Illinois senior Pavlina Akritas had an important phone call to make.

She needed to wish Illinois assistant coach JoAnne Russell good luck and tell her that she had played well during her early-round competition at the U.S. Open.

Russell, an NCAA and Wimbledon champion, has been a part of the Illinois coaching staff for nearly a decade, but she has never forgotten her playing days on the professional tour.

Instead, she waits every year, hoping for a chance to play at the U.S. Open, the most prestigious event on U.S. soil.

“Every year, I’m actually really thankful (to play),” Russell said.

The Women’s Masters doubles competition which Russell played in is an invitiation-only event.

Russell and the other women who compete at the U.S. Open each year have stunning athletic accomplishments, having won titles at or advanced to at least the quarterfinals of a major event, such as the Australian Open, the French Open, the U.S. Open, or Wimbledon. However, that does not change the level of excitement Russell feels when she is picked to play at the event every year.

“I have no idea what they base (selection) on,” Russell said. “I can’t thank whoever it is enough.”

Russell said she will not feel bad if she is not picked to play in the U.S. Open again, but she said she will miss playing.

This year, Russell and her doubles partner, Kathy Rinaldi, advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open Women’s Masters event. They lost to Kathy May Fritz and Anne Smith 6-0, 7-6 (4).

“There’s pressure – the pressure of wanting to perform well,” Russell said.

However, when she was playing, her “coaching side” came out as well. During the first round of the tournament, Russell and Rinaldi went down a break 3-4 in the second set. The women had already lost the first set and were struggling to stay alive.

Russell turned to Rinaldi and told her to ‘Be Aggressive.’

“I had my coaching hat on here,” Russell said.

That was all it took. The women rallied to win the match 3-6, 7-5, 7-2 (8).

Russell said her ability to motivate Rinaldi came from her years of coaching at Illinois. She said that although she is an emotional player, she realized she needed to stay positive to help her doubles partner out.

“The moment I’m negative, they can feel that,” Russell said.

Most importantly though, Russell said she not only wanted to perform well for herself, she was excited about the record-number of fans that were at the U.S. Open this year.

Russell said she was surprised when fans surrounded her courts, considering the Women’s Masters is not as flashy and exciting as the U.S. Open’s main draw, but was complemented by the number of spectators who remained, because they liked watching the more graceful competitors.

Russell also realized that she was proudly representing the Illini. She was wearing orange and blue garb all weekend. She also spread the “Illini spirit” while at the U.S. Open.

Throughout her years on the tour, Russell has remained upbeat and positive. She met Serena Williams, when Williams was an unseeded player at Wimbledon.

Russell introduced Williams to her friends in the 35-and-over category and since then they have always supported each other at events. They have lockers near each other in the locker rooms and are usually upbeat.

Much of Russell’s positive approach to the tournament began long before the U.S. Open started.

The women on the Illinois team helped Russell train, cheering for their coach while she worked out. They always wanted to know who she was hitting with, too.

For now, though, Russell will go back to coaching. She was excited about being back in Champaign for the first day of team practice. But that hasn’t stopped her from thinking about next year’s U.S. Open.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky again and they’ll call or e-mail me,” Russell said, “and maybe I’ll get to play in the U.S. Open again.”