Tennis Tuesday is a content series curated by the New York Empire that will feature some of the game’s greats and New York’s finest tennis coaches, administrators, and fans. This week, we chat with the NY Empire’s Maria Sanchez.

1. How did you enjoy your experience playing in New York for the NY Empire this summer?

I loved my time playing for NY this summer! My teammates were a blast and I loved working with everyone involved in helping our time run so smoothly- Michele, Julie, Brian and everyone else that were very generous in putting in so much work and time for the team.

2. You’ve played team tennis several times – both in college and professionally. What do you think are the most beneficial aspects of team tennis?

Playing for a team is always fun because you have something more to play for than just yourself. There are not many team events in tennis so I always love when I can play on a team. It’s fun to have teammates and coaches to support and receive support from and to learn from. Everyone helps each other out and cheers each other on so it’s a great time.

3. You’ve had some great singles results in the past few weeks. Is there anything in particular you attribute that success to?

World TeamTennis definitely helped prepare me for the tournaments I’ve had afterwards. I played with and against great competition and played in a lot of pressure situations where I ended up learning how to better embrace the pressure. I’ve also been putting in a lot of quality work with my new coach, Martin Emmrich, and with more matches and wins I’ve accumulated the more confidently I’ve been playing.

4. What are your plans for the remainder of 2017?

My plans for the remainder of 2017 are to play challengers in the U.S and Canada to focus on improving my singles ranking.

5. What are your goals for 2018?

My goals for 2018: I try not to look too far ahead other than to keep improving my game. But getting into Grand Slam Qualies for my singles again would be a good start and then go from there!