ParentingAces
Posts tagged professional tennis
Complain, Complain, Complain . . . Do!
28 months ago
in Resources
There is a lot of complaining going on in the Tennis World – from players, from coaches, from parents, from tournament directors, from journalists – I hear it all the time! And blame – WOW! – every organization is getting blamed for the demise of American tennis, from USTA to ITF to USPTA to NCAA . . . the list goes on and on.
This blog was born out of complaints that I had myself and that I heard from other tennis parents, so I get it – I’m not innocent in the Blame Game; in fact, far from it! But, if we just continue to complain and do nothing to change the status quo, then where does that get us?
A group of brilliant tennis minds is coming together to DO SOMETHING. There’s a brand new resource online called American Tennis Journal More >
College Players Soar at US Open
59 months ago
With all the proposed changes NCAA is trying to make, you would think there was a problem with US college tennis. This first week of the US Open is proving otherwise.
We have seen some incredible wins by our young guns in Flushing. Stanford’s Mallory Burdette took out Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland in her first round match in straight sets then did similar work against Lucie Hradecka (you may recognize this name as one of the silver medal doubles winners at last month’s London Olympics) of the Czech Republic in Round 2.
On the men’s side, USC’s Steve Johnson (NCAA Singles Champion in 2011 and 2012) beat former University of Illinois player Rajeev Ram in the first round then partnered with Jack Sock to oust the top seeds in the Men’s More >
We’re in Good Hands!
310 months ago
Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it. – George Orwell
Last week was quite a whirlwind in the tennis world. I spent an inordinate amount of time scrolling through Facebook posts and Twitter tweets trying to keep up with all the conversations involving the NCAA changes to college tennis and the USTA changes to junior tennis. One very positive thing that came out of all this craziness was the creation of a new Facebook group that just may be the unifying force we need.
Started by two young men – Bob Van Overbeek (University of Florida) and Evan King (University of Michigan), both top D1 college players – this group grew from 0 to 8000+ members More >
USTA Steps Up
010 months ago
I received the following from USTA this morning:
USTA Statement on Proposed NCAA Changes to Collegiate Tennis
The USTA is aware of the proposed format changes being made by the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee to the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships. Working with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), the USTA is preparing a joint opposition letter to these changes. The letter will be distributed to the committee in advance of its Monday, August 20th meeting.
Share this:NCAA Changes
210 months ago
When we are confronted by challenges, we have a choice: sit back and accept them (glass half empty approach) OR take action and attempt to turn them into something positive (glass half full approach). Concerning this week’s announcement by the NCAA that it is changing the format of the Division 1 year-end tennis tournament, I’m choosing to join several of the current, future, and recently-graduated players and take action.
In a nutshell, NCAA has decided that, during its year-end tourney, (1) players will have no on-court warmup; (2) the six singles matches will play first and will play a 10-point tiebreaker in lieu of a third set; (3) changeovers will last 60 seconds instead of the current 90; (4) the three doubles matches will be More >
Tennis Parent/Non-Tennis Parent – It Takes Two!
612 months ago
If you’ve watched any professional tennis in the past couple of years, no doubt you’ve noticed Novak Djokovic’s parents in the stands during his matches – they are the ones cheering loudly, wearing their son’s image on their shirts, standing and fist-pumping after every winning shot. Rumor has it that the King of Decorum, Roger Federer, once told them to be quiet (not the words he used!) during a match with their son. They are the epitome of the hard-core Tennis Parent.
In most junior tennis families, though, typically there is one parent in charge of all-things-tennis and one parent who is less involved. Even in families where the parents are no longer living in the same household, I’ve seen this distinction develop. There is one More >