New York Tennis Magazine - January/February 2012

57NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2012 • New York Tennis Magazine

58NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2012 • New York Tennis Magazine www.gothamtennis.com

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Feature Stories3 How to Avoid Burnout By Eric Faro6 Tennis Pro Grinds Out a Living on the Tour By Bobby Calise14 NYC Racquet Sports Serving New York’s Tennis Needs By Michael Sarro18 Do Not Let Fear Affect Your Game in Tennis By Stan Popovich20 NYJTL Honors Cantor Fitzgerald CEO and John McEnroe at Annual Awards Luncheon

By Michael Sarro24 The Biofile: Gilad Bloom By Scoop Malinowski26 Five Ways You Can Win More Matches … With Less Effort! By Alex Vayner27 Ethics and Adult League Tennis By Marvin Jeffrey32 A Look Back at the 2011 Tennis Season By Emilie Katz38 Step Up to Success By Ajay Kumar39 Winter Care and Maintenance Tips for Your Tennis Court Color Surface

By Kevin J. Healion, CTCB44 Downgrade: One Player’s NTRP Shocker! By Brent Shearer44 Local Tennis Clubs Serving Up the Holiday Cheer By Michael Sarro47 Cardio Tennis By Barbara Ordes47 CHSAA Girls Recap: St. Francis Prep Girls Capture 14th Straight CHSAA Girl’s

Tennis State Title50 Professional Stringing: What Makes It So Different? By Roman Prokes

Columns4 Court Six: Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Gossip Column By Emilie Katz13 The Jensen Zone By Luke Jensen16 Match Point … But How? Five Steps to Closing Out a Match By Rob Polishook, MA, CPC22 Metro Corporate League Recap30 USTA Eastern Metro Region Recap40 New York Tennis Magazine’s Literary Corner: Rafa By John Carlin and Rafael Nadal

By Brent Shearer42 New York Tennis Magazine’s Mailbag46 CTA Spotlight: Metropolitan Tennis Group (MTG)48 Charitable Initiatives: Champions One and All!51 New York Tennis Club Directory51 Upcoming Events52 New York Rankings55 USTA/Metropolitan Region Tournament Schedule

57NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2011 • New York Tennis Magazine

Cover photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg

8 Fish and Serena Lead American HopefulsDown UnderAs 2012 gets underway, we take a look at the top U.S. hopefuls, MardyFish and Serena Williams, who will be competing in an open field ofcontenders, pretenders and sleepers all seeking a Grand Slam glory at theAustralian Open.

Cover story

Brent ShearerEditorial Contributor

David DruckerEditorial Contributor

Gary SimeoneEditorial Contributor

Ken GoldbergPhotographer

TABLE OF CONTENTSJanuary/February 2012Volume 2, Number 1


By Eric Faro

Burnout in tennis is an everyday occurrence. Thegame can become such a physical and mentalgrind, and it can really take a toll on your mind andbody. Players often push themselves to

the point of exhaustion that they no longer enjoyplaying the game. There are a few keythings that you can do to avoid feelingthis way.

1.When you start to feel likeyou need a break, get away.Don’t force yourself to continueto play when you are totallyburned out. Serious playersoften feel guilty when theytake some time off so theydon’t really get away from thegame. They may only take afew days off and get back onthe courts before they are reallyready or study tapes and watchmatches. This is not really clearingyour mind because you are not reallyinto what you are doing when you areon the court. My suggestion is to putyour racquets in the closet, don’t turn onthe Tennis Channel, and stay away from ten-nis magazines until you are ready. When youfind yourself really missing the sport with apassion, it is time to return to the court.

2. Vary your practice sessions.It can become very monotonous and boring to prac-tice the same way every time you step on the court.Make sure you vary your drills. Give yourself goalswhen you are drilling and change up the length of yoursessions. You don’t always have to spend the sameamount of time on the court to be productive. With in-tensity, effort and concentration, you can get thingsdone in a much shorter amount of time than simplygoing through the motions of a long, boring practice.

3. Practice with different partners and at different facilities.It can be tedious to play with the same people all the time. Inorder to spice up your practice a little, play with different play-ers who play different styles. This will also help your game ratherthan falling into the same tendencies of playing the same play-

ers all the time. It can also be a drag to always playat the same club. Every now and then, go play

somewhere else. It would also be a goodidea to play on different surfaces.

4. Listen to a different voice.There may come a time when

you are no longer totally con-necting with your coach. Ithappens to coaches in allsports. It happened to JoeTorre. It happened to BillParcells. It happened to PatRiley. After a period of time,you may drown out what

your coach is telling you andit may make you feel like it is

draining you mentally. You maylose your motivation to play. You

may need to a hear a new voice. Anew coach may tell you the same

exact thing as your old coach, but theway they say it may click in your head. It

could be their tone, their enthusiasm ortheir body language, but a different voicecan sometimes do wonders for your gameand make playing tennis fun once again.

Eric Faro is program director at Gotham Ten-nis Academy and Stadium Tennis Center, justsouth of Yankee Stadium. Eric grew up inRiverdale and attended Horace Mann, where heplayed number one singles for all four years. Heattended Ohio State University and won morethan 100 matches during his collegiate career.He may be reached by e-mail at

[email protected], or online at www.stadi-umtennisnyc.com or www.gothamtennis.com.

How to AvoidBurno tu

4 New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2012 • NYTennisMag.com

What the pros do away from the court

Sania Mirza-Malik (@mirza-sania): Lunch at the mall, fol-lowed by shopping = life isgood :)

Sabine Lis icki(@sabinelisicki): Onemore session to go+ a massage andthen I’m done for

the day :) I love off season training!

Serena Wi l l iams(@serenawilliams):Getting ready for Kourt-ney and Kim take NewYork.

Ryan Harrison (@ryan-harrison92): Got killed atthe track this morning.So fired up to be inTexas! Cool down todayat the golf course.

Over/under = 105!

Andy Roddick (@andy-roddick): Getting thechance to play Augustanational today … It does-n’t get better than this ...

Ryan Harrison (@ryan-harrison92): Just rolledout of bed and definitelyfeeling the effects of ourbasketball game lastnight.

Amer Delic (@amerdelic):Listening to HowardStern’s segment called“Dumber Than a Box ofRocks.” He gets paidmillions of dollars. Weare all dumb.

Svetlana Kuznetsova(@svetlanaK27): About todo some boxing!

Mike Bryan (@bryanbroth-ers): Took a trip to theWelsh Dept. of Defense andthey let me fire some oftheir new weapons.

Mardy Fish (@mardy-fish): You know youare bored when youare watching yourbuddy play the quar-ters of his men’s openclub championship …

Victoria Azarenka(@vika7): What’s upworld? Getting readyfor workout … coffeeto wake up again :)))

S e r e n a W i l l i a m s(@serenawilliams):Family bowling nightw/my mom & niece &nephews. I did not havethe heart to tell mymom I HATE bowlingand I’m terrible at it …

Mardy Fish (@mardy-fish): Not a bad TurkeyDay. Play Federer, eatturkey with family andfriends. Life is good!

Life isn’t perfect for the pros either …

Ryan Harrison (@ryan-harrison92): Love thelady in line ahead of meat Walmart who is takingfive minutes to find exactchange for the $154.89

grocery bill.

Bob Bryan (@Bryanbros):Well, we have a house fullof strollers, car seats,bassinets, blankets, toys& clothes … now justneed a baby.


Bob Bryan (@Bryanbros):The time of judgment isupon me. Lord, give meno cavities & I’ll never askfor anything again.

Shahar Peer (@sha-harpeer): Slept 12 hours!!!Any one said Jet lag?!

Andy Roddick (@andy-roddick): Doh!!! In line toget food. Guy in front ofme pulls out a full page oforders … I will be hereawhile … Sh#*!

Carol ine Wozniacki(@carowozniacki): Sprintingthrough the airport for a 10min. connection, but madeit. Shortest connectionever!

Lindsay Davenport(@LDavenport76): Onthe same page! RT@anotherAndyL: I hatewhen I hold the dooropen for a person andthey don’t say thank

you. Give a nod at least.

Dominika’s Slovakian dance partyWhile Americans dinedin their homes onThanksgiving feasts, apair of WTA stars enter-tained in Bratislava,

Slovakia. Before an exhibition match againsthometown girl Dominika Cibulkova, Den-mark’s Caroline Wozniacki let loose herdance moves on the court, replete with pom-poms and a makeshift “Macarena” perform-ance. It’s good to see Wozniacki letting herselfhave some fun, but one has to think if she wasjust trying to keep up with the self-proclaimed“party girl” Cibulkova on a club’s dance floor.Maybe it was that champagne toast with herfriendly little foe, but Caro really let herself goat this event. It’s commendable, the lack ofself-conscious inhibition, very childlike but ina good way in this case. For what it’s worth,Cibulkova won the match, 6-4, 2-6, 10-3

Pizza anyone?Playing in his hometown ofBasel, Switzerland, RogerFederer won his secondtournament of 2011, de-feating Kei Nishikori 6-1,

6-3. Then, he went out and bought the ballkidspizza served on a silver platter.

New relationship?Russian tennis star Maria Kirilenko has anew beau, two-time NHL most valuable playerAlex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals.Apparently, Kirilenko has been spendingpart of her offseason in the Washington, D.C.

area working out withthe George Washing-ton women’s tennisteam.

Love and marriage?Dane worldn u m b e rone-rankedCarol ineWozniackiand then u m b e r

two-ranked golfer in the world, Ireland’sRory McIlroy, have been dating the since the2011 U.S. Open with the Golden couple hav-ing confirmed that, they are in love. However,Wozniacki has stated that she will not get mar-ried in 2012. The Dane was asked about herweeding plans with McIlroy in 2012, and shereported that, “I think one has to wait a coupleof years yet … in any case.”

Moving onAnna Kournikovais exiting NBC’sThe Biggest Loserat the end of this,the show’s 12thseason.

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By Bobby Calise

Roger Federer, arguablythe greatest men’s tennisplayer of all time, hasearned about $3 million in

2011, not including endorsements. Hisrival, Rafael Nadal, has made in excess of$6 million, and top-ranked Novak Djokovic,who recently completed a historic seasonthat included three major titles, has pock-eted nearly $11 million.

If you are one of the top men’s players inthe world, a career in tennis can be prettylucrative. But what if you’re the 978thranked player in the world?

“I am losing money most weeks,” saidPeter Aarts, a professional tennis player fromPound Ridge (Westchester County), N.Y. The

24-year-old Aarts turned pro in August 2009after graduating from the University of Michi-gan three months prior with a degree in English.

“Maybe if you are 300th in the world, youcan break even if you are wise and a little fru-gal,” said Aarts.

Though Aarts’ singles rank is in the 900s,he has been ranked as high as 391st in theworld in doubles, rotating with three or fourdifferent doubles partners depending onwho’s in town that week.

Like many American college students whograduated into the recession, Aarts’ career op-tions were limited. He says several of hisclassmates from Michigan had committed tofinance jobs during senior year, only to find outthose positions were eliminated before theycould claim them. So for Aarts, the decision toturn pro was easier than it might have been.

And yes, playing tennis for a living beatsjob hunting, resume tweaking, and cover let-ter writing, but it’s still, unmistakably, work.

“It’s the biggest grind you can imagine,”said Aarts, who travels 31 to 32 weeks a yearplaying tournaments in the U.S. and abroad.His playing schedule is a mix of “Challengers”and “Futures,” the second and third tiers ofprofessional tennis tournaments below theAssociation of Tennis Professionals (ATP),which includes majors like the U.S. Open andWimbledon.

Like many pros at his level, Aarts may aswell add “Travel Agent” to his resume. Hespends hours on end researching flightsonline and filing the paperwork for interna-tional visas when necessary.

“I usually only book one-way flights,” saidAarts, because he never knows when he’ll be

Tennis Pro Grinds Out a Living on the Tour


leaving—it all depends on how long he sur-vives in a given tournament. “Some days Iwake up and I forget what city I’m in.”

In 2010, Aarts played five tournaments infive weeks in India and China. He also playsin South and Central America as often as hecan—the cost of living is more favorable thanin the U.S., tournaments are frequent there,and he speaks Spanish.

The entry fees for Challengers and Futurestournaments are about $40, and the prizepool for most tournaments is typically either$10,000 or $15,000, split among all partici-pants. Meaning, if a player wins a $10,000tournament, he’ll only take home about$1,300, with the rest of the money to be dis-tributed among the other participants basedon where they finish.

To help pay for his travel expenses, Aartshas a group of sponsors made up of familyfriends and other supporters who haveknown him for most of his tennis life. Somesponsors have contributed money, and oneeven chipped in with frequent flier miles.

At one point, Aarts had set himself up as alimited liability corporation, borrowing thatidea from his former assistant coach at Michi-

gan, Michael Kosta. Aarts has since dissolvedthe LLC, though he maintains the partnershipwith his sponsors (Kosta is now a workingstand-up comedian in Los Angeles).

Aarts’ arrangement with his sponsors is asfollows: They keep him afloat financially and inexchange, they receive the lion’s share of hisearnings. Once his sponsors have recoupedtheir initial investments, the percentages flipand he keeps the majority of his winnings.

Retaining a full-time coach is another luxurycommon to the top players. But at Aarts’ level,it takes four or five players like himself to pooltheir resources and hire a coach, whose serv-ices they then share for as long as they canafford it—sometimes just for a week at a time.

“And sometimes,” Aarts said, “you justhave to figure it out on your own.”

The six-ft. three-in., 185-lbs., Aarts startedthe 2011 season hoping to crack the top 600in singles, which, with his current ranking,could be difficult but not impossible withabout two months to go. In his estimation,there’s not much disparity in skill level be-tween the 200th ranked singles player and the1,000th. The trick, he says, is maintaining ahigh level of play for longer stretches over the

course of the season.“Anyone can have one or two good

weeks,” said Aarts. The question is, “How canI have one or two good months?”

Aarts plans to sit down with his sponsors atthe end of the year to evaluate his finances,but says he wants to continue playing pro-fessionally through 2012, with a goal of com-peting in the qualifying tournament for the2012 U.S. Open.

“Right now, there is nothing that I wouldrather do tomorrow than get up and be ableto try and push myself to become a little bet-ter,” said Aarts.

Bobby Calise is former U.S. Open ballboyand Division III tennis player. Today, he’s amedia professional and freelance writerwhose work spans sports, culture, busi-ness, travel and personal essays. If he’s notblogging or tweeting, he’s probably at theUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Cen-ter hitting with his former college doublespartner. More of his writing can be found onhis personal blog, “The 250 Square FootView.” He may be reached by e-mail [email protected].

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2012 Australian Open

PREVIEWFish and Serena Lead American Hopefuls

DOWN UNDERMardy Fish is now the top-ranked

American in the world, surpassingAndy Roddick who held the distinction asthe top-ranked American for a number ofyears. Fish has been playing the best ten-nis of his life as of late, and despite a lackof success in years past at the AustralianOpen, Fish is arguably America’s best

hope to raise the men’s singles title this year at 2012’s first GrandSlam event.

In 2012, Fish will be looking to improve upon his early round de-feats in the last couple of Australian Opens. In 2010, Fish wasupset in the first round and Fish fell in the second round to TommyRobredo of Spain, 6–1, 3–6, 3–6, 3–6 last year. Fish’s best resultin Melbourne came in 2007 when he was a quarterfinalist.

This is the new Mardy Fish though. This is the Mardy Fishwho reached a career high ranking of number seven on the ATPTour in 2011 and is currently the eighth-ranked men’s tennisplayer in the world. This is the Mardy Fish who was a quarter-finalist at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships which was hisbest result in the grass court major. This is the Mardy Fish whowon the U.S. Open Series before losing a tough five-setter inthe fourth round of the 2011 U.S. Open to Jo-Wilfred Tsonga ofFrance.

Fish has a great all-around game, and on the hard courts of Mel-bourne, he is a serious threat to match his career-best quarterfi-nals appearance and possibly advance further. With Roddickslumping, and fellow countrymen John Isner and Sam Querrey notquite ready yet to take it to the next level, look for Fish to be theUSA’s best hope this year.

On the women’s side, American hopesfor the 2012 Australian Open crown

will rest on the shoulders of six-time Aus-tralian Open champion, Serena Williams,who is trying to return to the top of thewomen’s rankings after a difficult year ofinjuries, including a serious career-threat-ening pulmonary embolism. Serena willreturn to Melbourne this year for the firsttime since winning her fourth consecutivetitle in 2010 after missing 2011 due to in-

jury. A powerful serve and fiery groundstrokes makes Serena afavorite to hoist the tournament trophy once again.

In early 2003, Serena beat her older sister, Venus, to claim herfirst Australian Open title. Her “Serena Slam,” as she called herfour Grand Slam victories, made her the fifth woman in history towin all four Grand Slams consecutively.

At the 2005 Australian Open, Serena emerged from the tennisdoldrums, as she defeated Amelie Mauresmo, Maria Sharapovaand Lindsay Davenport to claim the title for the second time.

In 2006, she fell out of the WTA top 50 after exiting the Aus-tralian Open in the third round. Her slide continued unabated,and later that year, she fell out of the top 100 for the first timein her career.

The 2007 Australian Open women’s singles final saw Serenabounce back to her best as she crushed Sharapova in straightsets.

Serena also won the 2008 and 2009 Australian Open titles, and2010 saw Serena’s success “down under” continue as sheclaimed her fourth consecutive Australian Open title.

After battling through injuries in 2011, she returned with an ap-pearance in the 2011 U.S. Open Finals where she was beaten byAustralian Samantha Stosur, 2-6, 3-6. In 2012, Serena looks toright the ship and her journey begins January in Australia.

Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg



PREVIEWDjokovic looks to build off record-breaking 2011 Down UnderAnother year of tennis is now in the booksand we say goodbye to the season of2011. A season in which we saw one of themost dominating displays of tennis by Ser-bian Novak Djokovic, who racked up threeout of four Grand Slam titles. One of thosewas the Australian Open last January inwhich he dismantled Great Britain’s AndyMurray in straight sets.

This year’s Australian Open will be a tour-nament in which we have a lot of questionsgoing in, dating back to a lot of different sto-rylines from the end of 2011. First and fore-most, can Djokovic carry his dominant formfrom 2011 into 2012 and successfully de-fend his title? It looked as if after winning theU.S. Open, Djokovic had run out of steam.Who can blame him as the number oneranked Serb was 65-2 by the U.S. Open’send. From thereafter, Djokovic went 6-4 to

finish out the year, failing to make it past theround-robin stages of the year-endingchampionships in London. It was obviousthat Djokovic was spent and needed to shutit down until 2012.

Rafael Nadal of Spain struggled this yearaccording to his standards, winning onlyone Grand Slam, of course on his favoritesurface at Roland Garros. The now rankedworld number two, Nadal will be enteringthe 2012 Australian Open on a high note,after just clinching the Davis Cup title forSpain over Argentina. It was apparent aswell, that the Spanish warrior seemed to besuffering from fatigue late in the tennis sea-son, hence his failure to make it pastround-robin play at the year ending cham-pionships as well. Believe it or not, Nadalfailed to win a tournament after winning theFrench Open back in May.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer ironicallyproved many fans wrong with his level of

play at the season’s end, capturing threestraight titles in Basel, Paris and London toend his 2011 season on a high note after aset of disappointing Grand Slam showings.Federer was denied a Grand Slam by thelikes of Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga andtwice by Djokovic. However, it was Federerwho showed no signs of slowing down atthe end of the season, which makes himone of the players to think about as a fa-vorite heading into the Australian Open.

The men’s side: The contenders …Novak Djokovic isyour obvious con-tender heading intothe 2012 AustralianOpen. The only thingthat looked to bewrong with Djokovicas the 2011 season

wound down was fatigue. Once Djokovic

Grand Slam Season Kicks Off With 2012 Australian Open

By David Drucker




PREVIEWrests up, gets recharged and re-energized,there should be no reason why he cannot re-peat as champion. When healthy, focused andmotivated, Djokovic was unbeatable and sim-ply too much to handle for anyone in 2011.Even players such as Federer and Nadal, whowent a combined 1-8 against the Serb in 2011could barely slow him down. Look forDjokovic to go far once again down under.

Rafael Nadal has to bethe next contender inline as he is hungry foranother Grand Slam anda possible shot at thetop-ranked Djokovic. Al-though Nadal faltered infive straight finals againstDjokovic in 2011, heseems to be able tomake it far into theSlams. One would think

the Nadal clan will regroup in the offseason,and come out with a vengeance at the start of2012 and make a statement. Nadal, who wonthe Australian Open in 2009, knows he can winon this surface, and will look to regroup and re-capture what was once his in Melbourne.

The men’s side: The pretenders …Unfortunately forGreat Britain’s AndyMurray, it was an-other year without aGrand Slam. Theclosest we sawMurray come towinning a title was

at last year’s Australian Open final, but hewas quickly dismissed by Djokovic. ForMurray, there is a ray of light as the Britturned up his level of play at the end of the2011 season with convincing wins overboth Djokovic and Nadal. However, Murrayfaltered in his home country once more, fail-ing to make it out of round-robin play at the

year ending championships in London, with-drawing with a leg injury. Look for Murray tomake it no further than the semifinals.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ofFrance will be playing therole of pretender in thisyear’s Australian Open aswell. Tsonga, who hadsome quality wins in 2011over players like Federerand Nadal, is still too muchof a risk to put him into the

contender’s pool. Tsonga can be due for abig win in the quarterfinals or semifinals, butthen seems to come up short the round after,such as at Wimbledon 2011.

The men’s side: The sleepers …You may be wonder-ing whether or not it’sa good thing thatRoger Federer isconsidered a sleepergoing into a GrandSlam. Federer, being

labeled a sleeper, should pretty much be anoxymoron. For the past seven and a halfyears, the Swiss legend has been a contenderfor every single Grand Slam he’s played in.This year, he goes into the Australian Open ona seven-Slam drought streak, hence his statusas a sleeper. Again, going back to the wayFederer finished off his 2011 season, hischances in Australia to pick up Grand Slamnumber 17 had to have increased.

David Ferrerneeds to be men-tioned as wellwith the way hefinished off his2011 season. TheSpaniard showed

his fierce competitive play at the year-end-ing championships in London with back-to-

back wins over Murray and Djokovic, both inconvincing fashion. Ferrer, who just recentlyrallied to defeat Juan Martin del Potro in theDavis Cup finals, adds that to his list of qual-ity wins towards the end of 2011. Look forFerrer to continue his hot streak down in Aus-tralia where the Spaniard will be grinding everypoint out like he usually does.

Women’s field wide open going intoAustralian OpenThe 2011 women’s tennis season was one inwhich we saw the rise of new talent, the resur-gence of a legend, and a bunch of conversa-tion on who the real number one in the worldis. Each Grand Slam saw a different champion;none of which were won by world number oneCaroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Belgium’s KimClijsters, who many have forgotten aboutthanks to a string of injuries at the end of 2011,is the defending champion down under.Clijsters should be healed and ready to go atthe year’s first Grand Slam and looks to makea run at her ninth Grand Slam title.

Of all the players in the women’s field, thereseems to be a lack of domination such as thetype of play we saw from Novak Djokovic onthe men’s side. The women’s field saw spurtsof greatness from players such as Li Na ofChina, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic,Sam Stosur of Australia and Serena Williams ofthe United States. Going into the AustralianOpen, all of these players have a reasonableshot at winning the title. Other players, likeworld number one-ranked Caroline Wozniacki,Russia’s Maria Sharapova and Italy’sFrancesca Schiavone, should be mentioned inthe conversation as well.

The women’s side: The contenders …

Serena Williams ishungry for anothergrand slam plainand simple. Serenawas one match







PREVIEWshort of winning her third U.S. Open titlebefore she was upended by Stosur. Aftermissing most of 2011 due to a list of severeinjuries, Serena will definitely be on theprowl for her sixth Australian Open titlestarting in 2012.

Petra Kvitovamay not be aname you’veheard of toooften, but be-lieve me, you

will sooner rather than later. Kvitova, whohails from the Czech Republic came outof nowhere at the 2011 WimbledonChampionships capturing her first everGrand Slam. She maintained a consistentlevel of play thereafter, and dominatedher way through the year ending champi-onships in Istanbul, Turkey. With that title,the Czech has risen to a career-bestnumber two in the world and will look tocontinue to do damage at the start of the2012 season.

The women’s side: The pretenders …C a r o l i n eWozn iack iseems to beb u c k l i n gunder thepressure ofliving up toworld num-ber one ex-

pectations. The top-ranked Dane wentwithout a Grand Slam in 2011, failing to getpast the semifinals in all four tournaments.Wozniacki, although consistent outside ofGrand Slam play, cannot seem to find herbest talent when she needs it at crunchtime late in a Grand Slam. For that reason,Wozniacki remains a pretender in thewomen’s field until she can win one of thebig four.

Victoria Azarenkaof Belarus is anotherup and comingplayer who cannotseem to capitalize inthe late stages of aGrand Slam either.Azarenka is one ofthe most focused

and determined players on the court, butseems to lack the knockout blow. The feisti-ness that Azarenka possesses will definitelylead her to some quality wins in her career, andperhaps even a Slam, but for now, the compe-tition seems to be too tough for her to breakthrough against the likes of Serena, Clijsters,and Kvitova.

The women’s side: The sleepers …Samantha Stosur ofAustralia, who finallybroke through at theend of the 2011 sea-son by defeatingSerena in the finals of

the 2011 U.S. Open for her first ever GrandSlam, will be flying under the radar in her native

Australia for 2012’s first Grand Slam. Stosurwho possesses all the talent there is to win mul-tiple Slams has failed to do so mentally. Whenon her game, firing on all cylinders, the Aussieis unbeatable. When faced with hardship at adifficult spot in a match, how she reacts will bethe determinant in whether she can continue tomake a name for herself in Grand Slam play.

Don’t forget aboutRussian MariaSharapova whoturned up her levelof play at the end of2011 as well. Al-though she didn’twin a Grand Slam,she came pretty

close, and posted a good deal of consis-tent wins throughout the season. Don’tcount the big hitting Russian out of makingher way through the field where she’s al-ready done so once before in 2008.

David Drucker is an intern with Long IslandTennis Magazine and is a member of theNichols College Men’s Tennis team.


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On the day after New York saw itsbiggest snow storm in October since1979, more than 110 high school jun-

iors and seniors, their parents, and morethan 40 college coaches braved the treach-erous roads to attend the 25th Annual Col-lege Showcase Day held at the Saw MillClub in Mt. Kisco, N.Y. For 25 years,USTA/Eastern has held the event to informlocal high school students about playingcollege tennis. Among the local schools inattendance were: Manhattan College,Queens College, CW Post, City College,Purchase College, Manhattanville Collegeand Yeshiva University.

At the event, high school juniors partici-pated in drills and attended special work-shops. High school seniors played in around-robin tournament and were able tohave lunch with college coaches and also at-tend the College Showcase. Topics discussedranged from scholarships, club tennis, why aspecific school/team would be the right fit fora specific player and how to weigh what is im-portant to a player in conjunction with a spe-cific team or school. Leading the seminardiscussions were USTA college experts, aswell as past attendees of the event who now

play college tennis.“For 25 years, the College

Showcase has been a great op-portunity for students who wantto play on a college tennisteam, but don’t know where, orhow to get there,” said JulieBliss, director of competitionand player development forUSTA/Eastern. “And, we enjoyhelping students learn about the opportu-nities that are out there and get noticed bycollege coaches.”

One local student/athlete, Cory Seltmanfrom Commack High School, was on handin hopes of getting an idea of what thewhole process entails.

“I came here to get a feel about the wholeprocess and see what options are out therefor me,” said Seltman. When asked if he feltattending the event was worth it he replied,“It was definitely worth it. My opinion hascompletely changed as now I just want tofind a college that fits me personally. I don’tcare if it’s Division I, II or III ... I don’t care asmuch about the level of the tennis team any-more as much as whether the school andteam are in fact the right fit for me.”

During the playing portion of the day, itmight have been difficult at times for theplayers on the courts to impress thecoaches as the lights went out on occasionin the bubble due to the lingering effects ofthe storm. You would think that would determost people from continuing, but not thesekids as many had travelled a good distanceto display their talents. Enduring these dif-ficult elements showed the coaches whatthese young athletes were made of as theydefinitely left lasting impressions.

Michael Sarro is director of business develop-ment for United Sports Publications Ltd. Hemay be reached by phone at (516) 409-4444,ext. 330 or e-mail [email protected].

Collegiate Tennis Hopefuls Brave Early Winter Weatherto Attend 25th Annual College Showcase Day

By Michael Sarro

© 2011 USTA. All rights reserved.

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By Luke Jensen

The late season surge fromRoger Federer winning hislast three tournaments of theyear (Basel, Paris and Lon-

don) show tremendous signs that the playerof the last decade will be ready to make arun for the top spot again in 2012.

Federer did not win a Grand Slam title in2011 and was part of two major collapses.Roger lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wim-bledon after leading two sets to love. Atthis year’s U.S. Open, Federer was servingwith double match point and lost to even-tual winner Novak Djokovic. At the age of30, it seemed like father time was about toclose the Fed Funhouse.

There are tough times for every player atany level of play. Times where the way youlose can cut deeper than other losses …time when you choke or let up during bigpoints and in an instant, the match slipsaway. These losses will never leave youand will sting for a long time.

I have found that what a player does aftersuch losses separates the true competitorsfrom the chokers in our sport. Roger showedme something that we can all learn from. Aftertwo devastating Grand Slam losses, it seemedto me that instead of doubting his game, hesimplified it. Roger went back to his corestrengths and finished 2012 on a confident roll.

Roger is a very dynamic and complexplayer with unlimited options. With so manyoptions and the losses to Rafael Nadal andDjokovic, I believe Federer lost sight of whattruly makes him great. Roger wins most ofhis points from big serving and big forehandplay. After losses in big matches, I wouldhear comments that Roger should serve

and volley, Roger needs to come over hisbackhand more often, etc. To be honest, Iwould agree to some point, but the Fed dy-nasty was built on two massive weapons:The serve and the forehand.

The three events Fed just won were athrowback to the Fed tactics of old. Rogerbeat Nadal 3-0 in London with an execu-tioner’s mindset. The first serve set up thebig forehand. The return of serve and back-hand groundstrokes played solid. This al-lowed the weapons to dish out the pain onNadal.

“The Federer Approach” is one that youcan use in your own game. I often see play-ers stressed about their weaknesses. Theyspend so much time on what they don’t dowell instead of what they win points with.Sharpen the saw and spend more time withyour weapons that win you matches. Don’ttake your weapons for granted and developthem even more for better results!

Roger did not win a Grand Slam in 2011,but with the focus on the core strength ofhis game, look for more major titles for Fedin 2012.

Don’t play big … play MASSIVE!

Born in Grayling, Mich., Luke Jensen ishead coach of the Syracuse UniversityWomen’s Tennis Team. Jensen’s resume in-cludes 10 ATP Tour doubles titles and sin-gles victories against Andre Agassi, PeteSampras, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, BjornBorg, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, StefanEdberg and Jim Courier. Jensen and hisbrother, Murphy, won the 1993 FrenchOpen doubles title. He was also a memberof the 1991 and 1992 Davis Cup Teams. Hisambidextrous play, including his ability toserve the ball with either hand at 130 mph,earned him the nickname “Dual HandLuke.” He may be reached by phone at(315) 443-3552 or e-mail [email protected].


Woody Schneider has been a main-stay in the New York tennis com-munity for 30-plus years. As

current owner of NYC Racquet Sports andGrand Central Racquet in Midtown Man-hattan, Woody’s shops are the authorityon all racquet sports in New York City.Located centrally at 157 West 35thStreet, NYC Racquet Sports offers allthat the avid tennis player needs, fromprofessional racquet stringing, tofootwear and apparel and anything elseyou may need to be prepared for actionon the court.

Woody owns and operates two addi-tional New York City stores, a kiosk inGrand Central Station (between tracks 38and 39) and Grand Central Racquet at341 Madison Avenue (between Madisonand Vanderbilt Avenues). In addition tothe New York City locations, Woody alsoowns and operates the USTA Pro Shopon the grounds of the USTA Billie JeanKing National Tennis Center. We recentlycaught up with Woody to discuss his retail

locations and the many benefits that NYCRacquet Sports brings to its customers.

How did you begin your career inrunning tennis retail shops?It happened by accident. I worked for 13years inside Grand Central Station at astore called Commuter Sports Center. Oneday, my boss came to me and told me hewas shutting it down. It was then time to trysomething on my own.

I started out in the stockroom of myfriend’s store in Grand Central. Eventually, Irented my own 100-square foot space andset up a stringing shop. I have been toldthat it was the first time that anyone hadever opened up a shop dedicated strictlyto stringing.

A few years later, there was a renova-tion done to Grand Central Station, and Iwas one of just a few businesses that re-mained open. We built a free-standingkiosk that could move on wheels whenwe couldn’t be in one part of the station.To this day, I still have a shop in Grand

Central. It’s not in the best location, butpeople know where I am and come to mefor business.

Tennis Week Magazine rented a store on44th Street that they didn’t really want torun themselves, so I went into businesswith Gene Scott, former publisher of TennisWeek, and we turned that location into myfirst actual store.

Five years ago, my partner, Joan Dziena,and I were approached about taking overthe pro shop at the USTA Billie Jean KingNational Tennis Center. Joan has 25-plusyears of retail and garment center experi-ence, and we began running the pro shopat the National Tennis Center.

What message do you have for thosewho buy their equipment online?You cannot beat personalized service. Al-though most people are under the mis-conception that there are far greatersavings online, the fact of the matter isthat we are all held to industry standardson our prices, and if you look closely, the

NYC Racquet Sports Serving New York’s Tennis Needs

By Michael Sarro


prices you see listed online are the sameexact prices we have here in the store.In addition, there are some sites outthere who are not authorized dealers,which means you have no warranty at alland also run the risk of a counterfeit rac-quet. There is no substitute for walkinginto a store, shaking the hand of a salesrep and speaking to them about whatyour issue is or what you are looking topurchase rather than on the phone withsomeone hundreds of miles away in asmall corner office. It’s the personal careand helpfulness of our staff that helpsyou buy the right product. You cannottell which racquet fits you best by click-ing some button online.

What does your shop offer that theretail chains do not?When you come in and talk to a personface-to-face who knows the sport and theproducts they are talking about, it is anoverall better shopping experience. Wehave retail professionals on our staff whoknow more about the products than mostteaching pros do. The teaching pros knowwhat they like and what is good for them,not necessarily what’s suitable for the cus-tomer. We properly advise the customer tobest suit their needs.

When you go to a chain store, I per-sonally think it’s a disaster. How can youcompare a racquet boutique shop thatonly specializes in racquet sports to alarge sporting goodsstore? The sales rep atthe sporting goodsstore might not haveknowledge of tennis atall, whereas when youwalk into a store likemine, you know for afact that the employ-ees are tennis players,tennis enthusiasts andexperts on tennisproducts. Most of thelarge chains don’t evenstring racquets or offerdemo programs! Howis the guy who is sell-ing Yankees jerseysgoing to be able to ad-vise you on what ten-nis equipment to buy?

That’s what we do and what we are herefor … to help people choose the rightproducts for them.

What are some of the bigger sellingitems at NYC Racquet Sports?Babolat is always through the roof. Theadidas Baricade 7.0 tennis shoe was ahot holiday item this season. Nike ap-parel also sells well. One unique itemhas been Roger Federer’s outfit from theend of the year tournament in Londonthat has been selling real well. For my-self, I have always been a Head man. Iam excited for the Head Youtek IG In-stinct racquet which Maria Sharapovaswitched to and Christina McHale uses.We do Christina’s stringing when she ishere playing at the USTA Billie Jean KingNational Tennis Center where I have oneof my shops. She is always thrilled withour services.

Do you see a spike in sales duringthe U.S. Open?During the two weeks of the Open, it’slike our Christmas. We get people fromall over the world, and they are so ex-cited to find our store. We are ready forthe big rush from New Yorkers, as wellas tourists.

What has been the highlight of yourcareer in the industry?In 2010, Racquet Sports Industry

awarded us the Retailer of the YearAward. After more than 30 years ofbeing in the tennis industry, nothing evermade me more excited than that. Unfor-tunately there was no cash reward, justbragging rights. To congratulate us,many of our manufacturers sent ussigned memorabilia, trophies, plaques,etc. It really made me feel that what I domakes a difference to people and I amglad that I can provide a service to thetennis community.

Any closing comments for our readers?I would tell New York tennis players andtennis players in general to supportyour local tennis shop or retailer. We arehere to offer you help in your process ofsearching for the right equipment foryou. If you take tennis seriously, howare you going to know which racquet tobuy if you have never used it? That iswhat we are here for, so feel free to takeadvantage of the opportunity.

For more information on NYC RacquetSports, call (212) 695.5353 or visit Grand-CentralRacquet.com.

Michael Sarro is director of business de-velopment for New York Tennis Maga-zine. He may be reached by phone at(516) 409-4444, ext. 330 or [email protected].


How many times haveyou found yourself in amatch in which you were

just a few points or gamesfrom winning? Maybe the

score was 6-3, 5-2, and you began to think,“This is great. I’m going to be the champion!”or, “Only four more points and the trophy’smine!” or even, “My friends are going to thinkI’m the greatest when I win.” In another situ-ation, you might be even closer to the “finishline.” Maybe this time, you are leading 6-2, 5-4 and serving in the crucial last game whenyou began to think, “Just one more game.”All weekend warriors, tournament players andprofessional players have had these thoughts.The question becomes, “How many of themhave succumbed to such thoughts and wenton to lose the match?” The answer is,“Many!” While it is true that many profession-als and top-ranked players may lose theirfocus during critical times in a match, the trulymentally tough competitors become awarewhen this happens and are able to changeand regain their focus immediately.

Paradoxically, losing focus is not horrible.In fact, it is a natural occurrence. The key isbeing aware that you lost your focus andthen changing it to bring yourself back to thepresent. The problem is that when it’s hap-pening, you may swear that you are con-centrating. And you probably are—just onthe wrong thing. Focusing on the events ofthe future immediately removes you from thepresent moment and takes you to a placewhere you have no control. Furthermore, asyour thoughts drift into the future, you losetouch with what’s really important and whatbrought you to this point: Playing withoutthinking, relying on your feel and natural in-stincts, and trusting your game—the gamethat got you to this moment in the first place.

When you lose focus, you are not only inthe wrong “time zone” mentally, but you alsobegin to get tight physiologically as theblood flow is diverted away from your handsand feet toward your deeper muscle groups,and your breathing becomes labored in-stead of deep and rhythmic. Next comes aloss of feel for your strokes: You are no

longer focused on what you can control, butbegin worrying about your opponent, whatothers are going to say, and how you will ex-plain the loss. All of these physiological re-sponses, combined with future-orientedthinking, cause your game to spiral more outof control, particularly as you lose the nextpoint and gasp for breath, grip the rackettighter, and try to find that elusive feel youhad earlier.

So, what can a player do? No doubt thisis a difficult situation, but by employing thefollowing five mental-toughness strategies—especially when you find your game spiralingout of control—you can give yourself the op-portunity to get back on track and turnthings around:

Become awareThe first step to combating loss of focus isto become aware that you have indeedlost it. When we talk about “concentration”in the sports arena, we are referring to theability to focus on what’s important and letgo of everything else. All players lose theirfocus at times; it’s inevitable. The trulymentally tough players, however, under-stand this. They don’t beat themselves upwhen it happens and they immediatelybring their focus back to what they cancontrol. Remember Arthur Ashe in the 1975Wimbledon final against Jimmy Connors atchangeovers? That towel over his headserved as a blanket that allowed him tocenter himself and bring his attention backto the present moment.

Refocus on the presentThis is imperative, but where do youbegin? First off, know that it takes a lot ofcourage and discipline to mentally refocus.However, what’s the alternative? A free fall!To refocus, bring your attention to yourbreath. Your breath is always completely

Match Point ...But How?Five Steps to Closing Out a MatchBy Rob Polishook, Mental Training Coach MA, CPC

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present: Just listen to it and its rhythm,sound, and feel as it enters and leaves yourbody. Or, visualize yourself breathing relax-ation in and breathing stress out, slowly let-ting go of the stressful air as you visualize itdissipating, like on a cold morning. Anotherpresent-moment awareness exercise is tobreathe in through your nose to the count ofthree (if possible) and out through yourmouth to the count of four. Or make up yourown pattern. These relaxing breathing pat-terns will help you to stay calm, relaxed andmentally present during the most difficulttransitional moments of a match. Other pres-ent-moment exercises to try include visualiz-ing the feel of a shot, your rhythm, targetzones, and shot patterns. These can all actas “anchors” to make you feel calm.

Change focusInevitably, athletes tend to lose focus whenthey think about a future moment, such aswhat might happen on the next point.Thinking about the consequences of aweak shot, or even of an injury or stressorthat occurred on or off the court, mightalso cause you to lose your concentration.The key here is to recognize this loss of

focus and bring yourself back to somethingthat you can control.

Let go of winning and of expectationsRemember, you cannot control whether youwin or lose, or whether or not you hit a win-ner—your opponent has a say in that. Like-wise, you cannot control the expectationsothers have of you. Paradoxically, the harderyou try to close out the match point and win,the more physically tight you will become.Just play each point the best you can; if youdo this, you will put yourself in the best posi-tion to win. If you don’t win, you can walkaway feeling positive about your effort.

Trust the processBring your attention to what you have to doto win the crucial point, which might in-clude staying relaxed, returning the balldeep, or serving into your opponent’sbackhand. Ask yourself what it would feellike to hit a great serve. Your body knows;now is the time to trust it. Then ask yourselfwhat it would feel like to play this point re-laxed, and instinctually you will feel a re-lease. In The Inner Game of Tennis: The

Classic Guide to the Mental Side of PeakPerformance, author W. Timothy Gallweytalks about letting your body play the wayit knows how to without interference fromyour (thinking) brain.

Using the strategies suggested abovewill provide you the best possible chanceof winning the next point or game and clos-ing out the match. That’s because theyhelp you to begin the point in a calm andrelaxed, in-the-moment place. Remember,match point … relax! Now you know how!

Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder anddirector of Inside the Zone Sports Perform-ance Group. As a mental training coach heworks with athletes and teams of all levels.His work focuses on helping athletes gain themental edge and letting go of blocks whichget in the way of peak performance. He is aUSTA Zonal Coach and has spoken and beenpublished for the USTA, USPTA and ITA. Ad-ditionally, he has conducted workshops na-tionally and internationally in India and Israel.He may be reached by phone at (973) 723-0314, e-mail rob@insidethezone or visitwww.insidethezone.com.


By Stan Popovich

Sometimes, fear and anxiety can get thebest of us in tennis. The key is to knowhow to manage that fear and anxiety.

As a result, here is a brief list of techniquesthat a tennis athlete can use to help managetheir fears and every day anxieties.

Occasionally, you may become stressedwhen you have to play in an importantevent. When this happens, visualize your-self doing the task in your mind. For in-stance, you have to play in thechampionship game in front of a largegroup of people in the next few days. Be-fore the big day comes, imagine yourselfplaying the game in your mind. Imaginethat you are playing in front of a large audi-ence. By playing the game in your mind,you will be better prepared to perform forreal when the time comes. Self-visualiza-tion is a great way to reduce the fear andstress of an upcoming situation.

Sometimes we get stressed out wheneverything happens all at once. When thishappens, a person should take a deepbreath and try to find something to do for afew minutes to get their mind off of the

problem. A person could read the newspa-per, listen to some music or perform an ac-tivity that will give them a fresh perspectiveon things. This is a great technique to useright before your next game.

Another technique that is very helpful isto have a small notebook of positive state-ments that you can carry around with you.Whenever you come across an affirmationthat makes you feel good, write it down ina small notebook that you can carry aroundwith you. Whenever you feel stressed, openup your small notebook and read thosestatements. This will help to manage yournegative thinking.

In every anxiety-related situation you ex-perience, you should begin to learn whatworks, what doesn’t work, and what youneed to improve on in managing your fearsand anxieties. For instance, you have a lotof anxiety and you decide to take a smallwalk before your game to help you feelbetter. The next time you feel anxious, youcan remind yourself that you got through itthe last time by taking a walk. This will giveyou the confidence to manage your anxi-ety the next time around.

Take advantage of the help that is avail-

able around you. If possible, talk to a pro-fessional who can help you manage yourfears and anxieties. They will be able to pro-vide you with additional advice and insightson how to deal with your current problem. Bytalking to a professional, a person will behelping themselves in the long run becausethey will become better able to deal withtheir problems in the future. Remember thatit never hurts to ask for help.

It is not easy to deal with all of ourfears and worries. When your fears andanxieties have the best of you, try to calmdown and then get the facts of the situa-tion. The key is to take it slow. Do yourbest each day, hope for the best, andwhen something does happen, take it instride. Take it one step at a time andthings will work out.

Stan Popovich is the author of A Layman’sGuide to Managing Fear Using Psychology,Christianity and Non-Resistant Methods, aneasy-to-read book that presents a generaloverview of techniques that are effective inmanaging persistent fears and anxieties. Formore information, visit ManagingFear.com ore-mail [email protected].

Do Not Let Fear

AffectYour Gamein Tennis


NYJTL Honors Cantor Fitzgerald CEO and John McEnroe at Annual Awards Luncheon

By Michael Sarro

On Nov. 17, the New York Junior TennisLeague (NYJTL) held its 26th AnnualAwards Luncheon at the Waldorf Astoriawhere they presented this year’s Leader-ship Awards to former champion JohnMcEnroe and Howard Lutnick, chief exec-utive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald. The af-ternoon consisted of a reception/cocktailhour, followed by a lunch with guest speak-ers, as well as a live auction with proceedsgoing to the NYJTL and the thousands ofkids in their programs.

The Master of Ceremonies for the eventwas Ted Robinson, NBC’s lead announcer oftennis coverage since 2000 and McEnroe’slongtime broadcast partner. Other specialguest presenters on hand were former NewYork Mayor David Dinkins, who presentedthe Educator of the Year award to BeverlyMitchell, principal of P.S. 37 in Queens; for-mer NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason, alifelong friend of Lutnick and thus intro-duced him, and also Kay McEnroe, motherof John who had the privilege of introduc-ing her son to the stage.

“We are proud to honor two recognizedleaders of the New York City business andsports community, “ said NYJTL Presidentand CEO Dr. Deborah Antoine. “We arealso pleased to celebrate NYJTL’s signifi-cant recent accomplishments.”

The first honoree, Lutnick, guided the re-building of Cantor Fitzgerald following the

devastating World Trade Center terrorist at-tacks on Sept. 11, 2001 that claimed thelives of 658 of the firm’s 960 New York-based employees. Since then, CantorFitzgerald has provided more than $180million to help the families of the firm’s col-leagues who perished and 10 years ofhealthcare coverage.

“After the attacks, we had two options, ei-ther close up the business for good, or rebuildit from the bottom up,” said Lutnick during hisspeech. “We decided to start over by hiringpeople we liked, creating a better work at-mosphere, and immediately set up funds forthe families of our lost colleagues.”

The second honoree, McEnroe hasmade a major commitment to growing thesport of tennis in New York City with theopening of the John McEnroe Tennis Acad-emy, located at Sportime Randall’s Island.In addition to his Academy, McEnroe con-tinues to play international competitive ten-nis on the ATP Champions Tour and for theNew York Sportimes of World TeamTennis(WTT). He is also widely acclaimed as theface of tennis broadcasting for CBS, NBC,ESPN2 and the Tennis Channel.

McEnroe concluded his speech by say-ing, “With my program and programs likethe NYJTL, we are a lot closer to having an-other tennis champion from New York City,”as the entire room applauded and gave hima standing ovation.

During the luncheon, there was a liveauction for attendees. Among the several“priceless” live auction items was a trip fortwo to the upcoming USA-SwitzerlandDavis Cup tie-breaker to be played in Feb-ruary in Switzerland, four tickets for thePresidential Suite in Arthur Ashe Stadiumfor the 2012 U.S. Open, and two tickets tothe Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. The auc-tion was conducted by celebrity auctioneerC.K. Swett of Phillips De Prury who used agiant racquet as his gavel.

The NYJTL has been changing livesthrough tennis and education for 40 years.It is the largest tennis and educationthemed, non-profit organization in theUnited States and are planning to get evenbigger. Larry Leeds, father of the late CaryLeeds who played for Yale University, wasanother speaker on hand and discussedthe plans for the new Cary Leeds Center forTennis & Education which will be theNYJTL’s new flagship site. The complex willoffer 22 tennis courts, including two stadi-ums that will offer viewing for 1,000 spec-tators. The facility will also include a libraryand study centers for the kids when theyare not on the courts.

Michael Sarro is director of business devel-opment for New York Tennis Magazine. Hemay be reached by phone at (516) 409-4444,ext. 330 or e-mail [email protected].

John McEnroe addresses theaudience at the NYJTL 26thAnnual Awards Luncheon

Howard Lutnick, chiefexecutive officer of CantorFitzgerald, was honored at

the 26th Annual NYJTLAwards Luncheon

Former NFL quarterback andradio personality Boomer Esiasonwas on hand to honor his friend.Howard Lutnick, chief executiveofficer of Cantor Fitzgerald

Former New York City Mayor DavidDinkins shows his support for the

local tennis community at the 26thAnnual NYJTL Awards Luncheon

Photo credit: NYJTL


DO YOU LOVE TO PLAY TENNIS?ARE YOU LOOKING FOR TENNISIN YOUR AREA? CHECK OUT YOUR LOCALCOMMUNITY TENNIS ASSOCIATION!

For more information e-mail [email protected] or contact your local CTA from the Metropolitan CTA directory below:

Riverside Clay Tennis Associationhttp://www.rcta.infoMark McIntyrephone : (212) 870-3078 e-mail: [email protected]

Prospect Park Tennis Centerhttp://www.prospectpark.org/tennisPaul Campbellphone: (718) 436-2500email: [email protected]

Co-op City Tennis Clubhttp://www.coopcitytennis.comLorraine Alexanderphone: (718) 671-4437e-mail: [email protected]

119th Street Tennis Associationhttp://www.119TA.netLiz Hydesphone: (212) 870-3070e-mail: [email protected]

Fort Greene Tennis Associationhttp://www.fortgreenetennis.orgMichael Brownsteinphone: (347) 457-6138e-mail [email protected]

Highland Park Tennis Associationhttp://www.hptany.orgDion Lachmanenphone: (718) 355-9338e-mail [email protected]

Metrotennis CTAhttp://www.metrotennis.comLou Hernandezphone: (718) 639-8936e-mail: [email protected]

Washington Heights Tennis Associationhttp://www.TennisHeights.netLeo Reynosoe-mail: [email protected]

Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program, Inc.http://www.HJTEP.orgKatrina AdamsPhone: (212) 491-3738E-mail: [email protected]

Youth and Tennishttp://www.youthandtennis.orgBill Briggsphone: (718) 658-6728e-mail: [email protected]

Metropolitan Tennis Grouphttp://www.metrotennisgroup.comDaniel Arzuagaphone: (646) 417-0910e-mail: [email protected]

South Brooklyn Tennis Associationhttp://www.southbrooklyntennis.comPablo Sierraphone: (917) 685-9483e-mail [email protected]

McCarren Tennishttp://www.mccarrentennis.orgSean Hoessphone: (917) 348-4411 e-mail: [email protected]

Junior Tennis Clinichttp://www.Jtcny.orgMel Swanson phone: (718) 789-5084 e-mail [email protected]

Kings County Tennis Leaguehttp://www.Marcytennisclub.orgMichael McCaslandphone (202) 359-9534e-mail: [email protected]

Lincoln Terrace Tennis AssociationCharles EastPhone: (917) 379-0094 e-mail: [email protected]

New York Junior Tennis Leaguehttp://www.nyjtl.orgRon Nanophone: (347) 417-8194e-mail: [email protected]

Community Tennis Associations work on

coordinating and maintaining tennis programs

and services in local areas. With over 1,000

registered Community Tennis Associations

across the US, there is always someone

available to help you enjoy the sport of Tennis

in your community.

©2011 USTA. All rights reserved


2011 Fall Season winners crowned

The 2011 Fall Metro Corporate Tennis Leaguecame to an end in December. In the AdvancedDivision, the New York Junior Tennis League(NYJTL) team got past PwC in the first roundof the playoffs to advance to the league finalswhere they defeated Credit Agricole to win the2011 Advanced Championship at RooseveltIsland Racquet Club.

In the Advanced Intermediate Division,Ernst & Young opened their playoff run with awin over Mitsubishi to move on to the finalswhere they defeated Bloomberg to take the2011 Fall Advanced Intermediate title.

In the 2011 Fall Intermediate League, eightteams entered the playoffs, and in the end, theteam from Deloitte was crowned 2011 FallLeague Intermediate Champs. They defeatedCredit Suisse in round one action, ThomsonReuters in the second round and clinched thetitle with a win over DESCO in the finals.

2012 Winter Season set to launchThe 2012 Winter Metro Corporate TennisLeague will begin late January/early February

and includes a minimum of six matches. Eachmatch is played for two hours on two courts,and tennis balls are provided. The 2012 Win-ter Season will conclude with an awards partyand includes trophies, t-shirts and networkingopportunities as well. Teaching clinics are alsoavailable for an additional cost. All leaguechampions have the right to advance to theNational WTT Championships.

Each team entering play requires a mini-mum of four players, two women and twomen to play an entire match, but you can carryas many players as you like. Play format foreach match consists of six “no-ad” sets:

� One women’s singles� One men’s singles� One women’s doubles� One men’s doubles� Two mixed-doubles

The total games won for each of the six setsare recorded and totaled at the end of theevening. Total games won are tallied through-out the season, with playoffs at the end of sea-

son party. Coaching and player substitutionsare permitted during the match, and allows formore players to get involved and creates a funatmosphere!

The entry fee is $2,000 per team for theseason. For more information on the 2012Fall Metro Corporate Tennis League, callDebra Leffe at (914) 482-8471 or visitMetroTennis.com under the “Corporate” tab.

Matches for the 2012 Winter Leaguewill be held weekday evenings at the fol-lowing locations:

CityView Racquet Club43-34 32nd Place, Penthouse

Long Island City, N.Y.(718) 389-6252

Roosevelt Island Racquet Club281 Main Street • Roosevelt Island, N.Y.

(212) 935-0250

West Side Tennis Club1 Tennis Place • Forest Hills, N.Y.

(718) 268-2300


By Scoop Malinowski

Status: Former ATP pro from 1986-1998. Memberof Israel’s Davis Cup team from 1986-1995. Winnerof four ATP doubles titles. Reached a career-high

singles ranking of 61st in 1990. Holds career wins over Petr Korda,Brad Gilbert, Carlos Costa, Jacob Hlasek, Marcelo Rios and Mar-tin Jaite. Currently coaches at the John McEnroe Tennis Academyat Sportime Randall’s Island in New York City.

Date of birth: March 1, 1967 in Tel Aviv, Israel

Height: 5-ft. 8-in. Weight: 160 lbs.

First tennis memory: Playing on the wall at my parent’s house inIsrael with my brothers, I was seven- or eight-years-old. I onlystarted playing real tennis at the age of nine.

Tennis inspiration: Since I started playing, I always wanted to bea pro on the tour, play Davis Cup and all the majors.

Current car: Volkswagen Jetta Diesel.

Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate swirl.

Greatest sports moment: In 1994, I played in the Davis Cup for Is-rael against Switzerland. They reached the finals the year before andhad Jacob Hlasek and Marc Rosset on their team. I played Hlasek inthe deciding match at 2-2 in the tie. I won in straight sets and never lostmy serve once in front of a crazy home crowd. The fans carried AmosMansdorf and me to the locker rooms on their shoulders. It was like asoccer game atmosphere. I didn’t have to pay for a meal or a drink inIsrael for weeks after that match. Hlasek was ranked 100 spots aboveme at that time and with the win, Israel qualified for the World Group.

Most painful moment: In 1986, I was 19-years-old and rankedabout 160th. I played Brad Gilbert, who was number six in theworld. We played in the quarterfinals of my hometown event in TelAviv. I was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third and two pointsaway from victory, and I lost the match. Gilbert went on and wonthe tournament easily. I couldn’t sleep for months. With a win, Icould have been in the top 100 in one leap and probably win thetournament. It was a huge disappointment.

Favorite tournament: Australian Open. The people are so nicedown under, and the tournament organizers were very easy to dealwith, friendly and they give away plenty of tickets. I have lots offamily in Australia.

Last book read: Life, the autobiography of Keith Richards.

Funniest players encountered: In my time on the Tour, MansourBahrami was pretty funny and entertaining, and Karsten Braasch,the German, was hilarious too.

Closest tennis friends: I still keep in touch with many players frommy time, including Bruno Oresar from Croatia and Pablo Arraya fromPeru, among others, who are my closest friends. I work closely withJohn McEnroe on a daily basis, so I see him a lot as well.

The best you ever felt on court: In Manchester, England in 1991, Iplayed Brad Gilbert who was still ranked in the top 15 in the world. From2-2 in the first set, I won 10 games in a row, broke Gilbert five times ina row and played perfect tennis for those 10 games. I hit many winnersand spectacular shots, including diving winners, etc. Brad kept lookingat me and shaking his head … he didn’t say hello to me for about a yearafter that match. Prior to that match, he beat me three times.

Why do you love playing tennis: It’s a passion. The feeling of hit-ting a clean ball or hitting a winner or playing a good match issomething to look forward to every time you step on the court.

Favorite players to watch: Growing up, I loved watching JohnMcEnroe and Jimmy Connors play … I love lefties. I liked Ilie Nastaseas well. In the new era, I like to watch Roger Federer, TomasBerdych, Andy Murray and Dudi Sela, my first student. I used tolove watching Fabrice Santoro, and I love watching the RochusBrothers play, being a short guy myself.

Personality qualities most admired: Mental strength, sports-manship, being cool under pressure and bringing your best tennisto the big matches.

Scoop Malinowski is the co-owner of Tennis-prose.com. His book,Marcelo Rios: The Man We Barely Knew, is available at Amazon.com.

The Biofile: Gilad Bloom


USTA EASTERN ANNUAL MEETINGAND VOLUNTEER DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPJANUARY 20 | 2012 > JANUARY 21 | 2012

Master the new world of 10 and Under Tennis.

Learn about the latest in USTA’s tournament management systems.

Sharpen your grant-writing skills.

Meet volunteers and teaching pros from across USTA Eastern.

Recognize juniors and adults for their achievements and dedication to the sport.

Renaissance Westchester Hotel, 80 West Red Oak Lane, West Harrison, New York 10604

MORE THAN A GAME. IT’S A LIFESTYLE.


5By Alex Vayner

As a New York City tennisplayer, you probably neverget as much court time asyou would like to prepare for

your league or tournament matches. Whenyou lose a match, especially a close one,you just know that you could have pre-pared and played better. Sound familiar?We have all been there and our typical con-solation is that we need more practice.What if I told you that you can, and will winmore matches with less effort? Soundcrazy? In this article, I will discuss five sim-ple and proven tactics that you can use towin more matches by, quite literally, doingless. They have done wonders for my stu-dents, and can do the same for you.

1. Don’t try to serve so hard!Too many players try to blast the first serve re-ally hard only to miss it into the net or deep.Take some pace off the ball to increase yourfirst serve percentage. At first, this may seemcounterintuitive, but think about it … you knowhow you are always more confident when re-turning your opponents second serve as op-posed to their first serve? The same is true foryour opponent. By trying not to blast the balland by reducing the speed of your first serveby 10 percent, you can significantly increasethe percentage of your first serves going in.This will put more pressure on your opponentnot only to return your first serves, but also toserve better during his or her own servicegame. Additional pressure will lead your op-ponents to make errors they would not haveotherwise made … it’s a win-win situation.

2. Block back the return of serveYou may know many players who take a bigswing at the return of serve, really trying topunish the ball. More often than not, that“big” return is missed, and all of that effort iswasted. What was the point? To hit a winneror to set up a winner? That is not the purposeof the return. Your goal with the return of

serve should first be to start the point. Beforeyou do anything fancy with the ball, you mustfirst get it in the court, and taking a big swingon the return frequently defeats that purpose.A barely-blocked shot that goes in is 100times more effective than the Goliath-typeforehand you “almost” made. Resolve todayto reduce your backswing on the return ofserve, and simply put the ball back deep.Start by blocking or chipping every ball backdeep, and gripping your racket slightly higherthan usual will help.

You will notice that two things happen im-mediately as you block more serves back.Your opponent, especially a good server, willget frustrated at the high number of hisserves that are coming back. He will either tryto serve harder, causing them to make moreerrors, or serve softer, allowing you to attack.Blocking returns will reduce the number ofunforced errors you make, build confidencein your return, and help you handle even thetoughest serves.

3. Get on the baselineEvery tennis player is sometimes guilty ofbacking up on a relatively easy high spin ball,to hit the ball as it drops instead of steppinginto the court and taking the ball on the rise.If this happens to you only once in a while,great. However, if you regularly find yourselfbacking up or playing far behind the baseline,you might have the case of “The Silent Killer,”whereby you hand over the match to youropponent without realizing it. Playing far be-hind the baseline, or worse, backing up asyou hit the ball, is typically counterproductiveto your goal of winning points, and the over-all match.

Think about it … to win points, your op-tions typically are to: � Draw an error from your opponent by

making them run more; or� Draw an error by breaking the opponent’s

rhythm (reducing the time your opponenthas to prepare and hit the ball).

These objectives are achieved by steppinginto the ball and maintaining the control of the

baseline. Stepping into the court increases theangles available to move your opponent, andforces the ball to come back to your opponentnoticeably faster, thus breaking their rhythm.It also gets your body moving forward, makingcontact with the ball 10 to 15 percent further infront than you would hit otherwise, and inad-vertently, lengthen your follow-through aftercontact—all factors (without getting into de-tails of stroke production) which significantlyincrease your control and consistency, amongother benefits. It’s a win any way when youstep into the court.

4. “Catch the ball” at the netMost players today avoid coming to the net.On the professional level, speed, power, ath-leticism and overall skill has risen the bar somuch that the average tennis match has dis-tinctly fewer opportunities to effectively getto the net than one had playing on tour in the1990s. Junior and club players, however,avoid the net for other reasons—they are ei-ther playing too far back behind the baselineto capitalize on presented opportunities (seepoint three) or feel uncomfortable at the netbecause they miss volleys more often thanthey can put those volleys away.

So, the question is, how can you easilymake those volleys go in once you are at thenet? You miss the volleys that you do becauseyou take too big of a swing. Here too, youdon’t need to try so hard. Volleys, more thanany other shot, are played with your feet. Toeliminate that backswing, extend your hittingarm forward as if you are trying to catch theball in front of you and step in simultaneously.So long as you are holding a racket with acontinental grip, you are “catching” the ball atfull arm’s-length in front of you, and maintain a90 degree angle between your arm and yourracket, the volleys you previously missed willnow be going in.

When you commit to coming up to the neton at least one out of every five points youplay, you will notice that half the time, youdon’t have to do much more than just standat the net in order to win the point. Either you

Five Ways You Can Win More Matches …With Less Effort!


will hit a winner during your approach, youropponent will make an error from the pres-sure of you being at the net, or they will pop-up a relatively easy shot for you to put away.It is quite rare, until advanced levels of play,that a player can hit a clean passing shotunder pressure and on the run—so forcethem to attempt such passing shots moreoften; come to the net on all short balls, and“catch” your match.

5. When in doubt, hit cross-courtWinning your matches has far less to do withthe quality of your technique, let alone withyour equipment, than you may be willing tobelieve. Yes, it helps to have good techniqueto execute your strategy effectively, and yes, ata national/international level, you cannot getvery far without clean strokes. But the matchis never won because the player has prettierstrokes. It’s won by the player who hits onemore ball over the net than their opponent. Ina nutshell, the match goes to the player whohits a higher probability of shots (probability ofsuccess = the ball goes into the court). In otherwords, the match is always won by the playerwho makes fewer errors. The highest proba-bility shot in tennis is cross-court, because it ishit with the natural rotation of the body, overthe lowest part of the net, into the greatest hit-ting area of the tennis court. Therefore, theplayer who hits more cross-courts typicallywins the match. So when you’re on the run,hit cross-court. When pressured, hit cross-court. When in doubt … hit cross-court! Youwill be amazed at how many matches you canwin by hitting cross-court shots.

Now, as you incorporate these tips into yourmatch play, do not confuse them with defen-sive plan, and for maximum effectiveness,make sure to incorporate them into a compre-hensive match strategy … happy winning!

Alex Vayner was ranked number two as a jun-ior in Uzbekistan when he came to UnitedStates. In high school, Alex won the New YorkState Championships, competed on the juniornational circuit in the U.S., and was a scholar-ship player at Rick Macci’s Tennis Academy inFlorida. After graduating from Yale University,Alex competed in Challenger Tournaments onthe Pro Circuit until his professional tennis wascut short by a shoulder injury. Alex has taughttennis since 1999, developing players rangingfrom enthusiasts to top sectional/national,

world-ranked, and Grand Slam players. Heserves as a hitting partner to U.S. Open play-ers, and is the author of Tennis Revolution: FiveSecrets to Playing Your Best Tennis. Alex

teaches tournament players at CunninghamSports Center, and professional players inNYC area. He may be reached by e-mail [email protected].

Ethics and Adult League TennisBy Marvin Jeffrey

Tennis, over the last few years, has become more enjoyable for mesince I stopped competing in tournaments and started playing in USTAleague matches. Through tennis, I’ve met some amazing people withwhom I’ve bonded and have become very good friends with.

In 2011, I had a great deal of people approach me about putting a team together,so I took it upon myself to become a captain of a USTA 9.0 Mixed Metro team. Mythoughts going into this was that it’s going to be fun playing competitive tennis withmy friends, only to find out that being a captain is not that easy.

This season, I ran into a problem with one captain who pulled a dirty little trick andthere seems to be a rule that allows him to pull such a trick. This rule basically statesthat if one team asks for a reschedule and that reschedule is granted and the otherteam does not have players for the day of the rescheduled match, the team askingfor the reschedule loses that match. This does not make any sense to me, and reallywas a low blow, because with almost every team having at least 20 players, this cap-tain is saying that he didn’t have two players available to play the rescheduledmatch? I find this very hard to believe. By not playing the rescheduled match, hewins that match and the three point value of that match.

The three points really does not bother me, but what does bother me is that cap-tains will go so low for three points and not care if the players on both teams get thematches that they paid for. My two players who were scheduled to play the resched-uled match will not get that match because of this rule that puts power into the handsof the opposing captain. Personally, I think this rule needs to be amended to say:

“If there’s a rescheduled match granted, then both teams are obligated to field a teamand the team that cannot oblige will have to forfeit that match.”

This way, every captain will have a vested interested in playing, and every playerwill have a chance at playing instead of winning or losing based on a rule with a bigloophole. After all, we are all here to play tennis, meet new people, have fun andenjoy the sport we all love so much. Please captains, be fair, play fair and leave thetrickery at home. Don’t look for loopholes in the rules, and if there are any loopholes,make it known to the officials. Don’t abuse it and to try to win in that way, becauseat the end of the season, we are not playing this league for money, glory or fame …it’s for fun.

The misunderstanding with this rule has put me on probation for fighting to changeit. Fighting against this rule and probation will not deter me from being a captain inthe future, nor will it make me change what my beliefs are … I still believe in beingfair and fighting for what is right.

Marvin Jeffrey is a competitive coordinator/senior teaching professional with Cun-ningham Tennis Center. He is currently coaching numerous tournament players andattends many junior events. In addition, Marvin is competing in Men’s Open ETA tour-naments and is ranked among the top players in his age group. He may be reachedby phone at (718) 740-6800 or e-mail [email protected].


2012 SUMMSPORTIME RANDALL’S


With transportation available in Manhattan, SPORTIME Randall’s IslandSummer Camps feature tennis pros from the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and caring counselors who deliver an unforgettable experience to every camper!

� The 2012 EXCEL Summer Camp, for tennis players ages 7-16, features four hours of intensive coaching from McEnroe Academyprofessionals and two hours of fitness and cross-training.

The SPORTIME 2012 Tennis & Sports Camp, for kids 5-15, provides two hours of tennis and four hours of other sports, including basketball,softball, and soccer; plus an activity tent, slip ‘n slide and more!

For more information email Camp Director and Master Tennis Professional Greg Evans at [email protected], call 212-427-6150, or log ontowww.SPORTIMENY.com/Manhattan

If you’re traveling east, check out the summer camp offerings at SPORTIME clubs in the Hamptons:SPORTIME Amagansett, 320 Abrahams Path, 631.267.3460, SportimeNY.com/AmagansettSPORTIME Quogue, Route 104, 631.653.6767, SportimeNY.com/Quogue

MER CAMPSOffered Weekly: June 11th - August 31st

212/427-6150SportimeNY.com/Manhattan

ISLAND


USTA/Eastern-Metro Region

A Message From USTA Metro President Carl Summerlin Sr.

My name is Carl Summerlin and I’m theregional president of the USTA EasternMetropolitan Region. As an avid tennisplayer, coach and program administratorof tennis in the New York City area, I bringyou this message: Tennis is alive and wellin New York City. The U.S. Open had aphenomenal season, as the matcheswere unparalleled for excitement and

drama, but professional tennis is not the only tennis played inNew York. We had a number of teams and persons participat-ing in National Championships through the USTA Leagues. Wehad a New York City college player qualify for the NCAA Na-tionals. Junior TeamTennis is being played all over the City, andit is introducing players of all levels and abilities to competi-tive play. There are several new facilities being opened in theBronx, Brooklyn and Queens; bringing tennis to the disadvan-taged and to those who are in need of a facility to play.

The USTA has started a number of programs to improvelocal courts by repairing and renovating them. One of the moreexciting things is how the 10 & Under initiative is bringing anew way of providing tennis to children so that they can all par-ticipate, learn and have fun playing the sport of tennis. All ofthe other major sports have done it, and now it’s our turn.

Having fun playing the game, hitting a ball and meetingfriends all happens at a tennis outing. There are not manysports where you can find people from the age of five to theage of 95 participating. No matter the age or the ability, thereis a game for everyone. At one of the public parks that I playat, people gather with their lawn chairs and racquets to spenda day enjoying all the benefits of playing tennis. Everyone canplay, no matter handicaps, age and ability. Tennis players crossall racial, economic and physical bounds, and as tennis play-ers, we all need to be ambassadors of the game. We can play,teach others to play and support programming locally or sup-port any of the USTA programs. Sports, especially tennis, pro-vide a necessary outlet from our day-to-day routine. The abilityto use tennis as physical and mental outlet is well-docu-mented, and I say it again, “Let’s all get out and play.” If nottoday, tomorrow or next week, but let’s all get out and play andmake tennis part of your lives.

Carl Summerlin Sr., PresidentUSTA Metro Region

USTA Eastern Announces Honorees for 2012 JuniorAwards Luncheon

On Jan. 21, USTA Eastern will recognize16 outstanding students for their sports-manship and their appreciation of ArthurAshe’s legacy at the section’s 2012 Jun-ior Awards Luncheon. The luncheon,which begins at noon, will be held at theRenaissance Westchester Hotel in WhitePlains, N.Y., and is part of USTA East-ern’s Annual Meeting and Volunteer De-

velopment Workshop, Jan. 20-21, 2012.The sportsmanship awards will be presented to eight East-

ern juniors, four girls and four boys, for the respect and fairplay they showed while participating in USTA sanctioned tour-naments all year long. The section will also honor the sevenEastern winners of the USTA Arthur Ashe Essay Contest andthe section’s National winner of the USTA Arthur Ashe Art Con-test. These eight Eastern juniors competed against 16 otherUSTA sections in the national competition, which engages theentire network of National Junior Tennis and Learning centersand recognizes the legacy of Arthur Ashe and his impact onthe world.

“We are very proud of all the juniors being honored,” saidJulie Bliss, director of competition and player development forUSTA Eastern. “They understand that what matters most intennis is not whether you win or lose, but how you treat others,both on and off the court.”

At the luncheon, USTA Eastern will also give out awards forparent sportsmanship, tournament director of the year, andpresent the Henry Benisch Award. The Henry Benisch Award,which was established in memory of the USTA Eastern PastPresident and awarded on behalf of the Junior Tennis Foun-dation, is a scholarship given to a to a top junior player whohas exemplified good sportsmanship. This year, USTA East-ern’s Annual Meeting and Volunteer Development Workshopwill feature sessions on grant writing, running USTA-sanc-tioned tournaments and teaching 10 & Under Tennis. Therewill also be opportunities for participants to network with sec-tion leadership, including members of the board of directors,the executive board and section committees, as well as East-ern staff, tournament directors, instructors, and key sectionproviders.


USTA/Eastern-Metro Region

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2012 Junior Awards� Richard D. Lynch II Boys’ 12 Sportsmanship Award: Harris

Walker (South Salem, N.Y.)� Richard D. Lynch II Girls’ 12 Sportsmanship Award: Marcella

Cruz (Marlboro, N.J.)� E. Hawley Van Wyck Jr. Boys’ 14 Sportsmanship Award:

Maverick Lin (Edison, N.J.)� Edith Martin Girls’ 14 Sportsmanship Award: Shanice Arthur

(Glen Head, N.Y.)� Lawrence A. Miller Boys’ 16 Sportsmanship Award: Taiyo

Hamanaka (Eastchester, N.Y.)� Lawrence A. Miller Girls’ 16 Sportsmanship Award: Luisa

Fernandez (Pittsford, N.Y.)� Lt. Frederick M. Scribner, Jr. Boys’ 18 Sportsmanship Award:

Brendan Henry (Massapequa, N.Y.)� Edith Martin Girls’ 18 Sportsmanship Award: Hannah

Shteyn (Staten Island, N.Y.)� Henry Benisch Scholarship Award: Brian Power (Pelham, N.Y.)� Ron Smyth Parent Sportsmanship Award: Melanie Rubin (Mer-

rick, N.Y.)� Tournament Director of the Year: Annelies Karp (Floral Park, N.Y.)� USTA Arthur Ashe Art Contest Winner: Clara Kim (Flushing,

N.Y.)

USTA Eastern Arthur Ashe Essay Contest Winners� Girls 10 and Under: Shelly Yaloz (Little Neck, N.Y.)� Boys 10 and Under: Christopher Beharry (South Richmond

Hill, N.Y.)� Girls 11-12: Jennifer Yu (Forest Hills, N.Y.)� Boys 11-12: Noah Castillo (Brooklyn, N.Y.)� Girls 13-14: Isis Gill-Reid (Brooklyn, N.Y.)� Boys 13-14: Stephen Mai (Little Neck, N.Y.)� Boys 15-16: Justin Selig (New York, N.Y.)


Australian Open 2011January 17-30, 2011Melbourne ParkMelbourne, Australia

Men’s Singles FinalsNovak Djokovic defeated Andy Murray, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3

Men’s Doubles FinalsBob Bryan & Mike Bryan defeated Mahesh Bhupathi & LeanderPaes, 6–3, 6–4

Women’s Singles FinalsKim Clijsters defeated Li Na, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Women’s Doubles FinalsGisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta defeated Victoria Azarenka & MariaKirilenko, 2–6, 7–5, 6–1

Mixed Doubles FinalsKatarina Srebotnik & Daniel Nestor defeated Yung-Jan Chan &Paul Hanley, 6–3, 3–6, 10–7

French Open 2011May 22-June 5, 2011Roland GarrosParis, France

Men’s Singles FinalsRafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer, 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–1

Men’s Doubles FinalsMax Mirnyi & Daniel Nestor defeated Juan Sebastian Cabal &Eduardo Schwank, 7–6, 3–6, 6–4

Women’s Singles FinalsLi Na defeated Francesca Schiavone, 6–4, 7–6

Women’s Doubles FinalsAndrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka defeated Sania Mirza &Elena Vesnina, 6–4, 6–3

Mixed Doubles FinalsCasey Dellacqua & Scott Lipsky defeated Katarina Srebotnik &Nenad Zimonjic, 7–6, 4–6

Wimbledon 2011June 20-July 3, 2011All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet ClubWimbledon, London, England

Men’s Singles FinalsNovak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal, 6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3

Men’s Doubles FinalsBob Bryan & Mike Bryan defeated Robert Lindstedt & Horia Tecau,6-3, 6-4, 7-6

Women’s Singles FinalsPetra Kvitova defeated Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 6-4

Women’s Doubles FinalsKveta Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik defeated Sabine Lisicki &Samantha Stosur, 6-3, 6-1

Mixed Doubles FinalsJurgen Melzer & Iveta Benesova defeated Mahesh Bhupathi &Elena Vesnina, 6-3, 6-2

A Look Back at the2011 Tennis

B y E m i l i e K a t z

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U.S. Open 2011August 29-September 12, 2011USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis CenterFlushing Meadows, N.Y.

Men’s Singles FinalsNovak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1

Men’s Doubles FinalJurgen Melzer & Philipp Petzschner defeated Mariusz Fyrstenberg& Marcin Matkowski, 6-2, 6-2

Women’s Singles FinalSamantha Stosur defeated Serena Williams, 6-2, 6-3

Women’s Doubles FinalLiezel Huber & Lisa Raymond defeated Vania King & YaroslavaShvedova, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6

Mixed Doubles FinalMelanie Oudin & Jack Sock defeated Gisela Dulko & EduardoSchwank, 7-6, 4-6, 1-0

2011 ATP World TourFinals

November 5-12, 2011O2 ArenaLondon, England

Singles FinalRoger Federer defeated Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3

Doubles FinalMax Mirnyi & Daniel Nestor defeated Mariusz Fyrstenberg &Marcin Matkowski, 7-5, 6-3

2011 TEB BNP ParibasWTA Championships

October 25-30, 2011Sinan Erdem ArenaIstanbul, Turkey

Singles FinalPetra Kvitova defeated Victoria Azarenka, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3

Doubles FinalLiezel Huber & Lisa Raymond defeated Kveta Peshke & KatarinaSrebotnik, 6-4, 6-4

2011 ATP Year-EndAward Winners

ATP World Tour No. 1 (based onSouth African Airways ATP Ranking)Novak Djokovic: The 24-year-old Serbianwon 10 tour-level titles, highlighted by threeGrand Slam championships (AustralianOpen, Wimbledon, U.S. Open) and a recordfive ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies inone season. Djokovic ascended to numberone in the South African Airways ATP Rank-ings following Wimbledon. He opened 2011

with a 41-match winning streak, just shy of John McEnroe’s record42-0 start in 1984, and enters the Barclays ATP World Tour Finalswith a 69-4 match record.

ATP World Tour No. 1 DoublesTeam (based on ATP DoublesTeam Ranking)Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan: TheAmerican twins clinched the year-end number one team ranking for arecord seventh time in nine years(2003, 2005-2007, 2009-2011).

They claimed eight tour-level titles, including the Australian Open,Wimbledon and two ATP World Tour Masters 1000s (Monte-Carloand Madrid), to take their team total to an Open Era record 75.They have now won at least five titles in 10 straight seasons.


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Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award(voted by ATP players)Photo credit: Kenneth B. GoldbergRoger Federer: Fellow players voted theSwiss as the winner of the Stefan EdbergSportsmanship Award for the seventh time.He had won the award six straight years

from 2004-09 before Rafael Nadal broke the streak last year.Nadal, Djokovic and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi were also nominatedin this category

Comeback Player of the Year (voted by ATP players)Juan Martin Del Potro: Theformer world number four re-established himself as one ofthe top players on the ATPWorld Tour in 2011. He fell to a

low of 485th in the South African Airways ATP Rankings thispast February, after a wrist injury and surgery limited him tosix matches in 2010, but climbed to 11th by November. The23-year-old Argentine compiled a 48-16 match record and twoATP World Tour titles (Estoril, Delray Beach).

Newcomer of the YearMilos Raonic: The 20-year-oldjumped from 156th in the SouthAfrican Airways ATP Rankings at thestart of the season to 31st on Nov.14. After compiling a 4-6 matchrecord in 2010, he went 31-19 in hisfirst full season on the ATP WorldTour. He became the first Canadian to

claim a tour-level title in 16 years, winning San Jose without drop-ping a set (defeating Fernando Verdasco), and the following week,reached the final in Memphis (lost to Andy Roddick).

Most Improved Player of the Year(voted by ATP players)Photo credit: Kenneth B. GoldbergAlex Bogomolov Jr.: The 28-year-oldAmerican rose from 166th in theSouth African Airways ATP Rankings

at the end of 2010 to a career-high 33rd in November. He fin-ished 2011 with a 27-21 match record, eclipsing the total num-

ber of matches he’d won on the ATP World Tour prior to thisseason (21-40 record from 2002-2010). He reached the quar-terfinals or better at six tournaments, and recorded his biggestcareer win by defeating then-world number five-ranked AndyMurray in Miami.

Arthur Ashe Humanitarianof the YearPhoto credit: Kenneth B. GoldbergRafael Nadal: The Spaniardjoined Roger Federer, CarlosMoya, former South Africanpresident Nelson Mandela andArthur Ashe as winners of the

Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award, recognized for his contribu-tions through the Rafa Nadal Foundation. The Foundation, a re-cipient of a 2011 ATP ACES For Charity grant, offerseducational programs for socially-disadvantaged youth usingsport as a tool for personal and social integration. The Foun-dation is currently affiliated with three projects, the Vicente Fer-rer Foundation in Antapur, India; the Special Olympics; and theAldeas Infantiles SOS, a private international aid organisationwhich cares for children in vulnerable situations.

ATP Tour Fan Favorite (Singles)Roger Federer: The Swiss ex-tends his reign as the most popu-lar player on the ATP World Tour,selected as ATPWorldTour.comFans’ Favorite presented by

RICOH for a record ninth consecutive year. Djokovic finished sec-ond in the voting, followed by Nadal.

ATP WorldTour.comFans’ Favorite (Doubles)Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan:The 33-year-old AmericanBryan twins continue theirdominance in this fan-votedcategory, winning it for aseventh straight time. They

finished ahead of Michael Llodra & Nenad Zimonjic and MaheshBhupathi & Leander Paes in the voting.


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2011 ATP Tour Year-End Singles RankingsRank Name Country Ranking Points1..............Novak Djokovic..............Serbia..................13,4752 ................Rafael Nadal ................Spain ..................9,3753 ................Andy Murray ..............Scotland ................7,3804 ..............Roger Federer ..........Switzerland ..............6,6705 ................David Ferrer ................Spain ..................4,4806 ..........Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ..........France ..................3,5357 ..............Tomas Berdych ......Czech Republic ..........3,3008..................Mardy Fish............United States ............2,9659 ............Janko Tipsarevic ............Serbia ..................2,39510 ..........Nicolas Almagro..............Spain ..................2,38011 ......Juan Martin del Potro ......Argentina ................2,31512 ..............Gilles Simon................France ..................2,16513............Robin Soderling ............Sweden ................2,12014 ............Andy Roddick ........United States ............1,94015 ..............Gael Monfils ................France ..................1,93516........Alexandr Dolgopolov ........Ukraine..................1,92517 ........Stanislas Wawrinka ......Switzerland ..............1,82018 ................John Isner ............United States ............1,80019 ..........Richard Gasquet ............France ..................1,76520............Feliciano Lopez ..............Spain ..................1,755

2011 WTA Year-EndAward Winners

Player of the YearPetra Kvitova: She was voted Player of the Yearfor a season that saw her win six WTA titles, in-cluding her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledonand the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships

and going from 34th at the start of the year to number two at year-end.She also led the Czechs to the Fed Cup title.

Doubles Team of the YearKveta Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik: The duoearned Doubles Team of the Year in a fiercely-contested doubles season. They claimed a WTA-leading six titles, including their first Grand Slam

title at Wimbledon. They also rose to number one in the rankings.

Comeback Player of the YearSabine Lisicki: Having nearly cracked the top20 after a 2009 season that saw her win thePremier title in Charleston and reach her firstGrand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon, Lisickiwent even higher in 2011, winning two WTA ti-

tles at Birmingham and Dallas, reaching her first Grand Slam semifi-nal at Wimbledon and peaking at number 15.


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PLAY ON RED CLAY at this fabulous,public 10-court facility in Riverside Park along the Hudson River Greenway,maintained by the Riverside Clay Tennis Association. Present a NYC ParksDepartment tennis permit, or pay $15 at the gate to play on these courts.

• The RCTA offers clinics, tournaments, ladders and “speed tennis” meets.

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Most Improved Player of the YearPetra Kvitova: For her on-court achieve-ments, Kvitova was named Most Im-proved Player of the year.

Newcomer of the YearIna-Camelia Begu: She won New-comer of the Year after a break-through season that saw her risefrom 214th to 38th, finishing at 40th.She reached her first two WTA finals

at clay court events in Marbella and Budapest.

Player Awards (voted by WTA players)Player Service AwardPhoto credit: Kenneth B. GoldbergFrancesca Schiavone: For her off-courtachievements Francesca Schiavone wonthe Player Service Award, whichrecognizes the player who has done the

most to support her fellow players through the WTA Players’Council and other initiatives.

Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship AwardPetra Kvitova

Favorite Premier TournamentPorsche Tennis Grand Prix(Stuttgart)

Favorite International TournamentAbierto Mexicano TELCEL(Acapulco)

Fan Favorites (fan’s vote)Fan Favorite Singles PlayerAgnieszka Radwanska

Fan Favorite Doubles TeamVictoria Azarenka & Maria Kirilenko

Fan Favorite Breakthrough PlayerPetra Kvitova

2011 WTA Tour Year-End Singles Rankings

Rank Name Country Ranking Points

1 ............Caroline Wozniacki..........Denmark ................7,485

2..................Petra Kvitova ........Czech Republic ..........7,370

3 ..............Victoria Azarenka ............Belarus ................6,520

4 ..............Maria Sharapova ............Russia ..................6,510

5 ........................Na Li ......................China ..................5,720

6 ..............Samantha Stosur ..........Australia ................5,585

7 ................Vera Zvonareva ..............Russia ..................5,435

8 ..........Agnieszka Radwanska ........Poland..................5,250

9 ................Marion Bartoli ..............France..................4,710

10 ............Andrea Petkovic............Germany ................4,580

11 ........Francesca Schiavone............Italy ....................3,900

12..............Serena Williams ........United States ............3,180

13 ................Kim Clijsters................Belgium ................3,161

14..............Jelena Jankovic ..............Serbia ..................3,115

15................Sabine Lisicki..............Germany ................2,879

16 ....Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ....Russia ..................2,865

17 ................Shuai Peng ..................China ..................2,800

18 ..........Dominika Cibulkova ........Slovakia ................2,755

19..........Svetlana Kuznetsova ..........Russia ..................2,606

20 ..............Flavia Pennetta ................Italy ....................2,490


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2011 ATP Tour Retired Players

Simon Aspelin: Aspelin is best remembered fortriumphing at the 2007 U.S. Open with AustrianJulian Knowle and partnering compatriotThomas Johansson to a silver medal at the2008 Beijing Olympics. The Swede turned proin 1998 after graduating from Pepperdine Uni-versity, where he was a four-time All-American.

He won his first of 12 titles at the Open 13 at Marseille in 2000and reached a career-high doubles ranking of number seven inMarch 2008.

Harel Levy: Levy announced hisretirement from professional tennisat the age of 32. Levy was rankedas high as 30th in June 2001 at theATP Tour rankings, but suffered ahip injury that summer and hisgame plunged. He was a key com-

ponent of Israel’s Davis Cup team

Nicolas Lapentti: Lapentti announced hisretirement from professional tennis in 2011.Lapentti, who is 34 years old, won five ATPWorld Tour singles titles and competed in atotal of 12 finals in 16 seasons as a pro.

Nicolas Kiefer: Kiefer announced his re-tirement from professional tennis in 2011.During his career he reached a high offourth in the ATP rankings. His best result ina Grand Slam was the semifinals of the

2006 Australian Open.

Taylor Dent: The 29-year-old Dent,a former top 25 tennis player, an-nounced his retirement from pro-fessional tennis. Dent was one ofa handful of current pros with aserve-and-volley style and cur-rently ranked 85th in the ATP

World Tour rankings

Wesley Moodie: South African Wesley Moodie,the 2005 Wimbledon doubles champion withStephen Huss, has retired from professional ten-nis after 12 seasons. He ranked a career-highNo. 8 in the ATP Doubles Rankings in 2009 androse to a career-high No. 57 in the South African

Airways 2011 ATP Rankings in 2005.

Oscar Hernandez: Spaniard OscarHernandez announced his retirement fromprofessional tennis this year. Hernandez,who turned professional in 1998, reached acareer-high of 48th in October of 2007 andcompiled a 65-125 singles record.

2011 WTA Tour Retired Players

Justine Henin: Former number one JustineHenin has announced her retirement from pro-fessional tennis in 2011 due to a career-end-ing elbow injury she initially received last yearat Wimbledon. Henin retired from the sport forthe first time in March 2008 and became the

first woman in the history of professional tennis to retire while rankednumber one. She made a successful comeback to tennis at the be-ginning of the 2010 season, reaching the final of the 2010 AustralianOpen and capturing two titles. Henin is a winner of 43 WTA singles ti-tles, including seven Grand Slam championships, and has been rankednumber one for a total of 117 weeks (seventh all time). She hasamassed more than $20 million in career prize money and is leaving thesport with a win-loss record of 527-116

Patty Schnyder: Schnyder played in 59 GrandSlam tournaments, including 52 in a row from1997-2009, and her best showing was making thesemifinals at the 2004 Australian Open. Schnyder,who was born in Basel, the same town as RogerFederer, compiled a 555-370 career record.

Sybille Bammer: The 31-year-old AustrianBammer won two singles titles in her careerand reached the quarterfinals at the 2008 U.S.Open for her best Grand Slam result. Her bestshowing at Wimbledon came in 2006 when shereached the third round.


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By Ajay Kumar

How does one determinethat a player is developing orhas developed? Most tour-ing pros and instructors use

a marker—wins or losses. Is that all thereis to development? Wins and losses?Shouldn’t there be an easier way?Shouldn’t there be a better way to evalu-ate or understand the idea of developmentor developing?

How does one truly understand the de-velopment of a player? Is it just a result-ori-ented marker? Can it be explainedvisually? Can it be conveyed to a beginner,an intermediate, an advanced player or aballer?

In an age where heavy emphasis is puton winning and not development, it is veryimportant for players, parents and instruc-tors (i.e., coaches and teachers), to under-stand and have a certain realization of theterm “development” or “improvement.” Ifeel most players concern themselves toomuch with winning and not enough onlearning long-term (emotional, mental andphysical) skills to help them sustain in anever-expanding competitive (tennis) world.The great “Pistol Pete” Sampras spent twoyears developing and improving his one-handed backhand as a struggling juniorwho just wanted to get better, and 14Grand Slams later, no one is complaining.Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, NovakDjokovic or any other accomplished play-ers (even of the past), still talk about play-ing better in a current match than thematch before—just listen to their post-match interviews.

So, how does one say, “Hey, how do Iknow I have improved on a stroke?” or“How do I know I got better?” or even, “Arethese lessons paying off?”

There is one method I use—and it isbased visually. It is relatively easy and in-structors should help players understandthis. Think of staircases. A staircase has aprogression, which we can word it as“going up” and conversely, deterioration,which would be represented as “goingdown” the staircase.

When a student learns an aspect of astroke, or positive development of a stroke,think of it as a “step-up,” or in other words,progression. When, at the peak of thisstage, the next stage of the staircase flat-tens, this is a “plateau” where the player ishoning the aspect of that particular skill—the longer the plateau, the longer it will beto take the player to the next step-upphase. When a player does master thatskill, the player steps-up. This progressionis where you can see the development inthe upward trajectory. The more the playerlearns and masters a skill or a particular as-pect of a skill, the more upward the push isand they take another positive step in theirdevelopment.

The deterioration is now very simple toidentify because the student will realize theconcept of progression—this concept canbe visualized by everyone involved with theplayer, as well.

Now, a player can use that as a genuinemarker for the concept of improvement anddevelopment. This “staircase” idea can beused at any level and at any skill. This alsoallows a player to focus more on detail andpay attention to growing and mastering a

set of skills, as opposed to worrying aboutwinning or losing. Believe me, if a player fo-cuses on getting better, and puts their besteffort forward, winning comes naturallywithout hesitation.

This is also a mentally accessible tool,where a player in a slump, uses it as apositive feedback method and to diverttheir attention away from the negativeslump and convert the practice time topositive momentum. My recommenda-tion to players, instructors and parentsalike is to realize the importance of de-velopment in the long run as opposed tosuccess in the short-term. To develop inthe long run, one has to improve instages and see an upward swing in theemotional, physical and mental growth ofthe player.

Ajay Kumar is currently the director of ten-nis at one of the oldest tennis facilities inNew York, the New York Tennis Club(NYTC), and is an assistant director for theAdvantage Tennis Clubs family, servicingout of four-major locations in Manhattan.Prior to taking over the director of tennisposition at NYTC, Ajay was a partner atMetro Tennis Academy and was instru-mental in developing a renowned juniorprogram that serviced both recreationaland competitive players. He has played inthe USTA Eastern Section, and as well asin the ITF. He graduated with a sports med-icine major from Manhattan College, wherehe played competitively in its Division I var-sity team as a scholar-athlete. He may bereached by phone at (646) 294-2653, e-mail [email protected] orvisit AdvantageCamps.net.

StepUpto Success


debris from the court surface which generallygathers in the corners of the court surface.This will reduce staining and mildew buildup,in addition to keeping the court in a “ready toplay” condition.

Tips on hard court maintenanceA well-constructed and well-maintained tenniscourt will offer years of play. To maximize thelife of any type of court, the owner should de-velop and implement a regular schedule ofmaintenance. Regular inspection of the courtand the repair of minor irregularities are morecost-effective than allowing the court to deteri-orate to the point where it requires major repair.

Hard court surfaces are generally consideredmaintenance free; however, court cleaning maybe required from time to time in order to main-tain a safe playing surface. “Safe playing sur-face” refers to the condition of the surface.Conditions such as moss and mildew maycause slippery areas on the court, possibly re-sulting in personal injury while playing. To re-

By Kevin J. Healion, CTCB

Closing court for the winterWinterizing a hard court for thewinter months is important. Spe-cial attention should be given to

windscreens, which are attached to the fencesystem on your tennis court. The wintermonths bring severe winds which may not onlydamage your windscreens, but can also docostly damage to framing and fence fabric.Windscreens should be removed in fall monthsas a precaution.

Tennis nets should be lowered to relievethe nets posts of tension. Some players liketo play on those occasional nice days in thewinter in which the net can be raised fairlyeasily. Another option would be to take thenet down completely and store it inside. Thishelps the longevity of the net and reducesfrequent replacement.

One more important tip for tennis courtwinterizing is removing leaves and organic

move stains, start with the gentlest treatment,as a soft brush and mild cold water detergentsolution may remove the stain. If that doesn’twork, try the same brush with a mild chlorinebleach solution—about one cup of bleach pergallon of water and rinse with hose or lightpower washing. Power washing is not as easyas it sounds and costly damage to court sur-face can occur. Hiring a professional may bethe best course of action in this case.

Other conditions, such as bumps, cracksand holes, must be addressed prior to tennisplay to avoid tripping hazards and serious in-jury. Contacting a tennis court professional forinformation on methods and new techniquesof repair will help you make these importantrepair decisions.

Play safe and have a nice winter.

Kevin J. Healion, CTCB of Deer Park, N.Y.-based Century Tennis Inc. may be reachedby phone at (631) 242-0220 or [email protected].

Winter Care and Maintenance Tips for Your Tennis Court Color Surface


RafaBy John Carlin and Rafael Nadal

Rafa, an autobiog-raphy of formernumber one playerRafael Nadal, waspublished lastsummer, but con-sidering that itssubject has justscored anothercareer triumph,playing on Spain’s

winning Davis Cup team late last year, thisis a good time to revisit Nadal’s story.

As sport autobiographies go, Rafa holdsup well. This is because its subject seems,on the whole, to be a decent guy. Gestureslike his comforting of Polish players on thetour when a plane crash killed a number oftheir leaders and the respectful way he hasconducted himself as he passed his rivalRoger Federer in the fight for the top spotin the men’s rankings, point to the factthat Nadal is, in all, a grounded youngman despite his international celebrity.Rafa supplies a number of personal andprofessional details about the star’s manypre-match rituals and training habits thatwill be of interest to his fans.

Anyone who follows tennis alreadyknows about his obsessive positioning ofthe water bottles during a match, but Rafabook reveals a whole range of rituals thathe goes through including taking a coldshower before big matches.

The first chapter is a moment-by-momentdescription of how he prepared for his 2008Wimbledon final with Roger Federer. It in-cludes a funny description of himself and Fed-erer in the locker room before the match.Federer is sitting quietly on a wooden bench.Nadal, with music blasting through his head-phones, is sprinting around the small room

and doing other violent exercises. It was thecontrasting styles of the two players that madetheir rivalry so great when they were the twotop players in the game, before NovakDjokovic came along to spoil the party.

This section of the book also contains alengthy passage about how hard it is to hita ball well even for Nadal. He talks aboutall of the adjustments players need to maketo hit even one ball well, never mind thedozens of hits a long rally can consist of.Well, if it seems hard for Nadal, no wonderall of us less-skilled players have trouble.

Another strength of Rafa is its descrip-tions of Nadal growing up. In addition tocute pictures of him as an infant, it startsoff his career progression throughout thejunior ranks. It won’t shock anyone to learnhe was very good, very young.

There has been a lot of ink spilled describ-ing Spaniard Carlos Moya’s mentor-like rela-tionship with Nadal. After all, what are thechances you would get two world numberones from a small island like Majorca?

But as Moya makes clear in some pas-sages quoted in Nadal’s book, it wasn’t likehe was doing charity work with theteenaged Nadal when Moya practiced withhim. Moya says that even when Nadal was14 or 15, he was tough to beat. As the olderMajorcan puts it, “You didn’t want to be agrown man and a top 10 ATP tour profes-sional and lose to a kid.”

Of course, Nadal was not just any kid. Rafashows how his support team was put in placeearly and hasn’t changed much over theyears. He describes his uncle Toni as thetoughest tennis coach in the world. His trainerand his agent, former ATP pro Carlos Costa,are prime members of an entourage that en-able Nadal to exist in a kind of Borg-like co-coon that allows him to play his best tennis.

In the book Open, readers were given agood look at everything the young Andre

Agassi had to give up in order to be achampion. Nadal’s sacrifices don’t seem tobe as harsh, no doubt because instead ofgetting sent away from home, as his teamis family-centered with his uncle callingmost of the shots. Still, as he says in themiddle of the book, he wishes he could goout of the hotel in New York and just walkaround, but he feels, rightly or wrongly, thathe would be recognized and mobbed.

Instead, Nadal says that when he is here inthe Big Apple, about the only place he goesbesides the USTA Billie Jean King NationalTennis Center is to sponsor events to whichhe’s whisked in and out without being able toget a feel for New York’s streets.

One fault of the book is that Carlin does-n’t seem clear about the difference between“Slams” and “Grand Slams.” He often hasNadal up there with Rod Laver and DonBudge as another Grand Slam winner, whenwhat he means is that the Majorcan has wonanother one of the Big Four.

It would be interesting to get the kind ofpersonal reaction that Nadal shows read-ers in this book with co-author John Carlinabout his adjustment to the change in thetennis world order that the ascension ofDjokovic has caused.

The year 2011 has been a remarkableseason for the Serb, and most of his tri-umphs have come by beating both Nadaland Federer. It would be interesting to hearwhat Nadal’s take is on his two, straight-set losses to Djokovic at home in Madridand in Rome this year. But Nadal’s fans willhave to wait for a second book to get theseinsights. For now, Rafa, will function as agood read and a source of informationabout how Nadal climbed the ladder to be-come the number one player in the world.

Brent Shearer may be reached by e-mail [email protected].


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Dear USTA leaders:At its Semi-Annual Meeting on Sept. 7,the USTA voted to further reduce thenumber of tournaments that count formen’s singles and individual doublesrankings from five to four starting in2012. When the points ranking systemtook effect in 2004, the six best tourna-ment results counted. A few years ago,the USTA reduced it to the five best tour-naments. Let’s analyze the USTA’s recentreduction to four tournaments usingthree highly important criteria.

1. In the 2011 USTA Yearbook, Jon Vegosen,chairman of the board and president,wrote: “The USTA already has a com-pelling mission—to promote and developthe growth of tennis.” We believe thatkeeping the number at five betterachieves this laudable mission than re-ducing the number to four, which dimin-ishes, rather than promotes and grows,our sport. Specifically, more competitorsplaying more tournaments is better forplayers, fans, tournaments, sponsorsand the media.

2. A fair and accurate ranking system is an-other extremely important goal for everytournament division. This goal requires hav-ing sufficient data and results to evaluate.We believe the results of five tourna-ments—rather than only four—providemore data. That will result in more accurate,and thus more fair, rankings.

3. Since USTA national tournaments arespread across our vast country and somelarge sections cover several hundred miles, the

burden of competing should not be undulyonerous in terms of travel, cost and time. Therationale for the rule change from five to fourtournaments hinged largely, if not solely, on theclaim that competing in five tournamentswould prove unduly onerous. Since playershave an entire year and the option of playing inmany tournaments in many parts of the coun-try or their sections, we believe the claim of thesupporters of this reduction is clearly unjusti-fied. There is no requirement to play in anyparticular number of tournaments—the onlyrequirement to get ranked nationally is that aplayer plays one National Championship. Be-yond that, it is entirely optional whether he orshe plays in any additional tournaments. (Thestatement in the Autumn 2011 issue of SuperSenior Tennis by the chair of the USTAAdult/Senior Competition Committee that“Men will need four tournaments for a USTAranking, instead of five” is inaccurate and mis-leading—only one tournament, a National, isneeded for a USTA ranking.)

Just as a ranking rule should not dis-criminate against players who compete inrelatively few tournaments, it also shouldnot discriminate against players who com-pete in many tournaments. But, where dothe players themselves believe the lineshould be drawn?

In the late fall of 2010, anticipating USTAFlorida’s upcoming 2011 Annual Meeting,Julien Moussalli, a leading Florida seniorplayer, circulated a petition intended for USTAFlorida. The petition proposed a rule changefor the Florida Sectional Rankings that wouldcount all tournaments played—not the currentfive tournaments. Due to time constraints,Moussalli was only able to circulate the peti-

tion at a couple of tournaments. Nonetheless,he obtained 35 signatures.

One signatory, Joe Bachmann, a promi-nent and highly-ranked national player,signed the petition on the condition thateight tournaments be counted for FloridaSectional Rankings. All things considered,we believe his proposal to count eight tour-naments is a sound, reasonable and faircompromise between the extremes ofcounting only four tournaments (USTA) orfive tournaments (USTA Florida), andcounting all tournaments, as Moussalli pro-poses for Florida. (The number of tourna-ments that count in the rankings can varydepending on the age division, and it maybe advisable for lower age divisions tohave fewer tournaments count.)

Moussalli met several times with USTAFlorida officials and presented the signedpetition, but to no avail. The USTA Floridaofficial to whom the petition was submittedwas a member of the USTA Adult/SeniorCompetition Committee, which, in Sep-tember, reduced the number of tournamentsthat count for a national to four. He had, inhis possession for six months prior to theSemi-Annual Meeting, both Moussalli’s pe-tition and a five-page protest letter fromRon Tonidandel, to which he never re-sponded. It is disappointing that, to thebest of our knowledge, he did not disclosethe contents or even the existence of ei-ther the petition or the letter to the othernational committee members.

We submit that, even though Moussalli’spetition was directed to USTA Floridaand not the USTA committee in charge ofnational rankings, the principles involvedare the same on both levels. Therefore, in

New York Tennis Magazine’s

Letter to the Editor: An Open Letter to the USTAHow Many Tournaments Should Count in the Rankings?

Mailbag


fairness, the USTA Florida official shouldhave informed other members of the USTANational Committee, on which he sits, aboutwhat transpired in Florida, particularly Mous-salli’s petition and Tonidandel’s unansweredletter. Without that important information,there could not be an informed, thoroughand fair debate on this vital issue.

In closing, we would like to note the pro-liferation of players from all over the countrycompeting in National Category II tourna-ments since their inauguration and the cre-ation of the ranking points system in 2004.This sharp increase in player participationand its momentum can and should be ac-celerated—rather than be reversed. Indeed,it is important to note that the mission of theAdult/Senior Competition Committee is:

“To promote all activities associated withadult/senior competition, including rankings,sanctions and schedules, and to find waysto increase participation in all nationaladult/senior competition events.”

The USTA can do exactly that by re-fo-cusing on its stated mission to promote

and develop thegrowth of tennis, inthis case, tournamentparticipation. The rescind-ing of its decision to again re-duce the number of tournaments thatcount in the rankings would be a prudentand productive first step toward that end.In discussing the 2004 National RankingSystem, New England Senior Tennis in2005 pointed out:

“The new points-per-round system would in-crease tournament participation as the moretournaments played, the higher the possi-bility of the ranking achieved. Note that the

junior tournaments in NewEngland also changed to points-

per-round and their participation in-creased significantly.”

Thank you for considering and evalu-ating the facts, criteria and argumentspresented here.

Sincerely,

Ron Tonidandel (Sarasota, Fla.)Paul Fein (Agawam, Mass.)Leon Kennedy (St. Petersburg, Fla.)Roger Upton (Atlanta, Ga.)John Natolly (Harbor Hills, Fla.)

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You’ve probably heard by now … thenews is out. It’s all over the city’s publiccourts, from Central Park to Riverside

Park, to my home courts in East River Park, or,as we call it, the East Village Country Club. I’mnot a 5.0 on the National Tennis Rating Pro-gram’s (NTRP) scale anymore. If I ever was.

The NTRP is the U.S. tennis rating sys-tem. Beginners are ranked 2.0, and it rises in0.5 increments to ATP-level professionalswho are ranked 7.0.

For years, for decades even, I thought I wasa 5.0. I told everybody I was a 5.0. Hadn’t Iplayed Division I college tennis even if it was ina previous century? Sure, I’d lost a step or

two, maybe I wasn’t playing much thesedays, but I’d assigned myself a 5.0 rating,

and I thought that was what I was.I knew that a lot of players rate

themselves more highly than theydeserve. I’d joked with my

fellow teachingpros about

players whoc a l l e dt h e m -

selves 5.0s

and weren’t even close. I saw the humor inthese men and women who overrated them-selves. But me? I had a former Australian DavisCupper as a coach when I was 12, the sameguy Vitas Gerulaitis used when he was comingup. True, I don’t play events on the senior circuit,but I am the 2004 Riverside Park 45 and OverChampion. When I got certified for a PTR cre-dential, the coach running the session, herself aformer tour player, said I had a beautiful game.The NTRP doesn’t give out style points, buthow was I not rated a 5.0?

Sure, I shanked most of the overheads in theevaluation, but I pointed with my left hand as Iteach my students to do. Really, who practicesoverheads if you haven’t been playing thatmuch. And as for my serve, I had trouble gettingthe first serve in, but when I missed these sliceserves, wasn’t I able to put the second servesinto play pretty well using my anemic kickserve? That’s two different kinds of serves evenif neither was very consistent or powerful.

Of course, my first response was toquestion the competence of my tester,USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Cen-ter Pro Bora Gerceker. What did this guyknow anyway to so cavalierly knock me off

my comfortable, self-assigned 5.0 perch?Then I read Bora’s bio on the NTC site. Ofabout 15 impressive credentials andachievements, the only one I remember isthat he was the Turkish Fed Cup Captain.

When I won the Riverside Park clayevent, the quality of the guys I beat waspretty high. In the finals I beat anotherwriter by the odd score of 5-7, 6-0, 6-0.Still, that is hardly Fed Cup level tennis.

I have to admit that Bora knows moreabout the game than I do.

And I didn’t go down just one step to 4.5. IfI’d been rated a 4.5 I wouldn’t feel nearly asdissed as I do now that I’m a mere 4.0.

Bora seemed like a nice guy. What if my4.0 is really a “mercy 4.0” like that proof-reading class in journalism school where Igot the “mercy” D? Maybe I’m really a 3.5?

I’m going to look for the tennis equivalentof those SAT prep courses. Maybe I’ll neverbe a 5.0 again, but as God and Bora are mywitnesses, I’m going to climb back up to 4.5even if I have to practice overheads.

Brent Shearer may be reached by e-mail [email protected].

Downgrade: One Player’s NTRP Shocker! By Brent Shearer

The holiday season can often becomequite stressful. Whether it’s shopping,making travel plans, finishing up proj-

ects at work before the year ends orbumper-to-bumper traffic, the holiday sea-son can be quite an undertaking for a NewYorker. Knowing this, two local tennis clubsoffered their members a few hours to forgetabout the holiday stress by hosting recentholiday parties.

On Dec. 11, Manhattan Plaza RacquetClub held their member’s holiday party onthe same day as new renovations to theclub were completed. Members walked intothe newly renovated facilities and were inshock at what they saw ... new carpetingand lighting was found throughout the club,completely-revamped locker rooms and a

second floor of the clubhouse where mem-bers can relax, watch TV and even watchtheir competition on the courts from theclubhouse from newly-installed courtsidecameras. During the party, members wereenjoying other members play on TV from theclubhouse, as their friends played gamessuch as King of the Court and Offense-De-fense, while enjoying food and drink.

According to Gil Amar, “We are veryhappy to have our renovations finished intime for this party. We wanted to thank ourmembers for being patient during the ren-ovations and what better way to say thankyou than having a party for them!”

Across the river in Queens, CityViewRacquet Club had their holiday party onDec. 13. In light of the holiday season, there

was also a silent auction that supported theMeals on Wheels Foundation. Featureditems included signed memorabilia from EliManning, Derek Jeter, Jimmy Connors,Mark Sanchez and other pro athletes.

With the holiday season binge beingone of, if not the, most hectic times ofyear, the local tennis clubs offered theirmembers the chance to release somestress by meeting with friends, makingnew friends and smashing some tennisballs as 2011 winds down and 2012 loomsaround the corner.

Michael Sarro is director of business devel-opment for New York Tennis Magazine. Hemay be reached by phone at (516) 409-4444,ext. 330 or e-mail [email protected].

Local Tennis Clubs Serving Up the Holiday CheerBy Michael Sarro


The Metropolitan Tennis Group(MTG) is a not-for-profit, Les-bian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and

Transgender (LGBT) organizationformed to provide its membershipwith expanded opportunities to playrecreational and competitive tennis.The MTG was formed in 1985 whenone of its original members, TerryFonville, placed an ad in the VillageVoice seeking out other gay andlesbian tennis players, and 20 peo-ple responded. Thereafter, thegroup formed and met monthly inwhat was to become the precursorto MTG’s current social doublesparties. In 1988, MTG formally or-ganized, obtained its not-for-profitstatus, established a steering com-mittee and elected its first board ofdirectors.

Over the years, the group hasgrown to approximately 300members. In addition to social doublesparties, other types of tennis playingevents were conceived and established.More than 25 years after its initial incep-tion, MTG continues to expand its mem-bership, events and community outreachefforts. MTG’s current membership is cul-turally and ethnically diverse and is com-prised primarily of residents from theNew York City metropolitan and Tri-Statearea. The age range of the group is from18-70 years old, and includes players ofall levels, from beginners to advanced,experienced lifetime players.

MTG runs many different eventsthroughout the year, including:

� Monthly singles/doubles parties

(round-robin singles/doubles play in-cluding food and drink social hour);

� Atlantic Cup Competition (team tenniscompetition between LGBT tennisgroups from Boston, New York City,Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.);

� Winter doubles league (MTG round-robin doubles tournament);

� Summer Ladder (MTG’s summer com-petition where wins and losses againstother members dictates position on theladder);

� The Marsha Day Club Championship(MTG’s “Club Championship Tourna-ment” whose proceed benefit the MarshaDay Memorial Fund, providing servicesand assistance to runaway and homeless

youths, people living withHIV/AIDS and the indigent);

� The Liberty Open (held each July4th holiday, when MTG and NYCdraws players from all across thecountry and abroad to this Gayand Lesbian Tennis Alliance[GLTA] tennis tournament);and

� The Matthew Shepard MemorialTennis JAM (MTG’s annualfundraiser consisting of fourhours of round-robin play bene-fiting the Matthew ShepardFoundation), which this year, thegroup raised $7,500 for thecause.

In 2011, MTG received a USTAgrant funding to help hire instructorsfor beginner tennis parties. As a re-sult, the beginner tennis parties havebeen consistently selling out andhave served as a major vehicle to

Metropolitan Tennis Group (MTG)

grow the group.The number of women in the group has

doubled in the past year. They hope tocontinue that growth in 2012, as well asgrow other underrepresented areas ofmemberships including Hispanics,African-Americans, other immigrant/eth-nic groups and people with disabilities.

Members pay annual dues of $45 whichcover the annual period from Sept. 1-Aug.31 of the following year ($25 from March 1-Aug. 31).

If you would like to become a member,or would like more information on the MTG,visit MetroTennisGroup.com or contact theMTG Commissioner Daniel Arzuaga by e-mail at [email protected].


After earning its 200th straight victory, the St. Francis PrepTerriers rolled on and won its 201st straight victory afterwinning its 14th straight CHSAA Girl’s Tennis State Title.

St. Francis Prep defeated St. Joseph by the Sea in convincingfashion, 5-0. This marked another undefeated season for St.Francis, as Head Coach John Brennan has yet to lose a matchin his 14-year tenure with the team.

Next up on the Terriers’ schedule is the Mayor’s Cup City Cham-pionships in the spring where they have won that tournament 13years in a row. When asked about the Mayor’s Cup, Coach Brennanreplied, “The Mayor’s Cup means the most to me as it crowns a le-gitimate city champion because we play teams in other leagues.”

Last year, the Terriers defeated the PSAL champion LeonGoldstein, and according to Katie Derienzo, “I think we will playthem again because they had a really good team last year, andjust as good of a team this year.”

St. Francis won last year’s final 3-2 over Leon Goldstein in ahighly competitive matchup and Coach Brennan expects to seethem in the finals again this year.

By Barbara Ordes

Cardio Tennis is fun, fast andaffordable! I love seeing thesame people, week afterweek, improve their quick-

ness, reaction time and tennis skills with justan hour workout that is way more excitingthan another trip to the gym. A challengingcardio workout for tennis focuses on specificfootwork and overall court movement. In myexperiences when compared to private les-sons, clinics or competitive match play, Itruly believe that Cardio Tennis gives instantfitness and tennis results. In my experiences,the Cardio Tennis community is supportive,enjoyable and people experience their im-provement together.

Here are a few testimonials from someCardio Tennis participants.

“I used to dread doing cardio because itmeant doing boring repetitive exercises. Iwas always counting the minutes I had lefteach session, which makes it hard to keep

motivated long-term. Since I started takingCardio Tennis classes though, I look for-ward to my workouts. The pace is reallyfast, so it keeps my heart rate up, and thecompetitive nature of the class keeps meengaged much more than solitary exerciseslike the treadmill or bike. Watching my skillsimprove from week to week is a bonus, sonow not only am I in great shape, but I’menjoying the game even more.”—Jonathan Weinberg

“I’m 35, have been playing tennis since I wassix, and my tennis has improved more in thepast year and a half that I’ve been doing car-dio than the previous 27 years of regulardrills. Let’s face it, we all know how to hit aforehand, overhead or volley. The real key toplaying good tennis is getting in the right po-sition at the right time, and to be able to hitthat forehand or volley properly. Cardio hasimproved my footwork and hustle 200 per-cent. I’m running down drop shots I couldn’thave before, and am taking those three littleshuffle-steps needed to set up my shot—no

more standing and reaching! Cardio is sofast-paced that when I play regular matches,everything seems like it’s in slow-motion … itfeels like I have five min. to prepare for eachshot! If you are serious about improving yourgame, sign up for a cardio class. If you aren’t… stick with your drills.”—Dan Backhaus

Barbara Ordes is Cardio Tennis director atRoosevelt Island Racquet Club (RIRC). Bar-bara has been at Roosevelt since 2005 andserves as the assistant adult program directorand the director of the Cardio Tennis Pro-gram. She teaches in both the adult and jun-ior programs at RIRC, in addition to givingprivate lessons. Barbara grew up in Baltimoreand received a BS degree from Johns Hop-kins University in mathematical sciences.While in college, Barbara was an All-Ameri-can Field Hockey player. Barbara is a certifiedUSPTA teaching professional and holds Re-gional and National Rankings in the Women’sOpen Singles Division. She may be reachedby phone at (212) 935-0250.

Cardio Tennis

CHSAA Girls RecapSt. Francis Prep Girls Capture 14th Straight CHSAA Girl’s Tennis State Title

St. Francis Prep vs. St. Joseph by the Sea Scores:� First Singles: Katie Derienzo won 6-0, 6-0� Second Singles: Lisa Ventimiglia won 6-0, 6-0� Third Singles: Samantha Rosca-Sipot won 6-0, 6-0� First Doubles: Marylen Santos & Jacqueline Kelly won, 6-0, 6-0� Second Doubles: Jennifer Mukofsky & Rossella Scarpa won,

6-0, 6-1


charitable initiatives

Every autumn, the Prospect Park Tennis Cen-ter’s tennis bubbles fill with cheers of encour-agement as the Special Aces Tennis Programgets underway. This unique program offersBrooklyn kids with special needs a rare op-portunity to improve their motor skills in an en-gaging group setting. For 21 weeks eachyear during the indoor season, qualifiedphysical and occupational therapists joinProspect Park’s tennis professionals andvolunteers to provide exercise and tennis in-struction to children with varying degrees ofphysical and cognitive challenges. SpecialAces is a program of the Prospect Park Al-liance, the non-profit organization that part-ners with the City of New York to maintainand operate Prospect Park.

The program was founded by ProspectPark Tennis Center Director Paul Campbellin 2007 as a way to offer not just exercise,but a boost of self-esteem to kids who oftenface some tough physical challenges. Nowin its fifth year, the program has grown to 50participants.

“I knew from the beginning planning stagesof the Tennis Center that I wanted to establisha program for kids with disabilities,” Campbellsaid. “My wife is a therapist, and she volun-teered in a special tennis program many yearsago in New England. I felt that it was importantto start a program for special needs kids inBrooklyn, but it wasn’t until the program ac-tually started that I realized just how importantit really was. Special Aces has been great forthe kids and for their parents. There just aren’tmany sports programs for this population.”

Players from six- to 18-years-old aregrouped according to age and ability into twosessions on Sunday afternoons. Tennis pros,therapists, and volunteers provide close su-

pervision and attention to every child. At thebeginning of the season, children are as-sessed to determine factors such as flexibility,strength and general coordination. Kids thenlearn the basic fundamentals of tennis in funand innovative ways specially-tailored to theirneeds and abilities. Therapists participating inthe program report improvement in the chil-dren’s hand/eye coordination, physicalstrength and attention span over the course ofa seven-session program.

The Tennis Center is even able to offer anumber of sport wheelchairs for use by chil-dren in the Special Aces Program. Thesechairs are extremely adjustable and help manychildren participate more fully in program ac-tivities. Having two hard courts facilitates theuse of wheelchairs, and the special sportswheelchairs are a thrill for the kids to use be-cause of the increased maneuverability.

Parents of children who have participatedin the Special Aces Program report that even

those with severe cognitive problems are bet-ter able to interact socially with their peers andadults during the tennis sessions. The SpecialAces Program also helps ameliorate the iso-lated families of special needs children by giv-ing them a place to join other parents to watchtheir child play a sport.

Thanks to the generous donations fromBulova Stetson Fund, Translation Aces, theUSTA, and The Joseph LeRoy and Ann C.Warner Fund, tuition for the program is able toremain low and scholarships are available.

“Special Aces is a great and extremely wellrun program,” said Michael D. Stalonas, ex-ecutive director of The Warner Fund. “The pro-fessional staff and the volunteers are warmand caring. The children truly love the oppor-tunity to learn the fundamentals of tennis, asevidenced by the great percentage of kids thatcome back each year. The Warner Fund feelsvery privileged and proud to be able to fundsuch a wonderful program.”

Champions One and All! Children with special needs enjoy tennis program at Prospect Park

Volunteers Adam Borak and Anna Greene,along with Coach Winston Ramsay with GeorgePanagiotakos and Eric Skinner of the SpecialAces program

Volunteer Philip Akpan, KrishnaSantos, Jaeden Granger, Abraham

Imani and Coach Adrian Clarke


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By Roman Prokes

Stringing tennis racquets isa true art form. The stringingprocess is not as uniformand simple as it may seem.

Players often believe that stringing is a non-dif-ferentiated good/service like milk or gasoline. Ifthe octane of gas or style of milk is the same,then there is no real difference from companyto company other than price. This could not beany further from the truth with racquet string-ing. As there are mammoth differences in endproduct when dealing with a top chef versus afast food worker, stringers are similarly an inte-gral force of how your racquet plays. Astringer’s knowledge, experience, technique,skill, etc. all play a fundamental role in the endproduct. Here are some key factors to considerwhen getting your racquet serviced:

The stringing machineStringing machines vary in price, and canrange anywhere from $100 to upwards of$10,000. With such a vast range comes a heftydiscrepancy in quality. Stringing machinesmust have sufficient mounts to stabilize a rac-quet during the stringing process. The mountsprevent racquet cracking and warping, and notall machines provide the same number ofmounts. The power behind the tension headdiffers as well. Electronic machines providehigher accuracy as crank and drop weight ma-chines are largely subject to human impreci-sion. The most advanced stringing machine todate is the Wilson Baiardo which I was fortu-nate enough to be a part of the designprocess. This machine is so unique because itis ergonomically built with hydraulics, featuressuperior clamps, has six balanced mounts,and a fully computerized tensioning system forstunningly precise stringing. As the sayinggoes, “You can tell a lot about a person fromtheir shoes,” well check your stringer’s ma-chine because they walk around in it every day.

The patternThe most undervalued and unknown part ofstringing is the pattern. The pattern refers to

the order in which a stringerweaves string throughout theracquet. Most people do not re-alize that the only pattern a rac-quet should be strung is fromthe head to the throat (i.e. top tobottom). Most people also don’trealize that this does not happennaturally with a standard stringpattern. Ninety-five percent ofstringers perform a standardpattern on the racquet, and thus95 percent of stringers do notdo the job properly. The prob-lem with standard patterns isthat it can cause racket warping,significant loss of tension, un-even tension, string shearing,frame cracking at the throat,off-center string breakage, andseveral other problems. Numer-ous companies consider string-ing in that pattern as a void ofwarranty because it can be sodamaging. The other five percentof professional stringers are ed-ucated in avoiding harmful pat-terns. I am still baffled that sucha chief part of stringing is unfa-miliar to a large part of the tennis community.Check with your stringer the next time you goin for service that they utilize the correct pat-tern or you may be surprised at the damagealready occurring in your racquet.

The stringer’s consistencyA stringer’s consistency is simply defined athow reproducible their results are. Stringing aracquet is a series of hundreds of little steps.Professional stringers are best at methodicallyrecreating the steps in the same exact way toproduce machinelike results. Professionalstringers make a science of systematically or-dering everything. They clean the machineroutinely for consistent output, adjust theclamps for minimal wear, repair grommets foroptimal string life, apply pads/tubing and useefficiency to eliminate damage to the overallframe. With the utmost feel, playability, dura-

bility and performance why would you haveyour racquet serviced any other way?

Professional stringers spend years to learntheir craft for the benefit of the player. Playersneed only find a professional stringer to makesure that their racquet is serviced correctly.You probably already use this care when buy-ing cars, food, clothes, electronics, etc. Whynot be a knowledgeable consumer and do thesame when it comes to tennis.

Roman Prokes is a racket technician guru.He has over three decades of experience inthe industry. He works with several of thetop touring professionals on the ATP andWTA Tours. He can be found at RPNY Ten-nis in Robbie Wagner Tournament Training,NYC, Citiview Racquet Club, and other lo-cations. He may be reached by phone at(516) 759-5200 or visit RPNYTennis.com.

Professional Stringing:W h a t M a k e s I t S o D i f f e r e n t ?

RPNY Tennis at the 2011 U.S. Open

At the 2011 U.S. Open, the world’s record was set as 490 tennisracquets were strung in one day


NEW YORK TENNIS CLUB

DIRECTORYCunningham Sports CenterBill Racho—Director of Junior TennisPrograms196-00 Union TurnpikeFresh Meadows, NY 11366(718) 740-6800bill@cunninghamsportscenter.comCunninghamSportsCenter.com

Go! Tennis at North ShoreTennis & Racquet ClubGeorge Garland—Director of Tennis34-28 214th Place Flushing, NY 11361-1720(718) [email protected]

Manhattan Plaza Racquet ClubGertrud Wilhelm450 West 43rd Street • New York, NY 10036(212) [email protected] AdvantageTennis NY.com

Midtown Tennis ClubJennifer Brown—Director341 8th Avenue • New York, NY 10001(212) [email protected]

New York Tennis ClubLauren Hartman3081 Harding Avenue Bronx, NY 10465(718) [email protected] or AdvantageTennisNY.com

Roosevelt Island RacquetClubTom Manhart—Assistant GeneralManager281 Main Street Roosevelt Island, NY 10044(212) [email protected] or AdvantageTennis NY.com

SPORTIME Randall’s IslandTed Dimond—Director of Tennis1 Randall’s IslandNew York, NY 10035(212) [email protected]/Manhattan

Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond Joel Kassan—Tennis Director725 Gateway Center Boulevard Bronx, NY 10451(718) [email protected]

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis CenterWhitney Kraft—Director of TennisFlushing Meadows Corona ParkFlushing, NY 11368(718) [email protected]

West Side Tennis ClubBob Ingersole—Director of Tennis1 Tennis PlaceForest Hills, NY 11375(718) 268-2300tennisdirector@foresthillstennis.comForestHillsTennis.com/index.html

UPCOMINGEVENTSJANUARY 2012Fridays, January 6, 13, 20 & 27Friday Night Tennis PartiesMidtown Tennis Club341 8th Avenue & 27th StreetNew York, N.Y.8:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.Round-robin doubles tournaments for 3.5players or betterFor more information, call (212) 989-8572, ext. 104, e-mail [email protected] or visit MidtownTennis.com.

Saturdays, January 7, 14, 21 & 28Saturday Social Tennis PartiesThe West Side Tennis Club1 Tennis Place • Forest Hills, N.Y.5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.On-court round-robins with music, fol-lowed by dinner and drinks (for all levels)For more information, call (516) 380-0123, e-mail [email protected] visit ForestHillsTennis.com.

Friday-Saturday, January 20-212012 USTA Eastern Annual Meeting & Volunteer Development WorkshopRenaissance Westchester Hotel80 West Red Oak LaneWest Harrison, N.Y.For more information, visit Eastern.USTA.com.

Saturday, January 21University of North Carolina’s Winter InvitationalUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis CenterFlushing Meadows Corona ParkFlushing, N.Y.For more information, visit USTA.com.

FEBRUARY 2012Friday, February 3Sportime Randall’s Island Friday Night AdultTennis MixerSportime at Randall’s Island1 Randall’s Island • New York, N.Y.7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.For more information, call (212) 427-6150or visit SportimeNY.com/Manhattan.

Fridays, February 3, 10, 14 & 24Friday Night Tennis PartiesMidtown Tennis Club341 8th Avenue & 27th StreetNew York, N.Y.8:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.Round-robin doubles tournaments for 3.5players or betterFor more information, call (212) 989-8572, ext. 104, e-mail [email protected] visit MidtownTennis.com.

Saturday-Sunday, February 4-5USTA Eastern Tennis Umpires AssociationCertification WorkshopUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis CenterFlushing Meadows Corona ParkFlushing, N.Y.For more information, visit USTA.com.

Saturdays, February 4, 11, 18 & 25Saturday Social Tennis PartiesThe West Side Tennis Club1 Tennis Place • Forest Hills, N.Y.5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.On-court round-robins with music, fol-lowed by dinner and drinks (for all levels)For more information, call (516) 380-0123,e-mail [email protected] or visit ForestHillsTennis.com.

MARCH 2012Monday, March 5BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison SquareGardenMadison Square Garden4 Pennsylvania Plaza • New York, N.Y.Featuring: Maria Sharapova vs. CarolineWozniacki & Roger Federer vs. Andy Roddick For more information, visit TennisShow-down.com.


N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G SBoys & Girls Metro Rankings(as of 12/16/11)

BOYSMetro Boys 12 SinglesRank ..Name............................City1 ..........Derek Lung ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

2 ..........Kemal Irfan Aziz..................Staten Island, N.Y.

3 ..........Mitchell Mu ........................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

4 ..........David Moldovan..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

5 ..........Eitan Khromchenko ............Staten Island, N.Y.

6 ..........Derrick Mu ........................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

7 ..........Christopher Tham ..............Flushing, N.Y.

8 ..........Cameron Gruss ..................New York, N.Y.

9 ..........Stevan Stojkovic ................Flushing, N.Y.

10 ........Ethan Finley........................New York, N.Y.

11 ........Shand Stephens ................New York, N.Y.

12 ........Christopher Kolesnik ..........Staten Island, N.Y.

13 ........Matthew Joshua Ross ........New York, N.Y.

14 ........Philip Belmatch ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

15 ........Logan Gruss ......................New York, N.Y.

16 ........Oliver Jevtovic ....................Astoria, N.Y.

17 ........Ethan Moszkowski..............New York, N.Y.

18 ........Zachary Jordan Lieb ..........New York, N.Y.

19 ........Gregory Thomas Coe ..........New York, N.Y.

20 ........Michael Cooper Jr. ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

21 ........Bryce Philip Kassalow ........New York, N.Y.

22 ........Robert Shinder....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

23 ........David Mizrahi......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

24 ........Jonathan L. Molfetta ..........Howard Beach, N.Y.

25 ........Lantis Wang........................New York, N.Y.

26 ........Dylan Friedman ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

27 ........Itamar I. Oron......................New York, N.Y.

28 ........Nicholas Rudman................New York, N.Y.

29 ........Javier Nathaniel Luna ........New York, N.Y.

30 ........Emil Nadyrbekov ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

31 ........Max Leon Adelman ............New York, N.Y.

32 ........David Dylan Pines ..............New York, N.Y.

33 ........Adam Lane Bernstein..........New York, N.Y.

34 ........Joseph R. Reiner ................New York, N.Y.

35 ........Daniel Rafael Helfgott ........New York, N.Y.

36 ........Shawn Jackson ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

37 ........Gabriel Sifuentes ................Flushing, N.Y.

38 ........George Allen ......................New York, N.Y.

39 ........Jonathan Glinsky ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

40 ........Ian Leifer ............................New York, N.Y.

Metro Boys 14 SinglesRank ..Name............................City1 ..........Denis Korol ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

2 ..........Evan Liberman....................New York, N.Y.

3 ..........Nate Newhouse ..................New York, N.Y.

4 ..........Zachary Kaplan ..................New York, N.Y.

5 ..........Scott Alexander Glauber......New York, N.Y.

6 ..........Andrew E. Hauser ..............New York, N.Y.

7 ..........Garrett Thomas Sopko ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

8 ..........Leonard Margolis................Brooklyn, N.Y.

9 ..........Brett Robert Raskopf ..........New York, N.Y.

10 ........Horia George Negru ............Middle Village, N.Y.

11 ........Oliver Mai ..........................Little Neck, N.Y.

12 ........Andrew Penn ......................New York, N.Y.

13 ........Alexander Fallone ..............New York, N.Y.

14 ........William J. Trang ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

15 ........Robert Eugene Millman ......New York, N.Y.

16 ........Frank George Nicolazzi ......Flushing, N.Y.

17 ........Bojidar Ivanov Todorov ........Rego Park, N.Y.

18 ........Cameron Gruss ..................New York, N.Y.

19 ........Xavier Pacthod....................New York, N.Y.

20 ........Leonardo Escudero ............Ozone Park, N.Y.

21 ........Peter Lohrbach ..................Little Neck, N.Y.

22 ........David Farina ......................New York, N.Y.

23 ........Josh Charap ......................New York, N.Y.

24 ........Adam Chan ........................New York, N.Y.

25 ........Jordan Rey-Anatole ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

26 ........Ethan Moszkowski..............New York, N.Y.

27 ........Jonathan L. Molfetta ..........Howard Beach, N.Y.

28 ........Cole Fluehr ........................Forest Hills, N.Y.

29 ........Daniel Usvyat......................Forest Hills, N.Y.

30 ........Dan Ion Negru ....................Middle Village, N.Y.

31 ........Andrew Zucker ..................New York, N.Y.

32 ........Nick Papyan ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

33 ........Massimo Costantini ............New York, N.Y.

34 ........Kevin A. Pertsovsky ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

35 ........Antony Jippov ....................New York, N.Y.

36 ........Matthew Chin ....................Flushing, N.Y.

37 ........Kumeil Hosain ....................New York, N.Y.

38 ........Kristjan Tomasson ..............New York, N.Y.

39 ........Owen Silitch ......................New York, N.Y.

40 ........Ian Lee ..............................New York, N.Y.

Metro Boys 16 SinglesRank ..Name............................City1 ..........Benjamin M. Erichsen ........Bronx, N.Y.

2 ..........Jonathan Cohen..................New York, N.Y.

3 ..........Michael Jasienowski ..........Middle Village, N.Y.

4 ..........Michael Jared Lesser..........New York, N.Y.

5 ..........Jonathan Compres..............East Elmhurst, N.Y.

6 ..........Brad Gaffin ........................New York, N.Y.

7 ..........Jordan A. Selig....................New York, N.Y.

8 ..........Justin S. Selig ....................New York, N.Y.

9 ..........Mark Semerik ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

10 ........Joshua Freud......................New York, N.Y.

11 ........Gregory Gon ......................Flushing, N.Y.

12 ........Ryo Kono ............................New York, N.Y.

13 ........Anthony Santino ................Douglaston, N.Y.

14 ........Daniel Witke ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

15 ........Leonard Margolis................Brooklyn, N.Y.

16 ........Jack K. Spiegel ..................New York, N.Y.

17 ........Dillon Alexander McKenzie..Laurelton, N.Y.

18 ........Justin Ho ............................Brooklyn, N.Y.

19 ........Jason Grunfeld ..................New York, N.Y.

20 ........Christopher Huynh ..............Astoria, N.Y.

21 ........Lamar Hurt ........................New York, N.Y.

22 ........Alexander Newhouse ..........New York, N.Y.

23 ........Kevin Patrick Roan..............Howard Beach, N.Y.

24 ........Alexander Fallone ..............New York, N.Y.

25 ........Luke Sherman ....................New York, N.Y.

26 ........Zachary Kaplan ..................New York, N.Y.

27 ........Mitchell Jordan Cheung ......Woodside, N.Y.

28 ........David Farina ......................New York, N.Y.

29 ........Andrew Penn ......................New York, N.Y.

30 ........Travis Arffa ........................New York, N.Y.

31 ........Nick Papyan ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

32 ........Safraz Altaf Hamid ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

33 ........Kevin Valdez ......................Jamaica, N.Y.

34 ........Jun Yuminaga ....................Little Neck, N.Y.

35 ........William Trang......................Staten Island, N.Y.

36 ........Brian Murray ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

37 ........Spencer Bistricier ..............New York, N.Y.

38 ........Douglas L. Mo ....................Douglaston, N.Y.

39 ........Yihao Yang ..........................New York, N.Y.

40 ........Rohil Vir Basu ....................New York, N.Y.

Metro Boys 18 SinglesRank ..Name............................City1 ..........David N. Zhukovsky ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

2 ..........Sean J. Solomonoff ............New York, N.Y.

3 ..........Brad Gaffin ........................New York, N.Y.

4 ..........Ryan E. Villarruel ................Staten Island, N.Y.

5 ..........Mark Semerik ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

6 ..........Benjamin M. Erichsen ........Bronx, N.Y.

7 ..........Hugh Mo ............................Douglaston, N.Y.

8 ..........Michael Gross ....................Floral Park, N.Y.

9 ..........Ryo Kono ............................New York, N.Y.

10 ........Enrique Torres ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

11 ........Jack Walla ..........................New York, N.Y.

12 ........Alexander Pintilie ................New York, N.Y.

13 ........Jonathan Cohen..................New York, N.Y.

14 ........Mitchell Jordan Cheung ......Woodside, N.Y.

15 ........Christopher Walla................New York, N.Y.

16 ........Lear Haninovich..................New York, N.Y.

GIRLSMetro Girls 12 SinglesRank ..Name............................City1 ..........Victoria Judy Hanuman ......Brooklyn, N.Y.

2 ..........Juliana Kislin ......................New York, N.Y.

3 ..........Sydney Lynn Katz ..............New York, N.Y.

4 ..........Patricia Obeid ....................New York, N.Y.

5 ..........Rachel Okin ........................New York, N.Y.

6 ..........Kyra Bergmann ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.

7 ..........Victoria Zezula ....................Ridgewood, N.Y.

8 ..........Brittny Jo Ferreira ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

9 ..........Lia Kiam ............................New York, N.Y.

10 ........Danielle Kade ....................New York, N.Y.

11 ........Olga Drahanchuk................Brooklyn, N.Y.

12 ........Christina Huynh ..................Astoria, N.Y.

13 ........Stephanie Li ......................New York, N.Y.

14 ........Katherine Kachkarov ..........Flushing, N.Y.

15 ........Sonia Tartakovsky ..............New York, N.Y.

16 ........Charlotte May Mosler..........New York, N.Y.

17 ........Isabelle Rovinski ................New York, N.Y.

18 ........Miriam Irfan Aziz ................Staten Island, N.Y.

19 ........Jennifer Yu..........................Forest Hills, N.Y.

20 ........Alexa Nobandegani ............New York, N.Y.

21 ........Sarah Finley........................New York, N.Y.

22 ........Johnniesha Joy Breiten ......Bronx, N.Y.

23 ........Anna Maite Kaplan..............New York, N.Y.

24 ........Carolyn Brodsky ................New York, N.Y.

25 ........Kiara A. Rose ......................New York, N.Y.

26 ........Olivia Simone Morris ..........Floral Park, N.Y.

27 ........Dakota Fordham ................New York, N.Y.

28 ........Bella Kaplan ......................New York, N.Y.

29 ........Steffi Antao ........................Briarwood, N.Y.

30 ........Skyie Stamper ....................Bronx, N.Y.

31 ........Maryna Bohdanovska ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

32 ........Donna Marie Episcopio ......Bayside, N.Y.

33 ........Alice Soares Pinho ..............Woodside, N.Y.

34 ........Gabriella Eitkis....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

35 ........Shelly Yaloz ........................Little Neck, N.Y.

36 ........Perene Wang ......................New Y ork, N.Y.

37 ........Isabella Nicole Tushaj..........Bronx, N.Y.

38 ........Julia Kirsh ..........................New York, N.Y.

39 ........Nicole Veronica Semenov....Brooklyn, N.Y.

40 ........Anastasia Nicole Koniaev ....Forest Hills, N.Y.

Metro Girls 14 SinglesRank ..Name............................City1 ..........Keren Khromchenko ..........Staten Island, N.Y.

2 ..........Jenna B. Borenstein............New York, N.Y.

3 ..........Nicole Holloran ..................Bayside, N.Y.

4 ..........Vanessa Hanuman ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

5 ..........Marierose Apice..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

6 ..........Julia Zbarsky ......................New York, N.Y.

7 ..........Alexandra Sanford ..............New York, N.Y.

8 ..........Zorriana B. Johnson............New York, N.Y.

9 ..........Sarah Warman Hirschfield ..New York, N.Y.

10 ........Victoria Zezula ....................Ridgewood, N.Y.

11 ........Cecilia Anne Swenson ........New York, N.Y.

12 ........Sofia Anouk Aisiks ..............New York, N.Y.

13 ........Lydia Greer Weintraub ........New York, N.Y.

14 ........Kiara Rose ..........................New York, N.Y.

16 ........Hannah Jaye Gendel ..........New York, N.Y.

17 ........Jennifer Grace Richards......New York, N.Y.

18 ........Nicole Schnabel..................Woodhaven, N.Y.

19 ........Anna Maite Kaplan..............New York, N.Y.

20 ........Stefana Vujinovic ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

21 ........Shammiel Fleischer-Amoros ..New York, N.Y.

22 ........Lipika Raghunathan............New York, N.Y.

23 ........Sarah Horne ......................New York, N.Y.


25 ........Electra Frelinghuysen ........New York, N.Y.

26 ........Isabelle Rovinski ................New York, N.Y.

27 ........Hannah Spears ..................New York, N.Y.

28 ........Danielle Kade ....................New York, N.Y.

29 ........Alexus Gill ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

30 ........Grace Tom ..........................Rego Park, N.Y.

31 ........Caitlin McCarthy Ervine ......New York, N.Y.

32 ........Sydney Lynn Katz ..............New York, N.Y.

33 ........Patricia Obeid ....................New York, N.Y.

34 ........Isadora Braune ..................New York, N.Y.

35 ........Donna Marie Episcopio ......Bayside, N.Y.

36 ........Emma Montana Wrazej ......New York, N.Y.

37 ........Nicole Stephanie Stay ........Flushing, N.Y.

38 ........Alexandra Koniaev ..............Forest Hills, N.Y.

39 ........Chelsea Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

40 ........Jennifer Reiss ....................New York, N.Y.

Metro Girls 16 SinglesRank ..Name............................City1 ..........Emi Lewis ..........................New York, N.Y.

2 ..........Erika Tinalli ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

3 ..........Jenna B. Borenstein............New York, N.Y.

4 ..........Sara Levy-Lambert ............New York, N.Y.

5 ..........Julia Zbarsky ......................New York, N.Y.

6 ..........Irina Titova..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

7 ..........Dina Levy-Lambert ............New York, N.Y.

8 ..........Vania Savic ........................Woodside, N.Y.

9 ..........Brittany Biggs ....................Bronx, N.Y.

10 ........Nicole Schnabel..................Woodhaven, N.Y.

11 ........Paolina Zanki ......................Astoria, N.Y.

12 ........Keren Khromchenko ..........Staten Island, N.Y.

13 ........Nia Rose ............................New York, N.Y.

14 ........Isis Gill................................Brooklyn, N.Y.

15 ........Danielle Hupper ..................New York, N.Y.

16 ........Sara Heath ........................New York, N.Y.

17 ........Arielle L. John ....................Cambria Heights, N.Y.


N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G S18 ........Sarah Horne ......................New York, N.Y.

19 ........Alicia Ng ............................Howard Beach, N.Y.

20 ........Claire Harnett ....................New York, N.Y.

21 ........Bianca Signore ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

22 ........Anne Oliver ........................New York, N.Y.

23 ........Sarah Rahman....................East Elmhurst, N.Y.

24 ........Claire Keyte ........................New York, N.Y.

25 ........Camille Price ......................New York, N.Y.

26 ........Nicole Druzhinsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

27 ........Stefana Vijinovic ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

28 ........Brianna Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

29 ........Sofia Degtyar......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

30 ........Lipika Raghunathan............New York, N.Y.

31 ........Alexandra Samadi ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

32 ........Ashley Sarah DelMissier ....Forest Hills, N.Y.

33 ........Priscilla Signore..................Staten Island, N.Y.

34 ........Julia Greenberg ..................New York, N.Y.

35 ........Sofia Anouk Aisiks ..............New York, N.Y.

36 ........Olga Voronetskaya ..............Forest Hills, N.Y.

37 ........Hediye Karabay ..................Flushing, N.Y.

38 ........Briel Biggs ..........................Bronx, N.Y.

39 ........Zoe Anderson ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

40 ........Gabrielle Freitag ................New York, N.Y.

Metro Girls 18 SinglesRank ..Name............................City1 ..........Rachel Colton ....................New York, N.Y.

2 ..........Juliana Nelkin ....................New York, N.Y.

3 ..........Monica Y. Gokhberg ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

4 ..........Sophia N. Schlossel ............New York, N.Y.

5 ..........Cara Borenstein ..................New York, N.Y.

6 ..........Kimberly Salkin ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

7 ..........Charlotte Camacho ............New York, N.Y.

8 ..........Dina Levy-Lambert ............New York, N.Y.

9 ..........Alexandra Samadi ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

10 ........Michelle Khaimov ..............Jamaica, N.Y.

11 ........Sara Levy-Lambert ............New York, N.Y.

12 ........Nicole Deborah Snegur ......Staten Island, N.Y.

Boys & GirlsSectional Rankings(as of 12/12/11)

BOYSSectional Boys 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City

5 ..........Sumit Sarkar ......................New York, N.Y.

16 ........Gary C. Fishkin ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

22 ........Jeffrey Gorilovsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

30 ........Sam V. Vagner ....................Staten Island, N.Y.

34 ........Ethan Leon ........................Woodhaven, N.Y.

37 ........Max Prohorov ....................Rego Park, N.Y.

48 ........Jacob Kern ........................New York, N.Y.

61 ........Oliver Jevtovic ....................Astoria, N.Y.

63 ........Kemal Irfan Aziz..................Staten Island, N.Y.


68 ........Gabriel Sifuentes ................Flushing, N.Y.

78 ........David Mizrahi......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

81 ........James Kandel Dill ..............New York, N.Y.

87 ........Allan Ethan Magid ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

100 ......Derek Roskopf ....................New York, N.Y.

101 ......Zachary Jordan Lieb ..........New York, N.Y.

102 ......David Moldovan..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

114 ......Logan Gruss ......................New York, N.Y.

116 ......Shand Stephens ................New York, N.Y.

117 ......Matthew Joshua Ross ........New York, N.Y.

120 ......Will Coad ............................New York, N.Y.

126 ......Robbie Werdiger ................New York, N.Y.

130 ......Nicholas Rudman................New York, N.Y.

135 ......Tanner Ross Bhonslay ........New York, N.Y.

136 ......Ethan Moszkowski..............New York, N.Y.

140 ......Stevan Stojkovic ................Flushing, N.Y.

142 ......Christopher Tham ..............Flushing, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City

6 ..........Oliver Sec ..........................New York, N.Y.

7 ..........James Wasserman ............New York, N.Y.

9 ..........Christopher Paul Auteri ......Staten Island, N.Y.

10 ........Alex Knaff ..........................New York, N.Y.

12 ........Edan Lee Sossen ................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

13 ........Victor Miglo ........................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

15 ........Mitchell Ostrovsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

17 ........Aleksandar Kovacevic ........New York, N.Y.

18 ........Philip Raytburg ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

20 ........Gal Mathew Sossen ............Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

21 ........Felipe P. Osses-Konig..........Rego Park, N.Y.

22 ........Cole Gittens ........................New York, N.Y.

24 ........Ananth Raghavan ..............New York, N.Y.

29 ........Alexander Thrane................New York, N.Y.

30 ........Marcus T. Smith..................Little Neck, N.Y.

35 ........Ian Witmer ..........................New York, N.Y.

39 ........Jack Alexander Haroche ....New York, N.Y.

46 ........Christian O. Gloria ..............Queens Village, N.Y.

51 ........Jordan D. Jordan ................Astoria, N.Y.

60 ........Ethan Nittolo ......................Flushing, N.Y.

76 ........Alex Chao ..........................New York, N.Y.

79 ........Jared Fields........................New York, N.Y.


94 ........Cameron Gruss ..................New York, N.Y.

114 ......Daniel Nowak ....................Middle Village, N.Y.

119 ......Leonardo Escudero ............Ozone Park, N.Y.

128 ......Antony Jippov ....................New York, N.Y.

133 ......Andrew Hauser ..................New York, N.Y.

136 ......Max Prohorov ....................Rego Park, N.Y.

139 ......Evan liberman ....................New York, N.Y.

142 ......Andrew Penn ......................New York, N.Y.


9 ..........Joshua Yablon ....................New York, N.Y.

19 ........Dennis Druzhinsky..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

20 ........Courtney Jaycen Murphy ....Bronx, N.Y.

21 ........Justin Fields ......................New York, N.Y.

28 ........Win Smith ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

29 ........James Franklin Wasserman New York, N.Y.

34 ........Lucas Pickering ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

35 ........Richard Sec ........................New York, N.Y.

44 ........Hugh Mo ............................Douglaston, N.Y.

48 ........Cameron Daniels ................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

49 ........Sachin Raghavan................New York, N.Y.

51 ........Ryoma Haraguchi ..............New York, N.Y.

62 ........Christopher Paul Auteri ......Staten Island, N.Y.

67 ........Douglas L. Mo ....................Douglaston, N.Y.

69 ........Andrew S. Arnaboldi ..........New York, N.Y.

81 ........Michael William Anzalone....Howard Beach, N.Y.

91 ........Steven H. Koulouris ............Long Island City, N.Y.

95 ........Alexis Cai............................Woodhaven, N.Y.

97 ........Victor Miglo ........................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

115 ......Marcus T. Smith..................Little Neck, N.Y.

119 ......Jonathan Walter Selegean ..East Elmhurst, N.Y.

123 ......Alexander Pintilie ................New York, N.Y.

125 ......Jack Spiegel ......................New York, N.Y.

130 ......Jacob Frisch ......................New York, N.Y.

139 ......Jun Yuminaga ....................Little Neck, N.Y.

140 ......Matthew Balilo....................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

142 ......Daniel Segan ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.


18 ........Jake Sosonkin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

21 ........Stefan D. Ilic ......................Forest Hills, N.Y.

23 ........Richard J. Del Nunzio..........Forest Hills, N.Y.

32 ........Eric R. Brinzenskiy ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

55 ........Joshua Yablon ....................New York, N.Y.

57 ........Christopher Jou ..................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

63 ........Dennis Druzhinsky..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

64 ........Leon Pan ............................Brooklyn, N.Y.

68 ........Justin Fields ......................New York, N.Y.

76 ........Courtney Jaycen Murphy ....Bronx, N.Y.

77 ........Joseph Vivaldi Motta ..........Staten Island, N.Y.

79 ........Justin S. Pagan ..................Flushing, N.Y.

83 ........Ian Antonoff ........................New York, N.Y.

107 ......Christian Waldron ..............Bronx, N.Y.

108 ......Jeremy Kochman................Brooklyn, N.Y.

116 ......Justin Vijungco ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.

117 ......Ryoma Haraguchi ..............New York, N.Y.

118 ......Jacob Huber ......................New York, N.Y.

137 ......Sean Solomonoff ................New York, N.Y.

138 ......Steven Wilson ....................Bronx, N.Y.

141 ......David Arroyave ..................Floral Park, N.Y.

145 ......David Zhukovsky ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

146 ......Hugh Mo ............................Douglaston, N.Y.

GIRLSSectional Girls 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City

1 ..........Sarah Rahman....................East Elmhurst, N.Y.

7 ..........Aleksandra Bekirova ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

9 ..........Brianna Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

11 ........Nicole Stephanie Stay ........Flushing, N.Y.

12 ........Dasha Kourkina ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

18 ........Chelsea Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.




25 ........Victoria Sec ........................New York, N.Y.

26 ........Michelle Sorokko ................Douglaston, N.Y.

32 ........Lauren Elizabeth Munari ....Middle Village, N.Y.

37 ........Nicole Veronica Semenov....Brooklyn, N.Y.

50 ........Anastasia Nicole Koniaev ....Forest Hills, N.Y.

55 ........Brittny Jo Ferreira ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

58 ........Shelly Yaloz ........................Little Neck, N.Y.

59 ........Juliana Kislin ......................New York, N.Y.

64 ........Christina Huynh ..................Astoria, N.Y.

65 ........Katherine Kachkarov ..........Flushing, N.Y.


69 ........Alice Soares Pinho ..............Woodside, N.Y.

74 ........Kyra Bergmann ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.

80 ........Olivia Simone Morris ..........Floral Park, N.Y.

88 ........Lia Kiam ............................New York, N.Y.

89 ........Sydney Lynn Katz ..............New York, N.Y.

94 ........Olga Drahanchuk................Brooklyn, N.Y.

97 ........Sarah Finley........................New York, N.Y.

109 ......Victoria Judy Hanuman ......Brooklyn, N.Y.

112 ......Zoe Radojicic ......................New York, N.Y.

114 ......Isabel Balilo ........................Flushing, N.Y.

125 ......Kyra Alison Whitelaw ..........New York, N.Y.

126 ......Charlotte May Mosler..........New York, N.Y.

127 ......Isabella Nicole Tushaj..........Bronx, N.Y.

128 ......Carolyn Brodsky ................New York, N.Y.

129 ......Stephanie Li ......................New York, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City

1 ..........Jessica Melanie Livianu......Brooklyn, N.Y.

3 ..........Sabrina Xiong ....................Fresh Meadows, N.Y.

5 ..........Arnelle Sullivan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

11 ........Shayna M. Spooner ............New York, N.Y.

12 ........Stefani Lineva ....................Middle Village, N.Y.


28 ........Yuka Lin..............................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

31 ........Sophia Kryloff ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

34 ........Julia D. Fisch ......................New York, N.Y.

35 ........Elizabeth Tsvetkov ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

36 ........Jillian Rose Auteri ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

41 ........Christina Puccinelli ............New York, N.Y.

45 ........Regina Furer ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.



55 ........Alexandra Koniaev ..............Forest Hills, N.Y.

63 ........Julia Zbarksy ......................New York, N.Y.

73 ........Michelle Khaimov ..............Jamaica, N.Y.

76 ........Ashley Sarah DelMissier ....Forest Hills, N.Y.

83 ........Dasha Kourkina ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

87 ........Marierose Apice..................Brooklyn, N.Y.


108 ......Cecilia Anne Swenson ........New York, N.Y.

116 ......Aleksandra Bekirova ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

118 ......Brianna Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

126 ......Jennifer Yu..........................Forest Hills, N.Y.

132 ......Erika Tinalli ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

137 ......Dina Levy-Lambert ............New York, N.Y.

139 ......Keren Khromchenko ..........Staten Island, N.Y.

143 ......Zorriana Johnson................New York, N.Y.

145 ......Sofia Anouk Aisiks ..............New York, N.Y.


4 ..........Nadia Smergut....................New York, N.Y.

9 ..........Jessica Golovin ..................New York, N.Y.

11 ........Lily Bondy ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

18 ........Samantha P. Tutelman ........New York, N.Y.

21 ........Destiny Grunin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

22 ........Kyra Silitch ........................New York, N.Y.

27 ........Stefanie Lineva ..................Middle Village, N.Y.

30 ........Anna Ulyashchenko ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

31 ........Alexa Sara Meltzer..............New York, N.Y.


N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G S35 ........Kimberly Salkin ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

40 ........Arnelle Sullivan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

42 ........Jessica Melanie Livianu......Brooklyn, N.Y.

49 ........Elizabeth Tsvetkov ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

51 ........Victoria Lynn Zoha ..............New York, N.Y.

58 ........Sophia N. Schlossel ............New York, N.Y.

65 ........Laura Maria Chitu ..............New York, N.Y.

66 ........Ilana Levich ........................Staten Island, N.Y.

70 ........Shayna Spooner ................New York, N.Y.


74 ........Sophia Kryloff ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

80 ........Briel Biggs ..........................Bronx, N.Y.

82 ........Erika Tinalli ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

90 ........Augusta Conway ................New York, N.Y.

94 ........Champagne Mills................New York, N.Y.

96 ........Nia Rose ............................New York, N.Y.

104 ......Christina Puccinelli ............New York, N.Y.

105 ......Rebecca Fakas ..................Little Neck, N.Y.

114 ......Brittany Biggs ....................Bronx, N.Y.

129 ......Julia Zbarsky ......................New York, N.Y.

131 ......Michelle Khaimov ..............Jamaica, N.Y.

135 ......Allie Jackson-Hing..............Rosedale, N.Y.

136 ......Anne Oliver ........................New York, N.Y.

138 ......Vania Savic ........................Woodside, N.Y.

143 ......Claire Keyte ........................New York, N.Y.

146 ......Arielle John ........................Cambria Heights, N.Y.


6 ..........Ariana D. Rodriguez ............Bronx, N.Y.

7 ..........Emily Safron ......................New York, N.Y.

8 ..........Leighann Sahagun..............Queens Village, N.Y.

17 ........Hannah Shteyn ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

22 ........Manuela Velasquez ............Kew Gardens, N.Y.

23 ........Becky Shtilkind ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

25 ........Samantha P. Tutelman ........New York, N.Y.

30 ........Alexis S. Tashiro..................Jamaica, N.Y.

33 ........Madison Gordon ................New York, N.Y.

38 ........Destiny Grunin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

40 ........Angela Assal ......................Bronx, N.Y.

42 ........Dayana Agasieva ................Forest Hills, N.Y.

45 ........Katie Derienzo ....................Douglaston, N.Y.

50 ........Alexa Sara Meltzer..............New York, N.Y.

54 ........Allison Immergut ................New York, N.Y.

59 ........Lisa Ventimiglia ..................Bayside, N.Y.

63 ........Jordan P. Zola ....................New York, N.Y.

69 ........Monica Gokhberg ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

71 ........Nadia Smergut....................New York, N.Y.

75 ........Lily Bondy ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

79 ........Charlotte Camacho ............New York, N.Y.

80 ........Loulou Revson ....................New York, N.Y.

81 ........Kimberly Salkin ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

85 ........Arielle N. Griffin ..................Jamaica, N.Y.

91 ........Laura Maria Chitu ..............New York, N.Y.

92 ........Marylen Santos ..................Jamaica, N.Y.

94 ........Sophia Schlossel ................New York, N.Y.

103 ......Gabrielle Sullivan ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

104 ......Juliana Nelkin ....................New York, N.Y.

110 ......Olivia Boccardi....................New York, N.Y.

Boys & Girls National Rankings(as of 12/21/11)

BOYSNational Boys 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank..Name ..........................City

143 ......Sumit Sarkar ......................New York, N.Y.

184 ......Jeffrey Gorilovsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

250 ......Gary C. Fishkin ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

367 ......Sam V. Vagner ....................Staten Island, N.Y.

518 ......Ethan Leon ........................Woodhaven, N.Y.

619 ......Jacob Kern ........................New York, N.Y.

805 ......Kemal Irfan Aziz..................Staten Island, N.Y.

912 ......Allan Ethan Magid ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

National Boys 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank..Name ..........................City

26 ........James Franklin Wasserman New York, N.Y.

59 ........Oliver Sec ..........................New York, N.Y.

65 ........Gal Mathew Sossen ............Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

74 ........Edan Lee Sossen ................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

87 ........Alex Knaff ..........................New York, N.Y.

112 ......Victor Miglo ........................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

127 ......Mitchell Ostrovsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

210 ......Felipe P. Osses-Konig..........Rego Park, N.Y.

231 ......Alexander Thrane................New York, N.Y.

240 ......Ananth Raghavan ..............New York, N.Y.

259 ......Cole Gittens ........................New York, N.Y.

271 ......Aleksandar Kovacevic ........New York, N.Y.

302 ......Philip Raytburg ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

498 ......Marcus T. Smith..................Little Neck, N.Y.

694 ......Ian Witmer ..........................New York, N.Y.

769 ......Jack Alexander Haroche ....New York, N.Y.

811 ......Christian Gloria ..................Queens Village, N.Y.

895 ......Jordan D. Jordan ................Astoria, N.Y.


20 ........Daniel Kerznerman ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

56 ........Joshua Yablon ....................New York, N.Y.

130 ......Zachary Yablon ..................New York, N.Y.

205 ......Justin Fields ......................New York, N.Y.

207 ......Courtney Jaycen Murphy ....Bronx, N.Y.

261 ......Win Smith ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

307 ......James Wasserman ............New York, N.Y.

538 ......Richard Sec ........................New York, N.Y.

542 ......Sachin Raghavan................New York, N.Y.

568 ......Lucas Pickering ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

593 ......Artemie Amari ....................New York, N.Y.

610 ......Ryoma Haraguchi ..............New York, N.Y.

876 ......Douglas L. Mo ....................Douglaston, N.Y.


23 ........Andrew Adams ..................South Richmond Hill, N.Y.

110 ......Alexander J. Petrone ..........Staten Island, N.Y.

212 ......Richard J. Del Nunzio..........Forest Hills, N.Y.

294 ......Jake Sosonkin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

378 ......Stefan D. Ilic ......................Forest Hills, N.Y.

426 ......Eric R. Brinzenskiy ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

434 ......Daniel Kerznerman ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

705 ......Joshua Yablon ....................New York, N.Y.

GIRLSNational Girls 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank..Name ..........................City

89 ........Aleksandra Bekirova ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

114 ......Sarah Rahman....................East Elmhurst, N.Y.

144 ......Dasha Kourkina ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

153 ......Chelsea Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

185 ......Jennifer Yu..........................Forest Hills, N.Y.

232 ......Jennifer Grace Richards......New York, N.Y.

245 ......Lauren Elizabeth Munari ....Middle Village, N.Y.

255 ......Michelle Sorokko ................Douglaston, N.Y.

299 ......Victoria Sec ........................New York, N.Y.

399 ......Nicole Veronica Semenov....Brooklyn, N.Y.

543 ......Regina Furer ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

622 ......Anastasia Nicole Koniaev ....Forest Hills, N.Y.

998 ......Shelly Yaloz ........................Little Neck, N.Y.

National Girls 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank..Name ..........................City

42 ........Anna Ulyashchenko ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

43 ........Jessica Golovin ..................New York, N.Y.

47 ........Jessica Melane Livianu ......Brooklyn, N.Y.

131 ......Sabrina Xiong ....................Fresh Meadows, N.Y.

148 ......Arnelle Sullivan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

225 ......Shayna M. Spooner ............New York, N.Y.

269 ......Isis Gill................................Brooklyn, N.Y.

367 ......Yuka Lin ............................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

418 ......Julia D. Fisch ......................New York, N.Y.

549 ......Sophia Kryloff ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

651 ......Anastasiya Malinouskaya....Staten Island, N.Y.

708 ......Jillian Rose Auteri ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

875 ......Jennifer Grace Richards......New York, N.Y.


42 ........Emily Safron ......................New York, N.Y.

137 ......Ariana D. Rodriguez ............Bronx, N.Y.

147 ......Nadia Smergut....................New York, N.Y.

209 ......Jessica Golovin ..................New York, N.Y.

216 ......Lily Bondy ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.

225 ......Hannah Shteyn ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

230 ......Samantha P. Tutelman ........New York, N.Y.

278 ......Destiny Grunin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

363 ......Alexa Sara Meltzer..............New York, N.Y.

670 ......Anna Ulyashchenko ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

765 ......Stefani Lineva ....................Middle Village, N.Y.

779 ......Laura Maria Chitu ..............New York, N.Y.

812 ......Arnelle Sullivan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.


64 ........Leighann Sahagun..............Queens Village, N.Y.

78 ........Emily Safron ......................New York, N.Y.

113 ......Jacqueline R. Katz ..............New York, N.Y.

192 ......Ariana D. Rodriguez ............Bronx, N.Y.

326 ......Hannah Shteyn ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

373 ......Becky Shtilkind ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

395 ......Samantha Tutelman............New York, N.Y.

474 ......Manuela Velasquez ............Kew Gardens, N.Y.

506 ......Dayana Agasieva ................Forest Hills, N.Y.

523 ......Angela Assal ......................Bronx, N.Y.

664 ......Madison Gordon ................New York, N.Y.

730 ......Arielle N. Griffin ..................Jamaica, N.Y.

886 ......Gabrielle Sullivan ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

897 ......Alexis S. Tashiro..................Jamaica, N.Y.

941 ......Charlotte Camacho ............New York, N.Y.


JANUARY 2012Friday-Sunday, January 6-15Sutton East Men’s Open January ChampionshipsSutton East Tennis Club488 East 60th Street • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked M (Op)sSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $70.38 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Jan. 2 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information call, (212) 751-3452.

Friday-Sunday, January 6-8 & Friday-Monday, January 13-16+L1 Alley Pond Eastern Designated Closed Championships L4 FICAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Grand Prix G (16)s, FIC; G (16)d, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player singles, $27.38 per playerdoubles (deadline for entries is Monday, Dec. 26 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, January 6-8L2R NCT January Metro RegionalNorth Shore Tennis-Go Tennis34-28 214th Place • Bayside, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate BG (18-14)s, SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 23 at 5:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 220-4172.

Monday-Sunday, January 9-15APTC’s Winter Men’s OpenAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked MW (Op)s, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $70.38 per player (deadline for entries is Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, January 13-16 & 20-22L1B Sportime at Randall’s Island January ChallengerSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger B (18)s, SE; G (18-14)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Fri-day, Dec. 30 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 427-6150.

Friday-Sunday, January 13-22Sutton East January Women’s OpenSutton East Tennis Club488 East 60th StreetNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked W (Op)sSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $70.38 per player (deadline for entries isThursday, Jan. 12 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 751-3452.

Friday-Sunday, January 20-22L2O 10U Gotham Winter OpenStadium Tennis Center725 Exterior StreetBronx, N.Y.Divisions: Quick Start BG (10 [78’Court/Green Ball])sd, FRLCSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 6 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (347) 515-4402.

Friday-Sunday, January 20-22L3 Staten Island January UPS ChampionshipsStaten Island Community Tennis Center2800 Victory BoulevardStaten Island, N.Y.Divisions: Novice B G (18-12)s, RRSurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $45 per player (deadline for entries is Monday,Jan. 16 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 982-3355.

Friday-Sunday, January 20-22 & Saturday-Sunday, January 28-29L2O Sportime Randall’s Island January OpenSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate B (12)s, SE; G (16-12)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 6 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 427-6150.

Friday-Sunday, January 20-22L1B Alley Pond January ChallengerAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger BG (10)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 6 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, January 20-29+2012 NCT Winter Senior ClassicNorth Shore Tennis-Go Tennis34-28 214th PlaceBayside, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked M (35, 50-55)sd, SE; W (35)sd, SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $75.75 per player singles, $38.13 per playerdoubles (deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 13 at 5:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 220-4172.

Friday-Sunday, January 27-29L3 Sportime at Randall’s Island January 2012 UPS ChampionshipsSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Novice BG (18-16)s, RRSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 13 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 427-6150.

Friday-Sunday, January 27-29L3 Alley Pond Eastern Jan UPS ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Novice BG (14-10)s, RRSurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries isThursday, Jan. 26 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, January 27-29Sportime Randall’s Island January ChampionshipsSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked M (25, 35, 45, 55, 65)s, SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $70.38 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 20 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 427-6150.

Saturday-Sunday, January 28-February 5Roosevelt Island Blizzard BowlRoosevelt Island Racquet Club281 Main StreetRoosevelt Island, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked MW (Op)s, SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $75.75 per player (deadline for entries isWednesday, Jan. 25 at noon)For more information, call (212) 935-0250.

USTA/Metropolitan RegionTOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments.


USTA/Metropolitan RegionTOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments.

FEBRUARY 2012Friday-Sunday, February 3-12+Sutton East Men’s Open February ChampionshipsSutton East Tennis Club488 East 60th Street • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked M (Op)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $65.00 per player (deadline for entries isWednesday, Feb. 1 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 751-3452.

Monday-Sunday, February 6-12Alley Pond Men’s & Women’s February OpenAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked MW (Op)sSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $65 per player (deadline for entries is Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, February 10-12 & 17-19L2R Sportime Randall’s Island February RegionalSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls Island • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate B (14)s, SE; G (16-12)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 27 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 427-6150.

Friday-Sunday, February 10-12L3 Alley Pond Eastern Feb UPS ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Novice BG (14-12)s, RR; Quick Start: BG (10[60’Court/Orange Ball])s, RRSurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries isWednesday, Feb. 8 at 9:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, February 10-192012 NCT February ClassicNorth Shore Tennis-Go Tennis34-28 214th Place • Bayside, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked X (Op)d, SE; M (40, 50-55)sd, SE; W(35)sd, SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $75.75 per player singles, $38.13 per playerdoubles (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 3 at 5:00p.m.)For more information, call (646) 220-4172.

Friday-Sunday, February 17-19 & 24-26L1B Sportime Randall’s Island February ChallengerSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger B (16)s, SE; G (18-16)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 3 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 427-5650.

Friday-Sunday, February 17-1910U L2O NCT BG10 February Open ChampionshipsNorth Shore Tennis-Go Tennis34-28 214th PlaceBayside, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate BG (10 [78’Court/Green Ball])s,SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries isTuesday, Feb. 7 at 5:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 224-6303.

Monday-Friday, February 20-24L2O Alley Pond President’s Week OpenAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate BG (18-12)s, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries isMonday, Feb. 13 at 5:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, February 24-26Sportime Randall’s Island February Adult ChampionshipsSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked M (Op, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65)s, SE; W(Op)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $70.38 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 17 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 427-6150.

Friday-Saturday, February 24-25L3 Sportime Randall’s Island February Eastern UPS ChampionshipsSportime at Randalls Island1 Randall’s IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Novice BG (12)s, RR; Quick Start G (10[60’Court/Orange Ball])s, RRSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 10 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Friday-Sunday, February 24-26L1 NCT BG18 Singles Championships + National Level 5DoublesNorth Shore Tennis-Go Tennis34-28 214th PlaceBayside, N.Y.Divisions: Championships BG (18)d, SE; Championships:BG (18)s, SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $27.38 per player doubles, $54.25 per playersingles (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 5:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 224-6303.

New York Tennis Magazine - January/February 2012

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