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Fiend at Court Year in Review 2020

On this final day of 2020, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past year. This site emerged from a goal that I set for myself on New Year’s Eve in 2019. Specifically I wanted to write a page a day about tennis in 2020. The fact that this was done publicly via a blog was an accountability afterthought. Today I am celebrating successful achievement of that goal.

First Serve: Levels of the Game

Levels of the Game is a detailed account of the 1968 semi-final match between by Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner play at Forest Hills. The match is the foreground of for a much deeper cultural and societal examination. The backgrounds and attitudes which shaped each player are interwoven with the match play.

Player Analysis Technology: Policy, Regulation and Smartwatches

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) asserts the authority over whether Player Analysis Technology is legal for use during sanctioned play. Section 31 of the ITF Rules of Tennis published in the USTA Friend at Court essentially boils down to specification of the policy and procedures. The definition of Player Analysis Technology is actually in an appendix to the rules, and was the subject of last week’s post.

Defeating a Broken Tennis Ball Can Pull Tab

Tennis can leave long lasting scars on the psyche. It can also cause physical scars. My hands bear the evidence of that fact from failed attempts to open tennis ball cans through the ages. It is a reflection of my inability to open a can of tennis balls without nicking a finger. Somewhere along the way I learned to use my non-dominant hand when opening the can. Thus, if I sliced a finger, the racquet hand remained unscathed.