Latest Posts

Courting: A Tennis Memoir A Case Against NTRP Ratings Expiration Putting It All Together: My Daily Plantar Fasciitis Prevention Routine Tennis Beyond the Headlines: March 31, 2025 A Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Gift Idea A Great Gift for Grads… and Tennis Players Basket Case: The Gift of Tennis for Easter

Tennis Vernacular: Having a Hit

On By Teresa Merklin

Following an early morning training session this week, the FACSU thanked me for “the hit.” As soon as that innocuous phrase was uttered, it was clear that the tennis phrase “having a hit” had jumped to the start of the queue for the installment of “Tennis Vernacular” themed posts this weekend. That phrase was introduced and repeated as a recurring concept throughout Grace Lichtenstein’s “A Long Way Baby” book. I regarded it as an interesting turn of phrase, but not one that was in contemporary usage. As it turns out, apparently the FACSU uses it from time to time, albeit in a shortened format.

Tennis Vernacular: Walkabout

On By Teresa Merklin

Evonne Goolagong’s profile in Grace Lichtenstein’s “A Long Way Baby: Behind the Scenes in Women’s Pro Tennis” highlights her easy going demeanor. She never scowled or argued and rarely exhibited irritation over a missed shot. She played the game with child-like abandon and enjoyment. Goolagong personifies how people should experience playing tennis. It is supposed to be fun.

Let’s Be Honest: Martina Navratilova

On By Teresa Merklin

Martina Navratilova is the perfect case study of inequities in professional tennis endorsements. It is an undeniable fact that throughout here playing career she did not receive the same level of corporate sponsorship that the other players in her tier of performance were routinely awarded. We have previously touched on two contemporaries of Navratilova, Zina Garrison and Lori McNeil. Those players also did not receive many endorsement opportunities and that fact is attributed to the color of their skin. On the other hand, Navratilova’s issue is that she has always been always open about her sexuality. The tennis industry powers during her career simply did not believe that people would purchase products enforced by bisexual and homosexual athletes.

Talk to the Hand: A Halep of a Red Dress

On By Teresa Merklin

“2018 AO Flashback: Fashion Hits and Misses” published last Sunday focused on the duplicity of the Baseline Tennis columns highlighting fashion “Hits” and “Misses” from The Australian Open in 2018. That year was selected intentionally and it wasn’t because of the garish bright salmon color that was predominate in the Nike line that year. In 2018, Romanian tennis player Simona Halep was the lead photo and story in the “Misses” column. The official Tennis Channel twitter account, a part of the same media conglomerate as Baseline Tennis, even tweeted about Halep as a fashion “miss.”

2018 AO Flashback: Fashion Hits and Misses

On By Teresa Merklin

The dawn of each Grand Slam tournament sparks a ritual in the Fiend at Court household. I say something along the lines of “It’s official. Nike has completely run out of attractive color combinations.” To which the Fiend at Court spousal unit replies “Please don’t buy me any of that.” Fun fact: Outside of league and tournament swag, almost the entirety of the Fiend at Court household’s tennis wardrobe has been gleaned from the clearance rack of one of the major online tennis retailers. We are experts in what is likely to eventually be offered at deep discount.

The Very White Anne White

On By Teresa Merklin

I knew I would be writing about former WTA professional Anne White as soon as she was mentioned in Zina Garrison’s autobiography. She came up in passing due to her tangential involvement when the sportswear company Pony decided to not renew Garrison’s clothing sponsorship contract. Before coming across that story, I couldn’t have told you anything at all about Anne White.

Best Dressed at the Australian Open: Serena Williams?

On By Teresa Merklin

Before I delve too deeply into this topic, I first have to make it perfectly clear that my personal policy is to never accept fashion advice from an engineer. If the relevancy of that statement is not immediately obvious, let me provide a reminder the tag line of this blog here: “An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily tennis journal.” Based on a lifetime of experience, engineers and fashion don’t normally play well together.

An Avalanche of Tennis Ice Photos

On By Teresa Merklin

The story of the Fiend at Court Spousal Unit chipping ice off courts in order to get a league match played last weekend inadvertently set off a cavalcade of similarly themed photos. As it turns out, there are a lot of players in our orbit who essentially did the same thing. Many went out to their local courts armed with lawn tools last weekend.

A Little More Winter Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

Yesterday I shared a photo that illustrated that some players in the DFW area chipped ice off a court at Hurst Tennis Center in order to get some USTA League matches played as scheduled. Today I am sharing another photo from earlier in the week that shows that the courts a couple of miles away at Richland Tennis Center were fully playable. This photo was provided courtesy of Bobby Reeves who is the Head Tennis Pro at that facility.