An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
Reilly Opelka was fined $10,000 for carrying a pink bag onto the court before his second round US Open match against Lorezo Musetti. The problem wasn’t the color, but rather a logo which was determined to be too large. Opelka joked about the fine on Twitter on Friday, writing “US Open ticket sales must be strugglin this year.”
A couple of weekends ago I played a practice match at a DFW area high school on a court that had obviously been in recent use as a tennis cardio circuit station. The description of the exercises to be performed were scrawled on the court with chalk. The station for 30 seconds of wall sits was nestled in the corner next to a cinderblock backboard.
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What is the solution to a US Open hangover? More Tennis. News from around the world of tennis that you might have missed last week.
The September challenge for the USTA “Tennis Champions” program was to hang a large banner that promotes tennis play. I hung my banner on a fence that borders a highly trafficked running and biking trail. It is highly visible to active people in the area who are currently outside the tennis ecosystem.
I have never seen anyone actively charting matches during high school or collegiate team tennis. It astonishes me that match charting isn’t a compulsory duty of players who are on the roster but not in the lineup on match day. It is an opportunity loss on an epic scale.
During the fourth round of the 2021 US Open between Bianca Andreescu and Maria Sakkari, one of the player’s coaches was observed to be charting the match. It is the first time in my recent memory when that activity was highlighted during a broadcast. It probably occurs more frequently than the television commentators notice and mention. More notably, he was using old school paper and pen, which is a throwback to an earlier era.
I have never personally experienced tennis elbow. I want to attribute that statement to good stroke mechanics and diligent strength training, but it probably has more to do with luck. Previously, when people in my orbit asked me about treatment options for tennis elbow, I really didn’t have much to offer. That all changed when a copy of Tennis Elbow Relief: Serving up solutions for lateral epicondylitis by Emma Green first hit my hands.
There has been a lot of recent attention in the tennis media about the toilet habits of Stefanos Tsitispas. Since I run a (loosely) rules focused blog, people have been asking me for my opinion on the situation. Consequently, it would be fair say that I simply had to go there. (See what I did there?)
Shortly after the conclusion of the 2020 US Open, I wrote an article about the prominent use of the IcyBreeze Portable Air Conditioners that were in use at the tournament. In 2021, the devices are still in use. However, they are much harder to spot this year.
The US Open heads into the second week as Labor Day is celebrated in the United States. This week’s news stories includes stories about the financial haves and have-nots in professional tennis and a new career for John McEnroe. Naturally no one can escape news of the toilet habits of Stefanos Tsitispas.