What a whirlwind trip halfway across the world and back in 4 days! I was in Kuala Lumpur to promote 'The Showdown of Champions 2009', an all Russian vs. Asia Women's tennis exhibition that is to take place there in December.  As you guys know it's very important for me to continue to support the game of tennis, so I always love the opportunity to promote the game whenever I can.

After many travel delays I finally touched ground in Malaysia.  I was just so happy to make it, for a while there I was really worried that we weren't going to arrive at all!  I had heard so many great things about the country and the Malaysian hospitality so I was excited to finally be there and visit a place I had never been to before.

First on the schedule was the event launch and press conference at the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, I was amazed by the size of this shopping center. I also did a photo-op in front of the Pavilion at the Crystal Fountain, I would have loved to have seen it lit up at night; it was such a beautiful sight.

From the Pavilion I went to visit and speak to a group of young tennis players, it was great to see how much some of the local kids were involved in tennis and had such a passion for the sport. They had great questions and I really enjoyed spending time with them. This was definitely one of the highlights of my day.

In between tennis and the dinner, I went back to the hotel to do a few photo-ops and press interviews. Finally I was off to wrap up my visit at the event hosted dinner. It was at the most beautiful roof top restaurant in the center of the city.

While I was only in Kuala Lumpur for such a short time, it was well worth the travel time to get there. I definitely plan on going back to spend some time there and explore more of the country!