STANFORD — It’s understandable if fans at the opening night of the Bank of the West Classic found themselves confused.
A double take wasn’t out of the realm of possibility as Annika and Kristina Penickova took turns on Stadium Court at Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the Stanford campus.
The 7-year-old twins, Lilliputian in height and nearly indistinguishable, were at the top of their game as ball kids until almost midnight.
“On Monday night,” Kristina said, “I don’t know if you could do this or not, one of our friends, they called, ‘Go Kristina and Annika.’ I was like, ‘OK, I’ll take that, but not right now. I have to focus.’ ”
Apparently, staying up until well past their bedtime wasn’t an issue.
“They didn’t seem like they were tired or anything,” said Olga Penickova, their mother.
The first priority was readiness.
To make sure the girls were up to the task as ball kids, both spent more than 10 hours of training on the court.
“Which is above what we ask, and they were almost at the max,” said Jim Brownell, in his 19th year as director of the ball person program at the Bank of the West Classic.
“And they were practicing at home, pretending,” Olga said. “They didn’t want to let anybody of their team down.”
The twins didn’t even mind if their ball kid uniforms were a tad oversized.
“Hopefully no one noticed the knot,” said Kristina, since their T-shirts required some modification.
During the qualifying draw, Kristina was assigned to Stadium Court, while Annika worked Court 6.
“We shared stories and they were really fun,” Kristina said. “So it was awesome.”
Among her many tasks, Kristina was responsible for holding an umbrella over Michaela Gordon, an incoming freshman at Stanford who nearly qualified for the main draw.
“I would say Sunday was harder for me,” Kristina said. “Because I would have to do towels and balls, then pick up the ball, then towel again — everything at one time. It was really hard for the first time.”
The sun wasn’t much of an issue during qualifying for Annika, who stood with her back to the fence on Court 6.
“It was actually OK, because I was in the corners on Sunday and they were shady,” Annika said.
Day 1 of the main draw was a whole different story.
The twins were assigned to the evening session, which featured five-time grand slam champion Maria Sharapova as a wildcard, as well as Nicole Gibbs, who won two NCAA singles titles while at Stanford.
In the stands, nervous and thrilled parents paid closer attention to the ball kids instead of the matches.
“Honestly, I was,” Olga said. “Both of us, my husband and I, we were so proud of them and how well they handled themselves. And how sort of professional they looked. They were just doing what they were supposed to and running around. It was a very proud parent moment.
“And the good thing is it was on ESPN3, so even the grandma and grandpa can watch,” added Olga, whose parents live in the Czech Republic.
Tomas Penicka and his wife, both from the Czech Republic, met as pro tennis players. They moved to the United States almost 20 years ago, with Tomas currently the director of tennis at Los Altos Golf & Country Club, where the whole family often meets for practice.
“Every day,” Kristina said. “It’s fun because we play all four of us together.”
“We basically have a mini clinic,” Annika added.
It’s just the parents, the twins and their dog.
“It’s a Shitzu and it’s really cute,” Kristina said.
“In my opinion,” Annika added.
Tennis definitely runs in their blood, as the twins competed at a USTA junior sectional in Fresno over the weekend — and won.
“Right now I’m working on my serve,” said Kristina, a righty who considers her ground strokes a strength.
“Mine is same thing, so basically forehand,” added Annika, who is a lefty. “I’m working on volleys.”
As ball kids, both were careful not to run recklessly out on the court while collecting the balls.
But it was important to hustle immediately afterward, in order to avoid delaying the players, especially when working the net.
“It depends how far you are,” Annika said. “If you’re like in the middle, you can go back. Then if you’re too far, then you go to the corner.”
The twins got other tips at the ball person lounge located underneath Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
“One of the advices is you don’t want to stand too close to the net, because then you’re in the way for the ball,” Kristina said. “So you want to stand where the chairs are or where the umpire is. And you don’t want to block the SAP sign, to where no one can see it.”
Olga added: “It’s great that the older kids warmed to them right away.”
No piece of advice, though, could keep one of the twins from eluding a tennis ball hit directly in her direction.
“One actually did hit me, but not too hard,” Kristina said. “So I didn’t get scared, but it hit me.”
Undeterred, she was eager to return to Stadium Court one last time.
Limited to 40-minute shifts in constant rotation, Kristina thought her night was done, except Gibbs forced a third-set tiebreaker, extending her match past 11:40 p.m.
“So this boy, when it was the changeover after a point, he went like, ‘Come on! It’s another shift!’ ” Kristina said.
So much for bedtime.
