New York Tennis Magazine November / December 2019 by United Sports Publications

NYTennisMag.com â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ New York Tennis Magazine

nytennis New York Tennis Magazine

MAGAZINE

New York Tennis Magazine 1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 Phone: (516) 409-4444 • Fax: (516) 409-4600 Web site: www.nytennismag.com

Staff David Sickmen Publisher (516) 409-4444, ext. 309 • david@usptennis.com Joel M. Berman President (516) 409-4444, ext. 310 • joel@usptennis.com Eric C. Peck Editor-in-Chief (516) 409-4444, ext. 312 • eric@usptennis.com Brian Coleman Senior Editor (516) 409-4444, ext. 326 • brianc@usptennis.com Joey Arendt Managing Art Director Francine Miller Advertising Coordinator (516) 409-4444, ext. 301 • francinem@usptennis.com Emilie Katz Assistant Marketing Coordinator Scott Koondel VP of Operations (516) 409-4444, ext. 324 Sidney Beal III Staff Photographer

Lee Seidner Staff Photographer

Table Of Contents

Nadal’s Nineteen By Brian Coleman

Capturing the 2019 US Open title moves Rafael Nadal up the all-time majors list. Will he wrap his career as the greatest of all-time? See page 16

Article Submissions/Press Releases To submit any material, including articles and press releases, please call (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com. The deadline for submissions is the first of the month preceding the target issue. Subscriptions To receive subscription information, contact (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com or check out our Web site: www.nytennismag.com. Fax subscription changes to (516) 409-1600. Statements of fact and opinion in New York Tennis Magazine are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of United Sports Publications Ltd. New York Tennis Magazine reserves the right to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles, information or data.

Photo credit: USTA/Jennifer Pottheiser

Highlights 4 8 10 27 36 42 62

New York Tennis Expo Returns in 2020 At The Net: Jerry Rodriguez, USTA Eastern Metro Region: Competitive Coordinator and Metro Tennis Service Representative By Brian Coleman Beyond the Baseline: Johnny Mac Tennis Project By Brian Coleman Junior Player Spotlight: Shawn Mitchell Yon, NYJTL By Brian Coleman 2019 Tennis Travel Destinations Guide 2019 New York Tennis Magazine’s Coaches Roundtable Discussion New York Tennis Magazine’s 2019 Holiday Gift Guide

Features 6 13 14 20 22 24 28 30

Advertising To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines, and requirements, call (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com.

NOV/DEC 2019 • Vol 9, No 6

32 33 34 53 54 56 58 60 61 66 68 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 78

Across Metro New York … News and Notes From Across the New York Metro Tennis Community Forest Park Wins Battle of the Boroughs NYJTL, Cary Leeds Bring Pro Tennis Back to the Bronx By Robbie Werdiger Serve and Volley for Women: Why Not? By Lisa Dodson Court Six: New York Tennis Magazine’s Gossip Column By Emilie Katz USTA Metro Region Update Israel Tennis & Education Center By Brian Coleman Developing Scouting Skills and Understanding Key Factors for Success in Competition By Conrad Singh Pounding a Corner and the Inside Out Forehand By Lawrence Kleger One-on-One Doubles Comes to New York By Brian Coleman City Parks Foundation Hosts 22nd Annual Tennis Benefit By Brian Coleman USTA Leagues Update: November/December 2019 The Net Generation Experience at the US Open By Brian Coleman It’s All Connected: The Gut-Brain Axis By Dr. Rob Silverman End of a Decade, End of an Era, the Era of the Veterans By Gilad Bloom Let’s End Cheating in Junior Tennis Once and for All By Chris Lewit Are You Training or Draining? By Dr. Donald D. Shrump Jr., MS, CSCS Citi Taste of Tennis Turns 20 Sports as Our New Religion By Dr. Tom Ferraro Metro Corporate Tennis League Recap Consistency: It Starts With Your Mindset By Chris Nieves The Coveted Sportsmanship Pin By Barbara Wyatt The Jensen Zone: The Year in Tennis Comes to an End By Luke Jensen Tennis Professional of Sales By Geoffrey A. Jagdfeld Bouncing Back From Burnout By Rob Polishook Eighth Annual “Little Mo” Internationals Arrives in New York USTA/Metro Region 2019 Tournament Schedule

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New York Tennis Expo Returns in 2020 Tennis fans rejoice! For the third straight year, the New York Tennis Expo arrives on Long Island, with this year’s event set for Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020 at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Held in conjunction with the New York Open, the 2020 New York Tennis Expo will give attendees the opportunity to watch professional tennis as the New York Open’s qualifying tournament begins on the day of the Expo, and guests can take in the action completely free of charge. The Draw Ceremony for the tournament will take place at the Expo’s Broadcast Plaza, and guests will have the chance to get autographs from some of the ATP World Tour’s top players. “We are proud to be kicking off year three of the New York Open. More than 5,000 people came out to enjoy the 2019 New York Tennis Expo back in February, and Long Island and New York Tennis Magazines are excited to announce the return of this one-of-a-kind event,” said Publisher David Sickmen. “This free event provides unparalleled exposure and branding opportunities for companies who want to promote their programs, products, services, etc. to a diverse audience in a fun environment. For local families, it is a perfect way to spend the day as there is fun for everyone both on and off the court. Now in our third year at the Coliseum, we are excited to continue building off of the success and bring the public an even better New York Tennis Expo in 2020.” The 2020 New York Tennis Expo will once again have something for everyone in the whole family. The Expo features a 4

vast Exhibitor Hall containing tennis clubs/programs, camps, travel destinations, products, apparel companies and so much more. There will be a Kids’ Zone featuring a bouncy house, facepainting, carnival games, mascots and more and an Activity Zone which will host multiple tennis courts, which will be supervised by coaches, where kids of all levels can pick up a racket and play. You can also see how your serve compares with the professionals at the Speed Serve Booth, and enjoy the festive atmosphere with a live band and DJ. The popular Beach Tennis court will be back as attendees and guests can get a little taste of summer in the winter by kicking off their shoes and hopping onto the sand. A New York Beach Tennis professional will be on-site to help teach this growing sport and play points. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from some of the top tennis minds in the two different Speaker Sessions that will cover a wide-ranging array of tennis topics and issues. Audience members will be able to ask questions and interact with the panelists as well. All that and more will be on display on Sunday, Feb. 9 as the New York Tennis Expo continues to grow and celebrate the great sport of tennis. For FREE tickets and FREE parking, pre-register online at 2020NYTennisExpo.EventBrite.com. You can read more about last year’s event by visiting LITennisMagazine.com/2019NYTennisExpo. For more information, or to learn about sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities, please contact Info@USPTennis.com or call (516) 409-4444.

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

NYTennisMag.com â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ New York Tennis Magazine

Across Metro Ne Vazquez Succeeds in Multiple Fall Tournaments It’s been a successful fall for Gilad Bloom Tennis player Julian Joaquin Vazquez, who has won multiple USTA tournaments already. Vazquez captured the title at the L1B Lifetime Athletic Fall Challenger, first defeating the top-seed in the semifinals before scoring a 6-3, 3-6, 10-2 win in the championship. He followed that up by taking the title at the L1B Stadium Challenger, where he also upended the top-seed in the semifinals.

Ross School’s Teixeira Wins L1 Tourney Ross School Tennis Academy’s Luma Teixeira captured the title at the Youth Progression L1 Green Ball tournament at Robbie Wagner’s Tournament Training Center. Teixeira dropped a total of just three games in her four matches, including a 4-1, 4-0 triumph in the championship match.

Walsh Wins Game Set Classic Thomas Walsh, who trains at MatchPoint NYC, proved why he was the top-seed at the L1 Game Set Classic at Thomas Edison Park, as he swept his matches en route to winning the Boys 12s singles title. In his final two matches, Walsh had to come from behind in order to win, including a 1-4, 5-3, 13-11 win in the championship match.

Yakoff Wins New Jersey State Title Stephanie Yakoff, who plays out of the CourtSense Tennis Training Center, compiled a dominant freshman season at Fort Lee High School which culminated in her winning the New Jersey State singles title. She beat fellow freshman and close friend Caroline McGinley of Kent Place in the finals, marking the first time in the championship’s history that two freshman squared off in the singles final.

Centercourt’s Cataruzzi Captures Championship at Fall Challenger Pedro Cattaruzzi, a member of Centercourt’s Platinum program, won the L1B MRC Fall Challenger at Mountainside Racquet Club in the Boys 16s Division. Cattaruzzi, the fourth-seed, won all of his matches in straight sets, including a 6-2, 6-0 triumph in the finals. 6

Rabman Wins USTA Nationals John McEnroe Tennis Academy’s (JMTA) Thea Rabman captured the title at the USTA Girls 14s National Championships in Rome, Ga., where she rattled off seven straight victories to secure the championship. After six consecutive straight-set wins, Rabman, who was seeded third, her highest seed at a Super National event, came back from a set down to beat Brooklyn Olson 6-7(1), 6-1, 6-1 in the finals. “I think the keys to me winning Nationals was having a positive attitude, an intense tournament schedule and having a team of

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

New York

… News and notes from across the New York Metro tennis community

coaches from JMTA behind me,” said Rabman. “I have become mentally stronger on court over the years, and having a no-lose attitude has helped me improve and has allowed my game to grow.”

Community for a Fall Festival at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning. The event featured tennis, STEAM activities, African Drum Dance, Zumba, face-painting and more.

Corrigan Wins West Side’s 2019 Club Singles Championship

NYJTL Puts on Fall Festival at Cary Leeds Center

New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) brought together more than 1,000 children from across its five borough network as well as other local children and families from the Bronx

The outdoor season is coming to a close here in New York, and The West Side Tennis Club wrapped up its 2019 season with its club championships. After Sean Corrigan and Peder Gram paired up to win the doubles title, the two went on opposite sides for the singles tournament. In the end, it was Corrigan who came out on top to win the club’s 2019 singles championship.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

at the net wit h

jerry rodriguez, usta eastern metro region c o mpeti ti v e c o o rd i n a t o r a nd me t ro t e nnis se rvic e re p re se nt ativ e

by bri an co l em an

he mission of the USTA Eastern Metro Region is to promote and develop the growth of tennis, and the organization does so in a multitude of ways. In order to complete that mission, it requires a group of dedicated people who are out in the community, which spans the five boroughs of New York City, and connecting the various links that make up the chain that is the tennis industry in our area. Joining that team recently was Jerry Rodriguez, who has stepped into the role of competitive coordinator and Metro Tennis service representative, a position he took over in the beginning of August. “My job is to work within the Metro area and deal with all levels of people to assist and help them with any tools we can provide in order to help them promote and develop the game of tennis,” said Rodriguez. “I’m basically working with providers, which are essentially the

clubs in the area, and it is my duty to develop a relationship with them and make sure there is a bridge between USTA Eastern and them.” Rodriguez came to the region after working for three decades in the sales and fashion industry, and he says that experience in sales is one of the things that makes him a great fit for his new position. While he isn’t doing sales, per se, customer relations and making sure that your “clients” are receiving what they need is essential, and something he thrives on. “We work with so many different providers and Community Tennis

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

Associations (CTA), and it’s my goal to improve our connection, our communication, and help in any way that can make things better for everybody,” he said. “We want all of them to know that they can look to the Eastern section as an important organization that’s there for the community, and wants to help bring people together and use that to grow this great game of tennis.” He was thrown right into the fire, so to speak, when he jumped on board, as just a few weeks into his role, it was US Open time. Rodriguez played an integral role in helping to coordinate and produce all of the on-court Net Generation demos that are done prior to the start of the day and night sessions throughout the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. “It’s been amazing so far,” Rodriguez said. “I started in August, and spent a few weeks learning all about the organization and the role I’d be playing, and then spent about

two-and-a-half weeks at the US Open, which was such a great experience. We brought kids from all kinds of programs from across the country to play on court. These kids got the chance to spend a whole day at the Open for free, meet professional players, watch them practice and more.” The Net Generation initiative has become a key part of the USTA’s mission over the last several years, and will be a key part of Rodriguez’s agenda moving forward. Rodriguez met with Gustavo Loza, who was in his role previously and is now the Manager of Youth Programs, many times in order to create a smooth transition, and so Rodriguez could hit the ground running when he took over. “We had several meetings to specifically focus on the important things that need to be accomplished and need to be taken care of over the next few months before the new

year,” Rodriguez said. Many of those things included tournaments and events that were scheduled, such as the Battle of the Boroughs at Ft. Washington Park, and an adaptive tennis tournament that was held at The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills. The winners of that adaptive tournament have the opportunity to go down to the USTA National Campus in Florida to compete in the national championships. These are just a couple of examples of the array of events that Rodriguez and the USTA Eastern Metro Region conduct, ensuring the game is there to be enjoyed by everyone from all walks of life. While Rodriguez has come to the USTA having not worked in the tennis industry prior, he is a tennis player at heart. He played in high school and has always enjoyed the sport. He is the father of a current college player, as one of his sons

plays at the College of New Jersey. As both a player and the parent of a player, he is well-aware of what people are looking for and need, which gives him the right perspective for his role. “I’m here to answer questions. If a family just moves here and are looking for a program for their child, we can help place them in the right program for them,” he said. “We do our best to get them out onto the court. I think I bring a unique perspective to this job, I know the ins and outs of tennis, and what the needs of the parents are. I’m connected to tennis in so many ways, and I really do love the job I have now, and look forward to bringing tennis to as many people as possible.” Brian Coleman is senior editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at BrianC@USPTennis.com.

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NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Beyond the Baseline Johnny Mac Tennis Project By Brian Coleman

arlier this summer, SPORTIME Amagansett hosted the fifth annual Johnny Mac Tennis Project (JMTP) Pro-Am. The tournament brings together 128 players, including many former professional tennis players, for a day of fun and competitive tennis, with the goal of raising money for the JMTP. “It’s just a ton of fun for a good cause,” said JMTP’s Executive Director Jordan Botjer of the event. “This year we had beautiful weather and the facility is stunning. The staff at Amagansett works so hard to make sure the courts are perfect and that everything operates smoothly. A lot of spectators came out to see an incredible group of tennis legends—John and Patrick McEnroe, Kim Clijsters, Mats Wilander, Mardy Fish, Willy Canas, Emilio Sanchez and Brad Gilbert, and I think it’s a fun event for them as well.” This year, the tournament, which has become the foundation’s signature event, was won by SPORTIME CEO and Founder Claude Okin and Canas, who climbed to as high as ninth in the world rankings during his playing days. Okin was quick to lend much of the credit Canas for the team’s victory. “I would say that Willy Canas won the pro-am, and I got to help him a little,” said Okin. “I played Division III college tennis at Vassar and NYU, and did not win all that much, so I will take any title I can, for as long as I can still compete for one. Willy was a great, fun partner, and the whole event is just about as much fun as you can have playing tennis for a great cause.” The tournament is followed by an after party, attended by a combination of those who played in the tournament, those who watched, and others from the Hamptons crowd. In all, the event raises hundreds of thousands of dollars of support towards 10

the JMTP mission. “From the moment that John and I began discussing the creation of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in 2009, our foundational promise to each other was that access to JMTA programs would not be limited to a wealthy few,” said Okin. “We were committed to finding a way to build substantial access for those who could afford to pay very little, or nothing at all, and especially for NYC kids from the neighborhoods surrounding Randall’s Island, like East Harlem and the South Bronx. These are some of the country’s most under-resourced communities and

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

we knew we had to build bridges, metaphorically, beyond the Triborough Bridge itself, with our neighbors. We wanted to offer tennis as a pathway to health, education and opportunity, to kids in those communities, and beyond, and JMTP was created to support that essential goal.” With that goal set, JMTP was created in 2012, and has seen significant growth over the last eight years. In addition to the ProAm, the charity’s other annual fundraiser is a Comedy Night – You Cannot Be Serious, which is held each spring. This year, the event featured Andy Cohen, with past

years’ talent having included Martin Short, Saturday Night Live stars Colin Jost and Michael Che, and many other notable comics. JMTP provides free, weekly programming throughout the year, including summer camp, in addition to scholarships to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) for advancing students, and travel support and coaching to a smaller group of elite players. “Our tagline is “Creating a Pathway to Success Through Tennis”, and that pathway really starts with our community programs,” explained Botjer. “The community programs happen at SPORTIME Randall’s Island every day of the week during the school year. We have partner schools and community-based organizations that bring groups of kids out to the facility for what is generally an introductory level tennis instruction experience.” A lot of the community kids have never picked up a racket before, with the sport of tennis often seeming inaccessible to them. The weekly instruction is developmental and involves a lot of skills building, including hand-eye coordination, movement and more. Many of the organizations and schools don’t have their

own rec spaces, gyms or playgrounds, so the weekly visit to SPORTIME provides much needed recreation to the kids. The opportunity to receive weekly tennis instruction throughout the school year also provides a foundation of skills that can allow those who wish to, to continue with the sport.

Botjer explains that, naturally, not every kid falls in love with tennis, but that all the participants still receive much benefit from the program, including improved health and fitness. “It’s an amazing experience for all of the continued on page 12

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NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

children, but we always look out for the students from each group who really connect with the sport and quickly develop a passion for it,” says Botjer. “At the end of each school year, we select the most interested and motivated kids from our community programs and invite them to participate in our Excellence Program, which meets after school and on the weekends. And so the pathway advances, with kids from our community programs moving on to receive more individualized attention and a higher level of training in Excellence.” Outside of the transportation to the facility, both the community and excellence programs are provided completely free, and function to welcome and progress young players into the third stop of the JMTP pathway: scholarships to train at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. “JMTP players who continue to show passion for the sport and consistent hard work are offered scholarships to JMTA,” explains Botjer. “Our scholarship players are fully integrated into JMTA community and train here most days of the week, just like every other Academy player. And all of our scholarship and excellence program members are means tested, so that JMTP is sure we are not funding any players who could otherwise afford their own training. We have been doing this long enough now that we are beginning to see JMTP success stories, with kids who started in our community programs having followed the full pathway to JMTA scholarships. Many of those students will be able to attend college based on their tennis, and many will attend colleges or universities into which they would not otherwise be able to gain admission, or afford to attend.” JMTP also holds scholarship tryouts throughout the year. One of JMTP’s scholarship recipients is Summer C., who shares that her tennis idols are John McEnroe and Serena Williams: “JMTP has helped me pursue my tennis dream in a really organized way,” says 12

Summer, “I love the access to the amazing courts, amazing trainers and really great coaches, and I always feel safe there. One day, I hope to go pro and break Serena’s and Margaret Court’s records!” A recent development at JMTP has been a partnership with BNP Paribas, who recently began funding a new program, BNP Mac 1, that will support the training and travel costs for a small team of JMTP’s most elite players. For young players with limited resources, the cost of tournament travel to national and international events can often stand in the way of progress. This new partnership will help eliminate that longstanding hurdle, among others. In addition to BNP Paribas, Nike is also a JMTP corporate sponsor. Corporate underwriting, individual donations, and the two signature events, provide the majority of JMTP funding. John McEnroe explains, “I am very proud of JMTP. We are different from many other tennis charities that are more focused on recreational tennis. At JMTP, we offer every kid we meet a way to become a competitive tennis player and we’ve made a lot of really good players since 2012. Of course, like any other ambitious project, we have made our mistakes and learned from them, but we keep getting better, and doing more, and from day one we have kept our commitments to our young players and we have improved and changed their lives. The goal is to service and help more and more NYC kids, where tennis becomes a driving force in their lives,

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

and gets them a college education, and hopefully even more.” JMTP hopes to triple its community hours in the context of the planned expansion of the Randall’s Island facility, which will add 10 more courts for a total of 30. And it plans to take the show on the road, bringing portable nets and equipment to schools and parks in in East Harlem, the South Bronx and Queens, to offer programming during the school day. “We want to disabuse people of the notion that tennis is an elitist sport,” said Botjer. “And demonstrate that kids can start to play in whatever space is available to them.” With the expanding reach and resources of the organization, could the next great American player come from New York City? Asked this question, John McEnroe shares, “I have not been shy to say that with a little luck, and continuing support of sponsors like BNP Paribas, I am hoping that at least a few of our JMTP kids will go on to serious pro careers and that one of them might win the US Open while I am still around to see that! The greatest city in the world deserves another US Open champion who is a New Yorker—like yours truly! And we will keep trying until we get that done.”

Forest Park Wins Battle of the Boroughs

he seventh annual Battle of the Boroughs presented by USTA Eastern hit New York City this fall as teams from all over the city battled against one another in this unique competition. The tournament culminated with the finals at Ft. Washington Park, which set the stage for high-level tennis in a beautiful location right on the Hudson River underneath the George Washington Bridge. When it was all said and done, it was the team from Forest Park in Queens that won the championship, defeating the team from Detective Keith Williams Park, also in Queens. The Forest Park team was comprised of captain Aibika Kalsarieva, Eric Tomasini, Carolina Torres, Liz Kobak, Eli Cherdan and Justin Natale. “The key to our team winning came down to the on-court chemistry shared between our teammates,” said Kalsarieva. “Right from the start, our team had an amazing attitude regarding the competition. We knew that each team representing the different parks would put up a good fight and that we just had to be that much stronger. What allowed us to come out on top against some of the best competition from across New York City was our grit. We never let our guard down, and we fought for each and every point.” Kalsarieva said her and her team enjoyed competing in Battle of the Boroughs, and are excited to return next

The team from Forest Park captured the 2019 Battle of the Boroughs title.

The squad representing Detective Keith Williams Park had a great run that ended in the tournament’s finals. year to defend its title. “It’s such a unique and special event to be a part of given the commitment from everyone involved—from the organizers to the facility, everything was well-thought out and everyone involved wanted to make the event as fun and engaging as

possible,” she said. “At the end of the day, we all competed in this tournament because we love tennis, and I can say with confidence that we’ll be back to defend our title for years to come and thank the people who help out with the event.”

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Magda Linette was crowned winner of the 2019 Bronx Open

NYJTL, Cary Leeds Bring Pro Tennis Back to the Bronx By Robbie Werdiger orld-class tennis returned to the Bronx this summer, as many of the top-ranked WTA players competed at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning. Fans and players enjoyed a luxurious experience inside Cary Leeds’ 12,000-square foot, $26.5 million state-of-the art facility, and

embraced the two intimate stadium courts on grounds. Local kids involved in the variety of tennis and educational programs that Cary Leeds has to offer had the unique experience of being ball kids for the tournament. I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer and the experience was exhilarating. Standing up close to the action and observing the ball spins and footwork of the players was both educational and enjoyable. Being a ball

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New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

boy is quite tiring and involves tremendous focus. A ball kid must be aware at all times of the location of all six balls on the court, the match score and the ball and towel preferences of each player. Also, a ball kid has to have quick reflexes and stand completely still inbetween points. Kids could only do one-hour shifts at a time because of the strain. While the weather got steamy at times, all the kids had a blast being up close to some of their favorite players and role models. The highlight of the week for the ball kids and young junior players was the chance to meet and hit with ATP and WTA stars Nick Kyrgios and Eugenie Bouchard. Both fanfavorites signed autographs and took pictures with kids before participating in drills and tennis games. Joe Ceriello, chief marketing officer for New York Junior Tennis & Learning and the Bronx Open’s tournament director, was most proud of the fact that the players outwardly expressed their positive views on the facility and tournament and loved being in New York a week early. Admission to the Bronx Open was free, and attendance notably increased throughout the week. Tennis is one of

the few sports where the majority of play occurs in the day and during the week, making it problematic to fill seats for many non-Grand Slam events. However, for the finals played on Saturday, upwards of 1,000 fans were packed into Victor Kiam Stadium for the championship match and watched the Polish qualifier Magda Linette edge past Italian Camila Giorgi in a tight three-set match. The Bronx Open was the last WTA event on the calendar prior the US Open, and some of the best female tennis players in the world signed up to compete for the title and gain some last-minute confidence. Unfortunately, many of the top seeds, such as Petra Kvitova, Johanna Konta, Maria Sakkari and Danielle Collins all withdrew from the tournament due to minor injuries that they wanted to heal before the last slam of the year. Still, high quality tennis was on display for the Bronx fans. The top five seeds were all ranked inside the top 50 on the WTA Tour, and former top 10 players, such as Bouchard, Sam Stosur, Coco Vandeweghe and Andrea Petkovic, competed in the draw. Professional tennis was previously hosted at Crotona Park in the Bronx from 1996-2012 for the Emblem Health Open. This semi-pro event was part of the $50K ITF Women’s Circuit. NYJTL initially planned to host a $100k event in 2019 at its flagship home at the Cary Leeds Tennis Center, but the WTA approached NYJTL for a possible upgrade after an opportunity presented itself on the calendar. The New Haven Open, a $700K WTA tournament scheduled a week before the US Open, was bought by China and NYJTL happily agreed to replace the tournament with a $250K tournament that awarded 280 WTA ranking points. Going forward, if the Cary Leeds Center wishes to host the tournament it will have to rely heavily on outside sponsors. This year the WTA and the USTA financially supported the event but that will not be the case for future tournaments. If NYJTL can draw enough sponsors to host the event next year, we can look forward to the

Runner-up Camila Giorgi in action at the Cary Leeds Center

Magda Linette celebrates her win and being crowned the firstever Bronx Open champion

tournament’s return to the beautiful Cary Leeds Center in August 2020. Robbie Werdiger is a senior at Horace Mann School in New York City. As a

captain on his high school tennis team, Robbie has received team MVP and has been awarded the First Team all Ivy award two times at the first and second singles positions.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Nadal’s Nineteen US Open title moves him up the all-time majors list By Brian Coleman

or much of the 2019 tennis season, and for the last few years now, the primary conversation, or debate, on the men’s side of the game has been over who the greatest player of alltime is. The majority opinion resided in the camp of Roger Federer, who holds the record for most Grand Slams all-time with 20. But then Novak Djokovic defeated him in what will go down as arguably the best tennis match in the sport’s history, a five-hour, five-set epic in the Wimbledon final. The conversation then shifted to the question about whether Djokovic could catch Federer on the list, as his title bumped his number up to 16 all-time major titles. And for the majority of the year, the name Rafael Nadal tended to be left out of this discussion. While his legion of fans were defending him, and even after he hoisted his 12th French Open title back in May, as we approached late summer and the start of the US Open, the primary storyline was whether or not Djokovic, the top-ranked player in the world at that time and the winner of four of the previous five Grand Slam titles, could 16

move one closer to Federer. But Nadal had other plans. The Spaniard entered the fortnight in Queens as the tournament’s secondseed, but with some lingering question marks in the month leading up to the event. After losing to Federer in the Wimbledon semifinals, he competed in just one tournament in between then and the start of the US Open, which was the Rogers Cup in Montreal. “I think I am playing well. I am practicing the right way during these days,” Nadal said heading into the US Open. “Of course, winning in Montreal helps. I am ready for the action. Hopefully remain a couple of days of good practices. Let’s see if I’m able to make that happen.” At this stage in his career, Nadal is well-aware of how to manipulate his schedule in order to maximize his performances when he does play in tournaments. By playing just one event and allowing his body to be fully prepared and healthy heading into the US Open, Nadal was primed to make a deep run. “Last year, honestly, I was not that bad. Of course, my feeling on the knees are better this year than last year,” Nadal said referring to his loss in the semifinals in

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

2018 in New York. “Last year the problem was I played three or four very, very long matches. That’s tough. Then in that semifinal, the thing with the knee. [This year] I hope to be ready for it.” And he was. Entering the draw in fine form, Nadal made sure to avoid any long matches in the first few rounds. He dropped just seven games in his opening match against John Millman, before getting a walkover into the third round when Thanasi Kokkinakis withdrew from his match before it began. He wouldn’t drop a set until Marin Cilic won the second set in their Round of 16 match, but Nadal made quick work over the next two sets in that match: 6-1, 6-2. Being able to stay fresh allowed Nadal to continue his dominance deep into the tournament, and into a matchup with Daniil Medvedev in the finals, the man whom he defeated in the Montreal final just weeks prior. And what transpired on that Sunday afternoon-turned-night on the final day of the US Open became an all-time classic match between the veteran from Spain, and the youngster from Russia. Nadal jumped out to a two-sets-to-love continued on page 18

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nadal’s nineteen continued from page 16

lead, an advantage he only lost once prior in his entire career. Medvedev forced a fifth set, but Nadal ended any dramatic comeback story right there, racing out to a 5-2 lead, and serving it out on his second opportunity to win the nearly fivehour showdown 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4. “The way that the match became very dramatic at the end, that makes this day unforgettable, part of my history of this sport. I’m just very happy,” said Nadal. “This trophy means everything to me today.” It was Nadal’s eighth US Open final, and he hoisted the winning trophy for the fourth time in his career, bringing his major total to 19, just one short of Federer’s record. The gap between the two being trimmed only adds fuel to the debate of who is the greatest of all-time, and that conversation continues to rage on. The problem with the debate is that

there is still so much left to be decided. We don’t know what is going to happen in the days, months and years to come, including if either of them will be surpassed by another player in the future, which includes the aforementioned Djokovic. Nadal’s career is still fluid, and it remains to be seen how many more Grand Slams he can or will win in the years he has left. One person who is not concerned with numbers is the man himself. “I am playing tennis because I love to play tennis. I can’t just think about Grand Slams. Tennis is more than Grand Slams,” said Nadal. “I need to think about the rest of the things. I play to be happy ... You can’t be all day looking next to you about if one has more, or one having a little bit less, because you will be frustrated.” Nadal added that he has already gotten so much fulfillment out of his career and

the work and effort he has put in: “All the things that I achieved in my career are much more than what I ever thought and what I ever dreamt. I would love to be the one who has more. But I really believe that I will not be happier or less happy if that happens or not happen. What gives you the happiness is the personal satisfaction that you gave your best. In that way I am very calm; very pleased with myself.” That positive outlook towards both his tennis career and life is exuded in the passion in which Nadal plays with. Few players exhibit the amount of joy and emotion that Nadal does and has sustained over the course of two decades. As we rapidly approach 2020, a year in which Nadal will turn 34-years-old, the man from the small Spanish island of Mallorca will pursue his 20th major title. Whether he achieves it or not, he will continue to enjoy playing the game of tennis and not concern himself with where he stands on any list, leaving that conversation to be had by all of us watching. Credit photos to: USTA

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

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Serve and Volley for Women: Why Not? By Lisa Dodson There are a number of classic “reasons” for the lack of serve and volley among women in the modern game of tennis. Opinions and quotes from fans, players, coaches and commentators are many. True or not here, they are: 1. “The return is too big.” 2. “Women’s serves are not big enough and they are too small.” 3. “Racket and string technology makes serve and volley ‘suicidal.’” 4. “Women aren’t agile and quick in forward/back movement.” I have long been a believer that women’s tennis took an ill-advised, one dimensional turn many years ago. With the onset of topspin, the baseline became the main room in the house for female 20

players. A successful style was created and copied, commentators and coaches professing that this was the way women should play tennis. We, the coaches, professionals and spokespeople for the game bought into this in a big way. Consequently, we have undermined players’ abilities and undervalued a substantial part of the game in women’s tennis. The serve We all know that, generally speaking, women are not physically capable of serving the speed of men. Nature dictates this by giving men the size, speed and strength advantage. That being said, it does not mean that women cannot develop big serves. The man’s muscle mass is above the waist and women’s is below the waist. Women need to be taught to engage the center and lower body more to harness their natural power and to couple this with a

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

proper throwing technique. The fastest, officially-recorded, woman’s serve is 131 miles per hour by Sabine Lisicki, followed by 12 pro players who have recorded speeds over the minimum 124 miles per hour benchmark. Given the right tools and coaching, these exceptional results are attainable by women players. It’s all a matter of the player and coach believing that this is possible and going through a solid progression. It’s also a matter of time spent, balls hit and willingness to persevere. Like anything else there are some players who will take to the challenge more naturally and with open and accepting attitudes. These players and coaches will then set the bar for others. In the last few years, there has been a push to improve women’s serves and strides are being made to earn some cheap points. Commanding play from the serve can be the future of women’s tennis

if we make it a priority. We’re not even talking about blasting untouched aces, but setting a tone and confidence for a match by using varying spin, pinpoint placement and speed. The key is to make the receiver hit returns that are outside of their striking zone. Then, returns become less accurate, less deadly and more vulnerable. The volley The serve always gets the blame for the lack of serve and volley for women. What about the poor old, neglected classic volley, which just so happens to be the second and equally important half of the serve and volley? The art of the volley has been stripped and robbed by forehand grips. Female players spend so much time on the baseline hitting topspin forehands and two-handed backhands that the Continental grip is a stranger. Dangerously true is that this happens daily at grassroots levels. It’s no wonder that our most creative and versatile female players in history utilize the one-handed backhand. Using a Continental grip for the backhand leads to familiarity of what this grip provides for both the serve and the volley. The Continental grip is essential for a controlled volley. Generally, classic volleys are not meant to overpower, but to put pressure on the opponent to hit a difficult passing shot and is a necessity

for the first or mid-court volley. Forward movement takes players from one physical place to another by means of hitting the shot and is an integral part of hitting this non-swinging shot. Female players need to spend time on their volley technique and how to make that technique work on the move. If it is true that women are weaker at forward movement and struggle with transitioning reflexively, then it really is for lack of doing it. Reallocate a good chunk of practice time to coming forward, learning an athletic split-step and quickening up the transition. Add a precision first volley to complete building the confidence to use a serve and volley or an approach technique. Not only will this make serving and volleying more successful, but it will enhance approaching on forceful ground shots or returns. It’s time and it takes time. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating that all women players should become serve and volley players, I’m advocating a winning style of play at all levels. Use it at specific, strategic times, against specific player types, as a pressure tool, as a bluff. Just use it! Remember that when you go to the net, you will sometimes get passed. But in the meantime, you will win more points by simply approaching (and not having to volley) than you will by volleying. The premise above is driven by facts. Craig O’Shannessy, the lead strategy

analyst for ATP and WTA, cited the following facts: An examination of the statistics shows that serving and volleying remains a winning strategy for men and women … At the 2012 US Open, both men and women had the highest winning percentage (of baseline, net and serve and volley) when serving and volleying: 68.7 percent for men, 69.2 percent for women. The percentages were similar for Wimbledon 2013. Surprisingly, baseline points won were 46.2 percent for men and 47.3 percent for women. Still, there were only 190 serve-andvolley points in the women’s tournament, and only 37 of the 128 women in the field served and volleyed at all. 19 women did not lose a point while serving and volleying. Perhaps things will change when coaches encourage women to spend quality time on their serve, volley and the athletic movements associated with putting them together. So, let me ask again, why not? Lisa Dodson is the developer and owner of Servemaster, a USPTA Elite Professional and a former WTA worldranked player. She is currently the director of tennis at Shenorock Shore Club in Rye, N.Y. She may be reached by e-mail at Lisa@TheTotalServe.com or visit TheTotalServe.com.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

New York Tennis Magazine’s Gossip Column By Emilie Katz Wozniacki Attending Harvard

Sharapova, who did so back in 2016. “Being accepted into Harvard Business School is a dream come true!” Wozniacki said on Twitter.

Halep-Cahill Reunite

with you. After a year without him on my team, I’m happy to announce that Darren will be back by my side next season.” Cahill helped Halep reach the number one ranking in the world and capture her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2018 French Open, before splitting at the end of last season.

Clijsters Announces Comeback Former world number one and Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki has jumped into the classroom recently, continuing what has become somewhat of a trend for professional tennis players. Wozniacki enrolled in Harvard Business School, as did US Open mixed doubles champion Bethanie Mattek-Sands, following in the footsteps of Maria

Simona Halep announced that she and Darren Cahill will rekindle their coaching relationship in 2020. Halep shared the news on social media: “I have some exciting news to share

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2020. Clijsters, a three-time US Open champion, last played in 2012, but will back competing at the world’s highest level next year. “I don’t really feel like I want to prove something,” Clijsters told the WTA Insider Podcast. “I think for me it’s the challenge.”

Lopez and Pouille Both Tie the Knot

It’s officially wedding season, and many players on the ATP Tour tied the knot with

their significant others. That includes Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez and young Frenchman Lucas Pouille (pictured here), with Lopez marrying Sandra Gago and Pouille wedding Clemence Bertrand.

Osaka Buys Former Jonas Brother’s House Credit photo to: Realtor.com

Pop music star Nick Jonas sold his Los Angeles home in an off-market deal earlier this summer, with the house reportedly being sold for just under $7 million. And it was only recently revealed the buyer: Two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.

Tsitsipas Explains Post-Laver Cup Drinking Following Team Europe’s victory at the Laver Cup, Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas discussed the tournament’s after-party on his video blog “PERFECT,” where he discussed his thoughts on YouTube. Towards the end, Tsitsipas came clean to his parents and explained that he drank alcohol during the celebration: “It was so disgusting, it was so bad, I didn’t like it at all,” he said. “Mama, they forced me to do it. I will show you the video—they were screaming my name.” His father responded: “I’m telling you, the best drink is not vodka. It’s gin. You will like gin. Gin-tonic might be good for you.”

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

USTA Metro Region Stephens Stops By Liberty Park

Former Grand Slam champion Sloane Stephens was in New York prior to the start of the US Open, and made her way around the area. She paid a visit to the Liber-T Community Tennis Association in Liberty Park. 24

During her visit, the 2017 US Open winner talked to the members of the program about her career, helped provided some free instruction for the 10 and under kids in the program, and played points on court with the members as well.

New York Tennis Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ NYTennisMag.com

USTA Metro Region Metro Combines Science and Tennis

Earlier this fall, the USTA Metro Region learned the synergy that exists between tennis and science. Members of the Region’s Council were among those who took part in the BioBat Science and Tennis Clinic. There were three classes of about 10 students that were broken into age groups. Prior to the clinic, the group had to explain the connection between tennis and science,

making it one of the more unique tennis clinics around. “Thank you for Sharon Simmonds, Ken Wilkinson, Greg Muhammad, and the USTA Eastern-Metro Board Volunteers for assisting, and to Kathleen and Allison at BioBat for inviting us,” said Pablo Sierra, USTA Eastern Metro Region Council regional director.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

USTA Metro Region Montefiore Hospital Adaptive Tennis Clinic

Williamsburg Oval in the Bronx, N.Y. was the host site for a tennis clinic that truly helped to touch people’s lives. In conjunction with Montefiore Hospital and the New York City Parks Department, an Adaptive Tennis Clinic was held, demonstrating that everyone can play the sport of tennis, no matter their age, environment, condition or ability. “It was so much fun doing it,” said Pablo Sierra, USTA Eastern 26

Metro Region Council regional director. “Montefiore Hospital and the NYC Parks Department were so helpful. I think I can say for myself; Sharon Simmonds, secretary of the Metro Board; and Mark James, a Metro Board Member and Veterans Administration Volunteer, that we had a great time touching people’s lives. It was an awesome time, and I look forward to doing this again!”

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

NEW YORK TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

J U N I O R P L AY E R S P O T L I G H T BY BRIAN COLEMAN

SHAWN MITCHELL YON • NYJTL When Shawn Mitchell Yon was in the first grade at P.S. 295, he was introduced to the game of tennis through a program run at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens. “I was one of the few kids selected to try out for the program,” he recalls. “The school transported us to the site and I’ve loved the game ever since.” With his love of tennis established, Yon continued to pursue the game, and began playing with New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL) soon after that, playing under one of its coaches, Christian Goerges. “My tennis game has improved tremendously,” he said, talking about NYJTL and The Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning’s instruction. “I’ve started to fully understand the game of tennis, and have really become a student of the game.” And so for the last several years, he has been training and playing at The Cary Leeds Center in the Bronx, learning from the facility’s coaches and instructors such as Liezel and Tony Huber, who have a wealth of knowledge thanks to their experiences on the professional tour. “There are professional coaches here that played on the ATP and WTA Tours, they’re always preparing us daily and teaching us the strategies and techniques on court,” said Yon. “They give us the inside scoop on how to be a successful tennis player.” A hallmark of the programs there, and something that Yon takes very seriously, is the blend of tennis and academics, and making sure that you pay attention to your school work. He says tennis has helped him become a better student, and has helped him establish future goals for himself, which include becoming a tennis pro and possibly even opening up his own tennis facility to help impact the lives of others. At last year’s Mayor’s Cup, NYJTL

partnered with UTR powered by Oracle, and UTR took submissions for its inaugural Impact Story Award, which was granted to a player who shared a story highlighting the impact that tennis has had on their lives. Yon won the award and talked about how the game has helped become both a better student and person, and hopes to pass those same impacts on to more players as he gets older. “Being honored with that award totally changed me,” he said. “It meant to me that everything I was doing wasn’t a waste of time, that it was beneficial to me. It inspires me to keep working hard.” On the court, Yon has used his instruction and love for the game to become a really good junior player. He has great speed on the court and a powerful forehand, and loves to dissect the strategy of the sport in order to improve his game. “I want to work on being different from other players in terms of strategy,” said Yon. “I want to have my own creative style, and that will take time to work on but I am prepared for that.” That work has helped produce better

results on court and he has already captured a number of titles in USTA tournaments this fall. At the first-ever Hector Henry Championships, which were created to honor longtime NYJTL coach Hector Henry, Yon won all of his matches in straight sets, knocking off the top two seeds in the semifinals and finals to win the title. He followed that up by traveling to Long Island to win an L1B Bethpage Park Challenger in the Boys 14s Division. And earlier this year at the Mayor’s Cup, Yon won four matches en route to reaching the tournament’s Middle School Singles semifinals. His passion for tennis is evident when you speak with him, or watch him play, as he recognizes the doors that have opened for him as a result of tennis, and knows the game can open doors for people from all different backgrounds. “What I enjoy most about tennis is that it’s a sport that everyone of any shape and size can enjoy,” he said. “Even people in wheelchairs or disabilities of any kind can play! It gives people the chance to be themselves.” Yon takes great pride in his play as well as his academics, both of which will help grow as he continues to get older. “My goals in tennis that I hope to accomplish are to stay on track and keep doing what I have to do to guide me in the right direction,” he said. “I hope the sport takes me to a professional career, I think I have all the tools to become a great tennis player. I don’t want to be the next Federer, Serena, Nadal, Djokovic, etc.; I want a person to watch me and say, ‘who is that kid, I want to be just like him’. I want to be known and make a name for myself, and be the best Shawn Mitchell Yon I can be.”

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Israel Tennis & Education Center: New Name, Same Mission By Brian Coleman his summer, Israel Tennis Center changed its name to the “Israel Tennis & Education Centers Foundation (ITEC),” as the organization—which has been around for 43 years—has grown and evolved into one of the largest social service agencies for children in Israel. Over the last half-century, ITEC has become one of the most important social service agencies in Israel, and has spread to have influence in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. What began with a vision of opening one tennis center to bring tennis to the masses, regardless of background, religion, ethnicity or physical ability, has vastly grown into an allencompassing organization that uses sports and education to develop the next generation of citizens. “We really wanted to align our name with our mission,” said Jacqueline Glodstein, ITEC’s executive vice president of global development. “We were already focusing on education and had been doing so for years, but with the name ‘Israel Tennis Centers,’ people really didn’t know what our mission was. We were thought of as a tennis club, very simply. Now we can

talk about our organization and rebrand ourselves, and they get it immediately. We started as one tennis center and have now transformed into a social service agency, an inclusive and diverse program. There is nothing better than bringing children together to learn, play and grow, and it impacts a broader audience. Not just the 500,000 children we serve, but the families and communities around them, as well as the future of Israel.” It was an exciting summer for ITEC in addition to the rebranding, as a few lucky students from the program embarked on a 10-day trip to the United States as a part of ITEC’s August 2019 Exhibition Tour. “We are thrilled to provide our children the opportunity to travel to the U.S. and serve as youth ambassadors for Israel in communities abroad,” said Glodstein. “It is a phenomenal thing to witness, and these children learn so much by having this unique educational experience and getting to meet some of the wonderful people who support them.” The tour began at an exhibition and fundraising event in East Hampton, and then it was on to Cleveland, Ohio and Brookline, Mass., before returning to New

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

York for an event in Westhampton Beach and Southampton and then concluding the trip by taking in the first day of the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. “This is my first time here,” said Eden, who currently serves as a coach at ITEC in Haifa after being a part of the organization growing up as a child. “We are so excited … we couldn’t sleep last night. It’s an amazing adventure for us. I am so grateful for the opportunity to give back, and it is a privilege for me to lead our delegation and share our unique story.” Eden is one of the many success stories to come out of ITEC. He grew up playing in the Center in Haifa before joining one of the elite units of the Israel Defense Forces at the age of 18. “Growing up in the tennis center helped me prepare for life. I learned a great deal of values and life skills that helped me when I joined one of the most elite units in the Israeli army,” Eden told New York Tennis Magazine at the US Open. “I learned how to deal with both success and failure, and to have a goal to be my best. I also learned the importance of giving back. The opportunity to serve the next generation of kids in Israel,

in the location that I grew up in, is an amazing experience for me. I had an amazing experience in the Israeli Army, and now I can use all of the skills I have learned to be an educator for the next generation of kids in Israel.” One of those youngsters is 15-year-old Nir, who has been playing tennis since he was just five-years-old and is a part of the ITEC in Beer Sheva, Israel. Nir was one of the kids who got the chance to travel to the U.S. this summer as part of the Exhibition Tour. “It’s great to be at a Grand Slam. I’ve been to the Masters tournament in Madrid, but this is a lot better. This is the greatest tournament in the world,” Nir said. “The atmosphere is very special. It’s been so fun and overall a great experience for me.” Nir was one of the four players who came over to the states for the tour. In total, ITEC serves 20,000 youth annually, and has become integral in the growth and development of much of the nation’s youth. “For many of the kids, it goes way

beyond tennis. It’s about coming to a safe place,” said Yoni Yair, vice president of development for ITEC’s Florida Office and ITEC Alumnus. “Many of the tennis and education centers are located—in underprivileged neighborhoods throughout Israel, and the vision was to help keep these children off the street.” The ITEC is open to any and all kids in Israel, and because of that, has created a culture of diversity and inclusivity that benefits all “We serve children at risk, immigrants, kids with special needs, etc. … and they are all co-existing together,” said Yair. “We have Jewish and Arab kids interacting with each other. Everyone in Israel is welcome to be a part of our family, regardless of their background, religion or socioeconomic status. Education is key for us in helping us provide them with a brighter future. We feel that sports are a great vehicle to get kids from different backgrounds together, and they can learn how to respect one another, listen to one another and become friends. I think their experience at the ITEC helps them

become better citizens.” After attending the 2019 US Open, the group from ITEC headed back to Israel to continue their training and education, both on the tennis court and in the classroom, where they will continue to benefit from what the organization offers. With the new name change, as well as continued unique programming such as this summer’s Exhibition Tour, ITEC aims to continue growing its reach and scope by further serving as many children as it can. “We started as one center and have transformed into a social service agency,” said Glodstein. “We are forward-thinking, look for the gaps in society and try to help fill those gaps the best way we can. We teach our children in an environment of inclusiveness, unity, respect, diversity and caring. We believe this will set them on the path to building lasting peace within their communities.” Brian Coleman is senior editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at BrianC@USPTennis.com.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Developing Scouting Skills and Understanding Key Factors for Success in Competition By Conrad Singh ne of the most underdeveloped skill sets for competitive tennis players is their ability to scout opponents and then build a winning plan against their opponent based on their scout. The ability to create a game plan from scouting opponents is an essential factor for the player to be able to go through tournament draws and achieve success, week in and week out. A player developing a “Coaches Eye” to pick out what will be a winning formula is best started by keeping a book of observations on each opponent from previous experiences, matches and practices. The player’s book becomes a record of opponents’ tendencies and habits. By always sizing up against potential opponents, competitive players find ways to be able to gain the win once drawn against one another. During the initial development stages, the key is for competitive players to become comfortable in the tournament environment through exposure. Increasing exposure to the tournament environment allows the player to be less nervous, remain positive regardless of who they play against each draw. These are the players who are able to focus in tactical details and are confident enough in their skills and tools to be able to execute plans needed for that particular round. When you consider the importance of developing a winning formula against a certain opponent, the player begins to understand that looking too far ahead

brings up too many questions and can make building a plan difficult. The key is to building a successful plan is to understand the three main factors which affect match play: One The player’s technical skill level and the mental skill capacity within an occasion and new competitive environment (experience) Mental state of the player, related to the occasion and the environment: l The level of calmness, control and overall nerves/mental preparedness l Prior performance–same opponent win/loss record; enormity of the situation or occasion. This is usually linked to the “outcome.” l Court surface/conditions/tactical capacity determined by surface and environment. l Big match and motivation; i.e. home crowd for or against. Big tournament vs. smaller event. This can also be the priority of this event, i.e. national event vs. a consolation event at a regional event. l Mental strength based on the physical status of the player–early on the first day vs. very late match on the past day. Two Your player’s game style and specific preferences The other important factor is understanding the player’s game style and related factors: l Game style match up/court surface effect of the match up; players winning plays versus the opponent’s limitations in their game. l Opponent’s strengths and weakness,

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

and the relationship to the court surface. l Recent performances and results and the effect of “form”/confidence/level of support. l Current training and match play goals and themes. Tactical capacity and conditions. l Extraneous variables–status of outside relationships (coach, parents, peers, partners, etc.). Three The opponent’s game style and specific preferences and how they match up The Ability to match up/winning plays and point sequences/role of the surface in game style: l Tactical awareness/prior knowledge/quality of scouting of the player. l Win/loss ratio and the confidence associated with that. l Physical status prior to and during the match. l Level of risk-taking and timing of specific tactical options determined by decisionmaking. Identifying game style and preferences Another crucial factor is for our “Scouting Player” to have the ability to identify the game style and preferences of the opponent. It is important to be able to categorize the opponent into either: l A baseline aggressive player: Wellrounded in all skills and looks to end points—an example being Dominic Thiem. l An all-court player: Player exhibits terrific movement and is able to run quick and slow pressure tactics at will—an example being Roger Federer. l Net rushing player: Generally very good

with continental grips and up and down the court movement with usually a very good serve—an example being Feliciano Lopez. l Variation game style: Will use all-court plus mix in variation of spin and tactic at will. Likes to match up against big hitters. Is very adaptable to all surfaces and plays doubles well, and is closely aligned to an all-court player–an example being Rafael Nadal. l Countering player: Likes opponent to provide speed, then can use that against them. In today’s fast game, this is a very dangerous opponent—an example being Daniil Medvedev. Coach/Parent As a coach or parent with players at a tournament or in a competitive environment, try to encourage your player to be a “complete” player. Doing the preparation work and being ready before the match is very important. Scouting may include watching by the side of the practice courts, asking friends or others that may know the player or by doing

your own online research on the player. The key aspects to address and be clear on are as follows: l Identify the player’s game style. l Identify the player’s strengths (technical, tactical, physical, psychological) and limiting factors. l Identify player’s winning plays (usually very clear by seeing the patterns and connections of plays). l Identify opponent’s strengths and ask yourself what are their limiting factors? l Identify opponent’s winning plays, best strokes and general “go to” plays. l Develop a game plan to counter the opponent’s strengths and winning plays—be prepared for what will come. l Explain and clarify with the player what are the match plans, objectives and also things to be aware of. Prepare for the opponent to do the things they do well and not get caught off guard. l Coaches and parents need to adopt communication strategies that are best suited to the needs of the player as no two players are the same. l Select verbal communications that are

clear, appropriate in terms of timing and leave no margin for misunderstanding. Be sure to adapt your style of communicating to that of which the player is most suited and used to as well as being appropriate for the setting you are in. l Encourage the player to ask questions, to take the time to analyze practices and matches and then ask questions. Always give your player a voice which will certainly help to facilitate growth and stimulate more tennis conversations. Conrad Singh is the chief operating officer of tennis & director of coaching at Centercourt Club & Sports. He has held head coach and director positions in Australia, England, Japan and China, and has been involved in professional tennis player development for well over two decades. Singh came to Centercourt from Shanghai, China, where he helped to develop a top high-performance player program, which saw more than 200 athletes train under his system.

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From New York Tennis Magazine

MAGAZINE

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Pounding a Corner and the Inside Out Forehand By Lawrence Kleger Having the discipline to play an opponent’s weakness over and over, and to adjust one’s patterns of play to exploit that weakness, is important at every level of play. If you can cause your opponent to hit on his/her stronger side (usually the forehand) as little as possible, like once every 15 minutes, chances are that your opponent’s weapon is not going to be nearly as damaging as it might be if it were hit the majority of the time. Furthermore, when you send an opponent back and forth to the same corner, again and again, you force that opponent to load and change directions, which is far more physically demanding than flowing side to side. The key to successfully “Pounding a Corner” is developing your inside-out forehand into a weapon, as the inside-out forehand is the second most devastating shot in the game of tennis, with the serve being number one. A powerful and dependable inside-out forehand allows a right-handed player to make life miserable for a right-handed opponent with a weak backhand, or for a lefty with a weak forehand. The inside-out forehand occurs when a shot from an opponent lands on the player’s backhand side of the court and the player elects to hit a forehand crosscourt to the opponent’s backhand, assuming that both players are righthanded, which is usually the case, or that both players are left-handed, which is rarely the case (we will deal with a lefty playing a righty at another time!). One might think, “Why not just hit a backhand when the ball lands on the backhand side of the court?”, but as I will explain, even for a player whose backhand is her/his more reliable ground stroke, the inside-out forehand is often the more desirable shot from the backhand side of the court. Here’s why: l More often than not, a player’s forehand 32

is his or her stronger shot. Therefore, by taking advantage of an opportunity to hit an inside-out forehand, a player has created an exchange with his or her best shot going to the opponent’s weaker side. l Because it is easier to generate topspin with a forehand, an inside-out forehand is often able to deliver a higher ball to the opponent’s backhand. And because it is more difficult to deal with high balls on the backhand than on the forehand, this can create a big problem for the opponent. l The most difficult exchange of groundstrokes occurs when a player, responding to a ball that has been hit cross-court, elects to change the direction of the ball and to hit down the line. Since going down the line is a difficult and error-prone choice, even though there may be a lot of open space on the player’s forehand side, most opponents will elect to go with the safest and easiest option: Hitting the ball back cross-court. This tends to perpetuate an exchange where one player is hitting his or her best shot (forehand) to the opponent’s weaker side (backhand), often resulting in a point won by the player hitting forehands. Only very accomplished players can routinely exploit the open court, created when a player hits a forehand inside out, by taking crosscourt shots and hitting them down the line. l By creating and maintaining the exchange of one’s best shot to the opponent’s weaker side, the opponent does not get to hit his or her best shot. It can be psychological tough to deal with not being able to use your best shot very often. Again, how good do you think an opponent’s best shot will be when he or she gets to hit it once every 15 minutes?! l When staying away from a player’s weapon totally consumes an opponent’s attention, it makes it very

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

difficult for the opponent to impose his or her own game plan. This is a huge tactical advantage. As you can understand, hitting successful inside-out forehands can have a devastating impact. In order to execute this critical shot successfully, players have to develop the recognition, footwork and decision-making aspects of this shot. This takes many hours of practice. Here are a few other additional helpful hints when looking to “Pound a Corner:” l Having a solid cross-court backhand to back up your inside-out forehand doesn’t hurt! You may be looking for your inside-out forehand, but opponents may have the shot-making skills to extend you too wide to get to hit it. l Mastering your ability to vary shots using the five dimensions of the ball: height, speed, spin, depth and direction. Since multiple shots will be required to “Pound a Corner,” you will likely be faced with different responses, requiring different shots to continue the Pounding! l Positioning yourself properly for the next shot. Good positioning gives you the best chance to hit another offensive shot to the corner you are pounding. l Patiently assessing when it is the right time to hit to the opposite corner, when left open by an opponent. “Pounding a corner” does not mean simply hitting two shots to one corner then hitting to the opposite side. Good players are patient, waiting for the right opportunity, even if that means hitting 10 or more shots to one corner! Lawrence Kleger is co-director of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. He is recognized as one of the top developmental coaches in the United States. He has trained more ranked juniors than anyone in the history of the USTA Eastern Section. His students have won numerous National and Regional Championships, and 20 USTA Eastern Year-End Sportsmanship Awards.

One-on-One Doubles Comes to New York Chestnut Ridge hosts two days of tournaments in this exciting format By Brian Coleman The unique and fast-paced One-on-One Doubles Tennis came to New York earlier this fall, with a series of tournaments featuring a bevy of talented players competing at Chestnut Ridge Racquet Club in Mount Kisco, N.Y. The weekend began with a One-on-One Doubles Shootout, opening up with multiple hours of pool play that fed into the quarterfinal rounds. When it was all said and done, Horace Greeley High School junior Ryan Gruber defeated Scarsdale High School senior Andrew Broom in the finals, claiming the $100 prize and earning his name on the plaque. Gruber said afterwards that serving and volleying was not the particular style of tennis he usually plays, but was able to make the adjustments needed to come out on top. “I thought it was an exciting experience and it forced me to push myself outside of my comfort zone,” said Gruber. “I was never one to serve and volley, and I generally stay closer to the baseline in singles, but when a winner at net is worth two points, it really does incentivize a player to become aggressive and approach much more frequently.” Players receive two points for a winning volley, half-volley, overhead and topspin lob that the opponent can’t reach, which is just one of the unique rules that apply to the sport, and helps create a fast-paced, exciting style of play. The following night featured the One-onOne Doubles Pro Shootout, with $1,800 in prize money on the line and consisting of many former top collegiate players. The finals came down to Jose Salazar, who reached the Round of 16 in the NCAA Championships while a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks, and Gary Kushnirovich, a former standout at Army and St. John’s. Salazar was able to secure the victory, beating Kushnirovich 4-1. “It was a very fun tournament,” said Salazar. “Having that volley winner rule and short sets made the tournament very

One-on-One Doubles Pro Division Champion Jose Salazar, One-on-One Doubles Founder Ed Krass and runner-up Gary Kushnirovich competitive. I had a great experience and can’t wait to be back next year.” In addition to the high-level of competition on the courts, one of the key highlights of One-on-One Doubles events is the festive atmosphere that surrounds the tennis. With food, refreshments and live music, coupled with the exciting format on court, the events often times feel more like parties. “We had a big crowd come to watch, and with the music playing throughout the building, it was truly a memorable experience for everyone there,” said Brad Breakstone, director of tennis at Chestnut Ridge Racquet Club. “Everyone who played in the club event loved the tournament format, some had done these type of drills before and were excited to play this style in an actual match, and others welcomed a new experience. For the pros, even though this was a very familiar exercise they’d all done at some point in their tennis careers as a player, or as a coach with their students, they loved the tournament format. We got so many positive comments from them

about the unique pressure situations, and they also commented on how they had to use the court in different ways, going for angles and deciding when to get up to the net.” After a successful weekend here in New York, the One-on-One Doubles tours heads back down south with a $2,000 ITA College Coaches Double Championships in Naples, Fla. “I thought our One-on-One Doubles prize money events in New York went really smooth. The host club helped create the tournament’s electric atmosphere with great music, beer and food for all who attended,” said Ed Krass, founder and director of One-on-One Doubles. “The East Coast players were all excited to play the format and battle. I look forward to even bigger tourney events in the future, especially in New York, where the attitude fits the game’s rock-n-roll image. The new rules, with the addition of the two-point plays, will allow the tournament format to truly grow.”

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Luke Jensen, Justin Chong, Billie Jean King, Jenny Schnitzer and Murphy Jensen with City Parks Foundation’s Director of Sports Mike Silverman

City Parks Foundation Hosts 22nd Annual Tennis Benefit By Brian Coleman

or the 22nd consecutive year, the City Parks Foundation hosted its Annual Benefit at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows during the US Open to raise money for CityParks Tennis and the free tennis programming it provides throughout the five boroughs. Each year, the event helps generate funds which help the organization continue to give tennis instruction to more than 5,000 children in 37 different parks across New York City. In all, this year’s benefit raised $325,000. The benefit also serves to honor those who have contributed to and played an integral role in growing the City Parks Foundation. “We were so honored to be able to recognize the contributions of several notable tennis professionals who have contributed to the field and to City Parks Foundation in important ways, while also

Tennis legend and guest speaker Billie Jean King discusses the impact that City Parks Foundation has had on the tennis community highlighting the achievements of one our standout juniors,” said Heather Lubov, executive director of City Parks Foundation. “Every child should have the

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

opportunity to play tennis in our city’s parks at no cost to them. The funds we raised ensure that there will be no barriers to access.”

Jenny Schnitzer, USTA Eastern’s executive director and chief executive officer, was honored with the Vitas Gerulaitis Community Service Award for her contributions. Schnitzer began playing tennis at the age of eight through the CityParks Tennis program, getting her start at Inwood Park in Manhattan. She would go on to receive a scholarship to play at St. John’s University, and even met her husband in the CityParks Tennis programs when she was a coach. “It has been a huge part of my life,” Schnitzer said of the impact the City Parks Foundation has had on her. “My parents played and were a part of it, and CityParks Tennis gave me the training to get to the next level. I made their Advanced team, and even got to go to London to compete against the CityParks kids from there. Because of the tournaments I played, I received a scholarship to St. John’s and I met my husband on the CityParks courts when I began coaching. So I have a lot to say thank you to them for. I am so honored and humbled to be recognized by an organization that has meant so much to me in my life. To be recognized by them is really special.” In addition to Schnitzer, Luke Jensen and Murphy Jensen were honored with the Vitas Gerulaitis Community Service Award for their two-decade long support of CityParks Tennis, and 13-year-old Justin Chong received the 2019 Billie

USTA Eastern Executive Director and CEO Jenny Schnitzer was honored with the Vitas Gerulaitis Community Service Award at the City Parks Foundation Tennis Benefit

Luke and Murphy Jensen, two of the night’s honorees, speak to the crowd at the City Parks Foundation Benefit

Jean King Junior Achievement Award. Since 2015, Chong has trained with the Lacoste Junior Tennis Academy, a

CityParks Tennis program, as he continues to chase his dream of becoming a professional player.

CHRIS LEWIT TENNIS ELITE YEAR-ROUND TRAINING IN THE NYC AREA HIGH PERFORMANCE SUMMER CAMP IN VERMONT

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NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Casa de Campo

Elite Tennis Travel

(800) 336-5520 CasaDeCamp.com.do

(914) 713-5074 EliteTennisTravel.com Info@EliteTennisTravel.com Elite Tennis Travel designs exclusive tennis and cultural immersion programs. Whether your dream trip includes highperformance tennis training, premium access to worldclass ATP tennis tournaments, or VIP-only cultural experiences. n Indian Wells, Calif.: The desert will be in full bloom, and the stars of the tennis world will all be shining at Indian Wells. Ticket, hotel and spa packages available. n Havana, Cuba: Join our open-level Havana Open tennis tournament, and play pro-am with the locals. Meet the Cuban leaders, coaches and players that are shaping the future of Cuban sports and politics. n Monte Carlo, Monaco:The Monte Carlo Country Club is well worth the trip for the Rolex Masters tournament. But when coupled with ETT’s VIP access to the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, the Monte Carlo experience becomes the tennis trip of a lifetime. Explore nearby Nice, shop the couture boutiques, and relax at one of the regions luxury spas. n Miami, Florida: Join us at the Miami Open for great tennis, beachfront accommodations, and the best food and nightlife that South Beach has to offer. n Paris, France: ETT is proud to announce the opening of our new office in the heart of Paris. If the French Open is on your bucket list, our local experts can get you there in fine style. Prefer to play on the intimate courts of the Luxembourg Gardens, accompanied by arts, shopping and haute cuisine? Opportunities are available year-round! n Rome, Italy: Join ETT for Grand Slam-level tennis in a timeless setting along the Tiber River. Culture, cuisine and shopping opportunities abound.

Casa de Campo offers the widest array of experiences found in the Caribbean. The 7,000-acre luxury resort offers choice accommodations, whether in hotel rooms and suites or spacious villas. The deluxe lodging options are accented by dining at acclaimed restaurants, such as The Beach Club by Le Cirque and La Cana by II Circo. Dozens of other restaurants, bars and lounges give guest plenty of variety during their stay. For those guests seeking more of a thrill, The Sporting Life has countless options for athletic excitement. Experience 90 holes of Pete Dye designed gold courses— Teeth of the Dog, Links, La Romana Country Club and Dye Fore—Shooting Center, Equestrian Center, Polo Club, Marina for deep sea and river fishing, Yacht Club and exclusive beaches. Called the “Wimbledon of the Caribbean,” La Terraza Tennis Club overlooks the entire resort, as well as the Caribbean Sea. The club features 13 fast-dry Har-Tru courts, 10 of which are lighted for night play. Thirty-two ball boys in crisp white tennis attire chase errant shots, which not only makes guests’ matches more pleasant, but also helps local Dominican children learn the game and look forward to a brighter future.

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

Evert Tennis Academy

Fisher Island Club

10334 Diego Drive S Boca Raton, Fla. (561) 488-2001 EvertAcademy.com

One Fisher Island Drive Fisher Island, Fla. (305) 535-6000 FisherIslandClub.com Reservations@FisherIslandClub.com Fisher Island Club’s Mediterranean-inspired Racquet Club offers play on 17 courts, and four newly added pickleball courts. Members have access to four types of playing surfaces (two grass courts, three Decocushion hard courts), seven Har-Tru clay courts, and five European red clay courts as well as an array of tennis clinics and private lessons led by top tennis professionals. The Club’s courts are also a favorite place for pre-tournament practice by visiting pros. Experience the distinctive, luxurious amenities that make Fisher Island the ultimate private island destination and lifestyle club. Fisher Island feels a world apart, while also being a short ferry ride away from Miami Beach and premier theaters, art galleries, museums, shopping and nightlife.

The Evert Tennis Academy is located in Boca Raton, Fla., nestled in a beautiful residential neighborhood. Evert Tennis Academy’s convenient location is only a short drive from the beaches of Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, and is roughly 30 minutes away from Palm Beach (PBI) and Fort Lauderdale International (FLL) airports. Chrissie, John and their father, Jimmy Evert, established the Evert Tennis Academy in 1996. The Evert Tennis Academy quickly became, and continues to be, the home to countless national and international junior players, best college players and some of the world’s finest pros. Evert Tennis Academy offers personalized and individualized programs the all year-round for junior players worldwide, including Holiday Camps, Summer Camps, PreTournament Training and Full-Time Programs (year/semester). If you are a basic player looking to get instruction that is more technical or if you are a highlyranked national player looking for some intense competition, Evert Tennis Academy has a program for you. The Evert Tennis Academy campus contains 23 courts, which offer two types of playing surfaces, including 12 hard courts and 11 clay courts. Moreover, the Evert Tennis Academy has two secondary sites with over 25 courts to conduct its program, including a private club, which is only minutes away from the Academy. Our campus also has one girls dormitory and one boys dormitory, a cafeteria, a strength and conditioning room, a massage and athletic training room, a clubhouse, and an academic classroom.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Gleneagles Country Club 7667 Victory Lane Delray Beach, Fla. (561) 860-8794 Gleneagles.cc Membership@Gleneagles.cc With perfect temperatures year-round, every day feels like a vacation when you are a member at Gleneagles Country Club in Delray Beach, Fla. With 20 Har-Tru courts, one hard court, and four pickleball courts, the Gleneagles Tennis Center is a tropical paradise where former resident pros Ivan Lendl and Steffi Graf honed their craft. The USPTAcertified staff offers private and group lessons for all ages. Gleneagles Country Club’s tennis concierge will place you in games and monitor your satisfaction. If you are looking for competition, you can play on one of 25 teams in nine different leagues for both men and women at various levels. After your game, enjoy a complimentary beverage and relax on the patio. If shopping is on your mind, the Pro Shop has the latest styles at member-friendly prices. Gleneagles members enjoy some of the best amenities in South Florida, with a more than 90,000-square feet main clubhouse that features three restaurants and two bars, a brand new Healthy Lifestyle Center encompassing a spacious fitness center, tranquil spa and resort-style pool, in addition to 36 holes of Championship golf. Gleneagles Country Club is close to award-winning restaurants, shopping, museums, beaches and a vibrant downtown. Gleneagles is regarded as one of the best values in South Florida. Prices for homes and garden residences start at $100,000 and go up to $600,000. Mandatory country club joining fees start at $40,000. 38

Peter Kaplan’s Westhampton Beach Junior/Adult Tennis Academy

(631) 288-4021 (914) 234-9462 WestHamptonBeachTennis.com PeterKaplan2002@yahoo.com Peter Kaplan’s Westhampton Beach Junior/Adult Tennis Academy, and the affiliated Grassmere Inn, is a wonderful destination for beginners to nationallyranked players of all ages. Private instruction, clinics, one to seven full- and half-day camps are offered. The flexibility of the programming enables participants to enjoy the nearby beautiful ocean beaches, charming village, Performing Arts Center, movie theatre, wine country, shopping, cafes, restaurants and nearby water park. Resident students/families/teams stay at the historic, newly-renovated and highly-honored Grassmere Inn, located on quiet, tree-lined Beach Lane, 50 yards from the beginning of the charming village, yet less than one mile from a beautiful ocean beach. The Grassmere’s 22 guest rooms all have air conditioning, WiFi, cable TV and private bathrooms. Ideal for families are two suites or interconnected rooms. A delicious breakfast is included daily. The Tennis Academy features 12 soft courts and features an enthusiastic staff, renowned for its high-quality instruction with an average student/staff ratio of 2:1. Westhampton Beach Junior/Adult Tennis Academy is the only academy in the world the USTA selected for the members benefits program for both juniors and adults. And Westhampton Beach Junior/Adult Tennis Academy is annually selected among the top 25 in the world and number one in the East by TennisResortsonline.com. Programs including accommodations and tennis instruction begin at $99 per person/day. New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

Sea Colony Resort SeaColony.com SeaColonyTennis.net (302) 537-8888 HelpMe@SeaColony.com

Tennis Fantasies with John Newcombe and the Legends (800) 874-7788 TennisFantasies.net SteveC@TowneProperties.com Enjoy the best tennis vacation of your life! Tennis Fantasies with John Newcombe and the Legends, the original tennis fantasy camp, is your chance to play tennis and rub shoulders with the all-time greats of the game. Join host three-time Wimbledon Champion John Newcombe and his “mates” at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas for a most memorable tennis event. The legendary staff will include International Tennis Hall of Fame Members John Newcombe, Roy Emerson, Owen Davidson, Mark Woodforde and Charlie Pasarell, as well as Grand Slam winners Ross Case, Dick Stockton, Brian Gottfried, Rick Leach, Luke and Murphy Jensen and more. Together, more than 150 Grand Slam titles and hundreds of other major championships are assembled under one roof! Learn, play and mingle with tennis royalty. n March 5-8, 2020: Tennis Fantasies (Men and Women) n October 18-23, 2020: Tennis Fantasies (Men Only) On-court activities include clinics, team competition, and “fantasy” pro-am matches. After tennis, guests will enjoy the “Aussie-style” hospitality of the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch. The Ranch is located just outside of New Braunfels in the rolling Hill country of central Texas, 30 minutes from the San Antonio airport. Accommodations at the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch are one- or two-bedroom condominiums or a courtside room. The Ranch has 32 deco-turf and four Har-Tru courts, eight lighted and four all-weather covered courts for tennis every2019 day. • New York Tennis Magazine 39 NYTennisMag.comguaranteed • November/December

Located just south of Bethany Beach, Delaware, Sea Colony is “The Premier Family Beach & Tennis Resort Community.” The Sea Colony Tennis Center is the hub of tennis activity at the beach year round. In addition to its world-class instruction, Sea Colony is home to USTA League teams, tournaments, world-class instruction on 34 courts (six indoor, 14 Har-Tru, 14 outdoor hard courts), including weekend tennis camps, clinics, tennis programs and private tennis lessons. There is even a $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit event—The ResortQuest Pro Women’s Open at Sea Colony. Lush landscaping, hiking and biking trails, playgrounds, picnic areas and around the clock security make Sea Colony an oasis of peace and tranquility; just minutes to championship golf, tax-free eclectic shopping, water sports, family amusements, natural treasures and so much more. Quiet relaxation and robust activities for all ages make Sea Colony the ideal place to create memories that last a lifetime. Consisting of more than 2,200 condominiums, spacious town homes and private single family homes, the resort offers an unparalleled array of amenities. Sea Colony was ranked the number 18 resort in the country by Tennis Resorts Online in 2019. For more information about Sea Colony tennis and to learn more about all of the resort’s amenities, please call (302) 5394488.

l Exhibitor Hall: Featuring top programs, camps, products, apparel, sports medicine, travel destinations and much more l Tennis Courts: Use of two courts inside the expo hall l Kids' Zone: Featuring a bouncy house, face painting, live music, carnival games, mascots l Speaker Sessions: Learn from panels of ATP stars and top coaches l Chance to Meet the Stars of the ATP Tour: Autograph signing and photo opportunities with the sport's top stars l Activity Zone: Featuring 10U tennis courts, beach tennis courts, a speed serve booth

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2019 NEW YORK TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion he local tennis community boasts some of the top coaches in the world, and with this wealth of talent available, New York Tennis Magazine took the opportunity to pick the brains of some of these coaches. These instructors share their thoughts on a variety of tennis topics and issues, ranging from junior tennis to the professional game.

Meet the participants … Ricardo Acioly is a director at the Evert Tennis Academy. He is a former member of the Brazilian Davis Cup Team who was ranked in the top 50 in the ATP doubles rankings. Ricardo has coached several top players including Marcelo Rios and Gabriela Sabatini. He served as Davis Cup Captain for Brazil for six years, and during his tenure as the team captain, reached the semifinal in the World Group. Ricardo has also served as a director on the ATP board of directors and is a two-time member of the ATP Player Council. He serves as director of relations for the Rio Open ATP 500 tournament, and is a commentator on Brazilian TV for the US Open, Wimbledon and all Masters 1000 event. Gilad Bloom, former Israeli Davis Cup player and two-time Olympian, played on the ATP Tour from 1983-1995, reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 1990, reached a highest ranking of 61 in singles, and was Israel Singles Champion three times. Bloom has been running his own tennis program since 2000 and was also director of tennis at John McEnroe Tennis Academy for two years. He can be reached by e-mail at Bloom.Gilad@gmail.com.

John Curtis is executive director at Manhattan Tennis Academy. He has held a number of positions at various tennis clubs, and was head coach of the NYU Men’s Tennis team from 19962006. Afterwards, focusing on junior development, Curtis was the 2006 PTR Coach of the Year in the Northeast Region and in the 2009 PTR Member of the Year in Northeast Region. He can be reached by phone at (212) 359-9535 or by e-mail at John@ManhattanTennisAcademy.com. Liezel Huber is executive director of tennis for the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Bronx, N.Y. A former number one-ranked doubles player, Huber won 57 WTA Tour doubles titles including seven Grand Slam titles and three year-end championship titles. Huber was also a three-time Olympian and a member of both the United States and South African Fed Cup teams. She was a WTA Player Council Representative for seven years, and is the founder of Liezel’s Cause, a non-profit organization she created to assist families affected by Hurricane Katrina. Luke Jensen is currently director of racket sports at West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y. Raised in Ludington, Mich., Luke Jensen’s resume includes

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

10 ATP Tour doubles titles. He was also a member of the U.S. Davis Cup teams that reached the finals in 1991 and won in 1992. His ambidextrous play, including his ability to serve the ball with either hand at 130 miles per hour, earned him the nickname “Dual Hand Luke.” Lawrence Kleger is codirector of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. He is recognized as one of the top developmental coaches in the United States. He has trained more ranked juniors than anyone in the history of the USTA Eastern Section. His students have won numerous National and Regional Championships, and 20 USTA Eastern Year-End Sportsmanship Awards. Ed Krass coached the Harvard Women’s Tennis Team to four consecutive Ivy League titles from 1986-1990. Ed is the founder and director of the Annual College Tennis Exposure Camps, which are taught exclusively by all head college coaches for high schoolaged players (15-18). Ed is also the founder of One-On-One Doubles tournaments, which have been played at USTA, ATP, ITA and USPTA national events.

2019 NEW YORK TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion Chris Lewit is a former number one for Cornell and Pro Circuit player. He is a high performance coach, educator and the author of two best-selling books: The Secrets of Spanish Tennis and The Tennis Technique Bible. He has coached numerous top 10 nationally-ranked players and is known for his expertise in building the foundations of young prodigies. Chris trains players during the school year in the new York City area, and players come from around the country to his summer camp in the paradise of Vermont. Ognen Nikolovski is the general manager of CourtSense and director of tennis at Bogota Racquet Club. He is a former top junior from Yugoslavia who went on to play college tennis at Rollins College where he became an all-American. He went on to become a world-ranked singles and doubles player on the ATP Tour and was a captain of the Macedonia Davis Cup team. He joined CourtSense in 2008 where his passion and experience has become instrumental in developing the program.

Mark Santucci is director of adult tennis at Roosevelt Island Racquet Club. He came to Roosevelt Island after 10 years as director of tennis and operations, director of junior tennis and director of adult programs at Yonkers Tennis Center. A native of Rhode Island, Santucci was the captain of the Marist College Tennis team, where he helped lead his team to a conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. He can be reached by e-mail at MSantucci@AdvantageTennisClubs.com.

to develop a top high-performance player program, which saw more than 200 athletes train under his system. Khrystsina Tryboi is currently the director of marketing and a 10U tennis coordinator for MatchPoint NYC. She is a former Division II tennis player from Belarus, and is currently working for MatchPoint NYC in their QuickStart tennis program and is leading their marketing team. She is highly involved with USPTA and USTA to help grow the game.

Conrad Singh is the chief operating officer of tennis & director of coaching at Centercourt Club & Sports. He has held head coach and director positions in Australia, England, Japan and China, and has been involved in professional tennis player development for well over two decades. Singh came to Centercourt from Shanghai, China, where he helped

Joao Pinho is the head professional of 10U and high-performance at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. He is a USPTA elite professional, a former NCAA DI coach and player, and has specialized in developing competitive junior players over the past decade. Currently, he is the private coach of three national champions and a WTA touring pro. NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

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Coaches Roundtable Discussion The roundtable ...

With the prevalence of things like social media and video games, what do you think is the best way to make sure your students are getting the most out of your tennis program? Ricardo Acioly: Technology as a whole is transforming our culture, and with this scenario, we have seen the rise of an instant gratification generation of tennis players. That is not simple to deal with as we all know tennis is a game of processes that requires time, repetition and focus to develop skills. So we need to be smart to adapt and create an environment on and off the court that is challenging and interesting to get kids engaged in their own development process as a tennis player. Drills and exercises have to be dynamic, intense and achieve clear objectives in a way that we will keep them away from turning off during the executions and focused on the path towards their goals and objectives. We also need be creative and make them compete between themselves on a daily basis using creative formats that can also engage everyone as a group. Chris Lewit: Social media, the Internet, and all types of digital media can be a blessing and a curse. My players have to be mindful to use social media and digital media carefully to help their 44

development—and not to distract from their training. I tell my players to be judicious when it comes to whom and what they trust online for tennis and training information. I guide them to the best sources for sports science and I instruct them to ask me about what they have learned digitally. I have been using social media to spread my teaching philosophy and method across the world, and it’s a great way for players, parents, and coaches to educate themselves— but they have to know what sources to trust. There is a lot of bad information and advice floating around. It can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. It’s important that kids stay off their mobile devices during practice. I have a strict rule about that. I can’t believe it sometimes when I see kids checking their phones during lessons— not to mention the coach checking his or her phone too! Video games are a good relaxation tool, but they can be addicting. Players need to be careful to only play video games after all the hard work on court and in the gym is finished! Ognen Nikolovski: Just the fact that whenever someone is playing tennis they are not able to use their phone or look at a screen is already a big win for any tennis program. We all know that in today’s society the biggest issue with most individuals is that they are not

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

physically active enough, so getting them out on the tennis courts in programs where they do not have a choice but be physically active is the biggest plus that any tennis program can offer. Also, we should not forget that even though tennis is mostly an individual sport, it can be very social and those participating in any tennis program it is going to be exposed to lots of types of social interaction with peers of mostly the same age and level, and coaches who can be great role models or mentors. Mark Santucci: Kids want to have fun! Parents want the kids to learn the sport of a lifetime. So a balance must be maintained by the coach to achieve both. Make the learning parts fun, challenging and dynamic and then turn the learning parts into healthy competitive game play. Encourage and highlight every player and help them reach their very best. Help all players get to know each other, form friendships, and in turn enjoy playing together. Developing a love for the game and enjoyment of coming to class is imperative to players wanting to come often and stay in the sport. Khrystsina Tryboi: I think the best way to keep kids in the game is to add a gamification component to every practice, especially if we are working

2019 NEW YORK TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion with the R.O.G. Another great way is to work with video during and after practice. There are a lot of tools out there that allow coaches to pinpoint improvements on every stroke and tactical skills. As Jeff Salzenstein said during the USPTA World Conference, we as coaches need to ask better questions and help people improve their game. Assigning students to watch specific videos will help them ask better questions, stay focused on what needs to be improved and what works well. The use of video will also make us better coaches! What are some of the most difficult aspects of college recruiting, and how can we help players navigate that process better? Ricardo Acioly: We have to deal with expectation and reality, and I believe preparation is key to make the process as smooth as possible. Nowadays, a player can easily find out in a precise and objective way their tennis profile and level of the college team he would like be a part of by using UTR as a guide. Once he knows that we can evaluate his current level and help him to draw his path to develop and achieve his or her objective. The sooner this process starts the greater the chances for a successful ending. Lawrence Kleger: I think the best advice that I can give a potential college player is to do his/her due diligence and to start the process early—like freshman year! The future recruit should identify schools that seem appealing, and that have tennis programs with players at a level close to her/his level of play. This is easier now than in the past, as UTR posts the UTRs of all members of all college tennis teams. The player should confirm that she/he is academically qualified for the school, or should do all that he/she can to be academically

qualified when the time comes to apply. The goal is to create a list of appropriate schools in which the player has interest. By January of sophomore year, the player should be contacting coaches at the schools on his/her list. If possible, it really helps the process if the player can visit (unofficial) as many schools of interest as possible. By junior year, this list should be narrowed, and active recruitment is often underway. That’s the Cliff’s Notes version, but there is a lot more detail and nuance to the college recruiting and selection process for a tennis player. Ed Krass: The best advice I can give to juniors is to attend a college match at any level—to observe the levels of play at each position. It’s important to work hard academically starting in the ninth grade, and to get quality practices and matches to prepare for tournament play. One of the most difficult aspects to navigating the recruiting process is what you hear from other players and parents, a lot of which is misleading. Having college coaches work with you at a camp and/or or having them watch you compete is a great way for you to showcase your game, ability and upside. Even better, you can get their honest feedback about your potential to fit in with their program or others. Being able to talk to coaches directly, or coaches who are knowledgeable about the process, can be an invaluable resource. Conrad Singh: I believe the most difficult aspect is that of really knowing the player. Not only the UTR or Tennis Ranking, but who the individual is. This is obviously a time consuming process, but it would be great if the rules allowed for potential players to come to the College meet the coach, train with the team and see how they fit the environment. We all know that environment is what differentiates the right fit. This is such a complex matrix of factors that it needs to

be fully explored as detailed as possible. Obviously we can see now that in college tennis, many players are coming from overseas where players are categorized and rated under rankings and tennis environments very different to that of the U.S. In Europe, countries like Italy and France are still not using the UTR, but the domestic system is very strong so I think it is important that both the coaches and the players are understanding the levels required to make a college team at varying divisions. Another critical detail is the Coach of the team and the player coming in being able to fit well in combined goals. Hence I feel it is essential the player being recruited should be able to speak to some of the players in the team to get a true feel of the essential factors that will be front and center and critical for the new player to know before arrival. What advice do you give your students on dealing with a situation where they feel their opponents are cheating? Gilad Bloom: I would instruct them to call the referee/supervisor of the tournament and ask him/her to stay and watch the match, if the cheating continues they should refuse to play one more point without supervision. John Curtis: My advice has always been, and will continue to be, take the high road and do not “hook” your opponent back! Don’t take the bait. It’s all about integrity. Everyone remembers those kids, or worse, adults who cheat on line calls, tamper with the score, etc. A bad reputation like this follows them beyond the tennis court. It reflects poorly on them as a person and, ultimately, they pay for that sour reputation many times over, whether they know it or not. Let your opponent know that you think they are cheating, and let a third party know if you have to, either a roving umpire or

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Coaches Roundtable Discussion tournament director. It’s easier said than done, but always resist the human reflex to adopt the “eye for an eye” belief system on this. Your character and self image will thank you for it. Andrew Eichenholz: Often the toughest part about losing a point is not actually losing the point, but the mental effects that linger in the coming points, games and, in some cases, another set. It’s about putting that single point in perspective, no matter how disappointing losing it may be, and for whatever the reason you lost it was. I’ve found that it’s detrimental to discuss the ‘cheating’ with the player. Altering tactics to try to ‘play it safe’ to deal with potential ‘cheating’ does not help, either. The more a player thinks about these things, the more likely they are to lose focus and see their own level suffer, which is the biggest problem in this situation. The past is the past, and it’s about what solutions a player and coach can find for the player to execute their best tennis so that after the match, the discussion is a reflection on overcoming the ‘cheating’ hurdle rather than being derailed by it. Liezel Huber: Everybody makes mistakes. I tell myself or my student to only act on the second offense. At that time, simply stop play and get an official. It is a lot more fun to play and not to worry about distractions. As an industry, how can we begin to make tennis more affordable and accessible to a wider group of individuals? Andrew Eichenholz: There are perhaps little things that can slowly make a difference. The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center runs what is called the “PACES Program,” which allows students in the area to come to the home of the US Open for a minimal fee, receiving a tour around the 46

grounds—including an educational element—to engage with the history of the sport, as well as an hour-long lesson with the facility’s staff pros. During that session, students are run through a dynamic warm-up before being introduced to the sport’s basic shots to give them a basic understanding of tennis and foster a love for the sport. Another way is helping give families ideas for what they can do if they’re not at the tennis center. On days when students do not have a class or private lesson, there is nothing stopping them from playing. There are various apparatus that could be constructed at home or at a local park that allow kids and adults alike to play the game, or at the very least satisfy their craving to swing a racquet around. There are many ways to use a handball wall to work on your game and get reps in, and the only cost is effort and time on behalf of the student. Coaches could even encourage students through “homework,” asking their players to accomplish certain “missions” between classes. That could be hitting a certain number of shots in a row against the wall without stopping or doing variations of “ups” to work on feel. Liezel Huber: Parks, as well as public facilities, run wonderful free or low-cost programming, perhaps at off-peak times. Also, look out for any Net Generation initiatives in your area or find a wall to hit on. That’s how I got started! Mark Santucci: Tennis in a metropolitan area is tricky to make affordable. If you look at the amount of space needed to play tennis on one tennis court, compared to prices of real estate, it is amazing that more tennis clubs do not become high-rise buildings. Having options of match play versus instructional clinics can give players different price point options. Group clinics are the best way to make tennis affordable. Cardio tennis in particular is a

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

lower cost tennis option as this is a group clinic with six or eight players playing in high intensity, quick-switching drills and point-play games. When you compare this tennis class to soul cycle, or a night out to dinner or drinks with friends, pricing is pretty similar. With the abundance of analytics now available in nearly every sport, how much can tennis benefit from the use of advanced stats, and how would you incorporate them into your tennis teaching/coaching? Chris Lewit: Analytics are the future of sports training, however, parents and coaches need to be careful in the conclusions they make based on statistical analysis. For example, it’s commonly accepted now that the average rally on the pro tours is four to five shots. Pros are playing powerfully and aggressively, which is reflected in the stats. However, many have taken a false logical leap and concluded that because the pros often finish points in that rally range, training for junior should be primarily the first four shots only, and that training longer reps and rallies is a waste of time. I strongly disagree and this is why I sometimes refer to this theory as the “Myth of the First Four Shots.” Young players especially still need to learn to focus and develop consistency, rhythm, and control, as well as patience and defense—and this can only be learned through long repetitions and rallies. The serve and attacking shots are, of course, also extremely important. There should be a balanced approach to junior training blending attack, consistency, and defense. Simple stats are very helpful for my junior tournament players to objectively track their performance. Advanced analytics have more bearing at the top college and professional level. Ognen Nikolovski: The benefits of using

2019 NEW YORK TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion technology in tennis can be very positive for any type of the player. Whether it is a simple video analysis or more complex advanced stats software, the key for the coach is to make sure that it’s used it at the right time and with a specific purpose that is beneficial to the player at that time. For younger kids and adults that are in their introductory stage to the game of tennis, just simple video analysis and comparison to other players can do wonders as many of us are visual learners. To the more advanced players, both adults and juniors, the use of specific advanced stats can really help the coach in having the players understand certain patterns of play or aspects of the game where they need to improve or emphasize the

strengths that they have. At CourtSense, we are lucky enough to have the PlaySight system on every indoor court, 16 in total, and we have found out that technology can really be a helpful tool in coaching of any type of a player. Joao Pinho: Tennis is finally catching up with other mainstream sports in terms of stats and analytics. While that is a very positive change, it’s important to find a balance between teaching based on the new findings and the way that it has been done for decades. For example, this recent wealth of information in our sport has shed more light into the actual length of most points during a match, which puts significantly more importance on serve

and returns; historically, two of the strokes that players (and coaches) would spend less time on. While it is very positive to place additional emphasis on these particular strokes, it’s also crucial not to totally shift our mentalities and get away from developing sound baseliners who are capable of being consistent and aggressive from the back of the court, even though the percentage of points that actually go beyond nine shots is fairly low. With that said, in the past few years, I have incorporated many more patterns of play off the serve and return into my lesson plans, as well as unique games to work on the “beginning of the point.” However, I don’t ignore the importance of developing a very solid ground game that will give the player the

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Coaches Roundtable Discussion confidence that he or she won’t “breakdown” on an important point that goes the distance. Conrad Singh: As a sports scientist, I am completely into the details we can get from analytics. It is already clear how much players benefit from this when we look at the top players like Novak Djokovic using specialized data that is coming from the ATP, IBM and other IT agencies. At some point this can really help players in their scouting and with specific match preparation. We have seen players like Matteo Berrettini working and adding in analytics partners such as Australian Craig O’Shannessy, so clearly it works. My issue is when coaches take these ATP and WTA findings and implement them conclusively to juniors and to players in developmental stages. The debate is growing now on whether the findings coming out and being shared with young athletes is helping or hurting their match play. We all know the under five shots stats at pro levels are very high and the common chase today is be the player who wins in that statistic. Having said that, legends of the game such as the great Chuck Kriese may argue with these ideas and would prefer to teach each player artistically to compete in the way that suits their own styles, remembering key psychological principles such as speed of play, tactical foundations and other game style match ups versus simply stats. This is a very big and open topic however I have to say that I can’t see statistical analytics slowing down any time soon in tennis. Khrystsina Tryboi: I regularly use video on my coaching to show the students what needs to be improved and what works well. Currently, I make them on my phone, but the next step would be to use a specific tool for that. I also assign them videos to watch from YouTube or just the ones we film during practice. Technology 48

would definitely help me better analyze performance of my players. How do you feel about on-court coaching and at which levels should it be allowed? Luke Jensen: I believe it should be allowed at every level of play. I believe we lose young potential players because tennis is the only sport where we send kids into the competition without any sideline coaching where they have to call their own lines and keep their own score. I feel the game just throws kids into the fire. My great improvement was during my college years competing for USC when my Hall of Fame coach Dick Leach taught me winning strategies from ingame pressure situations. Even golf has caddies to assist. Tennis needs to create a learning environment on the tournament court to retain more players that peel away because of the brutal nature of walking out there alone. The TV ratings explode during the Laver Cup when legends like Borg, Federer and Nadal are on the court coaching. It makes the game so interesting to watch. Ed Krass: I like the on-court coaching aspect in college tennis! I think that it could be a great addition at select junior events, maybe one or two a year, so these young players learn how to be properly coached before they play college. I also like the idea of on-court coaching at professional events. I know mostly all sports, at the pro level, allow for coaching during the competition. For all of our sport’s challenges, i.e., the emotions, the mental side, tactics/strategy. opponent etc. Coaching on court just may allow for more growth in a player’s true development and enjoyment in playing the game. Liezel Huber: On-court coaching is fun for the fans. I think it enhances the fan experience by giving the fan an insight on how the player is thinking, game strategy

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

and, often times, it sparks a reaction from the player. It would be fun to see on-court coaching at Grand Slams! How do you deal with a parent who you think is negatively affecting their child’s play? What is the parent’s role versus the coach’s role? Ricardo Acioly: To keep it simple, a parent should bring to the table his/her lifelong values and experiences to inspire and ignite in his or her child things like good work ethics, positive thinking, focus, determination and anything else that he or she can add so their child will reach for their dreams to be successful in life as a whole, not just in tennis. A parent that is very engaged in the child’s development path should understand that this role can have a huge positive or negative impact in the process. When a parent starts getting too involved in the sense of making his or her own goals, expectations, desires, beliefs and views his child’s tennis parameters the result is normally a lot of friction between everyone which is very counterproductive for the player. The parent interaction in terms of the tennis development should be done with the coach, who also needs to understand the vision of what the parent wants for the player. But to make this work the coach has to have the freedom to draw the Player Development path according to his/her beliefs and experiences, and receive total parent support to execute it. Gilad Bloom: The parent’s role is to be a parent, the coach’s job is to coach. The parents are not allowed to speak to the kid during practice, this is very important. I encourage the parents to talk about general things like attitude, dedication and sportsmanship, but not about tennis related issues, there is no way that the parent would know about teaching tennis more than the coach, if

2019 NEW YORK TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion that’s the case than they should get a better coach or coach the kid themselves. I personally don’t believe in coaching your own child, two out of my four kids like tennis, I just play with them for fun as a father and son experience, if they want lessons I let my assistants teach them, nothing is more important than the relationship with the kids, being their coach can interfere, I’ve seen it happen too many times, the parents role should be supportive, my advice to parents-take them to practice, pay a good coach to do the job, go get a coffee and show up in the last 10 minutes of the practice. If they want you to come watch them play in tournaments you should go but only if they insist. It’s a tough sport and it is best to let the kids cope with it on their own early on so they develop an independence, too many players nowadays rely on a coach or a parent. There have been famous cases where it worked when the parent is the full time coach, but in most cases it ends miserably with the player scarred for life. Bottom line: if you are going to coach your child it better come from the kid. John Curtis: At The Manhattan Tennis Academy, parents are not allowed to interact with their children during the lesson time. That time is strictly for learning and connecting with the coach. Outside of that time, parents are obviously allowed to parent their child however they see fit, including tennis coaching. It’s a tricky one at any level. In a perfect world, parents should parent and coaches should coach, but again, there will always be the tennis parent who thinks they know best, while continuing to pay a coach; it’s quite counterproductive in my opinion. The better idea, if the parent insists on coaching, is to at least collaborate. A productive plan can take effect if the student is hearing the same advice from both parent and coach.

Lawrence Kleger: The player, parent, coach dynamic is key to the success of the player. If a coach determines that a parent is negatively affecting his/her student’s play, the coach has to be brave and professional and raise this with the parent(s). Most parents will appreciate the honesty and respect the coach for putting the player’s best interests and success first, at possible risk of income. There are some parents who do not accept constructive feedback well, or at all, and see this as the coach telling them how to parent their child. When that happens, look out! Many tennis coaches do not confront parents, as there is always a risk that doing so might upset or anger the parent, leading to the parent finding a new coach for the player. In these situations, the one that usually suffers is the player, as a player with a difficult parent/s, who bounces from coach to coach as a result, generally does not progress as well as players with stable, long-term coaching relationships. When I am making a decision about whether to coach a new player, I meet with the parent(s) to try to be as sure as

possible that I will be able to work closely with them. But, as in life, sometimes relationships between wellintended, caring people do not work out, and this is not necessarily anyone’s fault. But, when the player, parent and coach are all “on the same page,” the odds of the player reaching her/his potential increases dramatically. Ed Krass: I think a parent’s role is to be just that—a parent. Even if the parent has played professionally and/or collegiately, they should leave the teaching/coaching aspects to the coaches they have hired. Junior players often want to separate from their parents when it comes time for them to play a sport. Players should both love and respect their parents; however, I have found that the junior players respect the words of their coaches MORE when it comes to tennis-specific advice. The parents all need to learn and understand this fragile yet vitally important relationship and synergy needed to raise a tennis player successfully in today’s environment. There are some great books for parents to read about how to

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Coaches Roundtable Discussion effectively raise a junior tennis player including Frank Giampaolo’s book on how to be the best tennis parent possible: The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Joao Pinho: I believe the main issue associated with parents who are overly involved or negative impacting the child’s tennis journey is the parent’s lack of knowledge about the process of developing competitive players. Despite having good intentions, most parents did not play at a high level, nor have developed a player to any significant stage; therefore, they don’t fully understand what it takes, the ups and downs, and what’s actually important in that process. As a consequence of that confusion, parents often stress over inconsistent results, compare their child’s progress with others, as well as believe that playing with better players is the ultimate solution for improvement. In order to address these issues, I find it important to work closely with parents throughout the year. At the USTA BJK National Tennis Center, I not only host a series of group parent meetings throughout the year where I not only go over the information about our programs, but also discuss important concepts, related to their child’s tennis journey, for them to be aware of. Additionally, I do individual meetings with the player and parent (in our most competitive levels), at the end of every session, to discuss the issues that are specific to that player and how the parent can assist. Such efforts have resulted in a more coordinated effort between our parents and coaches and empowered the parents to make decisions with a more educated view of the entire process. In general terms, parents must understand that they are part of a team (player, coach and parent) and that decisions should include the input from all three parties. As the player evolves, s/he will “lead the direction” 50

more while working with parents and coaches to find the best route for that end-goal. The coaches’ role is to serve a stabilizer who is capable of seeing the perspective from both player and parent, while understanding what’s around the corner; which is something that players and parents (who have not been through the journey) will likely not to be able to foresee. How do you deal with a student who shows poor sportsmanship on the court and/or a negative attitude? John Curtis: Nobody is immune to a bad day on the court, but poor sportsmanship should never be tolerated. At our Academy, we stress sportsmanship just as much as forehands and backhands. Tantrums of any kind are not tolerated and players are sat out or even disqualified from a match for egregious infractions such as racket throwing or profane outbursts. Again, it comes down to integrity and character. Losing gracefully is not easy, but your character is rewarded when you can learn to. It’s easy to be the good guy when you win- not so much when you lose.. Chris Lewit: It’s important to develop the hardware (technical/physical), but to never neglect the software (mental/emotional)! There are many approaches I take with my players. The first step is to figure out what is causing the behavior. What’s at the root? Players can struggle with many different emotions and pressures, and I need to first understand what is driving the negative behavior. For example, some kids struggle with anger. Some with fear. Some with insecurity. Some with anxiety. Some with embarrassment. Or all of the above. There may be off court school or family issues driving the behavior. Kids feel and respond to pressure in different

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

ways. I try to work closely with the parents because they know their child even better than I do. We come up with a game plan to improve the behavior. We set goals and develop a plan of action. I believe that parental support and guidance are critical. Parents are my best helper to shape a child’s behavior because they have so much influence and spend so much time with a child. If one of my students exhibits flat out cheating or other unacceptable behavior, I usually recommend to the parents to take them out of competition for a short period of time until they reform themselves. Playing tournaments is a privilege, not a right. Players need to conduct themselves at tournaments with basic dignity and need to show respect to the people around them. I often give my players books and articles to read, videos to review, and other resources to help them with the mental and emotional side of the game. Mark Santucci: Cases of poor sportsmanship and negative attitude are very important teaching moments. A coach must talk with the player and show them the results of their actions. If it continues, a player should be sat down off the court, and tennis taken away. After a brief time out to think about their actions and realize the short punishment, they can return back to the court. Another conversation should take place highlighting why they were off court, and what is acceptable on court. This can happen a few times as a player learns, grows and matures. If the actions continue to happen over a few week period, a parent conversation is the next step. What type of cross-training do you recommend to players to help them elevate their game? Gilad Bloom: Off court training is very important in today’s game, it is almost

2019 NEW YORK TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion impossible to reach a high level without strength and conditioning. I recommend every player to do two or three fitness sessions per week. The three main things that I recommend doing when building a fitness routine are: Tennis related drills and exercises, specifically working on motions and muscles there are used in tennis; Injury prevention-yoga, Pilates, stretching. Tennis is a grueling sport that takes a toll on the body, using very specific muscles, it can cause bad posture and back problem, especially with hard court being the main surface in this country. Most players are not flexible enough, improving you flexibility will help you be more agile on the court but mainly injury free. Also, play another sport! It is scientifically proven that

playing multiple sports at a young age creates higher level athletes and less injury prone. The benefits of playing another sport are important in more than one way. The mental aspect of it is huge as well, it helps you get away from tennis and miss the game, appreciate how much you love it. My favorite sports to supplement tennis are soccer and basketball, I always recommend a team sport since tennis is so lonely. Ognen Nikolovski: In general the younger the kids are the better it is for them to play as many different sports as possible. My belief is that, in addition to tennis, it is a must for any young player up to age 13 or 14 to play another sport with a ball at least once or twice per week, preferably a team sport such as

soccer, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, etc. as the benefits of playing a couple of sports at a young age are very important for the overall athletic development of any player. The older the players get it is much more important that they focus on rehab and recovery work as tennis is already very demanding on the body and putting additional stress on it can only increase the risk of injury. If we are discussing cross-training for committed high performance players, then specific fitness program for each player becomes an absolute necessity as that is the only way to make sure that a player stays healthy and also is able to get the most out of their body from a physical and also mental aspect. Joao Pinho: While most parents, players

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2019 NEW YORK TENNIS MAGAZINE’S

Coaches Roundtable Discussion and coaches will likely agree that participating in different sports can play an important role in the overall athletic development of a player, the reality is that few seem to take advantage of that; at least in our sport. Nonetheless, just because many others don’t take pursue it, it does not mean it should not be done. In general terms, playing multiple sports can boost the player’s physical capabilities, as well as create a more well-rounded athlete and, potentially, minimize the chances of injuries related to overuse. Activities such as soccer, lacrosse and basketball, can be good additions to a tennis player to use as cross-training. One aspect that I often emphasize with parents is that we first want to develop an athlete to then build a tennis player, and not the other way around. While being a single sport player can create initial success, the price is often paid further down the road as the player is not as of a complete athlete as they could be, or burns out, or gets injured. How would you describe the current state of tennis both nationally and locally? Stefan Ilic: The current state of tennis both locally and nationally is not entirely clear to me, however, on the local scale here in New York, there is an everpresent stigma that tennis is a sport for the rich. It might be so, considering it was labeled the second most expensive sport next to golf. This stigma should change if not vanish and more programs should be available for the less financially privileged. This can boost the morale of the neighboring regions of New York City, to see that this city can be a mecca for people who want to play tennis, regardless of financial standing. Wouldn’t that be nice! Nationally, I think tennis is in good standing. It can only improve! 52

Luke Jensen: I’m a massive believer in the game of tennis of today. Emerging stars on the pro tour that drives TV ratings and sponsors. I find the 400,000 high school tennis players drive our future. The lack of elite young teaching pros globally concern me more than anything. The teacher inspires and impacts the tennis dream. How can players benefit from competing in the various team formats of tennis? Luke Jensen: I find every age and level of team tennis drives the positive in tennis. At the West Side Tennis Club, I find players that take part in the numerous groups of USTA leagues, Long Island Leagues and high school tennis teams has the most F-U-N compared to the individual tennis. Win while having fun and the game thrives. Lawrence Kleger: Tennis is, at its foundation, an individual sport, in which players have to learn to fend for themselves. There is rarely help available at times of greatest need. And that reality, and the strength it takes to solve challenges on one’s own in tennis, is what I love most about the sport! Tennis is truly character building! However, within that context, there can be enormously positive benefits to playing doubles, and to playing tennis on a team. Whether the team experience is Junior Team Tennis, middle or high school or collegiate team play, or the Laver Cup, team formats have tremendous appeal to fans and to players. And team formats often still allow a player to take the court alone, for a singles match, but playing for his/her team, school, or country. This expanded stage can offer a different kind of pressure, but also a different level of support, in which many players thrive. Having your teammates on the sideline cheering for your success, and your coach available to help and encourage

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

you, really appeals to the majority of players that compete on teams. And many all-time great players, including John McEnroe, count their experiences and achievements in Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympics, and, more recently, Laver Cup, among their greatest. Conrad Singh: Team tennis is an electrifying, exciting way to keep all players engaged in competition. Whilst tennis is and will always be an individual sport in terms of the process, building towards a team goal with scoring formats adds a dimension of excitement which can be hard to find. Clearly the best players in the world love the idea of playing with other top players in team formats—just see the success of the Laver Cup in every way. I know in my native Australia, we grow up respecting Davis Cup and representing Australia at Olympics as the highest honor in the game. Hence I am a huge believer that team tennis is a great way to keep players going, allow players longer careers (see Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray back to Davis Cup Ties often). high school tennis is a nice relief for many of our Centercourt Players who fight and compete alone all year, as is college tennis along the pathway to pro tennis. I am all for team formats in every way. Khrystsina Tryboi: Tennis is a solitary sport and being a part of a team is great privilege. Currently, MatchPoint NYC runs several modified team events for our players: team challenges, team tournaments, Junior Team Tennis. We always try to participate in USTA team events to show the kids the importance of working together, harness friendships and create better athletes. It’s important to have great sportsmanship and know what it means to play on the team where you are not just playing for yourself, but for others. You become a part of something bigger than yourself.

adult league U S T A L E A G U E S U P D AT E

The 18 & Over 4.0 Men’s Team representing the Bronx finished in fourth place at the USTA Nationals in Las Vegas

Bronx Team Places Fourth at Nationals It was a successful season competing in the USTA Leagues for Metro’s Men’s 18 & Over 4.0 team from the Bronx. The team headed to Nationals to represent the USTA Eastern Metro Region, and finished in fourth place out of 17 teams. “Participating at Nationals was a truly special, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said team captain Shien Lee. “The competition, beautiful facilities, friendly and helpful USTA League staff, breathtaking mountain backdrop views, having the opportunity to play in Las Vegas and just the camaraderie, were all truly exceptional.” The team’s goal was to win the whole competition, but the team had a memorable experience and is eager to play together once again when the new season begins. “While there can only be one champion, the team was very excited to make the final four with an opportunity to win it all,” Lee added. “With the Nationals experience, the players now know what it takes to get there and will continue to focus on improving their

games and playing tough matches to get better.” Metro Adding Tri-Level Leagues The USTA Eastern Metro Region is adding new leagues beginning this winter: l Tri-Level: Three courts of doubles at the 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5 levels, one level per court l Mixed Doubles 18 & Over: Three courts of mixed doubles

l 40 & Over: Four courts comprised of one singles flight and three doubles flights Contact Christopher Dong, USTA Eastern’s Metro Region adult league coordinator, at CDong@Eastern.USTA.com to learn more about these new Leagues, and all the Adult Leagues offered.

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Call 914-907-0041 or E-mail BloomGilad@gmail.com GiladBloom.com NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

The Net Generation Exp

ince its inception more than two years ago, the USTA’s Net Generation initiative has made its mission to get more kids playing tennis, and has attempted to reach this goal through fun and unique events throughout the year. A major aspect of this initiative takes place at the end of the summer during the US Open, where players and coaches from different clubs and programs get the opportunity to show off their skills and demonstrate their progress on the same courts used by the professional players just before they arrive. “There is no better way to inspire the next generation then by bringing them to the US Open and playing on the same courts as the pros before the matches,” said Leah Friedman, USTA’s national manager for Net Generation. “We had around 600-700 kids on court in our first year, and in our third year, this summer, we had over 1,500 kids on court.” In three years, the amount of kids who were able to get on court has nearly tripled, a clear indicator of the growth of the sport as well as the expansion of opportunities being offered. Only the four main courts, Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, Grandstand and Court 17, were used, but more of the side courts were added this year. “We also added four night sessions on Ashe,” Friedman added. “And we’re already thinking of ways on how to

expand on that next year. The experience is priceless in terms of what it can do it motivate kids, and how it can motivate and inspire the parents to believe in tennis and what it can do for their child going forward.” The kids are welcomed with VIP treatment on the day that they are on court. They arrive on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center before the public which allows them great access to the players practicing, and they are able to take pictures and even snag some autographs. Each group is provided with 50 grounds passes for the day for free. “To bring in 50 people from your community tennis program for free to the US Open can be life-changing, and I’ve seen how this experience can change lives,” said Friedman. “We’re trying to make sure that families get a chance to enjoy the Open together.” In the first year, it was primarily kids from the USTA Eastern Section, with some from Middle States and New England Section, who went on court. But that has expanded significantly and this year, kids from all over the country, from as far as Southern California, came in. Friedman credits Eastern for a lot of that, as the work and support from the section is invaluable, because it can be a strenuous and challenging process. “We start putting this out there in the beginning of the year in January and February, and we have an application

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

process for the programs to come,” said Friedman. “We require they bring 24 kids, and each kid is allowed to bring a chaperone, plus two coaches.” Thousands of kids are treated to the experience of a lifetime of being able to play a part in the US Open, with some of them even being given the opportunity to do the coin toss before the match. Each group can select one of its players to do the coin toss: “To see the look on those kid’s faces when they to do that and have the interaction with the players is amazing. I’ve seen crying, I’ve seen total shock and I’ve seen kids who are speechless. I know we are doing something good when I see those reactions.” More of those same reactions would come during the trophy presentations after each of the finals, both singles and doubles, as Net Generation players were selected to be a part of those ceremonies. “During the men’s singles final, we were prepared to go out there during the third set, and we ended up sitting there for two more hours,” recalls Friedman. “But then to watch Nadal put his arms around the kids during the presentation, that was a moment I’ll never forget and I’m sure the kids won’t forget either.” In the three years since Net Generation was introduced, the experience the kids have at the US Open continues to expand, helping to create both lasting memories and a passion for the sport

perience at the US Open

By Brian Coleman

that may not have developed otherwise. Friedman and her team already have plans to build off the success and add more to the programming for next year’s event. “USTA Eastern has just been incredible. It’s because of them that we can keep expanding,” she said. “I’d like

to see us expand to another court, and then just continue to think of ways that we can show just how inclusive our sport can be. In 2018, we had one adaptive tennis group come and play on Ashe. This year, we had multiple adaptive groups play on Ashe, and we also had groups that brought adaptive athletes. We’re

always thinking of new ways to show how great our sport is, and how it can continue to change lives.” Brian Coleman is senior editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at BrianC@USPTennis.com.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

It’s All Connected: The Gut-Brain Axis By Dr. Rob Silverman our gut, your microbiome (the trillions of bacteria in your colon), and your brain are closely connected through your vagus nerve. The gut-brain axis is basically an endless three-way call, with messages constantly going back and forth. The vagus nerve is the carrier for all this essential communication. In Latin, the word “vagus” means wandering, an appropriate way to describe the path of this nerve. It starts in the back of your brain and runs all the way down to your colon. Along the way, it has branches that link to the larynx (voice box), esophagus, trachea (windpipe) lungs, heart, pancreas, and most of the digestive tract, including your liver. Signals from the gut microbiome and from the gut itself travel up the vagus and tell the brain what’s going on down there; signals from the brain travel down the vagus and tell the gut what changes to make in response. For example, when the vagus nerve fibers within the gut detect inflammatory signals given off by the gut bacteria, they pass the message up to the brain. The brain responds by stimulating the production of anti-inflammatory

neurotransmitters that regulate the immune system. When the three-way communication is functioning well, the messages come through clearly. When the matrix is out of balance, however, health issues such as arthritis, diabetes, inflammatory bowel syndrome, food sensitivities, liver problems, inflammation, musculoskeletal disorders, and autoimmune diseases can arise. In the brain, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease can develop, as can depression, brain fog and other mental issues. Dropped signals What can disrupt the communications along the gut-brain axis and cause the biological equivalent of a dropped call? Anything that disrupts the gut metabolites—the chemical substances your gut bacteria produce—or the lining of the small intestine. In today’s toxic world, both are easily damaged. The chief culprit for static on the gutbrain line of communication is the Standard American Diet (SAD), which loads the gut with highly processed foods that are low in fiber but high in chemical additives, sugar and bad fats. Other common culprits include antibiotics and other medications, alcohol, toxic

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

environmental chemicals, such as glyphosate and pesticides, and that allpurpose gut destroyer, stress. Even healthy foods can be to blame if they contain gluten or lactose or are high in lectins (an indigestible protein found in beans and nightshade plants such as peppers). These foods and toxins damage the lining of the small intestine and kill beneficial bacteria. Unwanted toxins and food particles escape into the bloodstream through the leaks in the small intestine wall; they cause inflammation and other problems. Poor diet and toxins also damage the gut bacteria in the colon. That can lead to imbalances between the friendly and unfriendly bacteria, causing gas and bloating, diarrhea and constipation, and other digestive issues. Restoring the balance To restore good connections on the threeway gut-brain axis, consider my Super 7(R) Action Plan. l Reset: The first action step is to reset your diet, lifestyle, and mindset. Eat an anti-inflammatory diet, one that is free of GPS: Gluten, processed foods, and sugar. Many people find that a modified Mediterranean diet that is free of GPS and DNA (dairy, nicotine, and artificial sweeteners), works well. In addition to the basic diet, adding 8 to 10 grams (two

teaspoons) of MCT oil from coconut oil is very helpful. MCT oil has been shown to have antimicrobial and antifungal effects that can help restore a better balance of beneficial gut bacteria. Stress reduction techniques, such as meditation, mindfulness, and yoga are helpful and easily learned. What works best is highly individual, however. Whatever works best for you is helpful. Regular exercise is important (and also helpful for reducing stress). I recommend aiming for 10,000 steps a day in addition to daily resistance training and flexibility exercises. l Remove: Remove foods that damage the gut, including processed foods, sugar, dairy and gluten. Also remove any foods related to your intolerances and allergies. l Replace: You may need to replenish and replace your digestive enzymes A comprehensive enzyme complex supplement that includes amylase, papain, trypsin, and lipase helps promote healthy digestive function.

l Regenerate: The next step is to regenerate and repair the small intestine wall. The amino acid glutamine is key to this process. It supports the integrity of mucosal cells that line the small intestine and helps close any leaks. l Re-inoculate: When the bacterial balance is disrupted, re-inoculating the gut with high-quality prebiotics and probiotics can help restore beneficial bacteria and crowd out harmful bacteria. Fiber is crucial to resetting the microbiome—it’s the fertilizer that makes a healthy microbiome flourish. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), found in complex soluble fiber, act as prebiotics that nurture the growth of beneficial bacteria in the colon. Look for supplements of FOS powder containing inulin. For probiotics, look for a formulation that contains a range of beneficial bacteria, including Bifidobacterium lactis, B. longum, Lactobacillus salivarius, L. acidophilus, and L. rhamnosus. l Reintroduce: When your symptoms

are reduced or gone, foods removed earlier in the process can be gradually reintroduced—as long as they’re healthy. Continue to avoid GPS and DNA and fried foods. l Retain: Retaining your gains is an ongoing process. Stick with your healthy diet, regular exercise program, and stress reduction. Dr. Robert G. Silverman is a White Plains, N.Y.-based sports chiropractor and certified clinical nutritionist, specializing in functional medicine and the treatment of joint pain with innovative, science-based, nonsurgical approaches. He is also on the advisory board for the Functional Medicine University and a health contributor to various major TV networks. He is the author of Amazon’s Number One Best-Seller, Inside-Out Health. In 2015, he was honored with the prestigious Sports Chiropractor of the Year award by the ACA Sports Council. He can be reached by phone at (914) 287-6464, e-mail Info@DrRobertSilverman.com or visit DrRobertSilverman.com.

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End of a Decade, End of an Era, the Era of the Veterans The Men’s Pro Tour is getting ready for post big three era By Gilad Bloom ith the decade coming to an end, we still live in a reality where the top three players in the world are the same three that dominated in the decade prior. Even Andy Murray, who for a few years was as good as the top three, is playing top tennis again. It may sound like a statistical phenomena that three players remain at the top for such a long time, winning so many major titles, 60, between them. The reality is that this trend of older players who stay at peak form well into their 30s is a growing one, and isn’t limited to tennis. Tom Brady, Lebron James, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are a few players who, it seems, almost get better with age. The combination of a well-trained body and experience in big matches gives a huge advantage to older players who manage to stay healthy late in their career. Improvements in training

methods, nutrition and sports medicine mean that with discipline and a good team around you, it’s quite possible to play top tennis for much longer than in the past. Bjorn Borg had a 10-yearcareer that spanned from the ages of 16-26, and he burned out early. In the past, most players would be done by age 30 due to injuries, burn out or deteriorating ranking, and some players would turn to playing only doubles when they lost a step in singles. Jimmy Connors, who played into his early 40s, was an exception. The current ATP ranking system encourages players to play many events. There are a lot of players in the Top 100 who are not going anywhere any time soon. They are making loads of money; just playing a main draw at the four majors guarantees you more than $250,000. As a result of so many older players still in the Top 100, the competition in the second and third tier tournaments becomes more and more fierce. Every year more young players join the Futures and Challenger Tours, but only a few make it to the ATP Tour.

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

The reality for players ranked between 200-1,000 is quite harsh. The expenses are very high, the prize money hardly covers the costs (unless you win the tournament), and the level is very good. The structure of the prize money is very capitalistic and, in my opinion, wrong. The difference in levels between Roger Federer and the player who is ranked 500 in the world are pretty big, but it doesn’t justify a reality where Federer flies in a private jet and the person ranked 500 has to do his laundry in the sink of the hotel room. This is a problem that the tour has grappled with unsuccessfully so far. Long gone are the days that players hit the tour at age 17 and start doing well right away. When that happens now, it is the exception, in most cases players break into the top 100 in their mid 20s, it takes much longer to establish yourself and reach the physical and mental level that is needed to succeed on the tour. For the first few years players will lose a lot of matches and sometimes even finish a year with a loss of money. It is a question of mental

stamina, being able to believe in yourself and, of course, a question of funding. Many players who can’t afford to pay for travel and coaching choose to go to college, the players who have the longevity to survive the first few years will benefit at some point because the Big 3 era is going to come to an end in the next one to two years. What will happen to the tour when the three giants retire or fade out slowly? Will the emerging Danill Medvedev take over the number one spot? Will it be one of the Next Gen prodigies or will it go back to the preFederer era when there was not one dominant player, but a few of them operating at the same time. The style of tennis changed a lot in the past 40 years, mainly due to the hitech rackets. In the past we referred to champions as “artists,” now they are more like gladiators. The whole game became much more physical, and the pace of the ball on groundstrokes and the speed on the serve has also increased. Most points look the same,

serve motions have been perfected, there are a lot of short points: aces and missed returns. Occasionally there will be a long rally, but almost no net game other than a surprise tactic. They might have to do something about it in the future. They are already talking about making sets shorter (first to four) in order to have more big points and to prevent dead moments in the match. The changes in tennis don’t come easy, it’s a conservative sport. But when they start to lose audience in the ratings, the tour leaders will have to reinvent the game and make it more interesting to the average Joe, because when the Big 3 retire and leave us with the memories, there will be a vacuum. In the new era of tennis the Davis Cup is reduced to a one-week event, played in a two out of three format, which is unthinkable to me as former Davis Cup player. There is also a trend of new team events that is capturing the public’s imagination. The Laver

Cup has been a major success and next year the ATP will introduce its own team event. It seemed that the players really enjoyed the team spirit of that event and showed more emotions than during regular tour events. With the sport constantly changing, the game desperately needs exciting personalities that will carry the torch into the next decade. For too many years, the Next Gen has been overshadowed by the three giants at the top. And to that Next Gen I say: Someone please step up. Gilad Bloom, former Israeli Davis Cup player and two-time Olympian, played on the ATP Tour 1983-1995, reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 1990, reached a highest ranking of 61 in singles, was Israel Singles Champion three times. Bloom has been running his own tennis program since 2000 and also was director of tennis at John McEnroe Tennis Academy for two years. He can be reached by e-mail at Bloom.Gilad@Gmail.com.

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Let’s End Cheating in Junior Tennis Once and for All By Chris Lewit here is a dirty little secret in the cloistered world of competitive junior tennis: Cheating and gamesmanship are rampant—and nobody is doing anything about it. For many children and parents, the first exposure to the junior tennis circuit can be a shock because junior tennis is one of the few sanctioned sports that has the kids referee their own matches and keep their own score. Many parents report a traumatizing first tournament experience for their little champ—full of tears and frustration. It is a well-known fact in the industry that many kids play only one competitive tournament and never return to the circuit. Interestingly, the United States has more than 10 times the number of high school team players as compared to competitive junior tournament players. Why such a high discrepancy? Because most of the nice kids play high school tennis where the environment is less cutthroat, and the cheating and gamesmanship are minimized. On a Saturday or Sunday morning, you will not find kids on the soccer field keeping their own score, or players on the basketball court calling fouls. But in tennis, kids as young as eight-years-old do just that. Moreover, parents sit (or pace) helplessly on the sideline and are not allowed to intervene when there are disputes. It’s true that most sanctioned tournaments have roving umpires or umpires whom players can request to

assist in a dispute resolution, but by that time, it is often too late. Savvy players know how to manipulate the system and the referee, or they just resume cheating when the umpire leaves the court after a short time. The big question is WHY? Why can’t the leaders of the sport in the ITF, USTA, UTR, and other sanctioning bodies put an end to cheating in junior tournaments once and for all? Some in the business say it would cost too much money to provide the necessary supervision. Others say that kids calling their own lines and scores makes them more mentally tough and independent. “It’s just part of the game,” they insist; “Makes the kids stronger,” they assert. Many say that the responsibility lies with the coaches and parents—not the governing bodies or tournament organizers—to teach better values to the kids so that they can resist the temptation to cheat. It is a societal problem, in their estimation—not a tennis problem. There is also a contingent of deniers who insist that cheating is not really a big deal, or not prevalent enough to warrant concern. There are, however, many coaches in the tennis community who have become alarmed by the extent and intensity of the cheating, and they have advocated for change. Unfortunately, their cries have consistently, for decades, fallen on deaf ears. There seems to be just an incredible institutional inertia on this issue which stems from a culture of rationalizing and excuse-making. It is time to stop cheating in junior tennis once and for all. All stakeholders in the game of tennis have a common

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

goal: to increase the number of kids who love the sport. And very few kids and families want to participate in junior tennis that involves inherent cheating. Tennis should be designed and sold as a product that the consumer will be eager to purchase! The institutional leaders and tournament organizers should meet and coordinate to off with a NO CHEATING GUARANTEE. The sport—and the kids—deserve this simple promise. One exciting avenue in the future is that technology may offer the solution to this crisis. Companies like Accutennis and Playsight—and other pioneers—now offer computer scored matches and line calling video review if a dispute should arise. These types of technological innovations hold the power to change the landscape of competitive junior tennis and hold the promise to end cheating permanently, and hopefully that can happen within the next couple decades. Chris Lewit is a former number one for Cornell and a pro circuit player. He is a high-performance coach, educator, and the author of two best-selling books: The Secrets of Spanish Tennis and The Tennis Technique Bible. He has coached numerous top 10 nationally-ranked players and is known for his expertise in building the foundations of young prodigies. Chris trains players during the school year in the NYC area, and players come from around the country to his summer camp in the paradise of Vermont. He may be reached by phone at (914) 462-2912, e-mail ChrisLewit@gmail.com or visit ChrisLewit.com.

AreYouTraining or Draining? By Dr. Donald D. Shrump Jr., MS, CSCS ver the years of working with coaches, parents and athletes to optimize sports performance, get rid of nagging injuries or tap into the latest cognitive training, I have found that many people get stuck in inertia of training, competition and/or the latest fads before they ask themselves the simple question: “Are you training or draining?” I define training as having clear longitudinal goals for each of the six areas of athletic development: l Sports Medicine l Physical Conditioning l Sports Science l Nutrition l Cognition l Mental Toughness. I then define draining as simply not having clear goals in these areas or not answering the “why” when things are going right or when they are going wrong.

Putting first things first As a coach, I always try to get the best out of my athletes, and as a chiropractic physician, I must prioritize evidencebased systems to reduce the risk of injuries. The first thing I do is a comprehensive physical exam and Selective Functional Movement Assessment (SFMA). This evaluation process allows me to get a baseline on the current state of the athlete’s body. Research in tennis has established cutoff points for range of motion testing, manual muscle strength testing and

specific orthopedic tests that allow me to identify athletes at great risk of injury. Quite often, I hear coaches trying to cue a player to make a change to their biomechanical technique that the player simply does not have the physical capacity to achieve because of limited range of motion. A simple example of this is a coach working on dissociation of hips in groundstrokes without realizing that the athlete has marked loss of mobility in their thoracic spine and hips, which could put increased load on the shoulder joints increasing their risk of shoulder injury. Knowing that the athlete has limitations and working towards correcting these issues makes coaching easier in the end. Common things that I see as a result of the sport of tennis are: l Shoulder mobility dysfunction l Shoulder weakness l Thoracic spine mobility dysfunction l Hip mobility dysfunction l Ankle mobility dysfunction Proper warm-up and cooldown/recovery tend to alleviate a lot of these issues, along with specific programs needed when a player is identified to be at a higher risk of injury. Icing on the cake Once an athlete is cleared for performance testing, the fun begins in terms of human performance optimization. Science and technology have come a long way in recent years. Today, I can find weaknesses in power, asymmetries in strength, inefficiencies in the kinetic chain and even cognitive speed in a matter of minutes. This performance snapshot can be used to get

marginal gains on performance by helping to pick the proper tennis shoes to improve performance, cardiovascular conditioning levels and reduce reaction time. Cognitive testing and training has been shown to cause neuroplastic changes to the brain to decrease the time your eyes and brain take to recognize and process the ball to return a serve. This means that players can train their brains to run faster resulting in highpaced match play that appears to be happening in slow motion. Having this objective data that shows brain speed needs to be improved, or that there is some physical limitation, helps paint a clearer picture of the proper training of players, and helps us answer the question “why.” Dr. Donald D. Shrump Jr., MS, CSCS is a general manager of Magnus Potential at CourtSense Tennis Training Center. Donald was a star high school and college athlete, NCAA Division 1 AllAmerican in track and field (decathlon) and on the verge of making the US Olympic team when he experienced a career altering injury. Determined to help athletes prevent injuries, He has cultivated relationships with more than 12 NCAA D1 Sports Medicine Programs to provide and interpret player evaluations for a number of different men’s and women’s sports. Additionally, he was invited to evaluate the US Marine Corps at 8th & I in Washington, D.C. to help identify Marines at risk of injury and provide corrective training programs, and has also worked with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Academy and USA Baseball MLB Prospect Developing Pipeline.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

AceSpace AceSpaceCourts.com Chris@AceSpaceCourts.com Facebook.Com/AceSpaceCourts At AceSpace, we know that time is of the essence. Whether you’re scheduling tennis lessons a month in advance, or organizing an impromptu doubles match, you want the process to be quick. After all, if you can book a restaurant, a car, a hotel with just a few clicks—why not a tennis court? Founded in 2018, AceSpace is the premier court-booking platform in New York. The app easily locates available tennis courts in your area, eliminating the hassle of Web searches and phone calls. Whatever price, surface or time slot you prefer, AceSpace ensures you get the court you want, every time. Thanks to its staff of tennis enthusiasts, AceSpace was designed with both players and facilities in mind. We help tennis centers manage their bookings automatically, working as a stand-alone system or in tandem with older technology. We work directly with facility managers, bridging the gap between manual bookings and digitallyoriented players. Now live at Park Avenue Tennis Facility and Tiger Tennis Academy, our gift to you is a stress-free tennis schedule. Like the best tennis players, AceSpace is fast and reliable, and no matter how busy your life gets, AceSpace is ready to steer you towards the nearest clay, grass or hard surface. If you’re ready to #ClaimYourCourt, visit AceSpaceCourts.com to create your account now. Follow AceSpace on Facebook for updates, and we’ll see you on the court!

iKnowTennis! Mobile App iKnowTennis.com Do you know tennis rules? You serve. As your opponent hits a winning return, a string breaks on his racket. He retrieves a second racket from his bag. Is this a let? Point? First serve? a) Let, first serve b) Your point c) His point. Your doubles partner has a habit to call your serves in or out during practices. During a tournament game, he’s still calling your serves out. Can he call your serves out in a USTA match? a) Yes b) No Answers: Answer 1: His point. The point was played in good faith. He did not delay the game because his racket was in his bag on the court. If you had returned the ball, he could continue playing with a broken string. Code 45. Answer 2: No. Your partner should not be calling your first serves out. The receiver may return a long or wide serve if they didn’t see it clearly. They would be giving you the benefit of the doubt. Code 26 Learn the answers to these questions and more with the iKnowTennis! app, available on the App Store and Google Play. Visit iKnowTennis.com for more information.

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

inPhorm (214) 749-0300 inPhormNYC.com inPhorm, the international active lifestyle brand, is adding new colors to its women’s tennis line to help brighten the holiday season. At all the clubs and tennis venues where its “simple elegant” outfits sell, the colors now include a bright cherry red with its classic black and white. The mission of inPhorm, now more than a decade on the market, has been to produce comfortable, stylish, sustainable and eco-forward fabrics compatible with the its customers’ lifestyle—their fitness, athleticism and passion for preserving the environment and enhancing its recovery. inPhorm continues to expand around the globe. In addition to the Northeast U.S. and Canada (where you can wear your holiday colors indoors this winter) and down through Florida, out to the Midwest and all up and down the West Coast, inPhorm is a major player in Great Britain, and its logo can be spotted on courts from Ireland, Spain, Switzerland and Germany to Thailand, Korea and other Southeast Asian countries. As inPhorm grows, it will soon be outfitting the whole family. Spring 2020 will see the introduction of its smart, nifty children’s outfits, with powder pink and blue, which are receiving glowing reviews from major clients who have seen the prototypes. And coming in Spring 2021, designer Saad Hajidin’s highly-anticipated men’s line will debut. You can read about the tennis pros wearing inPhorm and its brand ambassadors on their Web site, inPhormNYC.com, or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. First-time shoppers on the Web site will receive a special discount by using the code “STAYINPHORMED.”

Servemaster: Get a Better Serve FAST (925) 570-1326 TheTotalServe.com Lisa@TheTotalServe.com John S. says: “My buddy told me about Servemaster and he says it is crazy effective. He says his serve got 25 percent better after using it for about one week. He swore by it, so I got one too. He was right! I got better so quickly and I wish I hadn’t wasted so much time practicing without knowing what I was doing.” Top professionals, academies and players around the world are endorsing and using Servemaster for fast serve improvement. Servemaster goes to the top of the “Best Gift to Receive” list for every tennis player, no matter what age, level or ability. Why does it work? Players get to experience what a service motion should feel like and that accelerates learning. Practice serve technique at home, work or on the court without hitting a ball then take it to your racket on the court. You’ll be amazed at the results. You don’t understand what Servemaster is or what it can do for you? Go to TheTotalServe.com and watch instructional videos or sign up for FREE videos on that site. We promise it will be worth your time … We also have wholesale pricing for pro shops, teaching professionals, academies and schools. All you need to do is e-mail Lisa Dodson at Lisa@TheTotalServe.com for more information.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Silent Partner Tennis (800) 662-1809 SPTennis.com SPTennis@on.aibn.com Give the gift of a Silent Partner Tennis Ball Machine this holiday season! Independently owned and operated since 1989, Silent Partner Tennis is celebrating its 30th anniversary by thanking its customers with great sales! The machines make a great holiday gift for tennis buffs. Throw the machine in the car and take it anywhere. We have a range of portable machines with great features for beginners and experts alike. Plus, we pride ourselves on our customer service, so if you have any questions before or after buying your machine, feel free to give us a call! Check Silent Partner Tennis out online at SPTennis.com. Here is to another great year of tennis. Silent Partner Tennis hopes that it can help you make 2020 the best one yet. Happy holidays!

Sports Made Easy (866) 532-0881 SportsMadeEz.com Info@SportsMadeEz.com Sports Made Easy has grown significantly in the Eastern Section and nationally. Now we have 20,000 members who benefit from our tournament management features. We grew from just match making services app for tennis to a data insight company which helps aspiring junior tennis players to achieve their highest potential in tennis. As a special thank you to all the Tri-State residents who stood steadfast during our growth, we would like to offer all Tri-State residents a 30 percent discount on our services and our partner products, such as Head and Joma. Take advantage of this discount to take your game to the next level. We hope these features brings you and your family members joy and big savings this holiday season! To get coupons please send an e-mail to support@sportsmadeez.com before Dec. 31, 2019.

New York Tennis Magazine â&#x20AC;˘ November/December 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ NYTennisMag.com

Up or Down, LLC (631) 882-3442 UpOrDownSpin.com UpOrDownSpin@gmail.com Up or Down is a new tennis apparel company. The company originated with one vision in mind: “To Unite the Tennis Order.” The idea for the company stems from the spinning the racket before each match and saying: “Up or Down.” Regardless of what brand of racket you play with, Up or Down applies to all tennis players. At Up or Down, we hope to capture the tennis enthusiasts who prefer to wear clothing that identifies them with the sport they enjoy so much. Our company was specifically formed for the tennis fans and players. Our performance t-shirts, tanks, and collared shirts are moisture-wicking for extreme lightweight comfort and breathability while playing on the courts. We also supply more leisurely clothing with our Up or Down lightweight hoodies for cool summer nights and moisture-wicking hooded sweatshirts for colder weather. Whether you are a tennis enthusiast or just enjoy a weekend game, show off apparel that defines you. Visit UpOrDownSpin.com for more information.

USTA Foundation Incorporated (914) 696-7223 USTAFoundation.com Looking for that special holiday gift this year? Leave your mark at the home of the US Open Express your love of the game and serve up dreams for under-resourced youth by donating a brick or paver. The donation helps support local tennis and education organizations across the country. The mission of the USTA Foundation is to bring tennis and education together to change lives. The USTA Foundation uses the sport of tennis as a vehicle to help under-resourced youth become more engaged in school and learning with the goal of succeeding in tennis and in life. Our flagship National Junior Tennis & Learning network delivers year-round free or low-cost tennis instruction, academic support and enrichment opportunities to positively impact lives. The USTA Foundation Incorporated (USTA Foundation) provides grants and scholarships for programs that combine tennis with education to enrich the lives of underresourced youth. USTA Foundation is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt, not-for-profit, charitable and educational organization (IRS ID #13-3782331). This request for financial support is for the purpose of funding programs and operations of USTA Foundation. Donations received shall not constitute an endowment of funds and may be expended in their entirety for the state purpose. USTA Foundation reserves the right to change the pavers and their location at any time without the consent of the donor.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

CITI TASTE OF TE

ust prior to the start of the 2019 US Open, the event that has become a staple of the pre-tournament festivities, Citi Taste of Tennis, turned 20-years-old. Citi Taste of Tennis celebrated two decades of bringing food and tennis together as Cipriani 42nd St. in midtown Manhattan hosted the party, featuring stars of the tennis world and stars of the kitchen, with the event benefiting New York Junior Tennis & Learning. “They’ve done such a great job over the years,” said Andy Roddick. “This is the 20th one here in New York City; I think I have been here for about 15 of them. It’s great to see what it’s become. It’s such a creative idea, to pair tennis players with celebrity chefs. They saw something that the rest of us didn’t.” The “they” refers to AYS World, a woman-owned event management and marketing company started by Judi and Penny Lerner, who created the Citi Taste of Tennis event. “The event has grown quite a bit from those early days when we had just one event and a couple hundred attendees, many of whom were friends and family we invited to help us fill the room,” recalls Penny Lerner. “We now host Citi Taste of Tennis events in Indian Wells; Miami; Washington, D.C.; and New York

City, and we entertain thousands of attendees throughout the year. From identifying emerging tennis players, chefs and entertainers, to researching the latest food trends, we are constantly innovating to ensure the Citi Taste of Tennis remains ahead of the curve.” And two decades later, the event continues to be a favorite among both tennis players and chefs as the unofficial start of the US Open. A highlight of this year’s event was tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams teaming up with chef Richard Blais for an onstage cooking competition, which resulted in the sisters tied for the best dish. “As a fan of tennis and sports in general, to be able to hang out and mingle with some of the world’s greatest players keeps me coming back,” said Blais. In addition to Roddick and the Williams sisters, the room was filled with tennis players such as Coco Gauff, Gael Monfils, Elina Svitolina, Daniil Medvedev, Monica Puig, Bethanie Mattek-Sands and many more, as well as former champion boxer Mike Tyson. The collection of celebrities sampled incredible cuisine including truffle gnocchi by Annise Hernandez-Scott of Davio’s, “nuclear” green gazpacho with almond pesto courtesy of Kerry

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

TENNIS TURNS 20 By Brian Coleman

Credit all photos to: Getty Images

Heffernan’s Grand Banks, sushi from Chef Morimoto, and tennis ball-shaped cupcakes from Patisserie Chanson. “I love food, but I also like to have a good time, and Citi Taste of Tennis does a really good job with that,” said Puig. “As you can see, I learned some new skills

tonight. You learn something new every day, and I definitely learned how to make sushi tonight. It’s such a good mix. You have the beauty that is New York City, combined with the great food showcasing the great chefs from here and around the world. It’s

the whole package and I’m really excited to be here.” Citi Taste of Tennis has continued to grow each year over the last two decades, and it will be exciting to see what’s next for the event series as we head into 2020.

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NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Sports as Our New Religion By Dr. Tom Ferraro erhaps its blasphemy to say that sports is the predominant 21st Century religion, but it just may be true. Whether you attend church services, a synagogue or a mosque each week, you may have noticed that the pews are relatively empty and that weekly church going seems to be passé. If you have kids between the ages of five to 18 you probably spend many a Sunday morning in the stands with all the other parents cheering your child on in whatever sport they happen to be playing. So whether we want to admit it or not, sports has slowly emerged as our favorite religion of choice. And before you attack me, let me try to defend my position. Religions always have a variety of moral practices which are meant to denounce the seven deadly sins. These sins are mentioned in most religious texts and include sloth, lust, greed, gluttony, wrath, envy and pride. A fourth-century monk named Evagrius Ponticus outlined these seven sins and Dante made them famous in his Divine

Comedy. You also may recall that the film “Seven,” which starred Brad Pitt, also elaborated on these sins. Here are the seven deadly sins that through the ages religions have been concerned about: l Sloth: Religions often encourage us to avoid laziness and to be active mentally, spiritually and physically. In sports, one has no choice but to work hard and to be focused if you want to win anything. l Lust: Religion teaches us to control sexual urges and to remain faithful to one’s spouse. This is a foundational for any society and has been practiced since Cro-magnon man emerged from the forests of Europe 20,000 years ago. This sexual restraint relates to sports in the following way: Anyone who plays a sport competitively, or who watches their team in a playoff game, must notice how exciting, heart skipping and mesmerizing the competition is. It can envelope you and your body and mind for hours and hours. Sigmund Freud calls this a sublimation of the sexual urge and one of the primary reasons culture develops sports is to allow

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

these biological urges to be sublimated in socially acceptable ways and thus avoid sexual infidelity. l Greed: Greed or avarice is the extreme obsessive desire for material possessions, or money, and most men and women of the clergy take a vow of poverty. And even a cursory look at sports reveals that the primary motive in sports is mental and physical selfdevelopment and has very little to do with material possessions. A friend of mine was criticizing Michael Jordan’s gambling habits while playing golf and remarked, “Why can’t he just play for the joy of self-improvement?” I thought that was a good point. l Gluttony: In religious terms gluttony refers to the over consumption of anything to the point of waste. Thomas Aquinas suggested that eating too much, too soon, too expensively or too eagerly was a sin and the practice of fasting is universal in all religions. And if you know anyone who is a serious athlete, you understand that they are aware of what they put in their body at all times. Tiger Woods is a good example of this and practices great restraint.

He would reward himself by eating a McDonald’s burger only if he won a tournament. l Wrath: Wrath is the uncontrolled feeling of anger, rage or hatred and is emphasized by the commandment “Thou shall not kill.” And one of the primary challenges that all athletes must learn is how to control their wrath. Double-fault and you feel wrath. And if you then decide to yell at the umpire to take out your frustration be prepared to get a fine. In golf, if a pro breaks a club he can expect a $25,000 fine. So you could say the PGA is one tough religion. l Envy: Envy is the insatiable, covetous desire for someone else’s possessions and severs ties to one’s neighbor. In the Divine Comedy, Dante showed how the envious had their eyes sewn shut in hell. Tennis has a wonderful way of handling envy by having the ritual of coming to the net and graciously shaking the hand of the victor, thereby undoing ones tendency

to be envious of the victor. l Pride: Pride or hubris is often considered the most serious of the sins and is displayed by showing contempt or selfishness. And I can think of no better method to temper pride than to be a competitive athlete because no matter who you are, you will eventually lose to many opponents and thus will inevitably learn how to temper your pride. So you see, sports have a way of responding to all the deadly sins in ways that work. Sports have a moral gravity to it. Alas, you may say “Yes , but what about God? Sports does not have a Godhead!” That is quite right. I could tell you that Friedrich Nietzsche pronounced that “God is dead” back in 1882 and this idea still seems to get play. But I do admit that the idea of God does give solace to many, and the promise of an afterlife does have its appeal. Who could argue that winning a measly little trophy and putting it on your mantel can compete with dying,

going to heaven and living eternally in happiness. And calling sports a new religion would require one to give this religion a name like “Sportism” or some such nonsense. So let’s forget the whole argument and go back to playing sports on Sundays and making sure to stop in our house of worship during one of the late Saturday services which only take about 20 minutes anyway. If I contributed as much to church as I do to my golf game, the church may be so overjoyed they would erect a statue of me somewhere on grounds. That may be nice, but I probably would still have more pride in my little trophy that says I won the member-member net division. Oops! I think pride is one of those deadly sins. For consultations, treatment or on-site visits, contact Dr. Tom Ferraro Ph.D., Sport Psychologist, by phone at (516) 248-7189, e-mail DrTFerraro@aol.com or visit DrTomFerraro.com.

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The Metro Corporate Tennis League, presented by Advantage Tennis Clubs, is an initiative of the Metrotennis Community Tennis Association (MCTA). The League is divided into three levels of play, Intermediate (3.0-3.5), Advanced Intermediate (4.0-4.5) and Advanced (4.5+). Also offered is a Hi-Five program for teams that are not ready to compete, but want to get into the sport while getting a great workout, or just need to get the rust off their rackets. The League hosts more than 64 teams, and the roster of teams for the upcoming season includes: Advanced Division 1 1. Proskauer Rose LLP 2. Bloomberg (Vighnesh) 3. Deloitte LLP 4. Ernst & Young 5. PwC Advanced Division 2 1. Bank of America 2. Moody’s 3. BNP Paribas 4. Bloomberg (Fischler) 5. Credit Agricole Advanced Intermediate Division 1 1. Deutsche Bank (Armen) 2. Blooomberg (Ankur) 3. The Corcoran Group 4. Bloomberg (Fischler) 5. BNP Paribas 6. ING 7. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, LLP 8. Morgan Stanley Advanced Intermediate Division 2 1. Bloomberg 2. Deutsche Bank (Sonja) 3. Bloomberg (Reno) 4. Mizuho Bank

5. Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP 6. Neuberger Berman 7. Douglas Elliman 8. Goldman Sachs Intermediate Division 1 1. Societe Generale 2. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP 3. Bloomberg (Aces) 4. HBO 2 5. Moody’s 6. Barclays 7. SeedInvest Intermediate Division 2 1. D.E. Shaw & Company 2. AMC Networks 3. BNP Paribas 4. Sidley Austin LLP 5. Centerview Partners LLC 6. CVC Advisors

Intermediate Division 4 1. Xaxis 2. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP 3. HBO 1 4. PwC 5. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson 6. Turner Construction Company Hi-Five Division 1. Bloomberg (Peggy) 2. Penguin Random House 3. Havas 4. The Corcoran Group 5. Google 6. Bloomberg (Andy) 7. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP 8. Centerview Partners 9. Pelotennis 10. Bloomberg (Innyoung) 11. Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP 12. Better.com 13. Centerview Partners 14. Oaktree Capital Management LP

Intermediate Division 3 1. Angelo, Gordon & Company LP 2. Barclays 3. Bloomberg 4. White & Case LLP 5. Douglas Elliman

The season will run until December, culminating with an end-of-season party at Roosevelt Island Racquet Club. The Metro Corporate League will like to welcome the following new teams, Oaktree Capital Management LP, SeedInvest, Halstead Manhattan LLC and Better.com. For more information regarding the Metro Corporate League, please visit MetroTennis.com under the tab labeled, “Corporate” or email Luis@MetroTennis.com. 70

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

Consistency: It Starts With Your Mindset By Chris Nieves One common question I receive is: “How can I become more consistent in my sport?” It is important to understand that just like any other skill, consistency takes practice and doesn’t happen overnight. Performing consistently in your sport is a journey that can be difficult and requires plenty of commitment and persistence. It can be challenging to consistently perform at a high level especially when dealing with pressure, injury or any other adversity you may face. Look at some of the all-time great tennis players—they have performed at a higher level and sustained success. They haven’t just won a single tournament, they have won many over a period of time. Think about Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal. Both players have consistently been a force and have had iconic careers, despite overcoming adversity. I believe the common denominator amongst the most successful and consistent athletes is having a strong mindset. The first step to achieving consistency starts with goal setting. Establishing and setting goals for yourself is crucial because it serves as a road map for what you want to accomplish. Your goals should be specific, challenging and attainable. Your goals should also hold you accountable and motivate you. If you aren’t motivated by your goals, it will be difficult to perform consistently and raise your athletic performance to the next level.

Achieving consistency also goes back to your preparation. It is important to understand that how you practice will correlate with your performance. Sometimes it can be tempting to practice half-heartily or just go through the motions, especially when you are winning and are doing well. It is important to realize that your preparation is something that you have control of. Your effort, work ethic, and how you practice is your decision and will directly influence how you perform. If you don’t practice and prepare consistently, you won’t perform consistently! So even if you are performing well at the moment, don’t get complacent in how you practice. Performing at a high level consistently also requires a positive and fearless attitude. If you want to perform consistently, you must have an inner belief that you can be successful. You have to believe in yourself and be confident regardless of who your opponent is. Even after a loss or poor performance, you have to be able to move forward, stay positive and remain eager to come back stronger. Setbacks happen to every athlete. But sometimes setbacks could be a blessing in disguise as they can help you focus on helping you improve, learn from mistakes and taking your game to the next level. You have to be persistent and choose positivity. It also requires the ability to perform well under pressure. The more successful you are as an athlete means the more pressure you will need to overcome. This could simply mean having to play in front of a large crowd or bigger venue than you

are accustomed to, playing in front of scouts or playing in a championship match. But your approach must be the same. You have to be focused and treat every match the same. The great Billie Jean King said it best, “Pressure is a privilege”. You have to own the moment, you can’t let the moment own you. Being able to manage pressure is what separates the best from the rest. Also, when you are at the top of your game, you have a target attached to you. Everyone wants to be that person that beats the top-seeded player. Regardless of who your opponent is, you have to be ready to bring your “A-game” to every match. Every athlete wants to perform consistently and be successful. But it all starts and goes back to your mindset. Developing a strong, confident and resilient mindset should be the goal of every athlete who wants to perform more consistently and reach their peak potential. Chris Nieves, MS is the founder and director of Empower Mental Training, which provides mental skills and sport psychology training for athletes. As a former Division I athlete, Chris learned the importance of mastering the mental side of sports. From this experience, he decided to pursue a career in helping athletes learn how to develop a winning mindset. Chris strongly believes that your mindset is the key to being successful in sports, overcoming adversity, and ultimately reaching your peak potential. For more information, visit EmpowerMentalTraining.com.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

The Coveted Sportsmanship Pin By Barbara Wyatt ’ve never won a USTA Sportsmanship Pin,” says Sheila. Frank places his arm around her shoulder and says, “You will. But until you do, you could have one of mine. I have three.” She laughs. Frank was at it again, teasing a fellow teammate. Is Sheila doing anything wrong? She gives the benefit of the doubt to the opponent if she’s unsure if the ball hit in or out (The Code 6). She calls balls good that touch any part of the line (The Code 7). She calls out the score clearly when serving (The Code 31). Perhaps Frank demonstrates a few more rules from the book, USTA Friend at Court. If you do not see where the ball hit at the end of a point, ask your opponent for help (The Code 11). If they answer, “The ball was in,” then the ball is in. If they saw the ball hit out, they will—and I believe the vast majority will—call it out and award you the point. If your opponents are unsure where the ball landed, the ball is in. When you or your partner complete a first serve, prepare for the return no matter

what. Do not call your first serve out. Only your opponent can make that call. If the receiver doesn’t put the return in play, then you may make the fault call (The Code 26). Call your shots out when you see them (The Code 13). Even if your opponent does not ask for help, call your shot out. The one exception? You or your partner’s first serve (The Code 26). Top tennis pros demonstrate sportsmanship during tough matches. At the 2016 Hopman Cup, Lleyton Hewitt serves and the umpire calls the serve out. Jack Sock yells to Hewitt, “That was in— if you want to challenge it.” Hewitt’s eyebrows arch up in disbelief. Sock grins, “Challenge it.” The chair umpire leans forward from the chair. Hewitt pauses, then says, “I challenge it.” Sock was correct; Hewitt’s serve was good. The call is reversed to Hewitt’s favor. The audience applauds Sock’s demonstration of Code 13 and his fair play ethics. At the 2015 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal is serving in the fifth set after four tough hours of play against Tim Smyczek. Nadal tosses the ball up and seconds before he hits the toss, a fan yells loudly, breaks the silence and

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New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

disrupts Nadal’s serve motion. The ball sails past the service line. Smyczek holds up two fingers. The chair umpire announces first serve again. At the 2005 Rome Masters Tournament, a linesman calls Fernando Verdasco’s second serve out. Andy Roddick is awarded the match on the double fault. Roddick points to the ball mark on the clay. The chair umpire reverses the call. Sportsmanship decisions may cost a tennis pro thousands of dollars. Yet somehow, Sock reached a career-high doubles ranking of number two in the world. Smyczek won seven Challenger titles and achieved a career-high singles world ranking of 68th. Andy Roddick is an American former world number one professional tennis player. Maybe there’s something to this USTA Sportsmanship Pin. Barbara Wyatt is a writer, photographer, USTA official, and mobile app developer of iKnowTennis!, the tennis rules app. Her poem, Ode to Tennis, an amusing poem on the joys and frustrations when learning tennis, is available at Amazon. She can be reached by e-mail at BarbaraW@iKnowTennis.com.

The Year in Tennis Comes to an End By Luke Jensen

hours before my French Open final alongside my brother, Murphy. I had this A great tennis year is overwhelming feeling that if I didn’t win on coming to an end, but not this day, I may not return to this stage before we saw some again. Pressure is an amazing thing and amazing stories thanks to Billie Jean King’s quote, “Pressure is a the best players on the planet! Privilege,” hangs on the walk out to Arthur On the men’s tour, Rafael Nadal holds Ashe Stadium as a reminder to all who on to win his 19th major title and is now walk into the area to embrace it and fear it. closer to Roger Federer in the all-time Will the tennis gods like Fed and Serena race than he’s been in 15 years. It’s what I still perform at their best when the believe to be the greatest chase in the pressure is most? Will the new players on history of tennis: Who out of the Big Three the block find the confidence to make the … Fed with 20, Nadal with 19 and Novak biggest shots when the defining moments Djokovic with 16 … will end up with the call for them? most major titles when all three decide to The new year will answer so many of hang up their rackets? the questions and I can’t wait to watch! I have a gut feeling that Fed will be Rod Laver celebrated his 50th anniversary haunted by the Wimbledon that got away of winning the final leg of the 1969 earlier this summer when he had match calendar Grand Slam at the West Side points and was serving against Djokovic. Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y., and spoke On the women’s side, Serena continues to be the most consistent player in the majors, but just can’t play well enough in the finals of those majors. I was speaking with International Tennis Hall of Famer Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and we discussed how this last Wimbledon will haunt Fed in his pursuit of having the most major titles all-time. She said something very interesting: SanchezVicario, a 14-time Grand Slam winner, recalled that, as a veteran player, she felt MORE pressure to win the big matches because there was always a doubt whether she still had the ability at an older age to win at the highest levels of competition. The only pressure I felt in tennis where I felt I HAD to win was waking up just

about the ability to focus during the biggest moments of matches was the difference between winning and losing. Every champion has their own unique approach towards winning the big moments. What is yours? Until next time, go for the lines!!! Raised in Ludington, Mich., Luke Jensen’s resume includes 10 ATP Tour doubles titles. He was also a member of the U.S. Davis Cup teams that reached the finals in 1991 and won in 1992. His ambidextrous play, including his ability to serve the ball with either hand at 130 mph, earned him the nickname “Dual Hand Luke.” Luke is currently director of racket sports at West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y. He may be reached by phone at (315) 4030752 or e-mail LukeJensen84@yahoo.com.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Tennis Professional of Sales By Geoffrey A. Jagdfeld ost commercial tennis facilities value sales ability very high—if you are good at bringing new players, you’ll rise through the ranks faster, make more money and grow your professional track record faster than you ever thought possible. And there’s a good reason for that as most people find it very hard to combine being a great teacher with being a great seller. It’s common to think, “I got into the tennis teaching business so I wouldn’t have to do sales.” I have been fortunate enough to be both on the teaching side and the manager side of tennis for close to three decades, and been involved in what probably amounts to several hundred programs. And over that time, I’ve seen how the very best tennis professional sellers are different—in three distinctive ways.

They accept they are in sales When I was a young tennis teaching professional, this was probably my toughest challenge: to acknowledge and accept the fact that I was in sales too. You see, there was a little voice inside telling me “you didn’t go to college in order to become a salesperson,” or “you’re an elite tennis player, you shouldn’t have to be selling as well.” Over time, I started seeing just how much this attitude was holding me back. And I wasn’t alone—over the years, many have told me they have similar hang-ups about sales that hold them back from success. 74

The very best, however, understand that sales is just part of what they do— perhaps, even the most important part. They accept it, and in most cases even enjoy it. They act like chameleons Pros that can adapt and figure out what the client wants from their on-court experience will have repeat customers. I have categorized three main types of clients: l The Wanna Work-Out: This client wants to sweat and run around the court. They might like a tip here-andthere, but don’t pause longer than a few moments to show them anything. If you do they will be chomping at the bit to get back to running. These players like to rally with the pro so you better have two carts full of balls so the ball pick-up is at a minimum. l The Student: For me, these are the most rewarding lessons to give because these players want all the information you can offer. They ask questions, tell you about their match experiences and, in general, seek your knowledge to improve their game. l The Social Hour: For this client you need to build a more personal relationship, like a bartender or hairdresser. They want to tell you about their week or what their kids are doing. Also, they want to know more about you: How was your week? What are you doing this weekend? Been to any good shows or restaurants lately? You might not hit that many tennis balls in

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

this lesson but if you keep the conversation going they will be signing up for the package of lessons. They ask and educate their buyers My old mentor always said if you are not teaching enough hours then how many people have you asked to do a lesson today? Truly outstanding tennis teaching professionals look for ways to ask and educate potential clients. The key word here is ask—you need to deliver insights about the players game and how you can help them take it to the next level by getting on court with you. In summation, those who succeed are successfully marrying the skill sets and competencies of the great tennis salesman. The true rainmakers in any organization are admired, valued and almost always first in line when it comes to future opportunities for their career development. Yet, most companies are plagued by the same phenomenon: a relatively small number of individuals bring in a disproportionate amount of all lessons. By following the three principles outlined above, you now have the option to choose to become one of them. Geoffrey Jagdfeld is USPTA Eastern president and currently tennis director of Solaris Sports Clubs. He is a USPTA elite professional and USTA high-performance coach who serves as USTA Junior Team Tennis League coordinator for Westchester. He is the head coach of the Men’s and Women’s Tennis Teams at St. John Fisher College, and played collegiate tennis at Michigan State University.

Bouncing Back From Burnout How to Restore Balance By Rob Polishook It was a hot day in midAugust when Joanne walked into my office exasperated, reeling from the last two months of training and stressed because school was starting in just two weeks. She was overwhelmed; thinking about challenging matches, her coach’s judgment about her performance and her own concerns about whether she could live up to her success in previous years and expectations for the current year. Right away, I knew this wasn’t going to be a regular session where Joanne and I discussed how she could improve her mental game. Rather, it was apparent she was burnt out and disconnected from her whole self. As a mental training coach, I work oneon-one with individuals in all sports and age groups, and athletes like Joanne present a variety of issues including: Inability to maintain focus, excessive nervousness, self-esteem challenges, stress from past trauma on or off the field, injuries and trying to live up to a certain image that either the athlete has of themselves or others project onto the athlete. These are just a few of the issues. Sometimes an athlete like Joanne is experiencing multiple challenges which creates a perfect storm. This imbalance isn’t hard to spot and shows in the clients eyes; they are exhausted, exasperated, frustrated and have little energy. Unfortunately, common sports wisdom is to try to find balance by trying harder, playing more matches, striving for better fitness, and forcing more technique drills. But any athlete who has tried this knows it backfires. It’s like stripping the threads on a screw, or trying to swim against a riptide toward shore. You can’t get out of the cycle by using the same methods that got you into the cycle. That just leads to more burnout and more exhaustion. It

makes things worse. Finally, the athlete may decide to meet with a mental training coach, and hopefully he or she—in this case me—will identify that they are burned out and the answer isn’t doing more of the same, but rather, stepping away and reconnecting to those activities that make them who they are. Certainly tennis is one, but not the only thing. With Joanne, it was clear our work was not to push forward, but to step back and reset. We needed to get her back to balance, and this wasn’t going to be accomplished by more to-do’s, rather more to-be’s. First, we took a walk. We didn’t talk about tennis, we spent most of the session in silence connecting to nature and allowing her to simply settle down. Later in the session, we spoke about the need for her to explore the off-court experiences that could bring her back to balance, including getting together with friends, hobbies that allowed her to be most like herself, and quiet time just being away from the intensity of sports. Most importantly, we reconnected her to

her heart, energy and spirit, things that are already inside her and make her more than an athlete. While this experience of burnout was painful, it was essentially a good thing to happen. Joanne recognized that burnout is a sign she’d misread. She had thought the sign meant to grind harder, but it was actually a sign to take her foot off the gas, re-center, come back to balance, and reconnect with herself and all the things which make her unique and whole. Further, to understand that the score of past and upcoming matches would not define her, as a person, rather they are just what happened on that day as a tennis player. Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is founder and director of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group. As a mental training coach, he works with athletes and teams, focusing on helping athletes gain the mental edge. Rob is author of Tennis Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. He may be reached by phone at (973) 723-0314, e-mail Rob@InsideTheZone.com or visit InsideTheZone.com.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

Eighth Annual “Little Mo” Internationals Arrives in New York

he West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y. hosted the eighth annual “Little Mo” Internationals earlier this summer, as some of the top junior tennis players from around the world came to New York to compete in the second leg of the “Little Mo” Slam. The week-long event began with a free clinic put on by the pros at The West Side Tennis Club, where the “Little Mo” players had the opportunity to play on the famed grass courts of the historic club. After the clinic, the Opening Ceremony, where the players walk onto the court of Forest Hills Stadium holding the flags of their respective countries, took place and is always one of the highlights of the tournament, with the representation of so many different nations and cultures on full display. That was followed by days of competitive tennis on the courts throughout the grounds, with sportsmanship and fair play at the heart of the competition. More than 130 different players from nine different countries (Canada, Colombia, Ecuador,

Japan, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Venezuela and the United States) took part in singles, doubles and mixed doubles draws. Below are the winners from each respective division: l Boys 12: Joseph Oyebog (Westport, Conn.) l Boys 11: Adrien Abarca (Chula Vista, Calif.) l Boys 10: Elliot Lifton (Los Angeles, Calif.) l Boys 9: Izyan Ahmad (Wayne, N.J.) l Boys 8: Simon Lifton (Los Angeles, Calif.) l Boys 8: (Green Dot): Deniz Karabulut (Burlington, Canada) l Girls 12: Ilana Rosenthal (Kingston, Penn.) l Girls 11: Lucy Oyebog (Westport, Conn.) l Girls 10: Filipa Delgado (New York, N.Y.) l Girls 9: Emma Palacio (Queens, N.Y./Peru) l Girls 8: Priscilla Sirichantho (Woodbridge, Conn.)

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

l Girls 8 (Green Dot): Blake Chang (New York, N.Y.) Throughout the tournament, players can earn “Mo Coins” for being respectful and kind to others and demonstrating good sportsmanship, to honor the legacy of Maureen “Little Mo” Connolly, who was known for her sportsmanship both on and off the court. This year’s recipients of the Sportsmanship and Kindness Awards were: l Emma Palacio (Queens, N.Y./Peru) l Luke Jones (Dallas, Penn.) The third and final leg of the “Little Mo” Slam takes place in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. from Dec. 6-11. Two players will be aiming to win the 2019 “Little Mo” Slam title after winning the first two legs of the series (the first leg took place in Newport Beach, Calif.). Adrien Abarca of Chula Vista, Calif. and Simon Lifton of Los Angeles, Calif. will be seeking to capture the six-foot trophy, the tallest in junior tennis, for winning their divisions at all three tournaments.

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USTA/Metropolitan Region

2019 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments. NOVEMBER 2019 Friday-Sunday, November 15-17 EASTERN Sweet 16 at NYTCI New York Tennis Club Indoors 3081 Harding Avenue • Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Advanced Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14 (COMP) and Advanced Girls’ Doubles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $151 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail BillWiese4@gmail.com or call (718) 239-7919. Friday-Sunday, November 15-17 EASTERN Sweet 16 at APTC Alley Pond Tennis Center 7920 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, N.Y. Divisions: Advanced Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 16 (COMP) and Advanced Girls’ Doubles: 78’ Yellow Ball 16 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $151 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail AlleyPondTennisCenter@gmail.com or call (718) 264-2600. Friday-Sunday, November 15-17 and November 22-24 L2 Sportime Randall’s Island November 2019 Open Sportime @ Randall’s Island 1 Randall’s Island • New York, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14-16 (SE) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 11 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail TournamentsRI@Sportimetfm.com or call (212) 427-6150. Friday-Sunday, November 15-17 L2 Cary Leeds Open Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning 1720 Crotona Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12-18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 10 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail CLeon@NYJTL.org or call (718) 247-7420. 78

Friday-Sunday, November 15-17 L1B Stadium Challenger Stadium Tennis Center 725 Exterior Street Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14-16 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 11 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail Michael2.Moore@yahoo.com or call (718) 665-4684. Saturday, November 16 Youth Progression Orange Level 1 Fresh Meadows Cunningham Tennis 19600 Union Turnpike Fresh Meadows, N.Y. Divisions: Orange Level 1 Boys’ & Girls’ 10 and Under Singles: 60’ Orange Ball 10 (NEF) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 10 at 11:59 p.m.) For more information, e-mail Victor@CunninghamTennis.com or call (718) 740-6800. Friday-Sunday, November 22-24 L1B Challenger at Throgs Neck New York Tennis Club Indoors 3081 Harding Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14-16 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $65 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail BillWiese4@gmail.com or call (718) 239-7919. Friday-Sunday, November 22-24 L1B Mill Pond Challenger Stadium Tennis Center 725 Exterior Street Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 18 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail Michael2.Moore@yahoo.com or call (718) 665-4684.

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

Friday-Sunday, November 22-24 L1B APTC Challenger Alley Pond Tennis Center 7920 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12, 18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $65 for BG (12, 18 [78’Court/Yellow Ball])s, SE, Challenger. Maximum fee charged per player is $60, plus the processing fees for the number of events you select (deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 18 at 9:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail AlleyPondTennisCenter@gmail.com or call (718) 264-2600. Friday-Sunday, November 22-24 L2 Mill Basin MatchPointNYC Open MatchPoint NYC Mill Basin 2350 East 69th Street • Brooklyn, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12 (FMLC) and Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail KLastique@yahoo.com or call (718) 769-0001. Friday-Sunday, November 29-December 1 L1B Challenger in the Bronx Gotham Tennis Academy 725 Exterior Street • Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Nov. 25 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail Michael2.Moore@yahoo.com or call (718) 665-4684. Friday-Sunday, November 29-December 1 L2 New York Tennis Club Indoors Thanksgiving Open New York Tennis Club Indoors 3081 Harding Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12 (FMLC); Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14-18 (SE) and Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Doubles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14, 18 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 24 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail BillWiese4@gmail.com or call (718) 239-7919.

USTA/Metropolitan Region

2019 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments. Friday-Sunday, November 29-December 1 L1 November Championships at APTC Alley Pond Tennis Center 7920 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, N.Y. Divisions: Championships Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 16-18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 for one event; $56 for two events (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail AlleyPondTennisCenter@gmail.com or call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, December 6-8 L1 APTC December Championships Alley Pond Tennis Center 7920 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, N.Y. Divisions: Championships Boys’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 16 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $65 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 2 at 9:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail AlleyPondTennisCenter@gmail.com or call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, November 29-December 1 L1B Cary Leeds Challenger Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning 1720 Crotona Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14-18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 24 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail CLeon@NYJTL.org or call (718) 247-7420.

Friday-Sunday, December 6-8 L1 Cary Leeds December Championships Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning 1720 Crotona Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Championships Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Saturday, Nov. 30 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail CLeon@NYJTL.org or call (718) 247-7420.

Friday-Monday, November 29-December 2 USTA Boys 12 National Indoor Championships USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Flushing Meadows, Corona Park Flushing, N.Y. Divisions: Level 1 Boys’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12 (MFIC) and Level 1 Boys’ Doubles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $140.25 for one event; $140.76 for two events; additional fees may apply if registered in three or more events (deadline for entries is Thursday, Oct. 31 at 11:59 a.m.) For more information, e-mail NTCTournaments@USTA.com or call (718) 760-6200.

Friday-Sunday, December 6-8 L1B Stadium December Challenger Gotham Tennis Academy 725 Exterior Street Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 16 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 2 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail Michael2.Moore@yahoo.com or call (718) 665-4684.

DECEMBER 2019 Friday-Sunday, December 6-8 L1 Tennis at Throgs Neck December Championships New York Tennis Club Indoors 3081 Harding Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Championships Boys’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $65 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail BillWiese4@gmail.com or call (718) 239-7919.

Friday-Sunday, December 13-15 Eastern Empire Cup National Doubles at APTC (National L4) Alley Pond Tennis Center 7920 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, N.Y. Divisions: Girls’ Doubles: 78’ Yellow Ball 18 (MFIC) Surface Type: Unknown Entry Fee: $59.63 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail AlleyPondTennisCenter@gmail.com or call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, December 13-15 L1B Throgs Neck December Challenger New York Tennis Club Indoors 3081 Harding Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12, 18 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail BillWiese4@gmail.com or call (718) 239-7919. Friday-Sunday, December 13-15 L1B December Challenger at Mill Pond Gotham Tennis Academy 725 Exterior Street Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12-18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 9 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail Michael2.Moore@yahoo.com or call (718) 665-4684. Saturday-Sunday, December 14-15 Youth Progression Green Level 1 Fresh Meadows Cunningham Tennis 19600 Union Turnpike Fresh Meadows, N.Y. Divisions: Green Level 1 Boys’ & Girls’ 10 and Under Singles: 78’ Green Ball 10 (FMLC) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $58.55 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Dec. 8 at 11:59 p.m.) For more information, e-mail Victor@CunninghamTennis.com or call (718) 740-6800. Saturday-Sunday, December 14-15 Youth Progression Green L1 New York Tennis Club Indoors 3081 Harding Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Green Level 1 Boys’ & Girls’ 10 and Under Singles: 78’ Green Ball 10 (NEF) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Dec. 8 at 11:59 p.m.) For more information, e-mail BillWiese4@gmail.com or call (718) 239-7919.

NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2019 • New York Tennis Magazine

USTA/Metropolitan Region

2019 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments. Saturday, December 14 Youth Progression Orange Ball L1 at Cary Leeds Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning 1720 Crotona Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Orange Level 1 Boys’ & Girls’ 10 and Under Singles: 60’ Orange Ball 10 (NEF) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Dec. 8 at 11:59 p.m.) For more information, e-mail CLeon@NYJTL.org or call (718) 247-7420. Friday-Sunday, December 20-22 L1B Winter Challenger at Throgs Neck New York Tennis Club Indoors 3081 Harding Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14, 18 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday, Dec. 15 at 11:59 p.m.) For more information, e-mail BillWiese4@gmail.com or call (718) 239-7919. Friday-Sunday, December 20-22 L2 Alley Pond December Open Alley Pond Tennis Center 7920 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12-18 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 16 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail AlleyPondTennisCenter@gmail.com or call (718) 264-2600. Friday-Sunday, December 20-22 L1B Mill Pond December Challenger Stadium Tennis Center 725 Exterior Street Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12, 16 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 16 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail Michael2.Moore@yahoo.com or call (718) 665-4684.

Thursday-Tuesday, December 26-31 L1 APTC Holiday Championships Alley Pond Tennis Center 7920 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, N.Y. Divisions: Championships Boys’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $65 per player (deadline for entries is Saturday, Dec. 21 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail AlleyPondTennisCenter@gmail.com or call (718) 264-2600. Thursday-Sunday, December 26-29 L1 Stadium December Championships Gotham Tennis Academy 725 Exterior Street Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Championships Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12-14 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Saturday, Dec. 21 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail Michael2.Moore@yahoo.com or call (718) 665-4684. Thursday-Monday, December 26-30 L2 Advantage Holiday Open New York Tennis Club Indoors 3081 Harding Avenue Bronx, N.Y. Divisions: Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 12 (FMLC) and Intermediate Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14-18 (SE) Surface Type: Clay Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Saturday, Dec. 21 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail BillWiese4@gmail.com or call (718) 239-7919. Friday-Sunday, December 27-29 L1B Staten Island Tennis December Challenger Staten Island Community Tennis Center 2800 Victory Boulevard Staten Island, N.Y. Divisions: Challenger Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Yellow Ball 14-16 (SE) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles; maximum fee charged per player is $75 plus the processing fees for the number of events you select (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Dec. 24 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail KLastique@yahoo.com or call (718) 982-3355.

New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2019 • NYTennisMag.com

Saturday-Sunday, December 28-29 L3 Alley Pond December UPS Alley Pond Tennis Center 7920 Winchester Boulevard Queens Village, N.Y. Divisions: Entry Level Boys’ & Girls’ Singles: 78’ Green Ball 12, 78’ Yellow Ball 14-16 (NEF) Surface Type: Hard Indoor Entry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Wednesday, Dec. 25 at 1:00 p.m.) For more information, e-mail AlleyPondTennisCenter@gmail.com or call (718) 264-2600.

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