being bombed. So, this is hard, but I'm just trying to, when I play on the court, think about [being] grateful that I get to do something that other people don't don't. And also, at the same time, I'm trying to support my family back home and my friends back home," Tournament Entrant Anita Sahdiieva told Mike.
"It takes a lot of mental effort to just isolate myself from what's going on in Ukraine, and in my hometown, and just go out and play tennis," said Sabina Zeynalova, another tournament entrant. "It is really tough, but I have the greatest support from my coaches and my teammates. And, I think, they just help me to be in this resource place where I can go play my best instead of worrying and being sad all the time—even though I want to be sad all of the time."
The tournament runs through Sunday. You're invited to come out and watch some high-level tennis.
--
To report errors or issues with this article please email the editorial team.