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Fail Faster: The Critical Skill of Tennis Finding the Sweet Spot of Failure Failure is (Sometimes) the Best Option Training for Speed, Agility, and Quickness The Psychology of Rules Versus Requests Child’s Pose Tennis Beyond the Headlines: September 30, 2024

Ranking Points and Divisional Fragmentation

On By Teresa Merklin

Back in 2018, the USTA decided that it would be a good idea to create a new age-based NTRP division for tournament play. That new division was for 50+ players. Bifurcating by age did not increase participation in NTRP leveled tournaments, at least not in Texas per my analysis. Perhaps the USTA has more complete data at the national level that tells a different story. In any case, it was later decided that what tournament tennis really needed was three age based divisions. Now tournaments can offer 18+, 40+, and 55+ NTRP divisions.

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Where Do I Sign Up?

On By Teresa Merklin

On the first Friday of each month this year, this site is publishing a deep dive on one of the 12 “Gifts” you can treat yourself with to improve your tennis life. The focus this month enumerates the reasons why tennis players and fans should engage with the organizations that promote our great sport. Advocacy is essential for the future health of the tennis ecosystem. We are stronger together than we are individually.

René Lacoste

On By Teresa Merklin

René Lacoste is one of the most iconic tennis players in the history of the sport. His tenacity on the court earned him the nickname “The Crocodile” and that image became logo of the brand that still bears his name. He was one of the French “Four Musketeers” players that dominated international tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Lacoste was also a prolific inventor of tennis related technology.

Blow Back and Hindrance

On By Teresa Merklin

The final Case Decision in the “Role of Court Officials” section of the ITF Rules of Tennis is mysterious in a couple of ways. First, imagining how the scenario could even happen requires significant mental gymnastics and I am unable to find any evidence that it has ever actually occurred. Additionally, the interpretation of tennis law seems straight forward which leaves me wondering why this Case is even included.

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Errata and Running the Numbers

On By Teresa Merklin

There is a cap to the number of tournaments that count toward a player’s USTA ranking under the current cumulative tournament performance ranking system. The primary purpose of this post is to correct a misstatement I made about that on this site a couple of weeks ago. Additionally, it is a perfect opportunity to preview my emerging thinking on how to structure tennis tournaments to build the robust participation needed for a healthy competitive ecosystem.

USTA Scheduling Guidelines

On By Teresa Merklin

The USTA Friend at Court contains a table of guidelines for the maximum number of daily matches for a player within a division in a USTA tennis tournament. Per the tennis triple constraint model that was the subject of yesterday’s post, the various scoring methods in that table are the qualitative aspects of match play that constrains the calendar time and schedule for the tournament.

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Transcendance: Alize Cornet

On By Teresa Merklin

I have been an under the radar fan of Alize Cornet for a very long time. Her passion for tennis competition is always discernible by the expression on her face. Cornet is also currently on an amazing streak of longevity that seems to have escaped widespread attention by most of the tennis world. When Cornet steps onto the court at Roland Garros at the French Open next week, it will mark her 61st consecutive appearance at a Grand Slam. To underscore the achievement, she has appeared in every single Grand Slam draw for over 15 years.

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Crossing the Net

On By Teresa Merklin

A clip of Denis Shapovalov yelling at the Italian Open crowd to “Shut the f*** up!” went viral last week. The incident occurred in his first round match against Lorenzo Sonego following a call that didn’t go his way after the umpire inspected a ball mark. The episode revealed that Shapovalov didn’t understand one of the fundamental rules of tennis.

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