Mayuko, Yuko work wonders in women’s doubles open

Mayuko Arriola and Yuko Kumada went undefeated in the three-team women’s doubles open to win the division championship of the 2024 Bridge Capital Tennis Classic last weekend at the American Memorial Park.

It was the most recent championship for former top junior netter Arriola and the first for Kumada. The two started the competition with a 2-6, 6-3,10-5 comeback win over Stella Choi and Vivian Chung. Then secured the tiara with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Emma Lang and. Savita Sikkel

“The tournament was fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve competed. I’ve really missed playing and the adrenaline of competing. I wasn’t so much surprised that we won, but more relieved. I really don’t like losing and I wanted to prove to myself that I can still keep up with the young ones,” said Arriola.

The 34-year-old Oleai Elementary School teacher last won when she teamed up with Jeff Race in the mixed doubles of the PIC Tennis Championships in 2020. She also placed second in the women’s singles in that tourney.

As for being outplayed in the first set of their opener by junior netters Choi and Chung, Arriola said she and Kumada just took everything in stride and persevered in the second and rubber set.

“We sort of laughed it off and joked that it was just a warmup set. We buckled down and tried to play smarter and our opponents were looking like they were getting tired so we used that to our advantage as well.”

Arriola said she took up tennis once again as her oldest daughter, Natsuki, started to pick up the sport.

“I haven’t really gotten back completely to be honest. My oldest daughter started taking lessons a couple months back with Jeff and I figured it’d be a good time to get back into it so she and I can hit together. Since then, though, I’ve only been out on the courts maybe five times before the tournament. It’s been hard juggling work and my family life to find time to get out there. As my daughter learns and develops her skills, I look forward to competing with her and maybe even possibly against her if my body will hold up.”

Arriola did say that playing tennis again has been great and she’s happy to have somehow rekindled her love for the sport.

“It’s like riding a bike and everything kind of just starts flowing once I find my groove. I can feel the difference in my body compared to when I was younger but I try not to focus on that and still push myself to play like I’m 16 again.”

Kumada, meanwhile, attributed their win to her sort of namesake and how good she played last weekend.

“Her play is very dynamic and powerful. So, I was very happy playing with Mayuko,” she said, adding that they didn’t panic when they went down in their first outing.

“We just relaxed and enjoyed game,” said the 43-year-old who has been playing tennis for four years.

In the women’s 35 of the Northern Mariana Islands Tennis Association-organized tourney, Mae Kim went undefeated against Ming Pascual (6-1, 6-0) and Thu Tran (6-0, 6-0) to rule the division.

Top seeds Yuko Kumada and Harumi Suzuki, meanwhile, won the women’s 35 doubles after also sweeping the division. They beat Jin Hua and Ming Pascual, 6-0, 6-1, and Min Han and Jing Zhao, 6-1, 6-0.