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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

Who in the Heck was Perry T Jones?

On By Teresa Merklin

Perry T. Jones was known as the czar of tennis in Southern California in the 1930s and 1940s. He is widely credited for the Southern California tennis factory that produced the likes of Ellsworth Vines, Don Budge, Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzales, and Tony Trabert. He is enshrined in the International Tennis Hall of Fame for his contributions to tennis. His early encounters with both Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs presents an unlikely common linkage between the two players who went on to meet in the “Battle of the Sexes” match. In fact, Jones discouraged both players in the early stages of their playing careers.

First Racquets: Bobby Riggs

On By Teresa Merklin

The moment a tennis racquet is placed into a player’s hand is a potential inflection point. It could be that moment that sparks a lifetime love of the sport. I have a reverential curiosity about how dedicated and accomplished tennis players came into their first racquets. Bobby Riggs relayed the story of how he obtained his first racquets in both of his autobiographies. The story of just how Riggs did that is… not exactly reverential. However, it does reflect the quintessential hustle of Bobby Riggs.

Renee Richards and Bobby Riggs

On By Teresa Merklin

Renee Richards was an American tennis player who participated on the women’s professional tour from 1997 until 1981. She is most commonly remembered as the only transgender person to compete successfully in professional tennis. Shortly after her gender reassignment surgery, and subsequent relocation to California to start a new life, Richards crossed paths with Bobby Riggs. Naturally Riggs roped her into his escapades. It is one of my favorite stories about the character that was Bobby Riggs.

Ted Tinling: Sixty Years in Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

Ted Tinling is best known as the designer of tennis apparel for some of the early stars of women’s tennis. When Gladys Heldman launched the Women’s Professional Tour, she enlisted Tinling to design the tennis clothes worn by the players. Tinling transformed tennis clothes out of the dowdy ankle-length dresses into something that was glamorous and sexy. He was instrumental in advancing women’s tennis into the modern era.

Closing Out Wheelchair Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

Where a wheelchair tennis player is playing with or against an able-bodied person in singles or doubles, the Rules of Wheelchair Tennis shall apply for the wheelchair player while the Rules of Tennis for able-bodied tennis shall apply for the able-bodied player. In this instance, the wheelchair player is allowed two bounces while the able-bodied player is allowed only one bounce.

USTA NTRP National Championships Recap

On By Teresa Merklin

The USTA NTRP National Championships are officially in the books. The tournament included players who received endorsements for the Covid cancelled tournament in 2020 as well as new competitors who qualified for the event in 2021. The Singles brackets were played 9-12 April with 18+ in Surprise, AZ and 50+ in Orlando, FL. The doubles brackets were played 16-19 April with 18+ in Surprise, AZ, and 50+ in San Diego.

Sharing the Spotlight: Caty McNally

On By Teresa Merklin

Arguably no player has benefitted more from the Coco Gauff effect than Caty McNally. Though she is currently ranked 110, she gets more tennis broadcast screen time than many other American women currently in the WTA top 100. The reason for that attention is quite simple. She is Coco Gauff’s doubles partner. One very positive side effect of Coco mania is that the tennis broadcasting industry has suddenly rediscovered that doubles is a thing.

A Flash in the Pan: Melanie Oudin

On By Teresa Merklin

Melanie Oudin reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2009 when she was only 17. She defeated Maria Sharapova in Arthur Ashe Stadium along the way. If you freeze Oudin’s career at that precise moment in time there are some striking similarities to CoCo Gauff’s magical run at Wimbledon in 2019. Both captured the hearts and minds of American tennis fans. As she won the match that propelled her into the US Open Quarterfinals the announcer confidently exclaimed that it would be her “her first US Open Quarterfinal appearance.” In fact, she never made it past the second round in a grand slam singles draw ever again. Her promising start turned out to be the pinnacle of her career.

Lightning in a Bottle: Coco Gauff

On By Teresa Merklin

There is a predictable reaction every time I publicly lament the fact that the tennis promotional machine needs to stop leaning on the aging stars of the game and start building up public interest in the future. It goes something along the lines of “Umm, haven’t you ever heard of Coco Gauff?” She is an interesting case study. The massive public interest and awareness of Gauff is lightning in a bottle. A happy accident.