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Voluntary Consolation and Mosquito Bites

On By Teresa Merklin

Voluntary consolation is a variation of the First Match Loser’s Consolation (FMLC) draw. In that format, players that lose their first match have the option of signing up to participate in a back draw. Participation is not mandatory and the player has to explicitly opt-in. A significant number of players and organizers believe that voluntary consolation would be a good thing for tournament tennis. They’re wrong. Voluntary consolation is like scratching a mosquito bite. It feels like the right thing to do in the moment, but ultimately it only makes the problem worse.

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Title IX: Game, Set, Match

On By Teresa Merklin

50 years ago today, Richard Nixon signed Title IX of the Civil Rights Act into law. In celebration of that fact I am using this “Tennis Hits the Books” Thursday to run a revised review of the best tennis related book on Title IX. While the law had a seismic impact on educational and athletic opportunities for women, there is still significant opportunity to improve compliance and enforcement.

Training the “Go” Muscles

On By Teresa Merklin

A quick first step is essential to competitive success in tennis. Some baseline capability for speed is an inherent characteristic of a person. It is similar to being tall. While these core attributes cannot be modified through training, a player can develop additional skills that mitigate and enhance their natural abilities. For example, a short player can work to increase vertical leap capacity and consequently “play taller” than their natural height.

The Ranking System Survey

On By Teresa Merklin

Yesterday I took a cut at creating a survey to collect data on player sentiment and preferences associated with the USTA tournament ranking system. The questions were designed in an attempt to collect useful data that might help as the USTA considers potential updates to the regulations. This post introduces that survey and shares my thought process. If you follow this site for the tennis related musings of an overthinking engineer… this content will resonate with you.

Survey Says…

On By Teresa Merklin

The email from the USTA contains a link and the following text: “Thank you for playing in the USTA National Women’s 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, 85 & 90 Clay Court Championships in March. Would you please take a moment and share your experience?” I didn’t complete my survey until this week because I actually got tripped up by one of the questions.

Dear John: The John Lloyd Autobiography

On By Teresa Merklin

Before reading this book, if I had been asked to write a wikipedia-style biography of John Lloyd, it would start out something like this: “John Lloyd is a former professional tennis player who is best known for once being married to Chris Evert.” When Lloyd recently released this autobiography, my first thought was concern that it might be filled with sordid and salacious assertions about Chrissie in an attempt to cash in and sell more copies. As it turns out, those worries were completely unfounded.

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