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What Color are Your Balls?

On By Teresa Merklin

You can probably win a bar bet armed with the knowledge of how many types of tennis balls are approved for adult sanctioned play by the ITF. The correct answer is 4: Type 1 (Fast), Type 2 (Medium), Type 3 (Slow), and High Altitude. Appendix I of the ITF Rules of Tennis contains a table with the conformance requirements for weight, size, rebound, and deformation for each ball type. Today we are focusing on the conformance requirement for “colour.”

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My Favorite Ball Machine Drill

On By Teresa Merklin

I have an absolute favorite ball machine drill. In fact, I use this pattern almost every time I work with a machine that supports shot sequences. It is super simple to set up and execute. This pattern reinforces positive footwork habits and the aerobic intensity can be modulated on the fly. It also emulates point composition that regularly occurs during my match play.

Michele Krause and Cardio Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

The USTA recently announced that they have retained Michele Krause, to help grow Cardio Tennis® in the United States. Krause is exactly the right person to hire for that initiative as she is the founder of the Cardio Tennis program. In her new association with the USTA, Krause and her consulting company will lead efforts in the development of a national Cardio Tennis strategy for promotion, education, training, and implementation. This is very good news.

Tennis Court Breaking and Entering

On By Teresa Merklin

On a few occasions when the umpire I gave birth to was playing junior tennis, we would arrive at her playing site to warm up before an 8am match to find the gate locked. It’s annoying to not have the courts open to prepare for a match. I have witnessed tennis players, parents, and coaches scaling the fences in those scenarios. We never did, but mostly out of absolute conviction that we would injure ourselves if we tried.

The Tragic Irony of Padlocks on Tennis Courts

On By Teresa Merklin

The “Tragically Beautiful: Locked Tennis Courts” post from last weekend generated a couple of comments that sparked the realization that I had a lot more thoughts on this topic. First and foremost, is the fundamental truth that padlocking a court prevents people from playing tennis, but it does not prevent vandalism. A padlock is simply not a very effective security mechanism.

The Game of Doubles In Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

One of the oldest books on how to play tennis doubles was written by Bill Talbert and Bruce Old. It is a book that was NOT in my collection when I decided that it was time to immerse myself in the tennis doubles knowledge languishing on my bookshelves a few weeks ago. The doubles book selected in week one of that endeavor referenced Talbert’s book as the best previously written about how to play doubles. This blog is nothing if not a flimsy excuse for purchasing more tennis books. Fortunately, I was able to find a well worn and reasonably priced copy.

Real Tennis Balls

On By Teresa Merklin

The specification for the tennis ball are codified in Appendix I of the ITF Rules of Tennis. It is probably way more detail and information than most players need or care to know. What I first took to be a subtle anachronism describing the construction of the tennis ball led me to the stunning realization that the sport we call tennis is not real tennis. Additionally, we don’t play tennis with real tennis balls.

When Andy was Roddick’s Little Brother

On By Teresa Merklin

Andy Roddick loved to hit tennis balls from a very young age. The Umpire Who Gave Birth to me experienced that firsthand when Andy was 8 or 9 years old. She was officiating the Hamilton Park Tennis Center site for the Texas Junior Grand Slam tournament. While John Roddick was making a name for himself with the officials for… uhm… spirited behavior during the tournament, young Andy somewhat salvaged the family reputation by being generally adorable. Too young to play in the tournament, Andy was desperate to hit tennis balls with anyone who would tap them back and forth with him. The tournament desk kept him plied with used tennis balls to use at the backboard just to keep him out from underfoot.

The Tennis Ball and the Metric System

On By Teresa Merklin

This week we are moving into the Appendices of the “ITF Rules of Tennis”. It is tempting to celebrate the milestone, but we still have a long way to go. The main body of the rules concludes on page 19 as published in the USTA’s “Friend at Court.” The appendices run through page 36. The first topic on the docket as we continue to march through the rules is Appendix I, “The Ball.”