An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
We have spent the previous two days contemplating the USTA League rules and ethical considerations of a captain having two teams in a local league Championship. Today we are kicking it up a notch and contemplating the same scenario at the Sectional level. A berth to the National Championships is on the line.
Christy Vutam is to be congratulated. As outlined yesterday, she captained both the Champion and the Runner-Up Women’s 4.5 teams in the Dallas Fall League. It makes a great backdrop for discussing edge cases in the USTA league regulations and operating procedures.
A couple of months ago, I posted a series on “The Ethics of Captaining Multiple USTA League Teams.” That topic was prompted by a spirited discussion in the Facebook group of the Texas Tournament players about a proposed rule change in the Austin CTA to limit people from captaining two teams in the same league. That proposal had already been voted down twice.
Tis the season for recommending thoughtful gifts for tennis players. Today we will consider the three books that every tennis player should own, rather than read. A book that is a “must read” can usually be cast aside after initial consumption. The books that should be owned are those which get re-read and consulted over time. They are enduring.
It is a generally accepted practice that players can bring written notes to the court during a match. This is captured in a USTA Comment within the ITF Rules of Tennis published in the Friend at Court.
At some point in the near future I will most likely rebrand the Fiend at Court Tuesday content theme to “Tennis Technology & Training.” In the meantime, I am going to lean forward a little bit and talk about a training topic this week.
Earlier this week, USTA Texas published a very helpful video containing information on the new USTA Tournament Structure in 2021. The questions covered in this session focused on NTRP events. As far as organizational communication on this topic, this video is the best I have seen to date in terms of concisely and clearly communicating the impacts of the change.
Last weekend the Fiend at Court posted a series of articles with gift suggestions and considerations for tennis players. Mia Poorman submitted a comment to one of those posts with a reminder that people should also consider their local tennis pro shops as a source of valuable guidance when purchasing tennis equipment. Additionally, Mia’s comment serves as a reminder to us all that tennis pro shops are generally locally owned and operated businesses. She raises a valid point.
It has been a very long time since I have been to a public live ball drill, primarily due to how the situation with COVID-19 has significantly altered my playing logistical patterns. I just had the realization that I am in a rare window of opportunity to rant about player behaviors that drive me nuts at tennis drills. For a limited time, I can comment publicly without anyone I have been around recently recognizing themselves and taking exception.
The USTA recently made some enhancements to the League Registration process that should make it easier for new prospective players to find an appropriate team. Those changes are described in “USTA League Registration Improvements.” Today I am providing a guide for helping prospective players decipher the “Captain’s Note” descriptions that are a part of the new system.