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RTW Trip Day #102: The ASB Classic Tennis Tournament in Auckland on the Final Day of Our Trip
- andrewsco3
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
7 January 2026
Today was the final day of our trip, and we had to be at the airport around 6pm for our flight home to Canada.
Rather than spend the day exploring Auckland, we decided to do something something a little different, and bought tickets to the ASB Classic Auckland tennis tournament.
As many of you know, me and Susie play tennis, are huge tennis fans, and Jess used to play a lot, so it seemed like the perfect way to end our trip in a unique way.
Breakfast at Winona Forever
Stupidly, I didn’t take any photos of our breakfast at Winona Forever, but I wanted to mention it because it was fantastic. The menu looked great, but the counter food was just too good to pass up, so we all ordered various things from there. The food was incredible, and I highly recommend it if you’re in Auckland and nearby.
If you’re into bookshops, there’s also a fantastic one right next door called Lamplight Books, which had possibly the best collection of cookbooks I’ve ever seen in a bookstore.
The Auckland ASB Classic Tennis Tournament
This was the first pro tennis tournament that me and Susie have been to in years, so it was fun to have the feeling of experiencing something new with the girls.
This week was the women’s tournament (the men’s was scheduled for the following week), so we weren’t expecting to see any men play tennis today. However, the first match on Centre Court was cancelled due to a player withdrawal, and we ended up being treated to Gaël Monfils and Adrian Mannarino playing a couple of practice sets instead. Monfils, in particular, is such a fun player to watch!
The first competitive match we saw was Alex Eala against Magda Linette. I hadn't heard much about Linette before, but Alex Eala is an exciting young player on the tour and draws a huge following wherever she plays, especially from her passionate Filipino fans.
Alex took the first set comfortably before dropping the second, but she regrouped and fought her way through to win the match in three sets.
After the match, we spent some time wandering around the tournament grounds. There was a dedicated area with a couple of swingball setups that were clearly aimed at kids, but that didn’t stop us adults from getting involved too!
We got a little competitive, and the supervisor keeping an eye on things told us it was the “most fun competitive match” they’d seen all day…. so make of that what you will. Just don’t ask Susie who won!
We caught part of the next match on the centre court before heading over to watch some of the practice courts. We’d been hoping to see Katie Boulter, who was playing later that evening, but unfortunately we just missed her.
Alex Eala Autograph
Just as we were getting ready to leave for the airport, it was announced over the loud speaker that Alex Eala was going to be signing autographs for her fans. Jess really wanted to go, and after a quick look at the clock, we figured we just had time.
The queue was long, but it moved along pretty quickly. When it was Jess’s turn, Alex signed her tennis cap, asked if she played tennis, and seemed to spend a little extra time chatting with her compared to some of the adults in line.
It was a lovely moment to witness, and she genuinely came across as a fantastic role model - it will be fun to watch her career blossom over the next few years!
The Flight Home to Calgary
From the tennis, we headed straight to the airport, which meant some emotional goodbyes. It was especially hard for the girls to say goodbye to Granny and Uncle Michael, and for Michael too, as we’re not quite sure when we’ll see him again.
Once we were in the air, the flight was actually really good, even though it was a long one. We flew with Air New Zealand and the service was fantastic.
We also paid a bit extra for their Skycouch, which is essentially a row of economy seats that converts into a flat surface by lifting the leg rests, creating a small bed.
It was a bit of a squeeze for Susie and the girls to all lie down together, but the girls slept really well, which made a huge difference on such a long flight. Highly recommend it if you are travelling with younger kids.
We finally arrived home after a brief stopover in Vancouver. I have to admit, it was a great feeling. Even though there was definitely an element of sadness that our adventure was over, it was exciting to know we’d soon be seeing Ellie and our friends again.
Speaking of friends, we’ve got some good ones! As we walked through the door, we were welcomed by a wonderful 'Welcome Home' sign they’d stuck on the wall.
So that’s a wrap! It’s been really fun writing this daily log, but I’m also looking forward to having a bit of time off from writing. The great thing is that we now have these memories documented, and I’m sure we’ll all come back and reminisce every now and again, or use it as a source of information when we can’t remember the details.
Thanks for reading!
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