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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

Racquets are Flying: TSA and Airline Regulations

On By Teresa Merklin

A couple of nights ago, the Fiend at Court Spousal Unit and I played a recreational husband-wife mixed doubles match. As we were engaging in the pre-match banter I realized that I was the only person on the court who was not about to travel to the USTA NTRP National Championships later this month. As they were discussing their travel arrangements, the topic of dealing with racquets on commercial flights arose. I have a lot of experience flying with my tennis racquets in tow. Everybody get your shocked face ready. This is yet another topic where my overthinking tendencies prevail.

Sustaining Pandemic Momentum in Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

I am growing weary of media sources blithely quoting the 22% surge in tennis participation during the COVID-19 pandemic. That claim is based on a USTA press release which cited that fact from the most recent PAC Report. I have no doubt that tennis participation was up in 2020. With gyms and health clubs facilities shut down, people were naturally funneled into tennis. It is inherently well spaced and commonly played outdoors. The self congratulatory nature of the USTA’s press release and the mindless parroting of the same claim in various media articles in the intervening time… is repetitive and annoying.

Early Childhood Participation in Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

This weekend’s Fiend at Court Unplugged series has focused on the importance of building participation that feeds into the competitive Player Development pathways. To close out this topic, we are going to examine the initial consumer engagement model for two current Player Development programs. Over the previous two days, a case has been built that one of the keys to building elite level players is to attract and engage as many prospective players as possible. Not everyone will be a future Grand Slam Champion. However, increasing the numbers the number of players who pick up the sport and work through the competitive pathway increases the odds that someone from that program will emerge with a competitive chance to compete at the highest echelons of professional tennis.

Tennis Player Development: The Numbers Game

On By Teresa Merklin

“Every Russian Schoolboy Knows…” is a concept that was introduced yesterday. The Russians and Soviet Union dominated the international chess world championships for almost 50 years. As a community, they were simply better than everybody else. Soviet propaganda would assert that the dominance was a reflection of intellectual superiority. Others would point to the efficacy of the chess knowledge, training, and mentorship available in Russia. While that is certainly a part of it, it is also an undeniable fact that the sheer numbers of people that were formally and systematically taught to play chess was also a factor. The high levels of participation dramatically increased the odds that prodigies naturally skilled in chess would be identified. It was a numbers game.

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.