Greetings!
Eight National Championships, the National League Super Event, and the Cherry Blossom doubles were the highlights for April. Read on to find out who took home the gold medals and the theme of this year’s Cherry Blossom.
Also, this month, we’ve got the latest newsletter from the French Association (in English!), news from Newport, and information on upcoming tournaments through July. Our monthly Pro Tip is from Steve Virgona – last month, he covered hazard chases, and this month is service end chases.
Mark your calendars for the World Championship Final Eliminator for May 15-19 - between John Lumley and Nick Howell. The best of 13-sets match winner will challenge World Champion Camden Riviere in September.
Finally, we have an important message from the USCTA on the upcoming Annual Meeting and racquets. The USCTA has also included a message encouraging support for the Sydney Real Tennis Court.
Lots to cover, so let's get reading.
Until next month….
Sincerely,
U.S. Court Tennis Association
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MESSAGE FROM USCTA PRESIDENT - MARY LIVINGSTON |
I am pleased to invite all USCTA members to attend our Annual Meeting on Saturday, June 10th at 9 AM ET. As we have over the last several years, we will meet via Zoom in an effort to welcome more members than in-person meeting would allow. Please watch your email this month for additional information on attending or submitting your proxy. Today I want to preview one issue that we will be bringing before the membership for consideration in June.
As you may know, Harrow Sports has been manufacturing two models of court tennis racquets made from composite graphite materials since early 2022. We applaud Harrow’s innovation and interest in our game. Over the last year, the USCTA’s Rules & Equipment Committee worked to devise a methodology to test these racquets against other currently available all-wood models to determine if there is increased risk for dangerous play, specifically ball speed. With the help of the professionals, the Committee oversaw several rounds of on-court speed testing and then also checked the relative stiffness of both currently available composite and all-wood frames using technology typically used in lawn tennis. Both of these methods showed that the two Harrow models fell within the same range of speed and stiffness as all-wood models and that these models, unlike some past endeavors into non-wood racquets, do not on their own appear to create an increased risk for dangerous play.
In light of these findings by the Rules & Equipment Committee over the last year, the USCTA Board of Governors unanimously voted to recommend that for a provisional period of one year, the US Laws of Tennis be amended to allow these two currently available Harrow models to be used for play in most USCTA-sanctioned tournaments. The Board recommends that this provisional period run July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024. During this period, the Rules & Equipment Committee will continue to gather information from professionals and players on an ongoing basis to inform longer-term decision making. Further details on the proposed provisional period will be sent out with the Annual Meeting notice that all members will soon receive via email.
I want to personally thank the Rules & Equipment Committee, chair Dacre Stoker, the professionals, and the USCTA Board of Governors for their input and thoughtfulness on this issue. I encourage you to share any comments with USCTA Board members, Club Representative Council members, or your professionals.
Mary A. Livingston
USCTA President
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Freddie Bristowe & Robert Shenkman |
2023 U.S. Amateur Championships
Westwood Country Club - April 28-30, 2023
Singles
Robert Shenkman def. Freddie Bristowe
6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles
Noah Motz & Erik Barker def.
Robert Shenkman & Peter Cipriano
6-1, 6-4, 6-3
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Peter Cipriano, Robert Shenkman, Noah Motz & Erik Barker |
NATIONAL LEAGUE SUPER EVENT
by Steve Virgona
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The first National League Super Event at the New York Racquet & Tennis Club was held from April 3 - 5. Fourteen players from across the country competed on four teams, playing eighteen matches in three days.
Team Boomerang, consisting of Steve Virgona, John Lumley, Ben Stein and Freddie Bristowe, won the 2023 National League with three tightly contested team wins. The level of Tennis, sportsmanship, entertainment and camaraderie were all second to none.
Team Pique's Pro-Am team of Christopher Scott, C. Winston Simone and Lincoln Frank took home top honors in stylish fashion with a clean sweep of their six matches.
Thank you to the USCTA, the USCTPF and all of the patrons who made the event a resounding success. Special thanks also to the New York Racquet & Tennis Club for hosting and to Ted Goneos and Barney Tanfield for their hard work organizing the event.
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U.S. 40s - Rakesh Jasani, Tony Hollins & Brook Hazelton |
2023 U.S. 40s
by Tony Hollins
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The National Tennis Club had the privilege of hosting the U.S. 40's Singles and Doubles in late April. The tournament featured a small but strong field of players from five different clubs. Only six handicap points separated the top six players in the event, which promised some intriguingly close matches. The competitors did not disappoint, with the tournament kicking off with a three-set battle between Boston’s David Tedeschi and Brian Owens from Newport. Aiken’s Geoff Ellis narrowly lost out to Westwood’s Bill Barker in another barn-burning three-setter.
No one was safe in this regard, with top seed Brook Hazelton from New York inching past Newporter Jeremy Wintersteen in the semi-final after going down one set to love. In the other semi, Aiken’s Rakesh Jasani's never-say-die attitude saw him come back to defeat Boston’s Alex Spence 6/5 in the third after losing the set 6/1 and going down 3/1 in the second set. Brook was too strong in the final and played a very solid match against Rakesh and prevailed in straight sets.
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U.S. 40s - Brook Hazelton, Bill Barker, Tony Hollins,
Dave Tedeschi & Alex Spence
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U.S. 60s - Mark Philpott, Peter Hill, Ross Bolling, Steve Hufford & Peter Vogt |
2023 U.S. 60s & 70s
by John Lumley
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The Racquet Club of Philadelphia was excited to host the U.S. 60s & 70s Singles and Doubles Championships this year.
Peter Hill had a straightforward route to the U.S. 60s singles final, where he met an in-form Steve Hufford. Hufford, who had been moving great all weekend, kept it going with some great length creating tough chases for Hill. Hill, who loves a ball in the air, managed to grab a few key games, but Hufford took home the gold USCTA medal 6-2 6-3.
Peter Hill & Mark Philpott had an excellent 60s semifinal against Greg Van Schaack & Peter Clement. The second set went to five-all, with Van Schaack and Clement playing a steady game while their partners stepped up with some terrific volleys. Ultimately, Hill & Philpott locked in a spot in the final 6-0, 6-5. On the bottom half of the draw, John Iole & John Schellenberg had a good win over Thad Gray & Baird Standish 6-5, 6-2 to face Peter Vogt & Steve Hufford in the other semifinal. Vogt & Hufford were too strong and won the match 6-3, 6-0. With the crowds growing for the tournament's final game, Vogt & Hufford came out strong, taking the first set 6-3. Hill & Philpott changing some tactics and playing more aggressively, grabbed the second set to tie it up at one set all. Games went back & forth to find the match locked at five games-all in the final set. Both teams were playing well and taking chances, but in the end, Vogt & Hufford took the title 6-3 4-6 6-5. Congrats to all players on a great match.
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U.S. 70s - Peter Clement, Greg Van Schaack, Ross Bolling, John Schellenberg & Jamie Whitall |
The Choy Wun Lion Dance Troupe bringing good fortune to our new court at Westwood and to the Cherry Blossom |
2023 CHERRY BLOSSOM
by Ryan Carey
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The 2023 Cherry Blossom was held over Easter Weekend at our new home at Westwood Country Club. We had a robust field of 27 teams for this year’s tournament. The Westwood Country Club was founded in 1954, so having 54 players seemed like a fitting tribute to Westwood. |
Mary Livingston, Rachel Heslop, Manny Tancer and Arthur Drane |
Yiannis Mostrous, Pierre Etchebaster and Brit Elmore |
A MESSAGE FROM THE USCTA BOARD |
Real tennis courts are a precious commodity and new courts come around infrequently.
The good news is that a new tennis court is going to be built in Sydney, Australia. So far, $A2,500,000 has been raised with only A$250,000 to go. They are close!
The court tennis community is a global one as many of you know from traveling and playing courts outside of the United States.
While Sydney is not in our backyard, every new court strengthens our game and our community.
Every member of the USCTA board has made a contribution to this effort. We encourage you to join us in helping bring court tennis back to Sydney.
You can do this easily by going to Sydney Real Tennis’ website:
If you click on Donate to this Project and continue to fill out the required info, you can pay via PayPal. The minimum contribution is A$25 (about $17 US).
Thanks in advance for your support.
USCTA Board of Governors
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NEWPORT SUMMER MEMBERSHIP |
The International Tennis Hall of Fame, along with support from the United States Court Tennis Preservation Foundation (USCTPF), has developed a summer membership program for The National Tennis Club (NTC) in Newport RI. Summer members will be able to enjoy court tennis at the historic NTC along with its services from June 1 to September 4th of 2023.
Please see the attached for complete information on this year's summer membership program.
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Spread the word...Real Tennis is solid in France and growing on diverse metrics..Learn what is happening in France today....and it is in English! |
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UPCOMING
EVENTS
2023
MAY
5-7
LAKEWOOD
Women's handicap singles
15, 17, 19
PHILADELPHIA
John Lumley vs.
Nick Howell
19-21
WASHINGTON
National Singles & Doubles championship
JUNE
10
USCTA ANNUAL MEETING
VIA ZOOM
10-17
U.S. PRO SINGLES SCHOCHET CUP
NEWPORT
Professional Singles
16-18
U.S. MIXED DOUBLES
TUXEDO
National championship for amateur mixed doubles teams
JULY
7-9
U26s
WASHINGTON
National Championships in singles & doubles for players under the age of 26.
10-16
VAN ALEN, CLOTHIER & LIMB CUPS
WASHINGTON
International team championships for players under the age of 26.
14-16
U.S. JUNIOR DOUBLES/
LIEB CUP
TUXEDO
National Championships in doubles for players age U19, U17, U15, U13, U11.
17-21
TUXEDO
21-23
U.S. JUNIOR SINGLES
TUXEDO
National Championships in singles for players age U19, U17, U15, U13, U11.
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Following on from last month when we looked at when/if to leave a hazard chase, this month we will focus on the service end and when to leave a chase.
It’s widely accepted that you will stand a better chance of winning if you spend more time at the service end.
There are certain occasions though when leaving a chase may increase your chances of winning.
Those times are:
1. If at 40 all game point and the ball is spinning back into the back wall, you may decide to leave it give yourself a slim chance of beating chase better than 1/2 yard rather than definitely lose the point (and the game)
2. If you’re running up the court and you choose to play the ball, you’ll be out of position if the rally continues and you may give up a much better chase on your opponents next shot.
3. When giving a large handicap, say 15 - owe 30 or more, points become more valuable than the service end. You should be able to set a chase fairly easily under these circumstances as there will be a large disparity in your level or play.
4. If you’ve conceded a chase already, you may lean towards leaving a tough ball near the wall or a shot where you think there’s a good chance you’ll make an error. You’ll be changing ends at the end of the game anyway so giving up a 2nd chase isn’t the same as conceding a chase without one pending.
5. If you’re setting chases easily, preventing them by any means becomes less necessary.
Several other factors, such as quality of your serve and return of serve come into play and also your ability to beat chases, particularly good ones.
At the end of the day, the service end is of the utmost importance but situational awareness is also an important part of the game.
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