Rest Period Between Sets
Our steady march through the ITF Rules of Tennis as published in the USTA Friend at Court has arrived at the point where we are entitled to a break. Specifically the break between sets.
Low-Impact Interval Training
The hosts of Compete Like a Champion periodically speculate that one of the reasons that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have exhibited unprecedented career longevity is because they are doing the majority of their conditioning and interval training on low impact cardio equipment such as an exercise bike or elliptical trainer.
2021 USTA League Regulations: No Longer A Plus
The draft of the updated USTA League Regulations for 2021 was published back in July. It has been on my radar as a future topics for the Fiend at Court “Tennis News You Can Use” focus which runs every Monday. It just kept sliding down in favor of other items that seemed more urgent or interesting to me at the time.
2 responsesMore USTA Tournament Formats
This is the second of a two part series on the draw formats that are available to USTA tennis tournament organizers under the new consolidated framework for 2021. Yesterday I introduced the table and described the Round Robin and Round Robin with Playoff formats. Today I am describing the remaining options that are available to tournament organizers.
2021 USTA Tournament Draw Formats: Round Robins
For the next two days I will be describing the potential draw formats players might encounter across all levels of USTA tournaments. The first step was to create a matrix that more clearly illustrated the options available at each level. It is easier for me to note the difference between the various levels in that format.
Tennis Tournaments: Deciding to Play a Cat 1
Every year I tell myself that this is the time that I am finally going to play the Cat 1 National Grass Court Championships at Forrest Hills. Playing that tournament is on my surprisingly short — and unsurprisingly tennis-dominated — bucket list. In 2020, I didn’t get to go to Forrest Hills due to the global pandemic. I am going to chalk that one up to fate.
1 responseDriven: A Daughter’s Odyssey
In late 2018 and early 2019 Julie Heldman appeared on a couple of podcasts that I regularly listen to. She was promoting her new book, Driven: A Daughter’s Odyssey. Julie Heldman is the daughter of Gladys Heldman, the promotor who drove the inception of the women’s professional tennis tour. Julie Heldman herself also played on the tour that her mother created.
Potty Breaks During Tennis Matches
Occasionally in senior women’s tennis I have encountered enthusiastic new umpires — apparently very recently removed from their own junior tennis — who want to enforce their ideas of genuine need for a bathroom break. In senior women’s tennis, I generally assume that my opponent isn’t faking it.
1 responseMy Tennis Essentials Kit
It is important for tournament players to have the things they need on court with them. Some basic first aid items are essential. A player who can self-treat medical issues does not have to use a medical timeout timeout to seek treatment. That could be critical if there is a subsequent injury in the match.
2020 Tennis Industry Forum Recap
The TIA Forum revealed how some parts of the tennis industry regard consumer segmentation. Tennis players are divided into two groups, core and —wait for it — non-core. The dividing line between these two demographics is at the 10 playing occasions per year. In other words, anyone who plays at least 10 times a year is a core player.