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Tennis Beyond the Headlines: February 24, 2025 For the Love of Competition Rankings Point-Chasers The Importance of Why Game, Set and Match: Secret Weapons of the World’s Top Tennis Players Checking the Quota Allocation for the NTRP National Championships Downward Dog, Upward Dog, Walk the Dog

Tennis and Corrective Lenses: A Low Tech Solution

On By Teresa Merklin

I have worn glasses since I was about ten years old. I will never forget the day that my first pair of prescription lenses arrived. The first stop after we picked them up and had them fitted at the optician was one of the local tennis centers. We had hit balls for a few short minutes when the umpire who gave birth to me excitedly called me up to the net to tell me that I was playing really well in the new specs. From my side of the court, I didn’t notice much of a difference.

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First One In

On By Teresa Merklin

In a significant Fiend at Court departure, today I am writing about a movie. I would characterize it as “a cute little show.” Until fairly recently, I would have lamented that there are no truly great movies about tennis. In 2017, Battle of the Sexes and Borg vs McEnroe changed that. Even with those titles anchoring the top two spots, I would be hard pressed to find ten movies to even construct a “Top Ten Tennis Movies” list.

Afraid of My Own Shadow (Ranking)

On By Teresa Merklin

The USTA sent an email out to a subset of adult members this week announcing the publication of Adult and Senior “Shadow Rankings” for 2020. These rankings lists are being used to give players a feel for how the new system will work. At the same time the USTA is using these rankings to evaluate whether there should be any changes to the rankings tables across the 7 Levels tournament framework.

2021 NTRP Tournaments: Reading an Early Tea Leaf

On By Teresa Merklin

Earlier this week, a player posted an image of a flyer that was included in the tournament packets at the Texas Master’s Championships. That one sheet of paper illuminates what is likely to be imminently forthcoming once the full tournament calendar for the Texas Section is announced. The flyer reveals the apparent plan for continuation of NTRP Mixed Doubles in Texas. It also provides an early look at how the existing tournament structure will be slotted into the USTA consolidated framework in 2021.

The Rules of Tennis: Coaching

On By Teresa Merklin

For the most part, coaching is not allowed during a tennis match. This is one of the things that makes the sport so compelling to me. When two players are engaged in a tennis match, it is up to them to figure out a solution to every problem their opponent throws at them. A tennis player has to figure everything out for themselves when competing. I like that.

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Pulse Oximeter Training

On By Teresa Merklin

I recently purchased and started using a pulse oximeter as a part of my tennis training. If you have been in a medical setting recently, chances are that you have already had one of these devices slipped onto your finger. However, the availability of pulse oximeters in the consumer market is a fairly recent development. Most people probably don’t have one at home.

USTA Shadow Rankings

On By Teresa Merklin

Last Wednesday the USTA sent out an email to Adult tournament participants entitled “Upcoming Shadow Rankings: What You Need to Know.” That email contained what is believed to be an error in the first sentence, indicating that the communication was to inform the recipient about “2020 USTA Junior Tournaments Shadow Rankings.” The first paragraph also included verbiage about “players and parents.”

Scoring Points and Senior Tennis Participation

On By Teresa Merklin

Throughout my musing on the new USTA tournament structure coming in 2021, people keep whispering to me that the changes are going to be really good for driving increased participation in Senior tennis. I have been struggling to understand the logic behind that expectation. Until yesterday. When I started bouncing the new 7 tier National points schedule across various playing scenarios, I had an epiphany. There is a chance the new system will be fabulous for Senior tennis.