Sem Verbeek

Humbled and grateful to receive this Honorary Membership from Tennisclub Kattenlaan!

Het Kattenlaantje was the club where my tennis journey began as a 10-year old. While I’m traveling the world for tennis now, the emotional connection always remained.

As a true Amsterdammer, it’s a true honour to be linked to ‘my’ club in this way. I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds in regards to our collaboration!

A big thank you to Peter Wingender and all the other board members for this beautiful gesture 🧡

Bucharest 250 🇷🇴

The next stop on our journey was Romania. A tournament both Sander Gillé and I played, with different partners, last year as well.

In the first round, we matched up against the all-German team of Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner (both ATP 47 doubles as they have the same amount of points)

Their level was high from the start, and a couple of deciding points went their way as they raced ahead to win the first set 6-0. We knew we had to hang in there early in the second, and after surviving a 0-40 hole early on, we were able to switch the momentum. A tightly contested second set went our way 6-4. The super tiebreak was in our hands multiple times, but we ended up saving a match point to win 0/6 6/4 11/9.

The QF was against the French pairing of Sadio Doumbia (ATP 21) and Fabien Reboul (ATP 22), the nr. 1 seeds of the tournament. Another first set where the opponents had most of the answers went against us, this time 2/6. We needed to make adjustments, and did, going up a break in the second set. Ultimately, we allowed them back in and played a sloppy tiebreak, losing the match 2/6 6/7 (1)

Still, we played two matches where we showed high-level tennis and resilience. Our process and training are showing up more and more in matches, and I'm confident it will lead to the way up!

It reminds me of a great idea from a James Clear newsletter:

"My personal rule is that it's a good idea to be patient as long as I'm in the mix.

If I'm taking action, putting in my reps, and trying things out, then I should remain patient and see what opportunities arise. But if I'm not taking action consistently, then I'm not practising patience. I'm just waiting."

Love it! 📈

Up next: Monza 125! 🇮🇹

No escape. Face it 🔥

Cap Cana 175 🇩🇴

After another valuable week of training at Georgia Chiropractic Neurology Center, it was time to head down to the Dominican Republic. We were super excited to bring along Jillian Sweeney to continue our neurological training and receive more Myosynaptics treatment during the tournament!

The first few days of training were great, until life decided to throw a curveball. On Tuesday evening, the evening before the match, I got sick with food poisoning. A horrid night and a day with just a few nibbles of food followed. Luckily, our match was scheduled at night, which allowed me to compete with what I had in me.

In the end, it proved not enough, as we lost our first round to Burruchaga ( # 94 ATP singles) and Barrios Vera ( # 119 ATP singles) in a tight match, 4-6, 7-6, 0-10. You read that right, we lost 10 points in a row... A combination of me having nothing left and them playing really well, taking advantage of the situation.

The days after were all about recovery, trying to get hydrated again and getting some food in me. We stayed in Punta Cana until Sunday, recovering and training neurologically as much as we could.

Now, I'm back at GCNC for a few more days with Jacob P Meyer before heading back over to Europe to go back to clay with Sander Gillé!

Our first tournaments will be the Naples 125 and Bucharest 250

Sh*tty (no pun intended) situation, but we fought valiantly. Our luck will turn, as we will keep showing up. Onwards! 🐅

Hasta el proximo, Santiago! 🇨🇱☀️

Played. Battled. Laughed. Shouted. Lost. Learned;
Obrigado, Rio 💛💚

Results come and go, make the work consistent 😤🫡

Excited for Santiago, Chile! 🇨🇱

Bucket list moment for me getting to play on centre court at the 🤩

Not enough for the win today, but enjoyed every second 🧡

🔜: Rio 500 🕺🏼🇧🇷