new york tennis magazine january/february 2015

A New Booming Serve ... Just a Click Away

By Luke Jensen

It’s a new year and time topick up the pace. Haveyou taken inventory of

where your game is now andwhere it has to go to reach your full potential?

I always found the offseason on the ATPTour was an opportunity to attack the areas ofconcern in my game that needed to pick upthe pace. I continue to be amazed by theevolving game at all levels, where the equip-ment technology and training methods con-tinue to improve.

There are so many helpful hints thesedays, from highly-detailed instruction on theInternet and visual guides and videos onYouTube. Thousands of tips from the globalguides in tennis that have many differentperspectives that may just click into whatyou may need to win more big points are lit-erally just a click away.

My tip for you in this edition of The JensenZone is the most important shot in tennis … itis the serve because it starts out every point.

The serve is complex and can be the differ-ence between your game going forward orbackwards. A confident shot can shine or foldunder pressure.

My entire game revolved around a big firstserve. When I was serving well, I could holdserve against any player on the planet, andthat made me a very dangerous competitor.

The key to my cannonball, also known asthe “canon bomb,” in certain parts of Asia—for some reason when I would announce myserve, it would get lost in translation so I justwent with it.

Ah yes, I named my serves like my “Slip-pery Pete,” “Mommas Meatloaf,” “Pot Roast”

and then there was the “FedEx” that had toreach my target absolutely, positively RIGHTNOW! There were many others like my“Arnold Palmer” that had some hybrid 50/50action on it. My ability to serve effectivelywith my left and right arms gave me manyoptions and advantages.

With my serves being coded, only my dou-bles partner, my younger brother Murphy,would know what I was throwing and hewould adjust accordingly at the net or if he sawsomething at the net by the other team hewould audible for another serve.

My main concern hitting the cannonballwas having the right toss. I didn’t need a per-fect toss, I just needed one that lifted up to mycontact point that would synchronize with mymotion. If my toss was too high or low, my tim-ing and serve would go off the mark.

My mechanics were pretty basic for bothmy left- and right-handed serves. I worked ona consistent starting point, where my racquetmet with the ball in front of my body whilestanding fairly upright. Then, my focus was tobring both arms up at the same time. Thegreat Pete Sampras would stagger his armswith the racquet arm dragging a little slowerand longer to develop more of a whipping ac-tion through the contact point. For me, assoon as the toss paused at arm and racquet

reach, it was time to throw as much torqueinto the ball.

The motion was designed after the 1972Wimbledon Champion and fellow Universityof Southern California Trojan Stan Smith. Hisserve was much smoother, but the power themotion produced made me a flame thrower of130 mph-plus from both sides.

To make your serve smoke like my idol StanSmith, go to YouTube search for a video of hisserve. You will really see one of the classicserving deliveries of all time!

And until the next issue … go for the linesand create a cannonball serve for your owngame!

Born in Grayling, Mich., Luke Jensen’s re-sume includes 10 ATP Tour doubles titlesand singles victories against Andre Agassi,Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe,Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker,Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier. Jensen andhis brother, 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].

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Featured Stories34 BNP Paribas Showdown to Feature Federer Meeting Dimitrov and Classic

Matchup Between Seles and SabatiniThe pros, past and present, return to the World’s Most Famous Arena,Madison Square Garden for the 2015 BNP Paribas Showdown.

40 A Look Back at the Year That Was 2014 By Emilie KatzA closer look at the Grand Slam winners of 2014, along with award winnersand those who called it a career over the past year.

Featured20 NYJTL Hosts 90 Kids for Annual 8 & Under Tournament By Matthew Cohen27 Locals Capture Titles at National Indoor Championships36 National Tennis Center Hosts Successful One-on-One Doubles

Tournament38 New York City Girls Compete for State Title By Brian Coleman39 Locals Elbaba and Rubin Lead Team USA to International Collegiate Title48 Know Your Tennis Strengths By Bill Longua

Featured Columns1 The Jensen Zone By Luke Jensen4 College Tennis Spotlight: Mythbusters—Getting to Know Some of New

York City’s Top College Tennis Coaches By Ricky Becker14 Across Metro New York … News and Notes From Across the New York

Metro Tennis Community22 From Young Beginner to Player By Xavier Luna24 USTA Eastern Metro Region Update28 Metro Corporate League Recap, Presented by Advantage Tennis Clubs30 Court Six: New York Tennis Magazine’s Gossip Column By Emilie Katz32 A Collegiate Coach Recruiting Adventure By Lonnie Mitchel43 USTA Leagues Update44 Some Pitfalls of Modern Teaching Techniques By Lisa Dodson46 The Secret to Peak Performance By Rob Polishook, MA, CPC49 Make Your Strokes Al Dente By Richard Thater50 Hidden Secrets of the Greats: Billie Jean King By Dr. Tom Ferraro51 New York Tennis Club Directory52 New York Rankings55 USTA/Metropolitan Region 2015 Tournament Schedule

Table Of ContentsJAN/FEB 2015 • Vol 5, No 1

2015 Australian Open PreviewBy Andrew EichenholzThe first Grand Slam of 2015 gets underway in January as thesport’s top stars take to the court. We take a closer look at theyear’s contenders, pretenders and sleepers as they vie for gloryDown Under. See page 8

New York Tennis Magazine is published bi-monthly by United Sports Publications Ltd. • Copyright © 2015 United Sports Publications Ltd.

Andrew EichenholzEditorial Contributor

Michael CervantesEditorial Contributor

Gary SimeoneEditorial Contributor

Calvin RhodenStaff Photographer

Samantha SklarIntern

Sarah SklarIntern

Cover photo credit: USTA


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MYTHBUSTERSGetting to Know Some of New York City’s

Top College Tennis Coaches

college tennis spotlight

By Ricky Becker

New York City has everything. This includessome premier national collegiate tennis pro-grams. While colleges and universities in

warm weather regions often win the national cham-pionships, New York City has many schools which fare quite well onthe national ranking list. As far as cities go that play indoor tennis inthe wintertime, I truly believe NYC has the highest quality collegetennis programs of any city. I had the opportunity to speak with afew of the coaches to get the ins-and-outs of their program.

Horace ChoyNYUMen’s and Women’s Head Tennis CoachDo you prefer local players or does it reallymatter whether or not the player is local?The reach of NYU is both national and interna-tional, so I do not have a “preference” for localplayers as I look for any players who will help

our programs. That being said, I know that the East produces alot of strong players and is sometimes undervalued as a region,so I make every effort to attract local players. I am looking forplayers that are three-star players or higher to recruit.

How do you sell NYU to recruits?The biggest advantage for the student attending NYU is the di-versity that it offers.

Is having your school located in New York City a positive ornegative in recruiting?New York City can be both a positive and a negative. Some studentscan be overwhelmed by the size and energy of the City, while othersembrace it, looking for a unique educational experience. It is aboutthe right fit. I ultimately want players here who will be happy here.

Do you have any advice for New York area juniors who wouldlike to play college tennis?I would tell players to do their research. There is high level tennisin all divisions, and players should make sure they are a “fit” ifthey want to play.

Ilene WeintraubColumbia UniversityHead Women’s Tennis CoachDo you prefer local players or does it reallymatter whether or not the player is local?Ideally, I would like our program to be a micro-cosm of the university by including a diverseroster with players from all over the country.

However, since I grew up in New York and played in the ETA Sec-tion myself, I have formed strong relationships with many localcoaches in Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey, which hasled to many local players coming to play for me at Columbia.

How do you sell Columbia to recruits?Columbia is ranked number four in the world according to U.S.News & World Report. We were Ivy League Champions in 2013,finished last season ranked 39th in the nation and received an at-large bid to the NCAA’s. We are one of the only programs in thecountry that can offer both a world-class education and the op-portunity to play on a top nationally-ranked team. Usually, play-ers have to choose between going to a top tennis program orgoing to a prestigious academic school. With Columbia, you nolonger have to choose, you really can have it all.

Is having your school located in New York City a positive ornegative in recruiting?I see New York as a positive in every way. Who doesn’t loveBroadway shows, fabulous restaurants, fashion week, wall street,celebrity sightings, movies being filmed on campus, shopping in

4 New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2015 • NYTennisMag.com

SoHo, museums, art, music, delivery any time day or night, youname it. Attending Columbia in New York City, with its fast-pacedprofessional and competitive environment, helps to prepare ourstudents best for the real world and whatever career path theychoose. It gives them an edge that no one else has.

Many of our alumni still live and work in New York, and theybecome a large part of our student-athlete’s experience. Theywatch our matches, we teach some of their children tennis andthey provide mentoring and excellent job opportunities to ourgraduating seniors.

What type of player/ranking are you looking for in a recruit?I focus on the top 100 players in the USTA national rankingsand/or the top 300 players in the world junior ITF rankings. Interms of personality, we are looking for strong work ethic, goodcommunication skills, independence, high energy and a fightingspirit. We have a really positive team culture and environment thatI am extremely protective of. I only want to bring in players whoare going to help us improve and continue to contribute to the en-vironment in which players can learn, grow and succeed.

Do you have any advice for New York area juniors who wouldlike to play college tennis?You can never contact a coach enough. The more I hear from a re-cruit, the more I get to know them and begin to develop a rela-tionship during the recruiting process, the better. My advice wouldbe that it cannot hurt to be persistent and go for what you want.

Alan NagelQueens CollegeHead Women’s Tennis Coach/InterimHead Men’s Tennis CoachDo you prefer local players or does it reallymatter whether or not the player is local?I always prefer New York State players becausethey cost me less in scholarship money, but be-

cause I only recruit D1 type players (Queens College is Division 2),

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I find it hard to come by local talent. The three-star and four-starNew York players want to either go out of town, or maybe to Co-lumbia. Therefore, in order to fulfill my objective, I usually need tolook out-of-state, as well an internationally. I always get a few localnon-scholarship players. More recently, when I do get a localplayer, they are usually transfer players from a D1 school.

What is the biggest draw of Queens College to recruits?The biggest draw of Queens College is that Queens is consideredone of the finest academic schools in New York City. In a surveyof all American colleges, Queens College was voted number twoin best value by the Washington Monthly. Our outstanding tennisrecord as stated above and the fact that we have a permanent ten-nis facility with six indoor courts used exclusively for tennis all con-tribute to our draw. According to Kaplan/Newsweek’s, “How toGet Into College Guide,” Queens College was named one of Amer-ica’s hottest schools.

Is having your school located in New York City a positive ornegative in recruiting?New York City is one of the most positive influences for my re-cruiting. It is one of the most famous cities in the world and hasso much to offer in terms of culture, entertainment and job op-portunities. Therefore, it is one of my biggest draws. This year, Ihave players from Morocco, Poland, the Ukraine, India andParaguay (by way of Florida). Some of these players transferredfrom more rural D1 schools across the country in states includ-ing: Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia because they wanted toexperience the Big Apple.

What type of player/ranking are you looking for in a recruit?I am looking for a player who has had a great junior record either in-ternationally or in the USTA. I only recruit players who I feel couldplay successfully in D1 and would likely be offered D1 scholarships.Last year, we played several D1 schools, including St. Peters, who

continued on page 6


college tennis spotlight continued from page 5

we beat 9-0, and Georgetown, who we beat 4-3 and they finishedwith a .500 record playing some of the best D1 teams in the East.In order to compete against the best, you need the best!

Do you have any advice for New York area juniors who wouldlike to play college tennis?My advice to New York area juniors who are seeking to play col-lege tennis is to enter college showcases. Make a good video ofthemselves and do their homework during their junior and senioryears, and research coaches/schools of interest and send thosecoaches a resume, including grades and SAT/ACT scores, as wellas the video. Be assertive in making sure that these coaches knowwho you are.

Eric RebhuhnSt. John’s UniversityMen’s Tennis Head CoachDo you prefer local players or does it reallymatter whether or not the player is local?Obviously, most Northeast kids would rather goand sit at an Ivy League school than have achance to compete for a spot at St. John’s;

which is the most popular school in the Tri-State area in terms ofathletic success.

What is the biggest draw of St. John’s to recruits?My focus has always been New York and the chance to live in thebest city in the world. I always take recruits to the City and showthem all of the things they can do during their career. I also talkabout the U.S. Open where we play all of our home matches andpractice throughout the year at the USTA Billie Jean King NationalTennis Center. The last thing is that all of my former players get

jobs in many fields, including finance, sports management, phar-maceuticals, etc. after they graduate.

Is having your school located in New York City a positive ornegative in recruiting?New York City is a big positive … it’s the best city in the world.

What type of player/ranking are you looking for in a recruit?Top 150 ITF or have had ATP points! Occasionally, I look for top 75in the USTA’s rankings and five-star players. I have four-star play-ers who did not play enough USTA events. An example is my cur-rent freshman Elio Livi, who beat Reilly Opelka within the last year.He was a four-star recruit, but has many wins over blue chip andfive-star players. We also have a former blue chip on the team, RJDel Nunzio, who is currently a junior!

Do you have any advice for New York area juniors who wouldlike to play college tennis?Come to one college match and see the level! The Northeast hasalmost 10 ranked teams currently, and over my career, I have seenso few players who want to play college tennis even watch amatch. We recently held the ITA Regionals at the U.S. Open forone week, and I did not see one Eastern junior at the event. Thirty-two coaches in one place for almost a week … what’s the excuse?

Ricky Becker is the founder of JuniorTennisConsulting LLC, direc-tor of tennis at Pine Hollow Country Club and independentlycoaches high-performance juniors year-round. Ricky was namedthe Most Valuable Player for the 1996 NCAA Championship Stan-ford Tennis Team and was a top-five nationally-ranked junior. Hecan be reached by e-mail at [email protected], by phone at(516) 605-0420 or via JuniorTennisConsulting.com.



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By Andrew Eichenholz

“All the world's a stage and most of us aredesperately unrehearsed,” Irish playwrightSean O’Casey once said.

Sloane Stephens was 19-years-old onQuarterfinal Day of the 2013 AustralianOpen. On one of the most renownedstages of the sport, she faced the biggestmoment of her young tennis career.

It did not help that across the net wasfellow American Serena Williams. Theworld number one had won 15 GrandSlam titles. Stephens only played in six.The last time Serena had lost to an Amer-ican other than her sister Venus was in2005 at Wimbledon.

It is fair to say that regardless of her fre-quent flashes of potential, nobody believedtoo strongly in Sloane’s chances.

So, when Serena netted a backhand atthe end of the third set, Stephens’ lifechanged. Nobody in the world, let alonethe United States, had challenged thesupremacy of the younger Williams Sis-ter. With Sloane’s big win, she broughtwith that victory a lot of questions uponherself.

Could she be Serena’s heir apparent?How quickly would she climb her way upthe rankings? Would she be able to reachthe expectations measured by the Serenawin?

That is a lot of pressure for a teenager tohandle, especially one still looking to breakout on the professional circuit.

Considering she had reached a highly re-spectable ranking of 25th in the world be-fore her match with Serena, she wasalready in the spotlight. Sitting under it fortoo long burns many, and the light on herwould only begin to heat up.

Out of her 20 losses the rest of the wayin 2013, six of them were to players outsideof the top-50 in the world. One was to anAmerican outside of the top-100. For aplayer who, as expected, broke into theworld’s top-20, the number of losses weretoo many for those watching her progress,

2015 AustrThe pros head Down Und


and disappointing losses to boot. If she beat Serena, shouldn’t she have

been winning titles and slaying other cham-pions? Keep in mind, she was still a kid. Akid ranked 13th in the world just a yearafter her upset.

Now at 20 years of age, Stephens wasback at the place where she made hername. The lens she entered Melbourne’smajor under, however, was different. Notearning big wins was now consideredfailure. Sloane lost to then world numbertwo Victoria Azarenka, one of the mostpotent ball strikers of this era, in thefourth round of the 2014 Aussie Open.Stephens should not have won thematch and did not, but yet, the pressurewas still there.

Instead of becoming Serena instantlyovernight, she has suffered setbacks. Fourtimes in 2014, the youngster lost to play-

ers outside of the top-100 in the world. Andnot once during the 2014 calendar year, didshe claim a title.

Sloane Stephens was not living up to thehype … plain and simple. But, was thathype fair? Serena will end up going downas one of the, if not the, very best femaletennis players to ever step on a court. It isdifficult to hold a player to such standards.

Keep in mind, Sloane broke into the top-20 as a teenager, but was that not enough?Many athletes trying to make it in the worldof tennis would take reaching the fourthround of a major twice in a season, as shedid in 2014. Now, it is about building onthat.

The world has seen, from the matchagainst Serena and others, that Stephenscertainly has the potential to be a top playerin the sport. She is better than her currentranking of 37th in the world.

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So, how will Stephens respond? Will thepressure of the spotlight keep her from ris-ing up again? Can Sloane overcome a wristinjury suffered last season to work her wayback to where she was in 2013?

After a year that could have answeredquestions about the young Americans’ ca-reer, all that has come from this are morequestions. She began her 2015 campaignin New Zealand at the ASB Classic, breez-ing past Silvia Soler-Espinosa in the open-ing round 6-3, 6-1 before falling to fellowAmerican Lauren Davis in the secondround, 6-1, 4-6, 1-6 in her final tune-up be-fore the Aussie Open.

Equipped with groundstrokes to botheranybody, it is not a question of if SloaneStephens could move to the top of theWTA Women’s Singles Rankings onceagain, but when and if it will happen in2015.

ralian Open Previewder to kick off the new year

Heading into the 2015 Austra l ianOpen, there are many storylineswith a great deal of unpredictable

endings in store for the upcoming year. Onegreat of the game proved to the world thatage is no barrier in 2014, while anotherraised questions on just how many times hecould get up from a knockout punch. In thewomen’s game, young stars are reaching thehorizon, with the superstar looking to main-tain her reign.

The men’s side of theAussie Open drawThe contenders

Credit photo: USTA

Wo u l d R o g e rFederer ever be atthe top of thesport again? If 73match wins in 2014did not answerthat question, it ishard to say whatwill. Federer notonly showed theworld that he wasnot done yet, but

he shoved it in everybody’s face, nearlyovertaking Novak Djokovic for the worldnumber one ranking towards theseason’s end. Furthermore, it is neverfair to think that the man who has wonmore majors and held the top spot in theworld rankings more than anybody elsedoes not have a shot at the Grand Slam.Expect Federer to be challengingDjokovic.

Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Not enough couldbe said about thefall season thatNovak Djokovichad in 2014. Thenew father went19-1, winning theWorld Tour Finals

to cap it off. When a semifinal perform-ance at the U.S. Open is considered anextreme disappointment, it is safe to saythat this man will be the favorite downunder. Nobody has been more consistentat the majors in recent years, and thereare no signs that he will slow down.

Up and down.After winning theAustralian Openlast season, that isexactly what thenew Swiss Super-star Stanis lasWawrinka was. Hehad a tournamenthere and therewhere he wouldshow the ground-

strokes that can compete and overpoweranybody in the world, and others where itwas the Stan of a few years ago whoshowed up. Nevertheless, Wawrinka closedhis season strongly in London, looking likehis Australian Open-winning self, somethingeverybody should be scared of come the firstGrand Slam of the season.

The pretendersPhoto credit: Kenneth B.

Goldberg

There is nobodywho questions orwill ever say any-thing about RafaelNadal’s toughness.Injury after injuryhas popped upover the years,leaving fans andplayers alike won-dering if the man

who grew to become “The Federer Slayer”would ever be “himself” again. Every time,he proved those questions silly, comingback better than ever. After quite sometime off of the court, however, a hardcourt at that, it is hard to see Nadal chal-

lenging the likes of Djokovic and Federerin Australia.

Photo credit: Calvin Rhoden

Nobody will evertake Marin Cilic’s2014 U.S. Open titleaway. Nobody. But,it seems like that runin Flushing Mead-ows may have beena flash in the pan,because his resultshave not backed uphis major champi-

onship. Lower-ranked players who the Croatianencounters early on will look at Cilic as amarked man, and will want that “upset match”that much more. He could still win the matchesin which he is favored, but do not expect an-other Cinderella story for Cilic Down Under.


There is no doubtthat Kei Nishikoriwill be around thetop tier of men’s ten-nis for a long, longtime. Perhaps oneof the very bestpound for poundplayers in the world,his pure ground-stroke game is ex-

traordinary. However, with size does comelimitations. He caught Djokovic on one of hisworst days in years with the best tennis hehad ever played to win their U.S. Open semi-final match, but what are the chances that ithappens again? Nishikori has been playing atsuch a high level in the last year or even two,that he is bound for a hiccup.

The sleepersAs hard as it is to call the world number six asleeper, Andy Murray is this year in Mel-bourne. Ever since his Wimbledon title,Murray has been in a sort of slump. At theend of this past season, he started to hit out

2015 AustrThe pros head Down Und

more on the ball,moving his feetinto more aggres-sive positions onthe court, leadingto success. Murraycan be a very goodtennis player whileconstantly on thedefense, but hecan only be greatplaying offense

first. Look for him to do so Down Under.


There are very few,if any, who have thesame raw power asthe big Czech.Tomas Berdychcan hit both a fore-hand and back-hand from any-where on the courtfor a winner. Thequestion is, could

he build a point effectively against the topguys and not be afraid to make the firstmove in a rally? Berdych can beat anybodyon his given day, so why not the AustralianOpen


Toughness is notsomething that cansimply be taught.David Ferrer isperhaps the tough-est on the ATPTour, and he cer-tainly plays like it.Nobody, from thelowes t -seededentry to Novak

Djokovic, will get a free point against theSpanish speedster. Ferrer has sneakilyaggressive groundstrokes, and if any ofthe top guys are off of their game whenthey meet in the back end of a tourna-

ment, there is no other person out therewho will be happier to grind them down.

The women’s side ofthe Aussie Open drawThe contenders


Regardless of howanybody in theworld plays on agiven day, they willnot be able to beatSerena Williamsat her best. Withthe best serve inthe game by leapsand bounds, heropponents are on

their back foot in a point right off of thereturn. From there, few players in tennishistory have been better at keeping thefoot on the gas, with deep groundstrokesthat push anybody and everybodyaround. If Serena has a good servingtournament, she may not even need herbest game off of the ground to win. Thatis how impacting it is.

Photo credit: Kenneth B.

Goldberg

Maria Sharapovamay possibly be themost focused andmentally tough indi-vidual on either themen’s or women’stour. There are veryfew players in thesport right now whoare quite as profes-

sional as Sharapova. By the way, she can hitthe ball too. Her serving may be a bit too in-consistent to truly give Serena a run for hermoney, but her blistering groundstrokes willmow down the rest of the field.


The ending of Caroline Wozniacki’sengagement musthave done the trick,as the Danishmarathon-runningstar has been noth-ing but successfulon the tennis courtsince her well-known break up

Phot

o cr

edit:

Cal

vin

Rhod

en

ralian Open Previewder to kick off the new year


12 New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2015 • NYTennisMag.com12

early on in 2014 with golfer Rory McIlroy. Fora period of time, she tried to win matchesagainst the better players on the WTA Toursolely with her defensive skills, which are verygood. However, as she showed with her playtowards the end of last season, she can doso much more when she controls points anddictates play, which will lead to a successfulAustralian Open campaign.

The pretendersPhoto credit: Calvin Rhoden

Without a doubt, theconsistency awardfor 2014 should go toSimona Halep. No-body on the WTATour was as daunt-ing to those rankedbelow her, and evenabove her. At theyear-end champi-onships, Halep

bludgeoned Serena, which almost no-body has ever done. The thing is, Halep’sgame had been a new commodity toeverybody, and now that she is at thetop, everybody will be going after her.She had lost more of the matches sheshould win towards the end of the sea-son, so look out at the Australian Open.


Nobody in profes-sional women’s ten-nis has as large of aplaying range asPetra Kvitova. Onher best day, herserve and suffocat-ing forehand is al-most impossible tobeat, especially ona faster surface in

the heat, like one would find down under.But, the first major of the year comes almoststraight off of the offseason, leaving very lit-tle time to get into top gear. Kvitova has lostin the second round or earlier four times atthe Australian Open, and it is very possiblethat that number will tick up again.


Very few expectedAna Ivanovic tobring back herglory days in 2014,yet she proved thatshe can still play. Atjust 27 years ofage, the still-youngSerbian star feelslike she has beenon the WTA Tour

forever, but she still has time left. She hasproven in her career, she cannot serve con-sistently enough to stay at the top of thegame, and after a break is the most conven-ient time for that serve to fall off track.

The sleepersPhoto credit: Adam Wolfthal

Not many playershave tested Serenawhile she was ather best. VictoriaAzarenka is one ofthem, and she iscoming off of a footinjury that severelylimited her last sea-son. People seemto have forgotten

about her while she has been out, but lookfor the Belarusian sensation to hit the groundrunning with a big performance at the firstGrand Slam of the year.


Through battlingwith Sjogren’s Syn-drome and all,Venus Williamshas scratched andclawed her wayback into the top20 in the world.Many may thinkthat with her ageshe will be unable

to go any further, but as Roger Federer hasshown, you can never count out a champion.Venus knocked at the door of a major upset

at a couple of Grand Slams last season. Ifshe manages to string together a fewmatches with the serve that the world grewto be in awe of years ago, look out.


What would anAustralian Openpreview be withoutany Australians?People seem tohave totally forgot-ten with her under-whelming results oflate that SamanthaStosur is a GrandSlam champion.

No, she did not make it past the fourth roundat a major last season, but her fall campaignshowed the potential that the big server has.For somebody who has possibly the bestnon-Serena Williams serve, especially sec-ond serve in women’s tennis, there is no rea-son to count the home favorite out.

Andrew Eichenholz is a journalism studentat Stony Brook University, where he cur-rently is a staff writer for The Statesman,covering tennis amongst many sports. Hegrew up playing tennis at the USTA BillieJean King National Tennis Center, where helearned to love the game, eventually be-coming a part time tennis instructor, work-ing for the most part with the QuickStart 10& Under Program. Andrew has also servedas a ballperson at the U.S. Open. He maybe reached by e-mail at [email protected].

2015 australian open preview continued from page 11

13NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2015 • New York Tennis Magazine 13NYTennisMag.com • September/October 2014 • New York Tennis Magazine

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Across Metro N

The USTA Billie Jean King National TennisCenter in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. has beenunder construction and renovation formonths now, and the progress is going ac-cording to schedule. The whole project is ex-pected to be completed by August of 2018.

The process began in the months prior to

the U.S. Open, starting in August, and had tocome to a halt for about 30 days as the 2014edition of the U.S. Open played out. The firstphase of the $550 million project includedputting in a retractable roof over Arthur AsheStadium, as well as two other stadiums in thecomplex. This phase is expected to be com-

National Tennis Center renovations continue

Across Metro Npleted sometime in August of 2016.

The project also includes many infrastruc-ture upgrades, which include putting to-gether the eight foundations that will supportthe roof over Ashe.

“Most retractable roofs are built with thestadium from the get-go,” said Tom Jaske,Faithful & Gould senior vice president andproject executive. The firm was awarded aproject management cnotract for the site.“But this is a separate structure poised overthe existing stadium.”

The next phases of the renovation will includeknocking down Louis Armstrong Stadium andthe grandstands, and rebuilding it to add seats.The stadium and grandstands will be separatestructures and the 11,000-seat Armstrong Sta-dium will be boosted to about 15,000 seats.


New Yorkew York Pierre and LoBosco receive all-conference honors

… News and notes from across the New York Metro tennis community

Junior Tathiana Pierre, originally fromBishop Ford in Brooklyn, N.Y., and SeniorVictoria LoBosco, originally from Arch-bishop Molloy in Glendale, N.Y. of the St.Joseph’s College of Brooklyn women’s ten-

nis team, were both named to the HudsonValley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference(HVIAC) All-Conference Team following theconclusion of the HVIAC Championships.

This is the first time Pierre has earned theaccolade, and the second time LoBoscohas received the honor, last receiving it asa sophomore in 2012. Both helped theLady Bears produce finalists in eight of nineflights and took home a program-best run-ner-up finish in the championships.

The three-time HVIAC Player of the Weekand two-time AD3I Player of the Week,Pierre tied for the most singles wins in a

season with seven. She reached the finalsat number one singles, following an 8-5semifinal victory over Berkeley.

LoBosco finished the season with fourwins, including a 3-3 record at the numberthree singles position. She teamed up withPierre at number one doubles, where theywould go 4-6, and finished 3-1 in the con-ference. It culminated when the duo wouldblank Nancy Varughese & Samantha Gomezof the College of New Rochelle to reach thefinals in the HVIAC Championships.

With a three-set thriller, sophomoreGabriela Siembab from Chrzanow, Polandclinched the match to give the NYITwomen’s team their third straight EastCoast Conference (ECC) Championship.The Bears defeated the Knights of Queens(N.Y.) 5-3.

Siembab won the match for NYIT witha 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over AngelikaSobiecka at third singles.

The Bears started the match down 2-0due to an insufficient roster and defaultedat third doubles and sixth singles. Queensthen won second doubles 8-0 to lead 3-0,but NYIT started its rally with an 8-2 win atfirst doubles.

Down 3-1 in singles play, NYIT knottedthe score at 3-3, with Alessia Rossetti fromMinusio, Switzerland’s 6-3, 6-1 win overJenna Plevako.

NYIT Bears clinch third straight ECC title

Miriam Aziz of New Springville onStaten Island has racked up twotournament victories this winter. Azizdefeated Sonal Matta from Elk GroveVillage, Ill. 6-4 6-2 in the semifinals andbeat Allison Bach from Riva, Md. 6-0 6-3, in the finals to win the USTA NationalOpen 12U Singles Championship at theFive Seasons Sports Club in lateNovember. Aziz’s winter featured morevictories as her and partner, MiaKintiroglou of Livingston, N.J., defeatedErika Rems from South Plainfield, N.J.& Riya Ravi from Upper Saddle River,N.J. 6-3, 6-2, to win the USTA National

Empire Doubles 12 and UnderTournament at Centercourt Tennis Clubin early December. In the semifinals,Aziz and Kintiroglou topped ValenciaXu from Livingston, N.J. and ReimiKosaka from Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 6-3, 6-2.

Aziz’s latest victory came at theUSTA Grand Prix Sectional 12U Singlestournament, defeating Elyse Wagle ofNiksayuna, N.Y. 6-2, 6-4 in thechampionship at Sportime Bethpage.Pictured to the left, Miriam Aziz (left)with runner-up Elyse Wagle (right) atSportime Bethpage.

Staten Island’s Aziz enjoys excellent winter season

Pierre LoBosco


Across Metro NCentercourt’s Joshi honored

with National Sportsmanship Award

Across Metro NAbhijeet Joshi from Millington, N.J., who trains at Centercourt, was awarded the JuniorTeam Tennis U18 National Sportsmanship Award at the 2014 USTA Junior Team Tennis 18and Under Advanced National Championships, held at the Cayce Tennis and Fitness Cen-ter in Cayce, S.C. “It doesn’t surprise me that he is being recognized, as he is a role modelfor other players,” Julie Bliss Beal, director of competition at USTA Eastern said.

“He’s a great person and a great tennis player and has been recognized in the Sectionfor both.” In the past, Joshi has won USTA Eastern’s Sportsmanship Award, and has beenhonored at the annual USTA Eastern Junior Awards Gala for his top performance on courtin his age division.

JMTA players take part in invitation-only eventat National Tennis Center

Dominick Mosejczuk (pictured here on the left) and Julia Werdiger (pictured here on theright), who train at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, recently competed in an invitation-only 10 & Under Match Play at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, coordinatedby USTA National Junior Development Coach Erik Kortland. The event featured six play-ers, two girls and four boys, split into two teams to compete in a Davis Cup/Fed Cup-stylematch.

"I was so proud of how both Dom and Julia represented JMTA with hard work duringevery point, and smiles after every point," said JMTA Associate Director Nate Emge, pic-tured here in the center. "This was a great experience for the kids and also for me!"


New Yorkew York USTA Metro welcomes the holiday season

… News and notes from across the New York Metro tennis community

Four past presidents of the USTA Eastern Metro Region joinedwith current USTA Eastern Metro Region President Jackie Clark atthe Region’s recent Metro Holiday Party. Pictured here, Tim Heath,Carl Sommer, Mark McIntyre, Jackie Clark and Skip Hartman ringin the 2014 holiday season.

Stadium Tennis Center hosts Metro Junior Team Tennis Registration and Kick-Off Party

Stadium Tennis Center recently hosted the Metro Junior TeamTennis Registration and Kick-Off Party. The event marks the startof the USTA Metro Junior Team Tennis season, and on-site regis-tration was available for all intermediate and advance junior play-ers ages seven through 18.

Centercourt trainees sign Letters of IntentAnna Ulyashchenko and Isaac Stolar, both who train at Center-court, have signed national Letters of Intent for their prospectiveschools in 2015. Anna will be receiving a full tennis scholarshipto Wake Forest University, while Isaac will play next fall for theCitadel Bulldogs. Pictured here, Anna Ulyashchenko with hersupporters signing her Letter of Intent to attend Wake Forest inthe fall of 2015.


Across Metro New YorkAcross Metro New York … News and notes from across the New York Metro tennis community

Columbia men’s tennis matches program’sbest ranking in 2015 ITA poll

Fresh off the program’s best ever finish at the NCAA Championships and a record-settingseason, the Columbia men’s tennis team enters 2015 ranked 16th on the first Intercolle-giate Tennis Association (ITA) National Poll the ITA. The Lions match the top ranking inschool history, which was reached earlier last season. Columbia, who competed at threepremier fall tournaments and three championships this fall, ended last spring ranked atnumber 17.

Winston Lin headlines a pair of Lions on the singles poll as the senior comes in at 22after capturing the Northeast Regional Championship and posting a 12-3 record this fall,including six victories over ranked opponents.

NYC’s Yee family named Tennis Family of the Year

Gary, Cathy and Kyle Yee of New York Citywere named as USTA Eastern’s TennisFamily of the Year for their substantial serv-ice to the game of tennis. The Yee familywill receive the award at USTA Eastern’sTennis Conference on Jan. 31 at the Ren-aissance Hotel in White Plains, N.Y.

“It’s quite an honor to receive thisaward,” Cathy Yee said. “It’s very unex-pected. Tennis has always just been a partof our lives.”

Cathy made her mark in the New YorkCity tennis community more than five yearsago by creating the competitive junior pro-gram at Riverside Clay Tennis Association

(RCTA). Cathy also hosted Junior TeamTennis (JTT) at RCTA, and was the JTT co-ordinator for the Metro region.

Gary, Cathy’s husband, grew up playingtennis, as his mother, Amy Yee, developeda strong tennis community in Seattle. Indoing so, Amy was inducted into theUSTA Pacific Northwest Hall of Fame.Amy, with help from her children, held freeclinics for anyone interested in learningthe game of tennis.

“Her children, much like her, have a verygiving attitude and outlook toward helpingothers make the most of their tennisgame,” Cathy said. “Through their contin-

ued participation in the sport, all four of herchildren earned tennis scholarships.”

Gary has taught tennis for more than 40years, and is now a teaching professionalat RCTA. He enjoys helping all athletes,competitive or not, improve their game bydirectly identifying problem areas.

Like his father, Kyle learned to play ten-nis at a young age. He competed in JTT,and now helps teach kids tennis at RCTAduring the summer.

“It’s really great because tennis is a sportyou can play when you’re older,” Cathysaid. “As a mother, it’s nice to see that Kyleand his dad can go out and hit.”


Taken from USTA Eastern’s Web site.


Youth Tennis Leagues. Let’s Play.

New York Junior Tennis & Learning(NYJTL) hosted its Annual 8 & UnderTournament at the USTA Billie Jean

King National Tennis Center in early Decem-ber. Ninety underprivileged children, fromseven winter Community Tennis Programs

(CTPs) and 18 elementary schools locatedthroughout the five boroughs, gathered for theannual event.

“My favorite thing about the weekendtournaments is that we get students com-ing from all over the City, from different

types of programming, to play in a citywideevent,” said Jessica Bailey, senior directorof education for NYJTL.

“We started the Play Days back in 2010,and since the implementation of the 10 &Under tournaments, we are able to bring

NYJTL Hosts 90 Kids forAnnual 8 & Under TournamentB Y M AT T H E W C O H E N

Credit photos to Matthew Cohen


some friendly/healthy competition to theprogram. Instead of skill competitions suchas bouncing balls, keeping the ball on theracquet, relay races, etc., we are doingsomething that feels and looks like tennis,”said Ron Nano, general manager of theCary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning,NYJTL’s new $26.5 million tennis and com-munity center in Crotona Park, scheduled toopen in early 2015.

Thirty staff members, including on-sitedirectors, coaches, volunteers and groupleaders, along with 10 volunteers, gatheredon three courts where the children werebroken up into age groups ranging fromfive- to eight-years-old.

“I’m having a blast! It’s a great place tolearn and make some new friends,” saidseven-year-old William Thitithamasak, whowants to be a tennis player when he growsup and has been playing tennis for threeyears at the NTC, Whitestone Tennis Cen-ter and Roosevelt Island.

The structure of the round-robin tour-nament was that each kid in their re-spective age group plays one another tofive and the player with the highest point

total wins on that court.“We are elevating the tennis aspect

today and starting to teach the kids that it’sokay to loose and that you’re not going toget a medal or a trophy every time,” saidScott Daly, manager of community tennisfor NYJTL. “First, second and third placeget medals, and the rest get great longsleeved sweatshirts and certificates ofcompletion.”

“It’s a great start for the 10 & Under tour-naments, as parents come out and see thehard work their kids put in … this is thefruition here,” said Gary Davis, who hasbeen with NYJTL since 2003 and is cur-rently a coach at PS 191 in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Medal winners from the event:

Five-Year-Old Division1. Roaa Youseff2. Tadija Maslo3. Emmanuel Akilov

Six-Year-Old Division1. Leif Emery2. Mane Kostic3. Richard Cuamani

Seven-Year-Old Division1. Jadah Bentham2. Ahshar Sabard3. Jesse Vasquez

Eight-Year-Old Division1. Strahinga Maslo2. Henry Cuamani3. Gabrella Gerstman (tied)3. Benjamin Akilov (tied)



By Xavier Luna

It’s a common and oftencontent ious debateamong tennis instruc-

tors: Should we train youngplayers with the standard yellow tennis ballor use the progressive red-to-orange-to-green approach? The latter—which relies onslower, less compressed tennis balls—isgaining momentum in tennis circles world-wide. In fact, the International Tennis Feder-ation (ITF) recommends this approachbecause it better hones players’ developingskills and makes the game more fun.

Still wondering whether this is the moreeffective method? According to a recentstudy, the answer is “yes.” But before weget into the details, allow me to share mypersonal experience.

Early frustration even for a dedicated youngsterWhen I was six-years-old, my father,Alberto Luna, introduced me to the gameof tennis. Although my strokes were notvery good, I learned discipline and how towin. I remember how difficult it was to hit ayellow ball, which at the time seemed smalland very hard. As I look back, I wish I hadstarted with today’s method. While I oweeverything to my father for introducing meto tennis, my frustration level as ayoungster was very high. What kept meplaying initially was my desire to please mydad—I wasn’t able to enjoy the game yet.

I was a nationally-ranked player by theage of 10, but I felt discouraged. I neverhad time to incorporate proper tennistechnique into my game. Instead of learn-ing with age-appropriate balls, a smallerracquet and smaller court size, I wasforced to work with a racquet that was tooheavy for my size and a ball that was toosmall and hard.

A timeout for techniqueIt wasn’t until I met Gordon Kent, one of thebest coaches in the East, that my gamereached a new level. He patiently took thetime to work through all of my bad habits

From Young Beginner to Player: Fin


and teach me proper technique and form.If not for him, my game would never havereached a higher level. I started to lovethe sport, and at the age of 45, I still enjoyplaying tennis frequently. It was clear tome then and it still is now–that tennis de-velopment is about the long-term, not theshort-term.

A recent study proves this point. A teamof instructors from Tennis Australia hadsome of the best players in the country al-ternate matches playing with a green ball(75 percent compression) and a standardyellow ball (100 percent compression). Intotal, 19 matches were recorded fromseven different angles to analyze shots andresults with each type of ball.

Here’s a look at some of the results:l Rallies lasted the same number of

shots, but were played at a highertempo using the green ball (5.25 shots)vs. yellow ball (5.35 shots).

l Contact was made above the shouldertwice as often with the yellow ball thanwith the green ball. Striking the ball atrepeated high contact points can leadto improper form and technique.

l More errors, characterized as 1.5 me-ters or more out, were made using theyellow balls (27 percent) than greenballs (20 percent).

l More green balls were struck in front ofthe baseline (39 percent) compared toyellow balls (27 percent), a factor thatallowed for more attacking and pointcontrol.

The benefits of learning with a larger andlighter green ball go on and on. When askedabout the use of the green ball, players re-sponded with an increased positive attitude.

Evidence versus opinionMany instructors who prefer using only the

standard yellow tennis ball for young play-ers argue that choice of ball is nothingmore than personal preference. But theTennis Australia study proves them wrong.Players using the green ball made fewer er-rors, had longer rallies, were better able toimplement proper form and technique anddeveloped faster than if they were usingthe yellow ball.

For instructors trying to decide ongreen versus yellow, there’s no debate.Opt for green and give your young playersthe go-ahead for better development fromthe start … and for beginning a life-longlove of the game!

Xavier Luna is director of Advantage All-City Junior Programs (Roosevelt IslandRacquet Club, Manhattan Plaza RacquetClub and New York Tennis Club). He maybe reached by phone at (917) 570-9650 orvisit www.advantagetennisny.com.

nding the Best Path of Development

Centercourt Performance Tennis Academy (CPTA) is a one of a kind facility dedicated to the developmentand performance of tennis players. CPTA features eleven hard courts, one red clay court, a state-of-the-artstrength and conditioning center, an indoor turf field and an academic center.

Our mission is to help every student-athlete realize his or her potentialathletically and academically. Our players respect the game, their peers,parents, and coaches. Our curriculum features comprehensive tennisinstruction as well as physical and mental conditioning.

CPTA offers both full-time and after-school programs 7 days perweek with tournament coaching and travel. Both programs haverolling admissions from September 8, 2014 to June 7, 2015. CPTAalso offers an 11-week summer training camp, with van shuttletransportation available for players located in the New York area.Contact us to schedule an appointment and discover the placechampionships come to train!

Centercourt Performance Tennis Academy65 Columbia Road, Morristown, NJ

www.CentercourtAcademy.comContact Clay Bibbee: [email protected]

USTA Metro Region



As the calendar made the tran-sition from 2014 to 2015, theBillie Jean King National Ten-

nis Center in Flushing Meadowsplayed host to the USTA National In-door Championships. The tourna-ment featured some of the topplayers in the region, and consistedof five different draws, making for anexciting and action-packed series ofmatches throughout 2014’s finalweek.

In the Men’s Open Singles draw,the title match saw a contest be-tween second-seeded Max Schnurof Richmond, Va. take on New YorkCity’s Josh Mactaggart. Schnur, whoplays his college tennis at ColumbiaUniversity, came out victorious out-lasting Mactaggart 6-4, 6-4 to cap-ture the title.

The second-seeded Long Islander AlexaGraham was able to win the championshipin the Women’s Open Singles field, outlast-ing Fairfield, Conn. native Ellyse Hamlin 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4 in the final. Graham, who isfrom Garden City, N.Y., won the Nassau

County singles title back in 2012.The Men’s Open Doubles bracket came

down to a battle of two New York duos.Daniel McGuire & Ben Marks, who hail fromHuntington and Huntington Station, re-spectively, cruised past Yorktown Heights’Robert Ferrante & Bedford Hills’ Michael

Mattelson 6-0, 6-2 to win the Men’sOpen Doubles crown. McGuire &Marks, who are both teaching pro-fessionals at Sportime Syosset, beatthree separate seeded opponents ontheir way to the title.

The Women’s Open Doublesbracket saw the top-seeded NewJersey duo of Rima Astatrian & KellyWilliford take on the second-seededpair of Taylor Ng of Haddonfield, N.J.& Ariana Rodriguez of the Bronx. Itwas the second-seed that came outon top, however, as Ng & Rodriguezwon a 7-5, 6-4 straight-set match totake home the title.

Just like in the men’s double final,the Mixed-Open Doubles bracketcame to down to two teams fromNew York. The f i f th-seeded

Southampton pair of Hleb Maslau & SimonaWeymar knocked off Great Neck’s AlisonAdamski & Brooklyn’s Keith Kessler 6-4,6-1 in the title match. The duo did notdrop a set throughout the whole tourna-ment on their way to winning the cham-pionship.

Locals Capture Titlesat National Indoor

Championships

New York City’s Josh Mactaggart (left) and Max Schnur ofRichmond, Va. (right) are presented with their championshiptrophies by Whitney Kraft (center), director of tennis of the USTABillie Jean King National Tennis Center

Daniel McGuire & BenMarks of Sportime werewinners of the Men'sOpen Doubles title

Ariana Rodriguez of theBronx, with partner Taylor

Ng, winners of the Women'sOpen Doubles competition


Winter Registrations Open forMetro Corporate Tennis League

The Metro Corporate Tennis League, pre-sented by Advantage Tennis Clubs, is ajoint initiative of the Metrotennis Commu-nity Tennis Association and USTA/Eastern-Metro. As the local, volunteer-led chapterof USTA Eastern, the USTA Metro Regionis committed to promoting and developingthe growth of tennis in New York City.Metrotennis CTA, incorporated in 2002, is a501(c)4 not-for-profit organization that pro-vides USTA Adult Competitive Leagues,Corporate Tennis Leagues, and affordablebeginner adult programs in the New YorkCity metropolitan area.

Registrations are now open for the Win-ter 2015 season. The season includes aminimum of six matches. Each match isplayed for two hours on two courts. Tennisballs and refreshments are provided, andafter every match, hors d’oeuvres, wineand beer are served. The season con-cludes with an end-of-season party whereall league participants enjoy a buffet dinnerand open bar, tennis, dancing and other

activities. The winners of all divisions ad-vance to semifinals or finals for theirleague.

The matches will be held weekdayevenings at three area clubs:

l West Side Tennis Club, located at 1Tennis Place in Forest Hills, N.Y.

l Roosevelt Island Racquet Club, lo-cated at 281 Main Street in RooseveltIsland, N.Y.

l CityView Racquet Club, located at 43-34 32nd Place (between Skillman Av-enue and Queens Boulevard),Penthouse in Long Island City, N.Y.

The season will start at the end of Janu-ary and run until mid-April. The followingare our past and present company teams:

ABN AMROAkin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLPAllen & OveryAMC Networks

AXAJulius BaerBank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd.Barclays CapitalBloombergBNP Paribas Brown BrothersCitibankCitigroupCleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPColeman Research GroupColgate PalmoliveColliersCredit AgricoleCredit SuisseCurtis BrownDavis Polk & Wardell LLPDeloitte & Touche LLPD.E. Shaw & CompanyDeutsche BankDewey & LeBoeufDoubleClickErnst & Young LLPFinra


Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & ScintoForbesFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLPFried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLPGerson Lehrman GroupGoldman SachsGoogleGroup SJRHBOHighbridge Capital Management LLCHorizon MediaIBM AmericasING Capital LLCIntegrity Financial GroupInvestment Technology GroupKaye Scholer LLPKramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLPLend Lease

McKinsey & Company Merrill LynchMizuho Bank Ltd.Mizuho Capital Markets CorporationMoody’s Investors ServicesNielsenNeraNeuberger Berman Group LLCNYJTLNYSEOpera SolutionsPaul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & GarrisonLLPPatterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLPPfizerPractical LawPricewaterhouseCoopersProskauer Rose LLP

Prudential Douglas EllimanRockefeller & CompanySchulte, Roth & Zabel LLPSidley Austin LLP Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & From LLPSociete GeneraleStroock & Stroock & Lavan LLPSullivan Cromwell LLPThe New York TimesTheStreet.comThomson ReutersTiffany & CompanyTime Warner CableTommy HilfigerTurner ConstructionUnileverWhite & Case LLPYahoo

We would also like to congratulate the Fall 2014 Advanced Division

Champions

We would also like to congratulate the Fall 2014 Advanced Intermediate

Division Champions

We would also like to congratulate the Fall 2014 Intermediate

Division Champions

For more information, please visit www.metrotennis.com/corporate/main.html or call Luis Espinoza at (347) 886-3117.


courtsixNew York Tennis Magazine’s Gossip Column By Emilie Katz

He’s back ….!!!Juan Martindel Potro plansto make acomeback in2015, and hewill start byparticipating in

the seventh annual Brisbane Internationalpresented by Suncorp. The tournament be-gins Jan. 4, and will mark the first time the Ar-gentine has played since Dubai back in lateFebruary.

Tying the knotA f t e r n e a r l y adecade together,Andy Murray andKim Sears are en-gaged. Murray

and Sears have been a couple for close tonine years, showing that their decision totie the knot is far from a whirlwind. BBCNews states that the pair met at the U.S.Open in 2005 and she has since been pres-ent at a slew of his matches. One of theirmost memorable moments was at Wimble-don in 2013 when cameras caught Murraykissing Sears after beating Novak Djokovicin the Men’s Singles Final.

You’re out!!!!A French chair umpirehas received a lifetimeban, becoming the firstofficial suspended forcorruption by the Ten-nis Integrity Unit (TIU).

Morgan Lamri, an umpire on the Futuresand Challenger Tours, was banned for life

for violating four articles of the TIU’s anti-cor-ruption program. The 22-year-old Lamri vio-lated articles that address betting on matchesand match-fixing. He said he was contactedby the TIU a year ago after he worked a cou-ple of Futures events in France.

CrybabyDuring a match between Roger Federer

and Stan Wawrinka atthe ATP World Tour Fi-nals, the focus shiftedfrom the on-court bat-tle, to one comingfrom the stands.

Wawrinka became increasingly agitatedas Federer’s wife, Mirka, yelled from thestands. Wawrinka believed she was talk-ing too loudly as he gathered his concen-tration. A woman’s voice was heard to be

Are you ready to play?NYJTL has been developing the character of youngpeople through tennis and education since 1971. Thisyear marks an exciting new chapter: the opening of theworld-class Cary Leeds Center on April 16th in the Bronx.

Visit our improved website – nyjtl.org – to receive thelatest news about our services and sites. And now, youcan sign up online for community tennis programs, whichinclude free court time, instruction and equipment forstudents age 5 to 18.

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calling out “cry baby” in response toWawrinka’s objections.

Time to move onIvan Lendl,the eight-timemajor tennischampion, re-cently put his

450-acre estate in Goshen, Conn. on themarket. The former world number onebought the land in the 1980s and had thefour-story Georgian mansion built in 1992.It’s listed with William Pitt of Sotheby’s at$19,750,000. The 10-bedroom, 12-bath-room house also includes an 1,800-square-foot gym, tennis and basketballcourts, and an exercise room. There’s anelevator, indoor and outdoor pools, alongwith a guest house, cabana and horsebarn.

Wozniacki and the gridiron

Caroline Wozniackihas had a busy off-season, running inthe New York CityMarathon and go-ing on vacationwith Serena Williams.

But, she reportedly still found time to meether new boyfriend, Ryan Kerrigan, whoplays defensive end for the WashingtonRedskins of the National Football League(NFL). The two were seen attending a ben-efit dinner together.

Billie Jean King andSir Elton John Raise$1 Million-Plus

Billie Jean King,Elton John and aslew of WTA andATP World Tourstars raised over $1million for the EltonJohn AIDS Founda-

tion at Mylan WTT Smash Hits. WTA starsMartina Hingis, Kim Clijsters, SabineLisicki, Heather Watson and, of course,WTA legend and founder Billie Jean King,were all a part of a magical night at Royal

Albert Hall, helping Mylan WTT Smash Hitsraise more than $1 million for the Elton JohnAIDS Foundation, just the second time inthe event’s history that they crossed the $1million mark. The night featured fivematches, starting with Hingis & Watsonbeating Clijsters & Lisicki in women’s dou-bles, 5-4, followed by Tim Henman & JamieMurray beating John McEnroe & Andy Roddickin men’s doubles, 5-0. Lisicki then beatWatson in women’s singles, 5-3, followedby Hingis & McEnroe beating Clijsters &Murray in mixed-doubles, 5-3. The on-courtaction wrapped up with a 5-3 victory forHenman over Roddick in men’s singles. TeamBillie Jean beat Team Elton, 22-16.

Tweets from the prosl Andy Roddick (@andyroddick): London

I’ve missed you … Happy to be back!l Serena Williams (@SerenaWilliams):

You can do whatever you set your mind to.l Gael Monfils (@Gael_Monfils): Thx to

the @iptl for the amazing 3 weeks. Veryproud and lucky to be part of the first edi-tion. You guys rocked! Thank u so muchagain!

l Venus Williams (@VenusesWilliams):RT @EleVenbyVenus: Cutting ribbon on#WilliamsArena #WashDC, renovated@SETLC_Tennis. Six indoor courts #tennis4 kids!

l Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios): Toughrunning session with the star @KikiM-ladenovic—anytime.

l Milos Raonic (@MilosRaonic): Whenyou want something you go out and you getit. The best feeling is having put in all thatwork to have your aspirations come true!

l Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert): CouldGwen Stefani be any lovelier?

l Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole): #1.Thank you all, especially my #nolefam. Ithas been a crazy and wonderful year.

l Roger Federer (@RogerFederer): Thegreat moments I spent here will forever bein my memory. Thank you New Delhi!Tremendous crowd support! Forevergrateful

l Lindsay Davenport (@LDavenport76):Not in a hurry to leave. Two weeks in par-adise. Back to reality. See you soon Ko-

hanaiki. Love Kona.l Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal): Today is

#HumanRightsDay. All my support in cre-ating a more equal society.

l Victoria Azarenka (@Vika7): All aboutthe kids today @ChildrensLA I had a greattime meeting with all the kids and mak-ing their holiday more fun :)

l John Isner (@JohnIsner): My Canadianfriend, @domesticdrew, thinks Bret Hartwas better than the HBK ShawnMichaels. Can y’all please help out andsettle this 4 me.

l Caroline Wozniacki (@CaroWozniacki):From the Dubai International Film Festi-val. Loved the movie, Escobar ParadiseLost. Would definitely recommend it!

l Aga Radwanska (@ARadwanska): Sohappy to announce @Martina as thenewest member of my coaching team!

l Mardy Fish (@MardyFish): @JohnIsner,who wins the geek bowl today? Harvardor Yale?

l Sabine Lisicki (@SabineLisicki): Onemore tuff session to go & then Christ-mas shopping to get the last gifts! Haveyou got all your presents yet?! #hard-workouts #xmas

l Noah Rubin (@Noahrubin33): ThanksAir France 0 for 8 with baggage! Yourstats are unreal. Really messing up myday.

l Sloane Stephens (@SloaneTweets):Unless they know you PERSONALLY,don’t take it personal.

l Eugenie Bouchard (@GenieBouchard):6th anti-doping visit this off season …Think we’re good guys #tiredgenie

l Justin Gimelstob (@JustinGimelstob):I’m excited 2 be coaching @JohnIsner.He is a unique talent, I look forward 2helping him maximize his vast potential.

l Angelique Kerber (@angeliquekerber):My first helicopter flight was amazing!Looking forward to the next one!!!

l CoCo Vandeweghe (@cocovandey): IfI can feel your breath down the back ofmy neck, you are standing too close tome. #PersonalSpace

l Tomas Berdych (@tomasberdych):Happy new year world!! Let’s make2015 even more special!!

l Grigor Dimitrov (@grigordimitrov): Try-ing my own dish, well with a bit of helpof course. #cookingskills #healthylunch


By Lonnie Mitchel

It’s recruiting seasonagain for us collegecoaches. I’m on the road

quite often, driving my carto different tennis venues, diners andhomes, meeting several families whowant their children to get a great educa-tion and the opportunity to be a stu-dent/athlete playing tennis in college. The

dilemma for parents rears its head overand over, Division I or II vs. Division III? Inow have a theme to write about whilenavigating my vehicle on the countryroads en route to an indoor tennis facilityin chilly Rochester, N.Y. I want to be con-troversial, and I want to get your attentionin this article. What do I have to do? Ed-ucation first … not tennis.

So, here is the latest adventure in myrecruiting adventures as I fill out my ros-

ter for the upcoming 2015-2016 season.I met a young woman on this trip who ispossibly what many tennis coacheswould consider Division I tennis talent.They had another child who had playedDivision I sports, and they quickly dis-covered their error as the amount of timespent practicing the sport to fulfill thescholarship requirements was quite dis-proportionate to the time spent on study-ing and preparing for life after college.

A Collegiate Coach Recruiting Adventure:

On the Road Again


So here I am, talking to a family whosedaughter is now committed to and isgoing to play high-level tennis, and geta great education at a Division III institu-tion. This is all happening right here atthe college where I coach! I was suc-cessful. I got the message across to thisnice family. They got it … education willmake the ultimate difference.

Another tennis director of a New Yorkarea academy laughed when one of mymale players decided to commit and getan education while playing collegiate ten-nis at the college where I coach. That wasnot a misprint, the director really didlaugh. That same director, an individualwith more than 250 young children in hisprogram, has maybe three or four stu-dents in the academy that would actuallyget a sniff at my starting lineup. Maybe Ishould chuckle too, but I know that thereare so many institutions and divisions tochoose from. However, laughing at a stu-dent for playing collegiate tennis and get-ting a good education is deplorable. I do,however, have wonderful relationshipswith tennis academies who want to doright by their students by giving choices,and I commend them for it.

I am declaring war! I am declaring waron tennis academies that tout their pro-gram as the best and celebrate the stu-dents who go only to Division I colleges.Please give your students and parentsthe right information. Here is a statisticfor you, 87 percent of Division III athletesgraduate, and only 81 percent do so at

the Division I level. Seventy-five percentof student/athletes at the Division III levelreceive some form of non-athleticsgrants or scholarships and only 53 per-cent of Division I athletes receive athleticscholarship money. The grants andscholarships received at Division III usu-ally are more than the athletic scholarshipitself. Division III schools may not offerathletic scholarships, but they certainlyknow how to use grants and aid to helpreduce cost. Furthering the good newsfor athletes is that your ability in athleticscan help you even if it is a non-scholar-ship school that you are looking at. Thisprogram could be at the Division III level,but if they think you are good enough,they are going to find a number of differ-ent ways to help you out financially.

Scholarship money for sports is hardto come by–only the most talented ath-letes will qualify–and even if a coach isconsidering you for an athletic scholar-ship, most of these scholarships are notthe “free rides” that we all hear about.Many coaches are given a fixed amountof scholarships, but then may dividethem among several recruits, so the re-sult is that no single player receivesmore than a few thousand dollars. Thatis the truth. Then the coach will have theplayers up at 5:30 a.m. three days aweek or late at night in the offseasondoing their workouts. Don’t you wantyour sons and daughters rested andstudying? Don’t you want them gettinginto professional organizations and in-

terning in their intended profession aswell? Now, make no mistake about it, wework hard at Division III in season andonly in season. We travel, we dine to-gether, we stay at hotels, travel to warmdestinations and work hard at the craftof tennis … work very hard! We also turnout students who are very ready to tackletheir intended profession.

I am not declaring war on Division I orII institutions that all do a great job intheir athletic programs of course. I amonly declaring war on the tennis acade-mies that think only outstanding successlies in sending their tennis pupils to a Di-vision I institution.

Turn your nose up at us if you want to,but if you really want to add value to yourprograms, give your students thechoices that are really out there in thecollege marketplace. Parents wantchoices, kids want choices and you willbe adding to your credibility in a way thatyou never thought possible. Variety is thespice of life and there are more than 440Division III institutions to choose from,with 183,500 student athletes. They allcould not be wrong.

Lonnie Mitchel is head men’s andwomen’s tennis coach at SUNY Oneonta.Lonnie was named an assistant coach toTeam USA for the 2013 MaccabiahGames in Israel for the Grand MasterTennis Division. Lonnie may be reachedby phone at (516) 414-7202 or [email protected].

Tennis legends MonicaSeles and GabrielaSabatini will face eachother in a 25th anniver-sary rematch of theirfamed 1990 five-set

WTA Championship final in the2015 BNP Paribas Showdown, setfor March 10 at Madison SquareGarden in New York City. Selesleads the career head-to-head11-3 over Sabatini. In addition tothe Seles-Sabatini match, RogerFederer will face Grigor Dimitrovand headline the annual tennisshowcase.

The two legendary women’splayers were paired against eachother in the finals of the season-ending Virginia Slims Champi-onships at Madison SquareGarden. After nearly four hours oftennis, the second-seeded Seles, athen 16-year-old from Yugoslavia,outlasted the third-seeded Sabatini6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, in front of17,290 fans. Seles became theyoungest player to ever win thetournament and it was the first timetwo women played a five-set pro-fessional match since the 1901U.S. Nationals in Philadelphia.

“It will be great to be back on thecourt at Madison Square Garden,where I have so many fun memo-ries from playing the WTA Champi-onships,” said Seles. “The Showdown onWorld Tennis Day has become anotherevent at The Garden that all of the playerswant to play so I look forward to an excit-ing night of tennis with Gaby, Roger andGrigor. It should be a great event.”

Seles is a former world number one-ranked player and was inducted into the In-ternational Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.She won nine Grand Slam singles titles,

eight before the age of 20, and became theyoungest-ever French Open champion atthe age of 16. She was the year-end worldnumber one in 1991 and 1992, and playedher last professional match at the 2003French Open.

“New York has a very special place in myheart and to be back at Madison SquareGarden will be such a special moment,”said Sabatini. “I am very excited that I will

see and play Monica again.Throughout my career, I loved everytime I traveled to New York. I am ex-cited and I will look forward to beingpart of the World Tennis Day onMarch 10.”

Sabatini was one of the leadingplayers on the women’s circuit inthe late-1980s and early-1990s. TheArgentine won the women’s singlestitle at the U.S. Open in 1990, thewomen’s doubles title at Wimble-don in 1988, two WTA Year-EndChampionships in 1988 and 1994,and a silver medal at the 1988Olympic Games.

Headlining the night, Roger Fed-erer will return to MSG to faceGrigor Dimitrov. Federer, currentlyranked second in the world, willmake his third appearance in theBNP Paribas Showdown. Federerholds several men’s world records,including holding the world numberone ranking for an unprecedented302 weeks, including 237-consecu-tive weeks from 2004-2008, andwinning 17 Grand Slams.

The young rising star Dimitrov isoften compared to Federer, and iscurrently ranked 11th on the ATPMen’s Singles Rankings, and he willbe making his MSG debut. He re-cently cracked the top 10 when heclimbed to number eight afterreaching the Wimbledon semifinals

in 2014. Dimitrov is the only Bulgarian ten-nis player to ever be ranked in the top 10.He’s also the first Bulgarian to win an ATPsingles title (Stockholm in 2013) and reacha final in doubles (in 2011), as well as theonly one to reach the third round or betterat a Grand Slam tournament.

“It’s huge and I’m unbelievably excited. Idid have the honor twice already to do it,once against Pete Sampras and once

BNP Paribas Showdown to Feature Federer Meeting Dim


2015 BNP Paribas Showdown: Tale of the Tape

mitrov and Classic Matchup Between Seles and Sabatini

Swiss Nationality Bulgarian

August 8, 1981 Birth Date May 16, 1991

Basel, Switzerland Birthplace Haskova, Bulgaria

Bottmingen, Switzerland Residence Monte Carlo, Monaco

1998 Turned Pro 2008

Right-handed (one-handed backhand) Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

2 2014 Ranking 11

996-227 Career Singles Record 136-94

17 Grand Slam Titles 0

Roger Federer vs. Grigor Dimitrov

Hungarian/Yugoslavian Nationality Argentinean

December 2, 1973 Birth Date May 16, 1970

Novi Sad, Serbia Birthplace Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sarasota, Florida Residence Buenos Aires & Boca Raton, Florida

1989 Turned Pro 1985

Left-handed (two-handed both sides) Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

595-122 Career Singles Record 632-189

9 Grand Slam Titles 1

Monica Seles vs. Gabriela Sabatini

against Andy Roddick and both nightswere very special,” said Federer. “I’veplayed in many arenas and many coolplaces around the world but, there is noth-ing like MSG. That is why when I heardthere is another opportunity for me to comeback and people wanted to see me, it got

me going and I can’t wait for March 10.”The two top players faced each other

once before in Basel, Switzerland withFederer beating Dimitrov 6-3, 7-6 (2) in aquarterfinal match.

“Growing up, Roger was one of my he-roes,” said Dimitrov. “To play him on such a

stage is definitely an honor for me. I amreally happy and excited to be part of theevent since it is one of the biggest sport-ing venues. This will absolutely be differ-ent. I’m getting goose bumps thinkingabout it. I’m just going to really enjoy itand embrace the moment.”



T E N N I S R U S HCome play where the surf applauds every shot.

The Seaside Tennis Club at the legendary Mauna Kea Beach Hotel

on Hawaii Island.

1.866.977.4589 I MaunaKeaBeachHotel.com

The National Prize Money One-on-One Dou-bles Tournament and Live rockin’ blues con-cert returned to the USTA Billie Jean KingNational Tennis Center, with a great night oftennis and music. The tournament was wonby former Auburn Tiger player DanielCochrane, who defeated former ClemsonTiger Derek DiFazio in the finals, 6-1.Cochrane took home $1,000, while the run-ner-up DiFazio won $500. Former collegeplayers were all over the draw, as two formerFlorida Gators advanced to the semifinals.

One-on-One Doubles is the half-courtserve and volley singles game played on thedoubles court. All points are played cross-court with the alley included. This event isunique to the tennis industry, as both a protennis tournament and live concert takeplace simultaneously to create a fan-friendly,

One-on-One Doubles DirectorEd Krass, with event winnerDaniel Cochran, formerly ofAuburn; runner-up DerekDiFazio, former ClemsonTiger; and USTA Billie JeanKing National Tennis CenterDirector of Tennis WhitneyKraft

National Tennis Center Hosts Successful One-on-One Doubles Tournament

party-like atmosphere. The competition levelwas extremely high, as the winner of the ProOne-on-One Doubles Grand Prix Circuit,played in Florida earlier this year, was a par-ticipant at the National Tennis Center, alongwith a number of other national-level players.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis

Center supplied a great buffet of food anddrinks as recording artists, The F&G BluesBand, played their brand of blues as thematches progressed. Many thanks to One-on-One Doubles Director Ed Krass for putting onsuch a successful event. For more informa-tion, visit www.oneononedoubles.com.

37NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2015 • New York Tennis Magazine 373737NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2014 • New York Tennis Magazine

C O M I N G I N M A R C H 2 0 1 5

Submissions for both advertising and editorial are due by February 27, 2015For more information, please call 516-409-4444 or e-mail [email protected]

Distribution scheduled for 03/01/15

This edition will feature:• Guide to New York’s Top Tennis Camps• Guide to New York’s Top Court Builders

and Manufacturers• Australian Open Recap

Distribution across New York at 300+ locations:• Indoor tennis clubs• Country clubs• Restaurants and health food stores• Tennis camps• Retail stores• Gyms• Supermarkets and• Many more!

Don’t miss the advertising opportunities in the nextedition of New York Tennis Magazine March/April 2015!

The New York State Public HighSchool Athletic Association (NYSPH-SAA) Championships took place in

Latham, N.Y., as the top girls high schooltennis players traveled to upstate New Yorkto compete in the state championships.

Yuka Lin of the Mary Louis Academy inJamaica came extremely close to playing forthe state title. The eighth-seeded Lin playedexcellent in her opening match, defeatingClarence’s Nicole Kozinski 6-1, 6-0.

In the next round, she took on a fellowNew York City player, Bronxville’s ChrissySimon. Lin was able to outlast Simon 6-4,6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Shedrew a matchup with 2014 Suffolk County

Champion Courtney Provan of Half HollowHills West, and was able to advance afterProvan withdrew due to injury.

Unfortunately, the run would stop there forLin, who lost to Half Hollow Hills East’s EsterChikvashvili in the semifinals. Chikvashviliwould go on to capture the state singles title,defeating the fifth-seeded Tomo Iwasaki ofEdgemont, N.Y. in the finals.

St. Francis Prep in Fresh Meadows, N.Y.had a number of its players qualify for thetournament. Amalia Parrish and Lisa Ellieboth represented the school in the girls sin-gles bracket, but both fell short in their re-spective first-round matchups. The duo ofJulia Scapp & Abigail Raphael represented

the school in doubles, but lost a hard-fought two-set bout in the first round.

Lin wasn’t the only player from MaryLouis Academy in the state tournament, asCamille Uy and Mia Parrish were able toreach the second-round before falling shortin their next match.

In the doubles final, Oyster Bay’s CourtneyKowalsky & Celeste Matute defeated the top-seeded team of Sydney Kaplan & CourtneyOllis of Suffern 6-4, 6-4 top capture the GirlsDoubles Championship.

Brian Coleman is senior editor for New YorkTennis Magazine. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

2014 NYSPHSAA Singles Champion Ester Chikvashvili with the 2014 NYSPHSAADoubles Champions Celeste Matute & Courtney Kowalsky

New York

GirlsCompete for State Title

By Br ian Co leman



While most of their compatriotsare prepping for semester-endfinals, Wake Forest freshmanand 2014 Wimbledon boys’

champion Noah Rubin, along with Univer-sity of Virginia junior Julia Elbaba from NewYork; and UCLA senior Robin Andersonfrom New Jersey each took a break to winsingles matches leading the United Statesto a 4-1 victory over host France in theMaster’U BNP Paribas Finals.

The victories earned the U.S. its fourthstraight title at the international collegiateteam competition. Boise State men’scoach Greg Patton and California women’scoach Amanda Augustus served ascoaches for the team.

Elbaba, the USTA/ITA National IndoorIntercollegiate Champion, went 3-0 insingles over the three-day competition,as the U.S. team—also featuring Univer-sity of Georgia senior Nathan Pasha (At-

lanta), University of Virginia sophomoreThai-Son Kwiatkowski (Charlotte, N.C.)and UCLA senior Chanelle Van Nguyen(Miami)—defeated Ireland, Russia andFrance to bring the U.S. its fifth Master’U

title, all coming since 2009.Each match consisted of two men’s and

two women’s singles matches, one women’sand one men’s doubles match and a mixeddoubles match.

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2014 Grand SlamChampionsAustralian Open

l Men’s Singles: Stanislas Warwinka de-feated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3(winners’ prize money: $2,395,000)

l Men’s Doubles: Robert Lindstedt &Lukasz Kubot defeated Eric Butorac &Raven Klaasen 6-3, 6-3 (winners’ prizemoney: $470,000)

l Women’s Singles: Li Na defeatedDominika Cibulkova 7-6, 6-0 (winners’prize money: $2,395,000)

l Women’s Doubles: Sara Errani &Roberta Vinci defeated Elena Makarova& Elena Vesnina 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 (winners’prize money $470,000

l Mixed-Doubles: Kristina Mladenovic &Daniel Nestor defeated Sania Mirza &Horia Tecau 6-3, 6-2 (winners’ prizemoney: $135,500)

French Open

l Men’s Singles: Rafael Nadal defeatedNovak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 (win-ners’ prize money: $2,140,000)

l Men’s Doubles: Julien Benneteau &Edouard Roger-Vasselin defeatedMarcel Granollers & Marc Lopez 6-3, 7-6 (winners’ prize money: $520,000)

l Women’s Singles: Maria Sharapovadefeated Simona Halep 6-4, 6-7, 6-4(winners’ prize money: $2,140,000)

l Woman’s Doubles: Su-Wei Hsieh &Shuai Peng defeated Sara Errani &Roberta Vinci 6-4, 6-1 (winners’ prizemoney: $520,000)

l Mixed-Doubles: Anna-Leon Groenefeld& Jean-Julien Rojer defeated JuliaGeorges & Nenad Zimonjic 4-6, 6-2, 10-7 (winners’ prize money $548,000)

Wimbledon

l Men’s Singles: Novak Djokovic de-feated Roger Federer 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 5-7,6-4 (winners’ prize money: $2,860,000)

l Men’s Doubles: Vasek Pospisil & JackSock defeated Bob & Mike Bryan 7-6,6-7, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 (winners’ prizemoney: $525,000)

l Women’s Singles: Petra Kvitova de-feated Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0 (win-ners’ prize money: $2,860,000)

l Women’s Doubles: Sara Errani &Roberta Vinci defeated Timea Babos &Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-3 (winners’prize money: $525,000)

l Mixed-Doubles: Nenad Zimonjic &Sam Stosur defeated Max Mirnyi & Hai-Ching Chan 6-4, 6-2 (winners’ prizemoney: $163,000)

U.S. Open

l Men’s Singles: Marin Cilic defeated KeiNishikori 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 (winners’ prizemoney: $3,000,000)

l Men’s Doubles: Mike & Bob Bryan de-feated Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez6-3, 6-4 (winners’ prize money:$520,000)

l Women’s Singles: Serena Williams de-feated Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3(winners’ prize money: $3,000,000)

l Women’s Doubles: Elena Makarova &Elena Vesnina defeated Martina Hingis& Flavia Pennetta 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 (win-ners’ prize money: $520,000)

l Mixed-Doubles: Sania Mirza & Bruno

A Look Back at the YBY EMILIE KATZ

© 2012 USTA. All rights reserved.

Our facility features 18 outdoor courts, including 4 stadium courts, 12 indoor courts and 4 bubbled clay courts in our state of the art, 245,000 square foot indoor tennis facility.

We are open 11 months of the year and offer the following:

For more information call 718.760.6200 (ext. 0) or visit ntc.usta.com


continued on page 42

Soares defeated Abigail Spears &Santiago Gonzalez 6-1, 2-6, 11-9 (win-ners’ prize money: $150,000)

ATP Year-End Award Winners

l ATP World Tour Number One Player:Novak Djokovic clinched the ATP worldnumber one for a third time, also accom-plishing the feat in 2011-2012. Overall in2014, he won six titles, including Wim-bledon and four ATP Tour Masters 1000crowns.

l ATP World Tour Number One DoublesTeam: Bob Bryan & Mike Bryan will fin-ish as the number one duo in the ATPDoubles Team Rankings for a sixth suc-cessive year and record 10th time overall.The 36-year-old twins won nine titles in2014, including the U.S. Open and sixATP World Tour Masters 1000 events.

l ATP Stars of Tomorrow: This award ispresented to the youngest player in theTop 100 of the ATP rankings. BornaCoric, who began the season rankedoutside the top 300, broke into the top100 on Oct. 27 and reached a career-highranking of 92. The 17-year-old Croatianmade his Grand Slam debut as a qualifierat the U.S. Open. His biggest victory wasa win over Rafael Nadal in the semifinalsof a tournament in Switzerland.

l Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award:Fellow players voted Switzerland’sRoger Federer as the winner of the Ste-fan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the10th time and fourth year in a row.

l ATP Most Improved Player of the Year:Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut climbedfrom a year-end ranking of 59 last seasonto a career high of 14 in 2014. He claimedhis first ATP Tour title in June, and fin-

ished the season with 45 match wins, 19more than his previous career-high.

l ATP Comeback Player of the Year:After breaking his left wrist in September2013, David Goffin returned to the courtsat the beginning of 2014 with a ranking of110th in the world. By the end of June, heonly recorded two main draw wins, butafter Wimbledon, Goffin couldn’t stopwinning. He compiled a 44-4 matchrecord from July onwards. He finished theseason with a career-high ranking of 22.

l ATP Fan Favorite Singles Player: RogerFederer was voted Fan Favorite for arecord 12th straight year.

l ATP Fan Favorite Doubles Team: Bob& Mike Bryan set a record this year withtheir 10th time winning the award.

l Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award: Oneof Andy Murray’s best friends, formerplayer Ross Hutchins, was diagnosedwith Hodgkins Lymphoma, though thank-fully his cancer went into remission. An-other of Murray’s friends, British tennisplayer Elena Baltacha, was diagnosedwith cancer of the liver and passed awayat the age of 30. Wanting to help, Murraytook part in fundraising exhibitions forHutchins and Baltacha at Queens Club

and this fall, appeared in a sketch thatwas a part of Channel 4 in England’s“Stand Up to Cancer” programming.Murray has also raised awareness forUNICEF, United for Wildlife and MalariaNo More.

l Ron Bookman Media ExcellenceAward: San Francisco-based DouglasRobson has been the lead tennis writerfor USA Today since 2003. He has beena journalist for two decades, covering avariety of sports, business and general-interest topics.

WTA Year-End Award Winners

l WTA Fan Favorite Player: AgnieszkaRadwanska was voted by the fans asthe WTA Fan Favorite Player for thefourth straight year.

l WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team: TheItalian duo of Sara Errani & Roberta

Year That Was 2014


a look back at the year that was 2014 continued from page 41

Vinci have secured the year-end num-ber one ranking, as well as beingvoted fan favorites.

l WTA Fan Favorite Tournament: Thefans voted for the 2014 BNP ParibasWTA Finals Singapore presented bySC Global as their Favorite Tourna-ment of the Year.

l Fan Favorite WTA Match of theYear: Serena Williams vs. CarolineWozniaki from the 2014 WTA Finals,where Serena regained her compo-sure after smashing her racket andbeing on the brink of defeat to comeback to beat Wozniacki 2-6, 6-3, 7-6.

l WTA Player of the Year: AmericanSerena Williams finished 2014 as thenumber one ranked player on the WTATour. Serena’s 2014 season was high-lighted by six singles titles, includingone Grand Slam in Flushing Mead-ows, N.Y. at the 2014 U.S. Open.

l WTA Doubles Team of the Year:Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci finishedthe year as the top-ranked doublesteam for a third consecutive year.They have captured five titles in 2014,including the Australian Open in Mel-bourne and Wimbledon.

l WTA’s Most Improved Player of theYear: Eugenie Bouchard reached thesemifinals at three of the four GrandSlams this year and made it to the fi-nals at Wimbledon. She rose as highas number five in the WTA Women’sSingles Rankings this season, andalso qualified for the season-endingWTA Finals.

l WTA Newcomer of the Year: Seven-teen-year-old Belinda Bencic, whobecame the youngest player to reachthe U.S. Open quarterfinals in 17years this summer, was awarded theWTA Newcomer of the Year.

l Peachy Kellmeyer Player Service:Lucie Safarova earned this award be-cause of her support for fellow play-ers through initiatives such as theWTA Players Council.

l Karen Krantzcke SportsmanshipAward: Petra Kvitova was voted forthis award by her peers on the WTA

Tour. She was acknowledged becauseof her professionalism, attitude andsense of fair play.

l WTA Comeback Player of the Year:Mirjana Lucic-Baroni was a Wimble-don semifinalist at the age of 15, semi-retired in her mid-20s and is now theWTA Comeback Player of the Year atthe age of 32. Mirjana’s career hascome full circle, and her efforts wererecognized by winning this award.

Players who retired in 2014ATP Tour

Thirty-three-year-oldNikolai Davydenko re-tires as one of the great-est Russian players toplay on the ATP tour.Davydenko enjoyed a

career-best season in 2009, when he wonthree ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titlesand triumphed at the Barclays ATP WorldTour Finals. He also reached four GrandSlam semifinals and helped Russia to the2006 Davis Cup title.

Australian Paul Hanleywon 26 ATP World Tourdoubles titles in a 17-year career. The 36-year-old Hanley, who lived inLondon for 10 years, has

returned to Australia to take up a coachingand management role.

Twenty-nine-year-oldRoss Hutchins, whowon five doubles titlesand reached 14 ATPTour finals, has decidedto retire after a 13-year

career. He was diagnosed with HodgkinsLymphoma in December 2012, but re-turned to competitive tennis in January of2014 before announcing his retirementfrom the sport in September.

Israeli doubles specialistAndy Ram retired at theage of 34. He had agreat career, winningtwo Grand Slam mixed-doubles titles and one

men’s doubles crown.

WTA TourA m e r i c a n M a l l o r yBurdette, best knownfor reaching the thirdround of the U.S. Openin 2012, announced herretirement from pro-

fessional tennis after a year of shouldertroubles. She was just 23-years-old whenshe announced her exit from the sport inOctober 2014, after being inactive for overa year due to her shoulder injury.

Li Na, Asia’s first GrandSlam singles championretired in 2014, after a15-year career due to“chronic” knee injuriesat the age of 32. Ranked

sixth in the WTA Women’s Singles Rank-ings at the time of her retirement, she wonthe French Open in 2011 and the AustralianOpen in 2014, as well as helping popularizethe sport of tennis in Asia.


Out Perform, Out Last,Out Play, Out Shine

Tennis has become a game of strength, speed and endurance. When our tennis performance protocols are followed, we GUARANTEE the following improvements:

2-

newest training center is located at the in Ardsley, NY. Tennis specific performance training is offered daily.

For more information visit us at or call to speak with an Athletic Republic representative. When Being Good is Not Good Enough

USTA LEAGUES UPDATE

Congratulations to the following USTA Eastern Metro Regionteams for advancing to Nationals in their respective divisions:

18 & Overl 4.5 Men: Michael Doane (captain)l 3.5 Women: Jean Chin/Tamasine Wood-Creighton (captains)l 4.5 Women: Jen Pollack Reiner/Karen Urban (captains)

40 & Overl 4.5 Men: Ian Katz (captain)l 3.5 Women: Diane Ventura (captain)

Our 2015 Metro USTA leagues will be starting soon. The QueensMixed-Doubles League will be starting in mid-January. The Brook-

lyn and Bronx Mixed Leagues will start in January and February.League levels for mixed-doubles are 6.0, 7.0, 8.0, 9.0 and 10.0 (formixed-doubles levels, add each player’s individual rating, i.e.,3.5+3.5=7.0).

The 40+ League will be starting up in February, with separatemen’s and women’s teams. Those matches will consist of fivecourts, two singles and three doubles. Player’s turning the age of40 in the 2015 calendar year may participate. Matches will takeplace throughout the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.

If interested in playing on a team, please send an e-mail with yourname, contact info, NTRP Rating (if known, if not send a brief historyof your tennis background) to: [email protected]

Hope everyone had a happy holiday season and a great NewYear! Looking forward to a new year with lots of tennis!

adult league


By Lisa Dodson

Tennis is ever evolving.Professional playersare getting faster,

stronger and bigger at agreater rate. Rackets, strings, trainingmethods and strokes are changing justas fast. A broad spectrum of onlineteaching and information is at our finger-tips. Watching videos of the top playersand emulating them is thought to be the“best” way to do things. The result is anepidemic of misinformation given to themasses of players. Confusion aboundsand it is very disturbing.

Many club players, USTA league players,tournament players and tennis profession-als are highly influenced by what they seeand hear. This can be a good thing, giventhat the information or task an individual isattempting to perform is realistic and timelyfor their game. This can also be disastrousand end up halting good technique devel-opment and causing injury. The problem isthat players are not able to tell whetherthey are ready for, or even need, the

change that they think is so important. We’ll use the serve as an example. There

is no question that the serve is a prettycomplex stroke. It’s hard enough to pro-duce the basics without adding layers ofdifficulty.

Here is a list of basics that you need be-fore you can think about moving on to big-ger and better things:

l Continental gripl Racket edge traveling up to the balll A feeling of pronation (a throw like ac-

tion using elbow/forearm/wrist/hand)l Trunk and hip rotation for the racket

take back and toss arml A continuous and full drop of the racket

in the back of the motionl Stance set so that feet don’t have to

move (except lifting and turning theback foot)

l A straight-armed toss placed in front ofthe hitting shoulder

l Knowledge that as the front leg pushesup, the back leg pushes forward (andup)

l A slice serve

Here is a list of things to leave at thecourt door until you have your basics inplace:

l Pinpoint stance (moving the back footup to the front foot)

l Bringing toss arm parallel to the base-line

l Leaving the groundl A toss located over your headl A kick or topspin servel Attempts to hit hard, flat serves

The basics list above is pretty hefty.Make it your priority to check each itemoff of your list. If you do you should havesome pretty solid form. Then and onlythen, should you attempt to branch out.Remember, advanced technique is sim-ply the basics done extremely well. Withgood basics, broadening your game anddeveloping shot selection comes natu-rally.

Let’s create a fun scenario that com-pares a diver and a server at degree oflow difficulty. The beginner diver is reallyjust looking to stop belly flopping and the

Some Pitfalls of Modern Teaching Techniques


server just wants the ball to go over thenet and into the box. The diver stands atthe edge of the pool, nose plug on, bentover at the waist forming an upside downU, head down and hands pointed like andarrow overhead. They say a quick prayerand hope that they will land without painor hit the pool bottom. Success! Theyknow how to go head first into the poolsafely.

The tennis player hitting a serve with adegree of difficulty of one has many sim-ilar baseline characteristics. The serverstands at the baseline, holds a ball, holdsa racket, throws the ball up and hits it.They say a quick, “I hope this goes in,”and let it fly. Success! They can get theball into the box safely.

Should the diver now attempt to do ajackknife off the diving board and theserver attempt to hit a slice out wide be-cause they saw it on a video? Well, ofcourse not. Both need to keep develop-ing the right techniques, habits and skillsnecessary to perform the more difficultmovements. Most players lack a realisticpicture of what they are doing and it is

common for players to think they aredoing a certain thing when, in fact, theyare not. It is an easy mistake to unknow-ingly skip ahead and attempt a move-ment that does not fit into your game.

This is where the modern game canbackfire. Players see a serve that lookscool and are told by “experts” that this isthe way to do it. Don’t we realize that thepeople who are making this look so easyare dedicated students of the game andhigh level, highly motivated athletes?They have already checked off the list ofbasics above (plus some) years earlier.Those basics are the foundation of thegame from which they have made indi-vidual modifications and changes.

These days the most over used andmisunderstood technique currentlytaught is the pinpoint stance. It is unnec-essary for a majority of players and addsmany degrees of difficulty to the timing ofthe serve. There is a time and place foreverything. There are far more importantelements to address and conquer on theserve. On the other hand, some playersfeel more natural with the pinpoint. If this

is the case be sure to find a pro to helpyou that really knows how to make themost of it.

If you are a beginner player, it’s best toget some individual instruction initiallyfrom a real, live pro, who knows how toteach solid basics and holds you ac-countable. Anyone who lets you slide isnot doing the right thing by you. Remem-ber, as a beginner, you don’t know whatyou don’t know. Likewise, if you are anintermediate or advanced player, consulta professional who knows their stuff andcan figure out what is needed for you atyour stage in the game. Don’t get suckedinto all of the conflicting and confusinginformation available on our smartphonesand tablets. If you have questions, con-sult someone you trust with your tennisgame. It’s a whole lot more fun that way.

Lisa Dodson is owner of Servemaster atThe Total Serve, a USPTA Elite Pro, a for-merly world ranked player and radio showhost. She may be reached by e-mail [email protected] or visitwww.theto-talserve.com.

By Rob Polishook, Mental Training CoachMA, CPC

What’s the secret to sus-tained peak performance?

Let’s face it … this is the million dollar ques-tion! Federer, Monfils, Sharapova … allcompetitors are trying to solve this greatmystery.

In the next six articles through 2015, Iwill highlight a key principle called“More Than an Athlete: Person First.Athlete Second (MTAA.A1.P2)” which Ibelieve is the essential starting pointand guiding light to solving the mysteryof sustained peak performance. In someways it’s a paradox, it doesn’t requireworking harder, pushing, or evenpulling. However, it does require that theathlete “let go” and “be themselves” sothey are able to play from a groundedplace inside their zone. From this state,they will have the capacity and re-siliency to deal with challenges, obsta-cles, and adversity. Ultimately being

able to navigate pressure situationsfrom a clear perspective.

But, before we try to solve the mystery,let’s take a step back. Imagine a timewhen you watched a player who gotnervous, was tight or seemingly just frozeduring competition. You know that “Deerin the Headlights” look? We wonder …how can this happen especially when theathlete (maybe it’s even your own child)has performed the shot hundreds oftimes in practice? In fact, if we are hon-est with ourselves … many of us haveexperienced that situation when we com-pete. We know, and even feel, that thereis that “little something” that gets in theway of us reaching the next level.

What is usually holding an athlete backis NOT what’s on the outside. Yes, youread that right, it’s not the part thateveryone can see: The athletic talents,skills and technique. These skills can al-ways be improved upon. Isn’t it safe tosay hitting 100 extra forehands won’tmake a difference if the anxiety that theathlete is holding on the inside pervades

and makes him or her tight? In fact, itcould actually be counterproductive be-cause your developing bad habits.

The key is to look at the whole person,not just what’s on the outside. We alwaysneed to look at what’s on the inside ofthe person, what’s going on below thesurface. The block might be a confi-dence thing, a bad test result at school,the anxiety of losing, an argument with afriend, fear of a reoccurring injury, or acombination of things. But whether it’s asingle issue or an accumulation of is-sues, carrying an overwhelming load onthe court can impact your performanceevery time! Competitors are not robots,what’s on the inside affects how we playon the outside. Let me repeat … what’son the inside affects what’s on the out-side—it’s one and the same.

As coaches, parents and even players,we must look at the entire picture toproperly get the context of any situation.We must try to understand what the per-son is experiencing and exactly whichtriggers these errors/mistakes. The only

The Secret to Peak PerformanceMore Than an Athlete, A Person First ...

Athlete Second


way to do this is to look through the lensof the athlete as a person first and anathletic performer second. From thislens, we immediately see a wider per-spective, that of the whole person, notjust the athletic performance. This new-found visibility allows us to explore theentire picture, what’s happening both onthe inside and on the outside.

From the person first, athlete secondperspective, it’s clear to see playingtight blocks performance, or even chok-ing is not the problem. Rather, it’s asymptom to something else that the ath-lete is consciously or unconsciouslyholding which overwhelms them. It’s in-teresting to note, this overwhelm or oth-erwise known as a “freeze” response isactually an instinctual defensive reactionthat is normal and employed by animalsin the wild and humans for self-preser-vation. However, in the sports arena thisisn’t helpful.

When an athlete competes, they arenot just a tennis player, but a whole per-son. They are “More Than an Athlete!”Their unique story, distinctive spirit andauthentic self are what makes them whothey are. This is where their resilience,determination and unique style comefrom. This is the foundation on which theathlete should build on, NOT the charac-teristics of others. We all have our ownDNA and way in which we are wired, thatmakes us unique individuals. The key istapping into this uniqueness, not assim-

ilating to a one-size-fits-all mentality.Greatness (or flow) at any level startswith the person, and then transcendsthrough the performance.

So what happens if an athlete does notunderstand the synergy between them-selves, the person within the athlete?Usually, it’s a fast track to burnout, fearsand tears. Certainly they won’t be gettingthe most of themselves because they arepushing and pulling so hard that theyneglect their innate talents. If the coachdoes not understand the synergy, theywill be unable to connect with the player.The player will not trust the coach be-cause they know the coach doesn’t careabout them as a person, but only aboutthe sport. Of course you can see howthat is counterproductive to motivatingand inspiring a player/team. If the par-ents don’t understand the synergy, theywill unknowingly put heavy pressure andexpectations on their kids. The kids willfeel burdened and understand that theonly way to connect or get their parentsapproval is to play and succeed more.

Clearly this is an impossible uncontrol-lable situation for a child and leads tobad performance.

In the next edition of Long Island Ten-nis Magazine, I will further expand onsolving the mystery of sustained peakperformance on the court. Specifically, Iwill detail the five reasons that “MoreThan an Athlete. Person First. AthleteSecond” is so important and essential toyour child’s long-term success both onand off the court. This idea is so intuitive,simple and a clear way to guide andstrive for the best results. Once it’s beenseen, it cannot be unseen!

Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founderand director of Inside the Zone Sports Per-formance Group. He works with athletes inall sports at all levels helping them to breakthrough mental barriers and be their bestboth as a person and an athlete. Rob hasspoken to athletes, coaches, and parentsboth nationally at USTA, USPTA, ITA con-ferences, and internationally in India and Is-rael. Additionally, he is author of TennisInside the Zone: Mental Training Workoutsfor Champions. His work was recently fea-tured in ESPN’s latest 30 for 30 film calledFields of Fear. In prior years, Rob receivedthe USPTA-Eastern Division High SchoolCoach of the Year Award and coachedUSTA’s 16 and under Zonals. He may bereached by phone at (973) 723-0314, e-mail [email protected] or visitwww.insidethezone.com.

“Competitors are not

robots, what’s on the

inside affects how we

play on the outside.”


By Bill Longua

It sounds obvious that knowing your tennis strengths is a critical part of asuccessful tennis game, but it goes deeper than that to have success inmatches.

When you are confident in certain shots that you possess, it will help you de-termine a game plan in your matches. Not only does this apply to your assets, it will also helpyou hide the shots that are weaker. Let’s delve into a few examples.

It all begins in the warmup. You know what you want todo, but need to see the opponent’s strengths and weak-nesses before you can zero in on an actual game plan (notethat if you have already played the opponent, you are aheadof the game). Playing in USTA-sanctioned events will keepthe playing field fairly even due to the NTRP Rating System,and the same holds true for team tennis. I know readersfrom other countries have similar systems.

Let’s say you have a strong forehand but a weakbackhand and want to try to hide the backhand asmuch as possible. Here are three ways to try to ac-complish this:1. Hit cross-court: The opponent’s natural and easier re-sponse is to hit back cross-court, thus opening up a pow-erful forehand for you down the line.2. Hit down the middle so the opponent cannot create an-gles, which will make it more difficult to get a shot wide to

your backhand. With shots coming back to you down the middle, you will be able to steparound the backhand and hit your forehand.3. Use your offensive weapon to create opportunities to attack. When moving inside thebaseline to hit a forehand drive, hit the ball down your opponent’s weaker side and move for-ward towards the net. You will hopefully get a weak return for an easy volley. This will alsokeep the points shorter and hide that backhand.

The same holds true for all of your strengths, if yourbackhand is stronger, just reverse the above. If you havea great volley, then move in on all short balls or serve andvolley. I think you get the picture … do what you do best.

I also said to pick out weaknesses during warmups. Ifyou see one side is much weaker, then hit to that sidecontinually until an opening arises for an aggressive play.Maybe you noticed the opponent has a weak volley …then hit a lot of short balls to force your opponent up to

the net and take advantage.Remember, most matches are lost by making unforced errors due to poor shot selection.

By using your strengths and your opponent’s weaknesses, you will keep within a game plan,cut down on errors because you’re hitting your stronger shots more often.

Good luck on the court and have fun!

Bill Longua is the tennis director and head pro at Palm Island Resort in Cape Haze, Fla.Bill is a member of the USPTA, has been teaching tennis for more than 35 years and isthe author of Winning Test Strokes. Bill also enjoys teaching tennis on his Web site,www.onlinetennistraining.com. Search the Apple App Store or Google Play for Bill’s new117 lesson app, “Complete Tennis Mastery” or to purchase Bill’s book, visit www.onlineten-nistraining.com. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

KnowYour

TennisStrengths



By Richard Thater

Ifind it useful to ask stu-dents if they prefer to eattheir spaghetti right out

of the box, or if they preferto eat it cooked—al dente.

This image helps two types of students:those who hit very stiff strokes, and thosewho love to finish a stroke with a quick flickof the wrist.

For players who arm the ball, thinkingof cooked pasta helps them movethrough the kinetic chain for more fluidstrokes. For those with floppy strokes, thephrase “al dente” helps focus awarenesson controlling the stroke (a simple way tounderstand al dente is to think of thepasta as being cooked firm rather thancompletely water-logged).

Although good teaching suggests look-ing at the entire stroke when makingchanges, sometimes looking at only onepart magnifies mistakes and can lead toeasier corrections.

When I watch senior players try to copythe forehand topspin strokes used by mostpros today, I often recall how badly I dam-aged my arm because of mistakes I madeyears ago. Older players frequently use aContinental Grip, which can cause painwhen hitting a contact point in front ofyou. So I often see someone practicingthis shot with an open stance, not takingthe racket back in a unit turn, but taking

the full impact of the ball with mostly thewrist as they flick it over and down. The in-structional photographs used in trying todescribe top-spin in some of the tennismagazines in the 1960s usually showedsome weird contortions of the wrist in thisposition. The key is hitting up rather thanturning over the wrist.

So, keeping the al dente concept inmind, hitting a modern top-spin forehandstarts with the racket low, moving forwardwhile maintaining the strings parallel to thenet, and finishing with the strings still in aplane with the net as you roll your wrist intothe recovery position.

Thinking al dente helps keep the strokecontrolled throughout, with no wiggle-wag-gle from over-cooking. You might think ofthe motion of a forehand top-spin as beingsimilar to that of a windshield wiper. Hav-ing the wiper do a quick flick or bounce onthe windshield after each rotation wouldnot be a desirable goal.

Many studies have shown that keepingthe strings parallel to the net works forunder-spin, as well as for top-spin, al-though I have unsuccessfully tried todemonstrate this for myself.

It was great watching Roger Federer andStan Wawrinka in their Davis Cup doublesvictory. We had a chance to watch twogreat one-handed backhands, with differ-ent finishes to the stroke. Federer finishedwith a wrist flick, while Wawrinka kept afirm wrist throughout. Despite their differ-

ences, both players’ wrists moved onlyafter the ball had left their rackets. Theyboth hit their flat backhands with a rotatingshoulder, and their top-spin backhandswith a rising socket.

I want to digress briefly to look at thequestion of gross versus fine motor skills. Isuspect that players often rely on theirwrists when hitting because it gives thema smaller area, and fewer things to worryabout. Hitting a well-developed stroke re-quires a sequence of controlled steps—akinetic chain. A casual player may not wishto devote time to learning these skills.

With some children and older beginners,I have to watch that they do not sneak theirforefinger behind the handle in an attemptto approximate a mini-Eastern forehand.This is an extreme example of the un-cooked pasta mistake, since that forefingerhas no flex at all.

Hopefully, we can use these pasta im-ages to work on the flow, the sequence andthe kinetic chain of our strokes.

Best wishes for the New Year. Mangia,bon appetite!

Richard Thater is a long-time teacher andplayer on New York City courts. He is PTR-certified in both Junior and Adult Develop-ment, and has played in senior tournamentsin the Greater New York area. Richard cur-rently teaches at the West Side Tennis Club.He may be reached by phone at (917) 749-3255 or e-mail [email protected].

Make Your Strokes

Al DenteMake Your Strokes

Al Dente


By Dr. Tom Ferraro

This marks the final in-stallment in a serieswhich explored the

unique character and hiddensecrets of the top seven players in moderntennis. We talked about Roger Federer,Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, PeteSampras, Jimmy Connors and SerenaWilliams. But today, I will explore the personwho President Bill Clinton described as“The most important female in sports his-tory.” President Barack Obama awardedher the Medal of Honor for her work advo-cating for women and gay rights. Of courseI am talking about Billie Jean King, theSouthern California girl born in 1943 into areligious family and grew up playing publictennis. She was lucky enough to find a greatcoach in Clyde Walker, who nourished herpsychologically. She went on the win 32Grand Slam titles, including 12 singles titles.But her importance far exceeds her physicalachievements. Billie Jean King is really agifted moralist and political activist of thehighest order.

She was awarded Sportsman of the Yearin 1972 by Sports Illustrated, founded theWomen’s Sports Foundation and was thefirst to demand and obtain an equal shareof revenue on the tennis tour. When she firststarted playing the men were earning 12times what the women earned. Billie JeanKing was the one that changed all that. Shedid it with tenacity, moral courage, focusand determination.

On the court she was an aggressive netrusher with excellent speed. There is noquestion that she was a great player in herday. But clearly she will go down in historyfor more then what she did on the court.The reason we now see the name Billie

Jean King Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. isbecause of her leadership skills. If CharlesBarkley was not a role model then, BillieJean King surely was.

So when we ask the question, “What wasBillie Jean King’s secret and how do welearn from her we do not turn to her on courtprowess?” We ask instead of her moralleadership skills. John McEnroe stated shewas unquestionably the most importantperson in the history of women’s sports. Soto get at the answer to how all this hap-pened answer this, we must look at herchildhood development. ethical develop-ment more than her athletic development.She was the first born in a conservativeMethodist working class family and her par-ents taught her the value of “never givingup.”

Research on moral giftedness suggeststhat certain children are born with a height-ened sensitivity, compassion, intensity andsense of right and wrong. They are oftenvery protective of others and introverted.One of the leading researchers in this area,Kazimierz Dobrowski describes the morallygifted as delicate, gentle and idealistic. Theycan be unusually advanced in the areas ofpsychomotor development, sensuality,imagination, intellect or emotionality. It isobvious that Billie Jean King was one of

these children. She can be compared toJackie Robinson in men sports, a moraland courageous leader that transcendedand revolutionized her sport.

I am delighted that I got to end this serieson the modern champions by talking aboutBillie Jean King. Sport is a crucial functionthat allows the culture to remove them-selves from the stress of work and the oc-casional disappointments in one love life.In psychoanalysis, we refer to sports as anessential sublimatory activity, or in laymen’sterms, something that insures that youhave some fun in life. But Billie Jean Kinghas transcended even that function andplaces her on a political level. This is ex-tremely rare to see. In comparison, recallhow Tiger Woods responded to any mediaquestions when Martha Burke was makingheadlines addressing the lack of womenmembers at Augusta National Golf Club.Woods answered with scripted-near-per-fect political neutrality.

Billie Jean King will be remembered asthat rare athlete that transcended her sportand had global and cultural impact. Myguess is that her secret was partly becauseof good parenting and partly good genet-ics. The world of women’s sports is deeplyindebted to her. What we can learn here isthat you ought not ignore or underestimatethe power of the shy little idealists that youwill encounter in your life. These are theones who maybe just maybe will lead theworld into a better place. Thank you BillieJean King for all of your guts and all of yourgoodness.

For consultations, treatment or on-site vis-its, contact Dr. Tom Ferraro Ph.D., sportpsychologist, by phone at (516) 248-7189,e-mail [email protected] or visit www.dr-tomferraro.com.

Billie Jean KingGifted revolutionary, idealist, women’s rights activist and,

oh yeah ... she could play some excellent tennis too

HIDDEN SECRETS OF THE GREATS


NEW YORK TENNIS CLUB DIRECTORY

CENTERCOURT PERFORMANCE

TENNIS CENTER

Clay Bibbee—Managing Partner and Academy Founder65 Columbia Road Morristown, NJ 07960(973) [email protected]

GOTHAM TENNIS ACADEMY

Eric Faro—Director of Tennis358 W. End Ave #3ANew York, NY 10024(646) [email protected]

MANHATTAN PLAZA

RACQUET CLUB

Gertrud Wilhelm—General Manager450 West 43rd StreetNew York, NY 10036(212) 594-0554gwilhelm@advantagetennisclubs.comwww.advantagetennisclubs.com

MIDTOWN TENNIS CLUB

Jennifer Brown—Director341 8th AvenueNew York, NY 10001(212) [email protected]

NEW ROCHELLE TENNIS CLUB

Juan Rios—Tennis Director114 Valley RoadNew Rochelle, NY(914) 633-3388www.newrochelletennisclub.com

NEW YORK TENNIS CLUB

Lauren Hartman—General Manager3081 Harding AvenueBronx, NY 10465(718) [email protected]

ROOSEVELT ISLAND

RACQUET CLUB

Tom Manhart—Membership Director281 Main StreetRoosevelt Island, NY 10044(212) [email protected]

SPORTIME HARBOR ISLAND

Carlos Campo—General Manager & Director of TennisIn Harbor Island ParkP.O. Box 783Mamaroneck, NY 10543(914) [email protected]/harbor-island

SPORTIME RANDALL’S ISLAND

Flagship Home of the John McEnroe Tennis AcademyJared Karlebach—Assistant General ManagerAllison Hodgkins—Assistant General Manager One Randall’s IslandNew York, NY 10035(212) [email protected]@sportimeny.comwww.sportimeny.com/manhattan

SPORTIME LAKE ISLE

Westchester Annex of the John McEnroe Tennis AcademyHarel Srugo—General Manager660 White Plains RoadEastchester, NY 10709(914) [email protected]/lake-isle

SPORTIME SCHENECTADY

Jed Murray—General ManagerPhilippe Ceas—Director of Tennis2699 Curry RoadSchenectady NY 12303(518) [email protected]/lake-isle

STADIUM TENNIS CENTER

AT MILL POND

Joel Kassan—Executive Director725 Gateway Center Boulevard Bronx, NY 10451(718) [email protected]

TENNIS INNOVATORS NYC

Juan Andrade—Executive Director520 2nd Avenue (Kips Bay Court)899 10th Avenue (John Jay Court)New York, NY(646) 476-5811www.tennisinnovators.com

USTA BILLIE JEAN KING

NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER

Whitney Kraft—Director of TennisFlushing Meadows Corona ParkFlushing, NY 11368(718) [email protected]

WEST SIDE TENNIS CLUB

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

N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G S


Boys & Girls

Metro Rankings(as of 12/15/14)

BOYSMetro Boys 12 SinglesRank..Name................................City1 ........Brandon Torres ..............Bronx, N.Y.

2 ........Winter Forest Fagerberg ..New York, N.Y.

3 ........Donovan Spigner ..........New York, N.Y.

4 ........Paul Elghouayel ............New York, N.Y.

5 ........Daniel Gordon................New York, N.Y.

6 ........Guy Ferrera ....................New York, N.Y.

7 ........Dylan Lachmanen..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

8 ........Ryan David Brandes......Rego Park, N.Y.

9 ........Bradley Bennett ............New York, N.Y.

10 ......Solomon Brown ............New York, N.Y.

11 ......Matthew Mosejczuk ......East Elmhurst, N.Y.

12 ......Evan Friedmann ............New York, N.Y.

13 ......Sabian Kosinov..............Forest Hills, N.Y.

14 ......Alexander Oh ................New York, N.Y.

15 ......Nicholas Laffont ............New York, N.Y.

16 ......Eric Dubilirer ..................Little Neck, N.Y.

17 ......Jasper August Hunt ......New York, N.Y.

18 ......Kole Henry Moses ........New York, N.Y.

19 ......Rafe Photopoulos..........New York, N.Y.

20 ......Ty Switzer ......................New York, N.Y.

21 ......Cooper Williams ............New York, N.Y.

22 ......Sachin Palta ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.

23 ......Jonathan Rabinowitz ....Bayside, N.Y.

24 ......Marko R. Gural ..............New York, N.Y.

25 ......Neel Epstein ..................New York, N.Y.

26 ......Yesh Nikam....................New York, N.Y.

27 ......Gabriel E. Chiha ............Staten Island, N.Y.

28 ......Nicholas Suhanitski ......Staten Island, N.Y.

29 ......Jeffrey Yu ......................Forest Hills, N.Y.

30 ......Mike William Shepard....New York, N.Y.

31 ......Allen P. Brinzensky ........Staten Island, N.Y.

32 ......Albert Y. Wan..................Forest Hills, N.Y.

33 ......Hudson Beaudoin..........New York, N.Y.

34 ......Mathias Isaac Davila......Whitestone, N.Y.

35 ......Tyler James DelZoppo ..New York, N.Y.

36 ......Jonathan Laforest..........Queens Village, N.Y.

37 ......Joshua Staroselskiy ......Brooklyn, N.Y.

38 ......Milan Jain ......................New York, N.Y.

39 ......Nicholas Murphy............New York, N.Y.

40 ......Christopher Rojas..........Flushing, N.Y.

Metro Boys 14 SinglesRank..Name................................City1 ........Igor Maslov ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

2 ........Daniel Leon-Maseyev....Brooklyn, N.Y.

3 ........Christopher Tham..........Flushing, N.Y.

4 ........Christian Rabinowitz......Bayside, N.Y.

5 ........Robbie F. Werdiger ........New York, N.Y.

6 ........Jonathan Glinsky ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

7 ........Donald James Smith ....Roosevelt Island, N.Y.

8 ........Leaf Fagerberg ..............New York, N.Y.

9 ........Blake Frank ....................New York, N.Y.

10 ......Eli Taylor-Kerman ..........New York, N.Y.

11 ......Matthew Mosejczuk ......East Elmhurst, N.Y.

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

13 ......Dylan Conner Charles ..New York, N.Y.

14 ......Jack Mascone ..............New York, N.Y.

15 ......Alfonso Laffont ..............New York, N.Y.

16 ......Michael Kaydin ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

17 ......Gabriel Isaac Rissman ..Brooklyn, N.Y.

18 ......Ethan King......................New York, N.Y.

19 ......David Krasner ................Staten Island, N.Y.

20 ......Jai Madisetty..................Flushing, N.Y.

21 ......Tyler Kats........................New York, N.Y.

22 ......Leonidas Vrailas ............New York, N.Y.

23 ......Alex Portnoy ..................New York, N.Y.

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

25 ......Julian Szuper ................New York, N.Y.

26 ......Ameer Hosain ................New York, N.Y.

27 ......Jeffrey McCready ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

28 ......Alexander L. Chiu ..........New York, N.Y.

29 ......Michael Gechka ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

30 ......Wesley Zhang ................Staten Island, N.Y.

31 ......Sadi Guicelik ..................New York, N.Y.

32 ......Scott Fischer..................New York, N.Y.

33 ......Alexander Petrov ..........Middle Village, N.Y.

34 ......Robert Shinder ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

35 ......Michael Lee Jozoff ........New York, N.Y.

36 ......Justin S. Taub ................New York, N.Y.

37 ......Peter Frelinghuysen ......New York, N.Y.

38 ......Noah D. Edelman ..........New York, N.Y.

39 ......Andre Agregado ............New York, N.Y.

40 ......Benjamin Goldstein ......New York, N.Y.

Metro Boys 16 SinglesRank..Name................................City1 ........Justin Arrington-Holmes..New York, N.Y.

2 ........Wiley Schubert Reed ....Brooklyn, N.Y.

3 ........Fayed Fayaz Uddin........Elmhurst, N.Y.

4 ........Nicholas Pustilnik ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

5 ........Igor Maslov ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

6 ........Gabriel Sifuentes ..........Flushing, N.Y.

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

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

9 ........Leaf Fagerberg ..............New York, N.Y.

10 ......Michael Kamsky ............New York, N.Y.

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

12 ......Tanner Ross Bhonslay ..New York, N.Y.

13 ......Richard Wickman ..........Bayside, N.Y.

14 ......Mark Karpovas ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

15 ......Oliver Jaskowski............Bayside, N.Y.

16 ......Stephen Mai ..................Flushing, N.Y.

17 ......Joseph Zac Namtalov ..Staten Island, N.Y.

18 ......Daniel Ertel ....................New York, N.Y.

19 ......Eli Taylor-Kerman ..........New York, N.Y.

20 ......Christopher Tham..........Flushing, N.Y.

21 ......Justin Belnavis ..............Jamaica, N.Y.

22 ......Benjamin Thier ..............New York, N.Y.

23 ......Simon Ross Heinberg....New York, N.Y.

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

25 ......Bojidar Todorov..............Rego Park, N.Y.

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

27 ......Bryan Chu ......................Flushing, N.Y.

28 ......Barak Harari ..................Hollis, N.Y.

29 ......Damon Watson..............New York, N.Y.

30 ......Jonathan Shapiro ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

31 ......Daniel Davis ..................New York, N.Y.

32 ......Andre Agregado ............New York, N.Y.

33 ......Ameer Hosain ................New York, N.Y.

34 ......Robert Freitag ................New York, N.Y.

35 ......Yarden Hahn ..................New York, N.Y.

36 ......Alexander Kucherina ....Brooklyn, N.Y.

37 ......Derek Lung ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

38 ......Brandon Huang ............New York, N.Y.

39 ......Arthur Elghouayel ..........New York, N.Y.

40 ......Jonathan Coden ............Bronx, N.Y.

Metro Boys 18 SinglesRank..Name................................City1 ........Adam Lane Bernstein....New York, N.Y.

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

3 ........Nicholas Pustilnik ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

4 ........Michael Gardiner ..........New York, N.Y.

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

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

7 ........Marco Vonderheide ......New York, N.Y.

8 ........Richard Wickman ..........Bayside, N.Y.

9 ........Arthur Elghouayel ..........New York, N.Y.

GIRLSMetro Girls 12 SinglesRank..Name................................City1 ........Nadejda Maslova ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

2 ........Masha Serjantov............New York, N.Y.

3 ........Rachel Zhang ................Forest Hills, N.Y.

4 ........Rebecca Sitkovetsky ....Staten Island, N.Y.

5 ........Sage Loudon ................New York, N.Y.

6 ........Alyssa An ......................New York, N.Y.

7 ........Alina Kargin-Utkin..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

8 ........Nathalie Williams ..........New York, N.Y.

9 ........Sarah Lucy Youngberg ..New York, N.Y.

10 ......Beyonce Blake ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

11 ......Nicolette Fundator ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

12 ......Leila M. Epstein ............New York, N.Y.

13 ......Niki Truszkowski ............Middle Village, N.Y.

14 ......Blakely Dushkin ............New York, N.Y.

15 ......Katherine Krieger ..........New York, N.Y.

16 ......Sofia Allinson ................New York, N.Y.

17 ......Samantha Bentsianov ..Staten Island, N.Y.

18 ......Celina Liu ......................Forest Hills, N.Y.

19 ......Angelica Schell ..............New York, N.Y.

20 ......Nicole Bolkunova ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

21 ......Elizabeth Serjantov........New York, N.Y.

22 ......Cassie Tian ....................Flushing, N.Y.

23 ......Bukky Alalade ................Rosedale, N.Y.

24 ......Michelle Kleynerman ....Staten Island, N.Y.

25 ......Medina Garunja ............Bronx, N.Y.

26 ......Shakima Hotaki..............Flushing, N.Y.

27 ......Julia Gottschalk ............New York, N.Y.

28 ......Piper Sydney Brown......New York, N.Y.

29 ......Josephine Kimball ........New York, N.Y.

30 ......Sofie Shen......................New York, N.Y.

31 ......Sheyna Esther Karen ....New York, N.Y.

32 ......Alyssa Pustilnik ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

33 ......Maxie Molly Karen ........New York, N.Y.

34 ......Nia Lashawn Dabreo ....Brooklyn, N.Y.

35 ......Nicole Wooyin Lee ........New York, N.Y.

36 ......Natalie Eordekian ..........Woodside, N.Y.

37 ......Ksenia Kulakova ............New York, N.Y.

38 ......Emma Eisenberg ..........New York, N.Y.

39 ......Brooke Hoffman ............New York, N.Y.

40 ......Sophia Cisse..................New York, N.Y.

Metro Girls 14 SinglesRank..Name................................City1 ........Amy Kaplan....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

2 ........Rebecca Sitkovetsky ....Staten Island, N.Y.

3 ........Casey Angelica Brandes Rego Park, N.Y.

4 ........Hillary Sherpa ................Astoria, N.Y.

5 ........Rebecca Izyayeva..........Staten Island, N.Y.

6 ........Nadejda Maslova ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

7 ........Tomi Alalade ..................Rosedale, N.Y.

8 ........Barbara Podvorchani ....Bronx, N.Y.

9 ........Sofia Kate Levine ..........New York, N.Y.

10 ......Taylor Simone Williams..New York, N.Y.

11 ......Cassie Tian ....................Flushing, N.Y.

12 ......Caroline Paige Kantor....New York, N.Y.

13 ......Karolina Lankamer ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

14 ......Theodora Vrailas............New York, N.Y.

15 ......Joanna Urena ................Hollis, N.Y.

16 ......Josephine Kimball ........New York, N.Y.

17 ......Julia Gottschalk ............New York, N.Y.

18 ......Alexandra Coulombe ....New York, N.Y.

19 ......Rebecca MacDonald ....Brooklyn, N.Y.

20 ......Naomi Park ....................New York, N.Y.

21 ......Lauren Wooyoung Lee ..New York, N.Y.

22 ......Kate Yamin ....................New York, N.Y.

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


25 ......Nicolette Fundator ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

26 ......Amalia M. Parrish ..........Queens Village, N.Y.

27 ......Diana McCready............Brooklyn, N.Y.


29 ......Nicole Mika ....................Staten Island, N.Y.

30 ......Nicole Sin Ming Chu......Flushing, N.Y.

31 ......Maxine Zaretsky ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

32 ......Leah Margulies ..............New York, N.Y.

33 ......Masha Serjantov............New York, N.Y.

34 ......Mia Parrish ....................Queens Village, N.Y.

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

36 ......Sophia Africk..................New York, N.Y.

37 ......Maryna Bohdanovska ..Brooklyn, N.Y.

38 ......Alleyah Katherine Ally ....Bellrose, N.Y.

39 ......Anastasya Menshikova Brooklyn, N.Y.

40 ......Sarah Anne Fassberg ....New York, N.Y.

Metro Girls 16 SinglesRank..Name................................City1 ........Tamila Latif-Zade ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

2 ........Natalie Marguiles ..........New York, N.Y.

3 ........Amy Kaplan....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

4 ........Liana I. Weitzman ..........Whitestone, N.Y.

5 ........Denise Marie Trerotola ..Brooklyn, N.Y.

6 ........Gianna Gaudio ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

7 ........Sophia Hartman ............New York, N.Y.

8 ........Kelsey Emma Gund ......New York, N.Y.

9 ........Kayla Schumacher ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

10 ......Rebecca Xinyue Zhou ..New York, N.Y.

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

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

13 ......Sarah Hirschfield ..........New York, N.Y.

14 ......Barbara Podvorchani ....Bronx, N.Y.

15 ......Gabrielle Eitkas ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

16 ......Nicole Khorosh ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

18 ......Joanna Urena ................Hollis, N.Y.

19 ......Anu Alalade....................Rosedale, N.Y.

20 ......Grace L. Kennedy..........New York, N.Y.

21 ......Tomi Alalade ..................Rosedale, N.Y.

22 ......Elizabeth Khusid ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

23 ......Shelby Lau ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

24 ......Isabella Rendon ............Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

25 ......Anastasya Menshikova ..Brooklyn, N.Y.

26 ......Gianna Medici................Bayside Hills, N.Y.

27 ......Anastasia Lukyanovich..Brooklyn, N.Y.

Metro Girls 18 SinglesRank..Name................................City1 ........Julia Zbarsky..................New York, N.Y.

2 ........Tamila Latif-Zade ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

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



Boys & Girls

Sectional Rankings(as of 12/04/14)

BOYSSectional Boys 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank Name............................City3 ........Noah Edelman ..............New York, N.Y.

12 ......John-Thomas Bilski ......New York, N.Y.

13 ......Joseph Wilkanowski......Long Island City, N.Y.

15 ......Brandon T. Cohen..........New York, N.Y.

16 ......Wesley Zhang ................Staten Island, N.Y.

19 ......Maxwell Kachkarov ......Flushing, N.Y.

22 ......Donovan Brown ............New York, N.Y.

27 ......David Krasner ................Staten Island, N.Y.

29 ......Ty Switzer ......................New York, N.Y.

30 ......Sebastian Sec................New York, N.Y.

34 ......Charles Phillips ..............New York, N.Y.

40 ......Sidharth Chawla ............New York, N.Y.

41 ......Anthony Cataldo............Brooklyn, N.Y.

42 ......Hudson Beaudoin..........New York, N.Y.

43 ......Jasper August Hunt ......New York, N.Y.

47 ......Tyler Korobov ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

49 ......Sachin Palta ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.

52 ......Winter Fagerberg ..........New York, N.Y.

60 ......Mitchel Pertsovsky ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

65 ......Solomon Brown ............New York, N.Y.

71 ......Gunnar S. Overstrom ....New York, N.Y.

72 ......Jace Alexander ..............New York, N.Y.

77 ......Donovan Spigner ..........New York, N.Y.

78 ......Brandon Torres ..............Bronx, N.Y.

79 ......Nash Crofoot Johnson ..New York, N.Y.

81 ......Bradley Bennett ............New York, N.Y.

85 ......Nicholas Murphy............New York, N.Y.

87 ......Nicholas Scott DoupsasNew York, N.Y.

92 ......Jeffrey Yu ......................Forest Hills, N.Y.

94 ......Benjamin Ebanks ..........New York, N.Y.

100....Noah Abels Eisenberg ..New York, N.Y.

107....Evan Friedmann ............New York, N.Y.

117....Kole Henry Moses ........New York, N.Y.

118....Eric Dubilirer ..................Little Neck, N.Y.

120....Ryan David Brandes......Rego Park, N.Y.

121....Cooper Williams ............New York, N.Y.

122....Paul Elghouayel ............New York, N.Y.

124....Daniel Gordon................New York, N.Y.

125....Guy Ferrera ....................New York, N.Y.

131....Jack Benavides ............New York, N.Y.

138....Adrien Svilen Jippov......New York, N.Y.

143....Ryuichi Nitta ..................Bronx, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank Name............................City13 ......Igor Maslov ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

16 ......Gary Fishkin ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

20 ......Steven Nazaroff ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

24 ......Derek Raskopf ..............New York, N.Y.

29 ......Jeffrey Gorilovsky ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

31 ......Ethan Leon ....................Woodhaven, N.Y.

33 ......Nicholas Pustilnik ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

36 ......Oliver Jevtovic ..............Astoria, N.Y.

37 ......Jeffrey Fradkin ..............New York, N.Y.

41 ......Sam Vagner....................Staten Island, N.Y.

43 ......Jonah Jurick ..................New York, N.Y.

45 ......Dylan Friedman..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

55 ......Richard Zusman ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

63 ......Alexander Petrov ..........Middle Village, N.Y.

66 ......Noah Edelman ..............New York, N.Y.

67 ......David Raphael Weiner ..Forest Hills, N.Y.

71 ......Kai Yuminaga ................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

72 ......Robbie F. Werdiger ........New York, N.Y.

76 ......Jeffrey McCready ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

77 ......Alexander Chiu ..............New York, N.Y.

78 ......Donovan Brown ............New York, N.Y.

82 ......David Mizrahi ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

86 ......Gabriel Isaac Rissman ..Brooklyn, N.Y.

88 ......Alexander Nielsen..........New York, N.Y.

92 ......Brandon T. Cohen..........New York, N.Y.

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

96 ......Christopher Tham..........Flushing, N.Y.

100....Derek Lung ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

102....William Phillips ..............New York, N.Y.

105....Tristan Taylor ..................New York, N.Y.

113....Ryan McCook................Saint Albans, N.Y.

114....Daniel Leon Maseyev ....Brooklyn, N.Y.

116....Blake Frank ....................New York, N.Y.

117....David Krasner ................Staten Island, N.Y.

124....Henry Hochfelder ..........New York, N.Y.

128....Oliver Obeid ..................New York, N.Y.

135....Ameer Hosain ................New York, N.Y.

139....Tyler Kats........................New York, N.Y.

147....Christian Rabinowitz......Bayside, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank Name............................City10 ......Ananth Raghavan ..........New York, N.Y.

17 ......Aleksandar Kovacevic ..New York, N.Y.

18 ......Sumit Sarkar ..................New York, N.Y.

24 ......Mitchell Ostrovsky ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

31 ......Calvin Chung ................Bronx, N.Y.

39 ......Gary C. Fishkin ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

51 ......Jeffrey Gorilovsky ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

69 ......Robert Kennedy ............New York, N.Y.

76 ......Sam Vagner....................Staten Island, N.Y.

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

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

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

87 ......Cole Gittens ..................New York, N.Y.

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

92 ......Jordan D. Jordan ..........Astoria, N.Y.

96 ......David Mizahi ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

98 ......Allan Ethan Magid..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

103....Adam Bryan Borak ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

109....Adam Bernstein ............New York, N.Y.

120....Jared Fields....................New York, N.Y.

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

125....Gabriel Sifuentes ..........Flushing, N.Y.

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

Sectional Boys 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank Name............................City2 ........Oliver Sec ......................New York, N.Y.

8 ........Daniel Kerznerman ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

22 ......Christopher Auteri..........Staten Island, N.Y.

23 ......Felipe Osses-Konig ......Rego Park, N.Y.

24 ......Ananth Raghavan ..........New York, N.Y.

28 ......Victor Miglo....................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

30 ......Ethan Nittolo ..................Flushing, N.Y.

31 ......Marcus T. Smith ............Little Neck, N.Y.

38 ......James Wasserman........New York, N.Y.

59 ......Maurice Russo ..............New York, N.Y.

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

61 ......Artemie Amari ................New York, N.Y.

65 ......Faris Nathoo ..................New York, N.Y.

95 ......Alexander Thrane ..........New York, N.Y.

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

107....Alex Chao ......................New York, N.Y.

109....Leonard Margolis ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

114....Brett W. Jones ..............New York, N.Y.

117....Jordan D. Jordan ..........Astoria, N.Y.

121....Win Smith ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

124....Jack Haroche ................New York, N.Y.

136....Michael Gardiner ..........New York, N.Y.

137....Edan Lee Sossen ..........Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

GIRLSSectional Girls 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank Name............................City4 ........Dakota Fordham............New York, N.Y.

7 ........Nadejda Maslova ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

11 ......Miriam Aziz ....................Staten Island, N.Y.

17 ......Elvina Kalieva ................Staten Island, N.Y.

23 ......Daniella Benabraham ....New York, N.Y.

26 ......Lorraine Bergmann........Forest Hills, N.Y.

27 ......Khyanna Singh ..............Queens Village, N.Y.

29 ......Shawnte Beale ..............Bronx, N.Y.

31 ......Rebecca Eliana Fisch ....New York, N.Y.

32 ......Lena Kovacevic ............New York, N.Y.

34 ......Karolina Lankamer ........Brooklyn, N.Y.


38 ......Isabella Cooper..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

41 ......Rachel Rubenzahl..........New York, N.Y.

43 ......Zoe Kava........................New York, N.Y.


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

54 ......Sarah Youngberg ..........New York, N.Y.

55 ......Gabriella Eitkis ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

56 ......Natalie Eordekian ..........Woodside, N.Y.

58 ......Sabrina Boada ..............Woodhaven, N.Y.

70 ......Masha Serjantov............New York, N.Y.

74 ......Rachel Zhang ................Forest Hills, N.Y.

76 ......Sage Loudon ................New York, N.Y.

81 ......Nathalie Williams ..........New York, N.Y.

96 ......Elizabeth Serjantov........New York, N.Y.

99 ......Alyssa An ......................New York, N.Y.

108....Niki Truszkowski ............Middle Village, N.Y.

110....Alina Kargin-Utkin..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

115....Michelle Tikhonko..........Forest Hills, N.Y.

119....Kassia Taylor ..................New York, N.Y.

126....Deliala Friedman............Brooklyn, N.Y.

127....Lara Rose Berliner ........New York, N.Y.

132....Beyonce Blake ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

134....Nicolette Fundator ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

136....Kasia Ojar ......................New York, N.Y.

141....Katherine Krieger ..........New York, N.Y.

143....Piper Sydney Brown......New York, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank Name............................City4 ........Shelly Yaloz....................Little Neck, N.Y.

7 ........Michelle Sorokko ..........Little Neck, N.Y.

10 ......Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

11 ......Aleksandra Bekirova......Brooklyn, N.Y.

15 ......Nicole Semenov ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

16 ......Rosie Garcia Gross........New York, N.Y.

24 ......Anastasia Koniaev ........Forest Hills, N.Y.

27 ......Katherine Kachkarov ....Flushing, N.Y.

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

30 ......Christina Huynh ............Astoria, N.Y.

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

33 ......Chelsea Williams............Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

40 ......Perene Wang ................New York, N.Y.

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

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

47 ......Katelyn Walker ..............New York, N.Y.

48 ......Diana McCready............Brooklyn, N.Y.

53 ......Amanda Solecki ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

55 ......Marie Ivantechenko ......Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

59 ......Rebecca Eliana Fisch ....New York, N.Y.

60 ......Diana Sosonkin..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

61 ......Elvina Kalinova ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

62 ......Barbara Podvorchani ....Bronx, N.Y.

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

74 ......Isabella Sinclair Cooper Brooklyn, N.Y.

76 ......Gabriella Eitkis ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

83 ......Giuliana Rosa Gibson....Bayside, N.Y.

87 ......Audrey Pacthod ............New York, N.Y.

91 ......Rachel Rubenzahl..........New York, N.Y.

92 ......Sofie Kate Levine ..........New York, N.Y.

93 ......Nadejda Maslova ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

104....Grace L. Kennedy..........New York, N.Y.

105....Shakima Hotaki..............Flushing, N.Y.

106....Amy Kaplan....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

109....Emily Moczulski ............Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

120....Zoe Kava........................New York, N.Y.

122....Anastasiya Chesnokova..Staten Island, N.Y.

130....Amalia M. Parrish ..........Queens Village, N.Y.

134....Rebecca Sitkovetsky ....Staten Island, N.Y.

135....Daniela Hernandez ........Corona, N.Y.

136....Caroline Paige Kantor....New York, N.Y.

139....Anastasya Menshikova Brooklyn, N.Y.

140....Maryna Bohdanovska ..Brooklyn, N.Y.

142....Casey Brandes ..............Rego Park, N.Y.

145....Anna Tselikovskaya ......New York, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank Name............................City10 ......Brianna Williams ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

13 ......Jessica Livianu ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

16 ......Michelle Sorokko ..........Little Neck, N.Y.

18 ......Alexus Gill ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

25 ......Aleksandra Bekirova......Brookln, N.Y.

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

29 ......Victoria Sec....................New York, N.Y.

31 ......Nicole Semenov ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

32 ......Sarah Rahman ..............East Elmhurst, N.Y.

33 ......Yuka Lin..........................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

36 ......Regina Furer ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

37 ......Lauren Munari................Middle Village, N.Y.


46 ......Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

53 ......Jillian Auteri....................Staten Island, N.Y.

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


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

67 ......Chelsea Williams............Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

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

89 ......Lisa Marchelska ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

94 ......Emma Kassan................New York, N.Y.

97 ......Isabel Balilo....................Flushing, N.Y.

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

100....Katherine Kachkarov ....Flushing, N.Y.

106....Sabrina Lee Abrams......New York, N.Y.

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

108....Tamila Latif-Zade ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.



114....Barbara Podvorchani ....Bronx, N.Y.

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

138....Amy Kaplan....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

142....Liana Weitzman ............Whitestone, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank Name............................City3 ........Sabrina Xiong ................Fresh Meadows, N.Y.

6 ........Anna Ulyashchenko ......Brooklyn, N.Y.

9 ........Arnelle Sullivan ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

11 ......Ariana D. Rodriguez ......Bronx, N.Y.

24 ......Hannah Shteyn ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

25 ......Jessica Livianu ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

26 ......Yuka Lin..........................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

31 ......Isis Gill ............................Brooklyn, N.Y.

36 ......Alexus Gill ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

42 ......Shayna Spooner ............New York, N.Y.

43 ......Christina Puccinelli ........New York, N.Y.

44 ......Sophia Kryloff ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

46 ......Sarah Rahman ..............East Elmhurst, N.Y.

51 ......Jessica Golovin..............New York, N.Y.

54 ......Brianna Williams ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

60 ......Jillian Rose Auteri ..........Staten Island, N.Y.

64 ......Sofia Anouk Alsiks ........New York, N.Y.

67 ......Elizabeth Tsvetkov ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

72 ......Nia Rose ........................New York, N.Y.


76 ......Annie Reiner ..................New York, N.Y.

83 ......Keren Khromchenko......Staten Island, N.Y.

86 ......Lauren Munari................Middle Village, N.Y.

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

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

107....Hediye Karabay ............Flushing, N.Y.

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

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

123....Emma Kassan................New York, N.Y.

130....Tamila Latif-Zade ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

134....Angeline Devanthiran ....Corona, N.Y.

Boys & Girls

National Rankings(as of 12/18/14)

BOYSNational Boys 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City56 ......Noah Edelman ..............New York, N.Y.

114....Brandon T. Cohen..........New York, N.Y.

126....John-Tomas Bilski ........New York, N.Y.

146....Wesley Zhang ................Staten Island, N.Y.

224....Max Kachkarov..............Flushing, N.Y.

253....Joseph Wilkanowski......Long Island City, N.Y.

400....Sebastian Sec................New York, N.Y.

505....Ty Switzer ......................New York, N.Y.

524....Hudson Beaudoin..........New York, N.Y.

544....Donovan Brown ............New York, N.Y.

592....Sidharth Chawla ............New York, N.Y.

606....Charles Phillips ..............New York, N.Y.

703....David Krasner ................Staten Island, N.Y.

711....Tyler Korobov ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

721....Sachin Palta ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.

730....Nash Crofoot Johnson ..New York, N.Y.

875....Jace K. Alexander..........New York, N.Y.

895....Jasper August Hunt ......New York, N.Y.

National Boys 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City108....Lantis Wang ..................New York, N.Y.

124....Gary Fishkin ..................Staten Island, N.Y.

155....Derek Raskopf ..............New York, N.Y.

181....Nicholas Pustilnik ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

280....Jeffrey Gorilovsky ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

305....Igor Malsov ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.

314....Steven Daniel Nazaroff ..Brooklyn, N.Y.

398....Oliver Jevtovic ..............Astoria, N.Y.

485....Jeffrey Fradkin ..............New York, N.Y.

782....Ethan Leon ....................Woodhaven, N.Y.

891....Jonah Jurick ..................New York, N.Y.

901....Harry Portnoy ................New York, N.Y.

970....Dylan Friedman..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

National Boys 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City85 ......Aleksandar Kovacevic ..New York, N.Y.

152....Ananth Raghavan ..........New York, N.Y.

302....Sumit Sarkar ..................New York, N.Y.

579....Calvin Chung ................Bronx, N.Y.

590....Gary C. Fishkin ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

619....Mitchell Ostrovsky ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

805....Cole Gittens ..................New York, N.Y.

897....Robert Kennedy ............New York, N.Y.

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

940....Sam V. Vagner................Staten Island, N.Y.

National Boys 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City11 ......Daniel Kerznerman ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

93 ......Oliver Sec ......................New York, N.Y.

130....James Wasserman........New York, N.Y.

167....Felipe Osses-Konig ......Rego Park, N.Y.

192....Christopher Auteri..........Staten Island, N.Y.

211....Ethan Nittolo ..................Flushing, N.Y.

310....Ananth Raghavan ..........New York, N.Y.

456....Artemie Amari ................New York, N.Y.

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

570....Marcus T. Smith ............Little Neck, N.Y.

633....Aleksandar Kovacevic ..New York, N.Y.

653....Win Smith ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

972....Victor Miglo....................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

GIRLSNational Girls 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City24 ......Nadejda Maslova ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.


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

66 ......Elvina Kalieva ................Staten Island, N.Y.

241....Rebecca Eliana Fisch ....New York, N.Y.

252....Khyanna Singh ..............Queens Village, N.Y.

268....Lorraine Bergmann........Forest Hills, N.Y.

284....Rachel Rubenzahl..........New York, N.Y.

296....Lena Kovacevic ............New York, N.Y.

518....Daniella Benabraham ....New York, N.Y.

550....Shakima Hotaki..............Flushing, N.Y.

568....Karolina Lankamer ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

595....Shawnte Beale ..............Bronx, N.Y.

835....Sarah Lucy Youngberg ..New York, N.Y.

975....Masha Serjantov............New York, N.Y.

988....Julia Werdiger ................New York, N.Y.

990....Nina Wiese ....................Flushing, N.Y.

National Girls 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City32 ......Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

47 ......Michelle Sorokko ..........Little Neck, N.Y.

137....Nicole Semenov ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

140....Aleksandra Bekirova......Brooklyn, N.Y.

189....Katherine Kachkarov ....Flushing, N.Y.

226....Anastasia Koniaev ........Forest Hills, N.Y.

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

357....Christina M. Huynh........Astoria, N.Y.

384....Rosie Garcia Gross........New York, N.Y.

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

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

477....Katelyn Walker ..............New York, N.Y.

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

546....Perene Wang ................New York, N.Y.

612....Chelsea Williams............Brooklyn, N.Y.

846....Rebecca Eliana Fisch ....New York, N.Y.

883....Amanda Solecki ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

968....Diana Sosonkin..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

National Girls 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City69 ......Jessica Livianu ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

145....Brianna Williams ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

238....Michelle Sorokko ..........Little Neck, N.Y.

274....Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

309....Alexus Gill ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

399....Lauren Munari................Middle Village, N.Y.

473....Sarah Rahman ..............East Elmhurst, N.Y.

495....Aleksandra Bekirova......Brooklyn, N.Y.

589....Victoria Sec....................New York, N.Y.

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

778....Regina Furer ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.

895....Nicole Semenov ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

National Girls 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City63 ......Sabrina Xiong ................Fresh Meadows, N.Y.

70 ......Anna Ulyashchenko ......Brooklyn, N.Y.

104....Jessica Livianu ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

120....Arnelle Sullivan ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

125....Jessica Golovin..............New York, N.Y.

233....Ariana D. Rodriguez ......Bronx, N.Y.

333....Hannah Shteyn ..............Staten Island, N.Y.

354....Isis Gill ............................Brooklyn, N.Y.

445....Brianna Williams ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

502....Sophia Kryloff ................Brooklyn, N.Y.

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

729....Nia Rose ........................New York, N.Y.

837....Keren Khromchenko......Staten Island, N.Y.

883....Elizabeth Tsvetkov ........Brooklyn, N.Y.

896....Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

911....Christina Puccinelli ........New York, N.Y.

920....Stephanie Johnson........Richmond Hill, N.Y.

929....Julia D. Fisch..................New York, N.Y.


USTA/Metropolitan Region

2015 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULEFor detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments.

JANUARY 2015

Friday-Monday, January 16-19L1A Stadium Tennis Center Winter ChampionshipsStadium Tennis Center725 Exterior StreetBronx, N.Y.Divisions: Championships Boys Singles 78' Yellow Ball16-18 (SE)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday. Jan. 11 at 7:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call (718) 665-4684.

Friday-Monday, January 16-19L1A Alley Pond Winter ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Championships Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball16-18 (SE)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Jan. 12 at 7:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call(718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, January 23-25L1B Cunningham Park Tennis Center Winter ChallengerCunningham Sports Center19600 Union TurnpikeFresh Meadows, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball12, 16 (SE)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Jan. 19 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] orcall (516) 984-3711.

Friday-Sunday, January 23-25L1B APTC Winter ChallengerAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball14, 18 (SE)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries isWednesday, Jan. 14 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call(718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, January 23-25L2O Sportime RI January OpenSportime at Randall’s Island1 Randall’s IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles 78' YellowBall 12 (FMLC) and Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles 78'Yellow Ball 14 (SE)Surface Type: Clay, HardEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 9 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] call (212) 427-6150.

Friday-Sunday, January 30-February 1L3 APTC January UPSAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Entry Level Boys' & Girls' Singles 78' GreenBall 12, 78' Yellow Ball 14-18 (RR)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Jan. 26 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call(718) 264-2600.

Friday-Saturday, January 30-31L3 Sportime RI January UPSSportime at Randall’s Island1 Randall’s Island • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Entry Level Boys & Girls Singles 78' Green Ball12 (RR)Surface Type: ClayEntry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Jan. 23 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] call (212) 427-6150.

FEBRUARY 2015

Friday-Sunday, February 13-15L2O Staten Island Community Tennis Center Junior & AdultFebruary OpenStaten Island Community Tennis Center2800 Victory Boulevard • Staten Island, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles 78' YellowBall 12 (FMLC); Intermediate Boys' & Girls' Singles: 78'Yellow Ball 14-18 (SE); Intermediate Boys & Girls Doubles78' Yellow Ball 14-18 (SE) and Ranked Men’s & Women'sSingles & Doubles Open (SE)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 for first singles; $28 for first doubles(deadline for entries is Monday, Feb. 9 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] orcall (718) 982-3355.

Friday-Monday, February 13-16L1A Stadium Tennis Center February ChampionshipsStadium Tennis Center725 Exterior StreetBronx, N.Y.Divisions: Championships Boys & Girls Singles 78' YellowBall 14 (SE)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries isThursday, Feb. 5 at 7:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call (718) 665-4684.

Monday-Friday, February 16-20L2O CityParks Junior Indoor OpenCity Parks Foundation1 Olmstead CenterFlushing Meadow Corona ParkFlushing, N.Y.Divisions: Championships Boys & Girls Singles 78' YellowBall 14 (SE)Surface Type: HardEntry Fee: $36 for first singles, $23 for first doubles(deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 6 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call (718) 760-6999.

Tuesday-Friday, February 17-20L2O Alley Pond President's Week OpenAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles & Doubles78' Yellow Ball 14-18 (SE)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 for first singles, $28 for first doubles(deadline for entries is Sunday, Feb. 9 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, February 20-22 & Tuesday-Sunday,February 27-March 1+L1 Stadium Tennis Center Eastern Grand PrixStadium Tennis Center725 Exterior StreetBronx, N.Y.Divisions: Grand Prix Boys Singles 78' Yellow Ball 14(FICQ)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] or call (718) 665-4684.

USTA/Metropolitan Region

2015 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULEFor detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments.

Friday-Sunday, February 20-22 & Tuesday-Sunday,February 27-March 1L1B Sportime Randall's Island February ChallengerSportime at Randall’s Island1 Randall’s IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball16-18 (SE)Surface Type: Clay, HardEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 6 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] call (212) 427-6150.

Friday-Sunday, February 20-22L1B Cunningham Park Tennis Center February ChallengerCunningham Sports Center19600 Union TurnpikeFresh Meadows, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles 78' YellowBall 12-14 (SE)Surface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 for first singles, $28 for first doubles(deadline for entries is Friday, Feb. 13 at 8:00 p.m.)For more information, e-mail [email protected] orcall (516) 984-3711.

Tuesday-Sunday, February 27-March 1L2O NYJTL February OpenNew York Junior Tennis and Learning5812 Queens Boulevard, Ste. 1Woodside, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles 78' YellowBall 12 (FMLC); Intermediate Boys & Girls Singles 78' Yellow Ball 14 (SE); and Intermediate Boys & Girls Dou-bles 78' Yellow Ball 14 (SE)Surface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 for first singles, $28 for first doublesFor more information, e-mail [email protected] orcall (347) 417-8168.

Sign up today! Contact Paul Fontana at 646.884.9644 or [email protected]. Or visit quickstartny.com.

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ROOSEVELT ISLAND Roosevelt Island Sports Park Gym 281 Main St.



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