Preparing for the US Open qualifying by playing tourist

Checking in from my hotel in New York City on the eve of US Open qualifying. After wildcards were announced on Tuesday, I spent another day and a half in Cincinnati training before making my way to the Big Apple.

Because I had not been able to plan my hotel bookings ahead of time, there was a bit of a shuffle, and I ended up sleeping in three different beds in my first three nights here. But, since Saturday, I’ve been comfortably settled in at one of my favorite NYC hotels—all’s well that ends well.

On Sunday, I enjoyed a day away from the courts and got to be a tourist for a bit. My boyfriend Jack and I spent the morning exploring Manhattan. We walked from midtown all the way to One World Trade Center to see the memorial, which turned out to be quite the hike!

Even though I had been to the 9/11 Memorial once before, I teared up once again as we walked the perimeter of the fountain. Some of the engraved names have fresh roses or little American flags nestled into them—that’s always the part that gets me.

On a lighter note, it was really cool to get a walking tour of so many of New York’s unique burrows, parks and markets. Sometimes it’s great to forget that I’m traveling to play tennis, and, instead, just enjoy the city as a normal traveler would.

I don’t have too much to say about tennis today, other than I intend to compete at my best and leave it all out on the court. Regardless of result, I’m thrilled to be back for my ninth consecutive year—wow, I guess I’m getting old. Oh, and my New Balance outfit this week is epic, so I’m excited about that, too.