Latest Posts

The Incentive Problem Hidden Inside NTRP Ratings Why the NTRP Ratings System Is Complex, Not Just Complicated The Cruelest Game: Chasing Greatness in Professional Tennis The Code, Principle 13: Why You Cannot Call Your Own First Serve Out Soccer Bell Touches for Better Tennis Footwork Tennis Beyond the Headlines: August 17, 2026 Try Harder? What a DEF CON Challenge Teaches Us About Resilience

Waking Up in a Tennis Wasteland

I first wrote about the decline of the tennis culture in my hometown in “Life on the Border: Tennis Wastelands.” Wichita Falls used to be a hotbed for tennis, but that simply isn’t the case anymore. While the umpire who gave birth to me continues to recover from the injury she sustained shortly before Thanksgiving, I have been spending a lot of time in my childhood home. For someone who spent 35 years away, the decline in participation is jarring.