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New York Tennis Magazine1220 Wantagh Avenue • Wantagh, NY 11793-2202

Phone: (516) 409-4444 • Fax: (516) 409-4600Web site: www.nytennismag.com

StaffDavid Sickmen

Publisher(516) 409-4444, ext. 309 • [email protected]

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(516) 409-4444, ext. 333 • [email protected]

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Statements of fact and opinion in New York Tennis Magazine are theresponsibility of the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the partof United Sports Publications Ltd. New York Tennis Magazine reservesthe right to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles,information or data.

Cover photo credit: USTA National

2011 U.S. Open Preview: Stars Collide at the OpenEverything you wanted to know about the 2011 U.S. Open all bundled into one neat package … from the contenders, tothe pretenders, to the best places to eat, to where to get autographs of the stars as the final Grand Slam of 2011 setsto take over the New York area.

Cover storySeptember/October 2011Volume 1, Number 2

New York Tennis Magazineis published bi-monthly by

United Sports Publications Ltd.Copyright © 2011 United Sports Publications Ltd.

Features8 Agassi Inducted Into International Tennis Hall of Fame

By David DruckerAndre Agassi is immortalized as a legend of the sport with his 2011induction into Newport, R.I.’s International Tennis Hall of Fame.

12 Successful Season for the Sportimes Falls a Bit ShortA look back at highlights of the New York Sportimes during the2011 World TeamTennis season.

32 Kid’s Tennis in Brooklyn By Nina SpornNina Sporn takes us inside Brooklyn’s Knickerbocker Field Club,an outdoor club that is home to more than 150 members.

34 Tennis Injury Prevention By Sophie ScottSophie Scott discusses measures one an take to avoid some com-mon on-court injuries

36 Teaching Vs. Coaching: What is Teaching? What isCoaching? By Ajay KumarAjay Kumar breaks down the characteristics between a coach anda teacher on the tennis courts and what makes each role uniqueto the development of a player.

38 New York Tennis Magazine Presents Your Guide to NewYork Tennis ClubsA closer look at the area’s top clubs, including: Cunningham SportsCenter, Manhattan Plaza Racquet Club, Midtown Tennis Club, NewYork Tennis Academy at Great Neck Estates, New York Tennis Club,Prospect Park Tennis Center, Roosevelt Island Racquet Club,Sportime, Stadium Tennis Center, Vanderbilt Tennis Club at GrandCentral Terminal, West Side Tennis Club and the USTA Billie JeanKing National Tennis Center.

45 Dreams Really Do Come True By Monica GornyMonica Gorny recaps the work of the Garden of Dreams Founda-tion and their recent trip to the USTA Billie Jean King National Ten-nis Center.

48 Get “Outta Your Mind” and Into the ZoneBy Rob Polishook, MA, CPCRob Polishook discusses separating the physical and mental as-pects of the game.

50 Good to Great: A Model for Safely Building the TennisChampions of Tomorrow By Steve KaplanAuthor Steve Kaplan discusses the synergistic relationship be-tween skill development and physical development in a junior ten-nis player’s career.

51 Frequently Asked Racquet Fixes By Roman ProkesRoman Prokes takes a look at some tips and remedies to repairand diagnose some common ailments of your racquet.

Columns3 Tips From the Tennis Pro: Preparing for Success on the

Practice Courts By Eric FaroEric Faro discusses the importance of each practice session andthe lessons learned each time you step on the court.

4 Court Six: Long Island Tennis Magazine’s Gossip ColumnBy Emilie KatzA look at the off-the-court lives of the sport’s top stars.

6 Metro Corporate League RecapA look back at the Summer 2011 season in the Metro CorporateTennis League (MCTL), presented by Advantage Tennis Clubs anda look forward to the Fall 2011 season.

10 Adult League Recap By Deborah-Rose AndrewsDeborah-Rose Andrews takes a look back at the 2011 AdultSpring/Summer Season and recognizes the local teams who willrepresent the Metro Region at the Sectionals in Syracuse, N.Y.

14 CTA Spotlight: Metro Community Tennis Association(MCTA)A look at work of the Metro Community Tennis Association (MCTA)and its Play Tennis New York (PTNY) program.

15 The Jensen Zone By Luke JensenCurrent Syracuse Women’s Tennis Coach and tennis great LukeJensen looks back at his experiences on one of the grandeststages the sport has to offer, the USTA Billie Jean King NationalTennis Center at the U.S. Open.

26 USTA/Eastern-Metro RegionThe latest happenings from the USTA/Easter-Metro Region in-cluding the Metro Board at World TeamTennis, results of the Sec-ond Annual Kings Cup, the SBTA taking part in the Fordham RoadRenaissance Festival, and West Side Tennis Club playing host tothe Grass Court National Championships.

30 USTA Metro Player Spotlight: Susan BilottaA closer look at the work of local player Susan Bilotta and her in-volvement with the Michael J. Fox Foundation in finding a cure forParkinson’s Disease.

44 New York Tennis Magazine’s Literary CornerBy Brent ShearerBrent Shearer takes a look at the book, On the Line by SerenaWilliams with Daniel Paisner.

45 New York Tennis Magazine Accessory Review: StringletBy Alan BrofkaAlan Brofka takes a look at the versatile Stringlet bracelet acces-sory, fashionable both on and of the court.

46 College Tennis Spotlight: Mythbusters … You Really CanSee What College Path Your Junior Ranking Might TakeYou at Any Age By Ricky BeckerRicky Becker discusses what college tennis programs are lookingfor in a junior tennis player’s ranking and what these schools haveto offer to ranked players at various levels.

52 New York Tennis Club Directory

52 Upcoming Events

53 USTA/Metropolitan Region 2011 Tournament Schedule

52 New York Rankings

News Briefs7 Congrats to Our Locals …

47 Hamptons Tennis Classic to Benefit PRASAD

Brent ShearerEditorial Contributor

David DruckerEditorial Contributor

Monica GornyEditorial Contributor

Jenna PoczikIntern

Rachel SilvermanIntern

Ken GoldbergPhotographer


By Eric Faro

Every time you step onto thetennis court, you should learnsomething. Whether you are

playing in the finals of a national tournament,or working on your slice serve out wide, youshould have an objective as to what you aredoing and be working on improving yourgame. Often when I ask players how theirpractice was, they will respond by saying,“Great, I hit a lot of balls.” What exactly doesthat mean? To me, it means they are practic-ing without a purpose. They are going throughthe motions without any thought. I wouldequate this to reading a book and have noidea what you are reading about; you mayread an entire novel and have no idea whatyou just read. Preparation is where success isfound. Remember, you should have control ofyourself and the effort you give to bring outyour best on the court.

I encourage players to bring a smallnotepad on the court with them to each prac-tice session. Pack it in your bag like you wouldwith your wristbands or Gatorade bottle. Jotdown one or two things you would like to workon while you are on the court that day. Makesure it is not too much.

“People learn more effectively in bite-sized amounts, rather than everything all atonce,” said legendary UCLA basketballcoach John Wooden.

If you have too much on your mind, you willnot practice effectively. It could be somethinglike the grip change you have been workingwith your coach on, your forehand shot, orsticking your volleys. Make sure you reallykeep to your plan during the entire practicesession. Work on improving. Remind yourselfthat you are going to get better each day.

When you get home after practice, open upyour notepad and give yourself an honestgrade. Did you practice everything you wrotedown? How effective were you? Also writedown a few notes, whether it is somethingyour coach taught you, or something youpicked up yourself that day on the court. Thisis a great way to ensure that you are gettingthe most out of your practice sessions.

The night before each match, take out yournotepad and write down a few notes to re-member during the competition. Every athleteknows that when the competition starts, yourmind can go a little crazy. The adrenaline of thematch may make you forget certain thingsyou want to do while you are out there. Makesure to keep your points simple and concise.For example, remind yourself to play highpercentage tennis, or keep your head up onyour serve. During changeovers, take a peekat your notes. This is a great way to keepyourself focused. After the match is over,

while you are cooling down, write down a fewthings you did well and a few things you did-n’t do so well. Learn from your mistakes sothey don’t happen again at your next match.Also, write down a few notes on your oppo-nent … you may play them again down theline! Don’t wait too long, as things are stillfresh in your mind when you step off thecourt. There is a lesson to be learned everytime you step between the lines.

Eric Faro is program director at Gotham TennisAcademy and Stadium Tennis Center, justsouth of Yankee Stadium. Eric grew up inRiverdale and attended Horace Mann, wherehe played number one singles for all fouryears. He attended Ohio State Universityand won more than 100 matches duringhis collegiate career. He may be reachedby e-mail at [email protected], oronline at www.stadiumtennisnyc.com orwww.gothamtennis.com.

Preparing for Success on the Practice Courts


Twitter’s top 100SportsIllus-trated.comreleased its

Twitter top 100 list. Appearing on the list arethree professional Serbian tennis players:Novak Djokovic (@djokernole), AndreaPetkovic (@andreapetkovic) and JankoTipsarevic (@tipsarevicjanko).

And the ESPY goes toRafael Nadal and SerenaWilliams won ESPYAwards for the Best Maleand Female Tennis Playerat the recent ESPN awardsshow.

“Planking” anyone?Team USA en-gaged in someplanking be-fore their lossin the DavisCup. You canfind the pho-

tos online, but here are the highlights ofthe “plank war:”� Mardy Fish started things off by plank-

ing in the arms of teammates after theDavis Cup tie’s announcement.

� Andy Roddick countered that byplanking up an escalator.

� Mardy Fish returned the favor byplanking from an ice cooler.

That’s two to one in favor of Fish, butRoddick’s plank was probably the bestso we’ll call it even.

To play or not to playVenus Williamsleft doubt as to herOlympic futureand the idea that

she will indeed play mixed-doubles with BobBryan at the 2012 London Olympics. Shesaid, “You know, I’ve been known not tocommit to relationships,” she said with alaugh. “So I’ll be waiting until the last minuteto see what’s best, you know? I’m always a‘grass is greener’ kind of girl. It’s a bad habitthat has followed over to tennis.”

It was a confusing answer from Venus,who had previously said she’d partner withBob in hopes of Olympic glory.

Also her sister, Serena Williams andAndy Roddick made a commitment toplay the Olympic Games together. Whenasked by Long Island Tennis Magazine re-cently if she was still on course to partnerup with Roddick, Serena said, “We willsee. I’m not sure who I will be playing with.I love all the American players.”

So it remains to be seen if either Venusor Serena will be playing mixed-doubles atthe Olympics and if so, who they will beplaying with.

Let’s play the FeudJohn McEnroerecently inferredthat the timing ofAndy Roddick’sm a r r i a g e t omodel/actress

Brooklyn Decker has coincided with a slidein the quality of A-Rod’s on-court results.

“I know Andy as well as anyone, and I

think the marriage is one of the reasonshe’s still playing,” said Mardy Fish. “I thinkwhat’s been said is completely unwar-ranted. It’s not a great comment to talkabout wives.”

Fish and Roddick are close friends, andFish himself is also married to a model,Stacey Gardner.

Roddick and McEnroe also shared an-other exchange recently when Johnny Macasserted that, “The unknown is what wewant, something unpredictable—watchingthe players trade practice shots takes awayfrom that,” McEnroe told The LondonEvening Standard. “They should go outthere like boxers, to huge applause and an-nouncements, have a coin toss and then,boom, first serve.”

Roddick had the following retort: “I thinkit’s easy to not have the warm-up whenyou’re the one not doing it anymore.” Also,about waiting out rain delays and longmatches, “I’ve been sitting around for four-and-a half hours, and he [McEnroe] wantsme to go out there and serve 145mph?That’s irresponsible is what it is.”

Here comes the bride on iceElena Dementieva,who retired at theend of 2010 withoutever claiming a GrandSlam title, has stilladded another wor-thy trophy to her col-lection, and it’s themost important of all

… the love and affection of her hockey-playerhusband, Maxim Afinogenov. The pair


married on July 16th on the roof of theRitz-Carlton Hotel in Moscow. Anotherbride-to-be, Gisela Dulko, reportedlymissed Argentina’s 4-0 Fed Cup lossagainst Japan because she was preparingfor her own wedding.

The Biggest LoserAnna Kournikovawas a no-showfor the 2011World TeamTennisseason this sum-mer and the rea-

son is that she has joined the cast of thehit NBC extreme weight-loss show, TheBiggest Loser. Kournikova will be replacingtrainer Jillian Michaels, who is leaving theseries to pursue whatever celebrity trainersend up pursuing after a successful run ona reality TV series. Executive ProducerTodd Lubin told New York magazine’s Vul-ture that the show is “Getting slightly awayfrom just the tape measure, and gettinginto overall well-being and health.”

Congrats are in orderWorld numberone doublesp l a y e r B o bBryan has an-nounced via hisTwitter account

that he and his wife, Michelle, are going tohave a child. He got the buzz going bytweeting out, “Boom! 10 hours of sleep and10 days until the next shindig. Finally a lit-tle break. Oh, and I’ve got some news foryou …” He then revealed, “This little babycould be your 2034 Wimby champ!”

Tennis tweets of lateWhat is on your favorite tennis playersmind and what are they are up to? Welearned this through the wonderful worldof Twitter:

Caroline Wozniacki(@ c a r o w o z n i -acki): Had a goodday in London,photo shoot wentwell and now I amon my way back toMonaco, practice

starts tomorrow :)

Mardy Fish (@MardyFish):What does the REM stand forin the band REM?

Serena Williams(@serenawilliams):I think I have in-somnia or “I’m sotired I can’t sleep!”

J u s t i n G i m e l s t o b(@ justingimelstob): Zurich isa beautiful city. I’m a fewhours away from doing myextensive interview withRoger Federer.

Sania Mirza-Malik (@mirza-sania): Finally a day offafter eight days … lookingforward to doing NOTH-ING for a change exceptone photo shoot for a cou-

ple of hours!

Amer Delic (@amerdelic):Just finished re-watchingseason seven of En-tourage.

J u s t i n G i m e l s t o b ( @justingimelstob): Not agreat feeling showing up atZurich airport at 5: 45a.m. fora flight to Atlanta and realiz-ing I forgot my passport inmy hotel room!

A n d y M u r r a y(@andy_murray): Hav-ing a little game ofbackgammon with thedog …

Caroline Wozniacki( @ c a r o w o z n i -acki): Runningand tennis in themorning, had asmall nap and nowthe gym and ten-nis at five.

Mardy Fish (@MardyFish): Mybaby sis is gonna have a boy!


The Metro Corporate Tennis League, runby the Metrotennis Community Tennis

Association (MCTA), is currently in itsplayoffs stages for the Summer 2011season as this article was written. OnJuly 28, Ernst & Young went up againstThomson Reuters and Deutsche Bankwent head-to-head with Mitsubishi UFJSecurities in the Intermediate DivisionSemifinals. The matches took place atRoosevelt Island Racquet Club. Ernst &Young proved to be a stronger team anddefeated Thomson Reuters, 36-16.Deutsche Bank and Mitsubishi camedown to the wire, with Deutsche Bank

winning by 2, 32-30. On Aug. 2, Ernst &Young and Deutsche Bank faced off forthe Intermediate Division title at Roo-sevelt Island Racquet Club as Ernst &Young took the match and was crowned2011 Intermediate Division champs.

In the Advanced Division, Cleary Got-tlieb Steen & Hamilton went up against theThomson Reuters team, also at RooseveltIsland Racquet Club. Congratulations toCleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton on theirfinals win and being named 2011 Ad-vanced Division Champions.

Also on Aug. 2, the Metro CorporateTennis League hosted its end-of-season

party for all the teams that participated inthe 2011 Summer League. While the sum-mer season has come to an end, we arestarting to take registrations for the Fall2011 season, and are expecting more than50 corporate teams competing in three di-vision levels, intermediate, advanced inter-mediate and advanced.

The Fall 2011 season includes a mini-mum of six matches, with each matchplayed for two hours on two courts. Levelsof play for the Fall 2011 season are Ad-vanced and Intermediate. The season willconclude with an end-of-season partywhere all league participants will enjoy a

Metro Corporate Tennis League, Presented by Advantage Tennis Clubs Recap

Summer ‘11 Season Playoffs


buffet dinner and open bar, tennis, dancingand other activities. The winners of all divi-sions advance to the semifinals or finals fortheir league.

Each team match consists of six individ-ual matches played as regular no-ad sets:

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

Games won are totaled cumulativelythroughout the season. The winners of alldivisions advance to playoffs at the end-of-season party. In the case of a tie, the head-to-head scores will be the tie-breaker.Coaching and player substitutions are per-mitted during the match. This allows formore players to get involved and creates afun atmosphere. All league championshave the right to advance to the NationalWTT Championships.

The Metro Corporate Tennis League em-phasizes networking and social occasions,as well as opportunities to improve your

tennis game. Each league night, refresh-ments are served after the matches, in-cluding hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer.

The Metro Corporate Tennis Leaguematches are held weekday evenings at thefollowing locations:

� West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills,N.Y.

� Roosevelt Island Racquet Club in Roo-sevelt Island, N.Y.

� CityView Racquet Club in Long IslandCity, N.Y.

For more information on the Fall 2011 sea-son of the Metro Corporate Tennis League,contact Debra Leffe at (914) 482-8471 orvisit www.metrotennis.com.

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Congrats to Our Locals …Congratulations to our local Metro junior players who took home honors at the Na-tional Opens that took place throughout the month of July.

Aston, Pa.� Girls 18s Singles Third Place............Emily Safron (New York, N.Y.)

Denver� Girls 18s Doubles Champion............Leighann Sahagun (Queens Village, N.Y.)

Montgomery, Ala.� Boys 16s Singles Champion ............Daniel Kerznerman (Brooklyn, N.Y.)� Boys 16s Doubles Champion ..........Daniel Kerznerman (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

North Little Rock, Ark.� Boys 14s Singles Consolation ..........James Wasserman (New York, N.Y.)

Champion


There simply isn’t enough time in the dayto describe all of the wonderful things

about Andre Agassi. From the moment hestepped onto the professional courts of theATP tour, he turned the sport of tennis up-side down. Who could forget those longblonde locks and denim shorts? Agassihas provided tennis fans and sports fansalike with a number of precious momentsthroughout his career. From his rivalry withfellow American Pete Sampras, to the lowpoints of his career plummeting in the rank-ings, to his final run as a pro in 2006 at theU.S. Open. In early July, Andre Agassi wasofficially immortalized in Newport, R.I.when he was inducted into the Interna-tional Tennis Hall of Fame.

I am proud to admit, that I was alwaysan Agassi guy, not a Sampras guy. Whensomeone asks you who you root for, theMets or Yankees, tennis’ equivalent was,who do you root for, Sampras or Agassi?Agassi always had the charisma and en-ergy that Pete never had. Mind you, PeteSampras has provided us with some of themost memorable matches ever. WithAgassi, it’s different. If you read his autobi-ography Open, you would have read howmuch Agassi loathes tennis. Being pushed

by his father his entire childhood to playand to play well is the reason we haveAndre Agassi. Andre has publicly made itknown that the relationship he had with hisfather was not a great one. His father wasalways telling his son what to do.

During his Hall of Fame induction speechin Newport, he thanked his father in sincerefashion, “Dad, when I was five, you told me towin Wimbledon. When I was seven, you toldme to win all four Grand Slams. And moretimes than I can remember, you told me toget into the Hall of Fame. And when I was 29,you told me to marry Steffi Graf ... best adviceyou ever gave me. So dad, please don’t everstop telling me what to do.”

Agassi’s wife Steffi Graf and their two chil-dren, Jaden and Jazz, looked on as theAmerican legend thanked the game of tennistime after time for all it has given him. Tryingto hold back the tears, Agassi reminiscedwhat he had done with his charity work, mostnotably, his “Agassi Prep Academy” in LasVegas. As Agassi wept, it brought backmemories of his last match at the U.S. Openin 2006. When he spoke to the fans at ArthurAshe Stadium after his loss, I, along with oth-ers in attendance and I’m sure at home,couldn’t help but shed a tear as well. That’s

sort of what we sport fans do with our fa-vorite athletes. We laugh when they laugh,smile when they smile, and cry when theycry. For all that Andre Agassi has given to theworld, an induction into the Tennis Hall ofFame was mandatory.

Agassi’s storied career includes 60 ti-tles, the number one ranking, an 870-274career match record, more than $30 mil-lion amassed in prize money, eight GrandSlam titles, and an Olympic gold medal.These achievements that Agassi has ac-complished aren’t what the people will re-member most. They will remember thestory that Agassi wrote throughout hisplaying career. The drama that he broughtto the court, whether it was a fashionstatement, a hairpiece or a rivalry, Agassiprovided sports fans with memories thatwill never be forgotten.

“I fell in love with tennis far too late in mylife. But the reason I have everything I holddear is because tennis has loved me back,”Agassi said. �

David Drucker of New York Tennis Magazine isa member of the Nichols College Men’s Tennisteam. He may be reached by e-mail [email protected].

BY DAVID DRUCKER

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A g a s s iINDUCTED INTO

INTERNATIONAL TENNIS HALL OF FAME


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By Deborah-Rose Andrews

2011 Spring and Summer Seasons Wrap UpThe 2011 Adult Spring/Summer season con-cluded in early August. The Metro Region hasMen’s and Women’s teams in Brooklyn, Queensand Manhattan. Manhattan is the largestleague, with 74 teams and 1,292 players whoparticipated in the 2011 Spring/Summer sea-son. This league plays at six different clubs, bothindoors and outdoors, and on hard and Har-Trusurfaces. The Queens league has 39 teams andplays outdoors on the hard courts at the USTABillie Jean King National Tennis Center and atAlley Pond Park. The Brooklyn league is thesmallest league, due to the lack of courts, as the2011 season featured 11 teams playing atProspect Park Tennis Center and Mill Basin. Wewere very happy to have a Staten Island-basedteam playing this season.

Playoffs are held at the district level with thewinners advancing to the Regional Playoffs. In

the Regional tournament, the Manhattan,Brooklyn and Queens teams play a round-robinevent to determine who will represent the Metroarea at the Section Championships.

The Manhattan and Queens District Play-offs team experienced some weather-relatedissues. The first night of the Manhattan Dis-trict Playoffs brought torrential downpours.

The Queens 4.0 Men’s team, captained by Ting Zhang, celebrates their big win

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www.SportimeNY.com/Manhattanwww.JohnMcEnroeTennisAcademy.com212/427-6150


We were able to move inside, however the 3.0Women’s teams were in for a long wait. Theyordered food, warmed up in the lobby andpatiently waited for their matches to begin.The final round began three hours after itsscheduled start time. Luckily, the weather onSaturday and Sunday was beautiful and theother matches went off without a hitch.

On the night of the Queens 3.5 Men’s andWomen’s Finals, a hail storm hit the area. Thestorm stayed just east of the USTA Billie JeanKing National Tennis Center, however, the light-ning strikes were clear in the far distance andthe thunder could be clearly heard. Some play-ers were stuck on Long Island due to the stormdamage; however, the teams had substitutesin place and the matches went off as planned.

The Metro Region Playoffs were held Aug.5-7 outdoors at the USTA Billie Jean King Na-tional Tennis Center. Friday saw beautifulweather, but the forecast for Saturday pre-dicted late night storms and we hoped to getin all of the matches. Unfortunately, the skiesopened up at around 6:30 p.m., right in themiddle of the 3.5 Men’s and Women’smatches. The 4.0 matches were cancelledand the 3.5 matches were delayed two hours,

as players hoped for a break in the storm thatnever came.

Sunday’s weather forecast was dismal, butwe were finally lucky, as the 4.0 Men and 4.0Women played, and then the 3.5 Men & 3.5Women finished their matches. The last teamsplaying had to deal with sporadic showers, butwere able to finish, but it was so hot andhumid that I’m sure those sprinkles felt good tothe players!

Congratulations to the following teams whowill represent Metro at the Section Champi-onships in Syracuse.

� 3.0 Women ..Sheila Astudillo & Shannon Smith

� 3.5 Women ..Yao Fu Bailey & Ariane Qureshi

� 4.0 Women ..Lynnette Cruz� 4.5 Women ..Eileen Melniker� 5.0 Women ..Pam Glick� 3.0 Men ........Daryl Fox & Brad Aspel� 3.5 Men ........Obong Akpan� 4.0 Men ........Ting Zhang� 4.5 Men ........Ian Katz

& Eduardo Salanova� 5.0 Men ........Todd Getz

Our Senior League is in full swing right now.Our next season will be the 2011 Mixed-Dou-bles League. The Manhattan League beginsin October, while the Queens, Brooklyn andthe Bronx Leagues begin in January.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and the U.S.Open.

Deborah-Rose Andrews is the LocalLeague Coordinator for the Metro Re-gion. She is also the co-chair of the East-ern Adult League Committee and amember of the Metro Region board of di-rectors. She may be reached by [email protected].

The 4.5 Men’s Metro team, co-captained by IanKatz & Eduardo Salanova, gather for a team photo

“All kinds of tennis programs for all kinds of players.”

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The New York Sportimes completed an-other successful season of World

TeamTennis (WTT) action this summer.Home matches were played at bothSportime Stadium at Randall’s Island (fivematches) and the SEFCU Arena in Albany,N.Y. (two matches). Attendance was up thisyear, as fans have started to realize howmuch fun these matches can be. A noisyatmosphere between points is encouragedand WTT is a great chance to see some ofthe stars of the game up close and per-sonal in an intimate atmosphere.

The Sportimes season on the court didend up a little disappointing as they failedto make the 2011 WTT Playoffs, coming offthe 2010 season where they won the East-ern Conference. This season, the EasternConference was dominated by the Wash-ington Kastles who went wire-to-wire witha perfect 16-0 record. The Sportimeswound up in a tie for second place with theBoston Lobsters as both teams finishedthe season with identical 7-7 records.Since the teams split their head-to-headseries, the tie-breaker came down to mosttotal games won in the head-to-headmatchups, where Boston came out ahead

and advanced to the WTT Playoffs.In the playoffs, the Kastles continued

their domination, defeating the BostonLobsters and the St Louis Aces en route tothe 2011 WTT Championship.

While it would have been nice to makethe playoffs again in 2011, the Sportimesseason still provided a number of highlightsfor New York fans:Credit all photos to Kenneth B. Goldberg

John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg renewed theirepic rivalry as they played in front of a sold-outcrowd at Sportime at Randall’s Island

Former world numberone ranked playersSerena Williams andMartina Hingis competedin front of another sold-out crowd at Sportime atRandall’s Island

In addition to Borg and Serena, the Sportimes(pictured above) hosted the number one doublesteam in the world, The Bryan Brothers as well

Martina Hingiscompeted in all ofthe Sportimes’matches this sum-mer and JohnMcEnroe made twohome appearances

Successful Season for theSportimes Falls a Bit Short


Chris Evert wasa special guest atthe Sportimeshome matchagainst the St.Louis Aces, asshe came on-court to play amixed-doublesexhibition withstudents from theJohn McEnroeAcademy

Two concerts were held at Sportime Stadium atRandall’s Island … one prior to the home openerfeaturing local pop singer Tiffany Giardina (pic-tured above), and the second following JohnMcEnroe’s match with Bjorn Borg featuring JohnMcEnroe and his Johnny Smyth Band

Top doubles spe-cialists LeanderPaes (picturedin action above)& Liezel Huber,and young stars

Beatrice Capra and Coco Vandeweghe made stops inNY to face the Sportimes

The WTT season was also a great lead-infor the launch of New York Tennis Magazine. Afree copy of our inaugural edition was distrib-uted to all fans in attendance at all homematches. Also, our professional photographerwas on hand for all home matches as well. Youcan check out photos from the season on ourFacebook page or our Web site LongIs-landTennisMagazine.com.

All in all, this WTT season was a great prel-ude to the sport’s stars coming in for the 2011U.S. Open, and with New York currently not ahost site of either an ATP or WTA tournament,this chance to see the stars in WTT actionshould be appreciated by tennis fans through-out the area.

Tweets from the stars of World TeamTennis

K a t i e O ’ B r i e n(@katiejobrien): I’mstill pinching my-self that I was onthe same team as

McEnroe & Hingis … both absolute legends.

The Bryan Brothers (@bryan-brothers): Sneaking in a fewwinks on the journey to thenext city. Sleep is a valuablecommodity during WTT!

Murphy Jensen (@murphy-jensen): 14-0 WashingtonKASTLES!!!! I love this team!Love it!

K a t i e O ’ B r i e n(@katiejobrien):Incredible team effortby the Sportimestonight to beat Kansas

City feat. Bryan Bros & Peschke (current worldnumber ones & Wimby champs). AWESOME!

The Bryan Brothers (@bryan-brothers): Playing the PhillyFreedoms tonight in the last of asix-match and eight-day WTT runacross the U.S. Hoping to finish

strong and get KC playoff bound!

Lindsey Davenport:( @ L D a v e n p o r t 7 6 ) :Woohoo! RT @stlouisaces:THE ACES ARE GOINGTO THE WTT FINALS!!! Theteam beat Kansas City to

clinch the top seed in the Western Conference!

Serena Williams(@serenawilliams): 4days, 7 different cities… man! A new onetoday!!

Katie O’Brien(@katiejobrien):I’m leaving with life-lasting memoriesfrom both on and off

the court. Big thanks to my awesome teammatesand the @NYSportimes crew. I love you all!

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

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

• FREE CONCERTS Saturday nights at 7pm throughout the summer!

Get more information about the RCTA and its programs at at www.rcta.info.

Find out about the GreenOutlook, the RCTA’s plan to provide New Yorkerswith the greenest buildings in the city atwww.greenoutlook.info.

Phot

o: J

oe J

osep

hs


Founded in 2002,Metrotennis is a not-for-profit organization thatprovides tennis leagues,classes and informationabout tennis in New YorkCity. Metrotennis pro-motes the sport of tennis

in New York City, by running USTA teamleagues, corporate leagues, USTA JuniorTeam Tennis, USTA Flex Leagues, andthe PTNY program.

The Play Tennis New York (PTNY) pro-gram, which is operated by the MetroCommunity Tennis Associat ion(MCTA), provides low-cost adult grouptennis lessons throughout New YorkCity. This summer, classes were offeredin Manhattan, and featured 165 partici-pants. The program targets adult begin-ners who are interested in getting into the

game of tennis. Most participants takePhase I, Phase II and Phase III classes,and many students have been with thePlay Tennis New York program for morethan three years. Some of them havegone on to play in USTA Leagues, whileothers have become substitute players inthe Metro Corporate Tennis League.PTNY has proven to be the impetus formany adult tennis enthusiasts to pick upa racket and not only enjoy watching thegame but being part of it.

Phase I of the PTNY program consistsof adult beginners learning to play tennistaught by professional instructors. Thereare eight to 10 students per instructor,and each lesson lasts 90 min., meetingonce a week on a specific day for a pe-riod of four weeks. In some cases,classes will meet for two hours over aspan of three weeks.

Phase II is for those who choose tocontinue developing their tennis skills,consisting of classes taught by profes-sional instructors in a smaller group ofsix to eight students. Classes are ap-proximately 90 min. long and take placeonce per week on a specific day for aperiod of four weeks (or two hour-longclasses over a three-week span).

For those looking to advance their ten-nis skill set even further, Phase III is thenext step in the PTNY program. Like PhaseI and Phase II, Phase III is taught by pro-fessional instructors in smaller groups offour to six students. Classes are held on aspecific day for a period of four weeks orclasses that last two hours over a span ofthree weeks.

For information on the PTNY program,call (718) 639-8936. For more informationon Metrotennis, visit Metrotennis.com.

Metro Community Tennis Association (MCTA)

Fall after school locationsin Manhattan and BrooklynIncluding: Upper East Side, Murray Hill, West Village, Tribeca, Park Slopeand Riverdale, as well as New Jersey and Westchester locations.

Matchplay, drills, conditioning, round table discussion with former and current college players.

Mention this ad and get a $30 [email protected] • (631) 948-1103

www.elftennis.com


For any tennis player in theUnited States, the U.S. Openis the Mac Daddy of every-thing tennis … it is the biggesttournament in the world. Thisevent has the biggest mone-

tary prize to win; it is played in the biggest ten-nis stadium in the world and it is played in thegreatest city in the world … New York City!

The fan who attends the U.S. Open is veryspecial to the game of tennis. The Open at-tracts more sports fans than traditional tennisfans and that makes playing the U.S. Open ex-tremely unique. The sports fan loves the dramathat is sport … the turmoil of the athletic con-test. You will find fans like this at other tourna-ments around the world, but in New York, thefan wants to get involved in the action.

There were so many times where I wouldbe in some tough match at the Open and Iwould be getting advice from these randompeople from the sidelines. Pizza Joe was thefavorite of all my New York coaches. Now,they were not coaches at all, I’m pretty surethey didn’t even play tennis, and I know PizzaJoe was about 150 pounds over anything ath-letic when I met him.

Pizza Joe had three amazing lines he woulduse—two the entire match, and one that I willnever forget. If I was winning, he would say,“Jensen, you got’em … he can’t hang withyou!” Now if I was losing, Pizza Joe would letme have it, “Yo Jensen, I can miss that shottoo … pick it up! His best line was if I was los-ing badly, he would say over and over,“Jensen, I PAID to see this?”

No matter what my result was, Pizza Joewould be there to see me when I walked offthe court. He was so nice after the match nomatter what the result was. It was more aboutthe effort put into the contest that New Yorkfans respect the most. To me, that’s whatmakes the U.S. Open so very special. The

fans want you to give your heart and soul inthe fight for victory.

It’s not easy playing the Open with planes,trains and the smell of burgers coming fromthe food court as some common distractions.There is nothing like the smell of a greasyburger when you are deep into a five-set sin-gles match.

The best way to cruise the Open is tobounce. Bouncing is going from close matchto close match and wedging yourself into anarea to watch the drama. More players tap outand go nuts at the Open than at any othermajor, as the year has been long and thenerves begin to wear thin. Just the drive fromthe city every day in traffic can freak out anyplayer on game day.

The Open is ENERGY and tons of it. Daymatches and night matches with tie-break-ers in the final set … for any player or fan,the U.S. Open is the best tennis experiencein the world.

Other events like Wimbledon have tradition.The French Open is all about fashion and theAussie is about fun. The U.S. Open is the final

major of the year, the final test for all the play-ers searching for Grand Slam glory! The Openis bold and brash. The logo is a tennis ball fly-ing through the air on flames … just like Amer-icans like the game played. Going for the lines!

For all fans, and especially the ones likePizza Joe, thanks for making the U.S. Openan amazing experience!

Enjoy the Open! �

Born in Grayling, Mich., Luke Jensen is headcoach of the Syracuse University Women’sTennis Team. Jensen’s resume includes 10ATP Tour doubles titles and singles victoriesagainst Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, IvanLendl, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, JimmyConnors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and JimCourier. Jensen and his brother, Murphy, wonthe 1993 French Open doubles title. He wasalso a member of the 1991 and 1992 DavisCup Teams. His ambidextrous play, includinghis ability to serve the ball with either hand at130 mph, earned him the nickname “DualHand Luke.” He may be reached by phone at(315) 443-3552 or e-mail [email protected].


The sport’s top stars are set to make NewYork their home away from home fromAug. 29-Sept. 11, and this article will

serve as your guide in and around thegrounds of the USTA Billie Jean King Na-tional Tennis Center as the Open takesplace. From trendy places to eat, to whereto go to possibly meet and greet the starsof today and the stars of tomorrow, thisarticle looks to provide you with those lit-tle extra tidbits of information on thisyear’s U.S. Open.

See the stars of tomorrow todayThe 2011 U.S. Open qualifying rounds willtake place Tuesday-Friday, Aug. 23-26 be-ginning at 11:00 a.m. each day (gates openat 10:00 a.m.). Admission to these qualify-ing rounds is free, so why not stop by andsee the stars of tomorrow leaving it all onthe line for a spot in the 2011 Open.

2011 Arthur Ashe Kids DayU.S. Open Champi-ons Rafael Nadal andKim Clijsters, worldnumber one rankedNovak Djokovic, for-

mer U.S. Open Champion Andy Roddickand the 2010 U.S. Open Wheelchair Cham-pion David Wagner will team up with actorBradley Cooper, New York Knicks All-StarCarmelo Anthony, and pop star CodySimpson at the 16th Annual Arthur AsheKids’ Day presented by Hess Saturday,Aug. 27 at the USTA Billie Jean King Na-tional Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., from

9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Hosted by TV person-alities La La Anthony and Quddus, theshow will feature more musical guests andtennis stars set to be announced in comingweeks. The popular full-day tennis andmusic festival for children and adults alikeincludes interactive games, musical enter-tainment and tennis activities. It will alsofeature performances from up-and-coming stars including Girls Nite Out, Ac-tion Item, Jacob Latimore andNickelodeon’s The Fresh Beat Band. ArthurAshe Kids’ Day Presented by Hess will kickoff the 2011 U.S. Open, which runs fromAug. 29-Sept. 11.

From 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., kids andtheir families can experience an excitingschedule of free tennis games, live musicand attractions taking place throughoutthe grounds of the USTA Billie Jean KingNational Tennis Center. Inside Arthur AsheStadium from 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., the livetennis and music show will feature fun ex-hibition matches and skills competitionswith Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, KimClijsters, Andy Roddick, David Wagnerand other top players and celebrities withmusical performances by Cody Simpsonand more.

General admission promenade ticketscost $10 and loge tickets are $20. ArthurAshe Kids Day will be broadcast nationallyby CBS on Sunday, Aug. 28, from noon-1:30 p.m. (ET). Kids 12-and-under with sta-dium show tickets will receive a free ArthurAshe Kids Day hat from the USTA and Hesson a first-come, first-served basis.

Open practice dayOn Sun, Aug. 28, take advantage of this rareopportunity to see the stars of the sport oftennis take to the practice courts for their finaltune-up prior to the 2011 U.S. Open. Get arare glimpse into the habits and drills thestars use in their warm-up routine, and whoknows, maybe you could pick up somepointers from the pros in the process.

Where the stars signWant to get photos and autographs of yourfavorite tennis pros? The best spot for bothis what has been dubbed “AutographAlley,” which runs alongside Courts P1-P5.Be sure to come prepared with a Sharpiemarker, photos or balls for the players tosign. There are no guarantees that you’ll beable to meet the stars, but if you do, youcan file it away as a memory forever!

U.S. Open Wheelchair CompetitionThe 2011 U.S. Open Wheelchair Competi-

tion, now in itssixth year, willbe held Sept.8-11, at theUSTA BillieJean King Na-

tional Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Thecompetition will feature 20 of the topwheelchair tennis athletes from around theglobe. The competition will feature a Men’s,Women’s and Quad Division, and will in-clude six events: Men’s Singles, Men’sDoubles, Women’s Singles, Women’s Dou-bles, Quad Singles and Quad Doubles.

Stars Collide at the Open2011 U.S. Open Arrives in New York


Wheelchair tennis follows the same rules asable-bodied tennis, except that the ball canbounce twice.

This is the first time that the world’s topseven ranked men’s and women’s wheel-chair players (according to the July 18 ITFRankings) will all enter the tournament.The top three ranked quad players alsowill all compete (world number threeJohan Andersson recently retired). Addi-tionally, one wild card was selected onboth the men’s, women’s, and quadsides. The total purse for the event will be$120,000, a $20,000 increase in prizemoney over last year.

The U.S. will be represented in singlesand doubles by the two-time ParalympicQuad doubles gold medalists DavidWagner of Hillsboro, Ore. and Nick Taylorof Wichita, Kan. Wagner is the defendingU.S. Open Quad singles champion andlooking to win his third consecutiveGrand Slam Quad singles title. OtherAmericans include 21-year-old EmmyKaiser of Fort Mitchell, Ky., the top-ranked American woman player, who willcompete in the women’s singles anddoubles events, and 39-year-old formerworld number one Stephen Welch ofSouthlake, Texas, is a four-time Para-lympian and 1996 doubles gold medalist,who will compete in the men’s singles anddoubles. Welch, Kaiser, and Taylor all re-ceived wild cards into the tournament.

U.S. Open Base Prize Money Reaches the $23.7 Million MarkThe 2011 U.S. Open purse has increasedby more than $1 million to reach a record$23.7 million. In addition to the base purseof $23.7 million, the top three men’s andtop three women’s finishers in the OlympusU.S. Open Series may earn up to an addi-tional $2.6 million in bonus prize money atthe U.S. Open, providing a potential totalpayout of $26.3 million. Both the men’s andwomen’s U.S. Open singles champions willearn a record $1.8 million with the ability toearn an additional $1 million in bonus prizemoney (for a total $2.8 million potential

payout) based on their performances in theOlympus U.S. Open Series.

The Olympus U.S. Open Series Bonus Chal-lenge rewards the top three men’s and top threewomen’s finishers each year with bonus prizemoney at the U.S. Open and has resulted in thelargest paychecks in tennis history for men(2007–Roger Federer, $2.4 million) and women(2005–Kim Clijsters, $2.2 million).

Places to eat at the OpenAcesceilings, vi-brant colorsand a casualbut elegantwine and

sushi bar combine with superlative seafoodofferings, making Aces the ultimate diningexperience. You can also enjoy Aces’ fla-vorful and sumptuous cuisine in your suitewith the Aces Platinum Package Series. Forlunch, dinner or after the matches.

ChampionsBar & GrillA contem-porary settingwith classicleather and

wood accents, Champions Bar & Grill is a mod-ern take on the traditional clubhouse atmos-phere. The Grill offers premium steaks, freshseafood, salads and a wide variety of wines.This year, delicious new items highlight themenu, featuring the finest cuts of meat andmore. Bring your friends and come for lunch,dinner or after the matches … you won’t miss aminute of the action, with live matches and othersporting events on Champions’ many TVs.

U.S. OpenClubT h e U . S .Open Club islocated onthe ground

floor of Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Club is avail-able to all Subscription Series ticket holders

for the duration of the tournament for a nomi-nal entrance fee, and is included for SilverLoge Box seat holders. The U.S. Open Club isfamous for the Chef’s Table and seasonal se-lections of eclectic American cuisine.

MojitoRestaurant& BarMojito, is aC u b a n - i n -spired restau-

rant that transports visitors to a dramaticsetting in a tropical oasis reminiscent of1950s Havana. Experience Mojito’s lus-cious flavors with Latin specialties andcool cocktails, either inside or outdoorsin Mojito’s whimsical garden. Mojito isavailable to all ticket holders. Mojito is lo-cated on the ground floor of Arthur AsheStadium next to the Patio Café.

Patio Café& BarSoak up theb e a u t i f u ls u r r o u n d-ings of the

U.S. Open grounds at this expandedcharming outdoor café and bar locatedoutside the U.S. Open Club. Enjoy freshselections of seasonal sandwiches andsalads, paired with summer specialtycocktails. The Patio Café & Bar is avail-able for all ticket holders.

HeinekenRed StarCaféLocated inthe SouthPlaza near

Court 7, the Heineken Red Star Café has asports bar atmosphere complete with TVscovering the action on all of the featuredcourts, light snacks, specialty beers featur-ing Heineken and Heineken Light, frozencocktails and a full bar … all set outdoors inthe middle of the action. The Heineken RedStar Café is available to all ticket holdersthroughout the day and evening.


Rejuvenate by the Fountains!Visit our refreshing food destinations by thefountains including the South Plaza Café,Carnegie Deli, Cuppa Spotta and Ben & Jerry’s.

Baseline CocktailsCome quench your thirst with a full servicebar that includes premium wine upgrades.

Wine Bar FoodServing Mediterranean flavors with winesto match located in the South Plaza byFountains.

U.S. Open Food VillageEnjoy regional cuisine and specialty itemsat the U.S. Open Food Village including aHoney Deuce Cocktail at the Grey GooseBar! Featured vendors include: Ben &Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop, Carnegie Deli,Classic Burger, Cuppa Spotta, Franks andFries, Fresca Mexicana, Fulton Seafood,Glatt Kosher Cart, Grey Goose Bar, NewDelhi Spice, Pizza/Pasta, Southern Bar-beque, Stonyfield Café, and Sweet & Sa-vory Crepes.

U.S. Open attractionsFountain Desk PlazaESPN and CBS will be broadcasting liveduring select sessions from the FountainPlaza Desk in the South Plaza. You won’twant to miss interviews with today’s ten-nis stars!

SmashZoneLocated in the

Chase Center, SmashZone has somethingfor the whole family to enjoy, includingQuickStart Tennis courts, a rally wall chal-lenge and interactive photos and games.Pick up a drawsheet for a list of specialguests, autograph sessions and playerdemonstrations.

International Tennis Hall of Fame &Museum GalleryBe sure to visit the U.S. Open Gallery, lo-cated inside the Chase Center, where thisyear’s champions will be commemorated.

The State of AmericanTennis: The Men’s SideBy David Drucker

Another year brings another U.S. Open,and the question on the mind of manyAmericans is who can step up for the hostcountry this year and make an exciting runto the title?

Does anybody remember the last time anAmerican won a Grand Slam? That wouldbe in 2003 where up and coming star AndyRoddick defeated Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferreroat the U.S. Open. Shortly thereafter, wewere introduced to the era of RogerFederer and Rafael Nadal. These twochampions have simply dominated thesport since 2004, winning 25 of 31 GrandSlams, starting with the 2004 AustralianOpen. Out of those 31 Grand Slams, onlyfive have featured American finalists. Rod-dick was a finalist in 2004, 2005 and 2009at Wimbledon, as well as the 2006 U.S.Open. Andre Agassi was a finalist in the2005 U.S. Open. All five finals losses cameat the hands of Roger Federer.

Going into this year’s U.S. Open, thereare no Americans who would be consid-ered favorites to win the title, but thatdoesn’t mean we don’t have contenderswith a shot. So, which American has thebest chance to win our nation’s GrandSlam?

Let’s first begin with tier one or the “top”Americans to look out for:

Mardy FishEver since losing asignificant amountof weight thanks toa healthy diet,Mardy Fish hasseemed to res-urrect his career.

Fish has recently overtaken the numberone American ranking from his buddyAndy Roddick, who had been carryingthe U.S. on his shoulders for more thansix years now. Fish is coming off his bestcareer performance at Wimbledon,

Family DayThe U.S. Open is holding its third annualFamily Day on Tuesday, Aug. 30. Par-ents accompanied by children 14-and-under can sit together in reservedseating in Louis Armstrong Stadium. Anexclusive family breakfast, located inthe Corporate Hospitality Pavilion in theChase Center, is also available as aticket package for purchase and in-cludes early access to SmashZone andan exclusive gift bag.

12th AnnualBNP ParibasTaste of Tennis EventThe world’s toptennis playersand chefs wills e r v e - u p a

kickoff to the U.S. Open on Thursday,Aug. 25 from 7:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. at theW New York in midtown Manhattan at the12th Annual BNP Paribas Taste of Tennisevent, to benefit the New York JuniorTennis League. One of summer’s mostanticipated New York nightlife events,BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis givesguests the opportunity to mingle withtheir favorite tennis stars and chefs,while sampling an eclectic mix of spe-cially-designed dishes that earn rave re-views each year. This year’s lineupincludes former U.S. Open and DavisCup Champion Andy Roddick, Wimble-don Semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga,along with top 10 players Mardy Fish andTomas Berdych. On the women’s side,the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis field isstacked with three of the top 10-rankedplayers in the world, including Li Na,Francesca Schiavone and VictoriaAzarenka. These stars will cook along-side notable chefs from many of the na-tion’s premiere restaurants, includingJames Beard award winner MichelleBernstein from Miami’s Sra. Martinez,Anita Lo of Annisa, Buddakan’s BrianRay and Humberto Leon & Ashley Palmaof STK, among many others.


John IsnerThe 6 ft.-9 in. John Isner,who is coming off hissecond career ATP title inNewport, R.I., will hopeto slay a few opponentsand surpass his 2010performance, when he

lost in the third round. When on his game,Isner is a dangerous opponent and top playerswould prefer not to see him in their draw. How-ever, Isner’s serve simply cannot carry him toa Grand Slam title.

Tier number three is a group of Americanswho have slipped in the rankings, perhaps onesyou’ve forgotten about. Without a fantastic draw,these Americans will have a tough road to glory:

Sam QuerreyWe haven’t seen SamQuerrey since the AEGONChampionships, a tune uptournament for Wimbledon.Querrey eventually withdrewfrom Wimbledon, citing an

arm injury. Should Querrey even be healthyenough to compete at this year’s U.S. Open, heis no threat to anyone. Sam has won only onematch in three Grand Slams this year, and lacksany major wins. His best win in 2011 was de-feating Spain’s Fernando Verdasco. Don’t bank

on Querrey making it past the second roundshould he play in the Open.

James BlakeYes folks, James Blakeis still playing tennis, andno … he is not retired.James has simply fallenin the rankings hencewhy you barely see himat the major tourna-ments. Currently ranked91st in the world, Blake

has struggled with his game in recent years,but is looking to make one more major run likehe did when he reached the quarterfinals ofthe Open in 2005 and 2006. As much as I likeBlake, I don’t see positive results for the “J-Block” at this year’s Open.

Lastly, who will be the American longshots to possibly make a name forthemselves. At this year’s U.S. Open:

Ryan HarrisonRookie AmericanRyan Harrisond o e s h a v egame and willlook to put hisgame on dis-

play should he make the main draw of the

reaching the quarterfinals before losing toRafael Nadal. Sadly though, Fish’s best re-sult in a Grand Slam during his entire careerhas been a trip to the quarterfinals. Sorry “FishHeads,” as Mardy likes to refer to his fans,don’t look for anything better then a quarterfi-nals appearance in this Slam.

Andy RoddickFor Andy Roddick, itmust feel like a cen-tury ago since he wonthe 2003 U.S. Open.Since then, Roddickfailed to live up to ex-pectations, losing in

each of the four Slam finals he’s reachedsince 2003. Andy was shocked in the sec-ond round by Feliciano Lopez at thisyear’s Wimbledon, which is why Andy willbe my American favorite at this year’sOpen. Roddick, who has been embar-rassed in his recent Grand Slam per-formances is seeking redemption andlooking to make one last splash in aGrand Slam before he calls it a career.Pending Roddick’s draw, I pick him asthe top American hopeful at the U.S.Open.

In tier number two, I think there’s only oneAmerican who fits that category. That Ameri-can would be John Isner.


round before falling to Tomas Berdych. Unfor-tunately, the American hasn’t made it past thefirst round of the U.S. Open. This is the year Ibelieve Bogomolov Jr. can make it out of roundone and possibly equal his Wimbledon per-formance, if not better, pending his draw. Real-istically, Bogomolov Jr. won’t make it out ofweek one, but he will be entertaining to watchwith the way he’s been playing of late.

Contenders and Pretenders for the 2011U.S. Open: The Men’s SideGoing into the U.S. Open, there will be play-ers looking to continue to dominate, lookingto repeat, and looking to break out. Morethan likely, a top 20 player will win the title asthat’s the trend that has existed over the last10 years. This year’s U.S. Open will be no dif-ferent in my eyes. Let’s break down thisyear’s players to watch into three categories.

The no-brainersRafael Nadal is the de-fending champion at Flush-ing Meadows, and you canbet that he’ll be looking forrevenge against Wimble-don champ Novak Djokovic

whom he lost to in four sets in the Wimble-

don final, which cost him his number oneworld ranking. Nadal, who defeatedDjokovic in the finals of last year’s U.S.Open, has a great shot to repeat this year.Expect nothing less than a semifinals ap-pearance from the now world number two.

Novak Djokovic, whois the new number onein the rankings, thehottest player on tour,and easily having thebest year in his career,

is an obvious pick for the later rounds of theOpen. Already winning two of the threeGrand Slams this year, Djokovic will be look-ing to capitalize at this year’s U.S. Openwhere he’s made the finals twice in his career,losing to Federer and Nadal. The numberone-ranked Serbian should be seeded first atthis year’s Open, therefore he should findhimself in a great position to make a run atthe championship.

Roger Federer is suffer-ing the biggest GrandSlam drought of his ca-reer, failing to win a majorsince the 2010 AustralianOpen. Since then, he’s

reached only one Slam final, this year’sFrench Open where he lost to Nadal yet

U.S. Open, which he should. In 2010, hemade the second round after upsetting formertop five player Ivan Ljubicic in the first round.Harrison, though young, can still win a fewmatches in Flushing Meadows. Let’s hope fora good draw and a nice Cinderella story here.

Donald YoungYear after year, we wait forDonald Young to do some-thing big. This year, Youngupended Andy Murray for thebiggest win of his life at In-

dian Wells. However, what we would liketo see is Donald show us some game inthe Grand Slams. Unfortunately, wehaven’t seen that at all from the youngAmerican in his already seven-year ca-reer. Based on past experiences, don’texpect anything beyond the secondround at best for Young.

Alex Bogomolov Jr.Most fans aren’t too familiar withAlex Bogomolov Jr. as he’snever done well in the rankings.His career-high ranking in sin-gles is where he currentlystrands in the rankings, 63rd in

the world. However, Bogomolov Jr. has justcome off his best Grand Slam performances atthis year’s Wimbledon, making it to the third

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again. For Federer, it looks like the door maybe starting to close with the emergence ofDjokovic. However, I do not rule the Swissmaestro out, as he has always faired well atthe U.S. Open. Each time he has lost on thehard courts of Flushing Meadows, he had hischances to win, but was simply outplayed inthe end. Look for the five-time champion tomake it to at least the semifinals.

Andy Murray, be-lieve it or not, hasmade the semifinalsor farther each GrandSlam in 2011. Murrayfaltered in the finals ofthe Australian Open

to Djokovic, and the semifinals of the FrenchOpen and Wimbledon to Nadal. Out of thefour no-brainers, Murray is the one I have theleast confidence to go deep in the Open. Itseems as if he just cannot break through onthe big stage. Though he’s been extremelyconsistent in Grand Slams this year, I don’tsee Murray making it past the semifinalsshould he make it there.

The contendersAndy Roddick, the 2003U.S. Open champion hasalways mentioned howmuch he enjoys playingon the hard courts of theUSTA Billie Jean King Na-

tional Tennis Center. Though his recent re-sults in Grand Slams have been consideredembarrassing for Roddick, I believe he isready to redeem himself at this year’sOpen. Roddick has won this Slam in thepast, and has been to the finals in 2006. Heknows what it takes. Though he’s slipped abit in the rankings, the shot at redemptionis what I’m banking on that will take Rod-dick into week number two.

Juan Martin delPotro, for thoseof you who don’tremember, wonthe U.S. Open in

2009 when he stunned Roger Federer in

five sets. Since then, del Potro has strug-gled with injuries that have sidelined him fornearly a year. After looking to be fully recov-ered, del Potro is a big threat with his heavystrokes and massive presence. Look for theArgentinean to make it into the second weekas well, possibly clashing with a big namelike Nadal or Federer in the quarters.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga hasbeen flying under the radarthis year, but at this year’sWimbledon, he did some-thing that caught the eyes ofevery tennis fan in the world.

Tsonga became the first player ever to beatFederer when down two sets to none in aGrand Slam. For this reason, along with hishuge serve and forehand, Tsonga is a con-tender at this year’s Open. The fast hardcourts suit his game well; therefore, Tsongashould find himself in week two as well.

Tomas Berdych is aplayer who can catch firewith every aspect of hisgame at any moment. Take,for example, last year’s

Wimbledon where he dismissed the defendingchampion at the time, Roger Federer, with ease.Berdych painted lines every point hitting winnerafter winner. Should Berdych start hitting hisspots, he will be extremely dangerous and dif-ficult to beat. Berdych was embarrassed in thefirst round of last year’s Open, but this yearshould be different for the big hitting Czech.

The pretendersRobin Soderling, similar toBerdych, is another big hit-ter. If he catches fire, watchout. His example of that typeof hitting was evident at the2009 French Open where

he ran defending champion Rafael Nadalragged. Soderling and Berdych could goeither way, but in this case, I feel Sodelingis a pretender because he lacks the all-around game that Berdych has. If this werethe French Open, then I would reverse thepositions as I believe Soderling moves bet-

ter on clay, but the U.S. Open is played ona hard court. The tall Swede will struggle.

David Ferrer will always beone to give you everythinghe has in the tank when play-ing a match. Unfortunately forFerrer, he lacks the knockoutpunch in his arsenal to do any

damage. The only thing he can do which canand has worked in the past, is run his oppo-nents off the court. However, when Ferrermakes it into the later rounds of a Grand Slam,he is usually met by someone who possessesthat killer shot, or the knockout blow. That’swhy I don’t see the Spanish warrior making itpast the quarterfinals of the Open.

Gael Monfils may be themost entertaining out of all theplayers listed thus far, no-brain-ers and contenders included.The young Frenchman is quitethe show on-court, with his

cat-like speed and heavy strokes. To go alongwith those weapons, he loves getting thecrowd involved after the big points to helpfuel his fire. The problem that Monfils runsinto is that he lacks the ability to sustain hishigh-quality level of play for a best of fiveset match with the top players of the world;therefore, he is no threat to win a GrandSlam at this time.

Mardy Fish is now the top-ranked American in the world,surpassing Andy Roddickwho was the top-rankedAmerican for a number ofyears. Fish has been playing

the best tennis of his life as of late. Reach-ing the quarterfinals of Wimbledon was hisbest performance ever at the grass courtSlam. Coming into this year’s U.S. Open, Ifeel he can only carry that momentum sofar before succumbing to defeat.

David Drucker of New York Tennis Mag-azine is a member of the Nichols CollegeMen’s Tennis team. He may be reachedby e-mail at [email protected].


The Women’s Side:American Hopefuls forthe 2011 U.S. OpenCrownBy Monica Gorny

American young-ster Christ inaMcHale is movingup the rankingsand making steady

progress in her young professional career. Shecomes into the 2011 U.S. Open with a WTAranking of 65, and hopes to make it furtherthan her U.S. Open-best showing of making itto the second round in 2009. McHale hasoften been described as one of the most am-bitious young players on tour, and chances arethat she will look to prove herself on home soilat the 2011 U.S. Open.

Currently ranked number 88on the WTA Tour, VaniaKing is another Americanhopeful at this year’s U.S.Open. King has had most of

her career successes in the doubles field,where she is currently ranked numberseven. Her best result in the U.S. Open sin-gles draw is a third round appearance in2009. Will King pleasantly surprise theAmerican public in this year’s tournament?

Coco Vandeweghe stormedinto the U.S. Open limelight in2008, where she won the girl’ssingles title, and is currentlyranked 99th on the WTA Tour. In

her two showings at the Open, she did notmanage to pass the first round. However, theNew York native will be hungry to show herpotential on her home turf and could causesome upsets along the way.

American sweetheart MelanieOudin had a terrific run at theU.S. Open in 2009 when shereached the quarterfinals.However, Oudin has not had a

successful season thus far and has not man-aged to pass the first round at any of the pre-vious Grand Slams. Will the 2011 U.S. Openserve to reignite her young career?

Top Picks for the 2011U.S. Open Women’s TitleThe no-brainers

Kim Clijsters, comes intothe 2011 U.S. Open as thedefending champion. TheBelgian is currently in sec-ond place in the WTA rank-

ings and has won the U.S. Openchampionship three times before. Clijsterswas forced to withdraw from this year’s Wim-bledon due to a foot injury; however, a speedyrecovery is underway and indications are thatthe Belgian will be ready to defend her crownat this year’s Open, making her a real threat inthe women’s draw.

American hopes for the 2011U.S. Open crown will rest onthe shoulders of SerenaWilliams, who is making acomeback to the tennisworld after a difficult year

of injuries, including a pulmonary em-bolism. Williams is a three-time U.S. Openchampion, with her last victory on homesoil coming in 2008. Due to her difficultseason, Williams did not compete in lastyear’s tournament. A powerful serve andfiery groundstrokes, coupled with a homecourt advantage, makes Serena a notablefavorite to hoist the tournament trophy.

The “old” Maria Sharapovais back and looks moredetermined than ever tomake her presence feltonce again on the WTATour. After suffering fromshoulder injuries for the

past two seasons, Sharapova made a startlingcomeback at this year’s Wimbledon where shereached the finals. The Russian is currentlyranked number five in the world, but has been

ranked as high as number one in the past. Herperformance at the USTA Billie Jean King Na-tional Tennis Center is highlighted by her U.S.Open victory in 2006. Will Sharapova be ableto continue her stellar play and add anotherGrand Slam title to her record?

Czech young gunPetra Kvitova tookthe world by stormwhen she recentlydefeated a string of

top-ranked players to take the Wimbledoncrown. The Czech is currently ranked numberseven on the WTA Tour, with her best result atthe U.S. Open coming in 2009 when shereached the fourth round. With her aggressionand ability to stay composed, Kvitova is a hotfavorite to win this year’s Open championship.

Rounding out the fa-vorites for the 2011 U.S.Open is Venus Williamswho has won the tour-nament twice before.

Like her sister Serena, Venus has not playedmuch this season due to injuries. However,the American’s powerful serve and aggressivegroundstrokes are perfectly suited for the hardcourts, making her an undeniable threat andpossible victor of the tournament.

ContendersThe current world numberone, Caroline Wozniackihas yet to win a GrandSlam title. However, herperformance at theUSTA Billie Jean National

Tennis Center has been her strength in GrandSlam showings. The Dane reached the finalsof the Open in 2009 and reached the semifi-nals last year. Is this the much-awaited yearfor a Wozniacki victory in the finals?

After reaching lastyear’s final on theU.S. Open courts,Vera Zvonareva willlook to repeat her

successes at this year’s Open, and hope-


the past year. She failed to pass the fourthround at any of the Grand Slams of the 2011season, and has not reached the quarterfinalsat the U.S. Open for the last two years. It isdoubtful that the current world number 15 willmake a strong showing at this year’s Open.

Aussie doubles specialistSamantha Stosur has madetremendous progress in hersingles career over the pastfew years. Last year can be

considered the peak year of her career whereshe reached a career-high ranking of numbersix and was a finalist at the French Open. Sto-sur’s successes have mainly come on theslower clay, and her 2011 season has notbeen as promising thus far. Chances are thatthe Aussie will not fair well at this year’s Open.

Not so long ago, thetennis world mar-veled at the steadyprogress that Ser-bia’s Ana Ivanovic

exhibited on the WTA Tour. Within only oneyear, Ivanovic went from being ranked outsidethe top 20, to number one on the tour. How-ever, Ivanovic’s 2009 season was nothingshort of disastrous, as her ranking plummetedto outside the top 20 once again. Any hopesfor an Ivanovic comeback at Wimbledon 2011were dashed with her elimination in the thirdround. Clearly, the 2011 Open will not be theSerb’s time to shine.

Despite being rankedin t h e t o p 2 0 ,Poland’s AgnieszkaRadwanska has nothad much success

on the Grand Slam scene. Her greatest suc-cesses over the years have come on the grasscourts of Wimbledon where she reached thequarterfinals twice. The U.S. Open has neverbeen her strong point, and thus her prospectsfor a first U.S. Open title look gloomy.

Monica Gorny of New York Tennis Maga-zine is a member of the Duke UniversityWomen’s Tennis team.

“I love New York and I love the at-mosphere here. It’s very intense. Toplay on center court with 23,000 peo-ple watching you, especially during

the night session, that’s an amazing feeling. That’s whatyou train for.”—Caroline Wozniacki

So You Think You KnowEverything About theU.S. Open?� The U.S. Open originated in 1881 in

Newport, R.I.� A USTA competition ball must bounce

53 inches when dropped from 100inches in order to be used in the tour-nament.

� 70,000 balls get used during the courseof a U.S. Open tournament.

� $22,668,000 in total prize monies wereawarded during the 2010 U.S. Open.Approximately $100,000 in total prizemoney was awarded in 1968.

� In 1977, transsexual Renee Richards,who first played in the U.S. Open asRichard Raskin in 1960, was allowed tocompete. “She” reaches the semifinalsof women’s doubles.

� Last year’s clip of a fight in the stands inthe upper deck of Arthur Ashe StadiumCourt at the U.S. Open drew 1,320,719views on You Tube.

� 1927 was the first tournament to useseedings.

� 1950 was the first Grand Slam to allowa black woman to play (Althea Gibson).

� The fastest serve in U.S. Open historywas 147mph by American Taylor Dent.

� When Andy Roddick and Ernest Gullbisplayed in 2008, their night match endedat 1:34 a.m. At that time, they were eachcelebrating their birthday.

� The U.S. Open is played on hard courtknown as “Deco Turf.“

� The U.S. Open began using instant re-play in 2006.

� U.S. Open Champions with most careertitles: Connors (109), Lendl (94), McEnroe(77), Sampras (64), Agassi (60), Federer(45 and counting) and Ashe (33).

� The latest a men’s match at U.S. Openfinished: Mats Wilander defeated MikaelPernfors, 7-6(3), 3-6, 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 at2:26 a.m.

� The latest women’s match at U.S. Openfinished: Sam Stosur defeated ElenaDementieva, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(2) at 1:35 a.m.

fully, one-up her 2010 performance. Thenumber three-ranked Russian is one ofthe feistiest players on the WTA Tour andcould pose a threat to the usual favoritesin the women’s draw.

Na Li’s perform-ance has been atits peak during theclay court seasons ofthe past two years.The Chinese woman

had her career highlight when she won thisyear’s French Open. At the U.S. Open, Li’s bestrun came in 2009 when she reached the quar-terfinals. The current world number six has thegame to takedown anyone on the tour, makingher a strong contender at this year’s Open.

Germany’s SabineLisicki has provento be one of theworld’s best withher performancethroughout the

grass court season this year. After winningthe AEGON Classic, Lisicki went on toreach the semifinals of Wimbledon withher wildcard status. Her U.S. Open careerhas not been as impressive, with a sec-ond round showing being her best result.However, the German should not betaken lightly, as she has shown that shehas the true heart of a champion.

The pretendersIt’s hard to be-lieve that Serbia’sJelena Jankovicwas ever rankednumber one in theworld with herperformance over


� The youngest man to win at the U.S. Openwas Pete Sampras at 19-years-old in 1990.

� The youngest woman to win the U.S.Open was Tracey Austin at 16-years-oldin 1979.

� In the longest U.S. Open match ever,Stefan Edberg defeated Michael

Chang, 6-7(3), 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-4.Total match time was five hrs. and 24min.

� Most aces in a U.S. Open match:Richard Krajicek (49).

� Most consecutive wins at the U.S.Open: Roger Federer (40).

“It would be a dream come true for me be-cause its one thing I’ve always dreamed of.My tennis idols, like Serena Williams, haveplayed there, so it would really be a dreamcome true.”—Andrea Hernandez, 10

“It would be amazing, because then I couldplay on the same court as RogerFederer.”—Matt Zeifman, 5

“Pretty amazing … hard work pays off!”—Michelle Lehat, 14

“I can show the world just how big myforehand is!”—Patrick Maloney, 11

“Very important part of my life, a snapshot

What if the kids had a shot at the Open?With the U.S. Open on the horizon, we recently asked some local junior playersthe following question: What would it feel like if you got to play in the U.S. Openon Arthur Ashe Stadium Court?

moment, breathtaking, an honor, really coolto play with experienced players.”—Christopher Grisham, 11

“Exhilarating … a good experience to playagainst professionals, nervous because alot of people are watching, I would proba-bly freak out, good thing it’s not going tohappen to me for a few more years.”—Madison Battaglia, 13

“Great because everyone would be watchingme play tennis, I would like to be number onein the world.”—Ronnie Hohmann, 9

“I’d feel proud because I worked so hard toget there.”—Vanessa Scott, 14

“Amazing, I’d feel famous.”—Peter Bukary, 9

“I would feel awesome, in power.”—Jason Yu, 10

“Nervous … a lot of pressure, and every-one is watching.”—Kat Changtroralekely,14

“An overwhelming moment … awesome! I’dfeel unbelievable.”—Jonathan Ochoa, 16

“I would feel amazing, accomplished andproud.”—Sophie Barnard, 16

“Very proud, psyched to play with truepros.”—Vanessa Pavia, 16

“I would be excited because the U.S. Openis one of the biggest tournaments in theworld.”—Samantha Civil, 8

“I would be very proud that I would havemade it that far to be able to play in the U.S.Open.”—Julia Misciagna, 10

“I would feel nervous, but I’d also feelgood, because I know Rafael Nadal playedthere.”—Anthony Giraci, 10

“I would be happy, and maybe I could playwith my dad on the court and get signaturesfrom the other pros.”—Joshua Baron, 6

“It would be a great experience to be seenby other people and to show my talent.”—Andre Gillespie, 10

“Amazing if I could get that far.”—Louie Kotler, 10

“Awesome just being there … cool seeingall the people.”—Jordyn Berry, 13

“I’d feel more excited, I wouldn’t care howI did because I’d just be so happy to bethere.“—Claire Handa, 12

“I would try to make it as far as I could. Itwould be amazing to improve and playagainst good players.”—Steven Sun, 10

prospectpark.org/tennis (718) 436-2500


Monday, August 29 1 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s/Women’s 1st Round2 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s/Women’s 1st Round

Tuesday, August 30 3 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s/Women’s 1st Round4 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s/Women’s 1st Round

Wednesday, August 31 5 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s 1st Round/Women’s 2nd Round6 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s/Women’s 2nd Round

Thursday, September 1 7 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s/Women’s 2nd Round8 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s/Women’s 2nd Round

Friday, September 2 9 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s 2nd Round/Women’s 3rd Round10 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s 2nd Round/Women’s 3rd Round

Saturday, September 3 11 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s/Women’s 3rd Round12 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s/Women’s 3rd Round

Sunday, September 4 13 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s 3rd Round/Women’s Round of 1614 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s 3rd Round/Women’s Round of 16

Monday, September 5 15 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s/Women’s Round of 1616 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s/Women’s Round of 16

Tuesday, September 6 17 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s Round of 16/Women’s Quarterfinal18 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s Round of 16/Women’s Quarterfinal

Wednesday, September 7 19 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s and/or Women’s Quarterfinal20 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s and/or Women’s Quarterfinal

Thursday, September 8 21 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s Quarterfinal/Mixed-Doubles Final22 Evening 7:00 p.m. Men’s Quarterfinal/Women’s Doubles

Semifinals

Friday, September 9 23 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s Doubles Final/Women’s Semifinals

Saturday, September 10 24 Day 11:00 a.m. Men’s Semifinals25 Evening 7:00 p.m. Women’s Final/Pre-Match Ceremony

Sunday, September 11 26 Day Noon Women’s Doubles Final/Men’s Final

2011 U.S. Open Schedule(Subject to change)

Date Session Time Featured Matches Date Session Time Featured Matches

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Metro Board at World TeamTennis

The USTA Eastern Metro Region Board had a presence at the NewYork Sportimes World TeamTennis (WTT) home matches atSportime Stadium at Randall’s Island. Metro Region Board mem-bers gave out free racquets to all children that came to thematches. The racquets were donated by USTA Eastern and theNew York Sportimes. The Board members also distributed mate-rials and answered questions about USTA membership, USTAAdult Leagues, Metro Corporate Leagues and the Play TennisNew York program. The Board was happy to support WorldTeamTennis and the New York Sportimes during their 2011 cam-paign. Pictured above, Jeffrey Fairbanks, USTA Metro Manhattanrepresentative; USTA Metro Regional President Carl Summerlin;USTA Eastern Metro Second Vice President Jackie Clark; andMetro Brooklyn Representative Pablo Sierra at Sportime Stadium.

Lincoln Terrace Tennis Association Wins Sec-ond Annual Kings CupA team from the Lincoln Terrace Tennis Association (LTTA) wonthe USTA Eastern’s Second Annual Kings Cup on July 23, beat-ing out teams from five other public and private tennis facilitiesin Brooklyn and earning a place in New York City tennis history.The day-long tournament was held at the Prospect Park TennisCenter in Brooklyn, and gave recreational players a chance toexperience tennis as part of a team and learn about the widerange of opportunities to play tennis throughout the borough.

In the finals against the McCarren Park team, LTTA’s KwamyGriffith won the men’s singles, Akilah James won the women’ssingles, and Griffith & James teamed up to win mixed-doubles.

USTA/Eastern-Metro Region

Members of the McCarrenPark teamprepare for their finals match

The LTTA team was captained by Charles East, and includedSophia Bishop, Colin Clarke, Prince Debo, Gloria Moody, DebbiePaul, Tony Tull and Ray Wilson. The event attracted teams fromFort Greene Park, Fort Greene Tennis Ladder, Knickerbocker FieldClub and Prospect Park.

“Every member of the LTTA team played well against toughopponents, and we are very happy to come out on top,” saidEast.

Charles East, captain of the 2011Kings Cup champs, Lincoln TerraceTennis Association (LTTA)

Congratulations to the Lincoln Terrace Tennis Association (LTTA),winners of the Second Annual Kings Cup


USTA/Eastern-Metro Region

USTA Metro Region Board

Carl Summerlin Regional President [email protected]

Thomas Gilliland First Vice President [email protected]

Jackie Clark Second Vice President [email protected]

Allon Lifshitz Secretary [email protected]

Bronx Representative Janice Campbell [email protected]

Brooklyn Representative Pablo Sierra [email protected]

Manhattan Representative Jeffrey Fairbanks [email protected]

Queens Representative/Adult Leagues Deb-Rose Andrews [email protected]

Staten Island Representative Donald L. Malech [email protected]

Junior Recreation Representative Thomas Gilliland [email protected]

Junior Team Tennis Kathy Yee [email protected]

Adult Competition Representative Robin Lieberman [email protected]

At-Large Jeff Jones [email protected]

SBTA Participate in “Vive Tu Vida! Get Up! Get Moving!” Event

The South Brooklyn Tennis As-sociation (SBTA) and some ofthe Brooklyn area CTAs and

NJTLs (High Park Tennis Association and Marcy Tennis) recentlyparticipated in the “Vive Tu Vida! Get Up! Get Moving!” event inthe Bronx, at the Fordham Road Renaissance Festival. The event,sponsored by the Hispanic Federation with the National Alliancefor Hispanic Health, was held to promote physical activity, healthynutrition, and also provided various health screenings. For thisyear’s event, the Hispanic Federation partnered with the FordhamRoad Renaissance Festival.

The SBTA and its friends were on hand to promote Kids 10 &Under Tennis, as tennis demonstrations were held for all in atten-dance. SBTA explained to attendees that playing tennis everyother day for 50-60 min. is a great way of reducing stress, andeven lowering glucose levels in the event you are diabetic.

West Side Tennis Club Hosts Grass Court National Championships

Congratulations to RoslynChua-Mcalonie of MillerPlace, N.Y. for advancingt o t h e f i n a l s o f t h eWomen’s 30 SinglesChampionship at the 2011USTA National Women’s30, 40, 50, 60, 70 & 80Grass Court Champi-onships, held July 18-24at The West Side TennisClub in Forest Hills, N.Y.Roslyn was defeated bythe number two seedMonica Rincon of Colum-

bus, Ohio in the Women’s 30 Singles finals, 7-5, 6-4.


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www.JohnMcEnroeTennisAcademy.comEmail: [email protected]


Susan BilottaBy Jacki Clark

Whether it is a USTA League tennis match orraising money to find a cure for Parkinson’sDisease, Susan Bilotta gives so much of her-self, but realizes that the team approach is thebest way to be successful. Susan approachesall challenges in life by following the belief, “To-gether everyone achieves more.” In Susan’sworld, this means, “Together we win matchesand together with The Michael J. Fox Foun-dation, a cure will be found.”

Susan Bilotta is a selfless, hard-workingand motivated woman as you will get toknow her here in the Metro League PlayerSpotlight.

How long have you played tennis andhow long have you been playing in theUSTA leagues?I have been playing tennis for over 35 years andhave played in USTA Leagues for over 15years. Tennis, like Tips for Parkinson’s, brings

people together and some of my closest friendsare tennis players. I am captain of a 3.5 teamand they are an amazing group of women.

What has USTA league tennis meant toyou?USTA has given me an outlet to play tennisin New York City, probably one of the most

difficult places to get a court. I have greatfriends due to tennis and the USTA. Myteam not only plays as one, but we supportand encourage each other off the court. Iam so very lucky to have a team that sup-ports me both on and off the court. It takesa team to win on the court, and takes ateam to put Tips for Parkinson’s together.

Who or what has inspired you to helpothers and how did you get involvedwith the Michael J. Fox Foundation?My mother and the many people battlingParkinson’s Disease each and every day aremy inspiration. I have seen, through my motherand the friends I have made through Team Fox,the affects of Parkinson’s. I want to help closethe doors of The Michael J. Fox Foundation.That means a cure has been found and I knowThe Michael J. Fox Foundation will be behindit. I was introduced to The Michael J. FoxFoundation 10 years ago at The Parkinson’sUnity Walk in Central Park. I was invited tomany of their roundtables that updated indi-viduals on Parkinson’s research and the Foun-dation’s involvement. It was not until January2006 when Team Fox was launched that I be-came really involved. Team Fox was thegrassroots arm of The Michael J. Fox Foun-dation and was a way for The Michael J. FoxFoundation to support the heroes all over thecountry. These individuals made it their per-sonal mission to find uniquely creative andfun ways to raise funds for Parkinson’s re-search. Team Fox provides guidance, toolsand resources for the thousands of amazingpeople all over the world who are walking, run-ning, baking, party planning, paddling, pedal-ing and dancing to raise funds and awarenessfor Parkinson’s research.

In Team Fox’s first five years, membersraised $12 million. Tips for Parkinson’s is a

Brent ShearerPartial Student List: Alan Greenspan, Designer Mary McFadden, Newsman Mike Wallace, Former Paine Weber CEO Don Marron

646.270.8371 [email protected]

Susan Bilotta


bartending competition which started inJune 2006, and I have had the event eachMay since that time. Tips for Parkinson’sstarted in the local bar, Vertigo, and we raised$14,000. We continued to have Tips at Ver-tigo for a total of four years, and then movedto a larger bar in 2010, and then to the in-credible IAC HQ in 2011. This year, we haveraised more than $190,000. Tips is an eventto bring friends together for a cause I believein, and it has grown from 100 friends andfamily, to more than 580 people. I enjoy get-ting people together and having fun and Tipswas a way to do this for an incredible cause.The Michael J. Fox Foundation means thereis hope and promise for a cure. The MichaelJ. Fox Foundation and Team Fox will put anend to the disease.

Like USTA tennis, Tips for Parkinson’s is aTEAM event and it is truly due to the bartendersand friends that have helped to grow Tips forParkinson’s and to increase awareness. Theamazing bartenders group raised more than$90,000 in 2011 before the night of the event. Iam blown away by the support and help I havereceived by colleagues, my tennis team, friendsand family. It is truly amazing!

What are some goalsthat you are still work-ing to accomplish? I love bringing people to-gether and would like tocontinue to build aware-ness and raise morefunds. I am consideringforming a 501(c) (3) Foun-dation in order to growand do more for TeamFox-The Michael J. FoxFoundation. I am honoredto be a Team Fox Mentorto other Team Fox mem-bers, and I would like to inspire others todo more.

Right now a donation will be matchedby Google co-founder Sergey Brin and hiswife, Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of23andMe. The couple recently issued a$50 million challenge grant that provides adollar-to-dollar match for all new, return-ing and increased donations to the Foun-dation. Tips is an example, since weraised $52,000 more than we did in 2010.The Foundation will ultimately receive

over $237,000 as a result of the event.For more information or to donate,

please visit TeamFox.org, MichaelJFox.orgor TipsForParkinsons.org.

Jackie Clark is second vice president onthe USTA Eastern Metro Region Board,chairperson of the USTA Eastern AdultCompetition Committee, a member of theUSTA National Membership Committeeand a USTA League Captain. She may bereached by e-mail at [email protected].

Susan Bilotta with friends and teammates at the Tips for Parkin-son’s event


By Nina Sporn

Unless you are a diehardtennis player who has

built-in radar that locatestennis courts in unexpected places, youwould never know that there are five beau-tiful Har-Tru courts located on East 18thStreet in Brooklyn, N.Y., just steps awayfrom the Church Avenue Q train stop. TheKnickerbocker Field Club, also known as“The Knick,” was built in 1892, and is theoutdoor tennis home to 150 members.

Tennis enthusiasts have a unique desireto share their love of the game, especiallychildren, and to this end, the Knicker-

bocker Field Club sponsors a free instruc-tional program for local kids to introducethem to the sport. Twice a week, for two-and-a-half hours, the Club’s two teachingpros and a team of volunteers recruitedfrom the Club’s membership, work up to 50kids, ranging in age from five to 16, on fit-ness and tennis technique. The enthusiasmfor the program can be seen in the radiantfaces of the players and the coaches, andby the number of children who return to theprogram year after year.

Recognizing that tennis skills can only besustained and enhanced through ongoinginstruction, the Knickerbocker Field Clubheld a fundraising event in 2010 which

Brooklynin

Kid’s

raised enough to support four scholarshipsto Prospect Park Tennis Center’s JuniorDevelopment program. These students arenow back at The Knick and continue to im-prove, and the Club’s members are com-mitted to this program as a way of creatinga new crop of tennis players for the future.

Nina Sporn is a freelance grant writer witha focus on community and public healthinitiatives for children and families. She isa lifelong tennis enthusiast who sharesher love of the game by volunteering inlocal tennis programs that encouragenew players through grassroots outreachand support.

tennis


By Sophie Scott

A physically active lifestyle isimportant for all age groups.Reasons to participate in

sports, such as tennis are many, such aspleasure and relaxation, competition, social-ization, maintenance and improvement of fit-ness and health. Regular physical activityreduces the risk of premature mortality ingeneral, and in particular, coronary heart dis-ease, hypertension, obesity and diabetes.

Tennis is one of the major global sportswith more than 75 million participantsworldwide from 200-plus countries that aredirectly affiliated with the International Ten-nis Federation (ITF). However, as with manyother sports, playing tennis puts players atthe risk of injury, which may lead to eithertime away from the sport or impairment inactual performance due to pain or limita-tion of movement. Identifying risk factorsfor injury and correcting them through astructured conditioning and training pro-gram can both reduce injury and improveoverall performance and health.

Injuries are prevalent in both the adultand adolescent population. It has beenshown that approximately eight percent ofadolescents drop out of recreational sportsactivities each year due to injury. The pre-teen athletes are at a particular risk ofsports injury due to high levels of exposureat a time of major physiological change. Itis vital to develop effective measures forthe prevention of injuries in young athletes.

Sports injuries result from a complex inter-action of multiple risk factors and events, andinjury prevention generally focuses on modi-

fication of risk factors: Extrinsic factors, suchas equipment, playing surfaces and workload (hours and intensity of activity) and in-trinsic factors such as fitness, flexibility andbalance, previous injury and age.

The common types of injury sustained inmost sports are as a result of overuse,rather than acute trauma. For non-compet-itive tennis players, improper or inadequatephysical and technical training may be thecause of overuse injuries.

Common sports injuries� Muscle strain (mild=common) e.g., calf

strain� Ligament strain (common) e.g., ankle� Bone stress e.g., shin� Tendon e.g., Achilles/shoulder–rotator

cuff

Baseline musculoskeletal screening iscommonly used in professional and otherelite level sports environments to measurepotential intrinsic injury risk factors, byidentifying characteristics of the muscu-loskeletal system that may predispose anindividual athlete to injury or identify com-pensations resulting from an injury that maypredispose the athlete to further injury.Screening is promoted as an integral partof both an injury risk management strategyand a performance and wellness enhance-ment strategy, not only for the elite athlete,but also the recreational one as well.

Tennis involves the successful interac-tion of multiple parts of the musculoskele-tal system through what is termed the“kinetic chain” in order to perform a func-tional movement pattern that will result in a

single tennis shot. Efficient function, withmaximum performance and minimal risk ofinjury, requires optimal activation of all thelinks of the kinetic chain.

Individuals seeking to reduce injury andimprove their performance should seek afull-functional screening and assessmentfrom a qualified practitioner. The results willprovide invaluable information to the indi-vidual athlete and coach from which aunique conditioning training program canbe designed—a program that will enablethe individual to maximize potential andminimize injury and poor performance.

The conditioning program should consistof strength and conditioning training meth-ods, such as resistance training and plyo-metrics, as well as cardiovascular fitnessand recovery strategies.

Sophie Scott is currently director of per-formance at the John McEnroe TennisAcademy at Sportime Randall’s Island inNew York where she has been since Sep-tember 2010. She designs and implementsthe musculoskeletal screening and condi-tioning programs for the developmentalAcademy and elite academy squad. Sophiehas worked as an Osteopath in professionalsport for the last 13 years. Having workedfor six years in the British Soccer Premier-ship with the Fulham Football Club, Sophiespent five years prior to joining the McEn-roe Academy team as Senior Osteopath tothe top British players at the National Ten-nis Centre in London, where she was in-strumental in constructing the screeningprogram for the elite squad. She may bereached by phone at (212) 427-6150.

Tennis InjuryPrevention“Injuries are prevalent in both the adult and adolescent population.It has been shown that approximately eight percent of adolescentsdrop out of recreational sports activities each year due to injury.”


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Community Tennis Associations work on

coordinating and maintaining tennis programs

and services in local areas. With over 1,000

registered Community Tennis Associations

across the US, there is always someone

available to help you enjoy the sport of Tennis

in your community.

©2011 USTA. All rights reserved


By Ajay Kumar

Honestly, after checkingout every dictionary, the

great minds have con-cluded that both “teaching” and “coach-ing” are synonymous—and no one willever argue with that. But, how about try-ing to look at it in a different way? Whatcan be different about teaching andcoaching?

When one mentions “teaching,” theclassroom flashes, the headaches ofhomework, (the always annoying) popquizzes, tests, exams, your friend both-ering from behind, etc. come to mind.

When one says “coaching,” I recognizean instructor in my head telling me to runlaps for not hitting my volleys in the cor-ner target of the court. A teacher wouldhave a different method though. Theymay express that: “It’s good to set upthe volley at that point because it willgive a higher percentage of winning thepoint.” This will reflect both in terms oflearning a stroke as well. Teachers willbreak down a particular stroke and ex-plain the reason behind the technique,as opposed to coaches, (well, mostcoaches, in my opinion), who will likelyjust show you the technique and wouldlikely say, “Just do it this way, imitate

me, and it will work” (of course, I’m ex-aggerating here!).

I believe the difference between teach-ers and coaches is simple … it’s not whatone says, it’s how one says it—and howone describes something, whether it beeloquently or just plain bluntly. It is about‘what you say, who you say it to and howyou say it,’ is the basic idea behindcoaching versus teaching.

I would like to emphasize, again, thatthis is based upon my personal experi-ences in tennis, both playing and work-ing—and might not reflect yours. I’vehad both types of “instructors”—teach-ers and coaches—and teachers havehelped me at certain levels (beginners tointermediates), while coaches havehelped me at other levels (intermediateto advanced).

In our academy, we encounter a varietyof players of all ages and levels—from thebasic 10 & Under QuickStart players, tohighly-ranked juniors. They are all uniquein their way of learning and understand-ing and being who they really are! In-structors have to understand thatchildren are unique, and that their mindsare still developing, trying to sort out thegood from the bad, right from wrong, andwhat is fun and not fun. Adults, to someextent, already know what is right for

them and are reluctant to change theirways. Kids, on the other hand, aresponges—always absorbing what theysee or hear and as instructors, we musttake advantage of this and realize thatevery player/student of the game learnsthe game in their own way.

The maturation as a person and aplayer (physically) are not the same.Over the years, I have encountered dif-ferent sets of instructions from differentperspectives, and I’ve had the good for-tune to learn good, proper guidance.The beauty of learning from both per-sonalities of instructors is that playerscan thrive at each level/age of learningthe game.

I believe that teachers and coacheshave the same general thoughts, but thetone or how they project information iswhat differentiates the two. For me, I wasextremely fortunate to have teacherswho were calm, collective, and most im-portantly, had the patience of a saint (re-member, every student of the game isunique and will learn the sport in theirown way). However, I’ve also been sur-rounded by coaches who are prone to beboisterous and aggressive—whereas thisis the exact opposite of what teachersare—to some extent.

Instructors have to indentify the person-

Teaching vs. CoachingWhat is teaching? What is coaching?


ality of a student, their background, en-thusiasm, humility, competitiveness—tosee and evaluate what method of in-struction is best for them. The method Iwould describe would be the personalityof the instructor: Whether they are ateacher or a coach. As an instructor, Icannot, in the right frame of mind, in-struct or work with a player the way I wasinstructed—because every player/personlearns differently and should be handledwith care.

Most people who have studied educa-tion and have done extensive research inthe field of neuroscience have shownthat every person is different and learnsthe fundamentals of their livelihood dif-ferently. Some are auditory learners,some are visual learners, while some cando both.

I grew up with players and coacheswho instructed me to do as they did—Iwas never as talented or athleticallygifted as my instructors. But theythought that if it worked for them—theway they were taught—it would eventu-ally work for me. To this day, I have to

admit that I never became as close towho they were. However, I was fortunateenough to learn from them and be suc-cessful to a certain degree. My instruc-tors and I are not the same … never wereand never will be.

Some love to see a pro in action andimitate them, whereas some players wantto see a video of themselves and compareit to the ability of a pro. Both are visuallearners, but are learners nonetheless.Some players can actually repeat whatyou tell them—“brush the outside part ofthe ball using your wrist, which will getyou to hit cross-courts”—and they in-stantly grab the concept and run with it (ofcourse, a few dead ball drills help)—butyou get the idea.

The next time you are with a player onthe court, have an open mind to your in-structing skills and take a step back andevaluate and educate. There is no wrongway to accommodate a player to theirneeds.

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

“I believe the difference betweenteachers and coaches is simple …

it’s not what one says, it’s how one says it …”


CUNNINGHAM SPORTS CENTER196-00 Union TurnpikeFresh Meadows, N.Y.(718) 740-6800CunninghamSportsCenter.comCunningham Sports Center, where “Yoursuccess is our main goal,” is a 10-hard courtfacility which offers a wide array of tennisprograms to suit all ages and levels. Cun-ningham’s Junior Development Program isone of the largest and best in the area. Usinginnovative techniques, players of all stagesare provided with the tools and challengesnecessary to advance to the next level. Cun-ningham’s highly successful QuickStart pro-gram, for ages four through seven, usesspecialized equipment, shorter court dimen-sions, and modified scoring to introduce theyoungest players to the game of tennis.

From beginners to advanced tournament training, Cunningham of-fers one-, two- and three-hour programs for all levels of play. Cun-ningham’s newly-designed Tournament Team is by tryout only and iscomprised of the best of the best. Cunningham’s tennis pros will pre-pare your child for high level tournament play, offering personal train-ing, drills, fitness, tournament scheduling and assistance.

Cunningham also offers junior and adult leagues, match play andlive ball programs to inspire sportsmanship and the competitive spirit.Adult drills are offered weeknights and weekends. Parents are encour-aged to join Cunningham’s programs and play while their child plays,and programs are packaged to offer the most for your money. Privatelessons are also available for people of all ages. Cunningham offersseasonal and open court time with special walk-on rates, senior ratesand non-prime time pricing that will fit any budget. Let Cunninghamhelp you on the road to loving the great sport of tennis.

MANHATTAN PLAZA RACQUET CLUB450 West 43rd StreetNew York, N.Y.(212) 594-0554ManhattanPlazaRacquetClub.comManhattan Plaza Racquet Club (MPRC), anAdvantage Tennis Club, located at 450 West43rd Street (between 9th Avenue and 10thAvenue) in New York City (open Monday-

Sunday, from 6:00 a.m. untilmidnight), offers luxury tennisin the heart of Manhattan withfive indoor championshiphard courts, air-conditioning inthe summer, a luxurious club-house, a new tennis bubble,private lessons and group les-sons, game arranging, qualitytennis programs and clinics for

members and non-members, leagues, tennis camps, parties, doublesplay, tournaments, and a pro shop with stringing services. New to Man-hattan Plaza Racquet Club members, a full membership to ManhattanPlaza Health Club. MPRC members can also fully access the HealthClub’s many fitness classes, climbing walls, gym, glass enclosed swim-ming pool, sundeck, sauna and more. There is indoor parking also avail-able on the premises.

MPRC’s most popular program for members is game arranging thatfollows the NTRP rating system. MPRC has some of the best tennisteaching professionals in New York City who offer private lessons andgroup lessons.

MPRC offers several categories of membership, including the NewAdvantage Passport Tennis/Sports Multi-Club Membership. Formembership information, contact MPRC Assistant Manager andMembership Director Calvin Sharpe at (212) 594-0554. MPRC alsooffers season/open tennis time, and for more information on theseopportunities, contact MPRC Manager Gertrud Wilhelm at (212)594-0554. For more information on group lessons, contact MPRCAssistant Tennis Director Bruce Barney at (212) 594-0554. MPRCwill also be offering QuickStart in the fall of 2011, and for more in-formation on programs and clinics, contact MPRC Director of Out-reach Gil Amar at (212) 594-0554.

MIDTOWN TENNIS CLUB

341 8th AvenueNew York, N.Y.(212) 989-8572Midtowntennis.comMidtown Tennis Club is Manhattan’s original indoor tennis fa-cility, conveniently located in the heart of New York City. Situ-ated on 8th Avenue between 26th and 27th Streets, Midtown

Photo credit: Daniel Avila

Photo credit: MPRC member Sam Kanter, courtesy of MPRC


Tennis Club is easilyaccessible by publictransportation. In a cityfilled wi th commit-ments and member-ship dues, it’s a breezeto reserve at Midtownfor an hour or more ofcourt time, a private

lesson or one of Midtown’s clinics.Midtown has four indoor Har-Tru courts for year-round use

and four outdoor Har-Tru courts which are bubbled and heatedduring the winter months. Midtown’s outdoor season enablescity-dwellers to play on our open-air courts with spectacularviews of the Manhattan skyline.

Midtown offers an extensive team of tennis professionalswho are available to provide lessons to all ages and levels. Ifyou are looking to develop your existing skills, learn new tech-niques, get a great cardio workout or preparing for your nexttournament, Midtown has a pro for whatever your interest.

Midtown’s clinics are offered for total beginners and all levelsup to competition players. Sign up for one month, one day or allyear. The Friday Night Round-Robin is a popular event in thewinter season which attracts intermediate to advanced playerslooking for friendly doubles matches. It is a great way to meetnew tennis friends.

Midtown is now the home of John Curtis’s Manhattan TennisAcademy, Midtown’s new Junior Development Program. John’safter-school classes are available for juniors of all ages and lev-els. Manhattan Tennis Academy also features the USTA 10-and-Under program and will offer small classes beginning inSeptember.

NEW YORK TENNIS ACADEMY AT GREAT NECK ESTATES

PO Box 220252Great Neck, N.Y.(631) 431-1180 or (516) 662-6351All new for the 2011-2012 tennis sea-son, a brand new, state-of-the-art, five-court tennis facility will be opening inGreat Neck Estates. Under the direc-

tion of Howie Arons and Willie Notar, the programs for adultsand juniors will be the best on Long Island. Both Willie andHowie bring more than 35 years of elite tennis instruction to theprogram, and the goal of New York Tennis Academy is to de-velop the best junior program in the area. New York TennisAcademy at Great Neck Estates is conveniently located in GreatNeck Estates Park, which includes ample parking. If you haveany questions regarding any Great Neck Estates programs, callHowie at (631) 431-1180 or Willie at (516) 662-6351.

NEW YORK TENNIS CLUB3081 Harding AvenueThroggs Neck (Bronx), N.Y.(718) 239-7919NewYorkTennisClub.comFounded in 1886, New York Tennis Club is theoldest active tennis club in New York, as 2011

marks New York TennisClub’s 126th consecutiveseason. Throughout theyears, it has maintained areputation for its restful at-mosphere, the congenialityof its members and its pro-fessional approach to a truly

popular sport. With a new patio and viewing deck and six newly resur-faced Har-Tru courts, New York Tennis Club is a haven in a quiet cornerof the city. Convenient to Manhattan, Queens and lower Westchester,New York Tennis Club is also the best value in the Tri-State area. Sitback and relax in New York Tennis Club’s recently-renovated clubhouseand lounge, grab a bite to eat at the snack bar or unwind in the remod-eled locker rooms. There is also on-site racquet stringing in the pro-shop and ample free parking located on the premises.

For the Outdoor Season, New York Tennis Club offers unlimited sum-mer play from May through October. Members can play as much tennisas they wish and soak up the sun on lush lawns surrounded by flowergardens, sit in the shade of willow trees or have lunch on a covered patioor in the clubhouse, offering eating facilities, locker rooms and showers.The Indoor Season offers the same high-quality courts during the winterat competitive rates. New York Tennis Club Indoors features two climate-controlled bubbles, equipped with shadow-less, non-glare lighting, of-fering hourly court time with rates between $34-$64 per court, as well asseasonal court options. Hours of operation are 6:00 a.m. to midnight,seven days a week, and no membership is required.

The Club offers adult programs for skill sets of all levels. Programofferings include singles and doubles leagues, a comprehensive gamearranging program for both singles and doubles players, private andgroup instruction for all levels, cardio-tennis classes, and tennis partieswith guests are welcome. Whether you are new to tennis, or want totake your game to the next level, New York Tennis Club has a programfor you.

The Advantage All-City Junior Tennis Program at New York TennisClub offers year-round classes, camps, and programs for all ages andlevels. There are QuickStart classes for ages four through nine, sum-mer and holiday camp programs, after-school programs, tournamenttraining for advanced competitive players, and match play. During theschool year, classes are offered both after school and on Saturdays.The Advantage All-City Junior Tennis Camp offers one-week sessionsfrom mid-June through the end of August.

We are very excited to announce the launch of the Advantage Pass-port Membership, which offers our members a whole new level of ben-


efits and access. Passport memberships include free summercourt time on reserved courts at Roosevelt Island Racquet Club(RIRC) and New York Tennis Club, plus membership privileges atManhattan Plaza Racquet Club, Manhattan Plaza Health Club andNew York Tennis Club. For more information, call Manager LaurenHartman, Director of Adult Programs & Advantage Sea and SportsCamp Paul Fontana, or Director of Tennis & Junior Programs AjayKumar at (718) 239-7919.

Prospect Park Tennis Center

50 Parkside AvenueBrooklyn, N.Y.(718) 436-2500ProspectPark.org/TennisProspect Park Tennis Center is lo-cated at the Parade Ground onthe corner of Coney Island and

Parkside Avenues (Park Circle). Street parking is available on ParksideAvenue. The facility is open daily year-round, from 7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.The 2011 Outdoor Season begins May 21 and runs through Oct. 9,and the 2011-2012 Indoor Season begins Oct. 24.

If you are a tennis lover, Prospect Park Tennis Center has pro-grams for you. Group or individual tennis lessons for adults andchildren are available for players of all levels. The Tennis Centeralso hosts tournaments, round-robins and league play at a varietyof levels and times. Adult group classes are offered throughout theweek and the Tennis Center’s professionals are available for pri-vate and semi-private lessons.

Prospect Park Tennis Center offers 11 courts, two Deco-Turf hardcourts and nine Har-Tru clay courts. All the courts are protected underbubbles in winter. In warm weather months, the action continues out-doors. Five of the 11 courts are available for play even when the sungoes down, thanks to state-of-the-art lighting. The Tennis Center fea-tures a two-story, air-conditioned clubhouse with locker rooms, show-ers, viewing areas, outdoor patio and other amenities.

Prospect Park Tennis Center’s Junior Development Program hasintroduced thousands of local children to the sport of tennis. Youthscholarships for programs are awarded periodically based onmerit and need. Special Aces, the Prospect Park Tennis Center’sprogram for children with special needs, promotes health, fitness,coordination and confidence through experience on the courts.

The Prospect Park Tennis Center at the Parade Ground is a programof the Prospect Park Alliance, which is committed to providing a highlevel of service to the community. All proceeds benefit Prospect Parkand the ongoing maintenance of the Tennis Center.

For more information or to reserve a court, visit Prospect-Park.org/Tennis.

ROOSEVELT ISLAND RACQUET CLUB281 Main StreetRoosevelt Island, N.Y.(212) 935-0250RIRCTennis.comNow in its 19th year of operation, Roosevelt IslandRacquet Club (RIRC) is part of Advantage Tennis

Clubs. Roosevelt Island Rac-quet Club is conveniently lo-cated on beautiful RooseveltIsland, New York City’s oasisin the East River. The clubfeatures 12 Lee green claycourts under translucent

bubbles with shadowless, non-glare lighting, heated and air-conditionedfor comfortable year-round play. The exercise room includes a tread-mill, exercise bikes, elliptical trainers and free weights to accommodatealmost any workout. The club boasts a completely stocked pro shop,locker room facilities, two social lounges, Riverview Lounge with abreathtaking view of Manhattan’s skyline, a snack bar and free parking.

RIRC is easily accessible by tram, subway or car (free on-site park-ing). The Roosevelt Island Tram (from 60th Street and 2nd Avenue)stops adjacent to the Club, and the subway (F Train) stops one blockfrom the club. Members also have use of an indoor swimming pooland fitness center next door in the Sports Park.

The club offers a wide range of adult programs for players of all lev-els. Program offerings range from the Advanced Singles League forthe experienced competitive player, to Beginner Group Lessons forpeople new to the sport of tennis. Cardio-tennis is one of the Club’smost popular programs and is offered daily for those looking to com-bine a cardio workout with tennis. Whatever your goal, there is a pro-gram for you!

The Advantage All-City Junior Tennis Program offers year-roundclasses, camps and programs for all ages and levels. There are Quick-Start classes for ages four through nine, summer and holiday campprograms, after-school programs, tournament training for advancedcompetitive players, and match play. During the school year, classes areoffered both after-school and on Saturdays. The Advantage All-CityJunior Tennis Camp offers one-week sessions from mid-June throughthe end of August.

Roosevelt Island Racquet Club offers a Gold Membership that in-cludes full club privileges, 14-day advance reservation privileges, mem-ber court fees with an average savings of $35 per court hour, gamearranging and member discount on all programs. The Club is excitedto announce the launch of the Advantage Passport Membership, whichoffers members a whole new level of benefits and access. PassportMemberships include free summer court time on reserved courts atRIRC and New York Tennis Club, plus membership privileges at Man-hattan Plaza Racquet Club, Manhattan Plaza Health Club and NewYork Tennis Club. For more information, contact Gordon Kent, TomManhart or Kimberly Latif at (212) 935-0250.


SPORTIME1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.(212) 427-6150SportimeNY.com/Manhattan

Sportime Randall’s Is-land, a state-of-the-art,20-court facility locatedon Randall’s Island inManhattan, is the homeof the John McEnroeTennis Academy (JMTA).

New York sports legend John McEnroe opened his world-class training academy in the world’s greatest city in Septem-ber 2010. The JMTA is led by former ATP pro and Israeli DavisCup player Gilad Bloom and a staff of experienced teachingprofessionals, including Assistant Academy Directors FritzBuehning, Bruce Haddad, Harel Srugo and Karim Balagh. Fritzis a former world top 20 player and U.S. Open finalist, Bruceis a two-time All-American at Arizona State University, Harel isa former ATP professional and was captain of the men’s ten-nis team at UCLA, and Karim has coached with the MoroccanDavis Cup team.

In addition to world-class junior tournament training program,Sportime Randall’s Island offers the best New York City has tooffer for adult players of all levels. We have a wide range ofadult tennis and fitness offerings, including group clinics andprivate lessons, taught by the same great teaching pros whoare training the next Johnny Mac in the JMTA.

The club also offers adult singles and doubles leagues, pri-vate and group personal training in our well-equipped fitnesscenter, early morning cardio-tennis, and monthly mixerswhere you can meet new people as you improve your tennis.Members enjoy preferred rates for court times and seasonalcourts.

Sportime Randall’s Island features 160,000-sq. ft. of tenniscourts and amenities, including five indoor and five indoor/out-door Deco-Turf hard tennis courts, and 10 indoor/outdoor Har-Tru clay tennis courts. All 20 courts are covered from Octoberthrough May.

This extraordinary club also features a functional training andfitness center; comfortable lounge areas with excellent view-ing; a junior lounge/computer lab; a pro shop featuring topbrands and 24-hour stringing; a complimentary nursery; steambaths in the member locker rooms; a cafe serving healthy food,snacks and beverages; classrooms, party rooms, and meetingfacilities.

So come see for yourself. It’s all right here on Randall’s Islandunder the RFK/Triboro Bridge. Contact Membership Director ZefLekaj at (212) 427-6150 or e-mail [email protected] more information and to schedule a visit.

STADIUM TENNIS CENTER725 Gateway Center Boulevard at East 152nd Street and the Harlem RiverBronx, N.Y.(718) 665-4684StadiumTennisNYC.comThe new Stadium Tennis Center at MillPond Park, located in the shadow ofYankee Stadium at East 152nd Streetand the Harlem River, can be labeled“the best-kept secret in New York Citytennis.” With 16 cushioned, U.S. Open-style deco-turf, hard courts—including

12 indoor courts which are open for indoor play from October throughApril—New York City’s newest indoor/outdoor tennis center com-menced its first indoor season at the end of 2010. The excellent light-ing, high indoor ceilings and spacious backcourts of the new StadiumTennis Center are sure to please the tennis playing public and tourna-ment level players.

The new Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond Park offers a full com-plement of tennis programs for juniors and adults of all skill levels inpartnership with Gotham Tennis Academy, a leader in developing andoperating tennis programs in New York City and the Hamptons.Through its partnership with Gotham Tennis Academy, the new tenniscenter has established a team of top-notch, experienced tennis pro-fessionals and offers popular junior development and advanced train-ing tennis programs including high-performance elite training for rankedjuniors. For adult players, fast-paced group clinics and cardiotennisworkouts are offered daily, in addition to indoor seasonal court rentals,private lessons, game arranging, leagues and tournament play.

The state-of-the art indoor seasonal “bubble” covering 12 tenniscourts is one of the largest tennis “bubbles” or domes of this type in theworld, covering an area of more than million cubic feet and a footprintof more than 75,000 sq. ft. In addition, an adjacent planned clubhousewill be completed in the coming months and will feature a pro shop,café, locker rooms and lounge areas, Wi-Fi computer access, a work-space where children can do schoolwork and read and a tennis library.

VANDERBILT TENNIS CLUB AT GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL

15 Vanderbilt Avenue, 4th FloorNew York, N.Y.(212) 599-6500TennisInManhattan.comFor more than 30 years, we

have been providing top quality tennis programs for the residents ofthis island. Sutton East Tennis Club at Sutton Place and 59th Street,Yorkville Tennis Club at York Avenue and 89th Street, and with thegrand opening of our newest location, Vanderbilt Tennis Club at Grand


Central Terminal, we are proud to offer a wide range of programs atthree Manhattan locations, all with no membership fees!

Our largest program provides professional instruction to pre-school-ers and juniors alike: Pee-Wee tennis (ages three to five) is the best wayfor a young child to get familiar with the game of tennis in a safe andfun-filled environment, while our Junior program (ages six through 18)emphasizes stroke production and match-playing related skills. All chil-dren’s programs conform to the USTA QuickStart guidelines for 10 &Under tennis, and all groups have a 1:4 instructor to student ratio.

Even though our locations are open to the public, we do offer sea-sonal court time, where one can commit to a weekly time slot through-out the year.

For those who can not commit to a specific time slot, we offer a widerange of options: Open court time, leagues and round-robin match playare ideal for advanced players. Those who further need to hone theirskills can take private, semi-private or group lessons. Our trained pro-fessionals are committed take you to the next level.

Tennis as a cardio workout has proven to be in high demand in re-cent years, and cardio-tennis classes are offered every day andthroughout the day, early mornings to late evenings. The cardio-tennisclasses are maxed at six players per court and your heart rate is guar-anteed to increase significantly.

In addition, Vanderbilt Tennis Club offers: Personal training sessionsand open gym time; two state-of-the-art practice lanes with automatedball machines that will provide players of all levels a controlled envi-ronment for improvement; video analysis, the latest word in visual in-struction, as nothing beats seeing yourself hitting in slow-motion; andmuch more.

WEST SIDE TENNIS CLUB1 Tennis PlaceForest Hills, N.Y.(718) 268-2300ForestHillsTennis.comThe West Side Tennis Club is well-known forhosting the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.

Today, it is home to 825members, maintaining thebest of our celebrated pastand rich history. The WestSide Tennis Club often sur-prises first-time visitors.

Anchored by its historic stadium, the renowned Tudor-style club-house, along with a junior Olympic pool complex, West Side’s 14acres are both a majestic setting and a tranquil oasis in the heartof New York City.

West Side Tennis Club is located just 20 min. from the bustle ofmidtown Manhattan, easily accessible by car, bus, subway or theLong Island Railroad. West Side maintains 38 tennis courts on fourdifferent surfaces: Grass, Har-Tru, Red Clay and Deco-Turf andprovides year-round tennis utilizing its 10-court indoor facility.

Members can take advantage of group or private lessons,clinics, tournaments, ladders, arranged matches, round-robinsand a year-round junior program, including summer camp, a proshop and swimming lessons. West Side Tennis Club also offersa full-service restaurant and bar with spectacular sunset dining,and private party and corporate outing facilities. Platform tennis,bridge, and fun-filled activities and social events for all ages atall levels are scheduled year-round.

On weekends and weekdays, it’s a fabulous warm weathergetaway for families, with a tennis day camp that is the perfectsummer activity for children. So convenient, what better way toend a day at work than with a game of tennis, a dip in the pool,and watching the sun set having drinks on the club housepatio.

And for getting business done in a special way, it’s a uniqueplace to spend quality time with customers, business associ-ates and colleagues. There is even wireless Internet accessavailable anywhere in the clubhouse. Want to hold a truly spe-cial event for a small or large group of people, West Side TennisClub has everything you could want to create a special occa-sion. There is something for everyone at the West Side TennisClub. For more information, visit ForestHillsTennis.com or call(718) 268-2300.

USTA BILLIE JEAN KING NATIONAL TENNIS CENTER

Meridian Road at Grand Central ParkwayFlushing, N.Y.(718) 760-6200USTA.comThe Community Tennis Develop-ment program at the USTA BillieJean King National Tennis Center(NTC) is intended to promote anddevelop the game of tennis as ameans of healthful recreation andphysical fitness for youngsters andthe general public while utilizing thefacilities at the NTC.

The NTC is open to the public seven days a week, except forthe time period of the U.S. Open. The general public is encour-aged to come utilize the indoor/outdoor tennis courts and otherfacilities. Courts may be reserved two days in advance or usedon the day of play on a first-come/first-served basis. In 2010, itis estimated that more than 75,000 individuals utilized the fa-cility in this manner.

Among the many participants in the programs are the New YorkJunior Tennis League (NYJTL), the NYC Department of Parks andRecreation, Star Track/Say Yes to Tennis, No to Violence clinicsfor Queens at-risk youth, etc., providing thousands of youth with


a free opportunity to learn and play tennis. Free tennis clinics areconducted for NYC Department of Education teachers/coaches.The NTC hosts various tennis opportunities for special popula-tions, including wheelchair tennis instruction for the physically-challenged from the months of October through July, HERO (HelpExpand Recreational Opportunities) for developmentally chal-lenged adults and tennis for autistic children through NYFAC(New York Families for Autistic Children).

The NTC tournaments program promotes tennis play at theNTC by providing various tournaments for local players. At thejunior level (ages eight to 18), more than 1,000 boys and girlscompete against each other based on their abilities. The USTANTC Junior Classic, a larger, Level 1 sectional tournament, isheld for boys and girls ages eight through 18 from New York,New Jersey and Connecticut. This tournament has more than350 competitors.

NTC summer camps provide basic tennis instruction, includ-ing the 10-and-Under QuickStart format for younger children,and basic fitness programs; encourages good sportsmanship;and leads to general character building of children in the New

York City area. These services are provided at nominal cost,making it affordable for youngsters who would not otherwise getthe chance to attend camp or receive tennis instruction.

NTC’s teaching programs provide the public with reasonably-priced tennis instruction from USPTA- or PTR-certified, full-timeteaching staff. These teaching programs service thousands ofplayers, from the very young (four years old) to senior citizens(92 years-plus) with a wide variety of lesson plans suited to theirabilities.

Project ACES (Alternative Classroom Environment for Stu-dents) started at the NTC in 2009. The program is geared to-ward six- to 10-year-old children from schools around the fiveboroughs, providing them the opportunity to visit the NTC andlearn about the history and the game of tennis. The kids aregiven a walking tour of the entire site (excluding stadium 2/3), in-cluding Center Court in Ashe, a video presentation in InterviewRoom 1 on the history and the game of tennis and the greatplayers of the sport, a tour of the locker rooms, and roughly anhour of tennis instruction from the NTC’s pro staff, ending withlunch at the Indoor Tennis Center.


On the LineBy Serena Williams with Daniel Paisner

Ithink many ofus in the tennis

world, under-standably, takethe Williams Sis-ters and their ac-complishmentsfor granted. Butjust because theyhave been main-stays on thewomen’s tour for

more than 10 years, it is instructive to takeanother look because Venus and Serenaare quite a story.

One way to review their accomplishmentswith fresh eyes is by reading On the Line,Serena’s memoir written with Daniel Paisner.The book covers Serena’s career up throughthe 2008 U.S. Open, so you won’t find anyreaction to Serena’s verbal attack on thelineswoman that was a big story on thewomen’s side of the 2010 U.S. Open. That’sjust as well since everyone has, I think, ab-sorbed that incident and has adjusted theiropinion of Serena as a result.

For all of the ink that has been spilledabout Serena’s default, I think one unre-marked-upon aspect of Serena’s meltdownis the way that courtside reporter Mary JoeFernandez froze and was too terrified of anenraged Serena to interview her as shestormed off the court against Kim Clijstersfollowing her default. Fernandez was FedCup Captain at the time and was afraid toconfront her own potential team member. Buteven Patrick McEnroe gave a lot of thoughtto how to broach the subject of the defaultlater that weekend after Serena and Venuswon the doubles title. You have to love theconflicts of interest in our game.

On the Line does devote a chapter to an

earlier controversy in the Williams’ career.Playing at Indian Wells in 2001, Venus de-faulted due to an injury in the semis, allow-ing Serena to advance to the final againstKim Clijsters. It’s funny how Clijsters is al-ways there when the Williams Sisters runinto controversy.

The crowd of 14,000 booed Serena on thecourt and Richard and Venus in the stands.Since then, the Williams have boycotted theevent. No doubt it was an ugly scene and I’dsupport the Williams’ family decision to boy-cott, although in On the Line, Serena gives into the temptation to cast the boycott as amoral crusade.

But what makes On the Line a compellingread for the tennis fan is its portrait of theearly years of the Williams Sisters. Serenatalks about how, for years, all of the attentionfrom the outside world of coaches, potentialsponsors and the press was totally focusedon Venus. Within the family, everyone agreedthat Serena’s time would come, but rarely hasbirth order played such a role as it did for Ser-ena as she waited for some of the spotlight tomove from her big sister to her.

Even a casual tennis fan will be intriguedby Serena’s story of the girls’ upbringing andthe way that their father created two champi-ons out of his five daughters.

One way to look at the Williams Sisters’story is that their father is the most success-ful junior development coach the world hasever seen. Two out of five kids make it tonumber one … not bad.

I’ve always thought the explanation for theway the Williams Sisters can drop in and outof the WTA Tour and be successful is thatthey just serve better than any of their com-petitors. You can also say that they are betterathletes, but while I think that is true, you seethe strength of their serves frequently bailingthem out when they come back from an injuryor have been off the tour for other reasons.

So, here’s a note to teaching pros, parentsand players. One thing Richard Williams didwith Serena and Venus to improve theirserves was to have them throw Americanfootballs back and forth across the net.Serena relates how the girls started tossingthe ball from a few feet away from the net,then moved to the service line, and even-tually to the baseline.

The next time you watch that bag checkfeature on the Tennis Channel, don’t besurprised if more women players are pack-ing footballs with their jump-ropes andother gear. Because the Richard Williamsfootball drill and, no doubt, many otherserving drills, created the two best hittersof the game’s most important shot inwomen’s tennis history.

Richard Williams made Serena andVenus the pros they have become. He mayget credit for having a master plan now, butas Serena writes in On the Line of one ofhis famous decisions, to not let his girlsplay junior tennis, he was making it up ashe went along.

Serena quotes her dad explaining this de-cision by saying, “Meeka, I don’t see why youand your sister should travel all over just tobeat up on these other little girls.”

With the Williams, family and their Jeho-vah’s Witness religion was the foundation foreverything they accomplished. What comesacross in On the Line is the sweetnessRichard Williams nurtured in his family fortennis. I don’t think most players, with AndreAgassi as an exception perhaps, becomechampions without coming to love thesounds and rhythms of the game. Richard in-stilled this in his girls, even the three whodidn’t become champs and the result hasforever changed the history of tennis. �

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


Helping make dreams come true for childrenfacing life obstacles is the primary goal of

the Garden of Dreams Foundation (GDF). TheGDF works closely with all areas of MadisonSquare Garden to provide children with once-in-a-lifetime experiences. From July 6-12, 40children were lucky enough to realize their as-pirations by taking part in the GDF’s “DreamWeek” summer program. On July 12, childrenfrom the SCO Family of Services, a partner ofthe GDF, were given the opportunity to tour theUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centerand take part in a session with USTA teachingprofessionals to learn the basics of tennis.

The tour commenced with a visit to theArthur Ashe bronze statue located just outsidethe center. The tour leader stressed the signif-icance of the statue by explaining that it notonly commemorates Ashe as a great tennisplayer, but as an inspiring humanitarian wholeft behind a legacy that still lives on. Followingthis, the tour covered much of the inside andoutside areas, giving the children an idea of thesize of the facility. The conclusion and the high-light of the tour came with the much-awaitedvisit to Center Court of Arthur Ashe Stadium.This had a profound impact on the children, asthey realized that many of the sport’s legendsplayed on this court. Following this, the chil-dren were led to Louis Armstrong Stadium fortheir own opportunity to try out the sport.

After the children received complimentarywaters, hats and rackets, the USTA teachingprofessionals started the session off with awarm-up routine of side shuffles and knee-highskips. The purpose of this was to show the im-portance of an adequate warm-up to preventinjuries. The children were then fed a series offorehands and backhands, while teaching pro-

fessionals corrected their grips and techniques.Activities came to an end once they had cov-ered all of the basic tennis strokes to give every-one an overall feel for the sport.

The day’s scorching heat which bordered on100 degrees was not enough to ruin the jubilantatmosphere amongst the children. Everyoneseemed pleased with what they learned andexperienced at the USTA Billie Jean King Na-tional Tennis Center, thus concluding anothervery successful “Dream Week” for the Gardenof Dreams Foundation.

Dreams Really Do Come TrueBy Monica Gorny

Credit all photos to Avi Gerver/MSG Photos

Monica Gorny of New York Tennis Magazine isa member of the Duke University Women’sTennis team.

New York Tennis Magazine Accessory Review: StringletBy Alan Brofka

As someone who has attended tennis tournaments foryears, I have rarely seen much out there that is newor interesting in the way of souvenirs and accessoriesfor fans of the sport. Sure, there are tennis ball key-chains, jumbo tennis balls and t-shirts, but whatabout something more subtle yet just as engaging forthe true tennis enthusiast?

We recently came across the Stringlet (tennis STRING braceLET) and think this might fillthat void for fans looking for something that says “tennis,” but doubles as just more than atennis accessory. The Stringlet is a lightweight bracelet braided from tennis string, similar toa high-tech friendship bracelet, and comes with a locking magnetic clasp that remains se-cure even during play. The Stringlet makes a great gift for tennis fans and players of all lev-els and is available in 12 color schemes to represent team/league colors, country colors orpersonal favorites. If you enjoy playing tennis, and want to look good doing so, the Stringletis a must-have for the tennis aficionado. For more information, visit www.stringlet.net.

Alan Brofka has worked at Sportime Syosset since 1999. He played collegiate tennis atAdelphi University and has a MA in communications from New York Institute of Technol-ogy. For more information, visit www.alanbrofka.com.


By Ricky Becker

There is no doubt that juniorrankings for kids change,

and I feel strongly that thekids who are best served are the ones whodon’t focus on rankings too much at ayoung age, but focus more on development.

Statistics from ninth grade through 12thgrade may surprise you though. In 2009,only one boy who was in the top 75 in thecountry his senior year of high school wasoutside the top 200 nationally in his fresh-man year of high school, according to ten-nisrecruiting.net, the premier college tennisrecruiting site in the country. This meansthat only one boy outside the top 200 as afreshman in the whole United Statescracked the top 75 by the time he was asenior. And the girls only had six who didthis! I have numerous examples of the lackof ranking movement at all levels.

What this means is that once your child isin high school, you could at least start takinga look at where your child’s college tennispath is taking him/her. Use this genericguide to see how far your child’s tennis cantake her/him collegiately.

Top 25� Division 1: Girls can usually get a full

scholarship to highly-desired schools.Boys can get a partial scholarship to themost-desired schools or a full scholar-ship to a major conference. All IvyLeague schools are very interested.

� Division 2: Full scholarships are avail-able, but rarely if ever taken.

� Division 3: Huge bump for admission,but I cannot recall anyone this high goingto a D3 school.

25-100� Division 1: Full scholarships for girls to

many schools in a major conferences.For boys, there are plenty of “partials”out there and with some digging, fullscholarships are available. Ivy Leagueschools are interested in getting peoplein early.

� Division 2: Full scholarships are avail-able, although only one or two kids peryear at this level take one.

� Division 3: There is a huge bump for ad-mission, but only one or two boys at thislevel go to D3 schools per year … evenless for girls.

100-200� Division 1: Partial scholarships are avail-

able to some schools. A full scholarshipcan possibly be found with a lot of dig-ging. Ivy League schools are often inter-ested, but it is contingent upon who theyget or don’t get with a better ranking.

� Division 2: Full scholarships to D2schools are often available.

� Division 3: There is a big academicbump for admission. Pretty much allD3 colleges are very interested inplayers within this ranking range. Play-ers in this range will start on most, ifnot all, D3 teams.

Mythbusters: You Really Can See What College Path Your JuniorRanking Might Take You at Any Age

200-350� Division 1: There are occasional bench

spots for teams in major conferencesand starting spots are available forsmaller teams. It’s hard to find muchtennis money at the D1 level though.Very little help with Ivy League ad-missions.

� Division 2: There is some scholarshipmoney available and many starting spotsare available outside of the top nationalD2 teams.

� Division 3: Definite academic bump tomost Division 3 schools. This level ofplayer will compete for a starting spot ona nationally-ranked D3 team and start formost non-ranked D3 teams.

350-525� Division 1: Starting spots are available

on least competitive teams or schoolsthat have tough academics that don’tgive major admissions bumps to ath-letes. Maybe guaranteed roster spot withgeneral admission.

� Division 2: Some scholarship money isavailable and many starting spots areavailable outside of the ranked nationalD2 teams.

� Division 3: Academic bump to non-ranked Division 3 teams. Would getonto most ranked rosters with a “gen-eral” admission … that is admittancewithout the “recommendation” of thecollege coach.


Hamptons Tennis Classic to Benefit PRASAD

On Saturday, Sept. 17, the Hamptons Tennis Clas-sic will be held at Sportime Amagansett, located

at 150 Town Lane in East Hampton, N.Y. from noon-5:00 p.m. The rain date for the event will be the fol-lowing day, Sunday, Sept. 18. All proceeds from theevent will benefit The PRASAD Project and PRASADChildren’s Dental Health Program (PRASAD CDHP).The Hamptons Tennis Classic is an event for tennisplayers, as well as anyone wanting to have a day offun in beautiful surroundings, for a great cause.

PRASAD CDHP works to improve the quality oflife of children by providing oral care services and

dental health education. PRASAD CDHP serves economically marginalized chil-dren, by offering clinical treatment and oral health education programs throughits Mobile Dental Clinic. In the past decade, PRASAD CDHP has served morethan 62,000 children, providing more than 170,000 procedures at 17 differentcommunity sites in Sullivan and Ulster Counties in New York. PRASAD CDHPalso provides dental services to expectant women and infants who have noother access to that care.

Ticket prices for the Hamptons Tennis Classic is $150 for adult players, $75for junior players (18 and under), and $50 for guests and children. Admission tothe event also includes lunch, snacks, classes, a silent auction, an awards re-ception and a gift bag.

The event begins with registration from 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., followed by alight lunch and warm-up. Play begins at noon. There will be activities for thosenot participating in the tournament. A silent auction will give participants an op-portunity to bid on unique items and bus transportation will be available fromManhattan.

There are also opportunities available for businesses and individuals to be-come sponsors of the Hamptons Tennis Classic, ranging from $500-$10,000,all of which include visible signage at the event, listing on the PRASAD Web siteand complimentary tickets for guests. �

For more information, call (845) 434-0376, e-mail [email protected] orvisit prasad.org/1379/raise-a-racquet-to-raise-funds-for-prasad.

charitableinitiatives

525+� Division 1: Roster spots, and even

some starting spots, are available forleast competitive teams. An academicbump is pretty minimal. A player at thislevel would have to tryout for manyteams once enrolled.

� Division 2: Many roster and starting spotsare available at non-scholarship schools.Finding athletic scholarship money is pos-sible, but also extremely difficult.

� Division 3: Starting spots and academicbumps are available on the lesser com-petitive teams. Also, opportunities areavailable at schools that have tough ac-ademics that do not give major admis-sions bumps to athletes.

Unranked nationally� Division 1: Starting spots and roster

spots are available, on less competitiveteams. Most, but not all, teams are out-side of this region. Not much if any ofan academic bump and no tennisscholarships. May need to tryout onceenrolled.

� Division 2: Starting spots and roster spotsare available, on less competitive teams.Most, but not all, teams are outside of thisregion. Not much, if anything, in the way ofan academic bump and/or scholarship.May need to tryout once enrolled.

� Division 3: Starting spots and rosterspots are available on many non-rankedteams. Not much if any of an academicbump. Will probably need to try out forthe team once enrolled in school.

Please note, use this guide only as a tem-plate. Other factors, such as rapport with acollege coach, doubles ability, perceived up-side, etc. can play a role into the equation.The extra tennis scholarships allotted towomen’s tennis makes scholarships morereadily available.�

Ricky Becker is founder of JuniorTennisCon-sulting LLC, which offers off-court collegeguidance services to junior tennis players.He can be reached by e-mail [email protected], by phone at (516)605-0420 or via JuniorTennisConsulting.com.


We have all heard peoplesay, “She played out of

her mind!” referring to some-one who played exceptionallywell and beyond expectations.

As an athlete, have you ever performed out ofyour mind? Either pitching to perfection, run-ning like the wind or serving lights out? Maybethere is more to this “out of your mind” con-cept than meets the eye. The idea is ultimatelya metaphor for playing within yourself, whereeverything is effortless, where little thoughtoccurs and optimal performance just hap-pens. In this article, I will discuss how literallygetting “out of your mind” is the best way toreach optimal personal peak performance incompetitive sports.

When an athlete plays “in their mind,” theyare not playing from instinct. They are usuallyoveranalyzing, their thoughts are cluttered anddisorganized, and they are unable to get out oftheir own way. Further, their thoughts are inthe past and future, tied to expectations, ego,excitement and fears. Essentially, theirthoughts are weighing them down—athletesdescribe it as playing with an imaginaryweight around their waist and trying to run,jump, hit and concentrate while their mind isover-thinking every move. Specifically, theyhold onto past points or games, think aboutuncontrollable past and future situations,focus on expectations, or deride themselvesfor not living up to the pre-conceived standardthey expected.

We all know what happens when this kindof mentality creeps in—the dreaded spiralwhere a player loses control! Physically andmentally, it looks like this: An initial loss offocus, fear about what might be or what is oc-curring, tightened muscles, heavy breathingand loss of feeling. Then, the poor play fol-lows, usually ending in disappointment anddefeat. The only way to optimize performanceis to play in the moment (present), to respond

to situations with calm awareness—as op-posed to reacting out of ego, fear and anx-iety. I call this the “Eye of the Hurricane,”calm on the inside, yet aware and active onthe outside.

The key to staying in the moment iswithin all of us … the secret lies in our ownbodies. Our body is always in the presentmoment. When an athlete becomes awareof his or her body, such as the rhythm intheir hips when they swing a bat, racket ora club, they simplify things and enter aplace of curiosity where they are simplynoticing their present actions. This height-ened awareness shift moves them awayfrom the distracting ego, fear, and anxiety-driven thoughts. In fact, all of the “what ifs,”“shoulda” or “coulda” thoughts are nolonger in the way because the focus is onobservations, rather than judgment. Essen-tially, by getting “out of your mind,” you get“out of your way” and simply allow thetechnique you have practiced and your per-formance to happen or flow in the present.If an adjustment is necessary, it can then bemade without judgment.

How can a player shift their focus “outtatheir mind” (thoughts, past, future and judg-ments) and into their body (present)? It startswith a keen awareness; when they becomeaware of being submerged in over-thinking,fear or that recognizable negative spiral, theidea is to simplify things and shift their atten-tion to something in the present. For example,the athlete may focus on their breathing or aplace in the body they feel calm and centered.This refocus of “out of your mind” and “intoyour body” serves as a reconnection to thepresent—a place of calm and observation.From this place, the athlete can play by ob-serving and noticing, instead of judging theirtechnique or performance.

Ultimately, by the start of the match, gameor performance, the athlete has the skills nec-

essary to compete at their personal highestlevel. The competition is not the time to ana-lyze technique—it is the opportunity to sim-ply play, by getting “out of your mind” andallowing the body to do what it has beentrained to do. It is easy to let your mind creeptoward the result, get caught up in expecta-tions, question whether others are judgingyour performance, or think about the missedopportunity of a previous exchange. Yet, theaforementioned tools can help the player tokeep their attention out of the mind and in thepresent, able to respond to the moment.

Athletes love those times when they feelimmersed in competition, competing withgreat effort for sustained periods of time, andultimately, playing inside the zone. ShawnGreen, in his book The Way of Baseball, talksabout how he used the batting tee and focuson his breathing to get out of his mind and re-connect with his natural swing. Billie JeanKing, in her book Pressure is a Privilege, alsotalks about how she uses her breath to limitdistraction and stay inside the zone.

So, at your next competition, shift yourfocus “outta your mind” away from fears orjudgments and “inside the zone” to yourbreath and body, and begin on the path to un-locking your potential. �

Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder anddirector of Inside the Zone Sports Perform-ance Group. As a mental training coach heworks with athletes and teams of all levels. Hiswork focuses on helping athletes gain themental edge and letting go of blocks whichget in the way of peak performance. He is aUSTA Zonal Coach and has spoken andbeen published for the USTA, USPTA andITA. Additionally, he has conducted work-shops nationally and internationally in Indiaand Israel. He may be reached by phone at(973) 723-0314, e-mail rob@insidethezone orvisit www.insidethezone.com.

Get “Outta Your Mind” and Into the ZoneIt’s the only way to compete!By Rob Polishook, Mental Training Coach MA, CPC


Good to Great:A Model for Safely Building the Tennis Champions of Tomorrow

By Steve Kaplan

The long-term growth anddevelopment of competitiveyoung tennis athletes is bestaccomplished by working inconcert with their biological

and psychological development factors. Theprincipals of applied functional science dictatethat while the protocols of training are specific,the timetables and parameters of movementdevelopment are a function of the individual.Simply stated, athletes must earn their pro-gressions to develop seamlessly and safely.While the body responds to the demandsplaced on it, young athletes must be physio-logically and psychologically prepared to re-spond with an appropriate adaptation. AsCharles Darwin, “The Father of EvolutionaryScience,” explains, “It’s not the strongest whosurvive it’s the most adaptable.”

In order to develop a young tennis playerfrom good to great, it is essential to first eval-uate and understand the physical system inwhich the player operates. A poor stroke pat-tern, for example, could be a movement dys-function or inefficiency, or it may be acorrecting compensation. If it is an adaptationto an underlying weakness or imbalance, thencorrecting the stroke first might do more harm,than good. Remember, great players are greatproblem solvers and adaptive correcting com-pensations are performed by great players allthe time. We must first assess to progress.

A distinction should be made betweentesting and evaluating. Testing players in ver-tical leap, short sprints and the shuttle runcan help give context to setting generalgroup performance parameters; however, itgives no useful insight into the developmentof a performance plan to improve the indi-vidual athlete. Every high performance playershould be assessed with a Functional Move-ment Screen (FMS) as a starting point. It is a

simple, accessible and valuable tool to es-tablishing a baseline of movement, strengthand limitation. The data is overwhelming thatthe screening of athletes at every age ishighly correlated to avoiding injury and safeperformance development.

The current mantra of training high per-formance players is that greater racket accel-eration equals better performance. The USTAHigh Performance Program has embracedthis idea and with a good reason, it is a ne-cessity to successfully compete at the highestlevels in today’s power-driven game. Conflictexists, however, when this concept is appliedto young and immature players. Greater racketacceleration begins with greater body decel-eration or load and progresses to body ac-celeration or explosion. We are playing withfire here, since greater forces demand greatermobility and stability management. Raise theracket head of a young player on the fore-hand side and you create greater potentialenergy, drop it and you have greater kineticforce. Ask a developing player with limitedthoracic mobility and posterior shoulder in-stability (a common condition in young play-ers) to perform this movement and you willoften get a biceps tendon strain starting atC6 and working through an over-stressedthoracic outlet or worse still, lumbar spine in-stability issues, as the athlete compensatesto manage greater forces.

QuickStart Tennis was developed by theUSTA with the idea that “Children shouldn’thave to play like adults.” If we expand thatconcept, it is clear that children shouldn’t haveto progress to perform like adults until they aredevelopmentally ready.

Psychologically, athletes must be ready toembrace change in order to grow. Neuralchanges are best managed by players pre-pared and ready for change. Self-consciencebehavior, precipitated by change, is great forlearning but it undermines performance.

Young tennis players should be readiedemotionally to endure the learning curveadaptation of a grip change to evolve thetechnique, seamlessly. In tennis, power isspeed and speed is relaxation. If you putplayers in a fun, rewarding and positive en-vironment then they relax and move fast.Tension makes you slow.

As Thomas Myers, author of AnatomyTrains and Training, explains, “The age of con-formity, repletion and the isolation of individualparts to achieve development of the whole isan outdated paradigm.” We cannot, ascoaches, just drill success into aspiring play-ers with a ball basket. The great basketballcoach John Wooden said, “Activity is notachievement.” Kinesthetic awareness, literacyand development are the goals, and that goalis achieved by providing players with thephysical and emotional tools to mange themini crises that occur every point.

The current parameters of today’s champi-ons were outside the grid of acceptable tech-nique 20 years ago. While environmentschange constantly, the qualities that greatplayers consistently display are originality andadaptability. As coaches looking to build thetennis champions of tomorrow, we must en-courage the individual’s unique qualities, notinhibit them. �

Steve Kaplan is the owner of Bethpage ParkTennis Center, as well as the director ofReebok Academy for New York City ParksFoundation. Over the last 33 years, Steve hasbeen the longtime coach of more than 500 na-tionally-ranked junior players, 14 state highschool champions, two NCAA Division 1Singles Champions, and numerous touringprofessionals and prominent coaches.Steve’s students have been awarded in ex-cess of $7 million in college scholarshipmoney. He may be reached by e-mail [email protected].


??

By Roman Prokes

The longer you play thissport, the more problemsyou come across. Afterservicing racquets for

decades, we have learned some greatremedies to the everyday problems thatplayers come across. Here are some tipsto help diagnose and fix some commonproblems.

Loose butt capTennis play-ers tend tohold a rac-quet as lowas possible.It allows for a

higher range of motion and maneuverabil-ity. It’s not uncommon to see players evenhave a pinky hanging below the bottom ofthe grip. This puts a tremendous amount ofstress on the racquet, which can ultimatelyloosen the butt cap. When this cap startsto wiggle, you should remove all grip lay-ers until you get to the mold or pallet.Fasten the cap to the end of the racquetand apply staples from a high pressurestaple gun. Applying too many staplescan damage the handle beneath. If youget down to the pallet or mold and findthe handle is corroded or severely dam-aged, you can have it remolded or havethe pallet replaced.

Rattling inside the racquetNothing beats the sound of a forehandcracking off the strings or an overheadsmash echoing through a building, butthis isn’t always the case. Tapping theframe of your racquet can reveal someunwanted noises. This is the result ofsmall particles of the racquet breakingoff and falling inside the frame throughnormal wear. It could be chips of theframe, bits of grommet, granulated clayor other things. What you would need todo is create an opening for the piece to

pallets, a shell-like plastic grip casing,which can be changed.

Bad string breaksPlayers hope they break strings in thesweet spot due to repeated clean hits inthe middle of the racquet. However, thestring can break almost anywhere on theracquet. Breaks near the outside can bedue to poor stringing, string shearing, oldstring and damaged grommets. When thegrommets are damaged, they can cutinto the string and damage it, instead oftheir normal role of adding a layer ofbuffer between the string and sharpedges of the racquet frame. Playersshould change entire grommet strips reg-ularly or replace single grommets whenone is defective. A knowledgeablestringer will know when to add pads, tub-ing, pick the correct gauge or other meth-ods to promote proper string life.

BlistersBlisters are common side effects to exces-sive play. They can also occur if grips arenot installed correctly. Check to make sureyour grip is smooth from top to bottomwithout severe grooves. Fingers slide intothe groves with added contact to the skinfor unnecessary friction. Also, check to seethat your grip goes from the very edge ofthe butt cap to the top of the handle. Ex-posed plastic on the butt cap quickly blis-ters the palm. The proper wrapping of thegrip with the use of some finger tape cango a long way to keeping you on the court.

Roman Prokes has perfected his art of grip-ping by traveling with the most finicky playerslike Agassi, Haas, Sharapova, Berdych, etc. Hehas traveled the world over not only to stringrackets, but to also put on customized grips.He has produced several grips which areworld-renowned, like RPNY Artificial Leather,RPNY Tacky and RPNY Cushion Perforated.For more information, call (516) 759-5200, orvisit www.facebook.com/RPNYtennis orwww.RPNYtennis.com.

?Frequently Asked Racquet Fixes

exit. The biggest hole to access isthrough the butt cap (or trap door on thebutt cap). Tilt and tip the racquet untilyou get the piece to move through theframe and exit. If the piece does notmake it through the handle hole, you cantake out the grommets and use thestring holes as another option.

The grip is too smallPlayers often get a racquet in which thegrip isn’t perfect for them, as stress to theelbow becomes painful for some. Ninety-nine percent of players will add one or morelayers of overgrip to the handle. This is ahorrible way to fix the problem! Addingovergrips in this manner will severelyround out the racquet. The purposeful oc-tagonal handle becomes a round cylinderwhere switching grips and controlling rac-quet torque is near impossible. The quickfix is to remove the grips and add a heatsleeve which shrinks to the size of thehandle with applied heat to increase thegrip one to two sizes. The better fix is toremold or change the pallets to the size ofyour liking, which gives a professional andfactory finished product.

The grip is too bigThe oppositecan happen aswell. Adding toa racquet istypically eas-ier than tak-

ing away, and this is no exception. Theevolution of the game is favoring smallergrips for added spin and racquet headspeed. An oversized grip has to be per-fectly shaved down panel by panel ex-actly even on all eight sides. It’spractically impossible to properly sandthis down by hand. At RPNY, we use anindustrial machine which is calibrated tothe thousandth of a millimeter to evenlyshave down all sides flawlessly. Someracquets have handles which cannot bealtered this way and others even have


NEW YORK TENNIS CLUB

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

Dick Savitt Tennis Center,Columbia UniversityGaurav Misra—Director575 W. 218 Street • New York, NY 10034(212) [email protected]

Manhattan Plaza RacquetClubGertrud Wilhelm450 West 43rd Street • New York, NY 10036(212) [email protected]

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

New York Tennis Academyat Great Neck EstatesHowie Arons—Director of Junior Tennis ProgramsP.O. Box 220252 • Great Neck, NY 11022(631) [email protected]

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

Prospect Park Tennis CenterPaul Campbell—Director of Tennis50 Parkside Avenue • Brooklyn, NY 11226(718) 436-2500, ext. [email protected]/visit/activities/tennis

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

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

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

Sutton East Tennis ClubJerry Elman488 East 60th StreetNew York, NY 10022(212) [email protected]

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

Vanderbilt Tennis Club atGrand Central TerminalEldad (Dadi) Zvulun—Manager/HeadProfessional15 Vanderbilt Avenue, 4th FloorNew York, NY 10017(212) [email protected]

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

Yorkville Tennis ClubNeal Feinberg1725 York AvenueNew York, NY 10009(212) [email protected]

UPCOMINGEVENTSAUGUST 2011Saturday-Tuesday, August 27-30USTA 41st Annual Tennis Teachers ConferenceThe Grand Hyatt New York109 East 42nd Street • New York, N.Y.2:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.For more information, call (914) 696-7004or visit USTA.com/TTC.

Saturday, August 27Tennis Show 2011, 5th Annual TIA TennisForum & 4th Annual Tennis Industry Hall ofFame Induction CeremonyThe Grand Hyatt New York109 East 42nd Street • New York, N.Y.For more information, visit TennisShow.com.

Sunday-Friday, August 28-September 2World Police and Fire GamesStadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond &Sporitme Randall’s IslandNew York, N.Y.For more information, visit 2011wpfg.org.

Monday, August 292011 USTA Junior Awards GalaUSTA Billie Jean King NationalTennis CenterMeridian Road at Grand Central ParkwayFlushing, N.Y.10:30 a.m.For more information, call (718) 760-6200or visit USTA.com.

SEPTEMBER 2011Thursday, September 82011 U.S. Open Wheelchair CompetitionUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis CenterMeridian Road at Grand Central ParkwayFlushing, N.Y.For more information, visit USOpen.org.

Friday, September 92011 Legends BallCipriani Wall Street55 Wall StreetNew York, N.Y.For more information, call (401) 849-3990, e-mail [email protected] orvisit TennisFame.com/2011LegendsBall.

Monday, September 12Eastern Adult Tennis Foundation’s AnnualGrants Awards LuncheonBeach Point Club900 Rushmore AvenueMamaroneck, N.Y.9:00 a.m. TennisNoon Awards LuncheonFor more information, call (914) 714-8723, [email protected] or visitEastern.USTA.com.


SEPTEMBER 2011Friday-Sunday, September 2-11U.S. Open Junior Tennis ChampionshipsUSTA National Tennis CenterFlushing Meadows Corona ParkFlushing, N.Y.Divisions: BG (18)sd, SESurface Type: HardEntry Fee: No Entry Fee (deadline for entries is Tuesday, July 26)For more information, call (561) 962-6400.

Friday-Sunday, September 2-4L2O Milton Alexander Memorial Co-op CityChampionshipsCo-Op City Tennis Club NJTL Chapter140 Asch LoopBronx, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate BG (16-12)s, SESurface Type: HardEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Aug. 19 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 671-4437.

Friday-Sunday, September 9-11L1B Crotona Park ChallengerHaffen Park Sports Association2748 Eastchester Road Bronx, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger BG (16-14)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for en-tries is Friday, Aug. 26 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (347) 275-6422.

Friday-Sunday, September 9-11L3 Alley Pond Eastern UPS ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Novice BG (14-10)s, RRSurface Type: HardEntry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Sept. 2 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, September 9-18L1B Sportime Randall’s IslandSportime Randall’s Island1 Randall’s Island • New York, N.Y.Divisions: BG (18)sd, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Aug. 26 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Monday-Sunday, September 12-25USTA National Men’s 40, 55, & 60 Grass CourtChampionshipsThe West Side Tennis Club1 Tennis Place • Forest Hills, N.Y.Divisions: M (40, 55-60)sdSurface Type: GrassEntry Fee: $97.25 per singles, $65 per playerdoubles (deadline for entries is Monday, Aug.29 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 268-2300.

Monday-Friday, September 12-23Columbia University ChampionshipsColumbia University Tennis Center575 West 218th Street • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked: M (Op, 40)s; W (Op)s; X (Op)dSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player singles, $23 perplayer doubles (deadline for entries is Friday,Sept. 9 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 942-7100.

Friday-Sunday, September 16-25L2O Sportime RI September ChampionshipsSportime Randall’s Island1 Randall’s Island • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate B (12-10)s, SE; G (14-10)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Sept. 2 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Saturday-Sunday, September 17-18L2R Flushing Meadows Metro Region Invitational ChampionshipsCity Parks Foundation—Flushing MeadowsOlmstead Center/Josette ApostoloFlushing Meadows Park • Flushing, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate BG (16-12)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $28 per player (deadline for entriesis Saturday, Sept. 3 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 760-6999.

Thursday-Sunday, September 22-25L2O Staten Island ChampionshipsStaten Island Community Tennis Center2800 Victory Boulevard • Staten Island, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate BG (18-10)s, SESurface Type: HardEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries is Thursday, Sept. 8 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 982-3355.

Friday-Sunday, September 23-25L3 Bill Holloway 10 & Under QuickStartChampionshipsHarlem Junior Tennis Program40 W. 143rd Street • New York, N.Y.Divisions: QuickStart BG (10)s, FRLC; Championships BG (10)s, FRLCSurface Type: HardEntry Fee: $33 per player (deadline for entriesis Friday, Sept. 9 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 491-3738.

Friday-Saturday, September 23-24L3 Sportime RI September ChampionshipsSportime Randall’s Island1 Randall’s Island • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Novice B (10)s, RR; G (12-10)s, RRSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for en-tries is Friday, Sept. 9 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

OCTOBER 2011Friday-Sunday, October 7-16L1B Sportime RI October ChallengerSportime Randall’s Island 1 Randall’s Island • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger B (18-16)s, SE; G (18-14)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Sept. 23 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Friday-Sunday, October 14-16Alley Pond NTRP ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center79-20 Winchester Boulevard • Queens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked NMW (3.0-4.0) s; NX (3.5) d Surface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $65 for doubles, $33 per player forsingles (deadline for entries is Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, October 14-23L2O Sportime Rl October ChampionshipsSportime Randall’s Island 1 Randall’s Island • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate B (12)s, SE; G (16-12)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Sept. 30 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Friday-Sunday, October 14-16 & 21-23L1 Alley Pond Eastern Designated ClosedChampionships Level 5 SEAlley Pond Tennis Center79-20 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Grand Prix B (18)sd, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $70.38 per player (deadline for entries is Monday, Oct. 3 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, October 21-23L2R NCT Metro Regional Championships-OctoberNorth Shore Tennis-Go! Tennis34-28 214th PlaceBayside, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked BG (18-16)s, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $48.88 per player (deadline for entries is Friday, Oct. 7 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 220-4172.

Monday-Friday, October 24-28Alley Pond Men’s/Women’s Singles ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center79-20 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked MW (Op)s, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $65 per player (deadline for entriesis Friday, Oct. 7 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

USTA/Metropolitan RegionTOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

For detailed information on these and all USTA tournaments, visit tennislink.usta.com/tournaments.


N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G SBoys & Girls Metro Rankings(as of 07/19/11)

BOYSMetro Boys 10 SinglesRank ..Name ............................City1 ........Kemal Irfan Aziz ............Staten Island, N.Y.2 ........Shand Stephens ..........New York, N.Y.3 ........Derek Raskopf ..............New York, N.Y.4 ........Stevan Stojkovic ..........Flushing, N.Y.5 ........Derrick Mu....................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.6 ........Maxwell Kachkarov ......Flushing, N.Y.7 ........Eitan Khromchenko ......Staten Island, N.Y.8 ........Sidharth Chawla ..........New York, N.Y.9 ........Lantis Wang..................New York, N.Y.10 ......Tyler Kats ....................Astoria N.Y.11 ......Christopher Tham ........Flushing, N.Y.12 ......Noah D. Edelman ..........New York, N.Y.13 ......Oliver Obeid..................New York, N.Y.14 ......Alexander Nielsen ........New York, N.Y.15 ......Robbie F Werdiger ........New York, N.Y.16 ......Zachary G. Targoff ........New York, N.Y.17 ......Will Coad ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.18 ......Tristan Taylor,................New York, N.Y.19 ......Jonathan Glinsky ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.20 ......Oliver Tockman ............Brooklyn, N.Y.21 ......Alex Zlotchenko ............New York, N.Y.22 ......Harry Portnoy................New York, N.Y.23 ......Joseph Wilkanowski ....Long Island City, N.Y.24 ......Shawn Jackson ............Staten Island, N.Y.25 ......Alex Portnoy, ................New York, N.Y.26 ......Christian Gruyon ..........Bronx, N.Y.27 ......Steven Nazaroff ............Brooklyn, N.Y.28 ......Christopher Borter ........New York, N.Y.29 ......Max Kessler..................Brooklyn, N.Y.30 ......Teddy Brodsky ..............New York, N.Y.31 ......Aaron Jackson..............Staten Island, N.Y.32 ......Wesley Zhang ..............Staten Island, N.Y.33 ......Zachary Portnoy............New York, N.Y.34 ......Jacob David Livianu......Brooklyn, N.Y.35 ......Dylan Renziniano ..........New York, N.Y.36 ......Jaysen Ian Altman, ......Brooklyn, N.Y.37 ......Jeffrey Fradkin..............New York, N.Y.38 ......Angus Kearney ............Brooklyn, N.Y.39 ......Quinn McLeod ..............New York, N.Y.40 ......Vako Gvelesiani ............Brooklyn, N.Y.

Metro Boys 12 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Oliver Jevtovic ..............Astoria, N.Y.2 ........Peter Lohrbach ............Little Neck, N.Y.3 ........David Mizrahi................Brooklyn, N.Y.4 ........Mitchell Mu ..................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.5 ........Kemal Irfan Aziz ............Staten Island, N.Y.6 ........Ethan Moszkowski........New York, N.Y.7 ........Cameron Gruss ............New York, N.Y.8 ........AJ Lehrman ..................New York, N.Y.9 ........Derek Lung ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.10 ......Gabriel Sifuentes ..........Flushing, N.Y.21 ......Derrick Mu....................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.22 ......Ethan Finley..................New York, N.Y.23 ......Lantis Wang..................New York, N.Y.24 ......Max Leon Adelman ......New York, N.Y.25 ......Jonathan L. Molfetta ....Howard Beach, N.Y.26 ......Philip Belmatch ............Staten Island, N.Y.27 ......Robert Shinder..............Brooklyn, N.Y.28 ......Dylan Friedman ............Brooklyn, N.Y.29 ......Sam Vagner ..................Staten Island, N.Y.30 ......Joseph Reiner ..............New York, N.Y.31 ......Logan Gruss ................New York, N.Y.32 ......Will Coad ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.33 ......Adam Lane Bernstein....New York, N.Y.34 ......David Dylan Pines ........New York, N.Y.35 ......Nicholas Rudman..........New York, N.Y.36 ......George Allen ................New York, N.Y.

37 ......Nicholas Ostrovsky ......Staten Island, N.Y.38 ......Ethan Leon ..................Woodhaven, N.Y.39 ......Itamar I. Oron................New York, N.Y.40 ......Alexander Nielsen ........New York, N.Y.

Metro Boys 14 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Leonard Margolis..........Brooklyn, N.Y.2 ........Nate Newhouse ............New York, N.Y.3 ........Zachary Kaplan ............New York, N.Y.4 ........Andrew E. Hauser ........New York, N.Y.5 ........Andrew Penn ................New York, N.Y.6 ........Brett Robert Raskopf ....New York, N.Y.7 ........Bojidar Ivanov Todorov ..Rego Park, N.Y.8 ........Oliver Mai ....................Little Neck, N.Y.9 ........Adam Chan ..................New York, N.Y.10 ......Frank Nicolazzi ............Flushing, N.Y.11 ......Evan Liberman..............New York, N.Y.12 ......Denis Korol ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.13 ......Antony Jippov ..............New York, N.Y.14 ......Alexander Fallone ........New York, N.Y.15 ......Garrett Thomas Sopko ..Brooklyn, N.Y.16 ......Massimo Costantini ......New York, N.Y.17 ......Seid Mulic ....................Long Island City, N.Y.18 ......Lamar Hurt ..................New York, N.Y.19 ......Owen Silitch ................New York, N.Y.20 ......Peter Lohrbach ............Little Neck, N.Y.21 ......Cole Fluehr ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.22 ......William J. Trang ............Staten Island, N.Y.23 ......Kevin T. Huynh ..............Astoria, N.Y.24 ......Leonardo Escudero ......Ozone Park, N.Y.25 ......Ira Rey-Anatole ............Brooklyn, N.Y.26 ......Nick Papyan ................Brooklyn, N.Y.27 ......Kevin A. Pertsovsky ......Brooklyn, N.Y.28 ......Matthew Chin ..............Flushing, N.Y.29 ......Cameron Gruss ............New York, N.Y.30 ......Xavier Pacthod..............New York, N.Y.31 ......Kumeil Hosain ..............New York, N.Y.32 ......Robert Millman ............New York, N.Y.33 ......Jordan D. Jordan ..........Astoria, N.Y.34 ......Eric Harrison Helfgott ....New York, N.Y.35 ......Max Phillip Nelson ........New York, N.Y.36 ......Christian O. Gloria ........Queens Village, N.Y.37 ......Jake Millman................New York, N.Y.38 ......Alex Chao ....................New York, N.Y.39 ......Jonathan L. Molfetta ....Howard Beach, N.Y.40 ......Akash Jagdish Vaidya ..Staten Island, N.Y.

Metro Boys 16 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Gregory Gon ................Flushing, N.Y.2 ........Daniel Witke ................Brooklyn, N.Y.3 ........Michael Jared Lesser....New York, N.Y.4 ........Jack K. Spiegel ............New York, N.Y.5 ........Brad Gaffin ..................New York, N.Y.6 ........Jordan A. Selig..............New York, N.Y.7 ........Joshua Freud................New York, N.Y.8 ........Jonathan Cohen............New York, N.Y.9 ........Michael Jasienowski ....Middle Village, N.Y.10 ......Justin S. Selig ..............New York, N.Y.11 ......Anthony Santino ..........Douglaston, N.Y.12 ......Benjamin M. Erichsen ..Bronx, N.Y.13 ......Mark Semerik ..............Brooklyn, N.Y14 ......Kevin Patrick Roan........Howard Beach, N.Y.15 ......Eugene Rozygrayev ......New York, N.Y.16 ......Luke E. Sherman ..........New York, N.Y.17 ......Mitchell Cheung............Woodside, N.Y.18 ......Sam Schwarz ..............Bronx, N.Y.19 ......Jason Grunfeld ............New York, N.Y.20 ......Alexander Newhouse ....New York, N.Y.21 ......James Dorman ............New York, N.Y.22 ......Joshua Gordon ............Staten Island, N.Y.23 ......Alexander Pintilie ..........New York, N.Y.24 ......Lorenzo Soo..................New York, N.Y.25 ......Justin Ho ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.26 ......Ira Rey-Anatole ............Brooklyn, N.Y.27 ......Kevin Valdez ................Jamaica, N.Y.

28 ......Paul Pricop ..................New York, N.Y.29 ......Jonathan Compres........East Elmhurst, N.Y.30 ......Travis A. Arffa................New York, N.Y.31 ......Brian Murray ................Brooklyn, N.Y.32 ......Jun Yuminaga ..............Little Neck, N.Y.33 ......Matthew Winter ............New York, N.Y.34 ......Enrique Torres ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.35 ......Carlos Saavedra ..........Flushing, N.Y.36 ......Leonard Margolis..........Brooklyn, N.Y.37 ......Ethan Nittolo ................Flushing, N.Y.38 ......Aleksey Olovyannikov ..Staten Island, N.Y.39 ......Jack Walla ....................New York, N.Y.40 ......Benjamin Beruh ............Bronx, N.Y.

Metro Boys 18 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Ryan E. Villarruel ..........Staten Island, N.Y.2 ........David N. Zhukovsky ......Brooklyn, N.Y.3 ........Michael Gross ..............Floral Park, N.Y.4 ........Sean J. Solomonoff ......New York, N.Y.5 ........Rodion Kaplounov ........New York, N.Y.6 ........Michael Sorge ..............Bronx, N.Y.7 ........Ian Antonoff ..................New York, N.Y.8 ........Jacob S. Huber ............New York, N.Y.9 ........Julius Barnathan ..........New York, N.Y.10 ......James M. Rubin............New York, N.Y.11 ......Michael Leon ................Woodhaven, N.Y.12 ......Lear Haninovich............New York, N.Y.13 ......Brad Gaffin ..................New York, N.Y.

GIRLSMetro Girls 10 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Carolyn Brodsky ..........New York, N.Y.2 ........Miriam Irfan Aziz ..........Staten Island, N.Y.3 ........Marie Ivantechenko ......Brooklyn, N.Y.4 ........Juliana Kislin ................New York, N.Y.5 ........Kyra Bergmann ............Forest Hills, N.Y.6 ........Katherine Kachkarov ....Flushing, N.Y.7 ........Christina M. Huynh ......Astoria, N.Y.8 ........Gabriella Eitkis..............Brooklyn, N.Y.9 ........Diana McCready ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.10 ......Isabella Nicole Tushaj....Bronx, N.Y.11 ......Diana Ellen Sosonkin ....Brooklyn, N.Y.12 ......Nicole K. Cee ................New York, N.Y.13 ......Izabela Almaleh ............Brooklyn, N.Y.14 ......Lena Kovacevic ............New York, N.Y.15 ......Rebecca Izyayeva ........Staten Island, N.Y.16 ......Sonia Tartakovsky ........New York, N.Y.17 ......Zoe Kava ......................New York, N.Y.18 ......Dakota Fordham ..........New York, N.Y.19 ......Audrey Pacthod ............New York, N.Y.20 ......Grace L. Kennedy..........New York, N.Y.21 ......Amy Kaplan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.22 ......Kassia Taylor ................New York, N.Y.23 ......Rebecca Eliana Fisch ....New York, N.Y.24 ......Isabella T. Hartman ......New York, N.Y.25 ......Olivia Lynch-Burgdorf ..Douglaston, N.Y.26 ......Elisabeth G. Schlossel ..New York, N.Y.27 ......Bella Kaplan ................New York, N.Y.28 ......Caroline Paige Kantor ..New York, N.Y.

Metro Girls 12 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Patricia Obeid ..............New York, N.Y.2 ........Sydney Lynn Katz ........New York, N.Y.3 ........Juliana Kislin ................New York, N.Y.4 ........Kyra Bergmann ............Forest Hills, N.Y.5 ........Katherine Kachkarov ....Flushing, N.Y.6 ........Olga Drahanchuk ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.7 ........Stephanie Li ................New York, N.Y.8 ........Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.9 ........Jennifer Richards..........New York, N.Y.10 ......Lia Kiam ......................New York, N.Y.11 ......Alexa Nobandegani ......New York, N.Y.12 ......Danielle Kade ..............New York, N.Y.13 ......Rachel Okin ..................New York, N.Y.

14 ......Sarah Finley..................New York, N.Y.15 ......Jennifer Yu....................Forest Hills, N.Y.16 ......Miriam Irfan Aziz ..........Staten Island, N.Y.17 ......Shelly Yaloz ..................Little Neck, N.Y.18 ......Victoria Hanuman ........Brooklyn, N.Y.19 ......Chrstina Huynh ............Astoria, N.Y.20 ......Brittny Jo Ferreira ........Brooklyn, N.Y.21 ......Nicole Semenov............Brooklyn, N.Y.22 ......Isabelle Rovinski ..........New York, N.Y.23 ......Kyra Alison Whitelaw ....New York, N.Y.24 ......Anastasia Koniaev ........Forest Hills, N.Y.25 ......Olivia Simone Morris ....Floral Park, N.Y.26 ......Maria Kogarova ............Brooklyn, N.Y.27 ......Charlotte May Mosler....New York, N.Y.28 ......Michelle Sorokko ..........Douglaston, N.Y.29 ......Johnniesha Breiten ......Bronx, N.Y.30 ......Aleksandra Bekirova ....Brooklyn, N.Y.31 ......Steffi Antao ..................Briarwood, N.Y.32 ......Victoria Zezula ..............Ridgewood, N.Y.33 ......Maryna Bohdanovska ..Brooklyn, N.Y.34 ......Sonia Tartakovsky ........New York, N.Y.35 ......Isabella Nicole Tushaj....Bronx, N.Y.36 ......Anna Maite Kaplan........New York, N.Y.37 ......Nicole K. Cee ................New York, N.Y.38 ......Donna Episcopio ..........Bayside, N.Y.39 ......Izabela Almaleh ............Brooklyn, N.Y.40 ......Zoe Radojicic ................New York, N.Y.

Metro Girls 14 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Ashley Sarah DelMissierForest Hills, N.Y.2 ........Jenna B. Borenstein......New York, N.Y.3 ........Nicole Holloran ............Bayside, N.Y.4 ........Erika Tinalli ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.5 ........Nicole Druzhinsky ........Brooklyn, N.Y.6 ........Kaitlyn Marie Poje ........Glendale, N.Y.7 ........Alexus Gill ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.8 ........Julia Zbarsky ................New York, N.Y.9 ........Keren Khromchenko ....Staten Island, N.Y.10 ......Vanessa Hanuman ........Brooklyn, N.Y.11 ......Brittany Elizabeth Poje ..Glendale, N.Y.12 ......Jennifer Richards..........New York, N.Y.13 ......Alexandra Koniaev ........Forest Hills, N.Y.14 ......Sofia Anouk Aisiks ........New York, N.Y.15 ......Lydia Greer Weintraub ..New York, N.Y.16 ......Michelle Khaimov ........Jamaica, N.Y.17 ......Hannah Jaye Gendel ....New York, N.Y.18 ......Camille Price ................New York, N.Y.19 ......Emi F. Lewis..................New York, N.Y.20 ......Isadora Braune ............New York, N.Y.21 ......Cecilia Anne Swenson ..New York, N.Y.22 ......Shammiel Fleischer ......New York, N.Y.23 ......Jennifer Yu....................Forest Hills, N.Y.24 ......Rebecca Okin ..............New York, N.Y.25 ......Bernarda Reyes ............Brooklyn, N.Y.26 ......Hannah Spears ............New York, N.Y.27 ......Alexandra Sanford ........New York, N.Y.28 ......Madelaine Hilal ............New York, N.Y.29 ......Sarah Hirschfield ..........New York, N.Y.30 ......Patricia Obeid ..............New York, N.Y.31 ......Zorriana B. Johnson......New York, N.Y.32 ......Electra Frelinghuysen ..New York, N.Y.33 ......Brianna Baichulall ........Queens Village, N.Y.34 ......Val Leifer ......................New York, N.Y.35 ......Nicole Stephanie Stay ..Flushing, N.Y.36 ......Chelsea Williams ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.37 ......Anna Maite Kaplan........New York, N.Y.38 ......Jennifer Reiss ..............New York, N.Y.39 ......Annie I. Reiner ..............New York, N.Y.40 ......Marion Goldberg ..........New York, N.Y.

Metro Girls 16 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Isis Gill..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.2 ........Angeline Devanthiran....Corona, N.Y.3 ........Loulou Revson ..............New York, N.Y.4 ........Whitney Schott ............Forest Hills, N.Y.


N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G S5 ........Jenna B. Borenstein......New York, N.Y.6 ........Julia Zbarsky ................New York, N.Y.7 ........Sara Levy-Lambert ......New York, N.Y.8 ........Paolina Zanki ................Astoria, N.Y.9 ........Emi Lewis ....................New York, N.Y.10 ......Danielle Hupper ............New York, N.Y.11 ......Arielle L. John ..............Cambria Heights, N.Y.12 ......Erika Tinalli ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.13 ......Anne Oliver ..................New York, N.Y.14 ......Alicia Ng ......................Howard Beach, N.Y.15 ......Alex Morgan Leopold ....New York, N.Y.16 ......Camille Price ................New York, N.Y.17 ......Claire Harnett ..............New York, N.Y.18 ......Sarah Rahman..............East Elmhurst, N.Y.19 ......Claire Keyte ..................New York, N.Y.20 ......Brianna Williams ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.21 ......Vania Savic ..................Woodside, N.Y.22 ......Samora Alexis ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.23 ......Sara Heath ..................New York, N.Y.24 ......Alexandra N. Samadi ....Staten Island, N.Y.25 ......Julia Greenberg ............New York, N.Y.26 ......Champagne Mills..........New York, N.Y.27 ......Sofia Anouk Aisiks ........New York, N.Y.28 ......Ashley DelMissier ........Forest Hills, N.Y.29 ......Olga Voronetskaya ........Forest Hills, N.Y.30 ......Brittany Elizabeth Poje ..Glendale, N.Y.31 ......Kaitlyn Marie Poje ........Glendale, N.Y.32 ......Alexus Gill ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.33 ......Olivia Poon....................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.34 ......Nava Kidon ..................New York, N.Y.35 ......Sofia Degtyar................Brooklyn, N.Y.36 ......Jennifer Yu....................Forest Hills, N.Y.

Metro Girls 18 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Juliana Nelkin ..............New York, N.Y.2 ........Monica Y. Gokhberg ......Brooklyn, N.Y.3 ........Sophia N. Schlossel ......New York, N.Y.4 ........Rachel Colton ..............New York, N.Y.5 ........Cara Borenstein ............New York, N.Y.6 ........Dina Levy-Lambert ......New York, N.Y.7 ........Kimberly Salkin ............Brooklyn, N.Y.8 ........Charlotte Camacho ......New York, N.Y.9 ........Averie Bowen ..............New York, N.Y.10 ......Alexandra Samadi ........Staten Island, N.Y.11 ......Savannah Bowen..........New York, N.Y.12 ......Sara Levy-Lambert ......New York, N.Y.

Boys & GirlsSectional Rankings(as of 07/27/11)

BOYSSectional Boys 10 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City2 ........Ethan Leon ..................Woodhaven, N.Y.9 ........Derek Raskopf ..............New York, N.Y.15 ......Shand Stephens ..........New York, N.Y.17 ......Robbie F. Werdiger ........New York, N.Y.20 ......Steven Nazaroff ............Brooklyn, N.Y.24 ......Oliver Obeid..................New York, N.Y.27 ......Jonathan Glinsky ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.29 ......Stevan Stojkovic ..........Flushing, N.Y.30 ......Eitan Khromchenko ......Staten Island, N.Y.34 ......Michael Cooper Jr. ........Brooklyn, N.Y.37 ......Derrick Mu....................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.38 ......Aleksa Pljakic ..............Forest Hills, N.Y.39 ......Tyler Kats ....................Astoria, N.Y.40 ......Harry Portnoy................New York, N.Y.41 ......Noah D. Edelman ..........New York, N.Y.42 ......Will Coad ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.44 ......Christopher Tham ........Flushing, N.Y.45 ......Maxwell Kachkarov ......Flushing, N.Y.48 ......Lantis Wang..................New York, N.Y.51 ......Christopher Borter ........New York, N.Y.

53 ......Marcos Souza Lee ........New York, N.Y.54 ......Jacob David Livianu......Brooklyn, N.Y.61 ......Sidharth Chawla ..........New York, N.Y.65 ......Alex Portnoy ................New York, N.Y.67 ......Kai Yuminaga................Little Neck, N.Y.75 ......Christian Gruyon ..........Bronx, N.Y.78 ......Brian Tyutyunik ............Brooklyn, N.Y.79 ......Aaron Jackson..............Staten Island, N.Y.85 ......Nash Johnson ..............New York, N.Y.86 ......Shawn Jackson ............Staten Island, N.Y.88 ......Alexander Nielsen ........New York, N.Y.93 ......Jeffrey McCready ........Brooklyn, N.Y.94 ......Teddy Brodsky ..............New York, N.Y.96 ......Tristan Taylor ................New York, N.Y.97 ......Zachary Portnoy............New York, N.Y.100 ....Nicholas Pustilnik ........Brooklyn, N.Y.102 ....Oliver Tockman ............Brooklyn, N.Y.103 ....Alex Zlotchenko ............New York, N.Y.107 ....George Bader ..............New York, N.Y.114 ....Blake Frank ..................New York, N.Y.115 ....Max Kessler..................Brooklyn, N.Y.116 ....Joseph Wilkanowski ....Long Island City, N.Y.118 ....David Krasner ..............Staten Island, N.Y.119 ....Wesley Zhang ..............Staten Island, N.Y.125 ....Dylan Reziniano ............New York, N.Y.127 ....Jaysen Ian Altman ........Brooklyn, N.Y.130 ....Jeffrey Fradkin..............New York, N.Y.132 ....Simon Camacho ..........New York, N.Y.135 ....Quinn McLeod ..............New York, N.Y.136 ....Ryan David Brandes ....Rego Park, N.Y.142 ....David Brandes ..............Rego Park, N.Y.145 ....Samuel Charlton ..........New York, N.Y.146 ....Harry Charlton ..............New York, N.Y.147 ....Daniel Gordon ..............New York, N.Y.149 ....Scott Fischer ................New York, N.Y.150 ....Brandon Nydick ............New York, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City7 ........Sumit Sarkar ................New York, N.Y.17 ......Jeffrey Gorilovsky ........Brooklyn, N.Y.30 ......Max Prohorov ..............Rego Park, N.Y.33 ......Sam V. Vagner ..............Staten Island, N.Y.37 ......Gary C. Fishkin ............Staten Island, N.Y.50 ......Ethan Leon ..................Woodhaven, N.Y.55 ......Jacob Kern ..................New York, N.Y.59 ......Peter Lohrbach ............Little Neck, N.Y.60 ......Cameron Gruss ............New York, N.Y.62 ......Oliver Jevtovic ..............Astoria, N.Y.72 ......James Kandel Dill ........New York, N.Y.75 ......David Moldovan............Brooklyn, N.Y.76 ......David Mizrahi................Brooklyn, N.Y.81 ......Kemal Irfan Aziz ............Staten Island, N.Y.86 ......Allan Ethan Magid ........Brooklyn, N.Y.99 ......Matthew Joshua Ross ..New York, N.Y.102 ....Gabriel Sifuentes ..........Flushing, N.Y.106 ....Robert Kennedy ............New York, N.Y.109 ....Zachary Jordan Lieb ....New York, N.Y.110 ....Logan Gruss ................New York, N.Y.121 ....Mitchell Mu ..................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.138 ....Stevan Stojkovic ..........Flushing, N.Y.141 ....Joseph R. Reiner ..........New York, N.Y.148 ....Andrew Pokorny ..........New York, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City7 ........James Wasserman ......New York, N.Y.8 ........Christopher Auteri ........Staten Island, N.Y.11 ......Gal Mathew Sossen ......Oakland Gardens, N.Y.14 ......Alex Knaff ....................New York, N.Y.16 ......Edan Lee Sossen ..........Oakland Gardens, N.Y.19 ......Oliver Sec ....................New York, N.Y.20 ......Mitchell Ostrovsky ........Brooklyn, N.Y.21 ......Philip Raytburg ............Brooklyn, N.Y.24 ......Victor Miglo ..................Kew Gardens, N.Y.

27 ......Felipe P. Osses-Konig....Rego Park, N.Y.32 ......Cole Gittens ..................New York, N.Y.34 ......Marcus T. Smith............Little Neck, N.Y.35 ......Alexander Thrane..........New York, N.Y.36 ......Ananth Raghavan ........New York, N.Y.38 ......Aleksandar Kovacevic ..New York, N.Y.45 ......Christian O. Gloria ........Queens Village, N.Y.74 ......Jared Fields..................New York, N.Y.96 ......Ian Witmer ....................New York, N.Y.111 ....Alex Chao ....................New York, N.Y.115 ....Cameron Gruss ............New York, N.Y.116 ....William J. Trang ............Staten Island, N.Y.117 ....Peter Lohrbach ............Little Neck, N.Y.131 ....Jordan D. Jordan ..........Astoria, N.Y.136 ....Ethan Nittolo ................Flushing, N.Y.140 ....Michal Pisarek ..............Forest Hills, N.Y.141 ....Antony Jippov ..............New York, N.Y.143 ....Andrew Penn ................New York, N.Y.149 ....Maurice Russo..............New York, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City3 ........Joshua Yablon ..............New York, N.Y.15 ......Dennis Druzhinsky........Brooklyn, N.Y.19 ......Courtney Murphy ..........Bronx, N.Y.23 ......Ryoma Haraguchi ........New York, N.Y.27 ......Zachary Yablon ............New York, N.Y.28 ......Artemie Amari ..............New York, N.Y.31 ......Hugh H. Mo ..................Douglaston, N.Y.38 ......Win Smith ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.39 ......Justin Fields ................New York, N.Y.41 ......Daniel Kerznerman ......Brooklyn, N.Y.44 ......Lucas Pickering ............Brooklyn, N.Y.50 ......Richard Sec ..................New York, N.Y.74 ......Sachin Raghavan..........New York, N.Y.78 ......Cameron Daniels ..........Oakland Gardens, N.Y.94 ......Steven H. Koulouris ......Long Island City, N.Y.95 ......Christopher Auteri ........Staten Island, N.Y.97 ......James M. Rubin............New York, N.Y.98 ......Alexis Cai......................Woodhaven, N.Y.118 ....Douglas L. Mo ..............Douglaston, N.Y.126 ....Jonathan Selegean ......East Elmhurst, N.Y.130 ....Jacob Frisch ................New York, N.Y.133 ....Matthew Balilo..............Oakland Gardens, N.Y.142 ....Jun Yuminaga ..............Little Neck, N.Y.144 ....James Wasserman ......New York, N.Y.148 ....Alexander Pintilie ..........New York, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City3 ........Andrew Adams ............South Richmond Hill, N.Y.17 ......Stefan D. Ilic ................Forest Hills, N.Y.28 ......Jake Sosonkin ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.30 ......Richard J. Del Nunzio....Forest Hills, N.Y.36 ......Eric R. Brinzenskiy ........Staten Island, N.Y.49 ......Alexander J. Petrone ....Staten Island, N.Y.63 ......Dennis Druzhinsky........Brooklyn, N.Y.65 ......David F. Arroyave ..........Floral Park, N.Y.68 ......Justin Vijungco ............Forest Hills, N.Y.73 ......Leon Pan ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.78 ......Justin S. Pagan ............Flushing, N.Y.82 ......Joseph Motta................Staten Island, N.Y.89 ......Jacob S. Huber ............New York, N.Y.91 ......Christopher Jou ............Oakland Gardens, N.Y.96 ......Jeremy Kochman..........Brooklyn, N.Y.101 ....Joshua Yablon ..............New York, N.Y.102 ....Christopher Jimenez ....Oakland Gardens, N.Y.104 ....Steven W. Wilson ..........Bronx, N.Y.114 ....Ian Antonoff ..................New York, N.Y.121 ....Stephen Monk ..............New York, N.Y.135 ....Ryoma Haraguchi ........New York, N.Y.146 ....Ryan E. Villarruel ..........Staten Island, N.Y.150 ....David N. Zhukovsky ......Brooklyn, N.Y.

GIRLSSectional Girls 10 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City4 ........Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.6 ........Christina M. Kuynh........Astoria, N.Y.10 ......Nicole K. Cee ................New York, N.Y.12 ......Michelle Sorokko ..........Douglaston, N.Y.13 ......Juliana Kislin ................New York, N.Y.14 ......Miriam Irfan Aziz ..........Staten Island, N.Y.16 ......Shelly Yaloz ..................Little Neck, N.Y.17 ......Marie Ivantechenko ......Brooklyn, N.Y.19 ......Isabella Nicole Tushaj....Bronx, N.Y.27 ......Kyra Bergmann ............Forest Hills, N.Y.29 ......Katherine Kachkarov ....Flushing, N.Y.30 ......Carolyn Brodsky ..........New York, N.Y.31 ......Gabriella Eitkis..............Brooklyn, N.Y.32 ......Rebecca Eliana Fisch ....New York, N.Y.34 ......Perene Wang ................New York, N.Y.35 ......Rebecca Izyayeva ........Staten Island, N.Y.37 ......Diana McCready ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.41 ......Anastasya Menshikova ..Brooklyn, N.Y.45 ......Diana Ellen Sosonkin ....Brooklyn, N.Y.53 ......Dakota Fordham ..........New York, N.Y.57 ......Stella Gray....................New York, N.Y.58 ......Steffi Antao ..................Briarwood, N.Y.60 ......Lena Kovacevic ............New York, N.Y.62 ......Valicia Browne..............Brooklyn, N.Y.71 ......Zoe Kava ......................New York, N.Y.75 ......Audrey Pacthod ............New York, N.Y.78 ......Grace L. Kennedy..........New York, N.Y.83 ......Amy Kaplan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.86 ......Kassia Taylor ................New York, N.Y.88 ......Isabella T. Hartman ......New York, N.Y.92 ......Elisabeth Schlossel ......New York, N.Y.93 ......Cassie Tian ..................Flushing, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Sarah Rahman..............East Elmhurst, N.Y.8 ........Nicole Stephanie Stay ..Flushing, N.Y.10 ......Aleksandra Bekirova ....Brooklyn, N.Y.16 ......Alexus Gill ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.17 ......Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.21 ......Jennifer Yu....................Forest Hills, N.Y.22 ......Jennifer Richards..........New York, N.Y.24 ......Chelsea Williams ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.27 ......Regina Furer ................Brooklyn, N.Y.31 ......Lauren Munari ..............Middle Village, N.Y.32 ......Victoria Sec ..................New York, N.Y.33 ......Nicole Semenov............Brooklyn, N.Y.37 ......Michelle Sorokko ..........Douglaston, N.Y.49 ......Brittny Jo Ferreira ........Brooklyn, N.Y.50 ......Anastasia Koniaev ........Forest Hills, N.Y.53 ......Patricia Obeid ..............New York, N.Y.61 ......Shelly Yaloz ..................Little Neck, N.Y.76 ......Olivia Simone Morris ....Floral Park, N.Y.80 ......Katherine Kachkarov ....Flushing, N.Y.86 ......Kyra Bergmann ............Forest Hills, N.Y.89 ......Alice Soares Pinho ........Woodside, N.Y.90 ......Olga Drahanchuk ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.98 ......Juliana Kislin ................New York, N.Y.101 ....Christina Huynh ............Astoria, N.Y.102 ....Stephanie Li ................New York, N.Y.103 ....Sydney Lynn Katz ........New York, N.Y.106 ....Zoe Radojicic ................New York, N.Y.107 ....Danielle Kade ..............New York, N.Y.109 ....Isabel Balilo ..................Flushing, N.Y.112 ....Sarah Finley..................New York, N.Y.118 ....Lia Kiam ......................New York, N.Y.119 ....Kyra Alison Whitelaw ....New York, N.Y.125 ....Charlotte May Mosler....New York, N.Y.127 ....Victoria Hanuman ........Brooklyn, N.Y.131 ....Alexa Nobandegani ......New York, N.Y.132 ....Johnniesha Breiten ......Bronx, N.Y.134 ....Kaya Alagappan............New York, N.Y.


N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G S143 ....Rachel Okin ..................New York, N.Y.146 ....Olivia Lynch-Burgdorf ..Douglaston, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City1 ........Anna Ulyashchenko ......Brooklyn, N.Y.2 ........Jessica Golovin ............New York, N.Y.3 ........Jessica Livianu ............Brooklyn, N.Y.5 ........Stefani Lineva ..............Middle Village, N.Y.7 ........Arnelle Sullivan ............Brooklyn, N.Y.9 ........Sabrina Xiong ..............Fresh Meadows, N.Y.17 ......Elizabeth Tsvetkov ........Brooklyn, N.Y.21 ......Shayna M. Spooner ......New York, N.Y.29 ......Sophia Kryloff ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.30 ......Yuka Lin........................Kew Gardens, N.Y.32 ......Christina Puccinelli ......New York, N.Y.34 ......Isis Gill..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.36 ......Anastasiya Malinouskaya Staten Island, N.Y.40 ......Jillian Rose Auteri ........Staten Island, N.Y.55 ......Alexus Gill ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.57 ......Regina Furer ................Brooklyn, N.Y.59 ......Julia D. Fisch ................New York, N.Y.60 ......Michelle Khaimov ........Jamaica, N.Y.61 ......Ashley DelMissier ........Forest Hills, N.Y.70 ......Julia Zbarksy ................New York, N.Y.84 ......Brittany Elizabeth Poje ..Glendale, N.Y.86 ......Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.95 ......Kaitlyn Marie Poje ........Glendale, N.Y.97 ......Ilana Levich ..................Staten Island, N.Y.99 ......Erika Tinalli ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.109 ....Marierose Apice............Brooklyn, N.Y.113 ....Rebecca Fakas ............Little Neck, N.Y.115 ....Alexandra Koniaev ........Forest Hills, N.Y.119 ....Sarah Rahman..............East Elmhurst, N.Y.122 ....Jennifer Richards..........New York, N.Y.123 ....Jennifer Yu....................Forest Hills, N.Y.143 ....Aleksandra Bekirova ....Brooklyn, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City7 ........Ariana D. Rodriguez ......Bronx, N.Y.9 ........Hannah Shteyn ............Staten Island, N.Y.11 ......Emily Safron ................New York, N.Y.15 ......Nadia Smergut..............New York, N.Y.18 ......Lily Bondy ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.21 ......Arielle N. Griffin ............Jamaica, N.Y.22 ......Samantha P. Tutelman ..New York, N.Y.27 ......Kyra Silitch ..................New York, N.Y.30 ......Jessica Golovin ............New York, N.Y.32 ......Destiny Grunin ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.36 ......Laura Maria Chitu ........New York, N.Y.39 ......Kimberly Salkin ............Brooklyn, N.Y.40 ......Angela Assal ................Bronx, N.Y.46 ......Alexa Sara Meltzer........New York, N.Y.47 ......Victoria Lynn Zoha ........New York, N.Y.60 ......Stefani Lineva ..............Middle Village, N.Y.69 ......Anna Ulyashchenko ......Brooklyn, N.Y.89 ......Loulou Revson ..............New York, N.Y.91 ......Monica Y. Gokhberg ......Brooklyn, N.Y.95 ......Sophia N. Schlossel ......New York, N.Y.105 ....Arnelle Sullivan ............Brooklyn, N.Y.112 ....Isis Gill..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.115 ....Jessica Livianu ............Brooklyn, N.Y.125 ....Sabrina Xiong ..............Fresh Meadows, N.Y.127 ....Augusta Conway ..........New York, N.Y.129 ....Sophia Kryloff ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.141 ....Elizabeth Tsvetkov ........Brooklyn, N.Y.142 ....Christina Puccinelli ......New York, N.Y.146 ....Arielle L. John ..............Cambria Heights, N.Y.148 ....Shayna Spooner ..........New York, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City3 ........Leighann Sahagun........Queens Village, N.Y.

8 ........Emily Safron ................New York, N.Y.15 ......Becky Shtilkind ............Brooklyn, N.Y.16 ......Ariana D. Rodriguez ......Bronx, N.Y.21 ......Manuela Velasquez ......Kew Gardens, N.Y.22 ......Alexis S. Tashiro............Jamaica, N.Y.23 ......Jacqueline R. Katz ........New York, N.Y.27 ......Hannah Shteyn ............Staten Island, N.Y.32 ......Kathleen Piit Uy ............Elmhurst, N.Y.35 ......Angela Assal ................Bronx, N.Y.36 ......Madison Gordon ..........New York, N.Y.38 ......Nicole Rydzewski..........Maspeth, N.Y.41 ......Arielle N. Griffin ............Jamaica, N.Y.46 ......Nadia Smergut..............New York, N.Y.49 ......Gabrielle Sullivan ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.51 ......Dayana Agasieva ..........Forest Hills, N.Y.55 ......Jordan P. Zola ..............New York, N.Y.57 ......Allison Immergut ..........New York, N.Y.59 ......Ashley A. Masanto ........Brooklyn, N.Y.61 ......Katie Derienzo ..............Douglaston, N.Y.63 ......Marylen G. Santos ........Jamaica, N.Y.65 ......Jemila A. Brady ............Bronx, N.Y.68 ......Samantha P. Tutelman ..New York, N.Y.70 ......Ester I. Goldfeld ............Brooklyn, N.Y.73 ......Kyra Silitch ..................New York, N.Y.76 ......Lily Bondy ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.77 ......Joanna V. Haich ............Flushing, N.Y.82 ......Monica Y. Gokhberg ......Brooklyn, N.Y.90 ......Destiny Grunin ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.91 ......Sophia N. Schlossel ......New York, N.Y.94 ......Loulou Revson ..............New York, N.Y.97 ......Laura Maria Chitu ........New York, N.Y.99 ......Charlotte Camacho ......New York, N.Y.101 ....Kimberly Salkin ............Brooklyn, N.Y.102 ....Lisa Ventimiglia ............Bayside, N.Y.125 ....Stephanie Rettig ..........New York, N.Y.128 ....Maria Pia Sifuentes ......Forest Hills, N.Y.132 ....Jessica Golovin ............New York, N.Y.136 ....Olivia Boccardi..............New York, N.Y.139 ....Bessie Rentzler ............New York, N.Y.

Boys & Girls National Rankings(as of 08/03/11)

BOYSNational Boys 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank..Name ..........................City221 ....Sumit Sarkar ................New York, N.Y.255 ....Jeffrey Gorilovsky ........Brooklyn, N.Y.327 ....Gary C. Fishkin ............Staten Island, N.Y.369 ....Max Prohorov ..............Rego Park, N.Y.500 ....Sam V. Vagner ..............Staten Island, N.Y.731 ....Cameron Gruss ............New York, N.Y.786 ....Ethan Leon ..................Woodhaven, N.Y.813 ....Kemal Irfan Aziz ............Staten Island, N.Y.885 ....Oliver Jevtovic ..............Astoria, N.Y.

National Boys 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City25 ......James Wasserman ......New York, N.Y.70 ......Gal Mathew Sossen ......Oakland Gardens, N.Y.72 ......Christopher Auteri ........Staten Island, N.Y.109 ....Edan Lee Sossen ..........Oakland Gardens, N.Y.117 ....Alex Knaff ....................New York, N.Y.122 ....Oliver Sec ....................New York, N.Y.165 ....Victor Miglo ..................Kew Gardens, N.Y.179 ....Mitchell Ostrovsky ........Brooklyn, N.Y.298 ....Alexander Thrane..........New York, N.Y.341 ....Cole Gittens ..................New York, N.Y.393 ....Philip Raytburg ............Brooklyn, N.Y.429 ....Ananth Raghavan ........New York, N.Y.495 ....Felipe P. Osses-Konig....Rego Park, N.Y.

648 ....Marcus T. Smith............Little Neck, N.Y.661 ....Aleksandar Kovacevic ..New York, N.Y.838 ....Christian Gloria ............Queens Village, N.Y.

National Boys 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City25 ......Daniel Kerznerman ......Brooklyn, N.Y.66 ......Joshua Yablon ..............New York, N.Y.159 ....Zachary Yablon ............New York, N.Y.230 ....Dennis Druzhinsky........Brooklyn, N.Y.296 ....Hugh H. Mo ..................Douglaston, N.Y.313 ....Courtney Murphy ..........Bronx, N.Y.348 ....Win Smith ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.397 ....Justin Fields ................New York, N.Y.465 ....Artemie Amari ..............New York, N.Y.540 ....Ryoma Haraguchi ........New York, N.Y.611 ....Sachin Raghavan..........New York, N.Y.804 ....Richard Sec ..................New York, N.Y.917 ....James Wasserman ......New York, N.Y.970 ....Lucas Pickering ............Brooklyn, N.Y.995 ....Douglas L. Mo ..............Douglaston, N.Y.

National Boys 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City17 ......Andrew Adams ............South Richmond Hill, N.Y.55 ......Alexander J. Petrone ....Staten Island, N.Y.103 ....Richard J. Del Nunzio....Forest Hills, N.Y.312 ....Stefan D. Ilic ................Forest Hills, N.Y.426 ....Jake Sosonkin ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.457 ....Eric R. Brinzenskiy ........Staten Island, N.Y.609 ....Daniel Kerznerman ......Brooklyn, N.Y.782 ....Andrew J. Scheiner ......New York, N.Y.999 ....Christopher Jimenez ....Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

GIRLSNational Girls 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City60 ......Sarah Rahman..............East Elmhurst, N.Y.143 ....Nicole Stephanie Stay ..Flushing, N.Y.164 ....Aleksandra Bekirova ....Brooklyn, N.Y.236 ....Alexus Gill ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.282 ....Chelsea Williams ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.292 ....Dasha Kourkina ............Brooklyn, N.Y.302 ....Lauren Munari ..............Middle Village, N.Y.311 ....Jennifer Richards..........New York, N.Y.334 ....Jennifer Yu....................Forest Hills, N.Y.381 ....Michelle Sorokko ..........Douglaston, N.Y.384 ....Victoria Sec ..................New York, N.Y.454 ....Nicole Semenov............Brooklyn, N.Y.498 ....Regina Furer ................Brooklyn, N.Y.678 ....Anastasia Koniaev ........Forest Hills, N.Y.752 ....Patrica Obeid ................New York, N.Y.

National Girls 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City55 ......Anna Ulyashchenko ......Brooklyn, N.Y.67 ......Jessica Golovin ............New York, N.Y.85 ......Jessica Melane Livianu Brooklyn, N.Y.159 ....Stefani Lineva ..............Middle Village, N.Y.166 ....Arnelle Sullivan ............Brooklyn, N.Y.179 ....Sabrina Xiong ..............Fresh Meadows, N.Y.324 ....Shayna M. Spooner ......New York, N.Y.362 ....Isis Gill..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.386 ....Yuka Lin ......................Kew Gardens, N.Y.412 ....Christina Puccinelli ......New York, N.Y.476 ....Elizabeth Tsvetkov ........Brooklyn, N.Y.563 ....Anastasiya Malinouskaya Staten Island, N.Y.570 ....Julia D. Fisch ................New York, N.Y.636 ....Sophia Kryloff ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.772 ....Jillian Rose Auteri ........Staten Island, N.Y.

National Girls 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City47 ......Emily Safron ................New York, N.Y.98 ......Ariana D. Rodriguez ......Bronx, N.Y.178 ....Hannah Shteyn ............Staten Island, N.Y.205 ....Nadia Smergut..............New York, N.Y.249 ....Lily Bondy ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.255 ....Samantha Tutelman......New York, N.Y.318 ....Arielle N. Griffin ............Jamaica, N.Y.351 ....Destiny Grunin ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.361 ....Kyra Silitch ..................New York, N.Y.449 ....Jessica Golovin ............New York, N.Y.500 ....Alexa Sara Meltzer........New York, N.Y.538 ....Angela Assal ................Bronx, N.Y.633 ....Laura Maria Chitu ........New York, N.Y.774 ....Kimberly Salkin ............Brooklyn, N.Y909 ....Anna Ulyashchenko ......Brooklyn, N.Y.970 ....Victoria Lynn Zoha ........New York, N.Y.

National Girls 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City54 ......Leighann Sahagun........Queens Village, N.Y.86 ......Emily Safron ................New York, N.Y.125 ....Jacqueline R. Katz ........New York, N.Y.239 ....Ariana D. Rodriguez ......Bronx, N.Y.271 ....Becky Shtilkind ............Brooklyn, N.Y.308 ....Ester I. Goldfeld ............Brooklyn, N.Y.425 ....Alexis S. Tashiro............Jamaica, N.Y.446 ....Manuela Velasquez ......Kew Gardens, N.Y.469 ....Gabrielle Sullivan ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.475 ....Angela Assal ................Bronx, N.Y.569 ....Madison Gordon ..........New York, N.Y.585 ....Dayana Agasieva ..........Forest Hills, N.Y.596 ....Nicole Rydzewski..........Maspeth, N.Y.605 ....Hannah Shteyn ............Staten Island, N.Y.745 ....Kathleen Piit Uy ............Elmhurst, N.Y.748 ....Arielle N. Griffin ............Jamaica, N.Y.767 ....Diana Dzarasueva ........Brooklyn, N.Y.815 ....Stephanie Rettig ..........New York, N.Y.865 ....Jemila A. Brady ............Bronx, N.Y.

59NYTennisMag.com • July/August 2011 • New York Tennis Magazine

60 New York Tennis Magazine • July/August 2011 • NYTennisMag.com

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