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Tennis Beyond the Headlines: November 22, 2024 Non-Tennis Gifts for Tennis Players Great Christmas Gifts for Tennis Players (2024 Edition) Ultimate Stocking Stuffer List for Tennis Players (2024 Edition) Secrets of Winning Tennis The USTA Encourages Double Dipping The Speed Ladder

Movin’ On Up: What USTA Tournaments Can Learn from League Play

On By Teresa Merklin

The USTA League Move-Up/Split-Up rule was put into place to keep the same teams from advancing to the National Championships in consecutive years. Usually I perceive that league play and the associated regulations are depressive influences on tournament culture. Today is a rare exception. It is quite possible that tournaments can appropriate a thing or two from league regulations to improve the overall ecosystem.

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USTA League: A Move-Up/Split-Up Loophole

On By Teresa Merklin

USTA League teams that advance to the National Championships are subject to a provision known as “Move-Up/Split-Up.” In fact that is the exact title of section 2.06 in the USTA League Regulations. Teams that qualify for Nationals are prohibited from competing together at the same level the following year. Last weekend, someone pointed out an insane loophole in where the spirit and intent of those rules can be violated. In fact, there is at least one team in my local area who has apparently made the same discovery.

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Whirlwind: The Godfather of Black Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

Dr. Robert Walter Johnson was a powerful force of change in tennis that accelerated the acceptance of players of color at the highest echelons of competitive tennis. It is not a stretch to observe that the tennis careers of Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe would not have happened in the same way without the support of the doctor. “Whirlwind,” the nickname he picked up while playing college football, is an apt moniker for both his life story and influence on tennis. Whirlwinds create turbulence. So did Dr. Johnson.

Post-Match Evaluation

On By Teresa Merklin

One of my goals this year is to maintain player records as outlined in the USTA Player Development Journal. I previously wrote about the Practice Evaluation Worksheet that was derived from the USTA document. Now, with USTA League play in full swing, I am playing matches that matter. Consequently, I have turned my attention to the Post-Match Evaluation Worksheet.

Tennis Roundup: February 7, 2022

On By Teresa Merklin

A fun thought exercise for the week is to rank the first three stories in order of credibility: A) That IOC president Thomas Bach is an unbiased source of the well being of Peng Shuai, B) any future Novak Djokovic vaccination claim without independent verification, or C) that the Serbian legal system legitimately investigated the irregularities in Djokovic’s positive Covid test at the center of the Australian Open kerfuffle.

Thank You!

On By Teresa Merklin

Today marks the 770th consecutive daily post to appear on Fiend at Court. This site was launched on New Year’s Eve in 2019 as a personal goal accountability mechanism to write a page a day about tennis the following year. At the end of the first year, it was an easy decision to keep on going. The people who read this blog on a regular basis were a significant factor. Thank you for joining me on this journey of discovery.

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The Gift of Gratitude for Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

Heading into New Year’s Eve in 2021, I shared twelve “Gifts” that people can give to themselves to jumpstart their tennis life. Each item on that list is essentially a tennis related life hack shamelessly adapted from a cybersecurity career development webinar that I gave back in 2019. I am taking a more in depth look at each one of those items first Friday of each month this year. In February we are focusing on the “Gift” of Gratitude.

Able: Gold Medals, Grand Slams and Smashing Glass Ceilings

On By Teresa Merklin

One of the unexpected benefits of writing this blog has been my discovery of the greatness of wheelchair tennis. When Dylan Alcott announced that the 2022 Australian Open will mark his retirement from competition, I knew that I would be reviewing his recently updated autobiography as “Australian Summer of Tennis” draws to a close. This compulsory read turned out to be a compulsory read: I finished the book in a single sitting.