An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
The Arthur Ashe biography by Raymond Arsenault was slated for review this week. In fact, I started reading it just over two weeks ago after realizing that it is a lot longer than the books I typically review on this site. For a variety of external factors, I have yet to progress past the midpoint of the book. However, I have already had one significant “Aha” moment to share.
Reilly Opelka continues to amaze me with his ability to get fined for violating obscure ATP rules. After the finals of the Dallas Open last week, he was penalized for wearing his hat during the award ceremony.
I recently decided that a contributing factor to my plantar fasciitis issues is directly related to weight gain over the past year. One of my personal objectives for 2022 is to reverse the that trend and get back down to “playing weight.” I made zero progress in January. Clearly that was the fault of the scales that I was using to weigh myself. Stick with me on this one.
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The highest ranking ITF tennis official resigns, Novak Djokovic grants his first interview on his vaccination status, and Alex de Minaur denies paying for a fake Covid vaccine certificate.
People respond to incentives that are placed before them. It is a part of human nature. Anyone who is intent on building participation in tennis tournaments should periodically invest time to brainstorm potential ways incentivize players to enter more tournaments. Today I am sharing the results from my own brainstorming session on this topic.
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There is a very simple thing that the USTA and the broader tennis industry organizations can do to build tournament participation: Notify prospective players about upcoming tournaments. It is an obvious statement yet it is something that isn’t being effectively done. That needs to change.
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One of the best way for individual tennis players to support tournament play is to enter tournaments. Paradoxically, I have heard players complain that no one entered a tournament that they themselves didn’t enter. I have even done the same thing myself. In addition to actually entering tournaments, players can maximize the chances that other players participate by throwing in their entry early. Timing matters. Waiting until the last minute to enter a tournament is almost the same thing as not entering at all when the goal is boosting participation.
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Citizen Ashe is a recently released documentary about Arthur Ashe. The film traces the entire arc of Ashe’s life from early childhood all the way through to his death from AIDS-related pneumonia in 1992. I was surprised at how much detail the producers managed to pack into the movie with a relatively short runtime. It delivered new insight and perspectives while remaining entertaining for a wide range of audiences. Tennis history buffs, casual players, and even people who aren’t interested in tennis or civil rights at all will likely enjoy the movie.
This is the final post in a series that examines new rules that appear in the 2022 USTA League Regulations. This year there are changes in the automatic appeal process that is applicable to players who are 60 and over.
Last week I wrote about how I was using a Post-Match Evaluation Worksheet as a part of maintaining a Player Development Journal in 2022. That post framed out the initial use of the worksheet during and after my first “real” match of 2022. In strange twist of fate, I wound up playing against the same exact doubles team the following weekend. I was playing with a different partner this time around, but the quick rematch still provided valuable and immediate feedback on the impact.