An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
One of my more rewarding projects in 2020 was making my own custom cargo bay organizer. I carry a lot of tennis gear in my car. This includes my tournament style racquet bag as well as additional gear that I like to have handy. I frequently refer to my vehicle as a rolling tennis locker.
Last week the USTA sent not one — but two — emails to its adult members on the new adult 2021 tournament structure. One subject line posed the question on whether the members are “Up to Date” on the coming changes. The other was titled along the lines of “The Top Things to Know.” This may be the start of a new informational blitz in preparation for the rollout 2021. It is also an opportunity to revisit my previous coverage of this topic in light of the new information that has emerged in those two communications.
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This weekends Fiend at Court Unplugged series was prompted by an inquiry from the National Women’s Tennis Organization (NWTO). The specific ask was for information and suggestions from former junior players, who stepped away from the sport but returned after an extended absence.
Yesterday I traced through the improbable events that brought me back to the immediate proximity of tennis. The junior tennis career of the umpire I gave birth to brought me into regular contact with tennis and tennis facilities. However, watching tennis is not the same as playing tennis. Today we examine the next leg of the journey.
I am a lifetime member of the National Women’s Tennis Organization (NWTO). Until very recently, that organization was known as the National Women’s Senior Tennis Association. As it turns out the use of the word “Senior” was confusing or possibly off-putting to some of the organization’s prospective members. “Senior” tennis starts at a much younger age than people generally expect.
One key difference between USTA league and tournament match play is that in a tournament you generally have some amount of advance notice of who your opponent will be. In league play, players generally do not know who they are playing until the rosters are exchanged. The net result of that is that the scouting report culture is very different between leagues and tournaments.
I eagerly anticipated the recent release of Steve Flink’s biography of Pete Sampras. It is not exactly a “hot take” to say that Sampras is the greatest male American player of all time. It is not even close. His fourteen grand slam championships tower above the 8 won by both Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi. He was ranked #1 in the world for an astonishing six consecutive years.
Every Wednesday this site contemplates a rule taken sequentially from the ITF Rules of Tennis as contained in the USTA’s Friend at Court. Today’s rule is from the “Continuous Play” section. The general principal underpinning all the rules in this section is that play should be continuous from the moment that the first serve is put into play until the match is completed.
A couple of weeks ago the USTA sent an email addressed to all league and tournament players announcing that there will be no NTRP ratings updates published at the end of 2020. I believe that the majority of the regular readers of this site compete in adult tournaments or leagues, thus also received the email. Consequently, I am assuming that most are already aware that the “bump” will not occur this year.
The most absurd thing I have ever encountered while pitching in to dry a tennis court occurred a couple of years ago at a USTA League Sectional Championship event. As I was picking up a court drying implement, I was accosted by a woman who attempted to prevent me from using it. It was the first and the only time in my life that I can remember being discouraged from helping out with a wet court.