"So, about Nadal," Estee Ackerman said in her unassuming Manner, about to relive the summer of 2013 serve by function, volley by volley, point by point - http://bestpingpongpaddles.com/
The summer of 2013 -- a summertime when Rafael Nadal was not Struggling, rather than appearing in Tommy Hilfiger underwear ads, possibly -- was the summertime that Estee Ackerman beat him. In ping pong
It happened in August, a couple of weeks before Mr. Nadal Conquered Novak Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to win against the United States Open. Estee was 11 at the time
"I don't believe he knew who he had been playing," she explained Another day, her steeliness edging out modesty. She is the top-ranked girl in ping pong from the under-15 category in New York State and the sixth-ranked girl in the same category nationwide, according to the United States ping pong Association
"I recall I smashed one," she explained. " He seemed really surprised. I mean, he is not bad, you know." Afterwards, in a dialogue about other famous people she has faced, she updated that evaluation, saying that he was "somewhat good"
You will find tennis fans who might not even say that about him After the year he has had. He's seeded eighth at the Open, which begins on Monday (Estee's 14th birthday, by coincidence). She'll be watching from the stands -- and remembering what happened through her head as she ready to face him off
"I wouldn't say I was nervous because I had been pretty Convinced I had been better," she explained. " He couldn't do a two-handed backhand like he can in tennis. I mean, I do play a few tennis" -- she said with a understanding inflection, as if to convey the idea that she's had personal experience with tennis rackets, not just Ping-Pong paddles -- "but I am not so good."
Not in tennis, perhaps. Ping pong is another matter. As the website ping pong Nation put it, "One of the coolest Things about ping pong is that you can drop a match to some tiny woman."
The chef Bobby Flay discovered this through an appearance Last year on Rachael Ray's talk show. " There was a series coming out called 'Beat Bobby Flay,' " Estee explained. So she did. It was the outcome that Ms. Ray's producers must have been counting on when they brought her in -- without warning Mr. Flay.
She also conquered Alecko Eskandarian, an assistant coach of the New York Cosmos, in April. On that occasion, she played with an initial round or 2 under a pseudonym, Francine. The organizers of this event desired some humor, some drama. They did not want the other young players vying for the chance to face Mr. Eskandarian to realize her too shortly
"I had been playing with my left hand to keep myself undercover, You understand?" She said. " Alecko Eskandarian, he is a big shot; he believes he's the best" Even as Francine, she showed him. " He said, 'I thought I was just playing kids.' And the M.C. says, 'Why don't you try hitting your right hand?' So we begin playing for things, and he was like,best ping pong table, 'You hustled me, and your serves were mad.' He had no chance."
Ryan Willard, of ping Pong Nation, stated that ping pong was similar to "chess and boxing all in the same time." And, Mr. Willard added, that plays to Estee's strengths
"It's very, very disciplined," he said, "and together with the Discipline she has, it will serve her well and give her a much longer career." But her enthusiasm has impressed him. " The matter about Ping-Pong is, normally Once You get to a tournament, it's somber, it is serious, it seems like you are at a library," he said. " She has a spark. She feeds off the crowd. The enjoyable part to watch is her excitement and her passion when she plays, and she's always looking for new and distinct challenges."
ping pong originated In England one of stiff-upper-lip types who employed cigar-box tops for paddles. China claimed its dominance in 1959, when a participant named Rong Guotuan won the World ping pong Championships, the first citizen of the People's Republic to win a world title in any game. Estee has played with members of the Chinese Olympic team. " This was the equal for someone to play with N.B.A. All-Stars," her father, Glenn Ackerman, said
Estee took up the game because her brother, who is three Years older, was playing with their dad at the family's basement in West Hempstead, on Long Island. " I thought to myself, why don't you give it a go," she recalled. She's said she was small then that all they could see was her paddle flying back and forth.
Her father, who owns a funeral home in the Bronx, said, "She joined what my son was doing." However, Mr. Ackerman had pointed the way toward ping pong. " I did not want my kids to be involved with electronic gadgets," he explained. " Parents and kids don't spend time together, and moreover, with Estee, how am I going to play basketball with a 7-year-old girl?"
When he realized that she had been better than great, '' he saw possibilities. " I said perhaps we could popularize the sport in America," he explained. " We've got an obesity issue. Not everyone can play basketball. Why can't they do this? It's low accident. In soccer, you will find concussions."
Estee will start her first year in Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls in Holliswood, Queens, where she said that her favorite topics would be recess and mathematics. She'll keep her up heavy practice program -- four hours a day, five days a week -- since she prepares for the Olympic trials in January
She has played in the federal ping pong championships. She spoke about her Final event in the competition in 2012, in Las Vegas. " We saw that I was scheduled for this match for 7:30 p.m. Friday," said Estee, who comes from a family of Orthodox Jews. " I said to myself, This probably would happen to me one day. I said, 'Are you allowed to play ping pong on Shabbos?' "
She picked -- her father said the decision was hers alone -- not to perform the match. " They defaulted me," she explained. " It was disappointing." But she said she felt she had made the right choice. " And," she added, "I got the publicity when I got back to New York."
Then there was that the publicity that came from her game Against Mr. Nadal, that established, at least to Estee, that ping pong is not tennis, ping pong table reviews.
"Tennis, the court's enormous," she explained. " The drills I am Doing, I am exhausted already. People Today think tennis is a similar game, but I Think tennis is a lot more work. There's a different stroke. And larger swings."
The summer of 2013 -- a summertime when Rafael Nadal was not Struggling, rather than appearing in Tommy Hilfiger underwear ads, possibly -- was the summertime that Estee Ackerman beat him. In ping pong
It happened in August, a couple of weeks before Mr. Nadal Conquered Novak Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to win against the United States Open. Estee was 11 at the time
"I don't believe he knew who he had been playing," she explained Another day, her steeliness edging out modesty. She is the top-ranked girl in ping pong from the under-15 category in New York State and the sixth-ranked girl in the same category nationwide, according to the United States ping pong Association
"I recall I smashed one," she explained. " He seemed really surprised. I mean, he is not bad, you know." Afterwards, in a dialogue about other famous people she has faced, she updated that evaluation, saying that he was "somewhat good"
You will find tennis fans who might not even say that about him After the year he has had. He's seeded eighth at the Open, which begins on Monday (Estee's 14th birthday, by coincidence). She'll be watching from the stands -- and remembering what happened through her head as she ready to face him off
"I wouldn't say I was nervous because I had been pretty Convinced I had been better," she explained. " He couldn't do a two-handed backhand like he can in tennis. I mean, I do play a few tennis" -- she said with a understanding inflection, as if to convey the idea that she's had personal experience with tennis rackets, not just Ping-Pong paddles -- "but I am not so good."
Not in tennis, perhaps. Ping pong is another matter. As the website ping pong Nation put it, "One of the coolest Things about ping pong is that you can drop a match to some tiny woman."
The chef Bobby Flay discovered this through an appearance Last year on Rachael Ray's talk show. " There was a series coming out called 'Beat Bobby Flay,' " Estee explained. So she did. It was the outcome that Ms. Ray's producers must have been counting on when they brought her in -- without warning Mr. Flay.
She also conquered Alecko Eskandarian, an assistant coach of the New York Cosmos, in April. On that occasion, she played with an initial round or 2 under a pseudonym, Francine. The organizers of this event desired some humor, some drama. They did not want the other young players vying for the chance to face Mr. Eskandarian to realize her too shortly
"I had been playing with my left hand to keep myself undercover, You understand?" She said. " Alecko Eskandarian, he is a big shot; he believes he's the best" Even as Francine, she showed him. " He said, 'I thought I was just playing kids.' And the M.C. says, 'Why don't you try hitting your right hand?' So we begin playing for things, and he was like,best ping pong table, 'You hustled me, and your serves were mad.' He had no chance."
Ryan Willard, of ping Pong Nation, stated that ping pong was similar to "chess and boxing all in the same time." And, Mr. Willard added, that plays to Estee's strengths
"It's very, very disciplined," he said, "and together with the Discipline she has, it will serve her well and give her a much longer career." But her enthusiasm has impressed him. " The matter about Ping-Pong is, normally Once You get to a tournament, it's somber, it is serious, it seems like you are at a library," he said. " She has a spark. She feeds off the crowd. The enjoyable part to watch is her excitement and her passion when she plays, and she's always looking for new and distinct challenges."
ping pong originated In England one of stiff-upper-lip types who employed cigar-box tops for paddles. China claimed its dominance in 1959, when a participant named Rong Guotuan won the World ping pong Championships, the first citizen of the People's Republic to win a world title in any game. Estee has played with members of the Chinese Olympic team. " This was the equal for someone to play with N.B.A. All-Stars," her father, Glenn Ackerman, said
Estee took up the game because her brother, who is three Years older, was playing with their dad at the family's basement in West Hempstead, on Long Island. " I thought to myself, why don't you give it a go," she recalled. She's said she was small then that all they could see was her paddle flying back and forth.
Her father, who owns a funeral home in the Bronx, said, "She joined what my son was doing." However, Mr. Ackerman had pointed the way toward ping pong. " I did not want my kids to be involved with electronic gadgets," he explained. " Parents and kids don't spend time together, and moreover, with Estee, how am I going to play basketball with a 7-year-old girl?"
When he realized that she had been better than great, '' he saw possibilities. " I said perhaps we could popularize the sport in America," he explained. " We've got an obesity issue. Not everyone can play basketball. Why can't they do this? It's low accident. In soccer, you will find concussions."
Estee will start her first year in Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls in Holliswood, Queens, where she said that her favorite topics would be recess and mathematics. She'll keep her up heavy practice program -- four hours a day, five days a week -- since she prepares for the Olympic trials in January
She has played in the federal ping pong championships. She spoke about her Final event in the competition in 2012, in Las Vegas. " We saw that I was scheduled for this match for 7:30 p.m. Friday," said Estee, who comes from a family of Orthodox Jews. " I said to myself, This probably would happen to me one day. I said, 'Are you allowed to play ping pong on Shabbos?' "
She picked -- her father said the decision was hers alone -- not to perform the match. " They defaulted me," she explained. " It was disappointing." But she said she felt she had made the right choice. " And," she added, "I got the publicity when I got back to New York."
Then there was that the publicity that came from her game Against Mr. Nadal, that established, at least to Estee, that ping pong is not tennis, ping pong table reviews.
"Tennis, the court's enormous," she explained. " The drills I am Doing, I am exhausted already. People Today think tennis is a similar game, but I Think tennis is a lot more work. There's a different stroke. And larger swings."
