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Table Of Contents
2024 U.S. Open Preview
4“Little Mo” Tournaments Continue To Create Lifelong Memories For Players By Brian Coleman
8Junior Player Spotlight: Lola Dangin, Ross School Tennis Center By Brian Coleman
12New York Tennis Magazine’s July Tennis Challenge Brings Fun On and Off The Court
14A Look At USTA Eastern’s Community Involvement
182024 NYC Girls’ High School Preview
20Love Serving Autism Continues To Grow With Process Across The Country, Including Many Here In Tri-State Area By Brian Coleman
48Parsa’s Picks
54Chris Lewit Aims to Modernize Tennis Teaching By Brian Coleman Features
6inPhorm: Setting The Trend In Eco-Friendly Apparel
7Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning Hosts Chase Return The Serve Event To Raise Money
22The Lifelong Benefits of Tennis For Young Athletes By Bob Ingersole
23Dwight Global Online: The Right Fit For Scholar-Athletes
24USTA Eastern Metro Region Update
27Ed Krass’ College Tennis Exposure Camps Hits Wesleyan University in Connecticut
38What Happened To Tennis During My Lifetime: Part Two By Gilad Bloom
40Should My Kid Homeschool For Tennis? By Chris Lewit
42Orange Ball Tactical Fundamentals By Cinto Casanova
44Metro Adult League Recap By Ainslie Ellis
45More Than 30 Years In, High Country Still Going Strong
46Why Do GOATs Always Go Crazy? By Dr. Tom Ferraro 50What Federer Didn’t Learn In College: Three Life Lessons That Can Change Your Life By Rob Polishook 52The Importance of Footwork By Christopher Pucci 53Wheelchair Tennis By Justyna Wereszka
Photo credit: Gyles Dias/USTA
PG 54
“Little
Mo” Tournaments Continue To Create Lifelong Memories For Players
By Brian Coleman
Everyyear, one of the highlights of the junior tournament schedule are the “Little Mo” tournaments run by the Maureen Connolly Brinker (MCB) Tennis Foundation. Taking place across the country throughout the year, the
Eastern Section is lucky to be able to host multiple events on the “Little Mo” circuit. The name of the circuit derives from Connolly’s nickname as a player, and the foundation emphasizes the importance of the qualities she
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displayed as a player.
Connolly was known for the humility, grace and sportsmanship she displayed both on and off the court, traits that are exemplified by the players who compete in the “Little Mo” tournaments that are played each year. While the competition is intense during these events that take place all across the country, sportsmanship is at the core of its mission, and the foundation rewards players for displaying those qualities.
“My mom had an extraordinary tennis record, but what is as important to treasure about her was that she was so humble, kind and selfless,” said Cindy Brinker-Simmons, Connolly’s daughter and the President of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation. “She was dedicated to investing in the lives of others, and that passion of making a difference propelled her to establish her foundation, which not only has highly competitive “Little Mo” tournaments, but emphasizes the attributes of good sportsmanship, fair play, gratitude and giving back. Mom would absolutely
love MCB’s focus on strong character and moral values. Mom was a remarkable woman who just happened to be a very good tennis player, and I think she would like to be remembered that way.”
The second leg of the “Little Mo” Slam, which consists of three International events, takes place at the West Orange Tennis Club in New Jersey. If a player wins their yellow ball division at all 3 "Little Mo" Internationals in the same year, they will take home the tallest trophy in junior tennis - six feet tall.
The first leg took place at the United States Air Force Base in Colorado, where six players won titles that set them up for a chance at that elusive trophy. Two of those players hail from the Eastern Section, Ethan Yurconi, of South Orange, New Jersey, who won the Boys 11s singles title, and Shuo Li, of Oyster Bay on Long Island, who won the Boys 10s singles title.
New York Tennis Magazine sat down with both players to discuss those titles, how excited they are to continue playing in the “Little Mo” events this year.
NYTM: How exciting was it to win the first leg of the "Little Mo" Slam earlier this year? What were some of the things you did well in the tournament?
Li: Winning the first match was incredibly thrilling and exciting for me. I have a strong heart, and even after losing the first set in the final match and being down 0-5 in the second set, I didn't give up. I was very patient, and with my effort, the score gradually changed until I won the tiebreak 7-5. Then in the third set I won 10-5. So in any situation, you must not give up until the very last moment. Yurconi: Winning was really exciting! Hard work really pays off. I focused on my footwork, staying consistent, and enjoying the game, which helped me stay calm and do well.
NYTM: How are you preparing for the next legs of the Slam? How much fun will it be being able to play in one of the events that's here locally?
Li: I trained harder than before, and I took every match and practice seriously. The best thing is being able to compete
in our local events with my good friends,I am very happy and excited to see my friends.
Yurconi: I’m super excited, especially since it’s in New Jersey! I’ve been practicing a lot, and being back in my home state should really boost my game.
NYTM: What makes the "Little Mo" events stand out in
comparison to other tennis tournaments/events you participate in? What do you like about them?
Li: This tournament has a reward of $250, which is really exciting for kids. I earned money through my hard work. Besides the cash prize, there's also a 6foot trophy that I want to challenge myself to win—it's every kid's dream. Yurconi: The “Little Mo” events are great because they focus on sportsmanship and having fun. I love meeting new players and the positive atmosphere. It’s a great way to challenge myself and make new friends.
NYTM: What are your tennis goals?
Li: I want to become a top player like Novak Djokovic.
Yurconi: My goal is to keep getting better and win more tournaments. I’m working hard every day and aiming to reach the top.
Following the Internationals in New Jersey, the “Little Mo” North Regionals will take place at The Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Bronx on September 1-3. The final leg of the “Little Mo” slam takes place at the end of the year, as the Palm Beach Gardens Tennis Center will host the event from December 6-11. Visit MCBTennis.org/tournaments to learn more.
Ethan Yurconi won the event in Colorado earlier this year, and is excited for his chance to play “Little Mo” events once again
inPhorm: Setting The Trend in Eco-Friendly Apparel
Q&A with Creative Director, Saad Hajidin
NYTM: Saad, thank you for taking the time to do the interview with New York Tennis Magazine about inPhorm. Your brand has been making waves in the fashion industry for your commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. Can you tell us a bit about what inspired you to launch a brand with such a strong focus on these values?
Hajidin: Thank you. The inspiration for inPhorm came from a growing awareness of the fashion industry's impact on the environment and its workforce. We realized that there was a significant gap in the market for clothing that was both stylish and responsibly produced. Our mission is to demonstrate that fashion can be a force for good, and that by prioritizing sustainability and ethical practices, we can create a positive impact on the world.
NYTM: That's admirable. Can you elaborate on the specific sustainable practices that inPhorm incorporates into its operations?
Hajidin: Absolutely. At the heart of our Eco-Forward ethos is our commitment to sustainable manufacturing. We carefully select partners who share our values and adhere to strict human rights and fair wage standards. We're proud to work with a manufacturing partner that is incorporating solar panels and implementing a wastewater recycling system. These initiatives are crucial steps toward a cleaner and healthier planet.
NYTM: inPhorm also has a strong focus on empowering women. Can you tell us more about your commitment to gender equality within your company and the fashion industry as a whole?
Hajidin: Empowering women is a core value at inPhorm. We're proud to have a team that is predominantly female, with women contributing their expertise to every aspect of our business. In Thailand, where the gender pay gap is a significant issue, we're committed to providing equal pay for equal work. We believe that by leading by example, we can inspire other companies to follow suit and create a more equitable workplace for women.
NYTM: The fact that 98% of your team is female is truly impressive. How do you see this diversity contributing to the success of inPhorm?
Hajidin: The 98% statistic is more than just a number; it's a symbol of our commitment to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Women bring unique perspectives and ideas to the table, which enriches our decision-
making process. We believe that empowering women is not only the right thing to do, but it also drives business success.
NYTM: Looking ahead, what are inPhorm's goals for the future? How do you envision the brand continuing to make a positive impact?
Hajidin: Our vision for the future is to solidify inPhorm's position as a leading Eco-Forward fashion brand. We want to continue pushing the boundaries of sustainable fashion and inspiring others to follow our lead. By empowering women, promoting ethical practices, and minimizing our environmental impact, we aim to create a legacy of sustainability and empowerment for generations to come.
NYTM: Thank you, Saad, for sharing your insights with us. It's inspiring to see a brand like inPhorm making such a significant difference in the fashion industry. We wish you continued success.
Hajidin: Thank you for the opportunity!
Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning Hosts
Chase Return The Serve Charity Event
Thissummer, the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning continued to serve its community by teaming with Chase and USTA Foundation to host its annual Return The Serve event.
Throughout the day, the courts were filled with a myriad of tennis activities and games, including around the world, target practice, and team tennis challenges. The day consisted of more than just tennis as kids and parents were treated with ice cream
and giveaways, as well as ping pong tables being out to be played on.
The event was designed to raise money for the New York Junior Tennis & Learning and its flagship location at the Cary Leeds Center in the Bronx. During the event, a check for $15,000 was given by Chase to help support the tennis and education programs.
"The Chase Return the Serve Fun Day is a fantastic event for NYJTL where we get to see 150 of our youth
and their families enjoy a day of tennis and education," said Udai Tambar, President and CEO of NYJTL.
"It’s great to be able to see the kids show off the skills they’ve learned throughout the year in a fun-filled atmosphere. It was fantastic to have Chase there providing financial health lessons. We’re very grateful to the USTA Foundation and Chase for their partnership and support in bringing tennis and education to New York City’s youth."
By Brian Coleman
spotlight Junior Player
Lola Dangin Ross School Tennis Center
Onething that is important at any school or tennis academy is that the students and players there feel comfortable. More integral than anything else is creating a welcoming environment that allows those within it to flourish.
And that is what Lola Dangin has found at The Ross School Tennis Center, the top-tier private school which is also combined with an elite tennis training center in the idyllic setting of the Hamptons.
Born in New York City, Dangin moved to the East End when she was just two-years-old, and has since lived in Amagansett, a short drive from the East Hampton-located Ross School.
“The coaches here are amazing, and since I have been here for so long, it all feels like family,” said Dangin. “We all have such a good connection, and that really helps.”
Dangin began her tennis journey when she arrived in the Hamptons as a toddler. Tennis was always her main focus, and she has fond memories of her early tennis days, being able to go on court during the U.S. Open as part of a Net Generation clinic, and traveling down
to Florida to play in a tournament.
Despite playing other sports such as soccer, gymnastics, dance and softball, tennis was the sport that stood out to Dangin, even from a young age, a passion that continues to this day.
“I played softball for a lot of my life and did again last spring, but this year I am going to focus primarily on tennis,” she said.
That focus means training five days a week, more if she isn’t playing any tournaments on the weekend. Her goal this summer was to try to play a tournament every other weekend to continue to put her training to the test and attempt to improve her UTR.
Dangin trains primarily with Vinicius Carmo, the Ross School’s Director of Tennis, and because she attends school at the same place where she does her tennis training, she is able to maintain a balanced schedule that allows her to thrive on the court and in her academics.
“During the school year I go to school for a full day and then come to the after-school program for a couple of hours. I can then either stay here and do my homework, or do it when I get home,”
she said. “I don’t lose a lot of time by having to travel from school to practice where I have to do my work in the car or something like that, and rushing to get home, so it creates a really nice balance.”
Dangin possesses a big forehand that she uses to control points from the baseline. In her training now, Dangin and Carmo have placed an emphasis on improving her second serve and making that shot more consistent, something they are working on during her sessions. In addition, she is eager to become a more aggressive player by coming to the net, and is training hard to be comfortable up there to finish off points.
“I have been working with Lola since she was three,” said Carmo.
“She is always super focused and dedicated to the sport; Lola always comes ready and willing to
improve. I love her loyalty to our program and the coaches here. It makes us give our 100 percent to help her every day.”
All of that preparation now leads into the high school tennis season this fall, where she aims to build on what was a successful season last year.
As an eighth-grader, Dangin won the Suffolk County Division IV singles title, while also finishing in third place in the county championships to qualify for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) tournament.
Her Ross School team also reached the Suffolk County Small School final before losing a
junior player spotlight
continued from page 9
heartbreaking match to BayportBlue Point. This season, Dangin hopes to lead her team at least one step further.
“As a team, we’re really excited and motivated. It’s a great group of girls and we’re confident about what we can do,” said Dangin. “Last year was a really cool experience. My team was so supportive, and there were a lot of older girls who welcomed me in. Being able to travel with the girls was a nice experience, and its great having people cheering for you and having your team behind you.”
That support system is something that really helps, and Dangin has been fortunate enough to have it in both her private tennis training as well as with the school team. She has made so many friends through
tennis, and since they understand what she goes through as a highlevel tennis player, Dangin can lean on them.
“I’ve known Vinicius’ family since I was little, and a lot of my friends I know through tennis. Whether I am seeing them at tournaments, or training with them here at Ross, it’s nice having people that I can relate to,” said Dangin.
When she isn’t playing tennis, Dangin enjoys spending time at the beach or walking through town with her friends. She has taken an interest in photography as a hobby and is taking it as an elective in school.
“I want to expand my interests, and Ross is really great with allowing us to choose from so many electives here, in addition to tennis,” she said.
As we approach the end of summer, Dangin is set to begin her freshman year of high school, with the goal of returning to the New York State Championships. With her feeling right at home at The Ross School, and an ideal support system behind her, Dangin’s future in tennis remains extremely bright. She has goals of becoming a highlevel college player, and while she has a couple of years before that, she is excited to continue taking strides to get closer to that goal.
“Lola has always looked to develop her strokes, even if it meant not doing well in a tournament,” Carmo added. “She is mature enough to realize that she needs to play her best tennis later in life and developing her strokes and game plans are more important right now.”
Long Island Tennis Magazine’s July Tennis Challenge Brings Fun On
and Off The Court
Thesecond Long Island Tennis Magazine Tennis Challenge of 2024 welcomed players to the clay courts at SPORTIME Hempstead Lake. The event featured three divisions of play, which included players from Long Island, New York City, Westchester and New Jersey, who enjoyed the amenities and atmosphere associated with the LITM Challenge tournaments.
“There are many options for local players when it comes to racquet sports, and we are appreciative that so many players come out to our events. I
believe this is an indication that players see the professionalism and quality we bring to the events we host, and that they have a great time on and off the court,” said David Sickmen, cotournament director of the Long Island Tennis Magazine Challenge. “I want to thank our beautiful host facility, SPORTIME Hempstead Lake, as well as my co-director Michelle Stoerback, whose passion and energy for adult tennis is second to none, and our LITM Event staff, who did a fantastic job. We look forward to more community
involvement, and are excited to see everyone at our next Challenge.”
Players were treated to a catered breakfast featuring muffins, croissants and more. In the afternoon, pizza was provided for all the players, and the happy hour bar opened as the pool play finished up and the knockout rounds began.
In the Men’s Doubles 7.0-7.5 division, the pairing of Cenzig Karakaya & Ray Omid took home the title after a hard-fought 7-5 victory over Donald Jackson & Declan Leonard in
The Men’s Doubles 7.0-7.5 Division Champions: Cenzig Karakaya & Ray Omid
The Mixed Doubles 8.5 – 9.0 Division Champions: Michelle Stoerback & David Siegel
The Women’s 7.0 – 7.5 Division Champions: Hayley Mink & Marija Vareikaite
the championship.
“We were able to stay consistent and just stayed calm in the important moments, and waited for the right time to close out points,” said Omid. “It was all about staying centered.”
Karakaya added:
“These events are always so wellorganized. [Tournament organizers] David [Sickmen] and Michelle [Stoerback] do a great job of running these tournaments, and it’s always fun to come back. Great people and a fun atmosphere.”
In the Mixed Doubles 8.5 – 9.0 division, the aforementioned Stoerback teamed with David Siegel to capture the title. The duo played their best tennis of the afternoon to defeat Rachel Neuman & Ryan Krimper 6-1 in the finals.
The pairing had never played doubles together before, so it took a little time to develop a rapport on court. But once they did, they played great tennis.“I think we were able to figure out each other’s game and the strengths we each have, and then utilized that.”
“We were having fun,” Stoerback added. “We made sure to stay loose, had a couple of margaritas and just tried to have fun. We wanted to have a good time, that’s what tennis is all about.”
The tournament wrapped up with the Women’s 7.0 – 7.5 division, where the pairing of Hayley Mink & Marija
Vareikaite took on Lauren Siegel & Melissa Scheinman in the championship match. Mink & Vareikaite got off to a fast start in the final and were able to establish a lead that they would not relinquish, eventually closing out their title with a 6-3 victory.
“We normally don’t play together, but have been on a USTA team together since 2018,” said Mink. “I was able to set her up today and she was able to finish the points for us.”
Vareikaite added:
“In the round-robin stage, we had a dip in play towards the end, but were able to regroup before getting ready for
the semifinals,” said Vareikaite. “I think one of the big things between Haley and I is that we aren’t too hard on each other, we just try to play freely and we complement each other. This event was great. We loved the location, the people and these great prizes. It was a fun tournament and we’ll be back for sure.”
The July Tennis Challenge was the second of four Tennis Challenges scheduled for 2024, with the next one set for Saturday, September 7 at SPORTIME Quogue in the Hamptons. You can find out more information and register at LongIslandTennisMagazine.com/Events/ LITMSeptemberChallenge
A Look At USTA
Eastern’s Community Involvement
Aswe move closer to the start of the final major of the year, we are lucky to be able to welcome in the tennis world to New York as the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center plays host to the world’s largest tennis event: the U.S. Open. It’s one of the best times of the year in the community if you are a tennis fan, and creates the perfect setting to showcase the work being done by USTA Eastern. Throughout this year, USTA Eastern has continued to help the sport of tennis grow, maintaining and improving on a trend that we’ve seen happening over the last several years. Long Island Tennis Magazine sat down with Jenny Schnitzer, USTA Eastern’s Executive Director & CEO, to discuss how the year has gone so far, what is planned for the U.S. Open and look ahead to the final portion of 2024 and the beginning of 2025.
LITM: What were the goals for USTA Eastern heading into 2024, and how have you been able to meet those goals so far?
Schnitzer: Our ultimate goal is always to grow tennis across New York
and New Jersey. We want to bring new players into our community, welcome back those who may have put down a racquet for a couple years, and of course, keep all the people currently hitting the courts engaged and invested in our sport. In 2024, we’ve focused on some specific areas under that larger umbrella, including increasing beginner and social play opportunities, strengthening and growing our local stable of coaches, and continuing our collaborative efforts with local parks across the section.
LITM: Were there any new initiatives you ushered in this year? How have those gone thus far?
Schnitzer: A few new initiatives of note:
•Promoting sportsmanship is always a top priority for our competitive department. This year, our junior competition team launched “The Sportsmanship Project,” where players participating in junior tournaments can nominate their peers for exemplary on-court conduct through the use of an app.
This is only the beginning and we are very proud of the direction in which we are headed. We’ve received more sportsmanship nominations this year to-date than at this point last year.
•We’re extremely passionate about sharing the many health benefits of the sport. This past February, in honor of American Heart Month and in partnership with our hospital sponsor NewYork-Presbyterian, we hosted a series of free cardio tennis events at facilities around the Metro region.
•One of our biggest initiatives of the year was opening up our annual conference to a larger audience beyond volunteers and industry partners. We wanted junior and league players to participate in the event as well and feel like they too could have a hand in supporting our overall mission. We’re extremely proud that we were able to bring the inaugural Tennis Innovation Summit to life and that so many varied and energetic members of our community joined us on a rainy Saturday in March to participate in the event, which included sessions on everything from cardio tennis to technological
The USTA Eastern Tennis Innovation Summit was introduced for the first time in 2024 and helped connect all aspects of the tennis industry
advances in the industry. It helped that Kim Clijsters was able to serve as our keynote speaker!
LITM: What are some of the plans/activities/events you have going on at the 2024 U.S. Open?
Schnitzer: As we did last year, we will be organizing an Asian-American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islanderfocused event on August 19 during Fan Week. We will also once again hold our annual Eastern Junior Awards Gala on Day 1 of the US Open. At the Gala we celebrate the top three ranked Eastern juniors in each age division, as well as our 2023 Sportsmanship Award winners. We love hosting this event because after the ceremony the players we honored are free to walk around the grounds and watch some Round 1 matches with their families. It’s a great reward for all their hard work and dedication.
Similarly, we also host our annual DEI Champions Award Ceremony on
opening day. This is an event where we celebrate leaders from throughout the section who have gone above and beyond growing tennis in diverse communities.
USTA Eastern staff is also, as always, heavily involved in organizing the oncourt Net Generation demonstrations that precede the matches. The vast majority of the kids who participate, including those who serve as coin tossers before the start of each contest, come from the Eastern section.
LITM: Have you seen a growth in tennis participation this year up to this point? To what do you attribute that if so?
Schnitzer: Across the board we’re seeing growth in the competitive space. Year over year, event registrations are up 8%, tournament registrations are up 9%, and tournaments hosted are up 11%.
We’re particularly proud of the growth we’ve seen in social adult
programming. This is programming we’ve developed for players who want to hit the courts with their friends and enjoy a little relaxed, friendly competition but maybe don’t want to commit to playing tournaments or competing in USTA Leagues. We can attribute the growth in this category to the relatively new USTA Flex app, which enables players to meet new competitors in their area, at their level. We’ve been running box leagues through the app in New York City for the last two summers, and another league will kick off this fall after the US Open.
LITM: Eastern has been at the forefront of diversity & inclusion, and welcoming in new players from all walks of life into our sport. Why is this such an important mission for Eastern, and what sorts of things have you done to try and achieve this?
Schnitzer: Diversity and inclusion is just
continued on page 16
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a look at usta eastern’s community involvement
continued from page 15
imperative to our overall mission, and it’s as simple as that. It’s embedded in everything we do. How can we possibly grow this sport if we’re not being inclusive, if we’re not reaching out to diverse audiences? Tennis is a game for all.
We have developed strong partnerships with a wide range of organizations including Jack & Jill of America, Heart of Dinner and Metropolitan Tennis Group.
We often set up shop at events that are not necessarily tennis-oriented but that already attract large, diverse audiences. Our approach has enabled us to greatly increase the visibility of the sport. For example, at the “Juneteenth in Queens” event this past June, we were able to set up a booth at tennis courts near the celebration. We brought in instructors from Brookville Tennis and festival attendees received the opportunity to step on court and get an informal lesson. We partnered with the All-Love Racquet Club and shared information about places to play and get instruction in the area. We’re doing this to show that tennis welcomes everyone, especially through park play.
LITM: As we enter the final quarter of the year, what are the organization's goals for the final few months?
Schnitzer: We are really inspired by the growth we’ve already seen in 2024. USTA National has boldly set the goal to increase the country’s tennis-playing population to 35 million tennis players by 2035, and we are committed to doing our part to make
that a reality. We are working every day to make tennis more accessible in our section of the country, and we are helping to improve public court conditions where possible. We are focused on New York City specifically, where we see a huge opportunity for growth!
LITM: Have you begun preparing for 2025? What can people expect from Eastern as we approach a new year?
Schnitzer: Low-compression red tennis balls continue to be a big source of potential in our view. They help beginners more quickly grasp the fundamentals of the game, which will ultimately help keep them invested in playing. Again, growing the number of tennis players in our section isn’t just about finding new players. It’s also about retention. To that end, we are constantly working to improve players’ experiences. That’s why we are so committed to experimenting with new formats like USTA Flex and LVBL, as well as celebrating sportsmanship and strengthening our coaching base.
The Net Generation clinics on-court are always a highlight for the local kids and programs at the U.S. Open
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2024 NYC Girls’ High Schoo
Theend of the summer and beginning of fall brings with it the world’s greatest tennis event as the U.S. Open brings the stars of the tennis world right here to New York City. The new season also ushers in a new year of high school tennis throughout the Big Apple, as the top players from NYC’s PSAL are set to embark on the fall campaign.
A year ago, Beacon reclaimed its place at the top of the mountain as the Blue Demons defeated Bronx Science 4-1 to win the “A” Division Championship and win its second title in the last three years. In the “B” division, the squad from Bard-East Houston, surprised everyone as the tournament’s ninth-seed, and triumphed over Frederick Douglass Academy 5-0 to win the city championship.
This fall, the city’s tennis players will compete for New York supremacy, as Beacon and Bard-Houston seek to defend their titles from 2023. New York Tennis Magazine has broken down some of the top players and teams to watch for this coming season.
All players and dates are subject to change. Check out NYTennisMag.com for the latest news, scores and updates from the New York City high school tennis scene.
New York City Teams to Watch
Last year’s city champions will have a lot of talent and experience to replace from its championship squad, but Beacon has players waiting in the wings to step into bigger roles. Chantajah Mills and Mia Sarzynska, who played first and third singles, respectively, a year ago have both graduated, which means players like Debra Gil will need to step up. Gil played second singles last year and is due for a big junior season. Patryca Filonik and Chase Thomas return to bolster the doubles lineup as Beacon will seek its third title in the last four years.
The past two seasons, Bronx Science has fallen one victory short of being called New York City Champions, and the Wolverines will hope the third time is the charm this fall. While first singles player Margaux Vasilescu has graduated, Bronx Science has multiple players returning from last season’s runner-up squad, including its second and third singles players, Leila Patel and Akari Wientzen. The two will be a sophomore and junior, respectively, this season and will assume leadership roles at the top of the lineup. In addition, Sofia Lee Verovic and Arielle Fleischer, who played together at first doubles in 2023 are back, as Bronx Science looks to go one step further this fall.
Beacon
Bronx Science
ol PREVIEW
McKee/Staten Island Tech
As the third seed in the team playoffs a year ago, Staten Island Tech was eliminated earlier than expected as it fell in the quarterfinals. The Seagulls were made up of a lot of underclassmen, and with another year of experience under their belt, and increased motivation, it stands to be a big season for them this fall. Its top three singles players were freshman Priyanka Shah, sophomore Nicole Soltsov and sophomore Katherine Kobichov, respectively, who all return to lead their team. The Seagulls will have to make up for the loss of outgoing seniors and doubles players Dana Neyman and Maria Chiofalo, but with its top three singles players back, plus other contributors such as Alina Pokhylko and Dominika Schutz, they are set for a big season.
Francis Lewis
A year ago, Francis Lewis was upset in the quarterfinals after earning the second seed in the city playoffs, and with the majority of that team returning this fall, the Patriots have its sights set on bigger things. Sophomore Anusha Yadav was one of the top players in all of PSAL a year ago as she played first singles for Francis Lewis, which sets her up for a big junior campaign. Right behind her will be senior Aisha Ismail, who played second singles, and senior Weronika Bednarz, who was at third singles last fall. Francis Lewis will be without Shan Wen Lin who played first doubles, but experienced doubles players Isabella Djokic, Karen Jun and Amber Laire return, as the Patriots seek more success.
James Madison
playoffs. James Madison entered
the playoffs as the sixth-seed, but powered its way to within one win of playing for the city title. Last year, the three-headed sophomore monster led the way as Maria Vainshtein, Nicoletta Draganchyuk and Apollinariia Stepanenko guided their team at first, second and third singles, respectively. Now as juniors, with valuable playoff experience on their side, they will look to lead James Madison once again. Helping that cause will be last year’s first doubles pairing of Alexis Goodman and Irma Gaidukova, and Angela Wu, who was at second doubles.
Additional Players to Watch
• Sophia Chi-Chen (Hunter)
• Evangeline Carolan (Susan Wagner)
• Morgan Ma (Townsend Harris)
• Sophia Farrell (Newcomers)
• Emma Kusakabe (Brooklyn Tech)
• Jaya Lewis (Bard)
• Deandra Smith (Lincoln)
• Isabella Tchij (Fort Hamilton)
• Hannah Zheng (Cardozo)
The Lady Knights seemingly came out of nowhere to reach the semifinals of the city
Love Serving Autism Continues To Grow With Programs Across The Country, Including Many Here in Tri-State Area
By Brian Coleman
Tennisis the sport of a lifetime, and the life skills it can help foster in individuals is one of the most redeeming qualities of our game. And with that in mind, Love Serving Autism (LSA) has been using tennis to benefit others, as it provides inclusive therapeutic racquet sports instruction for neurodivergent children and adults to enhance communication, motor coordination, life skills, and behavior on and off the courts.
Love Serving Autism offers specialized training and education to racquet sports professionals, teachers, certified therapists, and volunteers seeking adaptive certification.
“At Love Serving Autism, we believe that the racquet sports industry thrives when it embraces inclusivity,” said Lisa Pugliese-LaCroix, Founder of Love Serving Autism. “By creating spaces where individuals of all abilities can come together, we foster athletic skills, community, understanding, and acceptance. Our mission is to break down barriers and ensure everyone can experience the joy and benefits of tennis and other racquet sports.”
Throughout the country, PuglieseLaCroix and her not-for-profit organization provides support and resources to tennis clubs and programs to run their own LSA programming. Just
this past spring, Commonpoint Queens at Alley Pond Tennis Center began running clinics and classes in partnership with LSA.
“I began running LSA programs this April after being introduced to the initiative by Aki Wolfson at Commonpoint Tennis and Athletics Center. I was eager to contribute and support the program from the start,” said Mark Mero. “The experience has been incredibly rewarding. The simplest gestures, like a high-five or a smile, are deeply fulfilling. It’s remarkable to witness the joy and progress of the participants.”
At Commonpoint, the programs are conducted on a weekly basis, and Mero and his team have shown a great deal of enthusiasm and compassion to the players, understanding their individual needs and acting accordingly.
“Emphasizing fun and continual learning has become central to my approach,” said Mero. “It has reinforced the importance of creativity and adaptability in teaching. Tennis offers significant benefits and should be accessible to everyone. Making it inclusive ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, can experience its physical, social and emotional advantages.”
Karla Ruaya at the West Orange Tennis Club in New Jersey has been running LSA programs since 2021, when she first met Pugliese-LaCroix at the annual USTA Eastern Tennis Conference. PuglieseLaCroix is often a speaker at tennis events and conferences throughout the country, and does a great job of connecting with program directors and club owners.
With a background in Exercise Physiology and work as a neurotrainer with people with physical disabilities, Ruaya had already been running wheelchair tennis programming, and wanted to expand to other populations.
After meeting Pugliese-LaCroix, she inquired about using the LSA curriculum to run a clinic for individuals with autism, and then received grant money from the USTA and USPTA in order to do so. Ever since, she has been running year-round programs, and explains what makes these programs so rewarding and vital.
“I think it’s important to make tennis inclusive because it’s a sport that encompasses so many things and stimulates on so many levels,’ said Ruaya. “People with varying abilities can always take something from it. I have my nonverbal players who enjoy the hand-fed drills where they knock down targets across the net and sometimes they want to switch it up to rallying where I’m feeding a live ball. Then we have our more social
participants and they play doubles. There are so many options on how you want to play. It’s truly a diverse sport and everyone should have the opportunity to play it.”
And it is through the dedication of people like Ruaya and Mero who use their platforms and infrastructure to provide those opportunities, as well as the volunteers who come out to help with the clinics and instructions.
“It’s very rewarding because we know that everyone on the court is having fun and working hard. We focus on making sure that they really learn how to play by modifying as much as we need to for each individual participant,” added Ruaya. “We run the program once a week all-year. The biggest challenge is when we run low on the volunteers. A lot of times, a player will need one-onone support in order to get the most out of the clinic, and also ensure they are safe. I like to have one instructor on each court along with the volunteers. Thankfully, now that the program is
growing, more people hear and learn about it, we garner volunteers along with new players.”
Thanks to the USTA Foundation, LSA was awarded a 2024 programming grant to offer therapeutic tennis programming for 300+ youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders and unique
abilities throughout the Northeast. The work it does throughout the country is the perfect representation of the impact that tennis can have on an individual, and how important it is to break down the barriers that prevent people from playing that often exist. Using tennis as a vehicle to spark self-confidence, social skills and more is imperative.
“The programming has been quite impactful,” said Dhwani, the father of Manaav who takes part in the LSA programs at West Orange. “I’ve discovered my son’s love of tennis and being active. I’ve seen him come to life and get excited about an opportunity to be outside and play alongside others. The staff has been warm, encouraging and supportive to my son in so many ways. I can feel his confidence and pride grow from the experience.”
You can learn more about LSA and all the work they do, as well as inquire about running LSA programming at your facility, by visiting LoveServingAutism.org.
As a tennis professional for many years, I’ve had the opportunity to utilize many coaching advances to help my players. I have developed over 20 players who went on to play professionally and over a hundred who played college tennis, many at the Ivy League and Division 1 levels. It has been extremely rewarding to see my players develop both as athletes and as individuals.
The Advantage Tennis Junior Development Program has two assets in particular that I feel are extremely important in helping youngsters develop and make the most of their abilities.
1. The Advantage Tennis Junior Development Program provides a complete developmental pathway. Beginners start in the Red Ball Program and can move into the Junior Development Program and then the High Performance Program and USTA Eastern sanctioned tournaments as their skills improve. This can all be done in the same supportive, familiar environment with coaches who can guide them and their families through the process. I can’t emphasize enough how critical these elements are in developing skilled, happy, confident individuals and tennis players.
2. Advantage Tennis Clubs regularly hosts sanctioned junior tournaments where players can hone their skills and gain ranking points right at their home club. Their coaches have the opportunity to see the players in
The Lifelong Benefits of Tennis for Young Athletes
By Bob Ingersole
actual tournament matches. This is crucial in giving coaches the information they need to guide a player’s development. Almost no one plays the same in matches as they do in practice. Families often have to pay a coach to travel to tournaments to see how a player and their opponents perform under tournament conditions.
Players in the Advantage Tennis Junior Development Program have the luxury of home court advantage, and their coaches have opportunities to see them compete.
Learning to play tennis is much more than simply hitting balls. Tennis is a game of physics, geometry, and psychology that can be played successfully by a wide range of body types. You only have to look at the success of Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz or Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur to see that height and big muscles are not prerequisites as they are in basketball and football.
Good coaching takes into account a player’s physical, mental, and emotional strengths and develops the player’s game to maximize them. The most important element for success for a competitive junior player is having the right team behind them and ensuring that the team members understand their roles.
The team consists of The Player, The Coach, and the Player’s Parents. The responsibilities of these team members are:
• The Player – Give a full effort at all times, be open to learning, and understand and appreciate the value of the contributions made by the other members of their team.
• The Coach – Provide instruction, mentoring, and a positive role model, and guide the player and their family in setting appropriate goals and understanding the junior tournament system and developmental pathway.
• The Parents – Offer unconditional love and support to their player, financial and otherwise. Model appropriate behavior at all times. No criticism of the player’s game or matches.
With this team in place, the player will have the education and support to develop as a player. Tennis is not just about building great athletes but about fostering life skills such as discipline, resilience, and teamwork. The lessons learned on the court extend far beyond it, helping young players grow into well-rounded adults who are equipped to tackle challenges in any arena. Embracing tennis as a lifetime sport means investing in personal development, creating lasting relationships, and cultivating a lifelong passion for an activity that brings joy and fulfillment at every age. Go out and ace ‘em!
Bob Ingersole is the Director of Camps at Advantage Tennis Clubs, and the President of Ingersole Events & Tennis Management, LLC. Ingersole is the President of the USTA Eastern Junior Competition Committee and the President of the USTA Eastern Junior Tennis Foundation. Ingersole is a USPTA Elite Professional, PTR Professional, USTA Volunteer Exceptional Service Award recipient, twice-named USTA Eastern Man of the Year, and is a member of both the USTA Eastern and USPTA Eastern Hall of Fame. He can be reached at bingersole@gmail.com.
Dwight Global Online: The Right Fit for Scholar-Athletes
Hasyour child ever felt pulled between tennis and school?
Having time to dedicate to tennis makes all the difference in maintaining a competitive edge, but the traditional, in-person school day— even if it’s a hybrid school schedule as a result of the coronavirus—can limit a player’s options. Dwight Global Online School, the online program of Dwight School on New York’s Upper West Side, offers a solution. Dwight Global’s flexible scheduling allows players to maintain rigorous practice, travel and competition schedules, while pursuing academic excellence and joining an energetic, exciting school community.
Blended and flexible online learning
At Dwight Global, students can attend Dwight online classes from home, their tennis center or on the road safely, effectively, and flexibly. And because enrollment in Dwight Global gives students access to the thriving, friendly Dwight School community around the world, students are also able to visit Dwight School’s physical campuses—in New York, London, Shanghai, Seoul, and Dubai for inperson experiences, whenever and wherever it’s safe to do so.
Dwight Global focuses on the whole student, incorporating their interests and needs into their curriculum. Whether your student is interested in Advanced Placement courses, the International Baccalaureate Curriculum, or their own personalized course of study, they’ll be participating in a rigorous curriculum, with classes that are NCAA-approved (so they pass all the required standards for entry into Division I and II schools).
Teachers that understand
Dwight’s expert faculty encourage Dwight’s students to believe in their own talents, follow their hearts and take intellectual risks. They understand every student has unique challenges when it comes to balancing their academic and professional careers and they’re passionate about supporting students in achieving their goals!
Specialized college guidance
Starting in Grade 9, Dwight college counselors work closely with players to prepare them for the college admissions process. While some athletes head straight to the pros, Dwight has a long tradition of placing graduates in leadership roles at top college athletic programs. Admissions officers recognize the difference between a prestigious Dwight Diploma and other online-only programs.
• We have a 145-plus year track record of admissions to top universities.
Long-term leadership in academics and athletics
The Dwight Global difference for scholar-athletes
• Students can pursue tennis without compromising their academics.
• Dwight’s faculty are experts in their fields and dedicated to personalizing the Dwight Global experience for ever y student.
• Students and teachers achieve deeper learning through small class sizes and college-style seminars.
• We are laser-focused on collegereadiness and building lifelong skills.
Dwight’s Chancellor Stephen Spahn has 50 years of visionary leadership in global education and was himself an All-American basketball player at Dartmouth College. Dwight’s vice chancellor, Blake Spahn, was captain of the undefeated 1994 Ivy League Champion Columbia University Men’s Tennis team, and knows first-hand the demands on today’s scholar-athletes. We invite you to contact Admissions@Dwight.Global, call (212) 724-2420 or visit our website at www.Dwight.Global to start crafting a personalized academic path for your child today.
USTA Eastern Metro Region
Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame Honors
Three People With NYC
USTA
Eastern and the Junior Tennis Foundation inducted six individuals into the Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame on August 23 at the River Club in Manhattan—and two members of the 2024 class have made major contributions toward growing and preserving the tennis infrastructure of the five boroughs. Facility manager Hemel Meghani Cosme and activist/historian Christine Schott received the section’s highest honor for a lifetime of service to the sport. Below, learn a little bit more about each NYC-based inductee.
Hemel Meghani Cosme
Like many kids who grew up in the city—Forest Hills, Queens, to be exact—renowned NYC facility manager Hemel Meghani Cosme discovered the sport in the park. Cosme and her older sister Hareena often hung out after school at the handball court across the street from their home, and one day a kid from the neighborhood showed up with a Jimmy Connors T2000 racquet. The sisters each took turns taking a couple swings, and when their father returned home from work and saw them having a good time, he endeavored to get them more involved in the sport.
From that point forward, Hemel and Hareena lived and breathed tennis, and they traipsed all over the city in search of places to play and players to compete against. In the summers they packed up tuna fish sandwiches and jugs of water, and their father would drive them over to nearby Forest Park, where they’d play from 9 in the morning until 6 at night with just about anybody who wanted to hit: other kids, adults, senior citizens. They became friendly with all the other local juniors in
Roots
the area—including Hemel’s future husband, John Cosme.
“All the adults that were there kept an eye on us,” Hemel recalls. “Tennis in the parks was really a community back then…We would all get together and we would share a court [to practice]. The beauty of that time was that you had to learn how to play on your own. Today everybody has an instructor, everything's got to be organized. This was unorganized, and we made it work.”
They really did. Their rankings climbed high enough that they were both able to routinely make the draws of USTA national junior tournaments across the country. Closer to home, they faced each other in the semifinals of the New York state high school championships, when Hemel was a junior and Hareena was a senior. While Hareena won that encounter, Hemel ultimately reached the final of that tournament a year later. Both went on to compete for their college tennis teams— Hareena at Princeton and Hemel at both Rutgers University and the University of California Santa Barbara.
After graduating from UCSB, Hemel returned to New York and took a job teaching the sport at the National Tennis Center. She began to contemplate next steps. Should she go to law school like Hareena? She took a vacation to India to introduce her extended family to her now-husband John, and it was on this trip that she realized she wanted to stay connected to the game.
“I had taken the LSATs and was about to apply to schools,” Hemel recalls. “I remember thinking, ‘God, I really enjoy tennis.’ I enjoyed teaching. There was so much joy in helping someone get better at something. So in India, I said to my
The Meghani sisters pose with Vitas Gerulaitis. The Grand Slam champion singled the sisters out during a clinic in the park and gave them a scholarship to attend Harry Hopman’s famed academy in Florida for a week
Parks Commissioner Gotbaum (second from left) gave Hemel her first major job in the sport
Hemel hits the court at Alley Pond. At the time of this photo, the facility maintained the largest tennis bubble in the northeast
USTA Eastern Metro Region
mom, ‘I'm not really sure I want to be a lawyer. I don't really think that's where my heart is.’ And she was so incredible. She said, ‘I want you to do what you think is going to make you happy.’”
Hemel returned home with a renewed energy and began teaching at a variety of facilities in the city. Meanwhile, John was working at the ritzy Tennisport Club in Long Island City, where he gave lessons to Betsy Gotbaum, the thencommissioner of the NYC Parks Department. Gotbaum asked John if he had any interest in running the Central Park Tennis Center. John politely declined—his primary focus was advertising—but recommended someone he thought would be perfect for the job: his wife, Hemel.
“So Betsy interviewed me for the position, and I talked about growing up in all the free parks programs, like New York Junior Tennis & Learning and City Parks,” Hemel says. “And she thought I was the perfect candidate, and I ended up running Central Park for ten years.”
When she learned she’d been hired, did she see it as a fullcircle moment—given her background in the sport?
“No!” Hemel says with a laugh. “I was 23 years old and someone said to me, ‘You’re going to run the largest tennis facility in New York City!’ I’d never even managed a staff! But I knew I was going to do it. It was a great opportunity and I really thought I could make it a better place.”
TheOver the next decade Hemel oversaw a staff of 30 people and worked tirelessly to enhance the facility. She developed affordable programming and revitalized its court reservation system. One night, as she was driving back to the home she shared with John on Long Island, she saw that the Alley Pond Tennis Center indoor facility in Queens was looking for a new owner.
Hemel talked it over with John—they now had two small children—and put in a bid for the space. Her offer was accepted, and she ended up running Alley Pond for the next 20 years. Hemel’s personal approach to managing this facility strongly mirrored her own upbringing in the game.
“We really created a community at Alley Pond,” Hemel says. “It was a public facility, but it became a public community. The people who played there, this was their home. We made it feel like home.”
Today Hemel is taking on a new endeavor: running the Active Pickleball & Tennis Center (APTC) out of Queens College. It’s another opportunity a life in the game has afforded her, and just like all the other opportunities before this one, she’s enjoying every second of it.
“I’m so thankful to my parents,” Hemel says. “They were immigrants from India. They encouraged me to play sports at a time when that was somewhat unheard of. And it ended up opening so many doors.”
Christine Schott
tennis balls don’t fall far from Christine K. Schott’s family tree. Schott’s grandfather, Frederick V. Krais, was one of the founders of the Eastern Tennis Umpires Association, while her dad, Frederick V. Krais Jr., captured the boys’ 18s doubles title at the National Indoors in 1939—and also represented the United States in Junior Davis Cup competition. The Kraises teamed up on two occasions to claim the Eastern Father-Son Clay Court Championships, in 1954 and 1957, and the younger Fred went on to compete at the U.S. National Championships
Schott poses in front of the West Side Tennis Club with fellow tennis historian Rex Miller, who directed the documentaries Althea and Citizen Ashe
A young Schott and her dad review the draw at the US Open back when it was held at the West Side Tennis Club
Schott (second from left) takes a photo with other USTA Eastern VIPs at a Hall of Fame event
USTA Eastern Metro Region
(now the US Open) when it was an amateur event held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens.
As if those tennis bona fides weren’t impressive enough, Schott’s uncle Jack March also occupies a prime perch in the annals of tennis history. A talented player in his own right, March promoted the sport and ran a pro tour of sorts for nearly 15 years prior to the formation of the ATP. Don Budge, Pancho Gonzales, Lew Hoad, Fred Perry and Bobby Riggs were among the major champions who competed on March’s circuit. In 1958, March invited a young Robert Ryland to compete in a tennis tournament in Cleveland; in accepting a spot in the draw, Ryland—a 2002 Eastern Tennis Hall of Famer—became the first Black tennis professional.
It was in this environment—surrounded by the game’s living history—that Schott came of age.
“When I say Bobby Riggs taught me to play backgammon and Fred Perry taught me to serve, it's the truth,” Schott recalls.
Schott no doubt had those memories in mind when, as a West Side board member in 2010, she learned that the club intended to sell the iconic Forest Hills Stadium—where many top US Open matches were held before the tournament moved to nearby Flushing Meadows in 1978. Leaders at the organization had begun speaking with developers who planned to tear down the vaunted structure and replace it with condominiums.
“I just thought it was so shortsighted,” Schott says now. “This is where Althea [Gibson] broke the color barrier, where Arthur [Ashe] became the first Black man to win a Grand Slam, where Billie Jean [King] fought for equal pay for women and where Renée Richards competed as the first transgender player. With all that history sitting there, it was just like, ‘How can we tear down this beautiful stadium?’”
To club leadership, the answer was simple. It had sat vacant for years and required a litany of expensive repairs, and keeping it around would only increase membership dues. As The New York Times noted at the time, “Its wooden seats are rotting, its interior court unfit for play. A place where some of the most famous names played some of the most memorable matches in the game’s history has been reduced to an eyesore.”
Nevertheless, Schott persisted. Knowing that the club’s nearly 300 members would soon be voting to decide the stadium’s future, she sprang into action. Teaming up with local preservationist Michael Perlman, she wrote letters to Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe (Arthur Ashe’s widow), thenmayor Michael Bloomberg, former mayor David N. Dinkins and the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.
She also started advocating for the stadium in The Queens Ledger’s Forest Hills Gardens Blog. To her surprise— considering this was 2010, the halcyon days of social media—the posts went viral; they caught the eye of both major media outlets like The Wall Street Journal and politicians like Anthony Weiner, who endorsed Schott’s position. Perhaps most importantly among all these efforts, Schott consistently relied upon her background in business to offer feasible alternatives.
“I worked in magazine publishing, so I knew how to create strategic partnerships,” Schott says. “And I just felt like the people in leadership didn't have any expertise in that area, or they at least hadn’t tried. I came up with ten solid ideas. Could we hold a Davis Cup match? Could the USTA move the US Open legends tournament back here? None of these things had really been explored. I said, ‘Can we please sit down and talk about them before we go through with this?’”
In the end, her dogged campaign breathed new life into the historic arena. First, the members voted against selling the stadium by the tiniest of margins, 51%. Then, slowly but surely, West Side leadership began to implement several of Schott’s suggestions. Today, the stadium is blossoming. The site has hosted World TeamTennis matches, a Davis Cup event and a challenger, but it is most commonly known among New Yorkers as a reliable summer concert venue. (Indeed, music promoters Mike Luba and Rob Pohly helped pay for site repairs as they spearheaded this effort, precisely the strategic partnership Schott was seeking.)
This usage is also another nod to its multifaceted past. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Diana Ross, among many other artists, performed to large enthusiastic audiences at the location.
“There is an incredible music history at the stadium, so it’s nice to see that all back again,” Schott says. “The stadium was absolutely barren and there was nothing going on in it for many years, so it’s wonderful to see it being used and appreciated. It really was a passion project.”
The other members of the 2024 Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame induction class include: Former professional player Chris Garner, longtime photographer Edward Goldman, renowned coach Antonio Palafox and tournament director and organizer Nitty Singh. Proceeds from the induction ceremony will benefit the JTF, which provides grants and financial assistance to tennis programs and organizations that focus on underserved and at-risk youth and people with disabilities. Visit juniortennisfoundation.org to learn more or make a donation. continued from page
Ed Krass’ College Tennis Exposure Camps Hits Wesleyan University in Connecticut
The36th Annual College Tennis Exposure Camp arrived in the tristate area as Wesleyan University hosted the camp this past weekend, the fifth camp of its kind this summer.
Unlike any college showcase, Coach Ed Krass’ College Tennis Exposure Camp® allows players and college coaches to train and interact together on court. Parents and private coaches are welcomed to observe our on-court curriculum conducted entirely by head college coaches.At Coach Ed Krass’ 36th Annual College Tennis Exposure Camp, players experience on-court training and instruction with head college coaches from across the U.S.
“This year’s summer camps went extremely well with players from all over the world attending,” said Ed Krass. “I was pleased with the quality and quantity of junior players who trained and showcased their games. Our staff of head college coaches highlighted a strong representation of Division I, Division II and Division III programs.”
The benefits of the Showcase include:
• Train on-court and interact with head college coaches
• Showcase your game, work ethic and coachability
• Experience college-style competitive drilling
• Learn about the college recruiting process and how it works
• Learn how to conduct a college tennis search
• Understand the various levels of college tennis
• Identify the profiles of specific college tennis programs
• Network with head college coaches from across the U.S.
Wesleyan University Head Coach, Mike Fried, who hosted the camp this past weekend and assisted with coaching during the camp said:
“It was such a pleasure hosting Ed Krass’ College Tennis Academy (CTA) here at Wesleyan for the first time. As he always does, Coach Krass assembled an extraordinary group of head college coaches and the weekend was filled with the CTA’s infectious blend of great tennis, so
much camaraderie, a little bit of rock and roll, and a whole lot of fun. The participants learned a ton and came away from the weekend with tools to grow every aspect of their tennis –and with a new network of college coaches and friends from around the world.”The next College Tennis Exposure Camp, to finish out Coach Krass’ 36th season, will be held at the Beerman Family Tennis Center, Lakeland, Fl., December 7-8.
For more information, visit CollegeTennis.com.
2024 U.S. Open Preview
It’sthat time of the year again, when the stars of the tennis world arrive in New York to compete on the world’s biggest tennis stage. The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens hosts the world’s greatest tennis players here to New York to compete under the bright lights of the city that never sleeps, and carries with it a thrilling three weeks of tennis action.
In 2023, the U.S. Open once again delivered thrilling action, and saw American phenom Coco Gauff win the first major title of her career, achieving a dream she had since she first visited the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center as a kid.
“I think the first was when I was eight and I came three or four years in a row to see Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day and I was just watching players compete on this court,” Gauff said. “When I was 13 or 14, I played U.S. Open juniors, and I watched the men’s final that year. So I had those visions of myself then.”
On the men’s side, it was far from the first for this
winner. Novak Djokovic won the U.S. Open for the fourth time as he added the 24th major title to his resume. The victory capped off a season in which he won three of the calendar’s four majors.
“Grand Slams, I have vocalized that in the last few years, have always been the highest goal and the priority of mine in the whole season,” said Djokovic. “I don’t play as much in terms of other tournaments, so I try to prioritize my preparation so that I can peak in Slams. There are the moments and these are the kind of emotions that I motivate myself with every single day when I’m not playing a tournament.”
This year’s U.S. Open begins on August 19 with the start of qualifying matches which kicks off Fan Week, and consists of an array of events and unique exhibitions to get the 2024 U.S. Open started in style.
New York Tennis Magazine has broken down the contenders, pretenders and sleepers for both the men’s singles and women’s singles draw.
Contenders, Pretenders, Sleepers
Men’s Singles Contenders
Carlos Alcaraz
It’s been the summer of Carlitos. The Spanish superstar has continued to outperform the lofty expectations people have of him as he has added two more majors to his resume, winning the French Open for the first time in his career, and defending his Wimbledon title from last year. Despite still only being 21-years-old, Alcaraz has established himself as a contender and threat at every tournament he plays, and
especially at the majors, when the pressure and intensity is turned up even higher. He is already a U.S. Open champion, winning in 2022, and is on record talking about how much he loves playing in front of the New York crowd. Alcaraz will be seeking a fifth major overall, and his third straight, and there is no reason to think he won’t be in contention for it.
Novak Djokovic
At 37-years-old, there is not much that Novak Djokovic hasn't accomplished in his decorated career. The only thing missing from his resume was an Olympic Gold Medal, but it is missing no more, as Djokovic defeated Alcaraz to earn the first Gold of his career. It was an impactful victory in more ways than one, as he not only achieved something for the first time, but was able to defeat Alcaraz, something he had failed at in his previous couple opportunities. Now he enters the U.S. Open feeling as confident as ever, and has his sights set on
continued on page 30
Contenders, Pretenders, Sleepers
defending his title from 2023, and his fifth triumph in New York City. Few players are capable of navigating the challenges of the two-week U.S. Open in the city that never sleeps, and Djokovic is at the top of that list.
Tommy Paul
It’s been 21 years since an American male last won a major title, and I’m sure Tommy Paul and his fellow colleagues from the United States are tired of hearing about it. This year’s U.S. Open could provide the perfect setting for the drought to end. Paul has demonstrated he has what it takes to succeed at the Slams, with a semifinal appearance at last year’s Australian Open, and reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon earlier this summer. Paul is one of the most athletic players on tour and has the game to thrive on the hard courts. He lost to fellow American Ben Shelton in the fourth round in Queens a year ago, but is poised to make a deep run in the second week at this year’s event, and has a great chance to snap that twodecade long streak of no majors for American men.
Pretenders
Casper Ruud
Two years ago, Casper Ruud enjoyed the best year of his young career, advancing to two major finals. First at the French Open, and then at the U.S. Open, coming up short both times however. He would make his way to the French Open final the following year, but would lose that championship match as well, making him 0-3 in major finals. Ruud’s game is perfectly suited to clay, so it’s no coincidence that the most success he has had has been at Roland Garros, which includes a deep run at this year’s Olympic Games. But hard courts are a different story. Out of his 12 career singles titles, only one of them have come
on hard courts, and if you remove his run to the 2022 U.S. Open finals, Ruud has only reached the third round in Queens one time, with his other appearances be first and second round exits. The Norwegian has had a very good 2024 season thus far, but don’t expect a deep run from him at the Open.
Andrey Rublev
It’s hard to think of a player who has been more consistent overall, yet has never been able to reach a semifinal of a major than Andrey Rublev. He has been a mainstay in the Top 10 of the ATP rankings for awhile now and while he has reached 10 Grand Slam quarterfinals, that’s the furthest he has advanced. At last year’s U.S. Open, he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the final eight, becoming the first player ever to lose their first nine quarterfinals, a tally which he added to at the Australian Open earlier this season. Rublev is extremely talented, but sometimes lacks the emotional maturity needed to make an even deeper run, as evidenced by the frequent outbursts he has on court. While Rublev is one of the best players in the world, until he shows he can advance past the quarterfinals, he has a ways to go to be considered a contender for a Grand Slam title.
Grigor Dimitrov
The man they referred to as “Baby Fed” when he was coming up as a top junior has had a resurgent last 18 months, recapturing the form that had him projected as the leader of the next generation when he was younger. Besides Djokovic, Dimitrov is the only player in The Top 30 who is 30-years-old or older, and that combined with his injury history creates doubt on whether he can traverse the fortnight of a major. He reached the French Open quarterfinals earlier this year, but prior to that, he hadn’t reached a major quarterfinal since the 2021 Australian Open. At his last four U.S. Opens, he reached the third round once and the second round three times, a trend that we can expect to continue at this years’ event.
Sleepers
Lorenzo Musetti
If Alcaraz wasn’t on tour, there would be no one on the men’s side who is having a better summer than Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. Heading into the Olympic Games, Musetti climbed 75 spots in the rankings, moving into the edge of the Top 15. While he hasn’t won any titles, he has shown he is capable of competing with and beating the world’s best players, which includes two wins over American Taylor Fritz, and a difficult five-set defeat to Djokovic at the French
Open. After that defeat, he competed at Wimbledon where he compiled the best run at a major at his career, powering his way to the semifinals, the first time he made it out of the fourth round at any of the majors. At the Olympic Games, he defeated Alexander Zverev to reach the semifinals, and seems to be peaking at just the right time. Look for the young Italian to continue his 2024 success at this year’s U.S. Open.
Arthur Fils
The second highest ranked French player on tour, Arthur Fils is a bright young player who has all the tools to be one of the best in the world. Fils has a strong forehand and monster serve, a skill set that makes him a threat, especially on the hard courts. He is still coming into his own as a player, so he does not have the accolades yet, save for one title at the Hamburg Open earlier this season. However, at the Wimbledon Championships, Fils compiled his best showing at a major by reaching the fourth round, a result he will aim to duplicate and build upon when he arrives in New York.
It’s hard to call someone ranked sixth in the world a sleeper at a tournament, but in the case of Alex de Minaur, it somehow seems appropriate. You don’t hear his name mentioned a lot when there are discussions on the best players on tour, and yet, he is one of them. The 25-year-old Australian has had a wonderful 2024 season, posting a record of 36-12 while earning two titles, and cracking into the Top 10 for the first time in his career. At the Wimbledon championships earlier this summer, were it not for an injury he suffered in the previous round, he would have taken on Djokovic in the quarterfinals with a chance at reaching the first major semifinal of his career. That quarterfinal run came on the heels of reaching the French Open quarterfinals, and de Minaur will be out to move at least one step further when he begins play at the U.S. Open.
Women’s Singles Contenders
Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff suffered an earlier-thanexpected exit at the Olympic Games in Paris, so look for the young American to be even more focused when she arrives in New York for the U.S. Open. Gauff reached the summit a year ago when she won the first major title of her career in Flushing Meadows, overcoming the power of Aryna Sabalenka to come back from a set down and win. Gauff followed that up by reaching the final four at the Australian Open to begin this season, demonstrating just how good she is on the hard courts. With one of the best backhands on the women’s tour, if Gauff can continue to improve her forehand, she will fully round out her overall game. Look for the 20-year-old to make a strong push to defend her title.
Iga Swiatek
There is no doubting that the best player on the women’s tour for the last several years hails from Poland. While people always discuss how wide open the women’s game is, Iga Swiatek remains at the top, and continues to be the standard-bearer. Swiatek is a five-time major champion, which includes four French Open titles and one U.S. Open triumph, a tournament she won in 2022. While it has not been the typically-dominant season for Swiatek, as she lost in the early rounds at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships, as well as failing to medal at the Olympic Games, all that means is Swiatek will be fresh entering the U.S. Open. Her aggressive, all-court style of play should be on full display at this year’s event as she aims to add a sixth major to her resume.
Qinwen Zheng
A player who has been able to beat Swiatek is China’s Qinwen Zheng, one of the brightest young players on the women’s tour. She is not a name that a lot of people know,
continued on page 32
Alex de Minaur
Contenders, Pretenders, Sleepers
but is still only 22-years-old, and is one of the most powerful players in the women’s game. She was named the Most Improved Player on the WTA Tour at the end of the 2023 season, momentum she carried into this year. To begin August, she knocked off Swiatek in straight sets to reach the final four at the Olympic Games, which continued a wonderful first seven months of her 2024 season. It began with a run to the Australian Open final, the first major final of her career, and includes a title in Palermo. A year ago, Zheng burst onto the scene by reaching the U.S. Open quarterfinals, and with another year of tour experience under her belt, Zheng will be out to go even further at this year’s event.
Pretenders - Women’s Singles
Barbora Krejcíková
While she is the reigning Wimbledon champion who also has a French Open title on her resume, the Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcíková could be due for an early exit at the U.S. Open. Krejcíková is a consistent player with an all-around game, yet it has not always translated to success here in New York. She reached the quarterfinals back in 2021, but since that, she only has a second round showing in 2022, and was bounced in her opening match a year ago. That is a trend that may continue in late August at this year’s U.S. Open, a tournament that has not always been kind to her.
Jasmine Paolini
One of the most improved players on the WTA Tour this season is the Italian Jasmine Paolini. The 28-year-old has put together the best season of her career in 2024, reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open, and the finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon, after never having made it out of the second round at any major in her career. She is a short player with great groundstrokes, but oftentimes can struggle on her serve, not allowing her to win some free, easy points that can be extremely beneficial on hard courts. There is no doubting how good of a season it has been Paolini, and one that has seemingly come out of nowhere, but don’t expect her to duplicate the runs she had at Roland Garros and the All-England Club when she arrives at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Aryna Sabalenka
A year ago, Aryna Sabalenka was so close to having a U.S. Open title on her impressive career resume. She was up one set on Coco Gauff before dropping the final two, failing to add another major to go along with her two
Australian Open titles. Sabalenka has been consistently inside the top 3 of the women’s tour, often exchanging places with Iga Swiatek, but it was not the best summer for the Belarusian. A shoulder injury kept her out of the Wimbledon Championships and it will be interesting to see if there are any lingering effects. If her shoulder injury is still bothering her, it could affect her serve, something that has presented her problems in the past, and if that’s the case, it could be an uncharacteristically early exit from the U.S. Open for her.
Sleepers - Women’s Singles
Jessica Pegula
Can the New York-crowd get behind Jessica Pegula enough to carry her to the U.S. Open title? We all know how impactful the U.S. Open crowd can be when it lends its support to a player, and Pegula hopes it can have that type of effect on her. The Buffalo-born Pegula has been such a consistent player over the last several years and has resided in the Top 10 of the WTA rankings for quite a while, but that has not led to Grand Slam success however. Similar to Rublev on the men’s side, there seems to be a roadblock between the quarterfinals and semifinals at majors for
Pegula, as she lost all six quarterfinals she has played in. An injury affected her through the mid-part of the season, forcing her out of the French Open, and she had an early exit at Wimbledon, but this year’s U.S. Open could be different for Pegula. She has acknowledged the struggles she has at this stage, and seems poised to break the chain.
“I had a spell where I couldn't win a first round. Then it became I would win my first two, then I would kind of lose in the third round. Now I've made a lot of quarters but I haven't made a semi,” she reflected. “I think there's always those little gaps where once you break through, it feels great, feels like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders a little bit.”
Donna Vekic
A couple of months ago, Donna Vekic compiled the best run of her career as she reached the semifinals at Wimbledon. It was there she suffered a difficult three-set defeat, the longest women’s semifinal in tournament history, to Jasmine Paolini which, at points, left her in tears. But it was an important tournament for Vekic who is having a resurgent season, and will look to build on that when she plays at the
U.S. Open. Five years ago, Vekic made the final eight of the U.S. Open, which remains her best showing in New York, but that’s something that could be set to change this year. She has the groundstokes capable of combating the power of the top players, and will be a dangerous opponent for anyone in the draw.
Paula Badosa
New York City-born Paula Badosa has had an injury-riddled last couple of seasons that have resulted in her falling outside the Top 60. But Badosa has all the talent to be able to make a deep run at a major, and as we have seen at past major events, there is oftentimes a female player that comes out of nowhere to reach the later rounds. Badosa has climbed as high as second in the world rankings and is aiming to rekindle that form. A month ago, she reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon which is encouraging, and will be competing in many of the U.S. Open series tournaments to prepare for the hard courts of the U.S. Open. Badosa has a powerful serve and top-tier groundstrokes, and will look to use those to shock some people in Queens.
Reasons to Love the U.S. Open
Fan Week: US Open Fan Week will return in style in 2024, providing six days of amazing tennis, star-studded events and activities for all—with most free to the public—in the lead-up to the final Grand Slam of the year. Whether it's your first time or your 10th time visiting the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the slate of events scheduled from August 19 through August 25 will give you a savory sampling of the US Open’s unparalleled electricity.
Tennis under the stars: There is something special about summer nights in New York City, and that only gets amplified during the U.S. Open’s fortnight. Late-night tennis featuring star-studded matchups have become synonymous with the U.S. Open. The tennis stars always deliver big performances under the stars late into the early morning hours in the city that never sleeps, which provides unmatched energy not found anywhere else in the tennis world.
Practice court access: A two-stor y practice gallery
which allows fans unprecedented access to see their favorite players as they prepared for their matches. In addition to the viewing area of the practice courts, the gallery is also adjacent to Courts 4, 5 and 6 where matches are taking place, giving fans 360 degrees of tennis.
New York, New York: Tennis is an international sport with fans and players from all over the globe. But for a three-week period in the late summer, tennis’ home is located right here in our backyard. New York City becomes the sport’s host site and welcomes the best players and millions of fans to come celebrate the sport, and the city’s energy always brings out the best in the players.
Star Power: The U.S. Open is the best way to witness some of the greatest athletes in the world, right here in our backyard in New York. The intimate access to the practice courts are always packed when the top players are training, and walking around the vast USTA Billie Jean King National Center grounds, you can stumble on tons of great matches, especially in the early rounds.
World-class tennis isn’t the only thing being served up at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, as fans can dine on delicacies from Michelinstarred chefs and indulge in creative concessions while watching the sport’s stars.
Star-Studded Dining Returns to the 2024 U.S. Open
The US Open offers a diverse array of unparalleled food and drink experiences that cater to every taste and reflect New York City’s vibrant culinary scene, and one of the annual highlights for guests is the stream of celebrity chefs who cook up meals fit for Grand Slam champions.
For a luxury seafood experience, check out Aces, where Michelin-starred Chef Ed Brown, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, and James Beard Award-winning Chef Kwame Onwuachi team up to serve local and seasonal seafood creations, sushi and other specialties.
Michelin-starred and Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli’s Fare returns to the US Open to bring fans Mediterranean-inspired dishes, as does Chef David Burke’s popular Cuban-American fusion spot, Mojito by David Burke, and Chef Josh Capon’s Fly Fish.A new addition to the top-tier dining options is COQODAQ, a new concept from restaurateur Simon Kim. Fans will enjoy signature dishes from the Korean-inspired fried chicken restaurant, including the Golden Nugget, an iconic chicken nugget and caviar pairing, located on the club level of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
But for those who would rather forego food than miss a minute of action, there are still plenty of options around the grounds. This year’s tournament features
new dishes and returning favorites from Pat LaFrieda Meat Co., Champions by Benjamin’s Steakhouse, San Matteo NYC, Dos Toros Taqueria, La Casa de Masa, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Fuku, Eataly, Crown Shy, Korilla BBQ and Poke
Hill Country BBQ, King Souvlaki, Stacked Sandwich Shop, The Migrant Kitchen, The Nourish Spot, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, the DOBEL® Tequila Club, and more.
Fans looking to indulge in a refreshing beverage while they watch the top tennis players compete can enjoy an impressive selection of drinks, including the US Open’s signature cocktail, the Grey Goose® Honey Deuce™, along with other options from DOBEL® Tequila, Aperol®, and Lavazza Coffee.If you want to preview the incredible lineup of food and drinks on offer at this year's tournament, be sure to snag your tickets for Flavors of the Open presented by DOBEL® Tequila, the US Open’s signature culinary event that will be held during Fan Week on Thursday, August 22, inside Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Attendees will be able to sample premium dishes while enjoying food demonstrations, live music and top-tier tennis action. Guests will also have the opportunity to interact with celebrity chefs, play games and may even get the chance to play on the court. A portion of ticket proceeds will support the USTA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the USTA that helps provide tennis and academic programs to youth in under-resourced communities nationwide.
Yachty,
2024 U.S. Open To Host First Ever ‘Finals Fan Fest’ Featuring Viewing Parties and Afterparty
Viewing Parties in Louis Armstrong Stadium and Fountain Plaza, and afterparty headlined by grammy-nominated dance music project Galantis to take place on Saturday night
The inaugural US Open Finals Fan Fest is set to be held over finals weekend – Saturday, September 7 and Sunday, September 8. This Finals Fan Fest will feature expanded grounds passes, including official viewing parties in Louis Armstrong Stadium for both the Women’s and Men’s Finals, as well as added seating options to view the big screens in Fountain Plaza. The viewing parties in Louis Armstrong Stadium will allow fans to watch the Finals on the big screens with a live DJ, special guests, and a live feed of celebrity arrivals on the US Open Blue Carpet.
Following the Women’s Final on Saturday, September 7, the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will come alive with the music of GALANTIS. Louis Armstrong Stadium will transform from court to stage as
the event hosts its first ever Finals Fan Fest Afterparty, headlined by GRAMMY-nominated dance music project GALANTIS. This event requires a separate ticket and will take place at 9 p.m., with rising electronic music star XANDRA opening the show. The USTA is excited to be working with Avant Gardner/The Brooklyn Mirage on this exciting new experience.
“The new Finals Fan Fest is the perfect culmination to the new and expanded three-week US Open and capitalizes on the excitement and drama around the US Open Finals. The Finals Fan Fest Viewing Parties will create a spectacular opportunity for fans to experience one of the most exciting weekends in tennis in new and unique ways,” said Nicole Kankam, USTA Managing Director, Pro Tennis Marketing and Entertainment. “The US Open is famous for its unparalleled and unmatched nighttime atmosphere, and we are excited to take it in an entirely new direction with the Afterparty.”
Distribution scheduled for 11/01/24
This edition will feature:
• Coaches Roundtable
• Tennis Travel Destination Guide
• Holiday Gift Guide
• 2024 Girls’ High School Recap
• 2024 U.S. Open Recap
• And Much More!
Print distribution across New York at 300+ locations.
Digital distribution across website and social media pages, and the e-Edition will be e-mailed out to our full database.
Don’t miss the advertising opportunities in the next edition of New York Tennis Magazine November/December 2024!
What Happened To Tennis During My Lifetime? Both A Lot And Nothing:
Part Two
OneBy Gilad Bloom
of the benefits of being old (but not too old) is that you remember how things used to be from actual experience. As a competitive player from age nine to 29, I witnessed the changes the game has gone through literally on my flesh. My first racquet was still a wood one but at age 10 I was introduced to a metal racquet which was a whole new world. Since retiring from playing and turning into a coach, I have seen the game evolve even further through the lens of a teaching pro.
All things evolve constantly and nothing stays static, a doctor once told me, but it seems that tennis, more than other sports, has taken off in a direction that was not intended by the inventors. In tennis, so it seems, they allowed the move to metal without any hesitation, and then in the early 80s they allowed the oversized head and wide body frames to take over the market and dominate the professional game, changing the essential character of the game forever.
For example, when I was growing up I was taught to hit deep, build up the point and construct it so I could get a short ball, and come to the net to finish it with a volley. Running around the forehand was an option, not a must. A slice backhand was a weapon; serve and volley was an actual style that some people used on every point, and the chip and charge was a very popular tactic.
Many of the changes in the game don't make sense to me, but it is a reality that I have to accept. But still, a
lot of the old school truths are still applicable. In the first part of this article, in the July/August edition, I examined five of those changes. Here are six more:
Run (around), Forrest, Run
This is one of the signs of the times: everyone in today's game is trying to hit forehands. It’s the shot that generates the most power and has the most variety; you can hit the forehand aggressively from anywhere on the court and with three different stances (open, semi open and neutral). The goal of a server is to hit a forehand after the return in order to take control of the point, which opens up the court. Jimmy Arias and Ivan Lendl did it in the 80s already, and it’s now a standard way of playing. In fact, seven out of 10 shots in a given match are forehands.
Backhands are better and cleaner than forehands
In the old days, the backhand side was the vulnerable shot in most cases (just attack the backhand was a very popular strategy). But in today's game the backhand is actually an easier shot to master; many players have solid two-handed backhands. The way to beat these players is to attack the forehand, which tends to be a heavier shot but more erratic by nature. There are a few ways to hit a forehand, but the backhand is a simpler shot and easier to teach.
Defense? I never heard of it!
Back when I played, when you were behind in the point, coaches would
recommend hitting it high and cross court to get back in the point. But in today's game, with the light racquets that generate incredible pace, it's easier to rip heavy shots from all corners of the court and get out of defensive situations with aggressiveness. This was not possible with the heavier wood frames, in fact, some players thrive when they are made to hit shots on the run using the other players pace and the momentum of the run. The rallies today are mainly from the baseline but the pace of the ball and the aggressiveness of the strokes are at a much higher levels, even the young juniors can generate powerful strokes from all over the court and hit winners from unexpected situations.
Move fast, hit fast; serve big, hit big and be big
The biggest difference in today’s game is that everything is bigger, faster and stronger. In the past, you could reach a high level even if you didn't have a huge serve, as long as you played without making errors. In today's game, not only do you have to be able to move and react extremely fast, you also need to be able to hit a heavy ball, serve big and win free points on your serve. Also, today's game favors the taller players who can serve bigger, have more reach and hit a heavier ball thanks to the long wingspan. It’s about developing weapons, shots that penetrate the court, and the days of short, counter punchers who push moon balls seem to be long gone, even the defensive players
have to hit the ball hard, and be able to hit winners when the opportunity arrives.
For the most part today most styles are similar
Growing up during the transition from wood to metal to oversize, I experienced a variety of styles ranging from the old school continental slicer and dicer, to the grinder, to the serve and volley player, to the oil driller who goes for broke on every shot.
Today I find that most players play a similar baseline style using a heavy topspin on both sides, and rarely come to the net to mix up their game. The majority rely on a big forehand. When everyone plays a similar style, the outcome of the match often comes down to execution. There is less tactical awareness in general, often the kids just go for it, and if the ball goes in they win. I feel like this generation of players are not as sophisticated as the old school
players, but the ground stroke technique of the current generation is superior.
Nobody can volley to save their life
This is pretty sad as a coach because, for me, the volley is the easiest shot to teach, but the way the game has evolved with everyone playing with two-hands on the backhand and nobody going to the net, it’s rare to see juniors volleying correctly. Most coaches are of the new generation and grew up not learning how to hit a proper volley, and therefore spend very little time working on that aspect of the game.
In the juniors, I instruct my students to make the other person volley at all costs and not to attempt a winner. Many times it’s enough to hit the ball hard and low, and expose the lack of volley skills of their opponents. When I grew up, the level of volley of the average player was much higher. Even if you were a baseline player, your net game was decent and you were able to come in behind your serve effectively. Today, I see pros on the tour that can't volley properly.
In the next edition of New York Tennis Magazine, I will examine some of the similarities between the game I played and the new style of tennis.
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.
Should My Kid Homeschool For Tennis?
By Chris Lewit
Manytennis families consider homeschooling or online schooling for their son or daughter. Parents ask me all the time whether I think it's a good idea or if it's the right time, etc. For serious kids who want to compete and win nationally and internationally, I generally advise that it's a great option. Interestingly, I also believe that homeschooling can be an excellent choice for younger players under 10 and for less gifted players.
Why is homeschooling so beneficial for tennis?
To become a world or even national champion requires an incredible amount of work and time. Homeschooling frees up the schedule and opens up new possibilities for training days and weeks. In short, time is money. Time is valuable. Homeschooling creates more time in the training week to add more volume and variety to the player's regimen. Of course, homeschooling allows players to travel nationally and internationally to tournaments and still get schoolwork done, which is another important plus.
Training twice a day
I tell parents all the time that training twice a day for tennis is the gold standard. While it's possible to become good training once per day as most kids do, nothing compares to a daily double dose of high quality tennis training. Coaches, players, and parents often try to argue that they can squeeze in the training they need after school, but it's almost always better to train twice per day. There is a special magic that occurs with a solid twice a day training program. In a typical schedule, there is a practice in the morning followed by lunch and rest and then a practice in the afternoon. Regardless of the timing,
having two practice blocks is a huge advantage.
As a coach, I love having two sessions a day to work with my players. We can focus on nuances and details and cover more topics for the student. With my high performance students who only train one block a day, I always feel like we are rushing and squeezing things to practice. They may not play enough matches, for example, or the players don’t develop an all-court game. Or the players may have some technical or tactical holes, simply because they do not have enough time to master the elements necessary.
I know many players whose training week is comprised of a couple hours of group class daily after school, and maybe one private with limited fitness training. Does that sound like a familiar schedule to you if you are a player, parent or coach? That's a very common plan for the typical junior who is trying to get a good ranking. This type of schedule is about 10 hours a week of tennis plus maybe a weekend tournament. Players can become good with this typical schedule, maybe even reach a solid national ranking, but you can't become a national champion, D1 blue chip recruit, or pro player with this amount of training time per week. To become top in the country or world is going to require doubling this commitment, at least 20 hours a week. Homeschooling frees up time to double the training workload easily with less scheduling stress.
Fitness and Injury Prevention
Playing twice a day at a high intensity is going to make your player fitter. There is a physical fitness component to playing twice a day that makes a kid stronger, and develops more endurance. This tennis specific fitness is a big
advantage. Players who homeschool also have more time in the day to work on flexibility, mobility and injury prevention, and will have more time to go to the gym to build power and strength, work on agility and movement, or develop stamina. It is common for players who have limited time and long, tough school days to skip some of these important physical training areas. I regularly see schooled kids who skip fitness and injury prevention, which can lead to injuries and underperformance, and thus frustration.
Player welfare and health
In my experience, players who homeschool and train twice a day are often less stressed about their tennis and life in general. The reason is that they are not rushing around trying to squeeze in training and other activities. They have more time to breathe and relax. This is conducive to better player welfare, and mental health. Kids are so overscheduled and rushed these days, especially Eastern kids, that they are often loaded up with pressure and anxiety, which can affect their performance on the court. Parents or kids themselves who try to stuff all the necessary training into a regular school schedule often find that the player gets injured or stressed out because they are trying to fit too much training into a schedule that does not have enough time. Sometimes the kid sleeps less and gets poor recovery. Sometimes they skip practices or fitness. Trying to squeeze in elite tennis training along with a rigorous schooling schedule can be a disaster.
But my kid should be older, serious, and at a high level before starting homeschool, right?
Sometimes I recommend parents wait
until a player is very serious and older to homeschool. I like to see that the kids prove they are ready. The reason is that sometimes players will not deserve homeschooling because they don't work hard enough in even one session per day. Watch out for this trap. Many parents think homeschooling should be only for elite, super talented players or for those competing at the ITF level, which is typically ages 13 and up. Lately, I have changed my mind about this.
I have been working with homeschooled kids who train full-time at young ages. It's been eye-opening and positive overall. For example, I coach two highly-talented young players, Vlada Hranchar from Ukraine and Sofia Houlbert from France, the past two years full-time daily, along with others, and it's a very healthy and positive way to work. Contrary to a lot of recommendations about limiting volume and training time at these young ages, I have found that homeschooling and
training twice daily is a great way to build the technical, tactical, mental, and physical foundation of an elite player at a young age. While these two players I mentioned are gifted, even less talented kids can benefit from training twice a day. In fact, I would argue that the less talent your kid has, the more they need to train twice a day to get an advantage over the others.
Reservations and alternate options
It's true that homeschooling or online schooling is not for every kid. I have four kids myself, and during the pandemic, two of my kids did not like online learning. Some kids may have special learning disabilities or struggle
with certain online formats. True homeschooling with a private teacher or parent helping at home can be a solution. Technology and advances in online education are rapidly changing the landscape and possibilities. The quality and effectiveness of online education as grown immensely over the past decades and will continue to do so. Another alternative is to find a brick and mortar private or public school that will allow a kid to get out early. This can sometimes be a good compromise, but it's hard to find schools that will be flexible. If a kid can get out at noon or 1pm, it's possible to create a pretty good schedule for the rest of the day, even two training blocks, which is the gold standard.
Chris Lewit is a leading high-performance coach, educator and author of the best-selling book, The Secrets of Spanish Tennis, and a new technique book, Winning Pretty, which will be published in 2025. Secrets of Spanish Tennis, Second Edition will be published in September 2024. As a coach, he has trained hundreds of nationally ranked juniors. He directs a full-time academy for homeschool/online players and a high performance summer camp program, as well as bespoke high performance training for all ages and levels, all at his club in the beautiful green mountains of Vermont. Contact Chris directly by phone/WhatsApp 914-462-2912 or chris@chrislewit.com.
FULL-TIME ACADEMY FOR HOMESCHOOL PLAYERS
WEEKEND HIGH PERFORMANCE ACADEMY TRAINING FOR ALL LEVELS HIGH PERFORMANCE SUMMER CAMP IN VERMONT TRAIN WITH THE BEST— CHRIS HAS RECENTLY COACHED SEVERAL #1 PLAYERS IN THE US! CHRISLEWIT.COM 914.462.2912
CHRIS@CHRISLEWIT.COM
Orange Ball Tactical Fundamentals
By Cinto Casanova
Onthe last article in this series of “tactical thinking”, we talked about the key tactical ideas to develop during the Red Ball Stage. We mentioned three fundamental ideas in that particular stage: “Out-rally” (consistency), “Move your Opponent” and “Finish at the Net” (especially from a short ball). How these progress into the Orange Ball stage and what new tactical ideas we can start introducing will be this article’s topic.
The first change the kids face when moving from Red to Orange is the change of court size. Red ball courts were so small it was mostly a matter of mastering the use of the space laterally from left to right. In Orange Ball, the court is deeper; understanding how to use the space from deep to short and mastering the transition from baseline to net becomes a fundamental focus of this stage.
We have to keep in mind, once players move to a full court (Green/Yellow), they’ll probably be undersized; finishing at the net will become much harder. That is why those skills and tactics related to finishing at the net have to be assimilated in Orange Ball stage. In our Centercourt programs, when we move players from Orange to Green, we always recommend them to keep playing Orange Ball tournaments as long as they are allowed by age; we encourage them to focus on winning points at the net and develop these skills while playing them.
All the technical elements related to those tactics are imperative at this stage: continental grip skills, slices and chips, volleys… at the same time, developing a full swing in both forehand and backhand with good amount of spin is also a crucial goal to achieve in this stage.
Check the table above to see the key tactical, technical and physical skills needed at orange ball.
Winning by being more consistent than the opponent (Out-rally):
This is a fundamental tactic we have to keep developing throughout the whole career. The main difference when transitioning from Red Ball to Orange is that the court is larger, and the net is higher. Technical elements will have to be added to master this tactic in Orange; top-spin and stances will
become more relevant if they want to rally with quality in this stage. New ideas like “margin over the net” have to be introduced. The relationship between “margin” and depth is very important to understand: the higher I hit over the net, the more chances it has to be deep. In this regard, I like to set games where a miss at the net is penalized heavier than a miss anywhere else.
Winning by using the width of the court (move your opponent):
This tactic is also a tactic introduced in red ball. While in Red we simplify the concept in basically “finding the open space”; in Orange Ball we should start to introduce the basic rally targets CrossCourt and Down the Line and how patterns using both can be used to move your opponent. Having a full swing in
both forehand and backhand with good control over the amount of spin is essential. The goal for top orange ball players is to be able to control the pattern cross-court to down the line within a rally. Any game that promotes a change of direction is a good practice for this level.
Winning at the net (transition and Finish at the Net):
In Red Ball we talked about having to be able to finish at the net from attacking a short ball. In Orange Ball we have to expand the intentions and variations of finishing at the net. Being a deeper court, the usefulness of a short volley increases, making it a very effective way to win points.
• Approaching from a short ball
• Sneak in volley
• Serve and volley
They are all useful ideas in Orange Ball. Our players should learn to love the net during the Orange Ball stage! It is a
crucial area of development; once they move to full court, the effectiveness of finishing at the net will drop drastically. On a full court, passing shots and lobs are very effective due to being undersized at the net; it will become difficult to assimilate and integrate net tactics at that stage if they are not already familiar and conformable at the net while in Orange Ball. Games that promote finishing at the net have to be a core part of your Orange Ball programs.
Winning using the depth of the court (from deep to short, dropshot):
Drop shots plus passing shot or lob start to be useful due to the increase of court size. This tactic will be fully realized on Green Ball stage, but they have to start
understanding how to use the depth with the drop shot.
In conclusion, make sure your players develop a full swing by this stage; many times, our players can get away by chipping and pushing the ball in Red Ball. At the same time, Orange Ball is a key stage to develop the net game; net skills have to be acquired before being undersized at the net in Green Ball.
Always remember, a main purpose of using soft balls is to allow the kids to develop a tactical mind. When I prepare the curriculums for the term, I always like to start the first few weeks consolidating technical fundamentals and finish the term with a few weeks of tactical fundamentals. Make sure your programs include tactical work from Red and Orange to the highest of the stages.
Cinto Casanova is the Director of Coaching and Junior Development Program at Centercourt Tennis Academy. As an Elite Coach, he has held leading positions in Junior Player Development for over two decades in Spain, USA, Japan and China. He has helped to develop top junior programs that produced successful national and international junior players. He may be reached at cinto@centercourtclub.com.
adult leaguewrap-up
By Ainslie Ellis
Withthe bulk of the Spring and Summer leagues complete, we have a quick moment of rest before we turn our attention towards the U.S. Open, and of equal importance, the USTA Fall leagues!
Registrations are well underway and we will kick off our fall season with Men’s and Women’s 4.5/4.0/3.5 tri-level in September, and 18 & Over Manhattan Mixed Doubles in October. We look forward to new and familiar faces as all of our leagues continue to grow.
As we reflect back on the past season, we thank all of our captains and players for their time and dedication. The schedule is a busy one and we are grateful for our enthusiastic Metro tennis community!
Congratulations to the 18 & Over league winners and wish them all the best at their Sectional tournaments!
l 18 & Over 3.0 Manhattan Women captained by Rosemary Moukad and Nicole Sharett
l 18 & Over 3.5 Manhattan Women captained by Alina Lekser and Jessica Sasaki
l 18 & Over 4.0 Manhattan Women captained by Rita Zhang and Anna Tang
l 18 & Over 4.5 Women captained by Huan Zhou
l 18 & Over Open Women captained by Pamela Glick
l 18 & Over 3.0 Men captained by Erli Perez & William Packer
l 18 & Over 3.5 Men captained by David Alfonso
l 18 & Over 4.0 Manhattan Men captained by Ahmad Amin and Alina Lekser
l 18 & Over 4.5 Men captained by Mitchell Low and Adam Moramarco
l 18 & Over 5.0 Men captained by Eric Tomasini and Nikola Kjordjevic
If you are interested in learning more about USTA League play in Metro, please contact Adult League Coordinator, Ainslie Ellis at ellis@eastern.usta.com
Ainslie Ellis is the Adult League Coordinator for the USTA Eastern Metro Region. She can be reached at ellis@eastern.usta.com.
The 18 & Over 3.0 Manhattan team at the Regional tournament at Sportime Randall’s Island. They won a tightly contested round robin against Staten Island and Brooklyn.
The 18 & Over 3.5 Manhattan team at the Regional tournament at Sportime Randall’s Island where they defeated Metro teams from Queen’s, Brooklyn and Staten Island
The 18 & Over 4.0 Manhattan team at the Regional tournament at Sportime Randall’s Island after they defeated their opponents from Queens
The 18 & Over 4.0 Manhattan team at the Regional tournament at Sportime Randall’s Island. They defeated teams from Brooklyn, Bronx and Queen’s to advance to the Sectional tournament
More Than 30 Years In, High Country Still Going Strong
In1988, Bill Silverman, along with a college buddy, bought what was then called Racquet & Ski Shop in an old banking building in Livingston, N.J.
A few years later, they would move to a bigger location and rebrand the store to High Country Ski & Sports, and for the last 30-plus years, have been providing New Jersey with topof-the-line equipment and apparel with unparalleled customer service.
“In the beginning, we brought in golf, hiking, biking, swimming and more. We wanted to be everything to everybody,” Silverman recalls. “And we did that, up until 2000, when a golf store moved in across the street, and a hiking chain store moved in down the road. So we began taking out some sports, and we are now just a ski & tennis shop. We have a featured sport for each season, but we’re year-round with both sports.”
Silverman and his team continue to place a major focus on meeting the needs of its clients, and that includes expanding its pickleball offerings as the sport continues to grow. High Country features the latest in pickleball equipment and apparel, with products from all the top brands. They make a point to talk with their customers to make sure they are giving them the best individual experience possible, which goes a long way for its customer base.
“Customer service is our top priority,” he said. “You can go down the road and get ignored by the big chain places, but when you come in here, we tailor our work to ensure you get the product you need. It’s absolutely what we are all about. We try to make sure we have what our customer wants, and if there's something we don't have, we do our
best to get it in store quickly so that they can enjoy it.”
Over the last yearand-a-half, the retail industry for tennis has boomed as more and more people flock to the tennis courts as a safe way to exercise and have fun. Silverman says this year is on pace to surpass the success they had in 2023, and the same goes for skiing.
“We’ve had a great season so far,” he said. “We’re ahead of last year by far.”
High Country Ski & Sports is open seven days a week, and in addition to the array of equipment and apparel, they also offer stringing services, grip replacements, as well as repair work and more for skiers and snowboarders.
“When I started in 1988, there must have been 40 tennis shops in New Jersey, and there are very few now,” said Silverman. “We’ve become sort of the kings of tennis in the state.”
With an established brand and success that only continues to climb over the last couple of years, the next step for High Country is to expand farther.
“We’re hoping to open some other stores in the future,” said Silverman. “There are a lot of areas that seem to be ripe for tennis, and our goal is to continue expanding and growing into those areas.”
High Country Ski & Tennis is located at 465 West Mountain Pleasant Avenue in Livingston, N.J.
Why Do GOATS Always Go Crazy?
By Dr. Tom Ferraro
Withthe obvious exception of the great Roger Federer, nearly every Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T.) implodes, goes nuts or otherwise has a serious meltdown. The word GOAT is used as a term of undying admiration but buyer beware because, if history is any indicator, when you become a GOAT, you will soon experience a host of emotional and psychological problems. Let me list a few well-known GOATS for you.
Simone Biles: Biles is considered an otherworldly gymnast who can leap over 12 feet in the air during her floor routines and considered by most to be the greatest gymnast in history. She experienced a well-advertised collapse during the Tokyo Olympics where she contracted a case of the yips which forced her to withdraw during those games. It was eventually revealed that she was a victim of sexual abuse.
Michael Phelps: Phelps is considered the most dominant swimmer in history with 23, yes 23, gold medals. But shortly following the Tokyo Olympics he had a breakdown and was treated for depression.
Tiger Woods: Tiger Woods is considered by most to be the greatest golfer in history but his sex addiction led to a huge scandal and put an end to his glorious reputation. It also brought an end to nearly $700 million in endorsement money.
Michael Jordan: The beloved, majestic and balletic Michael Jordan won six NBA titles and is considered to be best basketball player of all time. He is also the guy that has bet $100,000 on a ‘rock, paper scissors” hand. His gambling addiction is wellknown and though it did not appear to produce a psychological collapse, he still is evidence of a big internal problem.
Mike Tyson: The ferocious and intimidating “Iron Mike” was the youngest boxer in history to hold the heavyweight crown. He was the undisputed heavyweight title holder from 1987 to 1990, but by 1992, he was in prison serving six years for rape.
Michael Jackson: “The King of Pop” Michael Jackson is considered to be one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century and the man who popularized street dances like the moonwalk and the robot. His 1982 album “Thriller” was credited for breaking down racial barriers, and was the highest selling album of alltime. But by the late 1980’s his changed appearance sparked controversy and he was accused of sexually abusing minors. By the age of fifty he was dead of an overdose.
Naomi Osaka: Naomi Osaka was one of the most marketable and highest-earning female athletes in the
Fame and fortune always take a toll on the superstar. Here is Naomi Osaka showing us how painful stardom usually is
world, having risen to #1 in the world by age 21. However in 2021 at the French Open she refused to give interviews, was fined $15,000 and promptly retired from the game citing mental health issues. She was credited as one of the first athletes to openly discuss mental health problems and the strain that big time sports produce.
These stories all reveal the pressure, dangers and stress that every competitive athlete feels, especially those who are considered to be GOATs. This may seem counter-intuitive, but if you think about it, it does make sense. As you rise to the top all things increase in nature. Expectations rise, as well as the amount of money that is at stake. Endorsements increase as long as you stay on top. Your entourage gets bigger as does the payroll. Your tax bracket keeps going up and public recognition goes through the roof. The demands on your time increase on a steady basis and athletes have a hard time resisting opportunities to make more money. As an example of how tempting endorsement dollars are, Tiger Woods would regularly get one million dollars for a one day corporate event he was willing to do.
That is what makes someone like Federer so unusual. He is considered a GOAT in tennis yet appears to be remarkable stable, gracious and someone who retired at a suitable time. One must assume many things went right for him throughout his life. He came from an intact home where he learned his self restraint and cool demeanor.
He played multiple sports as a kid including badminton,
basketball, football, skiing and swimming as well as tennis. Federer believes his fluidity and great eyehand coordination is due to his playing many sports as a kid. He has been married to Mirka Vavrina since 2009 and they have four children. She was also a professional player and her work ethic rubbed off on Roger.
All of these dynamics coalesced together to shield him from collapse. Or as Hillary Clinton said, “it takes a village.”
But sadly, Roger Federer is the exception to the rule. Much more frequently, when one achieves the greatest heights in a sport the price one pays is mental and physical health and sometimes even death.
Achilles was considered to be the greatest warrior of all time and in “The Iliad” he seeks the counsel of his mother Thetis who was a sea
nymph and had divine powers. Achilles wonders if he should participate in the Trojan Wars and his mother says that all men must take one of two paths: they can either choose the path of domestic tranquility, remain near home and hearth and live a long and happy life, or they can choose the life of the warrior where they may achieve fame and immorality but their life will be filled with pain, suffering and an early death.
This nicely describes the life of the GOAT. Our modern day Achilles’ such as Naomi Osaka, Tiger Woods, or Michael Phelps will go into the record books, achieve fame and fortune and, in this way, achieve immortality. But as Thetis told Achilles, their life will most certainly be filled with pain and suffering and often end quickly.
This is the silent, secret and sometimes deadly price of fame.
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.
PARSA’s picks
Realestate on Long Island is some of the most sought after property in the world, and many of them are perfect for the tennis lover, especially those out in The Hamptons. With gorgeous landscapes, modern design and private tennis courts, among other amenities, these properties are truly one-of-a-kind.
With the help of Parsa Samii of Compass Real Estate, we wanted to showcase a current listing for sale. Parsa is a former professional tennis player and coach who has transitioned into real estate, with a strong understanding of both the tennis aficionado and the home buyer.
As Compass puts it, “Parsa is the ideal professional to navigate the ever-competitive real estate market.”
For more information, photos or to see more listings, email parsa@compass.com or call (516) 965-7445.
67 Feeks Lane • Locust Valley, N.Y.
$15,500,000
Floralyn, proudly nestled on one of Lattingtown's most prestigious streets, epitomizes the grandeur of Long Island's legendary "Gold Coast."
Originally built as a Quaker farmhouse, this historic Feeks Lane residence has been meticulously preserved and tastefully updated. Renovated inside and out by architect Mark Ferguson and designer Bunny Williams, Floralyn stands as a timeless example of refined elegance and sophistication.
Surrounded by tranquil rolling lawns and storied history, the estate spans 20 acres of meticulously maintained grounds. A haven for relaxation and recreation offering
tennis court, an inviting in-ground pool, charming pool house, a guest house, and the only residential practice golf green complex designed as a personal favor to the owner by Bill Coore of the Coore Crenshaw design firm who designed Sand Hills and Friar's Head.
Adjacent to the private mansion of Madame Chiang Kai-shek, Floralyn offers a unique blend of historic charm and modern convenience, creating a private oasis just 30 miles from the vibrant heart of New York City. Floralyn's legacy on the North Shore extends beyond its physical beauty. It continues to serve as a cherished retreat, ready for the next owners to start their own chapter to its illustrious story.
Listed by Margaret Trautmann, Compass
PARSA’s picks
71 Old Tappan Road • Glen Cove, N.Y.
$6,995,000
Experience the timeless elegance of "Beechwood Manor," the modernized and preserved 1930 estate once owned by John Pratt Jr. of Standard Oil Co. and The Pratt Institute.
Designed by famed architects Charles & William Platt, this Neoclassical Georgian Manor welcomes you with a majestic circular drive enclosed within private gates, hedging and European Beech trees. Meticulously landscaped grounds feature gardens displaying specimen trees, gravel pathways, grand lawns, fruit groves, a fountain, pool house and guest cottage. Soaring ceilings in the grand entry foyer greet guests and flow into formal entertaining rooms. With approximately 10,000 sq.ft. of luxurious design, the home also includes an elevator, paneled library, breakfast room, chef's kitchen and an
incredible third floor lounge. The expansive primary wing showcases dual private ensuite lounges and dressing rooms, while bedrooms feature fireplaces and ensuite baths. Every room provides smart home technology, offering seamless integration and convenience.
Beechwood Manor stands as a testament to timeless luxury and sophistication, offering a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of history redefined for modern living.
Other upgrades include high surveillance security, full generators, automated gates, restored windows, new copper gutters and leaders, upgraded boilers, A/C, and a 52' gunite salt water pool. Plans are archived at Columbia University with Platt's works i.e. Vincent Astor & Smithsonian. Close to NYC, travel, beaches and North Shore luxuries and amenities.
Listed by Margaret Trautmann, Compass
What Federer Didn’t Learn In College Three Tennis Lessons That Can Change Your Life
By Rob Polishook
Likemany of you, I was excited to learn that Roger Federer was giving a commencement speech. How fortunate for Dartmouth that Tony Godsick, his agent, had a daughter in the Dartmouth University 2024 graduating class, which is also Godsick’s alma mater.
Much like Federer’s career, the speech went viral. Some described it as motivational, full of humility, vulnerable and, yes, even a bit awkward. What was obvious was that Federer spent time on the speech and got to know the student’s favorite hangouts and activities. The speech had all the ingredients to draw an audience in and also relay very important points. He spoke about three big lessons; I believe these lessons are seminal for both an athlete and person to embrace in order to achieve maximum well-being and performance.
when no one was looking!”
Federer further stated, “I got there by trying to outwork my opponents, I believed in myself…belief has to be earned.”
In the remainder of the article, I will share thoughts from my perspective as a holistic mental training coach regarding Federer’s poignant lessons and why they are so important and ultimately serve to set the stage for better performance.
1. Effortlessness is a myth: Federer is known for being one of the most fluid, artistic, and graceful players ever to swing a racket. However, up-front and without remorse, he acknowledges that “I had to work hard to make it look easy… and this hard work was usually put in
His words clearly illustrate that he was focused on the process, not the outcome. He was focused on what it took to be successful. Federer then went on to share that “talent matters… talent has a broad definition, but most of the time, it’s not about having a gift, but about having grit…in tennis like in life, discipline is also a talent, so is patience, trusting yourself is a talent, embracing and loving the process is a talent, managing your life…these can be talents too…some are born with them, everyone has to work at them.”
What I love about this last statement is that Federer seems to recognize what I call the three talents of the Whole Human Athlete. Certainly, he recognizes physical talent, but he also clearly speaks to personal talents like patience, trust and sticking to the
process. These talents are often overlooked by coaches, parents, and even the players themselves. Lastly, throughout his speech he makes reference to how his experiences, culture and upbringing have been so important to shaping who he is. So how can a junior player apply this lesson? It easy to say, harder to do, but put in the work, love the process, and be yourself.
2. It’s only a point: This is a guy who has won 103 singles titles including 20 Grand Slams. However paradoxically, he said “while playing, the point has to be the most important thing in the world, but when it’s behind you, its behind you, this mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point …with intensity, clarity and focus.” He goes on to say, “the truth is, whatever game you play in life sometimes you’re going to lose…it’s a roller coaster with ups and down…but negative energy is wasted energy, you want to become a master at overcoming hard moments, to me that’s the sign of a champion.”
Federer mentioned how he won 80 percent of his matches but only 54 percent of the points. He said “the best in the world are not the best because they win every point, it’s because they know how to lose again and again and learned how to deal with it.” So how can a junior tennis player apply this lesson? As Federer says, become a master at accepting and working to
overcome hard moments and adversity. I call this adversity management. This is the game within the game; it’s the game that you can control, not the outcome.
3. Life is bigger than the court: This was Federer’s last key lesson. He shared that, “when I was first starting out, tennis could show me the world, but tennis could never be the world.”
He further said, “Even when I was in the top 5, it was always important to have a life, a rewarding life full of travel, culture, friendship, and especially family, I never abandoned my roots and never forgot where I came from… but these were the reasons I never burned out maybe?”
Federer then went on to explain that he realized that he, “didn’t just want to travel the world as a tourist, I realized pretty early that I wanted to serve other people in other countries.” He elaborated that he started his foundation before he was ready, and
that he wanted to use philanthropy where he could use more personal talents like his ideas, time and energy to a mission larger than himself.
The idea that Federer speaks about life being bigger than the court is similar to how Rafa says “tennis is what I do, not who I am.” While tennis is obviously important to Federer and Nadal, they speak to recognizing that tennis is not who they are. These perspectives illustrate awareness, balance and clarity as whole human athletes. So how can a junior tennis player, their coach and parents use the idea that life is larger than tennis? I suggest the importance of cultivating a balance in life, be it friends/family, hobbies, and serving
In summary, Federer’s speech resonated with many people in many ways. He delivered his speech with humility, gratefulness, and appreciation to others that have helped and shared in his journey. His three lessons of: Effortlessness is a myth, it’s only a point, and life is bigger than the court speaks to not just tennis but also to life and the whole human athlete.
This perspective will be helpful off the court but on the court, it can take pressure off of the performance. It will be helpful to leverage not just your physical talents but also the personal talents and cultural experiences.
Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group. As a mental training coach, he works with the whole human athlete helping them to unleash their mental edge (heart.energy.spirit) through mindfulness, somatic psychology, animal wisdom and mental training skills. Rob is author of 2 best-selling books: Tennis Inside the Zone and Baseball Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. He can be reached by phone at (973) 723-0314, by e-mail rob@insidethezone.com, by visiting insidethezone.com, following on Instagram @insidethezone
Footwork is essential to playing tennis, no matter how you approach it. Common phrases heard on the courts—such as "move your feet," "get to the ball," "recover for the next shot," "one step closer to the net," and" get behind the ball"—all emphasize the importance of footwork.
Tennis involves receiving skills before sending skills. If a player does not receive the ball correctly, it will be difficult to send the ball with purpose. Successful players do not move to hit the ball, they move to do something to the ball. Mastering proper footwork throughout your development is crucial, whether you're a 10-andunder player, a junior, or an adult. Understanding and improving your footwork will enhance your ability to swing and control the ball more effectively. Developing these five movement skills will improve your overall footwork and ultimately improve your shot-making.
1. It starts with a Split Step. I feel this is the most underrated and under trained movement in tennis. I am not just referring to ‘hopping’ up when the opponent is hitting the ball. The Split Step is so much more than that. It is a timed movement that needs to have the player engaged and connected to what is happening on the other side of the net. A mistimed Split Step will result in a player not getting to the ball effectively,
The Importance of Footwork
By Christopher Pucci
dramatically affecting the quality of the shot.
2. The first step to the ball. The more successfully this step is per formed, the faster the player will be in getting to the ball. Two specific concepts to make this step more effective are:
a. when moving to the right, the first step is done with the right foot and when moving to the left, the first step is done with the left foot.
b. The direction of the first step directly reflects the location of where on the court the player will make contact with the ball.
3. The last step to the ball. Not only is this step the final step in getting to the ball, but it is during this step storing the energy that will be used during the swing takes place. A specific concept to focus on with this step is maintaining a low profile. If the body stands too tall, the storing of energy does not take place.
4. The ability to secure a proper stance. There are many different types of stances a player can use; therefore, the main focus is being balanced. Being balanced means the player is in control of their body, ultimately having the ability to control the racquet and the ball.
5. The first step after the completion of the shot (recover y) is often overlooked during training . How the movement of hitting “flows” into the required movement of repositioning for the next shot is critical.
Having an effective first step of recover y often makes the difference in reaching the next shot correctly. The first step of recovery needs to be explosive, purposeful, and have a sense of urgency. There is only one word in the entire tennis dictionary that has the word “work” in it, footwork. If a player decides to do the work, the footwork, then hitting the ball becomes much easier and so will this game.
Christopher Pucci is a ‘Master Coach’ and Director of Adult Tennis for CourtSense in New Jersey. He has been coaching for over 35 years and with CourtSense since 2013. Throughout his career, he has coached adult and junior players from beginner to highprofile ATP and WTA players. He is the co-creator of DoublesSense, a technical and tactical program for all levels to improve your doubles play. He can be reached by phone at 201266-3708 or by email at christopher.p@courtsense.com.
Wheelchair Tennis
By Justyna Wereszka
Ihavebeen teaching and studying wheelchair tennis over the past few years. It is a challenging, sometimes complicated yet rewarding experience. I usually have four students with different levels of ability and tennis experience, all in the wheelchair category. My preparation for these classes includes in person and online Adaptive and Wheelchair tennis courses but I learned the most on the court working with my amazing students!
Rules
There is only one difference: the twobounce rule. Wheelchair players are allowed to play a ball after the second bounce however the first ball bounce must be inside the court. The other tennis standard rules and equipment, such as racquet and court size are the same.
Inclusivity
Wheelchair tennis players are allowed to compete in any sanctioned event available to the general public. High school tennis players are authorized and may play against their able-bodied peers in organized team competitions. There have also been many wheelchair players on USTA league teams across the nation.
The Most Common Disabilities in Wheelchair Tennis
The only eligibility requirement to play wheelchair tennis is that one must have a permanent physical impairment from the waist below. Spinal cord injury is one of the most common disabilities, but at the same time, is quite complex. There are four levels of the spine: sacral, lumbar, thoracic, and cervical. The disability manifests itself differently depending on where the injury occurred.
High-level thoracic and cervical injuries often create body temperature regulation problems. This is important to understand when coaching as players
will have spray water on themselves or use ice towels to cool down.
The higher the injury in the spinal cord, the less function one will have in the core and sometimes in the arms. Lower spinal cord injuries usually mean more functions available in the upper body. It is important to understand that spinal cord injuries can be complete or incomplete. Although athletes may have the same level of injury, the way in which that injury manifests is always quite different for each person.
In my classes I experienced that firsthand. I asked my students what accommodation(s) I can make for them. After we get to know each other, they are open and are very eager to share their insights and experiences with me.
Wheelchair Categories
According to the International Paralympic Committee, in wheelchair tennis, there are two sport classes:
1. The “Open class” is for athletes with a permanent impairment of one or both legs, but with normal arm function.
2. The “Quad class” is for athletes with additional restrictions in the playing arm, which limits the ability to handle the racquet or maneuver the wheelchair. However, as it relates to professional wheelchair tennis and tournament play.
3. The Open divisions are comprised of Men, Women, and Quad players. The Quad division is coed. If there is any doubt regarding whish division an athlete should classify, there are various classification sessions that occur throughout the year that typically run in tandem with a tournament. However, injuries that greatly affect one’s arms typically
qualify for the Quad division. For Quad players, they may need to use an assistive device if they have limited hand function. The most common is taping the racquet to the dominant hand.
Coaching Wheelchair Tennis
To start the program and find players you can reach out to the local rehabilitation hospitals and centers, paralympic sport clubs, Disability Associations, More United Chapter, the local USTA district or section office, USPTA or PTR. There are several nationwide organizations that help individual players obtain sport chair such as the Challenged Athlete Found at the VA.
Preparation for the wheelchair tennis lesson is the same as planning for able bodied class, with exception that the wheelchair class should be at least 1.5 hours long. The coach should know if there is a need for any special accommodations. Air pumps and some basic tools should be accessible. My students come well prepared, but I always have an air pump available. It is important for the coach to know about the different types of the sport chairs. These specialty chairs can be very expensive. I spent two days in the wheelchair during my training and it was a very challenging and painful experience (sore shoulders, blisters, and broken nails). The most important part of coach preparation is to get to know your students! Let them trust you and tell their stories. Their inspiration and knowledge teaches me how to be a better coach and helps me help them to improve.
For me, teaching Adaptive and Wheelchair tennis is a very rewarding experience and I love I am able to give back!
Justyna Wereszka is the Orange Ball Specialist at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Wereszka was one of the top junior players in Poland and is certified in highperformance training, cardio and fitness. A PTR and USPTA Certified Elite Professional and enjoys teaching 10-and-Under tennis.
Chris Lewit Aims To Modernize Tennis Teaching
With his new book Winning Pretty upcoming in 2025 and other endeavors, Lewit has plans to move tennis forward
By Brian Coleman
Asthe world of sports continues to modernize and embrace advancements in not only sports science but the revolution of analytics, there has never been more of a need for coaches, instructors and teachers of sports to not shy away from welcoming these new techniques.
That is especially true in tennis, a sport that seems to be progressing slower than others in utilizing the resources that are now available. For Chris Lewit, this is something he wants to change, and is always looking to improve his coaching offerings, to provide his students with the latest, state-of-the-art instruction.
A native of New York City, Lewit was an all-American player at Cornell before turning professional, until injuries derailed hopes of a long playing career. Lewit then spent years traveling Spain, discovering what makes the Spanish method of tennis development so effective, and used those lessons to form his own coaching philosophy.
Lewit now runs his own boutique tennis academy in Vermont where he gives individualized coaching to the students who join him, and is a published author thanks to his 2014 release of the bestseller The Secrets of Spanish Tennis, with plans on releasing his follow-up version, The Secrets of Spanish Tennis: Second Edition in November 2024 by New Chapter Press.
In addition, Lewit is taking his knowledge of sports science, kinesiology and analytics to publish his next book, Winning Pretty, which is set to hit newsstands and be available for purchase in 2025. The book’s title derives from former player and current
coach and television analyst Brad Gilbert’s book, Winning Ugly, which talks about the mental warfare of tennis.
“I love Gilbert’s book, and I really compliment his work in mine,” explains Lewit. “His focused on the psychological game, where I take the opposite approach, and examine the biomechanics of tennis, and it’s really technique-focused. The topics aren’t solely based on my opinions; it’s an evidence-based book which comes from a ton of research. It’s about modern technique, and about building fluid and elastic technique and movement, which when you do that, it tends to be a pretty looking stroke, and technique that is efficient. We’re aiming to build worldclass movement, and that’s sort of the thesis of the book.”
Lewit has always embraced new teaching methods, and is always evolving as a coach. After all his years studying with and learning from some
of the most famed Spanish tennis coaches, Lewit used that valuable experience to guide the way he taught. But he is not someone who is stuck in his ways, or stubborn about changing; he’s just the opposite.
Because of that impetus, Lewit is not only researching for his book, but is also going back to school to enhance his abilities. Lewit is back in college and studying biomechanics and kinesiology as he continues to add more to his coaching arsenal.
“To be a champion in anything in life, you have to be endlessly curious and always working to get better every day, and it’s no different in coaching,” said Lewit. “The greatest minds I have ever studied were like that. Players have to want to constantly get better each and every day, so it’s important, as a coach, to meet them at that level. When I was a younger coach, I just wanted to learn how to coach, so I spent years studying with the best coaches I could find, building relationships and fostering mentors. During that time I developed this interest in biomechanics and Exercise Science. I really see this as the future for me, because it’s something I have always been curious about and will be important for the next generation of players.”
The book examines a whole host of ideas born out of Lewit’s expertise and research talking with leading experts not only in tennis, but across the sports science landscape. Contents include the winning pretty philosophy, origins and influences of technique, engineering elegant technique, sport vision and eye dominance, transtheoretical model of tennis technique building, magicians and mechanics, the biomechanics of the
power serve, how to build a beautiful serve, keys to the kick serve, slice serve essentials, fierce forehands, blistering backhands, invincible volleys, outstanding overheads, daring drop shots, tweeners, and specialty shots, footwork fundamentals, future trends in tennis technique and concludes with putting all the puzzle pieces together.
While the book is not slated to hit shelves until 2025, Lewit is releasing parts of the book throughout 2024, with each month producing a new chapter available behind a paywall on John Yandell’s TennisPlayer.net.
The book is just one aspect of what remains Lewit’s pursuit in becoming the best coach and teacher he can be, as evidenced by his meticulous research in addition to going back to school, all while continuing to run his own tennis program. It’s a lot for one person to juggle, especially when he has a wife and four children at home.
“It can be difficult to balance all of those things with family, and I make sure to be a good father and husband, because a lot of times this industry can leave people with broke marriages,” explained Lewit. “So I make sure to make time for it all. That means a lot of early mornings, writing at 4 a.m., or
staying up really late and studying, and I’ve learned to just operate with less sleep. The Spanish method is all about embracing the suffering, and I’m not afraid to suffer and make sacrifices to make sure it all works out.”
Lewit has dreams of making his tennis program into a beacon of modern tennis teaching, and cultivating an environment to maximize the potential of all of his players. He has a goal of making his club the number one place in the country for technical and biomechanics training, video analysis and testing services for athletes, especially younger athletes, and doing so with research-based methods that are on the cutting edge.
“In the first chapter of Winning Pretty I talk about how technology, video analysis and motion capture systems have absolutely transformed
sports analytics, technical analysis and how we understand modern technique. To deny these things would be foolish because it is transforming the game across all sports,” said Lewit. “In tennis it’s happening slowly, and the main reason is financial. There’s no one organization funding the research and the technology, so it is a little harder to do video and analytics for tennis. But there’s no reason we shouldn’t do these things for tennis. I would like to model it off the Kovacs Institute as I’m a huge supporter and fan of Mark Kovacs and what he does. They do a lot of cutting-edge biomechanical assessments, athletic and injury prevention screenings and exercise science testing, and I’d like to try to create a hub here in the Northeast that does that.”
It’s always important for coaches to evolve and grow their knowledge, which in turn helps their players. Lewit has a strong desire to always be improving, and the next generation of tennis players will be the beneficiaries of that. Lewit also has a passion for teaching coaches so he will be hitting the USPTA, PTR and ITF conference speaking circuits next year. Be on the look out for Winning Pretty next year, and prepare to learn about all the advancements in tennis teaching.
literary corner
The Athlete and Their Mechanisms of Defense: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Sport Psychology
By Dr. Tom Ferraro
Atthe highest level of sports, the difference between winning and losing often comes from what lies between the ears, and not necessarily who is the bigger, stronger, faster athlete. Being mentally strong is something we hear talked a lot about in athletics, and it has never been more important to understand the psychological aspects that play such a crucial role.
Renowned sport psychologist, Long Island’s Dr. Tom Ferraro, has been at the forefront of helping athletes, and recently published his latest book: “The Athlete and Their Mechanisms of Defense: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Sport Psychology”
With over 25 years of experience in the field, Dr. Ferraro brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table as he offers a unique and insightful perspective on the mental aspects of athletic performance. Dr. Tom Ferraro earned his Ph.D. from SUNY Stony Brook and a psychoanalytic degree from The Long Island Institute of Psychoanalysis Nassau County . He has dedicated his career to helping athletes navigate the psychological challenges of competition.
With an impressive track record of success, Dr. Ferraro has worked with numerous professional teams, organizations, coaches, and Olympic
athletes, including the Women’s National Soccer Team, the PGA, the LPGA, professional lacrosse teams and players in Major League Baseball. He has provided them with invaluable insights and support in their mental preparation for competition. Through his work, he has gained a wealth of experience and knowledge, making him a sought-after expert in the field.
His new book “The Athlete and Their Mechanisms of Defense” calls for a paradigm shift in the field to overcome the current weakness of the cognitive/behavioral approach. Dr. Ferraro delves deeper into the intricate relationship between an athlete’s unconscious and their performance on the field, court, or track. As a boardcertified psychoanalyst, he uncovers the underlying reasons for self-defeating behaviors that can hinder an athlete’s success.
This groundbreaking book not only identifies the root causes of these behaviors, but also provides practical strategies and techniques for addressing them. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of the defense mechanisms that athletes use to cope with pressure, fear, anxiety, loss of confidence, performance slumps, and other psychological challenges. Dr. Ferraro offers valuable insights and tools to help athletes overcome these challenges in order to improve their athletic performance and their mental
health to reach their full potential.
The current state of the field has produced rather ineffective and superficial interventions which fail to address both the mental health concerns of the athlete as well as their performance issues,” says Dr. Ferraro. “A more steady, thorough in depth look is needed and is offered by a psychoanalytic approach. This new approach undertakes the task of learning more about the athletes unconscious, helps them to obtain ego strength, changes their ineffective defenses and only then can they hope to use coping skill effectively in order to win.”
Drawing from his extensive background in both sport psychology and psychoanalysis, The Athlete and Their Mechanisms of Defense is a comprehensive and insightful guide for anyone looking to understand and improve their mental game. As a leading authority in the field of sport psychology, Dr. Tom Ferraro’s latest book is sure to make a significant impact on athletes and coaches worldwide. The book became available in August; you can learn more about Dr. Ferraro and his new book by visiting www.drtomferraro.com.
