Hi !
It's been a while since my last post, there is lots to tell and I will try to do it now step by step. After a pretty dissapointing trip to USA I had a relaxing week in Italy before I went to Asia. It was a tough time for me, I didn't win many matches, was tired mentally and really needed to get my confidence back. But I believe that the hard work always pays off, it's just a matter of time and passion. I went to Seoul by myself, my coach couldn't come there, he was going to meet me the next week in Tokyo. I like to travel alone sometimes, you get to think more, relax and do whatever you feel like doing. It was my second time in Korea, I like this tournament, we play in Olympic stadium, the hotel is new and has a big shopping center. There were 2 rainy days in the beggining of the tournament, but then the weather was great. After the week off I felt hungry to play and to win. The tournament was very strong, but I didn't think about anything, match by match I was just enjoying tennis. I was so happy to win this tournament, in just 1 week I got back on my track. Tokyo and Beijing didn't go so well, but I was playing good during all 3 weeks.

After Beijing I came back home and had a week of training before the tournament in Moscow. Kremlin Cup is a special tournament for many Russians, it's the last tournament of the year and it's at home!!! I love to play it ! My family and friends always come to watch me and it's just once a year, it's great! Just before the tournament me and a few other Russian players had a very nice photo shoot in the OK Magazine, it came out during the tournament and we looked so different from the court that many people couldn't even recognize us :))) I had a few tough matches, played well and lost in the quarters. I had a fun time at home.

After I won my first tournament in Kuala Lumpur this year I set my goal to try to get in Bali. I wanted so much to be among those 8 players to play the last tournament of the year in such a great place. But already before Kremlin Cup I wasn't getting in... so can you imagine how happy I was, when after my quaterfinal loss I was sitting in the lockeroom, thinking that it was my last match of the year, when one of the Tour Staff girls came in and > said that one of the players got injured, so I got in Bali!!! The next day I was already in the plane to Italy for preparation! My ranking is not good enough yet to set my goals for Doha, so it's such an honour for me to participate in this elite event with other 7 top players in the world!

I came to Bali 4 days before. It was very hot and felt strange to play indoors when outside was +35. During those 4 days of trainings all the players had different activities. I did surfing class, which was fun. It was my first time and I decided to take some lessons after. One of my favorite parts was the draw ceremony. We got beautiful Balinese dresses made specially for us, had the make-up done and I felt proud to be there. The surface was very strange, so it was good to have a few days to prepare. The stands were not big, but they were full of spectators during the matches and it felt great! After the semifinals we had an official dinner. There were even more beautiful outfits for us and the whole thing made me feel very special. I was a bit sad to lose in the finals, but Ana played very well. This week didn't even feel like a tournament, there were just 2 matches per day, so much attention, beautiful resort on the beach, such a relaxing atmosphere... It was nice to combine tennis with off-court activities every day! I think it was one of the best weeks this year, I played well and enjoyed my time so much. The end of the season couldn't be better :)

Kleybs

P.S. I stayed another week in Bali for vacation... I spent a lot of time relaxing on the beach and took some surfing classes. It was awesome!!!

photo: Christopher Leggett