An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
The organization known as the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) was founded in 1972. Initially the ATP membership consisted of only the players and the organization didn’t have all that much power. That all changed in when the ATP membership pulled together to boycott Wimbledon in 1973. It was one of the most effective labor strikes in the history of professional sports.
Unless another book comes tumbling off the shelf at me again, Gyata Stormon’s volume on tennis doubles is the final installment in the series of books that I happen to own on the topic. For what is likely to be a brief window in time, I can stake the claim that I have read all the tennis doubles books that I own. It is an accomplishment, no matter how fleeting the moment ultimately turns out to be.
A first round match at Wimbledon last week between Daniil Medvedev and Jan-Lennard Struff provided a textbook example of the permanent fixture rule in tennis. It also illustrated why Reddit might not be the best source to turn to for official tennis rules interpretation.
Michael Berrer is a German professional tennis player who retired in 2016. His career high ranking of 42 was achieved in 2021. He also has the distinction of appearing on one of the earliest Tennis Channel “Bag Check” features. Berrer was the first player who pulled exercise tubes out of his racquet bag on that series.
Strawberries and Cream at Wimbledon is arguably the most iconic food associated with any of the Grand Slam tournaments. Noshing on strawberries and cream is the perfect way to get into the spirit when watching the final rounds of the tournament this week. Despite the claims of many recipes on the internet, at Wimbledon fresh strawberries are served with unsweetened (and not whipped) cream. It couldn’t be easier to prepare.
In 2019 Wimbledon announced that female players would no longer be referred to by titles that reflected their marital status when announcing the score during matches. The change to “move with the times” was a result over controversy at the tournament the previous year when “Mrs. Serena Williams” was used after she was married. Since she did not take the name of her husband, it would have been incorrect to refer to her as Mrs. Alexis Ohanian.
This week’s book on how to play doubles in tennis is one that I forgot that I owned when this series was originally mapped out. Last weekend it came tumbling off the shelf at me when I was looking for another unrelated book. The sting of the book was experienced on multiple dimensions. In addition to literal physical impact, it brought on the realization that my anticipated break from the topic of tennis doubles had extended an additional week. I would also be remiss if I failed to mention that the double exclamation point at the end of the title offends my sensibilities.
The Cordless jump rope is one of my favorite training devices. It is a ridiculous concept on the surface. I would have loved to be in the room the first time the device was pitched to a sporting goods manufacturer. Basically a cordless jump rope consists of jump rope handles with weighted foam balls attached to a short rope. Essentially it is a jump rope without a rope.
Yesterday we examined how the USA Women’s Tennis Team is likely to shake out for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Today we are taking a look at the possible participants on the Men’s side. Selection of the rosters are expected to be announced by 5 July. Since the selection process is different from what is done in professional tennis tournaments, most tennis fans are not familiar how Olympic spots are determined in tennis.
I recently sent a lengthy email with feedback to the USTA Adult Competition Committee. (ACC) A lot of women in the Senior Tennis Community did the same thing because there is concern within that community that recent innovations in USTA tournament formats is exacerbating the participation problem for national senior women’s tennis. Today I am covering the final point from my message. It is related to a preliminary round robin format that was used earlier this year at the Senior National Hard Court Championships at La Jolla.
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