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Tennis Beyond the Headlines: June 13, 2026 Sleep Is a Tennis Training Session The Match Begins Before the Warm-Up What Swearing Can Teach Us About Better Tennis ACES: The ATP No. 1 Club Arrived at the Worst Possible Time Principle 12: The Courage to Reverse a Call Iga Świątek’s Mini Resistance Loop Warm-Up for Tennis

League Captain Alert: NTRP Computer Ratings Expirations

On By Teresa Merklin

2020 was a year of difficult decisions. One of the myriad of problems the USTA was confronted with last year was what to do with player NTRP ratings. Due to shutdowns and closures due to the pandemic, the volume of matches did not achieve the numbers required to reliably make the NTRP calculation. The USTA statement that announced the decision that ratings would not be updated at the end of 2020 first declared the NTRP system to be fundamentally sound. (Cough.) The move was characterized as a difficult decision. I am sure it was.

Harsh Realities Revealed in the USTA Digital Platform Update

On By Teresa Merklin

The USTA sent an email to all playing members on March 5. That message contained an important update on the status of the deployment of the new digital platform, Serve Tennis. An identical news story was simultaneously released to the USTA web site. In typical USTA fashion, the subject line of “Competitive Pathway,” as well as leading off with some “rah-rah” news of PAC report tennis participation data, buries the lead. Additionally, the message any conveyed optimistic statements about how awesome the new competitive pathway is going to be for tennis players before getting to the crux of the issue.

A New Study on the Positive Health Impacts of Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

Tennis players who pay any attention to current news are inundated with frequent articles touting the health benefits of playing the sport. The fact that tennis players have more positive health measures is backed up by reputable independent research data. A couple of weeks ago, the USTA issued a press release that illustrates that point. It pointed to “one of the largest tennis-specific studies performed to date.” Today we are taking a look at the report summarizing that research.

Geeking Out over Tennis Participation Data in the Physical Activity Council Report

On By Teresa Merklin

“Tennis is the perfect social-distancing sport—and the numbers continue to prove it.” That is the first line from a USTA news article last week touting an increase in tennis participation in the United States. The headline of the same press release is “U.S. tennis participation surges in 2020, Physical Activity Council (PAC) report finds.” So what exactly is the PAC and what is in that report?

Surveying USTA League Tennis: Player Edition

On By Teresa Merklin

A couple of week’s ago, the USTA sent an email last week with a link to a survey directed to all League Players. Last Monday, “Surveying USTA League Tennis: Captain’s Edition” described the questions from the survey that were directed only to players who have captained a team. Today our attention shifts to the survey questions targeted at the entire USTA League playing population.

An Ode to the Back Draw

On By Teresa Merklin

A couple of months ago there was a spirited thread on the National Senior Men’s Tennis Association (NSMTA) discussion board regarding consolation brackets at National Cat/Level 1 tennis tournaments. Some of the viewpoints and experiences expressed in that forum illuminated the feedback that most likely will influence back draw implementation once competitive play results at that level.

First Look: USTA Play Tennis Platform

On By Teresa Merklin

I have to confess a distinct lack of enthusiasm for today’s topic. This past weekend marked the first tournaments of the year to be executed under the new USTA Play Tennis framework. The largest of the events held was the Level 5 Open 2021 CATA Polar Bear Adult Doubles. That tournament was conducted in Austin, Texas. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, that tournament was ultimately run under the old TennisLink system.