Get Ready for Honey Deuce Season
The US Open gets underway next Monday. If you are unable to attend the tournament in person this year, you can still enjoy the HoneyRead More
Preparation: T minus one Week
Preparation is this month’s focused deep dive into the “12 Habits of Highly Successful Tennis Players” that were outlined last December. Yesterday’s post describes thingsRead More
Tennis Tournaments and Monetary Policy
A non-negligible number of players have started traveling out-of-Section to compete in USTA tennis tournaments. Today’s post is essentially a breakdown of the nuances andRead More
1 responseVolunteers are the Backbone of the USTA
The organization structure of the USTA at every level relies on a small number of paid staff supplemented by a much larger cadre of volunteers.Read More
1 responseOne Thing ESPN does Better than the Tennis Channel
As the 2022 Championships at Wimbledon hits the midpoint, it is the perfect opportunity for a quick “compare and contrast” between viewer experience between streamingRead More
3 responsesHair Today, Gone Tomorrow
Daniel Nestor is a retired Canadian tennis player who was known mostly for doubles. He ended his 18 year professional tennis career in 2018. In 2010, Nestor was the subject of a Tennis Channel “Bag Check” segment. The contents of his tennis racquet bag were eclipsed by an appearance of his (then) infant daughter and a tour of her diaper bag. Still, there was one subtly useful item for recreational tennis players.
ONE Unfortunate Misnomer
A couple of years ago, the USTA unveiled a new unified adult tournament framework. One of the breathless exhortations about it touted “ONE nationwide points-per-round ranking system.” It is a perplexing statement because neither the current nor any of the legacy ranking systems are in actuality points-per-round systems. The misnomer may be at the root of misunderstanding on how an effective ranking system should be structured within the USTA.
2 responsesONE Problem with ONE Round Robin
When the USTA unveiled the new Adult tournament framework, the word ONE was emphasized. The USTA information page uses ONE over and over. “ONE nationwide structure of tournaments. ONE nationwide points-per-round ranking system. ONE standing list.” Today’s topic deals with ONE problem with the way Round Robin ranking points are structured in the current regulations.
First Serve: Arthur Ashe: A Life
The Arthur Ashe biography by Raymond Arsenault was slated for review this week. In fact, I started reading it just over two weeks ago after realizing that it is a lot longer than the books I typically review on this site. For a variety of external factors, I have yet to progress past the midpoint of the book. However, I have already had one significant “Aha” moment to share.
My First Take on World Tennis Number
In certain pockets of the tennis ecosystem, there is a general awareness that a new “World Tennis Number” system is coming soon. The same people that whisper that bit of tennis insider information inevitably follow it up with breathless exhortations that it’s going to be amazing. No one can ever claim that tennis organizational insiders have a lack of enthusiasm for vague forthcoming changes that will revolutionize the administrative side of the sport. By the same token, no one can claim that there is any semblance of a track record of success in such initiatives. In any case, the World Tennis Number is apparently coming soon.
9 responses