Fall, Winter, Spring …What’s Next?

What’s next is Tennis League Network’s summer season. It happens every year and you can get in on it now. Whether it’s the Partners Program or League play, you are bound to find new or familiar players at your skill level.

If you have been playing during the Spring session, have you been playing as much as you’d like? The point is to get out there and play. Isn’t that what you signed up for? So what if you didn’t make the playoffs. You still had fun, didn’t you? 

Perhaps you haven’t been able to play that often. Work, kids’ soccer games, family obligations, weddings, and other responsibilities just got in the way. But it’s not too late to move forward—now--and take advantage of the good weather by joining your local league for the summer season, which starts in just a few weeks on June 15.

People tell me all the time how much they have enjoyed their Tennis League Network community of players. They’ve found players at their level, their matches are fun, and they’ve made some new friends along the way.

Have I convinced you yet? Clear your calendar and sign up now. By the middle of August, when the summer season ends, you’ll look back and realize that it’s one of the better decisions you’ve made.

Profile: Crystal Ellis of Tennis DC

Tennis Went by the Wayside for a While,
But Crystal’s Court is Back in Session

Frequently people decide to return to tennis after many years of not playing. Perhaps they were on their high school or college teams. Then life intervened, or they were injured, and tennis sort of went by the wayside. Then they decide to return to the game and try to figure out a reentry scheme.

Crystal Ellis falls into that category. Thank goodness for Google. That’s how Crystal found Tennis DC. And she’s very glad she found it. She’s been a member of Tennis DC since 2006, and, like Dedan Tolbert of Tennis Philly (also one of our profile subjects), is another strong player with a skill level of 3.5.

Crystal played in high school and then took off for 10 years. She works in pharmaceutical sales and came back to our sport looking for some exercise. Well, exercise is what she’s getting. She now plays about twice a week.
“I love the different people that I have met and played with,” says Crystal. “And I’ve made really great friendships. I also like the league’s flexibility.”We like to find out our players’ most memorable matches, but could anything top this?

Crystal’s most memorable match came last season at a Highland Park court in Pentagon City Mall, just outside of Washington. She had played her opponent many times, but not this one. I guarantee, you will never guess who it was. Not Jelena Jankovic, not Serena Williams, not Dinara Safina, or any other tennis star. The replacement opponent was a raccoon. Yes, you read that correctly. A raccoon!

“He came from nowhere and walked onto the court, Crystal recalls.”We were tied in the match. As soon as I saw it I lost it. Caroline thought he was cute. 

I started screaming. He made me move and totally threw off my day. Caroline (not the raccoon?) is one of my biggest rivals, and I have yet to beat her. So of course she won.” Try to beat that for memorable.
Crystal’s other memorable experience is her match last year at the Tennis League Network Championship in Key Biscayne, FL., where, she says modestly, she did pretty well. “I came in second!”

For Crystal, TennisDC is tennis all the way.

  “I didn’t think Tennis DC would become such a major part of my life. It’s so funny,” she says, “I also belong to USTA. But I really care more about my league legacy record. These matches mean more to me.” She spreads that joy to other players.
“Almost every season someone has joined that I’ve recommended, and she’s winning.”

Best Bets for the French Open—Who Do You Think Will Win?

Make Your Picks on Tennis Channel’s Racket Bracket...

As I do, you probably debate, disagree and even make "gentlemen’s bets" with friends about who will win The French Open. You can do that on a grander scale by competing with not just your friends, but with thousands of tennis fans who choose their picks — first-round, and every round thereafter, through to finals and the champion — on Racket Bracket: www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketFrenchOpenATP/FrenchOpenATP/default.aspxsponsored 

 In fact, the Tennis Channel (TC) racket bracket email arrived in my email inbox just as I began to write this article! How’s that for serendipity?

I have participated in Racket Bracket for several years. Now, I am always up for tennis competition, even if it is virtual. As an incentive, TC usually offers some sort of prize. For this year’s French Open it’s a 5-day trip to Paris for the 2011 French Open, including airfare, hotel, two tickets to the first two days of the tournament, and a Longines watch. Not bad, huh?


The draws were revealed on Friday morning, May 21, which gives you only a few days to meet the entry deadline of 5 a.m. Monday, which is the first day of main draw competition. But, the contest has its own peculiar set of challenges. With so many players in the first round matches, including the 32 seeded players, filling out these entries can be time consuming, especially if you are serious about picking the right winner. But it gets easier as you move from one round to the next, since just half of the players in the previous round are left. But your entry can also difficult to fill out or to submit, which is the challenge with Racket Bracket. Here’s where you can find the men’s and women’s seeds and who they play in their first round matches:


www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/players/index.html#Men

On the face of it, it seems straightforward. You can enter the general pool or create a private pool, or both. I was able to register in advance since the site was open for business at 11 a.m. Friday. And, while the entry deadline isn’t until 5 a.m. Monday, you may be too busy on the weekend to bother with it. So, because it’s so time consuming--it took me more than an hour for the Australian Open-- there isn’t that much time to meet the deadline. Rather than make your picks by sections of the draw, as they are typically displayed on most tennis website, racket bracket displays all the matches by round on one page.

Does the first round even matter? It’s clogged mostly with no-name qualifiers that few people have ever heard of, except, of course, their families, coaches, tournament officials, other tennis professionals and pundits, or possibly fans who have lost their minds and actually researched their records and rankings. On the other hand, on the Tennis Channel site all players are listed, but qualifiers are not easy to find. That’s because all players are categorized alphabetically by last name, which requires that you methodically go through every letter to find any player. So, while you agonize over whether Roger Federer (last year's champion )or Rafael Nadal, or Serena Williams or Justine Henin will win the whole shebang, it’s the people you never heard of that are the toughest to pick.

But don’t be fooled. You can’t count out qualifiers. And you can count on some of the to produce some upsets, which happens often. So don’t give qualifiers short shrift. It’s a crap shoot, for sure, when you don’t know who they are, their backgrounds or their records by the time they have won their way into the opening rounds of the main draw. So I advise that you just guess. (By the way, it’s hard to research qualifiers who have won the French Open in the past. Perhaps there aren’t any in the Open Era.).

My advice is to look at the first round like it’s a multiple choice test. Make a pick, because that way it isn’t a certain wrong answer. Maybe you like the player’s name, or country, or position in the bracket. You may actually guess right some of the time. In Racket Bracket, however, you HAVE to choose, or else you can’t move on to the next round to select a pick. That would leave a match with only one player! Besides, the site won’t let you submit your entry unless it is completely filled out.


Believe me when I say that you absolutely cannot submit your entry unless every choice is filled in. This happened to me several times until I finally figured out that there were blanks in my entry. If the site will not let you submit your entry, you have to make a correction, and it’s likely there was an omission. Then, as I did, you have to review each round of the entire draw to find it, a painstaking and annoying effort that must be done if you want to play. On the other hand, one of the nicer features of Racket Bracket is that every few days you receive an email with your standings. You can also check the site at any time to see where you stand compared to other participating fans. And that’s the point of the contest.


You score one point for each correct pick. When you go back to your entry to see which picks were correct and which were not, the site will display your correct picks in green, and wrong picks in red. I give myself a pat on the back when I have picked well enough to have made it into the top 10% of the general pool.

These are the scoring details:

• First Round correct picks receive 1 point(s)
• Second Round correct picks receive 2 point(s)
• Third Round correct picks receive 3 point(s)
• Fourth Round correct picks receive 5 point(s) 
• Quarterfinals correct picks receive 10 point(s)
• Semifinals correct picks receive 20 point(s)
• Finals correct picks receive 30 point(s)

Remember. You have until 5 a.m. on Monday to make your picks on Tennis Channel’s Racket Bracket.


When you get to the final choices — who will be in the final? — then, of course, you have the option to pick the champion. My picks? Nadal for the men. And for the women? I have no idea. But I don’t think it will be Justine Henin. She just hasn’t been playing well enough. Murray.


Even if you think you can’t do well because you don’t follow pro tennis, make your picks. You should do it. It’s fun. Here it is again.:



www.tourneytopia.com/RacquetBracketFrenchOpenATP/FrenchOpenATP/default.aspx

And here's the French Open website:

www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/index.html

Profile: Dedan Tolbert of Tennis Philly

Dedan’s Other Place: The Tennis Court

Dedan Tolbert is such a busy guy, it’s a wonder he finds time to play tennis. He’s an author, advice columnist and host of “The Dedan Tolbert Show," his daily radio talk show about love, romance and life partners, which airs weeknights at 9:00 p.m. EST nationwide.

So, when Dedan Tolbert talks about partners, he’s not only referring to tennis partners. He also means romantic partnerships, which are a central topic of his radio show. Dedan prides himself on helping women avoid many of the uncomfortable circumstances they often find themselves in by giving advice that encourages self reflection and examination.

Dedan plays in the Tennis Philly league, where he has been a member of the competitive division since May 2007. With a 3.25 skill level and an overall league record of 78-54, it’s clear that he is a formidable opponent. He is also a true Tennis Philly fan. “It’s great,” he says, “because it allows you to play competitive tennis on the same skill level, as well as being extremely convenient.”

While many players have found their area leagues through an Internet search, Dedan found his way to Tennis Philly when he saw a flyer posted at the Allens Lane courts in Philadelphia’s Mount Airy neighborhood. And just how often does he play? Last summer his daily play won him the “Player of the Year” award because he played so many matches. “I plan on doing that again this season” he says.

However, with so much going on professionally, including “Ask Dedan” freelance articles and video blogs, this is truly a great feat. How does he do it? Dedan explains that he plays on his days off (and when might those be?) and in the morning before meetings.

Dedan started young. He began to play at age 5 (a year younger than Andre Agassi), when he was in camp, and continued to play through elementary school, high school and college. After that there was a hiatus. He then returned to tennis in 2005, just two years before he joined Tennis Philly.

One of his memorable matches took place two seasons ago in the fall season, which extends into October. “The weather was horrible,” Dedan says, so it was a two-part match. Like the 2008 baseball World Series (which the Phillies won) part one was played in snow and sleet, “so we played it over 2 days.”

“I really enjoy the league, Dedan says. “I introduced one guy to it a year ago. I spread the word and tell as many people as possible so that the league can continue to grow.”

(You can listen to “The Dedan Tolbert Show” weeknights at 9:00pm EST by calling 646-200-0366 or logging onto Dedansplace.net)

The Vertically Challenged Player

Here's the Long and the Short of it…

Not everyone is John Isner (right), the 6’9” player who for the past few years has been the darling American player on the ATP tour. Or Ivo Karlovic (left), who is an astounding 6'10"! On the other hand, not everyone in the Tennis League Network is at the height of their game, or really really tall. And for sure there are many of you out there who have to deal with the issue of height on the tennis court.  (Amy? Jean? Are you listening?)But there are two schools of thought regarding player height on the tennis court. At first glance it seems that taller is better, mainly because of the serve. Taller players can usually get a strong, fast serve over with what seems minimal effort. Frequently, as seen with Venus Williams, taller players have an extensive reach and grab those angled shots. Also, when a taller player faces a shorter opponent they typically use the top spin lob. This shot pushes the tiny player deep into the court and more times than not over Shorty’s head. It would seem that the taller player has the court advantage.

The search for playing techniques and advantages to assist shorter female players, 5’4” and under, is tireless. (The focus here will be on female players since typically they are shorter players;but read on to see photos of the "big babes" on the women's tour.)

Research shows that height is helpful but not everything. (Scroll down for a list of the tallest and shortest players among the top 50 players on the WTA tour. Most of the women in the top 50 seem to fall in the range of 5'8" - 5'11".) Speed, agility, endurance, hand-eye coordination, and simply ability all play a huge part in the sport. Simply stated, a taller player is not usually as good at moving quickly on the court. Tip to Shorty: keep them moving. Push your lanky opponent into the back corner and then be diligent with your volley or hit an unexpected drop shot. Ideally, get the ball back and get them out of position.

Changing direction is more difficult with height, so keep your shots varied and not down the middle. Another thing that works on most tall players is to keep the ball low because it's more difficult for them to get to it. Certainly, when they are volleying, keep that ball low by their feet, it makes it very difficult for them to return. Try your best to prevent the giant from getting a high ball to smash back at you.

Characteristically, a shorter player can rely on speed and agility. Keep this in mind. You can beat them with your SPEED!

Additionally, you must add mental agility (don’t be intimidated by the giant), accuracy and a solid return of serve. Ideally, when you get that tall person’s terrific serve keep the return low making it harder for the tall person to get to since they typically have to lean so far down to hit it. Also, remember add the low volley and slice shots to your arsenal. In a nut shell I discovered that height isn't everything, well maybe in the modeling field. However, ability, agility, heart and mentality are what add inches to your game and ultimately neutralize a height handicap.

Players lacking in height, but not HEART:
Belgian female player Justine Henin (left) who is also lacking in height—she is 5’6”––but not in heart. She enjoyed being world #1 in singles with a record of 492-106, 41 career singles titles and has won all Grand Slams 2 more than once except for Wimbledon where she was only a finalist. As you know, she’s out of retirement and still one of the smallest players on the women’s tour, with the exception of …

Melanie Oudin (left) (born September 23, 1991) is an American tennis player and former World Junior No. 2. Her career high rank is World No. 41, which she achieved on February 22, 2010. Career prize money: $450,335 .

Do smaller players have to work harder? Maybe. But what is better than working hard at something you love and challenging yourself, testing your abilities, reaching your pinnacle?


I keep this in mind as I walk on the court and assess my opponent, “It’s my game, and I bring on the court me, my racquet and my arsenal, leaving any notions of height restrictions or handicaps outside on the curb.” So be a warrior no matter the opponent and keep playing with HEART!!!


There are many women of basketball height on the women’s tour. But height is a challenge, not just for us recreational players, but for several of the pros, too. Among the top 50 female players, here’s the long and short of it:


THE  TALL

Maria Sharapova (Russia) 6-2

Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 6-1

Venus Williams (USA) 6-1

Dinara Safina –(Russia) 6.0

Yanina Wickmayer-(Belgium) 6.0





















AND THE NOT SO TALL...

Jie Zheng (China) 5-4-1/2

Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 5-6








Justine Henin (Belgium) 5-5


Melanie Oudin (USA) 5-6


Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) 5-5


Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) 5-5


Maria Kirilenko (Russia ) 5-6
AND THE WINNER:

Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) 5-2

Tennis League Network Hits the Airwaves.

We’ve Hit a Winner on Tennis Channel

What do David May, John Geary, and Maria Vargas have in common? It’s this: all three participate in the Tennis Los Angeles League. But now they are also tennis “stars” in one of the regular Court Report features aired on Tennis Channel. The video is narrated by Cari Champion, one of Tennis Channel’s regular hosts for Court Report.
If you didn’t see it or you don’t get Tennis Channel, you can view it online on the tennis Channel Web Site. Here’s the link.
www.tennischannel.com/video/index.aspx#c2895a12-ec58-4638-9bd7-301dbdcf6e82

This video runs just under a minute. This is tremendous publicity for Tennis League Network and a big upside for you as a player. The more people who see it and become interested in a local league means a greater potential for bringing more players into your leagues, and thus more people for you to play with. Here’s a brief review. The online video caption is:

The Tennis League Network is a great way to find a local league.

Cari Champion (left): Are you interested in playing tennis but having a hard time finding a local league that fits your schedule? Well the Tennis League Network is a 7 year old web site devoted to connecting players. It’s grown to include 34 cities and almost 24,000 players nationwide.
Now shift to David May, an advanced player…

“If you’re not a member of a club, like I’m not,” says May, “it’s just really good that you’ve got a community of people that are the exact same level.”

As two women rally, Maria Vargas takes the screen and says:

”Everyone I meet says they really want to play tennis, but no one is ever ready to hit the courts, so I know that I can go online and someone is always ready to make a tennis date.”

John Geary, in the League for a third season:

“I love it that you get to play people that are on the same level. You get a variety of people. Each season I meet new people. And you pick and choose the schedule you want.”

So, cross court, down the line, volley or serve, Tennis League Network is the winner on Tennis Channel.

Like Oil and Water, Tennis and Rain don't Mix

US Open rain delay: what’s a girl to do?


From Jean Kirshenbaum: I wrote this story about the rain delay at the 2009 US Open for TennisWeek.com last September. That tennis website folded last December and I now contribute articles to TennisNow.com and 10sballs.com. Although I am eagerly awaiting the French Open, this US Open update of that article will have to do for now.

It has happened to me three times – rain delays at the US Open. Two years in a row it rained all day and not a single match was played. We couldn’t leave early because we were on a bus trip and the bus wasn’t leaving until 6:30. If you think it’s rough to keep children occupied in bad weather, it’s no easier for adults. There is only so much coffee or iced tea that you can drink. It’s not like we had books with us. It also rains when we recreational players are scheduled for a match. Very disappointing.

The question is, what do you do when it’s raining and there are no matches to watch, even on television? Beat up on Zeus, god of rain? Is it all doom and gloom? Looks that way.

When there is a long rain delay, the matches already played will likely be televised just to fill scheduled air time, but who wants to see those again? I was there in person on two days and watched most of the others at home. I stayed tuned for some of the matches I missed — those that I am really interested in, such as an encore of the Bryan brothers loss to Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy, which was fast and exciting.

I was there to see it but I left Arthur Ashe Stadium before the Yanina Wickmayer-Kateryna Bondarenko match to soothe my disappointment with the PG50 match on court 4, where coaches Billie Jean King and Ivan Lendl coached a team tennis format with such old timers and middle timers as Stan Smith, Guillermo Vilas, Todd Martin, Luke Jenson, Tracy Austin and what I call the Wizards of Ez — Mary Joe Fernandez, Gigi Fernandez, and Conchita Martinez.
With the rain in New York and at home, I couldn’t play tennis or watch it. So what’s a girl to do? I’m not working so I could go shopping, but there is absolutely nothing I need or want to buy and I couldn’t afford it anyway. Grocery shopping? Nah, my husband does that.
What about cleaning the house? Nah, I keep it messy during the majors. Read a book? Good idea. I recently finished "A Terrible Splendor", Marshall Jon Fisher’s outstanding account of the tennis history and outstanding tennis players and matches during the Hitler era and earlier, and I am part way through the Monica Seles book, "Getting a Grip."
I could do that. Although in the summer I do most of my reading on the beach or at the pool. It’s raining, so I can’t do that either. And we have no leaks in the roof (patched those several years ago) so it’s not raining in my living room! Looks like there is no excuse. I could read sitting in the armchair, which is where I usually watch tennis.

What nerve I have to groan about the weather! Think of what it’s like for the players, as well as the tournament director, who has to figure out how to salvage the schedule, taking into consideration the players, television schedules and executives, ticket refund policies, and all the other intangibles that make up the nightmare of rained out matches during THE US OPEN — one of the biggest tennis events of the year — if not the biggest. For sure there are protocols and backup plans. But it’s those intangibles that would make you want to hurl tennis balls at the gods.

And the players. What about them? They come first, of course. Most of them have already washed out of the tournament. However, of those who are left — what do they do when it rains? That’s what I would really like to know. Work out, practice at the indoor courts or go shopping? I have always wondered why in their interviews the women say that one of their favorite pastimes is shopping. What could they need to buy? They wear mostly tennis clothes and it’s doubtful they buy those in stores.(By the way, all the Wizards of Ez were wearing pink and black, which suggests that they might have gone shopping together.)

With all the traveling and playing time, the female players have few occasions to wear civilian clothes. Maybe they shop for gifts for their friends and families. Once in a while, a player will admit to reading a book. They also have regular interests such as music and movies. Some do media and marketing stuff such as interviews and commercials. These pros travel to the great cities of the world. Rain would be a good time to go to a museum or take a guided tour. Or sneak a piece of chocolate, and be the envy of Dinara Safina (left), who did a great ad about her weakness for chocolate in the series of "It Must Be Love" TV spots.
Speaking of tennis ads, I like not only the Safina ad, in which she demonstrates her dilemma over choosing chocolate or tennis (she chooses tennis), but also the Venus Williams spot about Harold, her dog, "who doesn’t even like tennis." He just "waits for me to get off the court." He didn’t have long to wait this year. And Roger Federer is simply charming in his "what they call me" spot. He settles on "just Rog." On the other hand, I really detest the Andy Roddick Lacoste ad, with Ivano Icardi’s s driving, irritating "Go For It" music, and the not-so-attractive stick figure models strutting down a not-so-visible runway. I just despise it, not only for the anorexic look of the models, but also because it’s shown so often that the music gives me an irritating ear worm. What agency dreamed that up? Relief from this ad is the one upside of the rain-out.
And just maybe the players are as perplexed as I am when the weather wrecks the day’s tennis plans. What I find really aggravating is when it begins to rain in the middle of my match, although not nearly as aggravating as the suspension of the Rafael Nadal-Fernando Gonzalez match. When we last left Ashe stadium, Nadal had the edge. The break may help him get a more solid footing for a sprint to victory. But somehow I think that the rain and wind will blow this one Gonzales’ way. Given his knees and his stomach strain, Nadal does not seem to be up to par.


I hate thinking about all this. Zeus be damned. I’m off to the armchair with my Seles book. It’s near a picture window where I can watch to see if it’s still raining.

Your Kickoff Day is Coming Soon.

Kickoff Day

Players in many of our leagues are filled with anticipation as the season approaches. They just can't wait to meet up with last year's opponents and to meet new players. How do we know? Some have written to us asking when they would receive the kickoff email. The answer? Well, it's here. The kickoff email went out the week of April 12. If this is your first season in the tennis league network (or even if you are a veteran), there are a few things that you need to know. First, how do you get started? Here’s how:

On the start day of the season, we break down the committed players by geographical location, gender and skill level. We try to keep the distance between two players reasonable and make divisions based partly on travel time. The start day of the season, players receive a kickoff email that contains important information about the league, the link where your league standings and players contact information.

We guarantee 6 playing partners at your playing level, but have been averaging closer to 15+ dedicated tennis partners in most cities. We can tell you that players in many of our leagues are filled with anticipation as the season approaches. They just can't wait to meet up with last year's opponents and to meet new players. How do we know? Some have written to us asking when they will receive the kickoff email. The answer? Very soon.

Your Task - "Flexible Scheduling”
After this kickoff email is sent, it is the player's task to communicate with each other. Players should work with their partners to find an agreeable time and location to play the match. While TennisPhilly doesn't mandate your playing schedule, it is recommended that players schedule at least one match per week. By request of the players in 2008 we started to allow players to play 1 rematch during the season.

Here’s some common sense advice:
Make sure that technology—telephone and email-- works for you, not against you. Email has by far become the most common communication tool. But you can get tripped up! Sometimes people don’t look at their messages very frequently, or they are out of town, or their addresses or phone numbers have changed since you received the players roster.


If you don’t get a response after a couple of tries, why not just pick up the phone and call? Try both home and cell numbers. At this point, of course, you may confront technology once again--voicemail! So leave a message and wait for a return call. If you still haven’t made a connection with the player, try again in a couple of weeks. Or contact the league administrator (me) to find out whether the player is still in the league or if contact information has changed.

Where to Play?
The league strongly suggests that players jointly try to pick a tennis court location convenient to both. We provide an extensive list of tennis courts for each area, including details such as number of courts, lighting, hitting walls, etc. We strive to keep this list fresh and up-to-date; players are encouraged to pass along any updated information. Your league website has a link to the courts in your area. These courts have been evaluated. They are accessible to you and in good condition. If you know of any courts that are in bad shape or are not playable, please let me know.
Tennis Orlando, Tennis San Antonio and Tennis San Diego will all have leagues kickoff in the near future.

Who's who in the TLN Community.

Player Profiles...

More than 7,000 players are part of our tennis league network. Some people have been members of their local group for several years and may have played each other several times by now. It’s always nice to know something about your opponent. From time to time we’ll post profiles of members in the various online communities. Even if they are not in your local league, they may have something in common with you. Or something they say about their own tennis game may resonate with you. What's certain is that you will learn something positive about Tennis League Network. Amy Kraus, who plays in Boston Community, is our first profile.


TennisNorthEast Helps Amy Kraus Improve Her Game
Amy Kraus (left, with Venus Williams) had been playing tennis for five years when she saw a flyer for Tennis League Network’s TennisNorthEast online tennis community posted at a court near her home in Boston, MA. She’s been a player with TennisNorthEast ever since—and that was five years ago.


Although she started out as a doubles player, she has been playing mostly singles for the past three years. “I am a better singles player,” says Amy, “since, unlike in doubles, I am the only one on court and I have to get every ball. It’s just me. I don’t have a partner to rely on.”

Amy has not only found other singles players, but enjoys playing “the same people year after year, and developing relationships with them.” So, Amy, do you have any League rivalries?

“My rivalries are essentially with those people I play most.” More important than rivalry, however, is that “there is always a challenge, no matter how good you think you are.” One of her most memorable League matches was with a player she has played quite often. Here’s that story:

“We were both short on time, so we decided on a 10-game pro set. It turned into longest match we ever played. We were both late for our next appointments. But the score was so close we continued to play. It turned into a long match of more than 2+ hours. I won but can’t remember the score.”

Her least favorite match was the one against a doubles teammate. When they played as singles opponents, she didn’t win a single game. Clearly it was a case of knowing each other’s game too well. “Every time I tried to do something to throw her off, she was able to compensate.”

So what’s the best thing Amy’s gotten from TennisNorthEast? Playing in the league “has done a lot to improve my game over the past 5 years. From April through October, there is a constant supply of singles players. It’s also a good workout and a lot of practice.”

Amy does make the most of it. She plays tennis two and sometimes three times a week. “It’s made me a better all around player,” says Amy, who currently plays at 3.0 level, but hopes to become a 3.5 player.

If you are interested in playing more tennis, Amy recommends both the Partners and the League groups, although she plays League matches more often since she is “not as proactive with the Partners group.”

Overall, it’s clear that Amy Kraus finds many positives in TennisNorthEast, not the least of which is the improvement in her game. As she points out, it’s not just local neighborhood program. “Most people don’t know that Tennis League Network is national with leagues in 34 cities and metropolitan areas. “I would urge everyone to join.”

Amy’s favorite moment outside the local league was attending Tennis League Network’s 2009 national tournament last year at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, FL. That’s where she met Venus Williams, who was making a Tide commercial, and also doing an interview for one of the “athletes going green” spots. “We were only allowed to watch, but I did get to meet her when we left the court. By the way, she is really tall.”

THE ROAD TO ROLAND GARROS IS PAVED WITH GOOD TENNIS

Upcoming tournaments...

The Grand Slam tournaments are, of course, the “Show” tournaments known the world over. Unlike other events, the slams are available to most people on one of the broadcast networks, as well as some cable stations, like USA or others. But many events —5 are listed below--will be held between now and May, until we reach the next major, The French Open, May 24-- June 6, including those listed here. The most recent top tier tournaments were the PNB Paribas, which was held in March Indian Wells, CA.

Most recently, the Sony Ericsson Open is ongoing at Crandon Park, in Key Biscayne, FL, a stone’s throw from Miami and the location of the Tennis League Network's national playoffs. You could see the Sony Ericsson event if you get Fox Sportsnet or Tennis Channel ( a tennis junkie’s dream come true). Sometimes, however, even the finals of these events get weekend airtime on either CBS or NBC. For instance, CBS will air the Sony Ericsson women’s final on Saturday, and the men’s final on Sunday.

Upcoming Tournaments

ATP [men]
Apr. 5 - 11: ATP Grand Prix Hassan II,Casablanca, Morocco


Apr. 5 - 11: ATP US Men's Claycourt Championships,Houston, Texas, USA

Apr. 12 - 18 : ATP Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters,Monte-Carlo, Monaco

Apr. 19 - 25: ATP Open Sabadell Atlantico,Barcelona, Spain

Apr. 26 - May. 2: ATP Internationaionali BNL d'Italia, Rome, Italy


WTA [women]

Apr. 5 - 11: WTA MPS Group Championships,Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA

Apr. 5 - 11: WTA Andalucia Tennis Experience, Marbella, Spain

Apr. 12 - 18: WTA Tour Family Circle Cup, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Apr. 12 - 18: WTA Barcelona Ladies Open, Barcelona, Spain

Apr. 26 - May. 2: WTA Grand Prix S.A.R La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Fes, Morocco

Apr. 26 - May. 2: WTA Tour Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany


Venus Williams and Roger Federer at last year's Sony Ericsson (courtesy, Alex Goldberg of Miami,FL)