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Failure is (Sometimes) the Best Option Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness The Psychology of Rules Versus Requests Child’s Pose Tennis Beyond the Headlines: September 30, 2024 Why is it (almost) always the Singles? Evaluating the Alternatives of Shortened Formats for USTA League Championships

Olympic Tennis Draws and How to Stream

On By Teresa Merklin

The Tokyo Olympic Tennis competition got underway yesterday evening and ran overnight. With the timezone differential, Olympic tennis will be played from 10pm through 6am Eastern Time during the early rounds. That is basically overnight, for the continental United States. Additionally, tennis matches will not be broadcast on the Tennis Channel as was the practice with previous Olympic competitions. The primary station in the United States will be the Olympics Channel.

It’s Raining Czechs in the WTA

On By Teresa Merklin

As dominant as the United States women are in professional tennis at the moment, there is one country that is arguably just as strong: The Czech Republic. The small country currently boasts five players in the top 50 in the WTA singles rankings. Additionally, with six of the top 50 WTA doubles players including three in the top 10, the tiny country is a usually a prohibitive favorite to carry the Fed Cup doubles tie.

Seeing Serena

On By Teresa Merklin

‘Seeing Serena’ is an unauthorized biography of Serena Williams recently published by Gerald Marzorati, a tennis writer for the New Yorker. The book chronicles Serena’s return to tennis competition after giving birth to her daughter. Without any special access to Serena and her inner circle, Marzorati examines the player from an external perspective and through the lens of himself as a middle aged white man. He navigates those treacherous waters with skill. The result is a compelling and multi-faceted portrait of Serena.

Court Pace Ratings

On By Teresa Merklin

The section on Classification of Court Pace is found in Appendix I of the ‘ITF Rules of Tennis’ which is published as a part of the USTA ‘Friend at Court.’ It provides some basic information and references out to the ITF technical manual that provides excruciating details of the test procedures. Today’s post narrowly focuses on what is contained in the actual tennis rules. It is interesting but largely irrelevant to actual match play.

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The Peacock Disaster

On By Teresa Merklin

In the United States television broadcasts of the 2021 Roland Garros tournament (more popularly known as the French Open) was carried by a partnership between NBC and the Tennis Channel. For the first time in history, the addition of lights at Roland Garros enabled a night session at the tournament. The tournament organizers decided that the start of the night session would be 9pm time in Paris. From a media perspective, this should have created a viewing bonanza in the United States. Unfortunately, tennis fans will likely remember what happened this year as the Peacock disaster.

When Tennis Left the United States

On By Teresa Merklin

Last week the Umpire who Gave Birth to Me clipped out a column from my hometown newspaper titled “Where have you gone Conners, McEnroe, Agassi and Pete?” When exploring the fragmented nature of media coverage of professional tennis in the United States yesterday, I may have stumbled onto a possible answer to that question. The stars of American tennis didn’t leave the sport but rather the sport left the United States.

It Takes Effort to Find Tennis on TV

On By Teresa Merklin

Televised tennis in the United States is not at all viewer friendly. Fragmented coverage is spread across whatever network happens to own the rights to the sport in any given week. It is a is a real problem for the overall tennis ecosystem. In order to increase participation in any sport, prospective players have to be exposed to it. Television broadcasts are an effective way to raise awareness and attract participation. All sports are filled with stories of how a player watched it in their youth that sparked their dreams to play at the highest level.

The Master List: Tennis Doubles Books

On By Teresa Merklin

Over the past three months I have reviewed all the books in my personal collection on tennis doubles play. That is a total of nine volumes. Today’s post collects all those reviews into a convenient summary for someone who is seeking to find exactly the right book. Additionally, I have included my observations on the situations where each book excels.