Preparing for a full U.S. swing, and especially Stanford

Sam Groth and Nicole Gibbs are giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional tennis all year long in My Tennis Life. To read more updates from Sam and Nicole, go to tennischannel.com.

I'm back in Los Angeles for some much needed rest after another solid week in Canada. While I would have liked to have reached another final, I competed well throughout the week and continued to improve my understanding of how I want to play for the remainder of the U.S. summer.

After a quick meeting with my team, we decided to withdraw me from Stockton to allow my body to fully recover heading into my WTA events starting at the end of the month. My next competition will be the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.

I cannot wait to get back to the Farm, but I have some work to do before I arrive. After a quick rest, I will double down on my physical training to ensure that I'm in my best possible shape for what I consider to be the most important six weeks of the year.

Right now, I am signed up for the entire US Open Series--Stanford, Toronto, Cincinnati, New Haven and the US Open--but I expect to take at least one of those weeks off.

Since my ranking will miss the US Open main draw cut by about 10-15 spots, my only remaining chance for direct entry will be a wildcard. But with several US players lurking just outside the cut and a former champion on the wildcard request list, that outcome is far from guaranteed for me.

Regardless of what draw I end up appearing on in New York, playing in my first Slam since the French will be a welcome step back into the highest echelons of tennis. But first, I will prepare for my return to Stanford—my favorite place on earth to play tennis. It will be easy to put in the work these next two weeks knowing that a warm reception in Palo Alto, among my favorite fans in the world, is just around the corner.