Tournament Matches in Progress

Fiend At Court Unplugged

Players and spectators at tennis tournaments usually want to watch the matches going on at the event. It’s why they are there, after all. Sometimes that interest is purely self serving. Scouting an upcoming opponent is a powerful motivator for viewing a match. At other times, people simply want to watch good tennis.

One way to find out about interesting matches in progress is to ask the tournament desk. Another way to phrase that is to “pester the busy people who are trying to ensure that the event is running smoothly.“ Unfortunately if the tournament organizers do not post information on matches in progress, that is the only effective alternative.

This weekend I am wrapping up play at the National Senior Women’s Clay Court Championships. That tournament is hosted by the Houston Racquet Club where the “Original Nine” Signed the $1 contracts that led to the foundation of Women’s professional tour. The tournament committee at the HRC event is widely regarded as one of the best in the business.

One prominent example of a “best practice” of the HRC is an inexpensive and low-tech solution for posting the court assignments for matches in progress. It is a simple white board labeled a grid of the courts in use by the tournament. That board is staffed by a volunteer who diligently keeps the status up-to-date.

While there are certainly other technical solutions for posting court assignments, the whiteboard effective, quick, and inexpensive. From my own years years of playing this event, I can attest to the fact that it works very well.

In fact, when I randomly snapped this picture last Wednesday, “Karwasky” was one of the names written on the board. Tina Karwasky is a legend in Senior Women’s tennis with over 128 championships to her name. You don’t have to take my word for it. ESPN ran a feature on her in 2019. Her matches are definitely worth watching.