by contributor Jacqueline Lynch
Photo credit: Rebecca Fernandez
Will the Kastles capture the King? Surrounded by sumptuous food and great wine at Del Frisco’s Grille, you could feel the excitement in the air. The Washington Kastles were headed off to the Championship tennis match in Charleston, South Carolina to compete for the King Trophy. (Kastles owner Mark Ein (C) shown above)
Coach Murphy Jensen (C)
The Washington DC team of eight boasts a historic 30 match winning streak. “The team has a great thing going,” doubles player Leander Paes told us. Despite his recent lack of participation on the team, the Kastles have managed to make it to the championship with head coach Murphy Jensen and teammates Venus Williams, Raquel Kops-Jones, Arina Rodionova, Anastasia Rodinova and Edina Gallovits-Hall and Treat Huey as alternates.
Wearing jeans and a leather jacket, coach Murphy Jensen mirrored his native New York idol John McEnroe. Johnny was “the closest thing to a rock star with a tennis racquet. He was bigger than the game of tennis.”
But for coach Jensen the key to being a great tennis player isn’t about putting on a show, it’s about having thick skin. “The truth is you have to be able to, number one, be a student of the game and open to new ideas. If you think you’re the greatest, you are going to quickly learn that you are not. And you better be prepared for it!”
Playing for over 25 years, Leander Paes knows a lot about that.
Leander Paes (C)
He spoke about one of his most challenging matches during the 1996 Olympics. Playing with broken tendons in his wrist, he said that in the match, “It was mind over matter. I had to pull through the pain.”
To those of you who don’t know tennis first hand, mind over matter is essentially what tennis is about. Yes of course you must be physically fit, but tennis is a mental game – who is going to break first. But do not fear Washingtonians, the Kastles know this like the back of their hand!
