New York Tennis Magazine January / February 2022

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January/February 2022 • Volume 12, Number 1

nytennis New York Tennis Magazine

Table Of Contents

MAGAZINE

Barty Seeks Slam Title Down Under

New York Tennis Magazine

World’s top-ranked woman looks to win in her home country

1228 Wantagh Avenue, Suite 203 Wantagh, NY 11793-2202 Phone: (516) 409-4444 • Fax: (516) 409-4600

By Brian Coleman—See page 12 Photo credit: Darren Carroll/USTA

Web site: www.nytennismag.com

Staff David Sickmen Publisher (516) 409-4444, ext. 309 david@usptennis.com Brian Coleman Senior Editor (516) 409-4444, ext. 326 brianc@usptennis.com Joey Arendt Art Director

Highlights 6 8 16 32

Racquet Sport Report presented by All Racquet Sports 2021 New York Girls’ High School Recap Beyond the Baseline w/ Gilad Bloom By Brian Coleman 2022 New York Tennis Magazine’s Guide to the Top Clubs & Programs 2022 Australian Open Preview Junior Player Spotlight: The Scarsdale Five By Brian Coleman

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Francine Miller Advertising Coordinator (516) 409-4444, ext. 301 francinem@usptennis.com Emilie Katz Assistant Marketing Coordinator Barbara Wyatt Contributing Writer Rob Polishook Contributing Writer Luke Jensen Contributing Writer

Advertising To receive any information regarding advertising rates, deadlines, and requirements, call (516) 409-4444 or e-mail info@usptennis.com.

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

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Features 4 19 20 22 24 27 28 31 53 57 58 60 62 64

Across Metro New York…News and Notes From Across the New York Metro Tennis Community NYTM’s Literary Corner: Mother Deuce by George Poppel Junior TeamTennis: A Fun Introduction to Play By Khrystsina Tryboi The Secret to a Successful College Career By Nazari Urbina USTA Eastern Metro Region Update Metro Corporate League Recap presented by Advantage Tennis Clubs Attacking the Net the Spanish Way By Chris Lewit The Art of Coaching By Daniel Bednarek Stop the Conversation to End Tennis Frustration By Steve Kaplan Height of the Sportsmanship Bar By Barbara Wyatt The Top Ten Tennis Tips of All-Time By Dr. Tom Ferraro The Power of the Pause By Rob Polishook How Many Hours a Week Should a College-Bound Junior Play Tennis? By Gilad Bloom The Jensen Zone: Learning Life Values Gave Me My Tennis Values

By Luke Jensen

New York Tennis Magazine is published bi-monthly by United Sports Publications Ltd. • Copyright © 2022 United Sports Publications Ltd.

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Across Metro Ne N Petersen Wins Green Ball Title Jacob Petersen, who trains at the Cary Leeds Tennis Center, won the title at the USTA Green Ball Junior Circuit event at the Bogota Racquet Club, competing in the Boys 10s division.

Markov Wins L6 Championship Milana Markov took home the title at the L6 Sportime Kings Park Challenger tournament. In the Girls 14s division, Markov, who trains at MatchPoint NYC in Brooklyn, won both her semifinal and final matches in third-set tiebreakers to come away with the title.

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RSTA Players Win “Little Mo” Internationals Events

Players from the Ross School Tennis Academy travelled down to Florida to compete in the “Little Mo” Internationals and came back to New York with trophies. Eduardo Menezes (left) won the title in the Boys 16s, or “Big Mo” division, and also paired with fellow RSTA player Luise Bastos (middle) to win the Mixed Doubles event. Bastos also won the Girls 16s, “Big Mo”, division title. Luanna Carmo (right) won the Girls 9s doubles event with Nina Chabli of Miami, Fla.

Centercourt’s Zheng Commits to Columbia

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

Centercourt Performance Tennis Academy full-time student Michael Zheng committed to Columbia University, and will join the Lions next fall.

“Excited to announce my commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at Colubmia University,” said Zheng.

“A big thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way.”

New York Wolf Wins Chelsea Pier Event

… News and notes from across the N.Y. Metro tennis community JMTA’s Sec Commits to Princeton

Maya Wolf, who trains at CourtSense Tennis Training Center, travelled to Connecticut to compete in the USTA Junior Circuit Chelsea Piers Green Ball Holiday Special, and Wolf captured the title as she finished atop her group with three consecutive victories.

Chris Lewit Tennis Academy’s Ryan Wins L6 Event in Bogota Staten Island’s Ryan Ricciardi, who trains at the Chris Lewit Tennis Academy, captured the title at the L6 event at CourtSense at Bogota Racquet Club. Ricciardi was the number two seed, and won all of his matches in straight sets en route to the championship.

John McEnroe Tennis Academy’s Sebastian Sec has announced he will be playing his collegiate tennis at Princeton University. Sec won the Gold Ball in doubles at the Clay Court Championships in 2021, and is a five-star, blue chip recruit according to TennisRecruiting.Net.

Stephanie Yakoff Reaches Orange Ball Finals

Stephanie Yakoff powered her way to the championship match of the Orange Ball down in Florida. Yakoff made her way through the draw of the Girls 16s division en route to making the finals, before a knee injury forced her to withdraw. The second-ranked player in New Jersey, Yakoff verbally committed to Harvard last year.

NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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Racquet Sport

Report presented by

What Is Padel?

Padel is referred to as the “swiss army knife of Racquet Sports”, combining elements of platform, racquetball, squash and tennis to create a unique and easy-to-learn game. Padel is played on a court which is roughly one-third the size of a tennis court, and is surrounded by glass on the back and parts of the sides. The middle of the sides of the court have a metal mesh fencing with two side doors that open up.

The scoring, and most of the rules, are similar to tennis, with the main differences being that you can play the ball off the walls, and the serving is done underhanded. Padel is almost always played doubles, men’s, women’s and mixed, and the racquet is made of an EVA foam core that is 17 inches long and has holes in it. The racquet comes with a strap, and is covered by either fiberglass or carbon fibers on the outside. The ball is a bit heavier than a regular tennis ball, but has less compression, helping to sustain longer rallies and allowing it to bounce better off the walls.

Where to play Padel?

The first ever Padel Club will open in New York City in 2022. Housed in a 30,000 square-foot Williamsburg, Brooklyn warehouse, one of the fastest growing sports in the country will have a new home in New York City.

The Williamsburg club will be called 6

All Racquet Sports

and new players joining each day. As a result, there is a new indoor, state-of-the-art, threecourt Padel club opening up at the beginning of 2022 in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., the first of its kind in the Northeast.

You can visit Padelphia.com to learn more.

Padel Haus, and is the brainchild of Santiago Gomez, a Mexican restaurateur. Padel Haus will include one of Gomez’s restaurants, Cosme, in the facility. Combining Padel courts with a restaurant is indicative of the fun and social atmosphere associated with Padel.

Right now though, the best and closest place for people to play in the Northeast is “Padelphia”, the unique pop-up location in Philadelphia, Pa. Earlier this year, the pop-up club was open for six weeks, and more than 500 players came out to try the sport, including 50 kids. There was an “Intro to Padel” program that was taught to dozens of racquet sports professionals, and even an eight-club, inter-city Padel Challenge Club tournament.

The success of the pop-up club is a sign of things to come, as the sport’s continued growth will lead to more courts being opened and available,

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

2022 World Padel Tour Begins in Miami For the second time in the last five years, the World Padel tour will bring an event to the United States, as the Miami Padel Open will kick off the tour’s 2022 season at the Florida Gardens Club & Marina from February 22-27.

Racquet sports continue to gain momentum and increased popularity, and Padel is helping to lead that charge. Padel combines the best parts of many of the games players already love, and could be coming to a place near you real soon.

Marcos del Pilar, a USPTA Elite Professional and MASTER Padel Professional said: “It is a great workout for all levels and ages. Padel is a sport for the entire family. On top of that, it’s extremely social and you not only enjoy while playing, but also just hanging out watching other matches with your friends. Padel is the perfect addition to any sports facility and an incredible way to attract new members with no previous experience in racquet sports.”

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2021 New York Girls’ High S Beacon Wins NYC PSAL “A” Title, Fort Hamilton Claims “B” Crown

ll season long, Beacon and Hunter seemed to be on a collision course, destined to meet in the New York City PSAL “A” Division Championship.

And when the two teams did square off, it did not disappoint.

It proved to be a tightly-contested match, with Beacon edging out a 3-2 victory to claim its third consecutive city title.

“We had a lot of freshmen and new players to the team this season, and they were new to the team because we didn't have a season last year,” said head coach Martina Choi. “Everybody played their role; it was a total team effort. If our singles players didn't win, it was up to the doubles players to do their part, and vice versa, and that's how it was all season. It was an exciting year for us, because we really did play as a team.”

The win was a true testament to Beacon’s depth. Natalie Bergmann and Nyla Ferdinand, who had been so good all season long, would drop matches at first and second singles, respectively, meaning that Beacon would have to win third singles and the two doubles flights to come away victorious.

It did just that. Naisha Rathi delivered a crucial win at the third singles spot, while Maya Joy Ollivierre & Mia Sarzynska played a dominant second set to win at first doubles. In the second doubles position, Anna Struthers & Patrycja Filonik would come away with the win, and Beacon had yet another city title.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more as a coach. The girls were easy to work with and they were all supportive of each other,”

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said Choi. “It was a really good experience for me.”

Beacon will look to defend its title once again next season, with a young core of players.

“I think we're going to have a strong season,” said Choi.

“We have very dedicated players, and they want to do well. I'm hoping that, as they keep getting older, they’ll keep growing, and I know some of them play tournaments and events in the offseason. I think we can have another solid season, and I'm looking forward to the team we'll have.”

For the second straight season, Fort Hamilton is the champion of the PSAL “B” Division. The Tigers defeated The Scholars Academy 5-0 in the championship match to defend its title from a year ago.

“It was very exciting for us,” said head coach Muad Nagi.

“When we got together in August, there was still some nervousness about COVID, but the girls got used to it throughout the season, and continued to put in the hard work. It paid off.”

The Tigers were led by its two senior captains, Angelina Bittan and Sevinch Rakhmatdinova, who played first and second

singles, respectively. The two leaders were instrumental not only in their play on the court, but setting an example for the rest of the team on how to prepare off the court, and put a lot of emphasis on bringing the team together.

“This year I promised myself to bring the girls together and through our get togethers, we all began to form a tight bond

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

School Recap with one another,” said Bittan. “Establishing good chemistry was my number one priority. The girls were okay being themselves, and that really helped us as a team. Our team became a safe space, and if anyone was struggling outside of tennis, we’d go straight to the group chat.”

Rakhmatdinova added: “Before the season, Angelina invited the whole team over to her house, and it really helped us form that connection between everyone. The girls on the team really were all best friends, and we had so much fun this season.”

In the championship match, Bittan and Rakhmatdinova both won their respective singles matches in straight sets, while Isabella Veseli won her match at third singles. In doubles play, Barbara Carrion & Julia Aksamentova were triumphant at first doubles, and Isabella Tchij & Janice Li won at second doubles.

Fort Hamilton will now try to navigate next season without Bittan and Rakhmatdinova, leaving both a leadership void as well as one in the starting lineup. But the example set by the two of them will carry into next year and beyond, as the Tigers aim to make it three straight city titles.

“If the girls have learned anything from us, it is to show up, even on those days you really don’t want to,” said Bittan.

“Show up and give it your all. I stressed that tennis is not a game where you can play halfway and get away with it. That is why it was so great to play with Sevinch. Some of the girls came on the team thinking they didn’t have room for improvement, but we taught them how to fix their form, hit harder, generate more topspin, and the list goes on. We wanted the girls to recognize how much potential they had, and seeing them improve made us feel like proud moms.”

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NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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2021 long new york high school recap continued from page 21

Byram Hills, Scarsdale Claim First Ever New York State Team Championships

he first-ever New York State Team Tennis Championships were held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and the inaugural event did not disappoint.

Eight of the best teams, four Large Schools and four Small Schools, in the state gathered in Queens to compete for the title of state champions. In the end, Byram Hills captured the Small School State Championship, while Scarsdale claimed the Large School title.

After Scarsdale defeated Brighton 7-0 in the semifinals, it advanced into a matchup against Long Island champion Syosset, who downed Bethlehem 7-0 in its semifinal. The two undefeated squads faced off for the state title, with each presenting the other with its most difficult challenge of the season.

“I knew Syosset was going to be tough,” said Scarsdale head coach Jen Roane. “Our girls have been challenged throughout the season, but not like this.”

The two squads would go back-and-forth trading victories on the various courts. Scarsdale jumped ahead early with Giana Marks defeating Alexa Brecher at second singles, but Syosset responded as Mia Silverman & Manami Wakazono notched a third doubles victory over Daphne Lutrell & Madison Lee. Scarsdale would then get victories from Natalie Hu, who defeated Eesha Kaushik at first singles, and Maya Cukierman, who won a three-set match over Zia Mukherjee.

The Braves of Syosset would win first doubles thanks to Rachel Lin & Alex Ho’s victory over Laura Mendes & Campbell Alin, and Liv Tiegerman & Sara Gao notched a second doubles win over Yelena Sahakyan & Maya Bora.

With the overall match tied at three-all, the state championship came down to the fourth doubles court. After squeezing out the opening set in a tiebreaker, Natasha Pereira & Kay Cottrell held on to win 7-6(4), 6-3 over Abby

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Glenn & Amanda Huang, winning fourth doubles and sealing the state title.

Scarsdale becomes the first New York State Tennis Team Champion, and finishes its season undefeated.

“They did a wonderful job putting this together, and it was a lot of fun,” said Roane. “It was nerve-wracking at the end.

Every point counts, but it’s those last few that seem to be the hardest. It was a fantastic day, and I’m so proud of my team.”

“It was an emotional roller coaster. It was a great season,” said co-captain Lauren Mendes. “I’m not sure if we thought we could make it this far, but we did it. To be the first ever state champion is crazy; this is amazing.”

While Syosset’s historic season ends with a defeat, it doesn’t take away from the success it had throughout the fall.

“This has been the longest season we’ve had, and it’s been a lot of fun,” said Syosset head coach Shai Fisher. “They need a break, and some downtime to recharge. But I’m so proud of what they have accomplished. The seniors will still be part of this team as we continue throughout the offseason.

I know these girls will continue to work hard to get better, and the goal is to get back here next season.”

Two of those seniors are co-captains Alexa Brecher and Alex Ho, who have spent a total of 11 years combined in the Syosset program as both joined the team as middle schoolers, and won’t let the final loss overshadow the great memories they’ve been a part of.

“I’ve grown up on this team, and it’s so sad that it’s finally over,” said Ho. “I remember when I was younger, I couldn’t wait to be a senior, but now I wish I could go back to seventh grade. This team has meant so much to me, has taught me so many life lessons and helped me discover myself.”

Brecher added: “I am so incredibly proud that we got this far. I’ll always remember a day like this. Even though we didn’t finish how we wanted to. It’s a great accomplishment to get here, and I couldn’t ask for anything more out of my high school tennis experience.”

Scarsdale will now look to defend its state title next year.

While Mendes is set to graduate, she is confident that her teammates can continue the Scarsdale legacy heading into next season.

“I have faith and hope that my co-captain Natalie [Hu] will lead the team to another title, and another successful year,” said Mendes, who is graduating this spring. “There is no doubt in my mind that this title can be ours again next year.”

Hu added:

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

“I want to take it one step at a time because there are so many steps to get to that stage in the season. I will make sure to continue to focus on creating a strong team environment and take it one day at a time. We will have targets on our backs next year, but I believe we will do well if we work together as a team to overcome nerves and expectations.”

In the Small School Championship, Bryam Hills met Friends Academy, and claimed the state title with a 5-0 victory.

Alyssa Margolin defeated Isabella Sha at first singles, Chloe Bernstein won at second singles against Teah Login, and Sydney Levy rounded out the singles victories for Byram Hills by posting a win over Ava Zuckerbort.

In doubles play, Jenna Kleynerman & Daphne Bernstein beat Taylor Overstrom & Rachel Na at first doubles, while Eva Shrayer & Lily Anchin were second doubles victors against Eva Sun & Ericka Na. “It’s pretty awesome. When we started making the run, our community got into it, and I can’t wait to celebrate with them,” said Byram Hills head coach Mike Racanelli. “It’s an honor to

be the first. We’re so happy to be in this position. There are a lot of great teams out there who fought to be in this spot, but we were the only team able to finish with a win.

We worked hard and set out goals high. We knew this was possible. Great things come when you work hard, put your heart into it and stick together.”

“This was the perfect way to end the season,” said Byram Hills co-captain Eva Shryer.

“We worked so hard to get here, and to win the final two matches, and to have that title in our senior year is special.”

After a slow start to the season, Friends Academy hit its stride midway through the fall and rattled off five consecutive victories heading into the state semifinals. The Quakers “We had a slow start with a few of our top players out early, but once we got going we were very competitive this season,” said Friends Academy head coach Owen Kassimir.

“Coming in second in the state championships is a thrilling result for us, and I’m proud of the girls. I’m confident the girls will put the work in during the winter and come back even stronger next year, and we expect to get back to this point next season.”

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All levels welcome! (ages 5-18) NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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Barty Seeks Slam Title Down Under World’s top-ranked woman looks to win in her home country

By Brian Coleman t the end of 2021, Ashleigh “Ash” Barty had a number of accolades and awards heaped upon her. Barty finished the year ranked number one in the WTA Rankings, was named the WTA Player of the Year, and the ITF honored her as its Women’s Singles World Champion, in addition to receiving awards and honors in her native Australia.

“Being the ITF world champion in 2021 is something I am very proud of,” said Barty. “I feel fortunate to play the sport I love for a living, especially in a year that was challenging and unpredictable for so many. I want to thank my team and my family for everything they do and a huge thank you to tennis fans around the world for continuing to support us.”

Barty’s year was remarkable; she opened the year in the top spot in the WTA rankings, and stayed there till the end of the year, holding the world’s number one position wire-towire. It’s her third straight year finishing as the world number one.

“I am proud I was able to finish the year at No. 1, especially after the challenging and unpredictable season,” said Barty. “Being away from home for so long was really tough for not only me but my whole team, everyone made sacrifices which I’m very grateful for.

We went into 2021 knowing it was going to be an adventure and it definitely was, I wouldn’t change it. Being the world number one is something I am very proud of, but my ranking doesn’t change the way I am. I try and be a good person and do the right thing, regardless of the number next to my name.”

Her decorated season saw Barty add another Slam trophy to her collection as she won Wimbledon, overcoming Karolina Pliskova in a thrilling three-set championship match.

“It took me a long time to verbalize the fact that I wanted to dare to dream and say that I wanted to win this incredible tournament,” said Barty, who also won the French Open in 2019. “Being able to live out my dream with everyone here, it’s better than I ever could have imagined.”

A few years ago, Barty’s accomplishments were something that probably only seemed possible in her dreams. As a young girl growing up constantly playing tennis and making it onto the pro tour, there came a time where Barty became disillusioned from the sport; she was burnt out, plain and simple.

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Credit all photos to USTA

barty seeks slam title down under continued from page 12

So following the 2014 U.S. Open, at the age of 18 and with her ranking outside of the top 200 in singles, she made the decision to step away from tennis, return home to Australia and find herself again.

“I felt like I got twisted and maybe a little bit lost along the way in the first part of my career, just within myself mentally and what I wanted to do,” she said. “I was very lucky to have a lot of success, but I’m still very much a homebody and I kind of lost my way a little bit with not being able to connect with my family. I even think I kind of got disconnected with my family in a way.

We didn’t have the same conversation, the same depth of conversation. We didn’t lose that love or that care, but for me, I just kind of felt like there was a bit of a split.”

Barty went back to Australia to spend time with her family and reset herself mentally and emotionally. While there, she didn’t lose her competitive spirit, and began an interest in playing cricket after she spent time with the Australian women’s national team in early 2015.

She instantly showed a promising talent for cricket, and began competing in the Brisabne Women’s Premier Cricket Twenty20 league, before also

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playing in the Women’s Big Bash League. Barty was a good cricket player, and played in the WBBL through the end of its 2015 season.

At that point, Barty was ready to return to tennis, and do so with a revamped mindset and fresh outlook.

“I love the sport of tennis, but I sort of got a little bit away from what I really wanted to do. It became robotic for me and that’s not what I wanted,” she said.

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

“It’s such an amazing sport and I just really wanted to enjoy it and I lost that enjoyment and that passion. I think deep down, I knew if I kept trying to drive throughout, it would drive me away completely. So it was the right time to step away and just refresh.”

That reset on her tennis career proved two things: one was that Barty is a dynamic athlete who can succeed at multiple sports professionally, but also that sometimes stepping away from something can help you regain your love for it. And for Barty, that love was tennis.

“I don’t even know if I’d be sitting here talking to you if I was playing tennis and I didn’t step away,” Barty said after winning the French Open, her maiden Slam title. “I needed time to step away, to live a normal life, because this tennis life certainly isn’t normal. I think I needed time to grow as a person, to mature.”

That growth has helped Barty transition from a promising young junior player who was struggling on the pro tour, to the best player in women’s tennis, a mantle she plans on holding throughout 2022.

Barty has always been known for

her variety and crafty style of play, using an array of slices and volleys to befuddle her opponents, but her serve has greatly improved over the last couple of years which has really helped bolster her game to where it is today.

In 2021, Barty won four titles in addition to her Wimbledon triumph, including defending her Miami Open title, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, and the Yarra Valley Classic in her native Australia.

The Aussie will aim to carry that momentum into 2022 as she begins yet another season atop the women’s rankings. Barty’s season will start in her part of the world as she is signed on to play at the Sydney Tennis Classic as she prepares to play the Australian Open, which takes place the following week.

“I’ve still been training every day but have managed to have quality time with family and friends,” said Barty of her offseason. “I’ve been coaching my niece Lucy and a few of her friends every weekend which has been fun,

seeing the smiles on their little faces when they play is what the sport is all about…I’ve been working hard on and off the court, doing everything I possibly can to get ready for January.”

Barty’s offseason has been a combination of training, but also quality time spent with her family. She even revealed that she is engaged, as her longtime partner Garry Kissick proposed in November.

Barty has now struck the balance between her family life and her tennis life, something she had been searching for when she decided to step away from the game all those years ago. She has multiple year-end number one finishes, and Slam titles in both England and France, but the question remains if Barty can win the Australian Open, and hoist the trophy in front of her compatriots.

No Aussie woman has won the event since Chris O’Neil did in 1978, but

Barty hopes to snap that streak this year in front of her home fans, and the Aussie faithful are hoping they can throw a Barty Party and celebrate their champion.

Either way, Barty has carved her own tennis path, and has done things her own way in her career. Walking away from the game at the young age of 18 was no insignificant decision, and has potentially paved the way for other athletes, especially tennis players, to address their own mental health and make decisions that are the best for them.

Barty’s decision was clearly the best thing for her at the time, and it is paying dividends now. It remains to be seen just how many more titles she can win, and how many more weeks she can remain at number one, but there is little doubt that Barty has already left a profound impact on the sport of tennis.

Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com.

NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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BEYOND THE BASELINE

BEYOND THE BASELINE BEYOND THE BASELINE

BEYOND THE BASELINE BEYOND

beyondthebaseline

Gilad Bloom

By Brian Coleman

“You win from time to time, collecting every dime. This kind of life don’t last forever, but it’s pretty cool on the ATP Tour.”

Those are the lyrics buried into the blues ballad of the song “Life on the ATP Tour” by the Gilad Bloom Band, whose lead vocals are sung by, as you may have guessed, Gilad Bloom. The former Israeli tennis star who enjoyed a long, successful professional tennis career has expanded on his love of music in his retirement from playing tennis.

The Gilad Bloom Band was formed in 16

2007, and for the last 14 years the group has been playing shows in and around New York City, performing original music written by Bloom himself.

“It’s been such a pleasure, and it’s also challenging. But I love it,” says Bloom. “We play shows about once or twice a month, and it’s always the highlight of the month for me. I get to do something a bit out of the ordinary, and get out of that mundane routine of life.

It’s been a real pleasure for me, and has helped fill the void that was left by tennis when I retired.”

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

Bloom’s love of music began many years ago when he was a kid growing up in Tel-Aviv. His older brother brought home a guitar one day, and together the two of them would listen to their favorite music and try to emulate them on the guitar. They would practice songs from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and more.

The guitar was right-handed, and that’s how Bloom learned to play. Despite being a left-handed tennis player, his first tries playing a guitar were right-handed and that is the way he developed his skills on

OND THE BASELINE

BEYOND THE BASELINE BEYOND THE BASELINE

the guitar. Playing the instrument, Bloom says, is the only thing that he still does right-handed.

“That’s the first time I ever picked up a guitar, and I was probably around 10years-old at the time,” recalls Bloom. “I started to learn a few chords here and there. The big moment for me came on my 16th birthday, when my father took me to a shop and bought me my first guitar. It was an acoustic guitar, and it was a great day for me.”

By that time, Bloom was already an accomplished junior tennis player and had turned professional. He had his love for tennis, and his love for music, the latter would help out the former as he set out on his own to compete on the ATP Tour.

For a young player, the grind of travelling and competing professionally can take its toll, especially in the days before the internet and social media.

So Bloom made sure to take his guitar with him on the road, and it became an important outlet for him.

“In those days it was very valuable for me because there is a lot of free time when you’re travelling as a tennis player,” said Bloom. “When you’re in a hotel alone in some small town in Italy or Germany, and you have a few days to kill, it’s important to have a hobby.

The other options were either read a book, or go out on the town to look for

adventures which was fun too but not recommended if you want to do well in the tournament. Playing music really kept me busy during those down times, and it gave me a chance to explore and naturally teach myself how to play guitar.”

Bloom brought along some books to help learn as well, studying the music of Dylan, Pink Floyd and other bands and artists he grew up listening to. He slowly would get better, while at the same time putting together a successful tennis career, competing for 13 years, representing Israel in both the Davis Cup and the 1988 and 1992 Olympics, as well as facing off with some of the greats of that era including John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and more.

By the time Bloom had retired from the tour, his musical talent had improved, and he was playing cover songs from bands he liked, but the next step was to write his own music.

“A good friend of mine, who was a great guitar player, told me to put the books away and start playing from your ear, playing from your heart,” said Bloom. “If you want to play a certain song, figure out the chords on your own. As soon as I started doing that, I began writing my own music.”

Bloom’s brother sent him a book of his

BEYOND THE BASELINE BEYOND THE poems that he had written, and Bloom would take the melodies and music he wrote, and use his brother’s lyrics over that. Those were the first original songs Bloom wrote and composed.

He moved to the United States at the turn of the century, arriving in New York City in 2000, and continued his coaching career which started in Israel after retiring from the pro tour. By 2001 he had his own Academy, Gilad Bloom Tennis, where he was teaching highperformance tennis. During the recession of 2007, he had many people coming to him looking for a job teaching tennis, one of whom was the aforementioned Robert Mitchell.

“He was a good player and a good coach, but I was really looking for a high-performance coach, such as a former division I or professional player,” recalls Bloom. “He was a good player, but it wasn’t going to be a good fit.”

It turns out, though, that Mitchell was an accomplished musician, who had a lot of success conducting big bands and producing music. He agreed to listen to a few of Bloom’s originally-written songs, and much to Bloom’s delight, he enjoyed them, and the two would eventually get into the studio to work on the music.

From there, the Gilad Bloom Band began to come together. Bloom had an continued on page 18

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EYOND THE BASELINE

BEYOND THE BASELINE BEYOND THE BASELINE

assistant coach friend who played lead guitar, Mitchell knew someone who could play keyboards and saxophone, and they found their drummer through a note on the bulletin board of the studio.

“We started jamming together, and the more we played together, the more songs I began to write,” said Bloom. “We rehearsed for a few months, and had some songs that sounded decent enough that we wanted to play live at local bars or venues. I lived on 104th street and Broadway at the time, and there was a bar named “The Underground” near me on 107th that had an Open Mic night on Sundays. I would go there sometimes and sing a couple of acoustic songs, just to get some practice and perform live in front of people.”

The band has continued to play monthly for the last decade-plus, and have really found their style and camaraderie together. Bloom also records songs in Hebrew, and tries to play a show in his native Tel Aviv every time he goes back there. He has projects in the works for both the Gilad Bloom Band, as well as his music in

Hebrew with an Israeli music producer Tom Mochiach.

Bloom is still incredibly busy in the world of tennis, and still runs Gilad Bloom Tennis up in The Bronx and raising four boys with his wife Michal, an avid tennis player herself. “My wife supports me in this journey which makes the whole thing even more fulfilling, she comes to my shows and in fact has been an inspiration to many of my songs.

What gives me the most pleasure is that my shows got my kids into music, they came to some shows and know most of my songs, it’s a beautiful thing to have, this connection through music.” Tennis

and music are his loves, and he feels incredibly blessed to have found success in both worlds.

“When you retire from being a pro tennis player, there is something you miss about going out and performing in front of people. To me, sports at its highest level is a form of art, and the feeling before a tennis match is similar to the one before playing a show,” said Bloom. “You get the butterflies, the anxiety, the fear of failure, but also the desire to go out there and do something that makes people smile, or makes them react. Whether that’s the clap and standing ovation after you hit a winner on a passing shot, or whether it’s the crowd moving their heads and engaging in your songs. That part is really similar, and I’ve loved being able to do that.”

You can listen to more of Bloom’s music, and learn more about his band and their upcoming projects by visiting GiladBloomMusic.com.

Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com.

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New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

BEYOND THE BASELINE BEYOND

NEW YORK TENNIS MAGAZINE

Mother Deuce: Tennis Etiquette and the Rules of the Game ennis can be a complicated game to learn. With a scoring system that goes from 15 to 30, to 40, it can sometimes be difficult to translate, especially to young kids.

Author George Poppel has the answer with his book, Mother Deuce: Tennis Etiquette and Rules of the Game, published by Inprint Books.

Through witty rhymes and colorful illustrations, Mother Deuce takes us on the journey of a typical tennis match, breaking down what to do, and what not to do while playing a tennis match, as well as the basic rules of the game we love.

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“Winning is not the most important thing, good competition should make your spirit zing It is better to lose than to make a bad call, tennis etiquette is being gracious and fair above all.”

These lines are accompanied by illustrations by Everfever, and the book is a quick and amusing ride through tennis. Mother Deuce is dedicated to Poppel’s two grandchildren, Caroline and Isabel, so you know tennis and children are close to his heart.

Tennis is the sport you can play for your entire life, and Poppel’s book is the perfect introduction to tennis for kids.

Mother Deuce is available in paperback on Amazon, as well as digitally on Kindle, and makes a great gift for that youngster in your life.

Fairness comes up: “You must call the lines fairly, to win a point squarely Even if the ball merely touches the line, you must call it in and please don’t whine.”

Poppel also demonstrates tennis’ unique scoring system and sets it up in a colorful way: “First, you must learn how to keep score This is not a very difficult chore.”

The most important topic of the book is about sportsmanship: NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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Junior Team Tennis: A FUN Introduction to Play

By Khrystsina Tryboi et's start from the beginning. Take yourself back to the starting point of your tennis journey. Close your eyes and imagine being a kid who can’t stay still and all you want to do is just have fun. Your parents bring you to a tennis court and you just love the amount of balls flying around and the fact that you can chase them all over the court. You spend most of your free time practicing, having fun and making new friends. You are in total bliss when you come to practice, except for the times when your coach moves you up to the next level and it feels like you are starting from the beginning again. Your equipment gets bigger, the playing field also expands with your play level, and

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the sport that was once so exhilarating, does not seem so fun anymore. But in your mind, all you want is to do is hit balls in a lowpressure environment and compete with friends, and just have a good time.

Now that you remember what it’s like to be a young athlete, let’s change the subject to how we are introducing our kids to the competitive aspect of the sport. The USTA program has a clear path of gentle introduction to competitive play. However, most children are still experiencing immense stress and anxiety after their first competition.

They are not prepared to face the opponent on the other side on their own. I am talking about children

who are under the age of 10-yearsold. They’ve just managed to get their grip on the racquets and tackle their techniques. That’s exactly what I want to talk about.

What we have here is two kids on opposite sides of the net who are excited to play, but at the same time can’t combat their emotions.

Excitement and nervousness happen simultaneously and as a result we have two motivated players who can’t execute their game.

As a parent of two young athletes, an eight-year-old boy and a fiveyear-old girl, I know all too well the hurdles most tennis parents go through with their children’s competitive journey. We all know of the parents who push their kids to

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New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

play and compete. I can't say that I am completely innocent of being that type of parent myself. There are also those parents who stay impartial, and are happy no matter what happens. It seems that their kids' performance is always enough and they participate in the sport for the sake of enjoying themselves.

When my son played his first “Little Mo” Tournament this fall, I was excited for him to get on the court and show what he’s got. I believe in his ability to play cohesively, win matches and compete for every point. However, my expectations of winning and showing what “we’ve got” turned into a nightmare for the both of us. Long story short, a tennis parent (me) forgot that an eight-yearold child could simply get nervous on the court and lose the ability to play his game. I was so wrapped up in coaching him before the match, that it did not occur to me that he did not need any of that. What he

needed was a parent who would simply tell him to have fun; as much fun as you can. As a result, the ride home was dreadful because of my reaction to the game as well as the outcome. I understood that my reaction was not right, but it was hard to stay positive, so I just stayed silent. When the day passed, and my realization came, I felt awful. It might have been too early for him to compete in this tournament and we should have practiced with the team format first.

Everyone talks about how kids love participating in sports because it’s FUN, but playing tournaments is sometimes not fun. This is where Junior Team Tennis comes in. It helps bridge the gap between competitive and low stress environments for

athletes. Kids feel safer and more relaxed when playing on a team because they win and lose together.

They don't have to face their opponent on their own but instead they have a team supporting them, and a caring coach who is there to lend a hand. Such collective effort helps them open up and ease into their games. Also, team support is something that invigorates the kids and gives them purpose to compete.

Kids learn to respond to challenges a lot better in a team environment not only because of collective support, but also because a light level of coaching is allowed. This social level-based play really is a great way to encourage kids to compete and decide if they are ready to play on a Junior Circuit.

Khrystsina Tryboi is currently the director of marketing and a 10U tennis coordinator for MatchPoint NYC. She is a former Division II tennis player from Belarus, and is currently working for MatchPoint NYC in their QuickStart tennis program and is leading their marketing team. She is highly involved with USPTA and USTA to help grow the game. She can be reached at ktryboi@matchpointnyc.us.

NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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The Secret to a Successful College Career: Transitioning from Juniors to College

By Nazari Urbina

s a Developmental or HighPerformance Coach, it is critical we are aware of the priorities needed to be established by our players, and what areas need to be taught if our players are to become great juniors and move towards a successful career as a student-athlete in college.

One of the most important things is that parents, coaches, and players understand that, to be able to compete, they also need to do well in school so they can keep their eligibility. If you want to be in the lineup, you must earn it! Nothing is going to be handed to you. Players need to be prepared for this which is a big shift from parents often helping their children during their junior years.

As a college player at Texas A&M, I learned that there are different things that a junior player needs to work on to become a college athlete. Below I will share the most important ones:

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Technical In order to make an easy change from a junior to college, the player has to 22

have his/her technique related to his/her game style well-established.

He/she needs to have good fundamentals in their technique and must be able to hit every shot with the efficient technical skill, as well as effective footwork.

Tactical A well-defined game style and strategy needs to be evident by the time players get to college. The ability to control points and shots with accuracy, power, and quality are traits needed to compete.

Knowledge of patterns of play as well as personal preferences and best connections within points are essential. It’s also important to have a clear and level approach to the areas of their game needed to be developed.

The ability to resolve problems and find solutions during matches is paramount. It’s very important that when competing, they find ways to figure out what to do when things are not going the way they wanted.

Mental skills are more essential at the

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

collegiate-level so arriving well equipped is important.

Mental By the college age it is expected that discipline both on and off court are a feature. Players need to be ready and prepared to take care of their nutrition, hours of sleep, fitness, and punctuality for practices, being organized with their equipment, practice schedule and schoolwork.

There is no doubt that discipline is the foundation of success!

They need to be able to control their emotions and have established routines and rituals when they compete, especially, when they are under pressure. Positive self-talk and positive body language are some of the basics of competing at this level.

Handling pressure and expectations in certain situations and a well developed mindset are keys to success also.

It’s important that they understand that they’re going to lose more matches than they win. They need to be able to have the maturity to take

the losses, understand what happened and learn from them. There’s no such thing as success without failure.

Physical The athlete needs to be able to have speed, strength, power, endurance, flexibility, and conditioning. I had the chance of working with Pat Etcheberry when I was in Acapulco, Mexico. One of the most important things that he told us is that to become mentally tough and a great competitor, we must really work hard on our fitness. Learning how to deal with the pain, fatigue and discomfort is how we build character and fight adversity.

I remember the day that I decided to go to college. I was 17-years-old and training at an academy in Acapulco, Mexico, and one day I decided that I wanted to play in college. When I was at the academy, I trained six hours a day, five days a

week. I played ITF and WTA tournaments as well as national tournaments in Mexico. All of this helped me in my development to become a better tennis player and helped me to accomplish a lot of things at Texas A&M. It’s important that parents, coaches and players understand that college not only helps you to improve your tennis; it gives you the opportunity to have a good education, earn a degree from a great school along with the opportunity to have a career outside of tennis.

Most importantly, it helps them to

become a better person. They become an independent human being. They learn how to be accountable, a team player, a disciplined and responsible person and, most of all, a competent person, always trying to represent themselves as a human being first and a tennis player second.

Most college coaches look for players who like to be on a team, are coachable, honest, disciplined, responsible, organized, and willing to learn and improve every day. If your players have all these qualities, they will find success in their career and in their life.

Nazari Urbina is a full-time coach at the Centercourt Performance Tennis Academy. She graduated from Texas A&M in 2014 where she was the only player to make four appearances in the NCAA Singles Championships. She led her team to the NCAA Championship match against Stanford in 2013. Professionally, Urbina was awarded the Bronze Medal in Doubles at the World University Games in 2011 and also represented Mexico with the Fed Cup Team in 2011 and 2017.

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NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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USTA Eastern Metro Region USTA Eastern To Honor Metro Volunteers and Organizations at Annual Awards Ceremony ith its annual awards, USTA Eastern honors those who have made remarkable contributions toward growing and promoting tennis at the grassroots level. Five of the organization’s 2021 recipients hail from the five boroughs

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Darcy Cobb receives the 2021 Tennis Woman of the Year Award. Cobb was a longtime local league coordinator in the region and a founding member and past president of the Metrotennis Community Tennis Association.

The Lincoln Terrace Tennis Association (LTTA) has been named the 2021 Member Organization of the Year.

The LTTA has played an instrumental role in growing the game in several Brooklyn neighborhoods.

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New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

USTA Eastern Metro Region Steven Mingo will be honored as the 2021 Clinician of the Year. Mingo has volunteered his time and services with the Mayor’s Action Plan and Fresh Air Fund, two NYC initiatives that help provide activities for children from low-income communities. Mingo has also taught tennis in several NYC after school programs.

Susan Cassidy has been named the 2021 Metro Region Volunteer of the Year. Cassidy has been actively involved in organizing many Metro Region events, including the recent Thank You to Essential Workers Clinic held this past year in Brooklyn.

Lorraine Alexander will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for all her efforts over many years to bring tennis to young people in the Bronx through the Co-Op City tennis program.

The recipients will be honored at a ceremony currently scheduled for late January.

Congratulations to all our Metro Region awardees!

NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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USTA Eastern Metro Region Metro League Team Wins National Championship STA Eastern’s 18 & Over 10.0 Mixed team—from the Metro Region—claimed victory in their division at the 2021 USTA League National Championships, held October 29-31 in Surprise, Arizona.

“This was my first time at Nationals ever,” Captain Samantha Lieb said. “In our wildest dreams we never thought we’d be National champions...we are a team that trains mostly indoors, while many [of our competitors] have access to outdoor tennis courts all year round. It was hot, the air was dry, and two matches a day was brutal.

[But] it didn’t matter to us.

We had so much fight and believed in ourselves.”

If the conditions were tough for the Eastern crew, you wouldn’t know it looking at the results. Through the early rounds, the team triumphed over groups from USTA Texas, USTA Intermountain and USTA Southern California to attain a 3-1 record and reach the semifinals on the final day of competition. They then decisively defeated the top-ranked USTA New England contingent—winning all three of their courts—to advance to the finals, where they faced the only team that had beaten them over the course of the weekend: USTA Northern California. “[Going into the rematch], our mindset was simple,” Lieb said. “Play the best tennis we can and don’t overthink anything.”

The strategy worked, and history did not repeat itself. Lieb and partner Andrew Herring defeated their opponents in a ten-point deciding tiebreak—an inverse of their previous scoreline against NorCal—to help earn their team the championship.

Impressively, it was Lieb and Herring’s fifth court that featured a deciding tiebreak. They’d ultimately finish four for five.

“The key was our will to never give up on a point,” Lieb said. “I have a strong baseline game, and Andrew has the best hands at the net. He can cover any part of the court and

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Credit Photo to Pete Staples/USTA

he moves like a cat [up there]! Together, we fought hard, and losing was never an option.”

Lieb also credited the pairing of Amelie Ekdahl Bozkir and Ilia Shatashvili for the team’s overall success. As a duo, Bozkir and Shatashvili went undefeated in all six of their matches, never losing a set, and perhaps even more astoundingly, never ceding more than four games in a set until the final.

“They had MVP moments,” Lieb said. “Their strategy was always to get out on the court and get ahead quickly, and that allowed them to win every match.”

Above all, though, Lieb said the team’s closeness and chemistry carried them over the line. She’s known Shatashvili since she was ten years old and has been playing with the other members for multiple years. She noted that teammate Matt Hansen was her “right-hand man” the entire season, helping her strategize, plan practices all over the city—from Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to the West Side Tennis Club in Queens—and generally supporting her “every move” as she embarked on captaining a team for the first time ever.

“What made our team special is that we are all really good friends outside of the tennis court,” she said. “We all care about each other and have each other’s backs no matter what...the most fun part of the weekend was getting to spend time together and play the sport we’re all so passionate about.”

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

Metro Corporate League Looking Towards 2021 Presented by Advantage Tennis Clubs

Proskauer, Douglas Elliman Win Fall Season Corporate League Titles

Intermediate Division Champion: Douglas Elliman

Advanced Division Champions: Proskauer Rose

he 2021 Fall Season of the Metro Corporate League came to a close at the end of December, as Roosevelt Island Racquet Club hosted the league’s end-of-the-year finals featuring two competitive matchups in the season’s two championships.

The Advanced Division saw Proskauer Rose defeat Credit Agricole, while Douglas Elliman defeated Corcoran to win the Intermediate Division.

Below are the final standings for the 2021 Fall Season:

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Advanced Division 1) Proskauer Rose 2) Credit Agricole 3) BNP Paribas

Intermediate Division I 1) Douglas Elliman 2) Corcoran 3) Société Générale 4) Brown Harris Stevens 5) BNP Paribas

Intermediate Division II 1) Sullivan & Cromwell 2) Bloomberg 3) West Monroe 4) Turner

The Winter 2022 season of the Metro Corporate League begins on February 8. For more information on the league, how to find a team or how to register, contact luis@metrotennis.com.

NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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Photo credit: Garrett Ellwood/USTA

Attacking the Net the Spanish Way

By Chris Lewit

istorically, most Spanish players have been averse to attacking the net. Typically they would be content to grind from deep behind the baseline and win points through attrition and defense.

That stereotype has now been shattered in the modern pro game.

Spanish players have become well known for their offensive capabilities, particularly their forehand weapons, and they have also become well-rounded all court players who can finish consistently at the net.

Rafael Nadal is a prime example and exemplifies this trend on the ATP Tour. Nadal has become more aggressive over the course of his career and also more willing to attack the net. Carlos Alcaraz is another good example, and he is a fantastic Next Gen player with a prototypical modern Spanish allcourt game.

I’ve noticed in my travels throughout Spain that the net attack and transition game are taught differently than in the US and other

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countries. In the US and other fast court dominated countries, such as England and Australia, the net is usually regarded as the ultimate place to finish points and to dominate your opponent. In Spain, however, coaches and players have a more nuanced and different philosophy regarding the net attack.

From the Spanish perspective, the net is potentially advantageous—but also potentially very dangerous. I’ve observed that most American coaches and players don’t view the net that way. Spanish players and coaches understand that being at the net is not ALWAYS a good thing and that you can win points quickly there —but also lose points quickly too.

Therefore, because of this more nuanced understanding, Spanish players tend to be more circumspect and judicious in terms of attacking the net. They are willing to move forward but only after good point construction and a thorough assessment and calculation of the risks and benefits. The legendary Spanish coach and player Jose

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

Higueras describes this as being a “responsible” attacking player. He teaches his athletes to be responsible and selective when choosing to approach the net.

This mature and conservative style is a hallmark of the Spanish mindset vis-à-vis attacking the net.

Selectivity is very important from the Spanish point of view. By being more selective, the approaching player increases the odds of winning the net point and often will produce a win/loss point ratio at the net of 60-70 percent, which is remarkably high. Typically, analytically speaking, Spanish coaches and players like to make fewer total approaches per match with a higher win/loss percentage while players from other countries attack the net more frequently and have a win/loss ratio closer to 50 percent. From a Spanish perspective, a close to 50/50 win/loss ratio means the player is probably not approaching responsibly—assuming they have good net skills.

To simplify the discussion, here are some important bullet point differences between the American net attack style and the Spanish that I have observed over the years: • In the US, attacking the net is usually viewed as the ultimate finishing move. Players are often taught that they should always finish points by moving forward.

• In Spain, attacking the net is generally viewed as one of many viable options to win the point.

Players can move forward to win, but can also move backward to win.

• In the US, players are typically taught to take every short ball and go to net.

• In Spain, players are typically taught to selectively take some short balls to net while incorporating other short balls strategies such as drop shot and

forehand winner. This creates some uncertainty for the defender and less predictability by the attacker.

• In the US, there is a predominant philosophy that players should approach down the line.

• In Spain, famous coaches like the legend William Pato Alvarez actually argue for the efficacy of the crosscourt and crosscourt angled approach shot.

• In the US, it’s common for players to be taught to slice deep and approach the net.

• In Spain, the slice approach is not the preferred way to attack the net. For example, Luis Bruguera, the revered Spanish coach, discourages the slice approach in most instances, especially on clay.

Rather, forehand topspin drive or topspin swing volley are the preferred shots to approach with.

• In the US, players are commonly taught to hit the first volley deep and players almost always volley flat or with underspin. Topspin swinging volleys are rarely encouraged or taught.

• In Spain, players are encouraged to look for short angled volleys and drop shot volleys, even on first volleys. Topspin swinging volleys are actively taught as an excellent way to finish points.

• In the US, going to net is almost always viewed as giving the advantage to the attacking player.

Going to the net means the attacking player is “applying pressure” to the defender, who will eventually buckle.

• In Spain, there is a recognition that the net is a double-edged sword and can be just as advantageous continued on page 30

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914.462.2912 CHRIS@CHRISLEWIT.COM

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attacking the net the spanish way continued from page 29

for the defender as the attacker.

The Spanish believe that a good defender can often pick apart and defeat a net rusher under the right circumstances.

• In the US, serve and volley is regarded as a bold strategy or game style. In Spain, serve and volley is a dangerous tactic to be cautiously employed.

Conclusion So how do you view going to the net?

Can you see the interesting differences between the Spanish way and the American way? Who is right in your view?

In the end, the better way can often depend on the speed of the surface, the matchup between players, and the skills of the player attacking and also defending. If the court surface is slow

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and the defender passes well, it’s probably smarter to move to the net, or “rise” to the net (as they say in Spain) very selectively. If the court is fast and the defender struggles to pass, attacking the net more aggressively may be the winning way to play.

In the end analysis, the Spanish style of attacking the net is more balanced and conservative, and I believe makes for a great foundation to teach most players of all levels and

personalities—especially younger kids. On top of this foundation, it’s fairly simple to accommodate the rare serve-volley player or ultra aggressive net rusher as a higher level later developmental stage.

In my latest video and audio podcast, Prodigy Maker Show Episode 57, I discussed this topic at length. Check it out on your favorite podcasting platform or the Chris Lewit YouTube channel.

Vamos!

Chris Lewit is a former number one for Cornell and pro circuit player. He is a highperformance coach, educator, and the author of two best-selling books: The Secrets of Spanish Tennis and The Tennis Technique Bible. He has coached numerous top 10 nationallyranked players and is known for his expertise in building the foundations of young prodigies.

Chris coaches in NYC and year-round at his high performance tennis academy in Manchester, VT, where players can live and train the Spanish Way full-time or short-term. He may be reached by phone at (914) 462-2912, e-mail Chris@chrislewit.com or visit ChrisLewit.com.

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

The Art of Coaching Stepping out of your comfort zone to truly connect with students

By Daniel Bednarek hen I began to coach tennis for a living there was definitely a lot to learn. Sure, I knew what a continental grip was, but how do you make sure your students have it when they are learning the serve? What kind of continental grip drills are appropriate to use during different developmental stages? What are the right things to suggest when the student is struggling with the grip?

The answers to these questions are just the tip of the iceberg when trying to develop someone’s serve properly.

And the serve is just one stroke/aspect of the game!

It took a few years for me to get to the knowledge and experience level (obviously there is always more to learn) of how to coach the sport of tennis to a point where I had a clear blueprint of what I could do to help a player reach their goals.

However, once I reached that level of proficiency, I felt like something was still missing. It was difficult to put my finger on. The students I worked with were getting better technically and tactically, but didn’t seem as excited

W

about it as I was. Sometimes they weren’t very engaged. So, I did some research and asked my colleagues for advice. The conclusion we came to was that I needed to work harder on truly connecting with my students.

What is it that makes them tick?

What analogies can I make to tennis that would be easy for them to retain?

When do I make jokes? How hard can I push them on a given day? When do I back off?

The list of these questions can go on forever and the answers are completely different for each individual. This makes the serve ‘iceberg’ seem tiny. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by these aspects of a student and keep track of them all.

And it can be frustrating when your tactics to connect with them fail and you have to go back to the drawing board. However, once you figure out

these ways to connect, coaching becomes much more successful and enjoyable for both coach and student.

Then you combine your tennis knowledge with your connections with them, and the sky is the limit.

Whether its super-heroes, TikTock vocabulary, or any other topic that interests them; it is worth the effort of figuring out how to use this power of connection to develop long-term student relationships.

It’s easy to look across the net and say ‘keep your eye on the ball’. A robot could do that all day. But to look across and see a puzzle of a student waiting to be connected: well, that unlocks a world of possibilities which makes our craft incredibly rewarding. Being a great coach is a form of art. And like any successful artist, you have to be open to constant evolving.

Daniel Bednarek is a tennis coach for CourtSense at Tenafly Racquet Club,and has been there full-time since 2009. He was an all-county player at Bergen Catholic High School and a nationally-ranked junior while training at CourtSense. He is a Cum Laude graduate of Bucknell University, with a degree in Business Administration, and he finished with the fifth most career wins in Bucknell history. Bednarek is certified with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He can be reached at daniel.b@courtsense.com.

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Your 2022 Guide to New York Tennis Magazine’s

Top Clubs & Programs

New York tennis players have great choices when it comes to where to play tennis. We have compiled a list of some of the top clubs and programs 32 New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com with descriptions of what each has to offer.

Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning 1720 Crotona Avenue l Bronx, N.Y. l (718) 247-7420 CaryLeedsInfo@NYJTL.org The Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning houses a two-story, 12,000square foot clubhouse, educational spaces, and access to 20 courts (10 bubbled for winter/indoor use) and two stadium courts that seat up to 800 spectators. Led by a world-class team of tennis professionals offering programs and private lessons for juniors and adults of all skill levels, the Center also hosts summer camps, tournaments and community-based events.

The Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning is the flagship home of New York Junior Tennis & Learning (NYJTL), the largest youth tennis and education non-profit in the nation. In serving its larger mission, the Cary Leeds Center provides 6,000 hours of free tennis court time to the community.

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Centercourt Performance Tennis Academy 222 N Passaic Ave. l Chatham, N.J. 07960 (973) 855-3111 l (862) 308-3029 Conrad@CentercourtClub.com Centercourt Performance Tennis Academy boasts the toughest playground in the North East and has created a true Culture of excellence. The quality and intensity of programs, daily in-person academic support, personalized competitive scheduling as well as hosting a full calendar of UTR/ITA tournaments monthly makes Centercourt Tennis Academy the top choice.

Our coaches have walked the pathway and take pride in delivering only the best cutting edge Player Development Programs which are personalized to the needs of each athlete. Centercourt’s methodology is well-proven with the number of top players coming from our programs who are currently attending some of the best colleges in the country. Our specialized approach, teamwork, world-class facilities as well as the unique experience each player receives makes Centercourt a great the place to call home.

Centercourt’s facilities are comprised of eight New Jersey locations, with more on the way. Centercourt’s Performance Tennis home base is located in Chatham, N.J., conveniently located 45 minutes from New York City with transportation and boarding options available.

While Centercourt encourages a tennis culture of excellence, Centercourt also places a strong emphasis and focus on academics and work ethic. Since its full-time academic inception Centercourt’s scholar-athletes have committed to play collegiate tennis at strong academic institutions such as Yale, Columbia University, Wake Forest University, New York University and many more. Centercourt offers schooling through K12, Laurel Springs and The Dwight School, however our point of difference are our on-site teachers who work individually with each student-athlete to ensure they are at their potential daily.

Team, long-lasting relationships and family at Centercourt that is essential in creating the ideal training environment. Our worldclass staff of coaches are proven globally in the industry and boast decades of experience at the highest levels.

We firmly believe in communication between the players, parents and coaches and that players need to be developed holistically to become the best they can be. We believe that Competition is the backbone to development with players competing locally, nationally and at ITF level regularly. Centercourt’s full-time athletes become proficient in Technical through the use of our SMAP Video Analysis Programs and also undertake weekly mentally tough tennis seminars. We challenge players to become top student-athletes through our academics guided by our team in class daily.

We strive daily to ensure that our objective is clear—to ensure our environment always feel like home to our players.

Visit Centercourtcta.com for more information on after-school programs, specialized weekend training and our Full-Time Academy.

Our Annual Calendar of UTR, ITA, College Series, Junior Series, USTA events and Official Match Play is also a perfect supplement for anyone ready to compete.

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Chris Lewit Tennis Academy 3997 VT-100 l Londonderry, Vt. l (914) 462-2912 Chris@ChrisLewit.com l YouTube.com/Chris Lewit Chris Lewit Tennis Academy (CLTA) is a serious high performance academy set in the natural paradise of Vermont. The club offers European style red clay courts and indoor hard courts, gym and clubhouse. We never get rained out! Families love to visit nearby Manchester, Vermont, known internationally as a mountain tourist destination for its quaint village and charming shops and restaurants.

CLTA offers year-round full-time training, short-term training, and a world-famous high performance boarding summer camp. All players get to work on court directly with Chris. Chris is not just a figurehead; he is active on court working with players in the trenches daily. That’s what makes CLTA unique and special, and that’s why players come to train with Chris from all over the world.

Chris Lewit is one of leading high-performance junior development coaches in the United States. Author of the bestselling book, The Secrets of Spanish Tennis, Chris has spent the last 14 years studying with many of the legendary coaches in Spain and Europe. He brings the most cutting-edge training methods from Europe back to the U.S. for his students. Chris is known as an expert in technique and biomechanics, and in Spanish training methods. He has developed numerous top 10 nationally-ranked juniors, one Little Mo National champ, and many elite players now graduating to the pro circuit. He also has unmatched experience building the foundations of many young prodigies.

CLTA offers a unique teaching system based on the Bruguera Method, Toni Nadal Method, and the system of William Pato Alvarez—all from legendary coaches in Spain. Chris is one of the only coaches in the world who has attained certification in these three systems, and he brings unparalleled experience to this who want to train authentically the Spanish Way. Come experience the best in Spanish training or technical/biomechanical development year-round at the CLTA. You will be treated like part of the family!

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CourtSense Tennis Training Centers at Tenafly and Bogota Racquet Club 195 County Road l Tenafly, N.J. l (201) 366-2317 156 W. Main St. l Bogota, N.J. l (201) 366-2898 CourtSense offers the most up to date tennis facilities in Northern New Jersey and provides a comprehensive program of tennis instruction delivered by professional coaches, using the finest techniques and technologies. With CourtSense, you’ll achieve your personal best, because our training is of the highest professional caliber—and easily tailored to suit your age and skill level. Children under 10 years of age benefit immensely from a proper training foundation— eliminating poor techniques that could mar their game later in life. We love helping juniors and adults achieve their goals on and off the tennis courts, and our ultimate goal is for everyone that steps into our facilities to leave with a smile on their face.

CourtSense Tennis Training Centers have a whole range of activities to support junior and adult tennis lovers. From red-ball tennis and afterschool clinics to high-performance full-day program including a partnership with the Dwight School and ICL Academy, cardio tennis, internal and USTA leagues, and private and group sessions, we have something to suit everyone. CourtSense students have access to 15 indoor tennis courts (All of them are PlaySight smart-courts), world-class strength and conditioning centers and luxury players’ lounges. The indoor facilities have also been updated with state of the art UVGI systems that are constantly sanitizing the air inside the facilities and making sure that air is of the highest quality.

CourtSense’s club in Bogota, N.J. primarily specializes on the high-performance and tournament players. We have worked with players who have become ATP- and WTA-ranked players, U.S. Olympians, as well as many college scholarship athletes, and currently work with some of the top juniors in the Eastern Section. CourtSense’s high-performance coaches, in collaboration with its fitness staff and a sports psychologist, have developed a program that maximizes athletes’ strengths, both on and off the court. The goal is to use tennis as a vehicle to teach life lessons by tapping into the spirit of every player, with passion, expertise and character.

We want our juniors to be the best tennis players they can possibly be, but at the same time, be prepared to be successful in anything they want to be once their tennis careers are over. We also have a partnership with the Dwight School and ICL Academy that all our high performance players can take advantage of.

Another unique aspect to CourtSense’s facilities is the fitness programming provided in partnership with Magnus: Expand Human Potential. Magnus’ team has the ability to assess, correct, enhance and reassess an athlete–giving you everything you need to compete at the best of one’s abilities. CourtSense members have access to cutting-edge strength and conditioning technology, private sessions, nutritional counseling and mental toughness training. For more information, e-mail Info@CourtSense.com.

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CourtSense.com

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

Evert Tennis Academy 10334 Diego Drive South l Boca Raton, Fla. (561) 488-2001 The Evert Tennis Academy (ETA) is located in the Mission Bay area of Boca Raton, Fla. With 23 courts, pristine grounds, state-of-the-art-equipment, a caring staff and family atmosphere combine make ETA a beautiful and unique training environment.

As the proud home to more than 15 Grand Slam participants and over 100 Division I college athletes, the Evert Tennis Academy has a proven record of success in developing champions at the highest levels.

Chris Evert, tennis legend and winner of 18 Grand Slam titles, and John Evert, world-renowned developmental coach and academy director, believe in designing personalized programs that consist of a strategic balance between technical, tactical, mental and physical training. They pride themselves on handpicking some of the finest developmental coaches working in the sport who are dedicated to the instruction, development and success of each athlete Academy and Developmental Programs The Academy Program at Evert systematically addresses every aspect of a player’s game through a daily regimen of technical, tactical, mental and physical training. The Morning Training Session is composed of drilling, and strength and conditioning. The program is continued in the afternoon with a focus towards competition and tactics. The Developmental Program at Evert Tennis Academy is designed to take players to the next level by providing a very exclusive, individualized program and the difference between it and the Academy Program lies within the daily 1:1 lesson.

Boarding students age 18 and younger enrolled in the Full-Time, Weekly or Camp programs, stay in our on-campus threestory dormitory. Each dorm room houses up to two students during the school year and up to four students during Camp and Summer Sessions with boys and girls being housed on separate buildings.

Evert Tennis Academy conveniently provides one-on-one airport transportation for its boarding students, for a fee (subject to change), to all three area international airports: (PBI) West Palm Beach (35 minutes), (FLL) Fort Lauderdale (35 minutes), (MIA) Miami International (55 minutes).

All transportation coordination is handled directly through the Academy, making it stress-free and easy for you.

Please contact Evert Tennis Academy at (561) 488- 2001 for more information or e-mail rachelle.borges@EvertAcademy.com.

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Generation Next Tennis 12 Shore Drive l Great Neck, N.Y. l (516) 233-2790 A hidden gem conveniently located and open to players of all ages and levels, Generation Next Tennis is a short ride from anywhere in Nassau County and Queens. This scenic club over looking the Little Neck Bay features five year-round clay courts, two outdoor season hard courts, and a highly-skilled and experienced coaching staff comprised of former ATP, ITF and NCAA players.

New York Tennis at Great Neck is now under a new name which is Generation Next Tennis it has been serving up tennis in this location since 2010. Initially formed over 30 years ago by the late and legendary Tennis Director Howie Arons, the junior program has produced more than 90 NCAA players, 250 ranked junior players, and 1,000 high school players. The club’s adult program prides itself in having a wide array of programming, from dynamic clinics and express tennis for beginners, to high energy cardio tennis and in-club competitive leagues, ensuring adults have exactly what they're looking for. The waterfront location, accommodating staff, and friendly atmosphere has also made the club an increasingly popular destination for those looking to host events, such as birthday parties, holiday parties and corporate outings.

What players enjoy most about playing at the club is the comfortable, relaxed and welcoming environment that they feel when they walk through the doors of Generation Next Tennis at great neck estates. Passion, consistency and authenticity ring true every day at the club, where everyone feels at home and part of one big, but at the same time, tight-knit tennis family.

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New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

Gilad Bloom Tennis (914) 907-0041 Bloom.Gilad@gmail.com Gilad Bloom Tennis has been operating in New York City since 2000 and is a boutique junior program geared for juniors ages six through 18, who want to take their game to the next level. It is a year-round program which offers group sessions, private lessons and tournament travel, seven days a week.

The program is personally run by Gilad Bloom, there's a strong emphasis on technique and footwork, and a lot of personal attention, as well as attention to detail, with a maximum of four kids per court.

During the Fall/Winter Season, Gilad Bloom Tennis runs sessions at Riverdale Tennis Center (May-October), on Oct. 20, it moves indoors to New York Tennis Club until April 1, and then it moves back outdoors to Riverdale TC. Gilad Bloom Tennis’ Advanced Group for ages 5-8 meets every Saturday from 2-4 p.m.

Bloom is a former Israeli Davis Cup player and two-time Olympian, who has been running his own tennis program since 2000. Gilad served as director of tennis at John McEnroe Tennis Academy for two years. He played on the ATP Tour from 1983-1995, reaching the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 1990. Gilad reached a career-high singles ranking of 61st in the world and was Israel’s singles champion on three occasions.

For more information, visit GiladBloom.com or e-mail Gilad Bloom directly at Bloom.Gilad@gmail.com.

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Gotham/Stadium NYC 725 Exterior Street at East 152nd Street and the Harlem River Bronx, N.Y. l (718) 665-4684 Gotham Stadium NYC is located just minutes from Manhattan, several blocks south of Yankee Stadium at East 152nd Street and the Harlem River. This popular facility is quickly shaking its label as “the best-kept secret in New York City tennis,” featuring 16 cushioned, US Openstyle Deco-Turf hard courts, including 12 indoor courts, which are open for indoor play from October through April.

The “Gotham Stadium Bubble” continues to reign as one of the largest tennis bubbles or tennis domes of this type in the world, covering an area of more than four million cubic feet and a footprint of more than 75,000-square feet. The “Bubble” features high 65 ft indoor ceilings and spacious backcourts. These offerings please the playing public and aspiring junior players from throughout the metropolitan NYC region including beginners and advanced beginners, intermediate and advanced tournament level, interscholastic and collegiate players who train and compete at and call Stadium Tennis Center their “home court.”

Stadium Tennis Center also offers complimentary on-site parking to the north of the facility. The on-site Clubhouse will welcome you to host special events, birthday parties, and tennis gatherings for all of your family and friends, and the updated Pro Shop offers all your tennis necessities. The Clubhouse also features clean, secure locker rooms and lounge areas, Wi-Fi computer access, a workspace where children can do schoolwork and read.

This highly-touted facility offers a full complement of tennis programs for juniors and adults of all skill levels and ages. In partnership with Gotham Tennis Academy, a leader in developing and operating tennis programs in New York City and the Hamptons, Stadium Tennis Center employs high level, experienced tennis professionals from all over the world who have established a strong sense of ownership in the success of the total Stadium Team. Stadium’s Elite High Performance and Junior Development Programs including the Gotham Stadium NYC Summer Camp and the 10 & Under Junior Program are proven programs that get results in a fun, supportive atmosphere. For adult players, fast-paced group clinics, liveball and cardio tennis workouts are offered daily, in addition to indoor seasonal court rentals, private lessons, gamearranging, and leagues.

For more information about Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond Park, visit StadiumTennisNYC.com or call (718) 6654684.

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Manhattan Plaza Racquet Club 450 West 43rd Street l New York, N.Y. (212) 594-0554 l Milos@AdvantageTennisClubs.com Manhattan Plaza Racquet Club (MPRC), an Advantage Tennis Club, is located at 450 West 43rd Street (between 9th Avenue and 10th Avenue) in New York City (open Monday-Sunday from 6:00 a.m. until midnight).

MPRC offers luxury tennis in the heart of Manhattan, with five indoor championship hard courts, air conditioning in the summer, a luxurious duplex clubhouse with terrace, a new tennis bubble, private lessons and group lessons for all ages and levels, game-arranging, quality tennis programs for members and non-members, leagues, tennis camps, parties, doubles play, tournaments, a pro shop with stringing services, and nice locker rooms. MPRC membership includes a full membership to Manhattan Plaza Health Club. MPRC members can fully access the Health Club’s many fitness classes, climbing walls, gym, glass enclosed swimming pool, sundeck, sauna and more. There is indoor parking also available on the premises.

MPRC’s most popular program for members is game arranging that follows the NTRP Rating System. MPRC has some of the best tennis-teaching professionals in New York City who offer private lessons and group lessons.

MPRC offers several categories of membership, including the Advantage Passport Tennis/Sports MultiClub Membership to Roosevelt Island Racquet Club & Sports Park and the New York Tennis Club. For membership information, contact MPRC Assistant Manager and Membership Director Lauren Hartman at (212) 594-0554.

MPRC also offers season/open tennis time, and for more information on these opportunities, contact MPRC Manager Milos Vojvodic at (212) 594-0554. For more information on tennis lessons and Adult Tennis Programs, contact MPRC Assistant Tennis Director Bruce Barney at (212) 594-0554. MPRC also offers QuickStart classes for ages three and older as well as Junior Development Programs for boys and girls ages six to 17. For more information, contact MPRC’s Junior Program Administrator Gabriel Slotnick at (212) 594-0554.

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MatchPoint NYC 2781 Shell Road l Brooklyn, N.Y. l (718) 769-0001 MatchPoint.NYC MatchPoint NYC Mill Basin 2350 East 69th Street l Brooklyn, N.Y. l (718) 444-3600 MatchPointComplex@gmail.com MatchPoint NYC 9000 Bay Parkway l Brooklyn, N.Y. (718) 372-9000 l MatchPoint.NYC MatchPoint NYC clubs are your sports and fitness destination for the entire family and with three locations throughout New York City, you are never too far from your next tennis adventure.

MatchPoint NYC is the sports and fitness destination for the entire family, with three locations in Brooklyn, N.Y., only 30 minutes away from downtown Manhattan.

Spread across 120,000-square-feet, MatchPoint’s premier health and fitness complex features a cutting-edge tennis facility that includes nine indoor tennis courts.

MatchPoint’s Tennis Coaching Team is led by Numrud Nino Muhatasov, co-founder and director of MatchPoint NYC (a former coach of top WTA and ATP players, former captain and number one singles and doubles player for the St. John's University Tennis Team, Big East Conference Finalist and two-time Most Valuable Player), together with Director of Tennis Sergey Igel (U.S. Open Official Hitting Partner, 2011 MAAC MVP of the Year, USPTR Certified Coach).

MatchPoint NYC’s world-class junior tournament training programs (by invitation only) are comprised of highly-ranked players on national and international levels. The club offers personalized coaching for each player, plus private lessons, intensive drills, match play, tennis-specific fitness conditioning and mental conditioning. MatchPoint has a wide range of programs for all levels, including adult leagues, QuickStart, Junior Development (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) and private lessons taught by accredited USPTA-certified coaches.

MatchPoint NYC’s WiFi-enabled Café is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Relax and unwind after a game, grab a bite to eat or relax while you watch your child on the court. Enjoy a healthy snack or get refreshed with a smoothie at the juice bar.

Additional club features include a luxury full-sized gym, three group fitness studios, a Junior Olympic pool, a basketball court and a variety of youth and adult recreational and competitive training programs. MatchPoint NYC-certified instructors and personal trainers are friendly, approachable and ready to assist in your individual fitness objectives. Join MatchPoint NYC and FIND YOUR GAME!

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New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

MatchPoint.NYC

McCarren Park Tennis Center Just up from North 12th Street on Bedford Avenue Brooklyn, N.Y. l (347) 873-9698 l info@mccarren.tennis “Tennis for Everyone” Located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, McCarren Park Tennis Center has something for all ages and levels of tennis players.

The Junior Tennis program integrates USTA Junior Development Methods with spanish footwork training, modern stroke technique and an array of athletic and tennis specific drills, games and exercises. Players can progress in their tennis development while enjoying the immediate benefits of tennis, which are fun, exercise and healthy competition.

For Adults, McCarren Park offers both General and Specialty Clinics. The General Clinics are offered in four categories, depending on your skill level: Beginner, Advanced Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. The Specialty Clinics include a Big Bangers Night, for players 4.0 or higher, which consists of two hours of live ball drills plus match tiebreakers. The Adult High Performance clinic is geared towards serious players seeking a high performance training experience. It includes academy-level coaching in a module format that allows players to acquire advanced tournament level skills over time.

The Cardio Tennis Clinics are a high-energy fitness session that combines the best features of tennis with cardiovascular exercise delivering the ultimate, full-body, calorie-burning workout.

In addition to tennis instruction, McCarren Park features an extensive pro shop, and offers a wide variety of services including racquet stringing, racquet rentals, and grip changes.

To learn more about all the clinics and programs offered by McCarren Park, or to book your court, visit McCarren.Tennis, or call (347) 873-9698

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New York Tennis Club 3081 Harding Avenue l Throgs Neck (Bronx), N.Y. (718) 239-7919 l MarkKeye@AdvantageTennisClubs.com NYTCTreasurer@gmail.com Founded in 1886, New York Tennis Club is the oldest active tennis club in New York. Throughout the years, the Club has maintained a reputation for its restful atmosphere, congeniality of its members and its professional approach to a truly popular sport. With a patio and viewing deck and six HarTru courts, the Club is a haven in a quiet corner of the City. Convenient to Manhattan, Queens and lower Westchester, it’s also the best value in the Tri-State area. Sit back and relax in the recently renovated clubhouse and lounge, grab a bite to eat at the snack bar or unwind in the remodeled locker rooms. There is also on-site racquet stringing in the pro shop and ample free parking located on the premises.

New York Tennis Club is a club for all seasons. The two climate-controlled bubbles are equipped with shadow-less, nonglare lighting, with hourly court time, as well as seasonal court options. Hours of operation are 7:00 a.m.-Midnight, seven days a week, and no membership is required.

During outdoor season, when the Club offers unlimited play—as much tennis as members wish. Tennis lovers can soak up the sun on lush lawns surrounded by flower gardens, sit in the shade of willow trees or have lunch on a covered patio or in the clubhouse, which offers dining facilities, locker rooms and showers. For additional information, visit NewYorkTennisClub.com.

The Club offers adult programs for skill sets of all levels. Program offerings include singles and doubles leagues, a comprehensive game arranging program for both singles and doubles players, private and group instruction for all levels, cardio tennis classes, and tennis parties, where guests are welcome.

Advantage Tennis Clubs hosts over 30 USTA sanction tournaments at NYTC throughout the year. Players enrolled in Advantage QuickStart and the Jr Development Program receive a 20 percent discount on entry fees. For more information please contact Bill Wiese at BWiese@AdvantageTennisClubs.com or call (718) 239-7919.

One more special feature: The Advantage Passport Membership, which offers members a whole new level of benefits and access. Passport memberships include free summer court time on reserved courts at Roosevelt Island Racquet Club (RIRC) and New York Tennis Club, plus membership privileges at Manhattan Plaza Racquet Club, Manhattan Plaza Health Club and New York Tennis Club.

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Roosevelt Island Racquet Club 281 Main Street l Roosevelt Island, N.Y. (212) 935-0250 l SOKeefe@AdvantageTennisClubs.com Now in its 27th year of operation, Roosevelt Island Racquet Club (RIRC) is part of Advantage Tennis Clubs. Roosevelt Island Racquet Club is conveniently located on beautiful Roosevelt Island, New York City’s oasis on the East River. The Club features 12 HarTru courts under new bubbles with shadowless, non-glare lighting, heated and air conditioned for comfortable year-round play. The exercise room includes a treadmill, exercise bikes, elliptical trainers and free weights to accommodate almost any workout. The Club boasts a completely stocked pro shop, locker room facilities, two social lounges, Riverview Lounge with a breathtaking view of Manhattan’s skyline, and free parking.

RIRC is easily accessible by tram, ferry, subway or car (free on-site parking). The Roosevelt Island Tram (from 60th Street and 2nd Avenue) stops adjacent to the Club, and the subway (F Train) stops one block from the club.

RIRC offers a range of adult programs for players of all levels. Program offerings range from the Advanced Singles League for the experienced competitive player, to Beginner Group Lessons for people new to the sport of tennis. Cardio tennis is one of the Club’s most popular programs and is offered daily for those looking to combine a cardio workout with tennis. Whatever your goal, there is a program for you! The Advantage Junior Tennis Program offers year-round classes, camps and programs for all ages and levels.

There are QuickStart classes for ages three and older, summer and holiday camp programs, after-school programs, tournament training for advanced competitive players, and match play. During the school year, classes are offered both after-school and on Saturdays. The Advantage Junior Tennis Camp offers one-week sessions from mid-June through the end of August.

RIRC offers a Gold Membership that includes full Club privileges, 14-day advance reservation privileges, member court fees with an average savings of $35 per court hour, game arranging and member discount on all programs. The Club is excited to offer Advantage Passport Membership, which offers members a whole new level of benefits and access.

Passport Memberships include free summer court time on reserved courts at RIRC and New York Tennis Club, plus membership privileges at Manhattan Plaza Racquet Club, Manhattan Plaza Health Club and New York Tennis Club.

For more information, contact Steve O’Keefe at (212) 935-0250.

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SPORTIME Randall’s Island Home of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and the 501(c)(3) Johnny Mac Tennis Project

1 Randall’s Island l New York, N.Y. (212) 427-6150 l JKarl@SportimeNY.com SPORTIME Randall’s Island, a state-of-the-art, 20-court tennis club and training facility located on Randall’s Island in Manhattan, is home to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA), named one of the top five academies in the country, and to the 501(c)(3) Johnny Mac Tennis Project.

SPORTIME Randall’s Island features 160,000-square feet of tennis courts and amenities, including five indoor and five indoor/outdoor DecoTurf tennis courts, and 10 indoor/outdoor HarTru clay tennis courts. An expansion project will add 10 additional hard and softcourts, dedicated U10 courts, and more, for a total of 30 year-round courts, with a projected completion date of September 2023. This extraordinary club also features a functional training and fitness center; comfortable lounge areas with excellent viewing; a pro shop featuring top brands and 24-hour stringing; spacious locker rooms; a café serving healthy food, snacks and beverages; and classrooms, party rooms and meeting facilities.

In 2010, SPORTIME and New York tennis legend John McEnroe launched JMTA at SPORTIME Randall’s Island. The Academy is led by Managing Director, Bennett Schlansky, General Manager, Michael Ward, Directors, New York tennis legend Patrick McEnroe, and Lawrence Kleger, who has trained and coached more nationally-ranked and world-ranked juniors than anyone in the history of the USTA Eastern Section, joined by Director of Sports Performance, Richard-John Mensing Jr. and many other worldclass directors. The athletic development and tennis coaching staff, comprised of more than 40 experienced professionals from around the world, all selected by Johnny Mac and the SPORTIME/JMTA leadership team, implements the innovative and unique vision of JMTA. With the challenges of COVID-19, we responded immediately with guidelines and protocols designed to keep our players, members, guests and staff safe, healthy and continuing to enjoy tennis for recreation, fitness and social connection.

SPORTIME/JMTA is proud to have developed hundreds of players who have received full or partial scholarships, or favored admissions, through their tennis, to top colleges and universities including, to name just a few, Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, Brown, Louisiana State University, Auburn, William and Mary, Tufts and Vanderbilt. Current pro players who train or have trained at JMTA include Christina McHale, Noah Rubin and Jamie Loeb.

In addition to world-class group training for top juniors, SPORTIME offers a wide variety of programming for players of all ages and levels, including SPORTIME Bounce for preschoolers, JMTA’s trademarked Mac Red Ball and Mac Orange Ball programs for younger, developing players, and the best group programming and facilities in New York City for adult players. Also based at SPORTIME Randall’s Island is the Johnny Mac Tennis Project, which provides scholarships to JMTA players and introduces the sport of tennis as a life-long health, fitness and social activity to thousands of under-resourced New York City area kids. JMTP’s mission is to change young lives by removing the economic and social barriers to success through tennis.

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New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

SportimeNY.com/NYC

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center Flushing Meadows Corona Park l Flushing, N.Y. (718) 760-6200 The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open Tennis Championships, is the largest public tennis facility in the world. It is, most certainly, a “Tennis Welcome Center.” The Tennis Center is open to the public year-round for court rentals and offers exciting programming, as well as numerous events throughout the year.

Programs are offered for all ages and levels, as well as clinics, private lessons, leagues, tours, field trips, summer camps, corporate events, birthday parties, and tournaments.

The NTC also supports all USTA Community Tennis and Player Development initiatives.

The professional staff of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center also conducts community tennis programs, including 11 & Under Tennis for children 11 years of age and under to learn tennis in a fun and dynamic way; USTA Junior Team Tennis for youth match play; USTA League Tennis for competitive, level-of-play competition, and an official Cardio Tennis site for on-court heart-pumping fitness.

There is an extensive summer camp program which provides basic tennis instruction starting as young as 11 and under up through and including Academy level players. Camps include instruction and fitness programs; the encouragement of good sportsmanship leading to general character building for the children of all ages and levels. These services are provided at a nominal cost, making it affordable for youngsters who would not otherwise get the chance to attend camp or receive tennis instruction. Lastly, the Project ACES (Alternative Classroom Environment for Students), implemented at the NTC in 2009, is geared towards children from schools from the New York City Metropolitan Area. This program provides students the opportunity to visit the NTC and learn about the history and the game of tennis. The kids are given a tour of the entire site, including Center Court in Ashe, a video presentation on the history of tennis and the great players of the sport, followed by an hour of on-court tennis instruction.

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Photos courtesy of USTA

As it does every year, the new year of tennis will get underway at the Australian Open.

On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic will be seeking his fourth consecutive Australian Open title, while Naomi Osaka is in pursuit of her third title in the last four years.

One of the primary storylines heading into this year’s Aussie Open will be whether or not we see new champions announce themselves, or if Djokovic and Osaka will continue their dominance there.

Unfortunately, a storyline that remains intact is the COVID-19 pandemic that still exists, especially with the new variants spreading across the world. The Australian Open brass has already announced that players in the event will have to be vaccinated, and with new lockdowns starting in Australian this past November, it will be interesting to see what is required of players when they enter Australia in January.

However, for the purpose of this article, we will stick to tennis, and examine some of the Contenders, Pretenders and Sleepers for the 2022 Australian Open.

pursuit of both the Golden Slam, and the Grand Slam, before failing to medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and then losing in the U.S. Open finals to Daniil Medvedev. Djokovic would also lose to Alexander Zverev at the end-of-the-year ATP Finals, finishing his year on a losing note. While he still won three Slam titles in 2021, I’m sure to Djokovic it feels like something was missing. Look for a motivated and determined Djokovic to make up for that as he opens up his 2022 Slam campaign in Melbourne.

Matteo Berrettini

Contenders – Men’s Singles Novak Djokovic It would be impossible to have any sort of preview of this year’s Australian Open without beginning with the world’s greatest player: Novak Djokovic. The top-ranked Serb has won the last three Aussie Open titles, and is the owner of nine titles Down Under in his illustrious career. He also may enter 2022 more motivated than ever. Djokovic was in 48

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One of the keys to succeeding on the fast hard-courts at the Australian Open is having a consistent serve, and that is where Italy’s Matteo Berrettini stands at the top of the ATP Tour.

According to an Infosys ATP Beyond the Numbers analysis, the seventh-ranked Berrettini led the tour in service games won in three of the six different score categories (0/40, 15/30 and

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30/40) examined by the analysis in 2021, indicating that more than anyone else, Berrettini dug himself out of service games holes throughout the season. He finished the tour fourth in total service games won at more than 89 percent.

That blistering serve, and Berrettini’s huge forehand make him a devastating opponent to face on hard courts, and look for Berrettini to compile his best showing at the Australian Open thus far.

get out of the third round at the Australian Open in each of the last two seasons, the previous three years saw her reach one semifinal, and two quarterfinals in Melbourne.

Look for us to get that version of Pliskova in 2022, and carry the good vibes she had to close out 2021 into the new season.

Garbine Muguruza

Alexander Zverev The aforementioned Zverev compiled a fantastic 2021 season, winning 59 matches and reaching two major semifinals. He also captured the Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and the end-of-the-year ATP Finals. But something still seems to be missing from Zverev’s resume, and that is that elusive Slam title. Zverev has seem to come into his own as a tennis player, and has never been more consistent in his career, which leads him into a crucial Australian Open event for the 24-year-old. He was a quarterfinalist a year ago, and reached the semifinals two years ago, but Zverev has proven he can beat any player inside the Top 10, including Djokovic, and will be a major favorite to win the year’s first major.

Contenders – Women’s Singles Karolina Pliskova Karolina Pliskova, the fourth-ranked Czech, put together two deep runs at the year’s final two majors, momentum she will now carry to Australia in 2022. Pliskova reached the Wimbledon finals and the U.S. Open semifinals, and is eager to finally claim that elusive Slam title. A perennial member of the Top 10, Pliskova is always a threat to advance to the second week of majors. Despite failing to

Don’t call it a comeback. Spain’s Garbine Muguruza went back to her old, Slam-winning form in 2021, and that should remain the same in 2022. Muguruza began the year ranked 15th, and finished it ranked third in the world, helped by her triumph at the end-of-the-year WTA Finals.

Muguruza is owner of a French Open and Wimbledon title, but could be in line to add a third trophy to that collection after the Australian Open. Her aggressive, allcourt style coupled with her powerful groundstrokes

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translate well to the hard courts, and she has proven that she has the fortitude to beat any other lady on tour, and can rise to the occasion in even the most pressure-filled matches.

Ash Barty There is always pressure to win in your home country. That pressure is only amplified when you are the top-ranked player in the world, but it doesn’t seem as if Australia’s Ash Barty gets rattled by those sorts of things. Barty won the Wimbledon title in 2021, but will have the eyes of her nation upon her as she tries to navigate her way to an Australian Open title to begin 2022. She has been successful Down Under over the last three years, reaching the quarterfinals twice, and the semifinals in her last three appearances, but look for Barty to take that one step further this time around. She has always had the variety and craftiness in her game, making her a tricky opponent to face, but Barty has established a very good and consistent serve as well now. The combination of all that, plus her experience, makes Barty a real threat to have a victorious homecoming.

Pretenders – Men’s Singles Andrey Rublev The 2021 campaign ended nicely for Andrey Rublev who helped guide his Russian team to the nation’s third Davis Cup title, and he finished the season ranked fifth in the world. However, despite a quarterfinal showing at the Australian Open to begin the season, Rublev did not fair well at the other three majors, getting bounced in the opening round of the French Open, the fourth-round at

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Wimbledon, and the third-round at the U.S. Open. He has never made it out of the quarterfinals at a major, and that could be the case once again to begin 2022. Rublev is certainly one of the best young talents in the game, but making that next jump to the latest stages of a major is something he is still searching for.

Casper Ruud Norway’s highestranking player ever, Casper Ruud, had a careerbest season in 2021. He finished the year eighth in the rankings, reached the semifinals of the ATP Finals and won five titles in all.

But Ruud is primarily known as a clay-court player, which is where the majority of his success came on. He was bounced in the fourth-round of the Australian Open to start the season, his best Slam showing, and was eliminated in just the second-round of the U.S. Open. His inconsistency on the hard courts puts him on a potential upset alert in the early rounds at the 2022 Australian Open, and while he is a young, promising player on tour, Ruud still hasn’t proven he can advance to the second week of a Slam event.

Upcoming Annual USPTA Eastern Conference

Saturday-Sunday, May 14-15, 2022 The Saw Mill Tennis Club Mount Kisco, NY For more information, contact Paul Fontana at

eastern-ed@uspta.org

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Hubert Hurkacz Improving his ranking 25 spots from start-to-finish of 2021, Hubert Hurkacz enjoyed himself a breakout season last year. The tall and lanky Pole moved into the Top 10 for the first time in his career, becoming the highest-ranking male player in his country’s history, and he did win three titles. But it was on the biggest stages where Hurkacz seemingly stumbled as he lost in the opening rounds of the Australian Open and French Opens, before falling in the second-round of the U.S. Open. He did advance to the Wimbledon

semifinals, which did a lot to bolster his ranking, but his struggles in Melbourne over the course of his career, which includes two opening-round exits and a second-round departure, do not bode well for him entering 2022. Like Ruud, he is a promising young talent, but don’t look for him to be a deep threat at this year’s Australian Open.

many fans don’t ever see. The scrutiny she faced and backlash she received was outnumbered by the outpouring of support, but that attention can take a toll on a person.

She last played at the U.S. Open in September, so there is little doubt rust will be a factor when she returns, making it difficult for her to defend her title in Melbourne.

Pretenders – Women’s Singles

Paula Badosa The New York City-born Paula Badosa put together an incredible 2021 season that was the best of her career to date. Badosa won 43 matches and two titles, and shot up to a career-high ranking of eighth in the world, and is now one of the premier women’s players on tour. She grew up in Barcelona, Spain, and therefore clay is her favorite surface, indicated by her run to the French Open quarterfinals this past season. But she did struggle a bit on hard courts and that was indicated by a first-round exit at the Australian Open, and a second-round exit at the U.S. Open. Badosa has come into her own as a professional, and has the game to sustain her stay at the top of the rankings, but her hard-court struggles at the majors is something she needs to overcome.

Aryna Sabalenka The secondranked player in the world is perhaps its biggest hitter, as Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka possesses a huge forehand and powerful serve that translates well to the hard courts. We saw her reach the semifinals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2021, but the Australian Open is still an event where success eludes her. She reached the fourth-round in Melbourne a year ago, but prior to that she was eliminated in the first-round twice, and the third-round once. While Sabalenka is no doubt one of the most formidable players on tour, some events are tricky for players, and it seems as if the Australian Open is that for Sabalenka.

Sleepers – Men’s Singles Felix Auger-Aliassime New seasons set the stage for new players to break out and potentially win a major, and this year could be it for Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime. The 11th ranked, 21-yearold is coming off a semifinal appearance at the U.S. Open, momentum he aims to bring with him into the new year. He is now being coached by Toni Nadal, who of course helped lead Rafa to the heights he has reached, and with that Slam experience being passed down to him, look for Auger-

Naomi Osaka It feels a bit counterintuitive to place Naomi Osaka in the “Pretenders” section of this preview, but here we are. Due to a lack of match play, Osaka has dropped out of the Top 10 and now sits at 13th in the world rankings. Her only title of the season came in Melbourne as she won the Australian Open title to open up the season, but it was a trying year for Osaka. She battled mental health issues, and served an important role in shining a light on the mental health issues that not only tennis players, but all athletes, face that NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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Aliassime to take the next step in his career. He still has yet to win a title on the ATP Tour, but do not be surprised if the young Canadian is in contention for one at the 2022 Australian Open.

Aslan Karatsev Arriving on the scene later than most, Russia’s Aslan Karatsev isn’t the young tennis phenom that some of the other players in this section are, but the 28-year-old has been steady over the last year or two, and that bodes well for him heading into 2022. He is ranked 18th in the world at the moment, and that’s after hardly playing on the ATP Tour prior to last year. In fact, he had to go through qualifying just to reach the main draw of last year’s Australian Open. What did he do after qualifying?

Karetsev proceeded to reach the semifinals, in what was his first ever main draw appearance at a Slam. Karatsev showed he can perform well in Australia, something he aims to do again in 2022.

Jannik Sinner

Rounding out the Top 10 on the men’s side of the rankings is Italy’s Jannick Sinner, and intriguing young player who has shown signs of brilliance throughout his brief career so far. He has an excellent two-handed backhand, and a long frame that makes him a fantastic defensive player, and a powerful forehand which allows him to play both offensive and defensive tennis. Sinner has not been great at the Australian Open in his two showings, both early exits, but still just 20-years-old, Sinner has the talent to make a deep run at any major. His calm, laid-back approach can work to his benefit, and there is no contender in this event who wants to see the young Italian on the other side of the net.

Sleepers – Women’s Singles Anett Kontaveit Perhaps the best player on the women’s tour no one knows 52

about is Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit. The steady 26-year-old is the highest ranked player in her country’s history, and she looks to continue climbing up those rankings as we enter 2022. She currently sits at seventh in the world, and is coming off of her best season to date, one that saw her win four WTA titles, and reach the championship of the WTA Finals. Kontaveit was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in 2020, and as she continues to play the best tennis of her career, don’t be surprised if she advances even further than that this time around.

Sofia Kenin It seemed to be a forgotten season for Sofia Kenin, as she played no matches after Wimbledon in the summer, so it’s easy to forget just how good this young American is.

Kenin won the Australian Open title in 2020, and perhaps the notoriety and pressure of being a top player had an effect on her, but Kenin should be back to her old self this coming season.

She is reunited with her father as her coach, after they split in May of 2021, and that report should produce great results once again. With her coaching staff back in place, and her recovered health from some nagging injuries, Kenin is a top threat to win the Australian Open title in 2022.

Elina Svitolina Now out of the Top 10 for the first time since 2016, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina is ready to surprise some people in 2022. Despite her perennial ranking inside the Top 10 over the last several years, Svitolina was never able to reach the finals of a major event. She has been to multiple semifinals, and a number of different quarterfinals, but reaching the finals of a major has to be priority number one for her playing career. She certainly has the physical tools to do it, and perhaps being more motivated than ever before, Svitolina is a dangerous player entering 2022. With her ranking dropping, she may be able to sneak up on some of her opponents to begin this year. Svitolina is a two-time quarterfinalist in Melbourne and could make a deep run at the Australian Open, and make it her best one yet.

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Stop The Conversation To End Tennis Frustration

By Steve Kaplan

aulty second serves, shaky volleys, careless ground strokes and anger over bad line calls may rob us of many points. However, none of these are the primary cause of why most points are lost.

Our mistakes are not as costly to us as are our negative reactions to our mistakes. For most players, more points are lost because of an inability to focus only on the present, then for any other reason. Specifically, our reaction to previously failed points, as well as a fear of future point outcomes, keeps us from succeeding in the moment.

Just how troublesome is a lack of focus on the present, or what many call mindfulness? In order to put this issue into context, a historical review of ATP tour results reveals some starling numbers. If you win just 54 percent of the points for the year on the pro tour you will win over 90 percent of your matches. Both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have achieved this benchmark in recent years. If you win 50 percent of the points, you score a victory in about 50 percent of you matches.

So if you change the outcome of just one out of every 25 points you play, you go from being an all-time great to mediocre.

Now consider, how often do you give away more than one out of 25 points out of anger or fear?

I often challenge players to embrace the mindset that it's OK to not be perfect, because no one is. What is not acceptable, however, is to lose even one

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single point because we can't accept that we are imperfect. With this idea in mind we can recognize that each point counts for just one point. This same principle applies also to every game, set, match and season.

There is an expression in psychology, "If you want to be angry or sad, think about the past. If you want to be fearful or anxious, think about the future. If you want to be calm and focused be in the present." Billie Jean King calls this, "Being in the now", and as the famous author Eckhard Tolle explains, "The past no longer exists and when the future comes it will be the present; there is only now."

So how exactly can you avoid unwanted thoughts?

Well, you can't because it's virtually impossible to control what enters your mind. This concept is called the "White Bear Effect." Try not to think of White Bears and what do you think about?

White Bears of course.

The key to dealing with unwanted thoughts on and off the tennis court is not to avoid them, but instead to manage them by stopping pointless and harmful conversations from derailing the task at hand. Learn and practice the ability to stop ruminating with unwanted thoughts by letting them go and then moving on

by replacing the past and future with a laser focus on the present. One technique of many for example, is to imagine unnecessary thoughts as clouds in the sky.

Notice them and let these thoughts leave your mind and body by exhaling them and watching them dissolve into the wind.

Perhaps the most effective technique for managing the stress of unwanted thoughts is to focus on slow and purposeful exhaling because this practice brings you to the present moment, and steadies you by triggering your nervous system with a soothing parasympathetic response.

Prolonged expiratory breathing to calm your mind and your body, as with any skill, can be refined and perfected with deliberate practice. The best players in the world, like, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Stefanos Tstisipas have all spoken recently about just how important developing breathing techniques have been to their success. While the top pros have embraced the value of proper breathing technique, this ability is still a poorly understood and under-appreciated skill by many juniors that really should be incorporated as a part of every players workout routine.

Breathe deep, exhale slowly and stop the conversation to be calm and in the now. You will win many more matches if you focus only on the present.

Steve Kaplan is the owner and managing director of Bethpage Park Tennis Center, as well as director emeritus of Lacoste Academy for New York City Parks Foundation, and executive director and founder of Serve & Return Inc. Many of the students Steve has closely mentored have gone to achieve great success as prominent members of the New York financial community, and in other prestigious professions. In 2017, Steve was awarded the Hy Zausner Lifetime Achievement Award by the USTA. He may be reached by e-mail at StevenJKaplan@aol.com.

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Junior Player

spotlight

By Brian Coleman

The Scarsdale Five or the first time, the best girls’ tennis teams in New York gathered in one place to compete for a state championship. It was the inaugural New York State Team Championship, and the level of play did not disappoint.

With tennis primarily being an individual sport, team tennis presents a unique challenge. Winning a team match requires more than just having good players up and down your roster, but also that those players come together to play for something bigger than themselves.

That is exactly what the team from Scarsdale High School represented, and part of the reason why Scarsdale won the first-ever New York State Girls’ Tennis Team Championship, edging Syosset 4-3 in a thrilling title match.

“I knew Syosset was going to be tough,” said Scarsdale head coach Jen Roane. “Our girls have been challenged

throughout the season, but not like this. “I think the win meant a little more because it was so close. We had different people on the team who stepped up.

My first doubles and second doubles teams, those are the first matches they've lost all season. I’m so proud of the way my third singles player came back. And

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our fourth doubles team stayed strong.”

That success was not an overnight product, but instead months and months of work by the team leading up to the state tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Laura Mendes was a co-captain alongside junior Natalie Hu, and together helped create the standard for the team.

“In the beginning of the season, we did not know what to expect. There were eight open spots for new players and only five of us were returning players coming into the year,”

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said Mendes, who played first doubles this past season. “As the season went on, however, we began to have higher expectations as our team dynamic grew and we began to become closer. Coach Roane was always supportive of us and helpful, giving us articles to read and pep talks before games. We knew that the road to States was not going to be easy, but we always had hope that everything would go our way.”

Hu echoed that sentiment: “Laura and I already knew each other very well from years of training at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA), so being cocaptains together was fun and easy.

We worked together on everything, from designing uniforms to organizing team bonding, while making sure everyone on the team could contribute to the team decisions,” said Hu, who won her match at first singles during the state championship. “Overall, what brought the team together was having everyone contribute to the team and spending a lot of time outside of the court to create a fun team environment.”

The chemistry and closeness of the team was something that developed, not only during this season but also, for some of them, from years and years of training and playing tennis together.

Many of the Scarsdale players have known each other going back to when they were kids, and have been playing together at Sportime Lake Isle in Eastchester, the Westchester home of the JMTA. Mendes and Hu, along with Kay Cottrell, Giana Marks and Yelena Sahakyan, do their private training and practices at Lake Isle.

“They train together around three times a week, if not more, and they have been doing so for a few years,” said Josep Baro, the Assistant Academy

Scarsdale co-captain Natalie Hu was victorious at first singles during the state championship

Director for the John McEnroe Tennis Academy program at Sportime Lake Isle. “For high school and tournament players, we use up to eight courts at the facility every afternoon where we have all the players come and train together.

Most of these girls have been with us since the very beginning when they were six or seven-years-old, which has helped them create that bond among themselves.”

That bond only grew stronger as the 2021 season went on, and really helped bridge the gap between the returning players to the Scarsdale team and its new members this season. The team made sure to hang out even when they were away from practices or matches to develop relationships that would turn them from a group of individual players, to a team.

“Most of the girls on the team were new, but with team bonding exercises and team dinners, we grew closer,” added Mendes. “We began to trust each other more both on and off the

court. The girls and I that play at JMTA have always been close, even when none of us were on the team [at Scarsdale].

Throughout the years, we’ve watched each other grow and prosper both as individuals and players.”

For Marks, that closeness helped her as she adjusted to playing her first season of high school tennis this past fall. A freshman, Marks was welcomed onto the team and had an immediate impact on its success as she won several key matches in the second singles position throughout the year.

“Chemistry was very important to our team this year, and a lot of it came from the team-bonding activities where we all really got to know each other,” said Marks. “It was a little reassuring that I already knew some people on the team. A couple of years ago, I was in the same clinic with Natalie, Laura and Yelena. Already knowing them as people and how they played helped create a little bit of that chemistry even before the whole team was complete.”

Marks would deliver a huge victory during the state championship as she won her second singles match in straight sets to give Scarsdale its first point of the finals.

“This was my first year being on the team, but being able to compete in the state tournament with my teammates and win was an incredible experience that I will never forget,” said Marks. “I was able to be aggressive and stay positive the entire time during my match, and I never gave my opponent a chance to come back. It really meant a lot to get a win for our team and contribute to the end result of winning states. Since I was the first one done, I knew it was important to cheer on and support my other teammates. We all knew that the stakes were high, but when we supported each other it felt easier to win.”

That support was felt as the state championship was tied at three-all, with only the fourth doubles court remaining to

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decide the champion. After winning the first set in a tiebreaker, Cottrell & Natasha Pereira held on to win 6-3 in the second set to clinch the title. It was a nervous moment for the pairing as they were undecided on if they even wanted to know what was happening with the other matches.

“We were the last court playing, and we didn’t know we were tied 3-3 with Syosset because we were playing on a court where we couldn’t see the other six matches,” recalls Cottrell. “On our court, we were up 4-3 when we realized that a crowd had gathered to watch our match and figured that something was up. Coach Roane asked Natasha and me if we wanted to know what was happening.

Natasha said yes, and I said no. But by then we both had figured out the situation.”

With everyone gathering atop the overlook watching section at the National Tennis Center, Cottrell & Pereira knew it was coming down to them. Specifically, it was coming down to Cottrell’s serve as she walked to the

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Giana Marks won a key match at second singles to help lead Scarsdale to the championship

service line to try to close out the state championship.

“I was serving for what turned out to be the last game, we were up 5-3, and I was really, really overwhelmed,” she says. “But, I just focused on my serve,

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and getting the returns back. Then it was over! Everyone ran onto the court to celebrate. It was an amazing experience to share that win with Natasha and the rest of the team.”

The Scarsdale season was a truly historic one, and will reverberate for many years to come as the girls can always look back and call themselves the first New York State Girls’ Team Tennis Champions. It was the product of years of hard work of all the girls individually, and then the ability to come together as a team in pursuit of a common goal.

The standard has been set for what is expected from the players who put that Scarsdale jersey on, and much of it was cultivated years ago in training sessions and clinics at Sportime Lake Isle. Scarsdale will have a target on its back heading into next season, and it will be up to players like Cottrell, Hu, Marks and Sahakyan to continue the culture of excellence put in place by the 2021 team.

Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com.

Height of the Sportsmanship Bar

By Barbara Wyatt

We are still scratching our heads.

The USTA match was scheduled for a 5:15 p.m. start. The host team booked a court prior for an extra warm-up. With only one available court, the host team will use it from 4:00 to 4:45 p.m., then provide the final half hour to the visiting team. Or, they work all players onto the court as they arrive, allowing players on both teams to warm each other up.

On this afternoon, Court 10 had four host team members hitting ground strokes. At 4:50 p.m., I stepped onto the court, waited quietly. When a player turned around, I asked, “Will my team have an opportunity to use this warm-up court?”

The answer was “It’s not my decision, I’m not the host captain.”

In this great sport with wonderful people, their veins raging with positive energy from endorphins, it seemed an odd response. I returned to advise my teammates (the visiting team). Heads tilted to the side, eyebrows raised, and mouths twisted in confusion. The custom to share a warm-up court with all players—hosts and opponents—had been derailed.

Did the club abandon it? Are they aware it could be perceived as poor sportsmanship and a snub to visitors?

“I’ll try again,” I tell my teammates.

At 5:00 p.m., I again asked the players on court, “May we use the court for warm-up?”

“It’s not my decision.”

“I think this is more of a sportsmanship issue,” I said. I held my breath, hoping that these players with years of USTA experience would remember how well they are respected and treated at other locations. Surely, they will behave as the most gracious of

hosts and in the spirit of friendly competition, provide their opponents (who traveled some distance) access to the court.

Their feet remained ensconced on court. Faces stared at me blankly. I returned to my mates to announce the hosts are not sharing the court.

A few minutes before match start time, we were told we could use the court. I was encouraged—perhaps it was competitive jitters that created a misunderstanding on pre-match courtesies.

I was wrong.

Two host players refused to leave and announced that all visitors may only use half the court. After having access to the court to practise volleys, ground strokes and serves for over an hour, these two

monopolized half the court for the remaining seven minutes. My mates tucked far into the corners for short frying-pan tennis rallies and two rallied on their half of the court. I was proud of my teammates—the visiting team. They adjusted to the slight and didn’t complain.

Sharing a pre-match court is not a rule; it is an indication of the height of the sportsmanship bar of the host team.

Is it fair to invoke a home-team advantage, and forbid opponents access to a court? Should all players enter the match under a fair level playing field?

On this afternoon, Karma stepped in and answered my questions. My mates and I (the visiting team) won the match.

Barbara Wyatt is a Writer, Photographer, USTA Official, and Mobile App Developer of iKnowTennis!, the tennis rules app. Her poem, Ode to Tennis, an amusing poem on the joys and frustrations when learning tennis, is available at Amazon. She can be reached by email at BarbaraW@iKnowTennis.com

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Call 914-907-0041 or E-mail Bloom.Gilad@gmail.com www.GiladBloom.com NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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The Top Ten Tennis Tips of All-Time: Part One

By Dr. Tom Ferraro

What do the pros know that you don’t? Read on, and find out. n order to win on the courts, there are many skills one must have. After working with professional athletes and coaches for thirty five years in the fields of tennis, golf, soccer, football, baseball and more, I’ve learned that there are ten secret ingredients to winning in tennis.

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Over the next year, I will spell out these ten secrets in detail and explain what you must do to learn them.

Subjects will include mastering the emotions of anxiety, anger, and despair, understanding the importance of body language and gamesmanship, how to establish the right psychological

defenses such as suppression, anticipation and humor, gathering the right team and assets around you, practicing the right balance of fun and work, developing the traits of confidence, perseverance and focus and, finally, how to see the value of your education.

For the first part of this series, we will be talking about anxiety, the number one psychological issue affecting performance.

Anxiety Symptoms of anxiety include worry, the yips, jitteriness, tension, fatigue, nausea, feelings of weakness or light headedness, quirky compulsions like racket twirling and more. When anxiety becomes overwhelming, it can have a devastating effect on performance and prevent a player from playing to their full potential. It also leads to irritability, discouragement and even depression in some cases.

Causes The cause of anxiety is multi-determined and is triggered by external events, but

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its actual cause usually exists internally.

Players frequently get anxious when facing a more highly-ranked opponent, when they are playing in front of big crowds, after making a few mistakes, when trying out for a team or when watched by scouts or coaches at showcases. Internally, the roots of anxiety will either stem from having low self-esteem, having guilt about winning, a fear of separation from others if they win, having weak defenses, or if they have conflicts with their own aggression. In addition, the player may feel extreme pressure from parents, coaches, fans or sponsors to always perform well.

Treatment As a psychoanalyst, I believe that insight into the causes of your anxiety is crucial to establishing any lasting cure. This means coming into a sports psychologist’s office and being afforded the time to explore the actual causes of one’s anxiety. Over time, the

issues are revealed and ego strength begins to develop. It is only after this insight is gained and ego strength develops that one can usefully apply the variety of suppressive techniques that most of the top athletes are familiar with. These techniques will include deep breathing, positive selftalk, and goal-setting and visualization tips.

Tennis is one of the most interesting games ever invented with an aura of refinement, beauty and gentility deriving from its roots. It was started as a game played by Monastics in cloisters in the 12th century, but eventually made its way out of France to England where it was enjoyed by the royals and by the highly-educated in Cambridge and Oxford. However, the modern game now requires great

fitness, cat-like agility, and refined skill sets which takes years to develop. And despite it being a genteel game based on a code of sportsmanship, it also requires aggression and a cocky attitude which then produces internal conflicts expressed as anxiety.

The great joy of tennis is felt as one learns to face and overcome these anxieties and it is certainly no crime to get some help along the way. Anxiety is a nasty, scary feeling and why Sigmund Freud called anxiety “unpleasure.” Indeed, there is nothing quite like it when you’re able to face up to your inner demons and win. That victory is more noteworthy then beating Roger Federer or Serena Williams.

In the next issue, we will talk about anger and how to use it to your benefit.

For consultations, treatment or on-site visits, contact Dr. Tom Ferraro Ph.D., Sport Psychologist, by phone at (516) 248-7189, e-mail DrTFerraro@aol.com or visit DrTomFerraro.com.

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NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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The Power of the Pause How to reset under pressure

By Rob Polishook n the book, The Competitive Buddha, written by my colleague Dr. Jerry Lynch, he speaks about the importance of patience. He says “patience is an important virtue for those of us in athletics, we want success, and we want it now…and we do not want to wait.

This makes us tight, tense and tentative, which in turn delays what we desire to have happen.”

In this article, I’d like to expand on Dr. Lynch’s perspective on patience and introduce the power Photo Credit: Andrew Ong/USTA of the pause. The pause is a component of patience and a tool properly set up, balanced, and able which can be used when facing to choose the most efficient path to challenges, obstacles and adversity. the ball. In short, without the splitChoosing to pause will enable step, a player will rush and run competitive tennis players to step through their shots. back, open up, and play in the here What would happen if there was and now. also a mental split-step? Something Interestingly, all great tennis a player could do between points, players physically pause before they games or even sets to help them make contact with each shot. It may mentally recalibrate? There is and, be a crushing Novak Djokovic like the split-step, it is even more so backhand down-the-line or a Paula overlooked by junior players. The Badosa forehand deep and heavy. mental split-step is a pause, which We all see it; it’s in the split-step. provides the player the choice to The split-step is an integral part of settle down, re-center, and exist in the technical shot. However, its moments of adversity without purpose is often overlooked. The rushing. It can allow them to cope split-step ensures that a player is with challenging situations and

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provide clarity to evaluate what is happening.

Pausing can also help a player to let go of negative energy or excess energy and refocus on what’s important now.

The mental pause technique which I recommend is called Feel, Breathe, See. It can be done for 10 seconds to a minute, or even shorter or longer depending on the situation. A player can also choose just one element, for example, the breath, and bring their awareness to that for three-tofive seconds The mental pause (Feel, Breathe, See) is simple, but it’s not easy to do! Why? Because often a player will be so caught up in the emotions of a match, or distracted by what they cannot control, that they forget to pause. I recommend that players get a three-by-five inch index card and write a few mental points which are meaningful to them.

One of the entries would be: Pause… Feel, Breathe, See. The card can be referenced at change overs and between sets.

Alternatively, for immediacy, it can

be stapled to the corner of a player’s towel. Anything to help the player pause, slow down, and play their game. Feel, Breathe, See can be used during different situations and times in a match.

As an example, here are three different times a player can use the pause…Feel, Breathe, See: Pre-match: As the player walks out to the court, they can bring their attention to their feet, and simply feel the sensation of their feet on the ground. Then when they put their bag on the ground, they shift their attention to their breath, just noticing their breath.

Then, when they are walking to the baseline, once again shifting their attention to what they see, looking around the complex, orienting to the court and surroundings.

Changeovers: As the player sits down, they can bring their attention to the feel of the chair on

their body, and noticing their feet on the ground, then again shift their attention to the breath, just observing their breathing, and then when they are ready to return to the court, allowing their eyes to re-orient to the court.

Between points: As the point ends, the player can do the entire Feel, Breath, See exercise or only incorporate one element. For example, noticing their feet as they walk to the ball, or bringing their awareness to their breath, or orienting to their strings or maybe a tree in the distance.

In summary, every match has its challenges, momentum shifts and moments of adversity. I encourage my clients to incorporate the pause, Feel, Breathe, See, either in entirety or just one aspect into their between point ritual.

The power of the pause is a great way to step back, slow down and recharge. Remember, just like a great player doesn’t forget to split-step prior to a shot, they also don’t forget to mentally re-center before each point. The power of the pause is a game changer; don’t play a match without it.

Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group. As a mental training coach, he works with the whole human athlete helping them to unleash their mental edge (heart.energy.spirit) through mindfulness, somatic psychology, animal wisdom and mental training skills. Rob is author of 2 best-selling books: Tennis Inside the Zone and Baseball Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. He can be reached by phone at (973) 723-0314, by e-mail rob@insidethezone.com, by visiting insidethezone.com, following on Instagram @insidethezone

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How Many Hours a Week Should a College-Bound Junior Play Tennis?

By Gilad Bloom

any of the students I teach ask me how many hours a week they should train in order to reach the college level. The answer is … not that many. It’s the quality and the effort that counts. Anywhere between three to six times a week is a good start, no more than two hours per day, either in a group or private lesson. If you practice about 10-12 hours per week in total, that would still leave you ample time to work on academics and have a normal childhood.

I’m not a big believer in sending a child from their home environment to an “academy,” playing tennis all day and living in a dorm away from their parents. I believe that collegiate level tennis can be achieved while staying home and attending a regular school.

Having said that, I would also like to add that if you are looking to reach the professional level, I would strongly suggest home schooling as an option and to take a much heavier load of sessions. But to reach the collegiate level, even Division 1, a few things need to happen …

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1. Great practice habits This could be the most important aspect of a tennis player and something that every college coach appreciates. With good practice habits, you don’t have to train that long, and as long as the intensity is there, two hours of practice per day is plenty. Just make sure that you don’t take too many breaks (and if you do, make them short). Also, run down every ball without exception. I learned that from the top players in the world from my era. They were all animals on the practice court. In my opinion, when you spend five to six hours a day on the court, the level of concentration and quality declines, especially the intensity. It’s better to go all out for two hours and go home.

2. An extensive fitness program This program should include one to two hours per week with a trainer, and another two or three times when you exercise on your own. Physical fitness was always an important aspect of the game, but in the past, you could get away with not being fit. Today,

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

everyone is in shape … it’s a must.

Proper stretching is essential as are regular visits to the trainer for physical sessions in order to stay injury-free.

3. Play another sport (preferably a team sport) This current generation is not at all a “Ball Handling Generation,” unless it’s a video game. Tennis is a one-sided, asymmetrical sport that can cause an imbalance in the body (especially the back). Playing other sports will help balance the body, prevent injuries and improve coordination. Playing a team sport is a nice relief for a tennis player who is used to being on their own all the time. Sure, we all love the individuality of the sport of tennis, but it’s nice to be with the boys/girls out there on the field and develop the ability to win and lose as a team.

4. Find an outside hobby A musical instrument as an outside interest off the court is highly recommended. We all know how hard and stressful the game of tennis can be at the competitive level. A player needs

something to fall back on when things are hard—a release, an escape, something that relaxes them.

A musical instrument can be carried around to tournaments, but so can books, chess, movies, art or anything. The point is, there are things out there other than tennis.

This can be very useful at a time when injuries are a part of the game.

5. Play tournaments regularly on weekends After the age of 12, I’d recommend at least two tournaments per month. Weekend tournaments are essential to the development of the junior player, there is no substitute to a real USTA match. Competition is the breeding ground for improvement and staying sharp for matches throughout your junior years will bring you to college with ample experience in tight matches.

6. Step it up during the summer and when on vacations When off from school, kids should take advantage and double their sessions to twice a day. This is the time to push it a bit. Without the burden of school and with a good night’s sleep, most kids are more coachable and are easier to push to the limit. Just make sure they play, mostly on clay, five to six hours each day.

7. Take breaks Make sure that kids take two or three breaks per year, at least one week at a time. It is very important to get away from the game from time to time, in order to recharge and plan

the next step or to just forget about it all and disconnect. Breaks are also vital in the sense they can also prevent future burnout.

8. Combine private lessons with group sessions Having one-on-one lessons is irreplaceable. Some parents sign their kids up only for group lessons and that is a mistake. Specific corrections can only be given effectively in private lessons. The instructions in a group setting are a follow up to what happens in a private lesson. A combination is ideal as group lessons are usually more fun and allow kids to interact and compete. Keep the lessons fun and enjoy the journey, even if it’s filled with hard work.

Gilad Bloom, former Israeli Davis Cup player and two-time Olympian, played on the ATP Tour 1983-1995, reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 1990, reached a highest ranking of 61 in singles, was Israel Singles Champion three times. Bloom has been running his own tennis program since 2000 and also was director of tennis at John McEnroe Tennis Academy for two years. He can be reached by e-mail at Bloom.Gilad@Gmail.com.

NYTennisMag.com • January/February 2022 • New York Tennis Magazine

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Learning Life Values Gave Me My Tennis Values

By Luke Jensen Tennis is a fantastic game!

Reaching for better performance is the mindset everyone should have as they work their way towards reaching their full potential. I have been lucky enough to be around great minds through my years in tennis. It began with my parents, who were athletes in other sports but not tennis players, but they gave me, and my siblings, the greatest gift, and that was a standard of excellence; and to do things with a supreme attitude and the upmost effort.

I remember numerous times losing 6-0, 6-0 in matches, but my positive attitude and my all-out effort was the measure of success my family used, and that encouraged me to keep going. I even remember winning a massive match over a tough rival, but I acted like a knucklehead and when I reached the car…let’s just say my parents were NOT HAPPY with me. That was the Jensen Family secret to success.

The other factor was finding the very best coaching possible. My parents were at every lesson but always allowed the tennis professional to lead the way as far as technique and tactics. That was the healthy separation between being a parent and a coach in my family. Striking a balance between these two important roles is always tough, especially when the parents of tournament players are investing so much into their young players.

I see too many unhealthy situations at all levels of tournament play where parents 64

are living their tennis dream vicariously through their talented children.

Competitive tennis is such a difficult journey and many mistakes are made along the way. There will never be another Roger Federer or Serena Williams. Those careers should be the goals of the children, but not their parents. The best tennis parents I have been around put family values first before results. A family’s standard of excellence and the way the young talent learns the values of hard work, education and persistence through the great game of tennis is the ultimate win. I won more matches in my life because I was constantly taught the enormous power in competing with tremendous character. I won many more matches over players with better strokes and more talent because my superpowers were built from within. Understanding how to handle both victory and defeat helped me deal with pressure better when the moments in matches arrived that required a calm mind.

These are results of having parents who doubled as life coaches, and who put me on the court with extraordinary tennis coaches like Don Dickinson, Brian Marcus, Brian Gottfried and Dick Leach.

They were the difference for me before turning professional, and the elements of extraordinary excellence they taught me in those early years have been more valuable in my adult life than they were on the tennis court. I am beyond grateful to my parents, siblings and these coaches for the unconditional confidence they instilled in me. By putting consistent wind in my sails, they always helped me reach my dreams.

If you are currently in a situation where you are looking for advice on how you deal with your tennis-playing child, my suggestion is to always be patient, understanding and find coaches with a solid value system. Making the sport of tennis fun and educational will always be something that can draw out the most potential from any player.

This was what I’ve learned in my journey through the great game of tennis, and I am beyond blessed to have done it with the help of my family. I have met people from all around the world that share my same passion for the game, and I never stop asking questions from these experts to constantly improve my understanding of the game.

Always remember: If you are thinking, you are winning!

Born in Grayling, Mich., Luke Jensen’s resume includes 10 ATP Tour doubles titles and singles victories against Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier. Jensen and his brother, Murphy, won the 1993 French Open doubles title. Luke is currently director of tennis at Sea Island Tennis Center in Georgia. He may be reached by phone at (315) 443-3552 or email lukejensen84@yahoo.com.

New York Tennis Magazine • January/February 2022 • NYTennisMag.com

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