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The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center

On By Teresa Merklin

The US Open is played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Throughout her playing career, Billie Jean King was in frequent conflict with the USLTA (later USTA) and one of its most outspoken and colorful critics. As an organization, the USTA has a long history of an extremely insular culture that ostracizes dissenters. That makes the decision to say “Thank You” to Billie Jean by naming the National Tennis Center in her honor all the more momentous. That recognition of her enormous contributions to the sport was an act that was entirely out of character for the USTA.

Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports

On By Teresa Merklin

“All In: An Autobiography” of Billie Jean King will be released in five days on August 17. In the interim, I am passing the time by revisiting previously published books on her life. This week’s selection is positioned as a history book on the revolution in women’s sports. Interweaving the biography of Billie Jean King with the emergence of women’s athletics makes the history more accessible than when presented as a standalone topic. That story is virtually inseparable from the life of Billie Jean anyway.

TheraBand Flex Bar

On By Teresa Merklin

The TheraBand FlexBar is recommended for rehabilitation of tennis elbow. It is also useful for preventative strength training for the wrist and elbow muscles used in striking a tennis ball. The use of a FlexBar for treatment of tennis elbow was first reported in 2009 at the annual meeting of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. Unlike a lot of other tennis training devices, there are solid clinical trials behind the marketing claims. If you can get past the fact that it looks like an oversized licorice stick, the FlexBar might be for you.

Serena’s Apology

On By Teresa Merklin

Following her loss to Naomi Osaka in the 2018 US Open Finals, Serena Williams had a lot of soul searching to do. The emotional processing following that match included her own behavior, the code violations, and ultimately the reactions of the fans. In Serena’s own words, “Finally I realized that there was only one way for me to move forward. It was time for me to apologize to the person who deserved it the most.”

The Aftermath of the 2018 US Open

On By Teresa Merklin

Yesterday I described a twitter firestorm that erupted following disclosure that Serena Williams had constructed a Laykold tennis court at her residence prior to the 2020 US Open. Some fans felt that the USTA was providing Serena with an unfair advantage. Others speculated that the organization was trying to make amends for “stealing” the US Open Finals from her in 2018. In the aftermath of that match, the USTA started an initiative to better educate tennis fans on the rules of the sport. Based on that twitter thread, it might not be working.

Courting Success: Serena’s Laykold Court

On By Teresa Merklin

In 2020 the USTA changed the the court surface used for the US Open from DecoTurf to Laykold. It marked the first time the manufacturer of the surface had changed for the tournament since 1978. As a new surface for that venue, the players really didn’t know what to expect with one exception. Serena Williams had the court at her home in Florida resurfaced with Laykold.

Billie Jean: 1974

On By Teresa Merklin

I am counting down the days until the release of “All In: An Autobiography” of Billie Jean King which drops on August 17. In the meantime, I am revisiting previously published books on her life. First up is another autobiography, “Billie Jean” that was published in 1974. That work captures the chaos of the early days of the WTA as well as that moment when Billie Jean arrived at the realization that she was much more than “just a tennis player.”

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Court Pace Index

On By Teresa Merklin

There are no requirements in the ITF Rules of Tennis regarding Court Pace Ratings and Certification. The ITF programs that provide those measurements and assessment services are in support of court construction, rather than rules conformance. It is understood that there will be a wide range in the speed of various court surfaces. If you have watched a professional match that included a court speed graphic, the odds are very high that it was not the ITF Court Pace Rating at all.

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