Welcome to the latest instalment of Kamilla Bartone’s blog. The 17-year-old enjoyed a promising campaign in 2019, reaching the quarter-finals of two Junior Grand Slams and qualifying for the season-ending ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu. Kamilla is writing regular pieces for the ITF and providing insight into life as an aspiring player.

When it became clear that the dangers surrounding coronavirus in Germany were escalating, I left Stuttgart where I train with the German Tennis Federation and travelled to join my father, Viktor, who lives in Dortmund.

Everything here in Germany is closed, there is no pasta or rice in any of the supermarkets and the whole situation is very strange and not something any of us could have predicted a few months ago.

There are more important considerations of course, but, for me, it is so odd not to be playing tennis. For us tennis players, that is usually all we do, so not being on the court is extraordinary.

Normally I would only take a one-week vacation from tennis at any given time. Not competing until at least 8 June – the date the ITF World Tennis Tour and WTA Tour is suspended until – feels bizarre. Again, there are bigger concerns, but during this period I still have to stay fit and be ready to compete when the calendar is reinstated.

Doing only fitness work all day, every day is difficult. Currently, I am running for about an hour each morning before breakfast. I will then do some core exercises prior to lunch before turning my attention to school work.

Schools in Germany are closed but I am still doing online schooling – this is my penultimate year of high school. Due to coronavirus, exams in Germany have been suspended so I only have to finish this year. In some ways, that makes the academic year more relaxing. After school work, my day finishes with some sprints.

As well as exercising, it is also important to keep an eye on what I’m eating, as usually it doesn’t matter quite as much given I’m burning so much while training and playing tennis. Now, though, I need to be disciplined.

Normally, I would have porridge and peanut butter for breakfast, lunch would be soup and then some fish with pasta or rice and then I would perhaps have a Caesar salad for dinner.

That all sounds fine, but I do sometimes allow myself to have some chocolate after breakfast, while I love candy and would tend to have some as a snack after dinner. Now, though, I have to stop eating chocolate and candy and have to show self-control.

Even though I have fitness work to do, the present situation does mean I have far more free time than I would normally, and I’m trying to do a few things I usually don’t have the chance to.

I’m doing a lot more reading and currently working through How to be an Extraordinary Athlete by Dr Ann Quinn, who I met at the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu last year. It’s an interesting read.

I am also catching up with friends in Latvia, where my mum, Grazina, is and Facetiming my doubles partner Oksana Selekhmeteva, who is back in Russia and still able to practice. It is good to know that she is fine and well.

These are extraordinary times and hopefully normality can return as soon as possible. In the meantime, take care and stay safe.