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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 Tennis Beyond the Headlines: November 18, 2024

When a USTA Level 4 Tournament… Isn’t

On By Teresa Merklin

Whatever you call it, there is a foundational philosophy that encapsulates the criteria used to separate right from wrong. There is a currently a raging debate within the USTA Texas Section over points allocated and awarded at a recent closed Level 4 tournament. Understanding the player frustration requires a conceptual understanding of a fundamental truth that most experienced tournament players hold to be self-evident: The draw format of a tournament should not materially alter the rankings point allocation for the players.

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Courting Danger: My Adventures in World Class Tennis, Golden Age Hollywood and High-Stakes Spying

On By Teresa Merklin

To steal a lyric from Elton John, Alice Marble was a like candle in the wind. Her light was bright, but she was buffeted by the forces around her. Her life is a monument to a continuous struggle to achieve more. Marble desperately wanted her light to shine just a little bit brighter. Courting Danger: My Adventures in World Class Tennis, Golden Age Hollywood and High-Stakes Spying is the inevitable culmination of those desires.

Rule Innovations at the #NextGenATP Finals

On By Teresa Merklin

The #NexGenATP Finals is a veritable tennis Petri dish. Every year new rules are unveiled at the event to see how they work in practice. The players playing in the event this year profess that they are excited about the innovations. In related news, the young American stars in the same pre-tournament press conference believe that they will contend for Grand Slam titles in the near future. What else are they going to say in either case?

The 1923 Wightman Cup

On By Teresa Merklin

The Wightman Cup was first contested in 1923. The occasion also marked the official dedication and first time use of the new concrete stadium at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. Four trumpets heralded the start of the dedication ceremony which featured hoisting of flags and erection of the net posts and nets on the court. The West Side Tennis Club president threw in the balls for the first match.

Familiar Faces at the 1986 Wightman Cup

On By Teresa Merklin

The 1986 Wightman Cup left the world with some iconic artifacts that still grace the internet. The team photo of the victorious United States team drips with “The eighties called and they want their hair back” awesomeness. Additionally the competition was held at the Royal Albert Hall. Fitting for the venue, the Opening Ceremony featured trumpet fanfares and live vocal music from the choir loft.

Introducing the Wightman Cup

On By Teresa Merklin

The opening line from her biography page at the International Tennis Hall of Fame sums it up nicely: “Few in women’s tennis history had a more distinguished and productive career than Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman.” She was an outstanding player who also made significant off-court contributions. Her leadership ultimately led to an international women’s team competition, modeled after the Davis Cup.

The Master: The Long Run and Beautiful Game of Roger Federer

On By Teresa Merklin

Christopher Clarey is a well established and highly regarded tennis correspondent for the New York Times. As such, he was a witness to Roger Federer’s first ever match at a major, a loss to to Patrick Rafter in the first round of 1999 French Open qualifiers. The following year, he again saw Federer play in person at the Sydney Olympics. Clarey enjoyed frequent and unparalleled access to Federer throughout his career.

A Great Doubles Drill from the Practice Courts at Indian Wells

On By Teresa Merklin

My friend Will Boucek produces a terrific tennis podcast “Doubles Only,” which — follow me closely here — focuses exclusively on tennis doubles tactics and strategy. In a recent episode, he shared a doubles practice drill that he observed on the practice courts at Indian Wells this year while watching Elise Mertens and Hsieh Su-Wei work out. This post shares my own diagram of the drill he verbally described.

Location, Location, Location: New Tennis Participants

On By Teresa Merklin

The Tennis Industry Forum is an annual meeting that publicly shares information from the Tennis Industry Association, the USTA, the National Golf Foundation (!), and Tennis Industry United. The target audience includes tennis service providers and tennis equipment manufacturers. The data disclosed at that meeting is positioned as key industry research that can help a tennis business grow. The 2021 presentations included location details on where new tennis players are engaging with the sport. That data illustrates the fundamental challenge the USTA has with retaining those new players in the tennis ecosystem.

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Checking the Numbers: More Tennis Participation Data

On By Teresa Merklin

Earlier this year, the post “Geeking Out over Tennis Participation Data in the Physical Activity Council Report” broke down the data revealed in the public version of the 2021 Physical Activity Council (PAC) Report. At the time, the USTA was falling all over themselves to issue press releases announcing a “surge” in tennis participation in 2020. The thing is, the data in the public PAC report didn’t exactly support that assertion.