Latest Posts

The Secrets of Spanish Tennis 2.0 Tennis Has No Replay for Doubt Mirra Andreeva’s Reaction Ball Drill Tennis Beyond the Headlines: April 20, 2026 When Local Rules Stop Being Local Playoff Season and the Politics of Availability The Myth of the Primary Team in USTA League Tennis

USTA Level 5 Tournament Landscape

On By Teresa Merklin

One of the benefits of the new USTA National Tennis Tournament framework unveiled for 2021 is that the majority of local tournaments are now open to USTA members regardless of residency. Additionally, those events award ranking points toward the player’s USTA National ranking that impacts tournament seeding and selection into exclusive events. After the first full year of competitive play under the new system, disparities in how each USTA Section is awarding sanctions for tournaments in accordance with the new framework has become apparent.

1 response

The January Tennis “Gift” of Time

On By Teresa Merklin

Heading into New Year’s Eve last week, I shared twelve “Gifts” that you can give to yourself to jumpstart your tennis life. Each item on that list is essentially a tennis related life hack shamelessly adapted from a cybersecurity career development webinar that I gave in 2019. I will be revisiting one of those items in more depth on the first Friday of each month this year. In January, I am focusing on the “Gift” of Time.

Action Required: The Deadline for Correcting USTA National Ranking Errors is January 15

On By Teresa Merklin

There has been a lot of discussion over the discrepancies and growing pains associated with the USTA National Tournament unified framework and rankings system that was unveiled in 2021. Per USTA Regulations, each player is responsible for regular review of their own player records. Additionally, each player is responsible for notifying the “USTA Adult Tennis Department” if there are any errors or inaccuracies in their player records.

Planning Tournament Participation in 2022

On By Teresa Merklin

New Year’s Day is when I traditionally sit down and map out my tournament plans for the year. My first stop is always the USTA schedule for the “National” Level tournaments. Since these tournaments can last up to a week, it is really important to get that time blocked off on my calendar. It is also a good jumping off point for thinking about how scheduling and publicizing tournaments has evolved in the internet era.

2 responses

Putting a Tennis Spin on a New Year’s Eve Tradition

On By Teresa Merklin

The Fiend at Court household celebrates New Year’s Eve in a somewhat unorthodox fashion. I am not a big fan of large parties, and staying up late. As an engineer who regularly deals with risk management on a professional basis, I cannot suppress the observation that New Year’s Eve is a terrible night to be out on the roads. All the amateur drunks are out at approximately the same time. What could go wrong? Hence we celebrate each new year quietly… and much earlier in the evening.

2 responses

12 “Gifts” To Improve Your Tennis Life (Part 1)

On By Teresa Merklin

In December of 2020 I gave a Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) webinar on 12 “Gifts” to jumpstart a career in cybersecurity. Each item in that list is a practice or habit that I regard as a career success factor. I was recently reviewing my own performance against those items over the past year had the sudden realization that the same core concepts would be equally effective if framed out in terms of tennis. This weekend I am launching into a whirlwind tour of those twelve items focusing on how each of those can advance and improve your tennis life.

2 responses

Adult and Junior Tournaments: Distant Cousins in the USTA Family Tree

On By Teresa Merklin

USTA is a massive non-profit organization with a certain number of full time paid staff. However, most of the the work is largely performed by a cadre of volunteers grouped into numerous committees. Yesterday I wrote about differences between the Adult and Junior tennis tournament Regulations and Ranking procedures. The origins for that divergence can be traced directly to the USTA organization structure for the committees that own those documents.