CALABASAS, Calif.,
(March 22, 2014) – Kaley Cuoco, star of the hit TV show “The Big Bang Theory”,
showed flashes of the form that made her a competitive USTA junior player
during the Kaley Cuoco & Friends Exhibition on Saturday night at the Calabasas
Tennis & Swim Center.
Cuoco, 28, teamed
with her newlywed husband and professional player Ryan Sweeting in an exhibition—which featured mini-matches and
shot skills--before the featured semifinal match at the USTA Men’s Pro Tennis Championships of Calabasas, a USTA $15,000 Pro Circuit Futures
event.
In Sunday’s final of
the event, it will be UCLA junior Marcos Giron of Thousand Oaks facing former
Michigan University star Jason Jung in an all-Southern California final. The
unseeded Giron beat No. 6-seeded Mate Pavic of Croatia, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in
Saturday night’s featured semifinal match. In the other semifinal, it was the
No. 3-seeded Jung taking out former USC star Daniel Nguyen, 7-5, 6-2.
In the doubles final
that will open up play on Sunday at 12 noon, the top-seeded team of Sekou
Bangoura and Evan King will take on Dennis Novikov and Connor Smith. All four
players are from the U.S. and played college tennis.
Before the final
singles semifinal match between Giron and Pavic, Cuoco and her husband played with
Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center pros Brady Heite, Natasha Mucci, Ahmad
Shiraz and Jonas Wallgard for 20 minutes while Top Seed Director Steve McAvoy
handled the commentary over the public address system.
“Ryan gave me a lot
of pointers yesterday,” Cuoco said. “Actually I have been practicing for about
three weeks. I thought I was going to want to kill him, but he was very sweet
about it. My game is still deep down there somewhere.”
Cuoco hit strong
forehands and backhands during the exhibition, “but I wasn’t expecting this
much of a workout. That was like a Wayne Bryan workout with all the running
around.”
“I remember watching
her train,” said Mucci, a tennis instructor at the Calabasas Tennis & Swim
Center. “She looks fantastic, like she has been playing a little tennis
lately.”
“Her key is she
intimates opponents,” said Sweeting, who lost to
Roberto Marcora, the No. 4 seed from Italy, 6-1, 6-2, in the opening round. In
2010 Sweeting lost in the singles final to Marinko Matosevic of Australia in the Calabasas Challengers final. “Kaley
understands the trajectory of the ball now, rather than just hitting it.”
Cuoco and Sweeting were introduced last summer by mutual friend Mike
Bryan. Kaley and Mike were friends during their youth tennis days, where both
trained at the Cabrillo Racquet Club under Wayne and Kathy Bryan.
“I grew up with the Bryans (Mike and Bob) and we have been in each
other’s lives forever,” Cuoco said. “I remember Wayne saying my sons are going
to be the No. 1 doubles players in the world when they were only 10, and that’s
exactly what they did.”
Cuoco and
Sweeting—who were married on New Year’s Eve last year—met after a World Team
Tennis match in Dallas in August.
“I was playing for
the Sacramento Capitals and the Bryans played for Dallas,” Sweeting said. “”I
flew from Dallas to meeting Kaley in LA and I haven’t left. I sold my house in
Fort Lauderdale two weeks after I met her.”
“I knew Ryan had to
be a good guy if Mike was friends with him,” Cuoco said. “Mike thinks he’s a
good matchmaker, however his wife Lucille had a lot to do with it. I think they
are fighting to this day about who actually introduced us.”
“The Big Bang Theory”
was recently renewed for another three years on CBS, and Cuoco couldn’t be
happier. “It feels amazing and I can’t believe it,” Cuoco said. “I feel very
lucky to be a part of something so incredible.”
at the USTA Men’s Pro Tennis Championships of
Calabasas, a USTA $15,000 Pro
Circuit Futures event being played at the Calabasas Tennis & Swim Center.
Saturday’s Singles Semifinals Scores
Marcos Giron, U.S.,
def. Mate Pavic, Croatia (6), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Jason Jung, U.S. (3),
def. Daniel Nguyen, U.S., 7-5, 6-2
Saturday’s Doubles Semifinal Score
Sekou Bangoura/Evan
King, U.S. (1), def. Fabian Matthews/Kyle McMorrow, U.S. (4), 6-4, 6-2
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