23 minute read
Tennis Headlines
Volvo Car Open Announces New Activities, Experiences and Electronic Line Calling for 20th Year in Charleston
unique activations for attendees — on and off the tennis court.
The Volvo Car Open (April 4-12, 2020), the largest women’s-only tennis tourna ment in North America, will celebrate 20 years in Charleston in 2020 with what organizers call elevated experiences, ex citing activities, and new initiatives. The 2020 tournament will feature the best in women’s professional tennis, bringing more than 100 of the top players in the world to the Lowcountry. The tour nament also is celebrating its 20th year in Charleston with special events and
2020 EVENTS: • Jennifer Nettles Concert: GRAMMY award-winning artist Jennifer Nettles will perform on Saturday, April 11. The intimate concert will take place on Al thea Gibson Club Court. Tickets start at $50. • Tournament Ambassador Tracy Aus tin: The Volvo Car Open has named past champion, Grand Slam winner, Tennis Hall of Fame member and Ten nis Channel commentator, Tracy Austin as its first tournament ambassador. She will host “Tennis Talk with Tracy” daily from the tournament grounds, as well as several other special events. • Family Weekend: The qualifying rounds will kick off on April 4 and 5
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with Family Weekend. The itinerary includes rides from the state fair, sand sculptures, an art activation court, and more. Adults are $10 and kids are free. • Easter Sunday Brunch: The Volvo Car Open will host a special Easter Sunday Brunch prior to its finals on Sunday, April 12. A special musical guest will be announced soon. Tickets are $100 and include food, drinks, and a ticket to the finals. • Good Morning Charleston Yoga Event: Fans looking to elevate their finals weekend experience are invited to join Sarah Frick of The Works for “Good Morning Charleston” on Satur day, April 11. This special yoga event is designed to guide you through a soul ful fitness experience that is a blend of powerful vinyasa yoga, meditation, breath work, plyometrics, core, and strength work. Tickets are $55 and include healthy refresh ments and a ticket to the semifinal matches.
2020 INITIATIVES: • Website: The Volvo Car Open launched a new website in 2020 to enhance fan engagement and help bring the event to life. The new website allows attendees to re ceive real-time updates from the court, search event schedules, and more. • Electronic Line Calling: In partnership with FOXTENN and the WTA, the 2020 Volvo Car Open will be the first women’s clay event to install electronic line calling. The FOXXTENN system uses 40 high-speed cameras, which are capable of generating more than 100,000 images per second. Electronic Line Calling will be available on both Billie Jean King Stadium Court and Althea Gibson Club Court. • Sustainability: The Volvo Car Open has prioritized sustainability as part of its 2020 initiatives and has adopted new processes for waste, recycling, trans portation, food, and more.
For more information on the tournament and ticket options, visit volvocaropen.com or call 843.856.7900.
Photography Contest Rules and Regulations 1. You must be a member of ALTA. 2. Photos must relate to tennis and/or tennis play. 3. All contest submissions must be postmarked by Sept. 16, 2020. 4. Decisions of the judges are final. 5. Limit three entries per ALTA member. 6. Each photo entry must include a completed entry form (see below). Photocopied forms are accepted. 7. Judges reserve the right to title photos if no title is provided and to change the category into which a photo has been entered. 8. Photos not taken by the entrant must be accompanied by a release form signed by the photographer. ALTA and Net News are not responsible for any copyright violations. 9. Judges reserve the right to disqualify any entry that does not meet the above rules and regulations.
The 17th Annual Net News Photo Contest
Get ready, grab your camera or even your smartphone, and go! This is your chance to show the world and your fellow netters how talented you are with a camera (or how lucky you were to be there when the unexpected happened). The 17th Annual Net News Photo Contest will showcase the best “frames” of ALTA players in the November/December 2020 issue. We’re looking for photos of solid play, unusual play or court scenes, and any notable photo relating to the game of tennis. The contest, sponsored by Head Penn Racquet Sports, will award one Best Overall Winner, plus winners in each of the categories. Category and overall winners will receive a variety of outstanding prizes from Head Penn’s collection of quality tennis gear.
So, get out your cameras and start taking pictures or pick out your favorite from that stack of stills sitting in your desk drawer. You just might have a winner! ALL PHOTOS MUST RELATE TO TENNIS. Prizes courtesy of
Submission Guidelines 1. Mail all entries to: Net News Photo Contest, 9040 Roswell Road, Suite 210, Atlanta, GA 30350. 2. Both digital and printed images will be considered. See specifications. 3. You may not want to submit irreplaceable or precious images. Contest organizers and sponsors WILL NOT be responsible for lost or damaged photos. (See waiver of responsibility on entry form.) 4. If you want your picture returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your entry. Pictures will not be returned if they are not accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 5. All winning photos will be featured in the annual November/December edition of Net News. 6. Questions may be addressed to production@ knowatlanta.com or 770.650.1102, ext. 126. Digital Photography Specifications We advise that you take and submit the photos in as large a file size as possible, preferably no smaller than 2,400 pixels tall or wide, because small images may not be reproducible in the magazine (familiarize yourself with the settings on your camera before taking photos). Nonreproducible images will not be considered for the photo contest. Upload original digital photos through the Net News website at netnewsmag.com/photo_contest.
Vintage Photography Specifications We advise you to have the image printed at 8x10 in. Please tape one entry form to the back of each photo. If submitting an original, please keep in mind contest organizers and sponsors will not be responsible for lost or damaged photos.
NET NEWS PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY FORM
Name _____________________________________________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________________________________
City____________________________________________State_______________ ZIP ___________________
Email _____________________________________________________________________________________
Phone (H) ______________________________________Phone (W)_________________________________
Waiver of Responsibility: I hereby remise, release and forever discharge the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association, Net News magazine, New South Publishing, Inc., and any Net News Photo Contest sponsor from any action, suits or claims arising as a result of the loss or damage of any photograph(s) I submit to this contest. Further, I hereby grant my permission for the reproduction and printing of my photograph in Net News magazine.
Please check the category this picture is being entered in:
Action Children Courtside Humor/Novelty
Pets Still Life Vintage
Title of photo: __________________________
Description of picture (where the picture was taken, who is in the picture, what is in the picture, etc.): ________________________________________
BB&T ATLANTA OPEN July 25 - August 2 at Atlantic Station BBTAtlantaopen.com
Tickets go on sale MARCH 2020 tickets@bbtatlantopen.com
#ATLANTAOPEN
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS! 2010 VS. 2020
We can’t believe it’s March and our 2020 event will be here before we know it!
As you know, our event keeps getting bigger and better each year and 2020 is no exception. Our new layout in 2019, a star-studded player field that resulted in new champions, along with tremendous support from the ALTA community, made last year an overhead smash winner.
The year 2020 will bring a new name for our great event, the Truist Atlanta Open, and a 10-year anniversary celebration for everyone to enjoy!
It has been a great 10 years and we hope you are looking ahead to July 2020 and the 2020 Truist Atlanta Open… More on that soon as we put tickets on sale at the end of March. We will have a new name and we promise world-class tennis to return once again with exciting new changes from our beautiful Midtown Atlanta location at Atlantic Station.
Ten years is a long time, so I thought it would be fun to look back to see what was popular and trending in 2010 and compare it to today!
2010 vs. 2020
2010: Instagram launches and no Pinterest or SnapChat 2020: TikTok is on the verge of being a top social network
2010 Australian Open Singles Champions: Roger Federer and Serena Williams 2020 Australian Open Singles Champions: Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin
Super Bowl Champ 2010: New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Champ 2020: Kansas City Chiefs
Blockbuster Video Stores in 2010: 4,000 Blockbuster Video Stores in 2020: 1
2010: Prince William and Prince Harry were still bachelors 2020: Prince William is married with kids and Prince Harry has left the Royal Family
2010: We pay each other in cash 2020: Who carries cash? Do you have Zelle, Paypal, Venmo, CashApp or take Square?
2010: Alex de Minaur was in fourth grade at an elementary school in Spain and Mardy Fish won our event! 2020: Alex is our defending champ and Mardy Fish is our USA Davis Cup captain!
You can see how much things have changed (or haven’t changed) over 10 years!
Once again, a big thanks to partners like OrthoAtlanta! OrthoAtlanta does a great job in making sure all our players in the singles, doubles and qualifying draws can perform to their peak potential in Atlanta. The tennis season is long not only for the pros, but for ALTA players as well. If you or any of your ALTA teammates have a health issue or question, call OrthoAtlanta and get back on the court ASAP.
Save the dates for 2020: July 25-August 2! Remember to visit www.bbtatlantaopen.com for updates and information and don’t forget to look out for upcoming ALTA discounts for members.
Again, wishing you a great Spring ALTA season and we are looking forward to seeing you at the 2020 Truist Atlanta Open!
— Eddie Gonzalez TRUIST Atlanta Open Tournament Director egonzalez@gfsportsholdings.com
2010 – MARDY FISH
2011 – MARDY FISH
2012 – RODDICK
2017 - ISNER 2013 – ISNER
2014 – ISNER
#10YEARCHALLENGE: 2010 - 2019
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Official Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Provider of the BB&T Atlanta Open
Slinger Bag, the sports equipment brand that recently released its bag-style tennis ball launcher, has received a Special Recognition Award from the UK Tennis Industry Association. The brand was highly commended by the judging panel in the biennial competition that spotlights products aimed to improve the tennis experience.
The manufacturer says Slinger Bag will unlock improvements in players’ games by being a versatile 24/7 playing partner that enables players to hone their skills through repetitive drills or work on their court fitness and agility whenever they need to.
“We are delighted to have received the innovation award from the Tennis Industry Association,” said Mike Ballardie, Slinger Bag CEO. “It’s brilliant to be recognized by the industry as a product that will change the landscape of tennis across the UK and globally, giving players the power to train on their own terms. It’s a testament to the brand’s hard work in developing a
best-in-class product — one that meets the needs of players, so they can improve their game.”
Created by entrepreneur and tennis fan Joe Kalfa, Slinger Bag was launched following a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised more than $1 million. The company is preparing to take its tennis ball launcher to market in spring 2020. For more information, visit slingerbag.com.
Photography for all your needs.
Bleachr’s TennisONE App Wins Fifth Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge
The winner of the 2020 Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge is Bleachr LLC’s TennisONE App, which is a mobile hub for all things tennis, providing live scoring, AI “ball tracer” technology, player stats, social games, and other tennis content.
The fifth edition of the Tennis Industry Innovation Challenge, sponsored by the Tennis Industry Association (TIA), was held on Jan. 23 on the main stage at the Racquet & Paddle Sports Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
Three finalists in the Innovation Challenge, chosen from an online application process, presented five-minute pitches about their new product or service. The winner was chosen by a panel of judges in front of an audience of tennis and racquet sports leaders in a "Shark Tank-like" competition.
The TennisONE App (www.bleachr.co) was presented by Bleachr LLC CEO Kris
tin Geer, who described how the robust platform addresses the needs of the tennis community — from fans to players. The company partners with a number of professional events, including the Miami Open, Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Rogers Cup and Tennis Canada, Paris Masters, Winston-Salem Open, BB&T Atlanta Open and Hall of Fame Open.
As the Innovation Challenge winner, Bleachr will receive $1,000, a one-year TIA member ship, and additional exposure through industry marketing and social media channels.
Congratulations
Signature Tennis Courts Proud builder of the courts … since its inception! mike@signaturetennis.com Congratulations to the Atlanta Tennis community for helping make Atlanta’s only ATP event such a success!
Pro Players Raise $3.3 Million for Aussie Bushfire Relief
Shortly before the Australian Open, some of the biggest names in tennis came together in Melbourne to help raise funds for the Australian bushfire appeal. The fundraising night was the brainchild of Aussie star Nick Kyrgios, and raised about $3.3 million.
Some of the biggest names in tennis, including Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Caroline Wozniacki turned out in front of a packed Rod Laver Arena. Kyrgios played Roger Federer in a one-set match, and personally pledged to donate $200 AUD (about $140 USD) for every ace he hits this summer.
Also participating in the fundraiser were Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Dominic Thiem, and Petra Kvitova.
Black Tennis HoF Names Class of 2020 Inductees
T h e B l a c k Te n n i s H a l l o f F a m e (BlackTennisHa llof Fame.com) has announced inductees into its Class of 2020: Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center (in the Organization category), Alice Marble and Tina McCall Waters (Contributor category), Irwin R. Holmes (Pioneer category) and Dr. Robert Walter Johnson Jr. (both Contributor and Pioneer).
The induction ceremony will be held at Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center in Dorchester, Mass., July 3-4 and will coincide with the New England Tennis Association’s Jim and Gloria Smith Memorial Tennis Tournament, which is sanctioned by both the USTA and ATA. For tickets and more information, contact Black Tennis Hall of Fame Executive Director Shelia Curry at SheliaCurry@ BlackTennisHallofFame.com.
Babolat Introduces Limited-Edition Flag Series Racquets Babolat’s new “flag” range enables players and fans around the world to show support for their favorite countries and teams with patriotic tennis racquets. The collection features designs inspired by the colors of the flags of seven countries: United States, Japan, France, Argentina, Italy, United Kingdom, and Brazil.
“The flag image is a unifying theme in all types of sports, not just tennis,” explains Antoine Ballon, Babolat Tennis marketing director. “It’s an emblem of pride that brings energy to courts and fields alike. In a year packed with major international sporting events, our Babolat flag racquets and accessories are a fun way for sports enthusiasts to get behind their favor ite teams and feel the excitement.” The flag range includes models to appeal to different levels of play ers: three Pure models for expert players (Pure Drive, Pure Aero, and Pure Strike) and a model dedicated to recreational players (Boost). Each racquet design has a coordinating backpack that players can wear any where with pride.
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Moving ALTA Forward ALTA'S 2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BY BOB FITZGERALD, 2020 CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Iam deeply honored to be ALTA’s 2020 Chairman of the Board. The ALTA Board includes the chairman, 2020 president, two past presidents, secretary, treasurer, the ALTA Foundation President and two elected, at-large members. These board members have many years of history with ALTA and along with their talented skill set, their back grounds are very diverse. The common thread is that they are all volunteers, and they love tennis and ALTA.
This year, the ALTA Board is focused on reviewing and moving the organization forward. The game of tennis is still played the same way, but the world around it has changed dramatically. Last July, we went live with a new ALTA website. This new website is an ongoing project to bring more tools to manage, coordinate, and communicate with our members. We expect to see more enhancements this year to improve our member experience. Staying with technology, we also hope to leverage social media to provide more information to our members. In addition, there should be more outreach for new members and awareness of our efforts to give back to the community that serves all of us. One of the biggest challenges to all of our ALTA members is getting to and from tennis matches. Although we can’t build new roads or commuter systems, we can look at where ALTA tennis matches are being played today, and how and where they could be played tomorrow. Most of our volunteers also are playing tennis within our leagues, so we feel the struggle of how you are spending your time. We plan to look at our existing ALTA boundaries to see if there are improvements within the leagues that can get teams closer in distance. The goal is for our members to spend more time playing tennis and enjoying their fellow participants. Stay tuned and look for future announcements of changes to improve the ALTA experience.
The ALTA Board is responsible for the business side of ALTA. Among our responsibilities are finances, policies, administration, asset management, and all of the other tasks that come with operating any business. 2020 President Sandy Depa, along with the Executive Committee, will be managing the 13 leagues we currently have operating. Sandy and I hope to keep ALTA moving forward for all of our members.
From Baseline to Coastline
Come play the Jekyll Island Tennis Center’s 13 Har-tru clay courts. Visit the Pro Shop for private lessons, daily clinics, equipment rental, tennis wear, and more.
Visit jekyllisland.com/tennis to reserve your court.
Making a Difference: The START Program
BY EMMY POWELL, NET NEWS EDITOR
Whenever a volunteer or community leader has an opportunity to reach out and try to make a difference, especially in the lives of young people, it can inspire others to do the same. That message is at the heart of the ALTA Foundation, which each year takes a close look at the pro grams it supports to identify which ones might need additional help and where else they may be able to provide support. In 2019, the foundation realized it pro vides widespread assistance throughout a variety of programs for persons with special needs and disabilities. Addition ally, the foundation discovered that it supports programs for children with financial needs in elementary school and middle school, but not high school. From that review, the idea of funding a pilot program to support Tennis in Title 1 high schools was then formed. “We discovered that several high schools had athletes competing on varsity teams who had little to no tennis experience,” said Candace Cole, ALTA Foundation secretary. “We were surprised to find that many of the athletes had to borrow school equipment in order to participate.” By providing and paying for a certified tennis pro as a community coach to assist the schools’ coaches, the foundation could assist in laying the groundwork for the basic tennis skills and strategy. Additionally, the ALTA Foundation donated $1,500 to each of the school programs to use toward the tennis programs’ expenses.
In determining which schools to help in the pilot program, foundation leaders reached out to the athletic directors for each of the counties in which ALTA serves. Cobb County quickly responded with two high schools that were extremely interested in participating. Next, after numerous emails and phone calls, the foundation identified two certified teaching pros, Darrio Williams and Jackie Jenkins, who were interested in the program and willing to undergo background checks and attend GHSA community coaches’ training. We are excited to report that Coach Williams started coaching at Osborne High School in January, and Coach Jenkins began working with the student athletes at Pebblebrook High School near the end of February.
Each community coach is provided in order to partner with each schools’ dedicated head coach and offer handson tennis instruction to all of the tennis team members. Bruce Nichol is the Osborne High School head coach for the boys’ tennis team, while Danene Womack heads up Osborne’s girls’ tennis program. Thomas Lacy is the head varsity tennis coach for both squads at Pebblebrook. The foundation is excited to be able to assist both schools and their dedicated coaches through the new START program.
To help kickstart the program, the foundation held a racquet and equipment drive for all of the athletes during the Fall 2019 ALTA City Finals. The ALTA members’ support for the START program over that one-week drive was overwhelming, and the foundation was thrilled to receive tennis bags, cases of balls, and more than 50 racquets. The racquet drive also helped to create another connection — an ALTA coordinator, while working at City Finals, offered to help connect her friend (and fellow tennis player) who works at Tennis Warehouse with the foundation. They knew the two groups could do something extra for the START program participants.
Tennis Warehouse stepped up and has provided all of the START athletes a very generous donation — tennis shoes! “Several of these high school players were playing in basketball shoes, or vans and the like,” says Cole. “Being able to play in shoes made for tennis will make a huge difference for them.” Additionally, Tennis Warehouse donated some new, freshly strung Prince racquets that were needed to supplement the racquets donated by ALTA members. “Tennis Warehouse’s donation to the ALTA Foundation’s START program was beyond our expectations. We are very grateful, and the high school kids love their new tennis shoes,” says ALTA Foundation President Diana Burger.
The ALTA Foundation will be monitoring each school’s progress this season and is hopeful the pilot program of START will be a complete success. If that holds true, the goal will be to continue to support these teams and eventually expand the program to Title 1 schools in the various counties served by ALTA.
Congratulations! We drew our winner from a pool of readers who submitted correct answers, and Wendy Seiler, Seven Hills Thursday Women C6, won a bag from HEAD and a Ballport from Tourna! Try your luck with this issue’s contest and see if you can join the ranks of our previous trivia contest winners. Here is the original quiz and the correct answers: Last Issue’s Trivia Contest Winner Is …
1. Which two ATP players are coming to Atlanta in March to play in a special exhibition match? Nadal and Dimitrov.
2. Which league vice president played against two former Atlanta Braves baseball players and beat them? Roger Dennington
3. What is the name of the long-time volunteer who received the Coordinator of the Year award in backto-back years? Joan Appelbaum
May/June Trivia Contest Enter for your chance to win some new Triniti tennis balls from Wilson, and a HEAD bag.
To enter the contest, correctly answer the following three questions, in addition to submitting a new favorite courtside recipe, and mail it to New South Publishing, Attn: Cory Sekine-Pettite, 9040 Roswell Road, Suite 210, Atlanta, GA 30350. Answers and recipes may also be submitted online at netnewsmag.com. Hint: The answers can be found in this issue. Entry deadline: Friday, April 3.
1. Who is the 2020 ALTA Chairman of the Board?
2. Who is the 2019 USTA Female Captain of the Year, and what is her current role with ALTA?
3. What is the name of the ALTA Foundation pilot program which provides assistance to Title 1 high schools, which this year are Pebblebrook and Osborne high schools?
Please submit a favorite courtside recipe along with this entry to be eligible. Name _____________________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________
City __________________________________State_______ZIP _____________
Email______________________________________________________________
Phone _____________________________________________________________
League ____________________________________________________________
