Meet Stefan

Hello all! Stefan here to deliver exciting news! With the US Open starting soon, the chums and I decided to take a road trip to see the matches in person. As part of our road trip, we toured around New York City, checking out the major attractions that the Big Apple has to offer. Our trip concluded with a visit to Queens in New York City to watch world-famous tennis players compete for the Grand Slam title. Read on to learn about our adventure and all the fun attractions we saw!

The biggest symbol of New York City is the Statue of Liberty, so we all decided to check that out first. It was a blast! When we arrived, we felt like ants in comparison to the monument. It's 305 feet tall, which is more than 3 times the length of a tennis court. We learned that France gave it to the United States as a gift in 1886 in celebration of American independence. Located on Ellis Island, it was a pivotal stop for immigrants coming to the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From the monument, we could see the New York City skyline and all the buildings that made up the city. After taking a bunch of pictures of everything, it was time for us to check out our next attraction, a famous building along the New York City skyline!

As we went into the city, we got closer to our next attraction, the Empire State Building! We found parking and walked up to the102-story skyscraper, and marveled at its size. We booked a guided tour that showcased the Art Deco lobby, the Celebrity Walk, and exhibits highlighting the building's history and heritage. Built from 1930 to 1931, this famous skyscraper got the nickname "Empire State" because it is the nick name for the state of New York. It's the 8th-tallest building in New York City and the 10th-tallest skyscraper in the United States. As a staple of the trip, we had to check out both the 86th and 102nd floor observatories. The views were amazing! We could see the entire city, including Central Park, Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty. Henri wasn't a big fan of the views, however, since he doesn't like heights. After taking in the views, we saw where our third and final attraction would be.

For our final attraction, we checked out the famous Times Square! Formed at the intersection of Broadway, 7th Avenue, and 42nd Street, bright digital billboards and advertisements are all over for people to see. It's one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and trust us, it was very busy when we went. We were in awe of all the bright lights and sounds that lit up throughout the area. We did much of our shopping while we were here. From candies to merchandise, to books and clothes, we spent much of our time and money checking everything out. We discovered that approximately 330,000people pass through Times Square daily, and around 50 million visitors come every year. After all the sightseeing, we got ready for the US Open, prepared to watch the world's best tennis players!

We arrived at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York, all of us excited to see the pros compete for the title. We entered the stadium in awe of the size. Many spectators were ready to see the best tennis players battle it out. We watched recent Wimbledon champions Jannik Sinner and Iga Świątek compete, hungry to win another title. We saw legends such as Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Coco Gauff play and do their best to win. Many of the matches were a battle between each player, and it was thrilling to watch them all. After the first day, we enjoyed all the tennis matches played and decided to go back to our hotel for the rest of the day. We've enjoyed all that New York has-to-offer and can't wait to see more attractions and watch more pros compete for the US Open title!

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Hello again everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving! The team and I planned a fun and exciting Thanksgiving day with lots of food and tennis for us to play. Everyone met at my house for the day and brought all the food they made. We've been planning our day for quite some time now, with everyone wanting to chip in. Let me talk about our exciting day!

Before our dinner, we decided to have a friendly match. At our local tennis court, it was Ken and I against Emma and Henri. Before we started, Ken and I planned how to beat Emma and Henri. We knew that Emma was fast on the court, so we had to do our best to put the ball way out of her reach so she wouldn't have time to get to it. Henri has powerful serves, so we had to be ready for each one, no matter how fast. At first, it was a tight matchup, with all of us going back and forth to race for the ball. We made some good plays by communicating clearly with each other. However, Emma and Ken did a fantastic job adjusting to our schemes. They had an answer for everything we did. Unfortunately, we ended up losing in a close game. After the match, we were all exhausted. And very hungry! So we went back to my house to rest up a bit and get ready for our feast.

For Thanksgiving, we decided that all of us would choose two dishes to cook to share for our dinner. One dish would be from a traditional Thanksgiving dish, and the other from our home country. I was in charge of making the turkey for everyone and my signature Swedish meatballs. I've never made a turkey, so I knew this would be a challenging dish. Ken went with mac and cheese and Lamingtons from his home country, Australia. A lamington is an Australian sponge cake in the shape of a square. Usually, it would have a chocolate sauce inside, but he made it with strawberry jam. Emma made a delicious green bean casserole and Tteokguk, a rice cake soup for Chuseok. Chuseok is known as Korean Thanksgiving, which isn't exactly like the American holiday but similar, involving family gatherings and sharing food. Henri made three dishes, one traditional and two for his Spanish and French background. Henri made a tasty pumpkin pie, Ensalada de San Isidro which is a classic Spanish salad, and French onion soup.

After having a delicious Thanksgiving meal with everyone, we talked about our exciting tennis matchup. We gave out some pointers and what we could do better. We're all very knowledgeable about tennis, so we always want to learn more and what we can do better. After some time, it was getting later, and my chums decided to head back home. We planned to meet again over the weekend for another friendly matchup. Next time, it would be Henri and I against Emma and Ken. With some much-needed advice, we're all excited to go back out and play hard again!

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Wow! Do I have a story to tell you! Just when I thought I was lost and out of hope, my best chums came to save me when I needed them the most. I’m so glad I have friends who can help me in any situation I’m involved in. Ok, you’re probably thinking, what happened?? Well, I’ll tell you!

Over the winter, I decided to practice my snowboarding skills and head up to Mount Tokki. It was a bitter, snowy day, with the forecast calling for even more snow in the evening. I knew I had to get up to snowboard on the mountain before it got worse later in the day. Before heading out, I got some hot chocolate to heat myself at the lodge before heading to the snowy mountain. I went to the nearby chairlifts and took the trip up to the tip of Mount Tokki. I could barely see the ground with all the snow! I started to second guess myself as I got higher on the mountain, thinking maybe it was too risky with all the snow falling and conditions to be not that great. But I love a good challenge! Not to mention, I was already at the top of the mountain. I got off the chairlift, all bundled up, ready for the thrill of a lifetime.

As I got my goggles ready, I put down my snowboard into the soft snow and slowly made my way to ride down. I felt my heart pounding like a thousand beats a second, all from the adrenaline of this incredible snowboarding session I was about to do. As I picked up speed, I saw the snow falling around me. My visibility became more impaired as I went faster down the mountain. While I’m not a total pro with snowboarding, I can dodge oncoming rocks and trees easily enough. However, I couldn’t dodge one tree in particular. With the snow much worse now, I could see far less as I got further down the mountain and into an area with more trees. Suddenly, I saw a tree right in front of me! I turned to avoid it at the last possible second, but unfortunately, my snowboard clipped the tree and broke off, sending me into a tumble gradually down the mountain. Luckily, I didn’t tumble for too long and stood up to check to make sure I wasn’t injured. There were some bruises on my arms and legs, but nothing serious. My problem was now in front of me. A broken snowboard, snow steadily falling faster and faster, and night quickly approaching. What was I to do?? 

I composed myself, making sure I knew I was safe and not trapped on this snowy mountain. I had kept my phone in my pocket during the trip in case an emergency like this happened. I quickly called up my chums, Emma, Henri, and Ken. They picked up my call, and I told them everything that happened. They all were on their way to help me before the snow could get worse. While waiting for them, I started slowly walking down the mountain so my chums could see me. By this point, the snow had come down so much I could barely see a few feet in front of me! I took my time, slowly walking with my broken snowboard. Man, was I cold! Before I left, I made sure to layer up with many jackets and extra gloves too. I went to check my phone to see if any of my chums had called, but I had no reception. I started to worry; will I make it out before this snowstorm froze me?? Just then, I saw a bright light in the distance. I became excited and started running towards it. What could it be? Am I close to the lodge? Then I saw… it was all my chums riding on snowmobiles! I was so delighted to see them, thinking at some point would I be able to get back without freezing! I got on Ken’s snowmobile, shivering and cold, and we all went back to the lodge. Once we got back, I thanked them so much for coming to save me. We got some hot chocolate and sat near the fire in the lodge, joking around and staying warm. I’m so grateful to have great friends! 

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The name’s Stefan – nice to meet you! As you can probably tell, I’m excited to welcome you and your tennis-loving buddies to my world, my domain, my kingdom. When it comes down to it, my name actually says plenty about my domineering personality. You see, Stefan is the German word for "crown". Which is totally appropriate since I consider myself the king overlord of TokkiWorld anyway. Somewhat stubborn and pretty set in my ways, I know what I want and I like what I like. Honestly, it would take a miracle to change my mind once it’s made up. I guess you can say I trust my instincts more than anything.  

A real ace with a dominating presence on and off the court, everyone knows me as a tennis-obsessed teddy bear fueled by a great deal of hustle and a whole lotta heart. When not fielding moonballs, diving for volleys or outmaneuvering opponents who dare challenge me, I can be found hanging with fellow chums, belting out 80's rock tunes at karaoke joints, scaling high altitudes or shredding gnarly slopes with my buds. As a descendent of Viking lords and ladies, I’m a fierce and formidable competitor who LIVES for the attack. On account of my Nordic pedigree, I enjoy devouring Swedish meatballs, sipping salted foam boba drinks and trying to emulate the baseline playing style of my idol, tennis legend Björn Borg.

If you're a winner who likes to lead, take charge and challenge yourself, you’ll find me to be the perfect forever pal loyal to a tee. My buds and I will be documenting our adventures here on our blog, so make sure you follow along the way on social media @TokiTennis. We look forward to sharing all of the cool things about our lives here in TokkiWorld. We have lots of surprises, announcements and more in store for you.