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

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1NYTennisMag.com • November/December 2011 • New York Tennis Magazine

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

November/December 2011Volume 1, Number 3

New York Tennis Magazineis published bi-monthly by

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

Feature Story20 New York Tennis Magazine’s Coaches Roundtable Discussion

The area’s top tennis coaches sound off in our first-ever Coaches Roundtable Discussion on a variety oftopics including coaching philosophies, the state of American tennis and the New York tennis scene, howinvolved should coaches and parents be in the development of a player, and at what age should juniorplayers begin to focus on tennis exclusively, among others.

Additional Features3 Tips From the Tennis Pro: Pseudo Tennis By Partha Bhattacharya14 Rafa Visits the Big Apple to Promote Bacardi’s Champions Drink Responsibly Campaign

By Michael Sarro15 First Set’s a Dream … Match Turns Into a Nightmare By Lawrence Kleger18 Remedies to Overcoming the on-the-Court Choke By Eric Faro32 High School Spotlight: St. Francis Prep Keeps the Streak Alive By Michael Sarro33 SBTA and USTA Eastern Participate in Vive Tu Vida! Event By Pablo Sierra40 The Stars of the Court and Kitchen Shine for the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis Event By Michael Sarro42 The World’s Finest and Bravest Take to the Courts By Michael Sarro44 The On-Court Consultation: A New Way to Find the Perfect Racquet for You By Roman Prokes

Columns6 USTA/Eastern-Metro Region Recap12 Riding the Waves: Using Momentum to Win in Competition By Rob Polishook, MA, CPC16 New York Tennis Magazine’s Literary Corner: The Wimbledon Final That Never Was

and Other Tennis Tales From a Bygone Era By Sidney Wood With David Wood By Brent Shearer26 College Tennis Spotlight: Mythbusters … College Club Tennis is for Losers By Ricky Becker30 Good to Great: A Model for Safely Building the Tennis Champions of Tomorrow (Part II)

By Steve Kaplan31 The Jensen Zone By Luke Jensen34 Court Six: New York Tennis Magazine’s Gossip Column By Emilie Katz50 New York Tennis Club Directory50 Upcoming Events52 New York Rankings55 USTA/Metropolitan Region Tournament Schedule

News Briefs4 2011 Hall of Fame Class Honored at the Legends Ball7 Top USTA Eastern Section Juniors Honored Prior to U.S. Open27 Inwood County Club Captures Their First LIMTL Championship37 New York City’s Irina Falconi Wins Gold Medal at Pan American Games38 Longines Takes Center Court for Kids45 Tennis Train-ing at the Vanderbilt Tennis Club46 Prospect Park Hosts 5th Annual End of Season Tournament48 The USTA Community Tennis Development Workshop: Growing the Game

Cover photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg

New York’s Finest: All Eyes Were on Flushingfor the 2011 U.S. OpenWith television ratings up over last year and online viewers setting records, the 2011U.S. Open swept through the New York area and brought with it, the drama and ex-citement of the final Grand Slam of 2011 featuring a rematch of the previous year’sfinal between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Cover story

Brent ShearerEditorial Contributor

David DruckerEditorial Contributor

Gary SimeoneEditorial Contributor

Ken GoldbergPhotographer

TABLE OF CONTENTS


By Partha Bhattacharya

Change is constant … of-tentimes motivated bynecessity, and other

times, triggered by technology in an effortto maximize convenience. Rarely do wehave a choice but to adapt, even if we arenot clear on how we feel about the partic-ular change.

From posted mail to e-mail, landlines tocell phones, and from enjoying the companyof like-minded people to now having Face-book friends, we are constantly going in di-rections that we are unsure about. Just theother day, my 14-year-old nephew claimedto be the best tennis player in the world. Heseemed so thrilled about his Nintendo Mariotennis video game accomplishments that hisparents even bought him a trophy for reach-ing the top level. I wondered if this is muchdifferent from how Rafael Nadal must have

felt at the age of 14.Within the confines of a court, the game

of tennis is changing as well. We have ever-improving technology when it comes torackets and balls. The way we teach andlearn the sport is changing wonderfully too,especially with USTA’s 10 & Under Quick-Start initiative for kids.

However, in certain metropolitan cities,there is a very different kind of change that isbecoming the norm. In an effort to accom-modate a vast number of tennis enthusiasts,big city tennis programs are forced to providethe closest alternative to real tennis. This in-cludes tennis in church basements, auditori-ums and on the rooftops of buildings andhotels, and all places in between that can beconverted into a playing area that somewhatresembles a real court. Lessons at such fa-cilities often have six to eight players on acourt with only one instructor, who has moreto do with damage control than teaching be-

cause of the disproportional ratios of player-to-court space. This is a brand of tenniswhere players hit only a few balls and get anentire lesson at being better spectators.

It makes you wonder, doesn’t it … howfar will it go? Is a Facebook Friend really afriend? Is playing tennis like this even play-ing tennis at all? Or is my nephew’s Nin-tendo Mario tennis game actually closer tothe real sport than what some of these pro-grams have running? You tell me …

Partha Bhattacharya is a PTR-certified tennisprofessional who teaches junior tennis atMidtown Tennis Club. He may be reached bye-mail at [email protected].

Pseudo Tennis“Within the confines of a court,the game of tennis is changing

as well.”

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

On the eve of U.S. Open Finals Week-end, tennis champions, industry lead-ers and supporters of the game

gathered at Cipriani Wall Street for The2011 Legends Ball. The event honored thegreatest legends and supporters of thesport of tennis while raising funds to sup-

port the Inter-national TennisHall of Fame &Museum intheir missionto preservetennis historyand inspire itsfuture.

Class of2011 Hall ofFame inducteesAndre Agass iand PeachyKellmeyer werehonored at theevent. An in-

credible collection of tennis champions andHall of Famers joined in the celebration, in-cluding Stefanie Graf, Billie Jean King,Tracy Austin, Martina Navratilova, ChrisEvert, Pam Shriver, Tony Trabert, MariaBueno, Vic Seixas, Stan Smith and DickSavitt. Additionally, some of the sport’smost influential contributors attended, in-cluding Hall of Famers Donald Dell, ButchBuchholz and Russ Adams. Also joining in

the festivities was 2012 Hall of Fame nom-inee Jennifer Capriati.

At the event, legendary sportscasterDick Enberg was presented the Eugene L.Scott Award, a tribute to his 50-year careerin sports broadcasting and long-time sup-port of tennis. Campbell Soup Companywas presented the Joseph F. Cullman IIIAward, in recognition of their years of sup-port for tennis at all levels.

2011 Hall of Fame

Class Honored

at The Legends BallCredit all photos to Anne Marie McLaughlin/International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum

2012 Tennis Hall of Famenominee Jennifer Capriatiarrives at The 2011Legends Ball

StefanieGraf andAndreAgassiwerehonored atthe 2011LegendsBall

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert chatwith Andre Agassi

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

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

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

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

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

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oe J

osep

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The crowd was treated to a special per-formance by Grammy Award winner MarcCohn, who dazzled the crowd with his al-ways popular “Walking in Memphis.”

A live and silent auction of exclusive ten-nis experiences, travel and memorabiliaraised more than $150,000. Additionally,many attendees contributed more than$25,000 to a special fund which will providefree admission to the Tennis Hall of Fame &Museum for kids ages 16 and under for a fullyear, in support of the Hall of Fame’s mission

Grammy Award-winning artist Marc Cohnperforms his hit, “Walking in Memphis”

to inspire the future of tennis.The event was made possible with the

generous and dedicated support of the threeLegends Ball co-chairs, as well as eventsponsors, BNP Paribas, FILA, Rolex andTransamerica Retirement Management. The2011 Legends Ball co-chairs were Mark Einof Washington, D.C., founder and CEO ofVenturehouse Group LLC and owner of theWashington Kastles of World TeamTennis;Mike Goss of Westport, Conn., who is man-aging director and COO of Bain Capital; andBob Jeffrey of New York City, worldwidechairman and CEO of J. Walter Thompson.

Former NewYork MayorDavid Dinkinsand MurphyJensen pausefor a photo

Mary Carillo (right) interviews members ofthe 2011 Tennis Hall of Fame Class, AndreAgassi (left) and Peachy Kellmeyer (center)

• Junior Tournament Team• Go! Tennis Junior Academy• Hitters (Beginners) Groups• Quickstart (4-7 year olds)• Summer and Holiday Camps• Adult Leagues• Private + Group Lessons• Drill + Play Sessions

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LongtimebroadcasterDick Enberg(left) chats withHarry Cicma(right) at the2011 LegendsBall

Brad Gilbert arrivesto show his support

for the Tennis Hallof Fame Class of

2011


Junior TeamTennis braces for winter seasonIf you love playing tennis, you’ll loveit even more as part of a team. Simi-lar to the World TeamTennis (WTT) for-mat, the Junior TeamTennis (JTT)format consists of co-ed teams whereindividual matches incorporate anoverall team score. It creates a fun-filled team atmosphere for what is

thought of as an individual sport.The upcoming USTA Eastern Metro’s Junior TeamTennis Winter

League is set to begin this November. USTA’s JTT is the largest

USTA/Eastern-Metro Region

youth tennis program in the country, helping girls and boys ages sixto 18 get in the game, get on the court and have a good time. USTA’sJTT is about capturing all the unique joys of playing on a team, whileplaying a singularly great sport. Teams are coed and made up of atleast six players, three boys and three girls, based on similar agesand skill levels. The emphasis is on skill development, fun, team-work and friendly competition, all with the possibility of advancing tothe Junior TeamTennis National Championship.

The great thing about JTT is that everyone does their individualbest to make their teammates better. That’s what USTA JuniorTeamTennis is all about, building your game, while building a team,and sharing the fun with your friends.

USTA Metro Region Board

Carl Summerlin Regional President [email protected]

Thomas Gilliland First Vice President [email protected]

Jackie Clark Second Vice President [email protected]

Allon Lifshitz Secretary [email protected]

Janice Campbell Bronx Representative [email protected]

Pablo Sierra Brooklyn Representative [email protected]

Jeffrey Fairbanks Manhattan Representative [email protected]

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

Donald L. Malech Staten Island Representative [email protected]

Thomas Gilliland Junior Recreation Representative [email protected]

Kathy Yee Junior Team Tennis [email protected]

Robin Lieberman Adult Competition Representative [email protected]

Jeff Jones At-Large [email protected]


On Aug. 29, prior to the start of the 2011U.S. Open, some of the top juniors in theUSTA Eastern Section were honored at

the Junior Awards Gala. All of the junior play-ers received free grounds passes to watch thebest players in the world compete on OpeningDay of the 2011 U.S. Open. All 25 honoreesfinished strong in sectional tournaments thisyear, earning enough points to be recognized.One of the juniors managed to achieve per-fection though. Sixteen-year-old Jaime Loebof Ossining, N.Y. won all eight tournamentsthat she entered, earning a perfect 800 pointsand a place in USTA Eastern history.

“Jamie’s record is truly incredible,” saidJulie Bliss, director of competition and playerdevelopment for the USTA Eastern Section.“And it is a testament to her talent, hard workand dedication to the sport.”

Loeb, who attends Ossining HighSchool, decided to play in all of the sec-tional tournaments to avoid traveling to In-ternational Tennis Federation tournaments

and missing school. But playing againstonly Eastern Section girls presented itsown set of challenges and rewards.

“The pressure was always on me since I wasthe number one seed,” Loeb said. “It taught mehow to deal with high expectations.”

Congratulations to the following:

2011 USTA Eastern Award WinnersBoys 12s1. Jeff Zucker (Short Hills, N.J.)2. George Gramatikov (Vestal, N.Y.)3. Finbar Talcott (Sea Cliff, N.Y.)

Girls 12s1. Sarah Rahman (East Elmhurst, N.Y.)2. Stephanie Schrage (Millburn, N.J.)3. Loren Haukova (Elmsford, NY)

Boys 14s1. Brendan Volk (Dix Hills, N.Y.)2. Robert Levine (Bedford, N.Y.)3. Maverick Lin (Edison, N.J.)

Top USTA Eastern Section Juniors Honored

Girls 14s1. Jessica Livianu (Brooklyn, N.Y.)2. Madison Battaglia (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)3. Jackie Urbinati (Harrison, N.Y.)

Boys 16s1. Sam Swank (Bedford, N.Y.)2. Quentin Monaghan (Chatham, N.J.) &

Matthew Nardella (Manlius, N.Y.)3. Josh Silverstein (Great Neck, N.Y.)

Girls 16s1. Quinn Gleason (Mendon, N.Y.)2. Louisa Chirico (Harrison, N.Y.)3. Katherine Orozco (New Milford, N.J.)

Boys 18s1. Winston Lin (Williamsville, N.Y.)2. Andrew Yaraghi (Mill Neck, N.Y.)3. Andrew Adams (Bronx, N.Y.)

Girls 18s1. Jamie Loeb (Ossining, N.Y.)2. Amanda Muliawan (Wyckoff, N.J.)3. Katherine Yau (Manhasset, N.Y.)

Prior to U.S. Open


The 2011 U.S. Open was certainlyone to remember for tennis fansaround the world. Whether it was

the intense match play, the chaoticweather, or even the 9-11 ceremony,fans will remember this Open for yearsto come. Of course we remember theepic final between world number oneNovak Djokovic from Serbia and worldnumber two Rafael Nadal from Spain;however, what should be given more at-tention than it’s getting is how well ouryoung American players performed atthe final Grand Slam of the year. Overthe years, we’ve come to depend onnames like Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish,Serena and Venus Williams. The truth isthat these players aren’t getting anyyounger, and we need fresh Americantalent to step up and represent theUnited States.

This year’s U.S. Open gave us a lookat a few names we’ve heard of, such asDonald Young and Ryan Harrison, butalso introduced us to players such asJack Sock, Christina McHale, MadisonKeys, Sloane Stephens and more.

The summer of 2011 wasone to remember forDonald Young, whowe’ve been waiting toemerge as the talent weall thought he would bewhen he burst onto the

ATP Circuit almost five years ago. Since theconclusion of Wimbledon, Young was 10-4in his last 14 matches, including a career-best semifinal run in the Legg Mason Clas-sic where he fell to eventual championRadek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. Atthe 2011 U.S. Open, Young made it to thefourth round where he picked up qualitywins over Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzer-land and veteran Argentine Juan IgnacioChela before falling to fourth-seeded AndyMurray of Great Britain. It appears as ifYoung may finally be on his way to becom-ing the player we thought he’d be.

Though RyanHarrison pos-sesses a greatdeal of talent, theyoung American

fell in the opening round to Marin Cilic ofCroatia. Harrison, who some think has abit of a childish cocky-like attitude, stillhas massive potential, and we’ll defi-nitely be on the lookout for him in the2012 season.

Lastly on the men’s sideis 19-year-old Jack Sockfrom Lincoln, Neb. YesLincoln, Neb. as inwhere Andy Roddickhails from. In fact, thetwo met in the secondround of this year’sOpen, where the young-

ster fell in straight sets to the veteran Amer-ican. However, Sock did go on to win themixed-doubles title with American MelanieOudin. This result was a complete shocker,as the two players never teamed up beforethe U.S. Open. Oudin who made herself fa-mous for her performance at the U.S. Opena few years back, has struggled since, butwith the U.S. mixed-doubles championshipnow under her belt, perhaps this will kick-start a quality 2012 season.

Americans Show Signs of Life

at the 2011 U.S. OpenBy David Drucker

© 2011 USTA. All rights reserved.

Home to 20 outdoor courts, 3 stadium courts, 12 indoor courts and a new, state of the art, 245,000 square foot indoor tennis facility, featuring:

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Junior Programs – featuring 10 and Under Tennis using the QuickStart Tennis play formatUtilizing 12 courts designed specifi cally to fi t kids 10 and under, coupled with age appropriate equipment and practice plans, kids play and have fun right away.

Adult and Junior programs for all levelsThe US Open courts are available year-round to the public and host a wide variety of tennis programs.

EntertainBook your next event at the home of the US Open – where the excitement never ends. The facility is available for corporate and private events and birthday parties.

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

Photo credit: KennethB. Goldberg

Photo credit: Kenneth B.Goldberg


In women’s singles, wewere introduced to playerssuch as Christina McHale,who upset the eighth-seededMarion Bartoli of France in thesecond round before losing toRussia’s Maria Kirilenko in thefollowing round.

Madison Keys showedthe fans her potential witha tough three set matchagainst veteran CzechLucie Safarova. Hopefully,she can continue to im-prove in the upcomingyears and make a namefor herself.

Sloane Stephens hada quality tournamentmaking it to the third,round before falling toSerbia’s Ana Ivanovic.However, Stephensup-set Israeli veteranShahar Peer in the

second round, which probably was herbest career victory to date.

Lastly is IrinaFalconi whotook out Slova-kian DominikaCibulkova in agrueling three-

set match, before falling to Wimbledonsemifinalist Sabine Lisicki of Germany inthe third round.

With all this new young talent, the U.S.finally has something to look forward to inthe future. It’s only a matter of time beforethe Americans we’re used to seeing, suchas Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, JamesBlake, Serena and Venus Williams are allretired. For a few years now, AmericansJohn Isner and Sam Querrey have made aname for themselves, however, they needsome help. The United States remainshopeful for that next big player, whether onthe men’s or women’s side, and with theemergence of players like Ryan Harrison,Donald Young, Jack Sock, ChristinaMcHale, Sloan Stephens, and all the rest,that success is within reach.

American Grace Min upsetstop-seeded Caroline Garciato win U.S. Open Junior Girls Singles Title

Grace Min, a 17-year-old from Duluth, Ga.,upset top-seededCaroline Garcia ofFrance, 7-5, 7-6(3), towin the 2011 U.S. OpenJunior Girls singlestitle at the USTA BillieJean King National

Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.Garcia is currently ranked 135th in the WTArankings while Min is ranked 552. Min didnot drop a set in six matches, which in-cluded an upset over the number twoseed, Irina Khromacheva of Russia, in thefirst round, and a victory over fellow Amer-ican and Stanford University sophomoreNicole Gibbs in the semifinals. With thewin, Min becomes the first American towin the U.S. Open Junior Girls SinglesTitle since Coco Vandeweghe in 2008.When asked how it felt to be a championMin said, “I don’t really know yet. I’m stillprocessing the win.”

Min reached the singles final at the 2010Orange Bowl and won the Junior Girls Dou-bles title at Wimbledon earlier this summer.She has trained full-time at the USTA Train-ing Center in Boca Raton, Fla. since the fallof 2009.

American duo of Oudin &Sock capture 2011 U.S.Open Mixed-Doubles Title

American teen-agers MelanieOudin and JackSock won the2011 U.S. OpenMixed-Doubles

title, beating the eighth-seeded team GiselaDulko and Eduardo Schwank of Argentina in athird set super-tiebreak, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 10-8.

The 19-year-old Oudin had previously takenthe tennis world by surprise in becoming thedarling of the 2009 U.S. Open, reaching thewomen’s quarterfinals. The 18-year-old Sockearned his first Grand Slam singles victory inthe first round this year before being elimi-nated by fellow countryman Andy Roddick.The two needed a wild card to get into thetournament, then upset top-seeded defend-ing champs Bob Bryan & Liezel Huber in thesecond round.

“It was actually really easy playing together,because we’re really comfortable with eachother,” said Oudin. “It kind of worked reallywell because he jokes a lot when we’re play-ing and he keeps me relaxed, and some-times, that’s what I have been having troublewith, is staying relaxed playing.”

David Drucker is an intern with Long Island Ten-nis Magazine and is a member of the NicholsCollege Men’s Tennis team. He may be reachedby e-mail at [email protected].


Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg




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Television ratings for the Men’s SinglesFinals of the 2011 U.S. Open betweentop-seeded Novak Djokovic and second-

seeded Rafael Nadal were up over last year’sNielsen Ratings on CBS, with an overnight rat-ing of 2.6 and a six share. The four-hour-plusDjokovic-Nadal match of 2011 was up 18 per-cent over 2010’s finals match between the two.Nielsen Ratings represent the percentage of allhomes with televisions tuned into a program.Shares represent the percentage of all homeswith TVs in use at the time. Nielsen Ratings areaudience measurement systems developed byNielsen Media Research that determine the au-dience size and composition of television pro-gramming in the United States.

Approximately 53.1 million viewerswatched all or part of this year’s Open onCBS Sports, up 17 percent from last year.Ratings overall for the U.S. Open on CBSSports, which includes broadcasts of LaborDay Weekend and Finals Weekend, sawoverall ratings increase over the past threeyears, matching the ratings of 2007.

The 2011 Djokovic-Nadal finals match wasmoved from Sunday to Monday, Sept. 12 due

to rain that washed out men’s and women’saction, sending schedule-makers into a frenzyand condensing the schedule for the fourthround onward.

The move of the Men’s Singles Finals toMonday, Sept. 12 at 4:00 p.m. may have alsogiven the match a ratings boost as the originallyscheduled day and time slot of Sunday, Sept.11 at noon, was the first Sunday of action of the2011 National Football League schedule.

This year’s Women’s Singles Finals on Sun-day, Sept. 11 achieved a 3.3 national rating,with 13.1 million viewers watching all or part ofthe final, an increase of 93 percent from view-ership of the Kim Clijsters-Vera Zvonarevafinal which aired in primetime on Saturday lastyear. In addition, the Men’s Singles Final wasseen in all or part by 11.8 million viewers.

USOpen.org set a new site record forunique visitors (15,421,675), surpassing2010’s total by 24 percent, and total visits tothe site topped 51 million (51,868,345), thesecond most in history. Additionally, morethan 3.1 million hours of live streaming wasviewed, an increase of 12 percent over lastyear. USOpen.org also saw record mobile

traffic across its mobile-friendly Web site(m.usopen.org) and the official iPhone andAndroid apps, with more than 84 million pageviews (84,350,596), a 173 percent increaseover 2010’s totals.

Despite facing Hurricane Irene at the startof the tournament and then working throughtwo days of rain, the USTA announced thatthe 2011 U.S. Open still attracted more than650,000 fans to the grounds of the USTA Bil-lie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flush-ing Meadows, N.Y.

Attendance highlights included:

� The all-time Labor Day Weekend atten-dance record (Saturday, Sept. 3-Monday,Sept. 5) of 186,186.

� The Men’s Final featuring Djokovic andNadal also set an all-time attendancerecord of 24,713 in Arthur Ashe Stadiumand on the grounds of the USTA Billie JeanKing National Tennis Center.

� The Men’s Semifinal attendance of 24,071on Saturday, Sept. 10 set a record as well.

�Overall, 11 sessions of the 2011 U.S. Opensold out.

All Eyes Were on Flushing Meadows for the2011 U.S. Open


Scenes from the2011 U.S. Open

Serbian Novak Djokoviccelebrates winning the2011 U.S. Open

Serena Williams (pic-tured), the favorite on

the women’s side, pon-ders her upset loss toAustralia’s Samantha

Stosur in the Women’sFinals, 2-6, 3-6

Switzerland’s RogerFederer (pictured)returns a backhand in his7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 5-7loss to eventual U.S.Open winner NovakDjokovic in the Men’sSemifinals

Spain’s Rafael Nadal (pictured)en route to his 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 winover American Andy Roddickthat would land him a trip to the2011 U.S. Open Finals

Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki (pic-tured) at Arthur Ashe Stadium duringher 2-6, 4-6 loss in the Women’sSemifinals to Serena Williams

Great Britain’s Andy Murray(pictured), the number fourseed, in his 7-5, 6-4, 3-6,7-6(2) quarterfinals winover American John Isner

France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

(pictured)defeated

AmericanMardy Fish, the

number eightseed, 6-4, 6-

7(5), 3-6, 6-4,6-2 in fourthround action

Germany’s AndreaPetkovic (pictured), thenumber 10 seed,celebrates her 3-6, 6-3, 6-3win over China’s Jie Zhengon the Grandstand

The American doubles teamof Bob & Mike Bryan (pic-tured) were upset early on inaction by Croatia’s IvoKarlovic & Frank Moser fromGermany

2011 U.S. Open winnerSamantha Stosur (pic-tured) of Australia inearly round actionagainst American CocoVandeweghe at LouisArmstrong Stadium

The number seven seed GaelMonfils (pictured) of Francedisplays his athleticismduring his opening round 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4 win againstBulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov

Julia Elbalba ofOyster Bay, N.Y.in first roundaction on Court13 at the U.S.Open Junior GirlSingles event

Unseeded AmericanChristina McHale (pic-

tured) celebrates her 7-6(2), 6-2 win over the

eighth-seeded MarionBartoli from France

Credit all photos to Kenneth B. Goldberg


Asurfer sits out in the openocean. The water is calm,the surfer is in complete

control. Atop his surfboard, thesurfer can enjoy the tranquility of

his sport. However, he has not come out to theopen water to enjoy tranquility. The surfer hasventured out in search of the big wave … thewave that will get his adrenaline pumping; theone that will satisfy his craving for the thrill ofcompetition; the wave that will push him to theabsolute limit. He has come not for relaxation,but to embrace a challenge. The surfer looksforward to the biggest wave that may come hisway. When the “big one” comes along, it willundoubtedly test his physical abilities, chal-lenge his mental game, and for a moment,leave the surfer wondering if he can come outof the wave unscathed. But if he does, if hestays on the board and is able to ride the waveout, he will be ready for whatever comes next.If he cannot stay on the board, he will spiral outof control, be thrashed under the water, andhave no ability to take advantage of the calmseas which will follow or handle a new wave.

There are parallels between this anecdoteand a tennis player competing in a match.Just like the surfer, a tennis player may begina match in complete control. They make theshots they are supposed to make, and win thepoints they are supposed to win. But then, justas a wave is bound to occur in the openocean, a change and momentum shift isbound to occur in a tennis match. This is thenatural evolution of nature and sports. Con-sistency plays a small role in both. The waveis impossible to stop, the momentum cannotbe controlled. The best strategy is to continueto battle and try to ride it out.

A surfer may see a wave approaching far inthe distance, just as a tennis player senses achange in momentum before it shows on thescoreboard. The wave may show itself eitheras a letdown in one’s own game, i.e., unforcederrors, double faults, etc. Or, a boost in your

opponent’s game, i.e., aces, running winners,treeing, etc. Factors beyond the player’s con-trol, such as poor line calls or distracting fanconduct, can also lead to a momentum swing.These situations are inevitable in a match. Butgiven the player’s level of awareness to thespecifics of a match and their ability to sensethe upcoming waves of momentum, playershave the opportunity to mentally hunker downand prepare themselves for the impendingchange. There are times when the waves maybe so sudden that all the player can do is hangon, grind it out, and hope to stay afloat.

Metaphorically, the wave is a change of mo-mentum often out of the player’s control. Your op-ponent may hit a winner that paints the line, or hita ball that hits the net and trickles over for a win-ner. The only hope to get through the wave is toride it out. The wave should not be viewed as asetback or even an obstacle, but rather, as an op-portunity … an opportunity to test one’s ability toremain focused, level-headed and in control. Anopportunity to adapt and adjust one’s game towhat works best in changing situations, and anopportunity to push oneself both mentally andphysically towards eventual success.

But success can only be achieved if a playercan proactively ride out the wave and stay abovewater. The goal is to simply stay afloat … nothingfancy, just keep grinding. Countless times, RafaelNadal has demonstrated his ability to do this bysaving break point after break point in a match.Just as the calm existed before the wave, thecalm will resume after the wave has passed. Thequestion becomes: Is the player still on the board,or have they let that wave throw them off? If theyare on the board, they are in a position to battleonce the wave and momentum passes. However,if the player feels sorry for themselves, cannotstop thinking about past points, and is despon-dent about the negative turn of events, they will becompletely unaware that the wave has passed.They will continue to spiral out of control. Theplayer will not be able to take advantage of thenewly-found calm after the storm.

A player must recognize that momentumshifts are unavoidable in competition. It is justpart of the rhythm of a match. Just as waves inthe ocean ebb and flow, the course of a matchconstantly changes as well. This is a naturalphenomenon and the reason why we findsports so entertaining. Waves, momentumshifts and adversity in a match should be seenas a challenge, something to be embraced.Perhaps Billie Jean King said it best when shetexted Maria Sharapova “pressure is a privi-lege.” before Sharapova beat Serena Williamsin the 2004 Wimbledon finals.

In the end, riding the big wave is the ultimatethrill. A surfer may struggle with the wave, butstay on the board and ride the big wave out. Or,they may completely fall off the board and cap-size. When the surfer stays consistent and sen-sible, calm under pressure, that surfer has achance to persevere no matter how big and howmany waves come his way. A surfer, once heknows he can handle the waves, embraces evenbigger waves, hopes for even bigger challenges.Only through challenging oneself and con-fronting increasingly bigger obstacles can youimprove. No one’s saying the wave will be easyto ride out, the object is to battle it and stayafloat. Only by embracing the challenge of a bigwave and testing one’s limits will true potential beuncovered. Remember, nothing great is everachieved without overcoming adversity.

Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder and di-rector of Inside the Zone Sports PerformanceGroup. As a mental training coach he works withathletes and teams of all levels. His work focuseson helping athletes gain the mental edge and let-ting go of blocks which get in the way of peakperformance. He is a USTA Zonal Coach and hasspoken and been published for the USTA,USPTA and ITA. Additionally, he has conductedworkshops nationally and internationally in Indiaand Israel. He may be reached by phone at (973)723-0314, e-mail rob@insidethezone or visitwww.insidethezone.com.

Riding the WavesUsing Momentum to Winin CompetitionBy Rob Polishook, Mental Training Coach MA, CPC


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Community Tennis Associations work on

coordinating and maintaining tennis programs

and services in local areas. With over 1,000

registered Community Tennis Associations

across the US, there is always someone

available to help you enjoy the sport of Tennis

in your community.

©2011 USTA. All rights reserved


Rafa Visits the Big Apple to Promote Bacardi’sChampions Drink Responsibly Campaign

By Michael Sarro

When asked if he had time to enjoy thesights and sounds of the Big Apple duringhis stay here for the U.S. Open, Rafareplied, “I am very familiar with New YorkCity as I have been here many times. WhenI am not working on my promotions, it isbusiness as usual, but I try to have fun andenjoy myself when I am here. I like to walkaround, go out to dinner and I also enjoythe theatre. I want to go see Mamma Mia ifI have the time.”

When asked about the raucous NewYork crowd at the USTA Billie Jean KingNational Tennis Center, Nadal replied, “I al-ways get excited about the U.S. Open be-cause I love being in New York, and I love

On Aug. 23, hundreds of fans werelined up outside Bar Basque in NewYork City to catch a glimpse of 2010

U.S. Open champ, Rafael Nadal. Nadalwas on hand to promote his new campaignwith Bacardi Limited, Champions Drink Re-sponsibly, a campaign that conveys a mes-sage that everyone can be a champion totheir friends and family by making respon-sible choices when it comes to the con-sumption of alcohol. The Champions DrinkResponsibly campaign was developed asan educational program to promote re-sponsible drinking.

Nadal was chosen to be the “Global So-cial Responsibility Ambassador” by Bac-ardi due to his “global popularity, the factthat he is a champion, and is really a gen-uine person and great role model,” accord-ing to Bacardi Limited President RobertFurniss-Roe. “We couldn’t have chosen abetter representative than Rafa.”

Midtown Tennis Club was also on handat the event, providing free t-shirts, hatsand bags to the adorning mass of fans.Midtown raffled off free club memberships,free junior programs and signed memora-bilia as well.

“I am the first one ready to go out withfriends,” said Nadal. “When I go out withfriends, everyone drinks alcohol, but I liketo show people that you can have funwithout drinking. I have fun all the timewithout drinking too much,” all the morereason why Nadal is the perfect ambas-sador for Bacardi’s new line of non-alco-holic drinks, Mocktails.

Nadal was in town to begin his title de-fense at the U.S. Open, but arrived a littleearlier than usual this time to promote hisnew campaign and his new book, Rafa.When asked about why he wrote a booknow, Rafa replied, “I felt it was the righttime even if my career is not yet finished.I wanted to make myself more open to thepeople and give them a history of my lifeand how I arrived to where I am today. Ialso wanted to give my fans something toenjoy.”

the New York crowd. Playing here is like noother place. Usually in the tournaments Iplay, the crowds are more relaxed andcalm, but here, especially at the eveningmatches, the crowd can get a little crazy.During changeovers, I enjoy hearing musicand looking up at the big screen and see-ing the Kiss Cam. It is a brief distraction forme and allows me to relax a little bit more.During the match, I love the energy of thecrowd and appreciate the support.”

After fielding questions from the media,Nadal signed some tennis balls and threwthem down into the massive crowd, display-ing the magnitude he carries as a global rolemodel for people around the world.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal (center) fields questions during the Bacardi Limited, Champions Drink Re-sponsibly promotional event

A crowd gathers toget a glimpse of 2010U.S. Open champion

Rafael Nadal

Cameras capture the arrival ofdefending U.S. Open champRafael Nadal by taxi

Credit all photos to Michael Sarro


By Lawrence Kleger

Do you ever win the first seteasy and lose in three? Ofcourse! It happens to everycompetitive player at some

point in time. The scenario goes somethinglike this …

You start the match against a very goodplayer totally pumped-up and ready to kickbutt! Your focus and concentration are at theirhighest levels. You move as though you weregliding on air. You get to every ball and executeeach shot to perfection. The ball looks the sizeof a beach ball and appears to be moving inslow motion. The service boxes on your op-ponent’s side look like football fields and youmake 85 percent of your first serves. Your onlybad shot hits the top of the net and dribblesover for a winner. The pros call this being “Inthe Zone,” And you stay “In the Zone” for theentire first set; which lasts 12 min. You win 6-0and you’re thinking, “This is great!”

The second set begins with you holdingserve, as you did in the first set but not with-out a struggle, 1-0. The next game is a longone in which your opponent records his firstace and you make your first two unforced er-rors. It’s all tied up 1-1, no big deal. You servethe third game and start with your first dou-ble fault. You follow with a volley error andthen witness two winners by your opponentthat Rafael Nadal would never have returned.Now you’re down 1-2. The fourth game goesto deuce six times and your opponent holdsserve when a let cord dribbles over on yourside on game point to make it 1-3. You getbroken at love and change ends at 1-4 tryingto figure out, “Just what is going on?” Youthink that you are playing the same as in the

first set, but lose the second set 4-6.“I can’t believe I just split sets with this

knucklehead that I beat 6-0 in the first set! Ascore of 6-0 didn’t even indicate how badly Imushed this guy! I was about to play the sec-ond set lefty!” You go out to play the third setmuttering, “I can’t believe this … I suck!”

You know the rest. You lose the third 6-3 andyou are at a loss to explain just how it hap-pened. Friends and relatives politely say, “Nicematch,” but you just keep telling yourself, “Iwas up 6-0, 1-0, cruising!”

What really happened?Let’s go back to that marvelous first set and

look at it objectively. While it was obvious toyou that you were tennis perfection, maybe notso obvious was that your opponent’s poor playand/or bad strategy might have contributed tothe one-sided score. It is possible that your op-ponent came out tight and could not establishany rhythm or timing. Maybe your opponentunderestimated you, and temporarily, couldnot find any answers to your shot-making on-slaught. Maybe the first set was not a true in-dication of the relative abilities of the players.Remember that you started the match psy-ched-up to play “a very good player.”

Ask yourself these questions: If you feltlike you played a perfect set, isn’t it a little bitunreasonable to expect to play perfect ten-nis throughout the entire match? Is it not rea-sonable to expect your opponent, down aset, to make adjustments and improve hislevel of play? Would you not expect him tochange a losing strategy and to fight harderin the second set?

Every match has ebb and flow, peaks andvalleys … stretches where you can’t do any-thing wrong and some where nothing goesright. A good competitor understands this and

works hard to maintain an emotional balance.He does not become overly seduced by hisplay “In the Zone;” and likewise, does not getmentally down by a stretch of misfortune. Thegood competitor is always prepared for the un-predictability of a tennis match. He is not in-timidated by the possibility of his opponentturning it around; he is challenged by it. If hewins the first set easy, he expects the next setto be tough. A good competitor never loses hisrespect for an opponent’s ability to compete.

When you win an easy first set against astrong opponent, acknowledge it, be proud ofit, and then expect the rest of the match to bea heck of a lot tougher. If you prepare yourselfmentally to win a war, you won’t be thrown somuch when you lose any of the battles.

Lawrence Kleger is nationally-acclaimed asa unique talent in junior development. Asthe director of Sportime’s Excel TennisCamps each summer and of the Elite de-velopment program each winter, Lawrencehas trained hundreds of sectionally- andnationally-ranked juniors. His knowledge,experience and keen “eye” help Lawrenceto produce players who are fundamentally,technically and mechanically sound. Hiscommitment to true sportsmanship andproper tennis etiquette has produced 13USTA/Eastern year-end SportsmanshipAward winners. Lawrence is one of a selectgroup of coaches invited to attend two lev-els of the USA High Performance Coach-ing Program. He was named the 2006USTA/Eastern Section Long Island SectionTennis Professional of the Year. Lawrence’scampers have captured more than 70USTA National Championships. He may bereached by phone at (516) 938-6076.

First Set�s a Dream …Match Turns Into a

Nightmare


The Wimbledon FinalThat Never Was andOther Tennis Tales From a Bygone Era

By Sidney Wood With David Wood

Players will want to read this book forits many interesting anecdotes andbecause it may arm them to win

drinks at tennis gatherings by betting on ei-ther of the following obscure tennis his-tory questions: Who was the youngestWimbledon winner for over 50 yearsuntil Boris Becker’s first title in 1985?And, who is the only tennis player in his-tory to win Wimbledon by default?

Of course, the answer to both ques-tions is the author of The WimbledonTitle That Never Was and Other TennisTales From a Bygone Era, the Connecti-cut-born Sidney Wood. Wood (1911-2009), accomplished both of these feats

that his book uses as supports to hangthe rest of his story on in 1931.

His opponent in the final, AmericanFrank Shields, grandfather of BrookeShields, was ordered by U.S. tennis au-thorities not to play so he could rest aninjured knee for an upcoming Davis Cupmatch. Apparently, amateur officials hadmore clout in the era between the WorldWars. The U.S. team lost the matchagainst England that they had tried tosave Shields for. So much for listeningto the USTA! Somehow, I think if DonaldYoung was instructed not to play a Wim-bledon final by the national tennis or-ganization, he wouldn’t listen. But this isnow, and Wood’s book is about then.

The book’s charm lies in the way itrecreates early 20th Century tennis his-tory and supplies facts and stories aboutsuch pre-World War II tennis stars asFrance’s Four Musketeers: Rene Lacoste,Jean Borota, Henri Cochet and JacquesBrugnon, as well as other stars such asEllsworth Vines, Don Budge, Fred Perry,Bill Tilden and Jack Kramer.

One thing Wood brings to his analysisof the game, which the reader should re-member extends from his playing daysbefore World War II, never mind pre-Open tennis, this is pre-shorts, upnearly until his death in January of 2009,at the age of 97, is an unequaled expo-sure to every champion.

When Sidney Wood takes a shot atranking the all-time greats in our game,it’s a fascinating list because he sawthem all of them play and competedagainst players from Tilden to Gonzales.So Wood’s ranking of the greats andnear-greats alone makes this book worthreading. His top 10: Budge, Kramer, Tilden,Gonzales, Laver, Sampras, Perry, Borg,

Lendl and Connors. Wood makes goodarguments for those he includes andthose he leaves out. Tough luck forMcEnroe and Agassi.

David Wood, Sidney’s son, whohelped smooth some of the book’s pas-sages, notes that his father wasn’t ableto watch the current contenders for thatlist, Federer and Nadal, enough to ratethem, but that he respected what theyhave been able to accomplish.

Sidney Wood, who stayed involved inthe game after his playing days ended,was also responsible for the invention ofSupreme Court, the portable court usedby the pro tours for many years, and thecreation of box seats at the U.S. Openchampionships at Forest Hills, N.Y.

Wood tells the story that, at one of thefirst events that used his new surface,Ken Rosewall was playing Fred Stolle.As Stolle ran for a wide forehand, hebroke through a taped seam and fellunder the carpet. He ended up buriedup to his chest. Wood recounts that “Ipulled Fred to his feet, amid catcallsfrom the spectators, and used a staplegun to secure the selvages to the palletbelow.”

Even outside of the game, tennissavvy New Yorkers may remember, as Ido, seeing trucks zipping around mid-town streets bearing the logo of anotherone of Wood’s business ventures, theWoods-Budge laundry.

Whether as a competitor when maletennis players wore long pants, or as atennis-oriented laundry owner, SidneyWood’s book is a rich source of storiesabout tennis history.

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


Martina Hingis, a five-time GrandSlam champion, will be making areturn to the pro tour at the Aus-

tralian Open for her first time since2007 when she competed at the U.S.Open. She will be entering the mixed-doubles competition with partner RogerFederer. Hingis is aiming to earn amixed-doubles entry into the SummerOlympics held in London to take placenext summer.

She won five majors while in herteens and was number one in the worldat one point; she retired from play at theyoung age of 22 after having chronicankle problems. In 2006, Hingis playedtwo more seasons where she was ableto make it to the quarters of three Grand

Slams where she once again retiredafter testing positive for cocaine.

Hingis has since played for NewYork’s World TeamTennis teams for thepast two years and this will be her firstmajor Grand Slam re-emergence inmore than four years.

On Federer’s side of play, this will bethe first time he enters into a doublescompetition at a Grand Slam since2004. In order for Hingis to enter theOlympics, she has to gain rankingpoints to enter contention. The exactguidelines for entry into play are notclear, but a mixed-doubles entrance atthe Australian Open would be a goodbeginning to getting into the next Sum-mer Olympics.

Hingis to Team With Federer in Comeback at the Australian Open



By Eric Faro

There are many differentways to define “choking” ona tennis court. There is asimple definition to me.

Choking is when you get so nervous that itnegatively impacts your on-court perform-ance. There are a few keys to try and relaxyour body and your mind to avoid being sonervous that you “choke.”

� The first thing to remember when youare in a stressful situation on the courtis that your opponent is just as nervousas you are. This should help you realizethat you are not the only one feelingthe heat. Your opponent is also dealingwith the same feelings of tension andanxiety.

Remedies to Overcoming the on-the-Court Choke

�When you are in a tight situation on thecourt, the tendency is to overthink. Agood remedy when you overthink is tofocus on moving your feet. When youare at your tightest, your footwork getssloppy. When your nerves are gettingthe best of you, the tendency is to stopmoving.

�Make sure you take deep breaths be-tween points. Grunting can also helploosen you up. Instead of tensing upwhile hitting your shots, gruntingshould help you let out your nervousenergy. You will often hear players saythat when the match got tight, thingsseemed to “speed up.” By concentrat-ing on your footwork and breathing,you can transition back into your com-fort zone.

�Believe in yourself. When it comes tothat big point or having to hit that bigshot, you must have the confidence inyourself that you will get it done. Youhave to believe that all the time youhave spent practicing, all the sweatand tears, will all be worth it at crunchtime.

�Play as many matches and tourna-ments as possible. Nothing can actu-ally prepare you for the moments in amatch where you feel the most pres-sure. No matter what any coach tellsyou, no one knows exactly what isgoing through your mind in any partic-ular situation. There is nothing that canprepare you more than having been ina situation previously.

� The last, and in my mind, the most im-portant key to avoid choking, is stick-ing to what you do best. Some playerstry to over hit when they are extremelynervous. Other players get very tenta-tive in those situations. My advice isto play your game. Whatever you dobest on the court is what you shoulddo when things get tight. If you havea serve and volley game, then serveand volley. If you are a counter-puncher, then counter punch. Aboveall, play the game that has made yousuccessful.

By following these simple steps, youshould be able to turn around yournerves and perform at your best.

Eric Faro is program director at GothamTennis Academy and Stadium TennisCenter, just south of Yankee Stadium.Eric grew up in Riverdale and attendedHorace Mann, where he played numberone singles for all four years. He at-tended Ohio State University and wonmore than 100 matches during his colle-giate career. He may be reached by e-mail at [email protected], or onlineat www.stadiumtennisnyc.com orwww.gothamtennis.com.

“The first thing to remember when you are in a stressful situation on thecourt is that your opponent is just as nervous as you are.”


New York Tennis Magazine’s

Coaches RoundtableDiscussion

The New York City tennis community is blessed to have someof the best indoor facilities and best coaches in the worldright here in our backyard. Recently, New York Tennis Maga-

zine spoke with some of these top coaches to get some insightinto their coaching/training strategies, what they look for in a greatplayer, views on important local tennis topics, and an overview ofthe state of affairs in the world of tennis. Even the best coach canalways learn an extra tip or two, and the following article will pro-vide all players and coaches with a chance to learn from the best.

Meet the participants …Gabrielle BakerManhattan Plaza Racquet Club450 West 43rd StreetNew York, N.Y.(212) 594-0554ManhattanPlazaRacquetClub.comGabrielle Baker is a tennis pro with ManhattanPlaza Racquet Club. She grew up on Australia’s

“Gold Coast” near Brisbane and was ranked in the top-20 in Aus-tralia as recently as 2004. Gabby played on the international WTATour, and in 2004, reached a ranking of 450th in the world. Shewas offered a scholarship at the University of Oklahoma where

she attended from 2004-2007 and graduated with honors. Gabbywas captain of the women’s tennis team (2006-2007), was on theAll Big 12 Singles Team (2006) and a Big 12 Singles and DoublesChampion (2004), and made the All-American Team in 2006.Gabby has several years of teaching and coaching experienceboth in Australia and here in the United States for Nike TennisCamps, Cliff Drysdale Tennis and other tennis centers.

Jarett CascinoMidtown Tennis Club341 8th Avenue (27th Street)New York, N.Y.(212) 989-8572MidtownTennis.comJarett Cascino is a Minnesota native, with suc-cess as a junior in the Northern Section, win-

ning two Minnesota State Doubles Championships and finishinghis high school career as the Minnesota State Singles Cham-pion. He went on to play Division I Men’s Tennis at the Univer-sity of Wisconsin-Green Bay and was also the assistant tenniscoach. Jarett is a USPTA-certified professional and has coachedtennis in Minnesota, Wisconsin, the International Tennis Acad-emy in Florida, and was the head tennis professional at the DealCasino in Deal, N.J.


George GarlandGo! Tennis Programs at NorthShore Tennis and Racquets Club34-28 214th PlaceBayside, N.Y.(718) 224-6303GoTennisPrograms.comGeorge Garland is director of tennis and presi-

dent of Go! Tennis Programs at North Shore Tennis and RacquetsClub in Bayside, N.Y. A former coordinator of adult tennis at theUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Garland played onthe collegiate, satellite and senior levels. George, a national teach-ing clinician for the USTA, is a personal coach to numerous sec-tionally- and nationally-ranked juniors, as well as many television,music and movie personalities.

Thomas GillilandThe West Side Tennis ClubOne Tennis PlaceForest Hills, N.Y.(718) 268-2300, ext. 135ForestHillsTennis.comThomas Gilliland is assistant tennis director atThe West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, N.Y.

and is certified by the PTR. He recently completed Columbia Uni-versity’s Master of Sports Management program. Thomas is aUSTA/Eastern National Coach, sits on the USTA/Eastern MetroRegion Board of Directors and on the USTA/Eastern CoachesCommission. Under his direction, the Junior Program has grownenormously and the program displays his abundant energy, cre-ativity and professionalism.

Bruce HaddadJohn McEnroe Tennis Academy/Sportime Randall’s Island1 Randall’s IslandRandall’s Island, N.Y.(212) 427-6150JohnMcEnroeTennisAcademy.comBruce Haddad is assistant academy director

of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy at Sportime Randall’s Is-land. Born in New Jersey, Bruce was a standout junior player,reaching the number one ranking in the USTA Eastern Section,and achieving national top 10 rankings in the boys 12s, 14s and16s Divisions. As a junior, Bruce was the national clay courtchampion in singles and doubles and the national indoor cham-pion in the 14s Division, before winning the prestigious EasterBowl in the 16s. Bruce attended the University of Florida andgraduated from Arizona State University, where he achieved anational collegiate ranking of ninth nationally and was a two-time All-American, earning a degree in communications. Brucecompeted professionally, achieving an ATP ranking of 888th inthe world. Bruce was the co-owner and founder of Knicker-bocker Sports Tennis, was a professional coach on the WTATour and was manager and director of the Columbus RacquetClub in NYC.

Marvin JefferyCunningham Park Tennis Center196-00 Union TurnpikeFresh Meadows, N.Y.(718) 740-6800CunninghamSportsCenter.comMarvin Jeffery is competition coordinator/seniorteaching professional at Cunningham Park Ten-

nis Center in Fresh Meadows, N.Y. Marvin has been a standout ten-nis professional at Bay Terrace since 1998. He is currently coachingnumerous tournament players and attends many junior events. Inaddition, Marvin is competing in Men’s Open ETA tournaments andis ranked among the top players in his age group.

Whitney KraftUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis CenterQueens, N.Y.(718) 760-6200Whitney Kraft is director of tennis programs at theUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center anddirector of player operations for the U.S. Open. Anative of Summit, N.J., Whitney brings more than

25 years of tennis experience to the USTA Billie Jean King National Ten-nis Center. Prior to joining the USTA, Kraft served as director of tennisfor the city of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. where he oversaw the daily program-ming and operations of more than 45 courts at nine different facilities.As a tennis player, Kraft was a four-time National Mixed-Open Cham-pion and most recently in 2006, Kraft was the USPTA InternationalChampionship 45 Doubles Champion.

Ajay KumarNew York Tennis Club3081 Harding Avenue • Bronx, N.Y.(718) 239-7916NewYorkTennisClub.comAjay Kumar is currently the director of tennis at oneof the oldest tennis facilities in New York, the NewYork Tennis Club (NYTC), and is an assistant direc-

tor for the Advantage Tennis Clubs family, servicing out of four-majorlocations in Manhattan. Prior to taking over the director of tennis posi-tion at NYTC, Ajay was a partner at Metro Tennis Academy and was in-strumental in developing a renowned junior program that serviced bothrecreational and competitive players. He has participated in ITF- andUSTA- sanctioned tournaments. He graduated with a sports medicinedegree from Manhattan College, where he played competitively on itsDivision I varsity team and was a scholar-athlete.

Rich Reyes Gotham Tennis Academy and StadiumTennis Center725 Gateway Center Boulevard • Bronx, N.Y.(718) 665-4684 • StadiumTennisNYC.comRich Reyes is a director of tennis at GothamTennis Academy and Stadium Tennis Center.He can be reached by e-mail at info@stadi-

umtennisnyc.com or by calling (718) 665-4684.


Jason SpeirsRoosevelt Island Racquet Club281 Main Street • Roosevelt Island, N.Y.(212) 935-0250www.rirctennis.comJason Speirs is the tennis director at Roosevelt Is-land Racquet Club, part of the family of clubs forAdvantage Tennis Clubs, and teaches full time in

the junior program. Playing tennis for Assumption College, he be-came a doubles player at the national level, attaining a ranking of 24thfor Division II, and number three in the Northeast Region. His tennisbackground includes tournament director for the Rochester JuniorGrand Prix, teaching at The Harley School, New England TennisCamp, and prestigious clubs such as the International Tennis Hall ofFame. Jason has worked at RIRC since 2004 and is a USPTA-certi-fied teaching professional.

What are the best things you see about tennis in the NewYork area and do you have any concerns about the localtennis scene?Jarett Cascino: New York City is known for its diversity and tennis isa sport that people play around the world. Lots of people come outand the courts are starting to fill up with kids, tennis fanatics, or justbeginners holding a racquet for the first time! One major asset in ourtennis community is the competitive business nature of New YorkCity. Tennis clubs are much like any other enterprise or activity, eachclub is looking to retain existing clients and find new ones in order to

turn a profit. Thus, each club has to compete with the next one inorder to stay afloat. From improvements to infrastructure, all the wayto the staff teaching lessons, the pressure felt from the competitionmakes each club provide a better service to the customers.

There are really only two major concerns that I see with the local ten-nis scene. One is the availability of courts. New York City has a lot ofpeople, but not a lot of indoor tennis clubs comparatively. And becauseof that is the second major concern: The prices. If you really would liketo learn the game of tennis you should play two or three times a week,more for a progressing junior with aspirations of playing college tennis.You can get the parks pass and play on your own for relatively cheap;however, you are not guaranteed a court and you cannot play outsideall year long. In turn, people play at the few indoor clubs and pay top dol-lar. This means that not everyone can play all year long. We lose kids,especially to other team sports that are cheaper to finance. This is amajor concern for the growth and popularity of the sport in our area.George Garland: I think the best thing is the sport’s availability. Fromparks, to commercial facilities, to country clubs, there are a million pro-grams and opportunities to learn the sport and play. The downside ofthat, however, is that the quality of those programs isn‘t always what itcould be. Because of the great demand, there are people teaching thegame and running programs who just are not that qualified. In other areasof the country where there are fewer tennis jobs to be had, the level of ex-perience and professionalism required to get those jobs is much greater.Thomas Gilliland: The best thing about tennis in New York is howdiverse the players are. You can find any level and personality. Oneof my biggest concerns is the rise in price for the City Parks Per-

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mit and how it will affect how the accessibility of tennis is to thegeneral public in the future.Bruce Haddad: The best things I see about tennis in the New Yorkarea is that there are many more kids starting to play, and thosewho have been playing have continued in the sport. With thatbeing said, my concern is that most kids who are playing considerthe sport as a recreational activity and not taking it serious enoughto become a high level tournament player.Marvin Jeffery: The best things about tennis is that, for the mostpart, the people involved in the sport are fun and friendly.Ajay Kumar: The best things would be the growing number ofpeople wanting to play. The biggest concern, I feel, is the quality,accessibility and affordability of tennis facilities.Rich Reyes: The best things I see in New York City tennis is thatthe sport is growing and thriving with excitement. And with 10 &Under tennis, the game will keep kids in the sport longer. Mybiggest concern is the lack of high-quality courts in the city. On aper capita basis, the demand for tennis in New York City greatlyoutweighs the supply of courts, and too many courts are simply inpoor condition. There are too many courts that are not regulationsize and are improperly maintained.

What is your opinion of the state of American tennis?Gabrielle Baker: I feel the state of American tennis could be improvedif there was more unity. In other countries throughout the world, thebest players in the nation train together, travel together, work togetherand encourage each other. They utilize the best coaches that the coun-try has to offer and the government supports these programs.George Garland: American tennis has two very real problems. Thefirst is that there is not one centralized place where the best players inthe country go to train and compete against each other. Because weare a free capitalistic society, tennis is treated as a business. Every-body and their brother, literally, has an academy and claims to have allthe answers. Being in the tennis business and making great playersare two different things. Other countries know that. Making players isn’tthat complicated. Take the best players from a given area (in this case,the entire U.S.), have them train and compete and make each otherbetter, and you’ll end up with the one or two that become the best. Butbecause we are fractured into small groups with individual agendas,that doesn’t happen. The other problem is that, for the most part,American kids are just not that desperate. They have lots of options intheir life. In other countries, it’s make it or go home and work in the fac-tory. That’s not the case here in America.Bruce Haddad: My opinion of the state of American tennis is oneof major concern. The U.S. has a great run of success for manyyears, but over the last four to five years, it has regressed and itdoesn’t seem like this will change anytime soon.Ajay Kumar: American tennis is on the rise, but the governingbody doesn’t do enough to encourage players to practice/play intournaments held on Har-Tru/clay courts. Predominantly, all tour-naments are held on hard courts, and this is hard for young play-ers because they do not know how to transition to a clay surface.A clay surface develops patience and great playing strategies, toname a few key points, and most juniors around the world preferclay/Har-Tru courts to develop skills, footwork and mental abilityto develop their tennis, and in turn, success overall.

Rich Reyes: I am optimistic about the future of American tenniswith all of the young stars who are coming up. The USTA is com-mitted to giving opportunities to young talent which should ac-celerate the development of our country’s most talented players.Jason Speirs: I think American tennis is in shambles. It’s terrible thata nation as big as ours cannot produce more players per capita in thetop 10, let alone in the top 100. We have the money and resources toproduce exceptional players. We have phenomenal coaches at ourdisposal, but not enough kids who want to learn. I’ve found, and maybeI’m wrong (I’d like to be), that our kids think it’s enough to have a strongforehand and serve to become a top player in the world. Our youthlook up to who … Andy Roddick, James Blake and John Isner?! I hopethat the younger players like Mardy Fish, Alex Bogomolov, DonaldYoung, Ryan Sweeting, Ryan Harrison and Sam Querrey can changethe way our youth play tennis. Look at all the top 10 players! They canhit amazing shots off both sides and can/are willing to come to the net.I’d like to see our kids be more patient with their groundstrokes and will-ing to work on their net game.

Serena Williams had another outburst at this year’s U.S.Open. How would you address this sort of issue withkids who saw her outburst and may be negatively influ-enced by it? How would you handle poor sportsmanshipby one of your players? Jarett Cascino: I would say that Serena Williams normally has a greatattitude. Even when she is losing, she always competes and gives it herbest shot to with the match. Inexplicably, however, we saw a side of herthat let her emotions take control. Certainly the outburst had not helpedher whatsoever with her tennis game. At this point, I would go on to ex-plain that controlling your emotions during a tennis match is a consider-ably important facet of the game. A match can be won and lost onemotion and momentum, just look at the recent collapses of RogerFederer in tense situations. When I was a kid starting to play tourna-ments, I wasn’t always a good sport. It seemed so important to play ina tournament for a trophy. I’ve had my fair share of broken sticks inmatches I “should have won.” This may or may not answer the question,but I was given a rule by my long-time coach, boss and friend, and forme, it is something to live by. After you play a tennis match, you have 15min. to think about the match. Whether you win or lose, it doesn’t mat-ter. If you win, you can celebrate and be big headed or whatever for 15min. and then it’s done. If you lose, you can pout and be sad and thinkabout what could have gone differently, etc. for 15 min. and then thematch is behind you. I think this was the best rule for sportsmanship.My coach was really just telling me that winning a tennis match is not themost important thing in the world, and the result shouldn’t have any ef-fect on the rest of the day. George Garland: Handling behavior starts from the beginning. Weteach kids from the outset what is acceptable and what isn’t. It’simportant to develop good kids, as well as good players. Thegame of tennis has to enforce correct conduct as well. I don’tknow if Serena is a great example, because she really has gottenthe short end of the stick a few times. But I would say that JohnMcEnroe might have had an even greater career if the sport wouldhave dealt with his behavior earlier and more consistently.Bruce Haddad: I would address the issue as a major disappoint-ment to the kids and all those who saw it. I do not tolerate poor


sportsmanship by any of my players. There are consequences forthese actions, and I try to figure out the root of the behavior andteach them about controlling it.Rich Reyes: Serena’s outburst was a lapse in judgment. She let heremotions get the better of her. We all lose our cool and there are con-sequences to it. The key is to learn and grow from it. With our playersat Gotham Tennis Academy and Stadium Tennis Center, we mentorand encourage patience and staying in control of one’s emotions.Jason Speirs: I tell my kids off the bat that any negative outburst is un-acceptable. Yes, it feels good to let out the emotions, but it distracts youfrom focusing on how you’re going to construct the next point. If youare busy feeling bad for yourself, you potentially begin a negative spi-ral that becomes hard to stop. Poor sportsmanship is not tolerated. Ifmy kids cannot respect the game, they do not deserve to play. I’m strictabout respecting the coach and the game.

Since 10 & Under tennis has been implemented at yourclub, have you noticed an increase in participation ofkids in that age group?Whitney Kraft: The 10 & Under programs should have a great effectin the New York City area as the population density and numerousclubs and facilities should really build the local base, help with talentby attracting some of the better young athletes, as well as recreationalplayers. One concern in this area is cost of indoor court time.

At what age, if any, should a serious junior player focussolely on tennis instead of any other extracurricularactivities? Gabrielle Baker: A serious junior player aspiring to reach the col-legiate or professional level should consider limiting extracurricularactivities by the age of 11. National tournaments for 12 and underplayers are extremely competitive and require full commitment.Marvin Jeffery: By the age of nine or 10, because by the time theyhit 15 or 16, young players are already playing Futures and Satellites.Whitney Kraft: I’m not sure if this ever needs to occur. Extracurricu-lar activities develop and maintain better athletes and help preventplayers from getting stale from the sameness of one discipline/sport.Ajay Kumar: Around the ages of 12-14 is when a player shouldsolely focus on heavy competition. At this age, most of the motorskills that are known to them will be formed and developed, andthe same applies to their mental capacity of accepting competi-tion. Physically, the player develops their growth plates and bonestructure to help develop their muscles to strenuous competi-tion—the mental aspect works in sync to support the body.Jason Speirs: That’s a very tough question because the youngerthe child, the more important it is for them to learn new skills, andif they focus solely on tennis, the potential for burnout increasesdramatically. By the age of 14 or 15, the drive to train and suc-ceed must come from within. If a young teenager can make thiscommitment, then they will use everything around them, school,training, friends and family, to succeed.

How much involvement should a parent have in their child’stennis development? What role do you think the tennis par-ent should have and what should be left to the coach?Gabrielle Baker: Parents should play a major role in a child’s de-

velopment … off the court. There are many elements, like attitude,diet, discipline, sacrifice and off-court training, just to name a few,that the parents can be involved with. But in terms of coaching,technique and instruction, the coach should fulfill this role.Jarett Cascino: The parents should definitely play a role in the child’sdevelopment if the child has the desire to play. Every parent and fam-ily situation is different, but as a general rule if the child likes it andseems to be improving ask him/her if he would like to do another dayper week. If he already does a couple of days a week, then ask him/herif they would like to play tournaments, maybe then see if they can worktheir way up the USTA junior ranking system. In other words, give themevery opportunity they can to become a fully developed tennis playerif they seem to like it. I always encourage parents to go out and hit withtheir kids or do extra practice on the side somehow. The parent shouldhave some knowledge of what the strengths and weakness of the childare so that they can work on them together. However, at a certain level,leave the teaching up to the professional, just work on the stuff theylearned in class. Every situation is different. If the parent has a true un-derstanding of all aspects of the game, including technique, scoring,strategy, and the intelligent use of power and plays at a reasonablelevel, they should take a much more active role in the development.But, if the kid’s technique becomes better than the parent’s technique,just go out and let him/her practice hitting the ball with only telling themthe basics.Thomas Gilliland: It depends on a million different variables,but the main thing is to be open about boundaries. Once every-one is comfortable with them and they have been established,stick with them with the understanding that they can be re-eval-uated later on.Whitney Kraft: The operative word is quality of involvement,not quantity. This is the same for coaching. Quantity wouldvary to produce desirable changes without overload or unduepressure. A parent’s role should focus upon providing a solidsupport system.Ajay Kumar: Both parent and coach have a direct impact on a player.Stories of players listening to their coaches more than parents are ram-pant. Coaches become role models, and parents should let the coachdo their job on the court. They should be the sole developer of theplayer on the court, as the parent should be helping the player developpositive attitudes off the court, and encouraging the player, whether ina defeat or win. This way, the perspectives are clear and roles are de-fined. The player will recognize this and listen and work accordinglyand develop their overall game. Players will no doubt respond to a par-ent’s call, as well as a coaches’ work ethic. It would be a tremendoushelp where coaches also click to a parents’ personality as it will bemuch easier to communicate with each other.

What qualities do you look for in a junior player thatmakes them stand out from the rest of the pack as a po-tential top player?Thomas Gilliland: We look for a lot of the same things thatother coaches in other sports look for (coordination, speed,stamina, focus), but tennis is an individual sport and might re-quire a mental toughness and maturity that team sports do notrequire. Time management skills are also a huge advantage fortop players because their schedules can be so demanding.


Marvin Jeffery: I look for players who are superb athletes, as wellas a mental sponge. I look for the kid who is committed to beinga student of the game.Rich Reyes: Identifying talent is not easy. One key for me is tosee the type of character a player has. Physical talent is impor-tant, but it’s the emotional and mental aspects of a player thatoften makes the difference between good and great. Jason Speirs: Work ethic is key … that will make or break aplayer. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’twork hard, you’re not going to reach your potential, or expandas a player and you’re certainly not going to respect the blood,sweat and tears that goes into becoming a champion.

What in your teaching/coaching philosophy do youthink is the backbone of your teaching and coachingmethods?Jarett Cascino: I am a big advocate of teaching people not justtechnique, but teaching them how to keep score properly, servetheir own ball in the court, and play a set of tennis when acoach is not present. I work on the basic foundation, but it is allup to the player to go out on their own and play. In the last fewyears, it has become easier to learn the game because of“QuickStart” tennis. Bigger balls and regular-sized “low com-pression” balls are used with mini nets and smaller racquets so

that children can rally. It is really great. Proper technique isbeing taught, and kids are learning to rally and play a tennismatch!George Garland: I’ve always broken the game down into fourmain areas: the mechanical, strategic, physical, and mental/emo-tional. I start with technique and try to give the player sound, cur-rent strokes in all parts of the court. From there, as they developas a player, it becomes more about the other areas. Ultimately, itcomes down to what’s in their head and inside their heart. Thebiggest thing I can give a player is the strength to understand andaccept that they are responsible and accountable for their per-formance and results.Thomas Gilliland: Making sure that the player’s technique is bio-mechanically sound will help prevent injury and get the most outof their game. Tennis is something that should be enjoyed for therest of their lives. I find that being patient and focusing on the goodthings someone is doing is far more effective than always pickingon what someone is doing wrong.Bruce Haddad: The backbone of my coaching method is that Itry to teach the kids to master their minds. The bottom line is thatif you give 100 percent effort and don’t beat yourself up, regard-less of the outcome, you will be a winner.Marvin Jeffery: My belief is that you have to be willing to adaptwhile still staying true to your fundamentals.


By Ricky Becker

At this point in my collegeconsulting career, each of myconsults fall into one of a few

categories. For example, many consultsare with parents of freshmen in high schoolwho want to know whether their childshould make an academic or athletic runthrough college doors. Other clients wantto know what colleges might be interestedin giving their child a scholarship. Otherclients have children outside of the IvyLeague ranking threshold, but want to betold (falsely) that there is some backdoorway in. Sometimes, I will know the situa-tion before meeting with the family, andsometimes, I won’t know.

One particular consult I did over thesummer did not fall into an aforemen-tioned category. I looked up the player ontennisrecruiting.net and did not see thename. I was also told the player neverplayed in a tournament. I had a feelingthat this player had good grades and Iwas told that the player was number oneon her high school team.

“Okay,” I thought, “This is probablygoing to be one of those sobering consultswhere I need to tell someone that if theywant to play college tennis, they will needto take an academic drop. Not get thebump up they are looking for.”

When I met the girl’s father, he was avery nice guy which made my job harder.We started talking, and I encouraged himto enter his daughter in USTA tourna-ments. Then he asked me about a lot ofthe top academic schools and is it possi-ble to play tennis at any of them withoutsetting foot onto a court in a USTA tour-nament. I empathetically said no. Not un-

less she tries out for a team and some-how makes it, but circumstances like thisare rare.

“That’s unfortunate,” the father said. “Ithought club tennis was always an option.”

Wow. I knew club tennis was growingacross the U.S., and I also knew that therewere club nationals where nationally-ranked juniors played. But I never thoughtthat club tennis would really quench a ten-nis player’s thirst for competition. I didsome research and virtually 80 to 90 per-cent of Division I teams have a club team.

“Sure,” I told the father a couple ofweeks later. “There are plenty of club ten-nis options out there.” However, there aresome pros and cons to club tennis toconsider.

The pros� There are inter-collegiate nationals for

club tennis as there is for varsity tennis.In fact, the level of top club teams (usualbig state schools) is higher than someDivision I varsity teams and many Divi-sion III varsity teams.

�At some schools, club teams have a bet-ter chance of going away to the nationalchampionships for club tennis than thevarsity team does for the NCAA Cham-pionships.

� The commitment for club tennis is oftenwhat one wants it to be. If you can’tmake a practice, it’s usually not a bigdeal.

�Often, a bench-warmer for a varsityteam would be a star for a club team.Some people would have a much morefulfilling college tennis experience play-ing high on a club team, rather than rid-ing the bench and not playing teammatches.

Mythbusters: College Club Tennis is for Losers�With fundraising as a part of club tennis,

often the camaraderie among the play-ers on the team is tighter than that ofvarsity tennis. Fundraisers can oftenbuild team unity.

� There is less pressure to perform on aclub team then there is on a varsityteam. Nobody is playing to keep theirscholarship.

The cons�Club tennis does not hold the same

cache with would-be job interviews outof college.

� The search for funds could sometimesbe a nuisance.

� There is sometimes a struggle for courttime while the varsity team doesn’t reallyneed to think about such things.

�Club tennis does not provide scholar-ships, nor does it give a student whoplans to play club tennis a real academicbump.

�Club tennis is not as organized as var-sity tennis.

Overall, club tennis is a sound alterna-tive for someone who has a strong procliv-ity for a school but won’t make the tennisteam. Club tennis is also ideal for some-one who wants to play college tennis ontheir own terms. For more information, visitTennisOnCampus.com.

Ricky Becker is founder of JuniorTennis-Consulting LLC, which offers off-court col-lege guidance services to junior tennisplayers. He is also director of tennis atSportime Bethpage. He can be reached bye-mail at [email protected], by phoneat (516) 605-0420 or via JuniorTennisCon-sulting.com.


Since its inaugural season in 1979, noteam based on the South Shore ofLong Island has won the Long Island

Men’s Tennis League (LIMTL). On Aug. 24,that all changed as Inwood Country Club,captained by Lionel Goldberg and co-cap-tained by Jonathan Klee, defeated Cold

Spring Valley 4-1 to take the championship.Finishing in second place in the regularseason behind Woodbury at Crest HollowCountry Club, Inwood defeated two-timedefending champion Shelter Rock TennisClub in the semifinals 3-2 before playingCold Spring Valley in the finals. The team,

Inwood Country Club Captures Their FirstLIMTL Championship

which previously played their matches atthe Village of Lawrence Club, is comprisedof Inwood Country Club members andplayers who live on the South Shore ofLong Island. Inwood Country Club will addtheir name to the league trophy alongsideprevious LIMTL winners Shelter Rock,Woodbury, North Shore, Fleetwood, Wild-wood, Cold Spring Valley, Bethpage, Pi-quet Lane and Hunting Hills.

The LIMTL is comprised of seven teams,with six based on the North Shore, andmatches are played every Wednesdaynight starting from the second week in Maythrough August. Limited to players who are35 years-of-age or older and made up ofpredominately 5.0 and 4.5 Level players,the LIMTL consists of five Har-Tru doublescourts. Individual match results for the reg-ular season and playoffs, and more infor-mation on the LIMTL can be found on theleague Web site, LIMTL.com.


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Good to Great:A Model for Safely Building the Tennis Champions of Tomorrow (Part II):

Perhaps the most im-portant quality for suc-cess in tennis is

steadiness and the avoid-ance of errors. It mightcome as a surprise then,that in practice “Blue

Chips” miss more shots than “Five Stars,”while “Five Stars” miss more shots than“Four Stars,” etc.

If you are thinking that superior players missmore balls because they hit more balls, thenyou are on the right track, but that is not thecomplete story. Better players have a higherfailure rate in hitting shots than lesser players,because failure is necessary for achievement.As psychologist S.W. Tyler points out in his ex-tensive study on human performance, “Thepower of practice is most profound when it ischallenging rather than nice and easy.” Almostevery study on performance excellence con-curred that only by endeavoring to masterwhat you cannot do, will you become an ex-pert on what you desire to become.

Malcolm Gladwell, in his best-selling bookon performance, Outliers, talked extensivelyabout the quantity of practice that is needed tobecome a master at any skill. He identified10,000 hours of deep concentration in theperformance of a skill that is needed to attainexpert status. Anders Ericsson, a psycholo-gist at Florida State University, who performedperhaps the most extensive study on humanperformance achievement, calls this practice“deliberate practice.” I would go further andcall this “Practical Practice.”

The most productive practices are thosewhich are challenging and specifically-de-signed to adapt to the demands of the skillsnecessary for achievement.

College coaches, for example, often havetheir team members run anywhere from oneto five miles with the notion that, since ten-

nis requires strong conditioning as does run-ning, “If you can run two miles in 12 min.,then you can play top-level tennis.” Thisconvoluted logic is straight out of the“Dodgeball” school of training, in whichthe coach threw wrenches at his playersand said, “If you can dodge a wrench, thenyou can dodge a ball.”

I call this practice “convoluted” be-cause it does not specifically target andaddress the demands of tennis. The aver-age run in tennis is seven feet, not twomiles. The sport is a series of short, nu-merous, fast amortization, high intensity,multi-directional sprints, not a moderatelyfast, long and linear run. Moderate runsmay actually be a hindrance since theyencourage the development of a low run-ning gait and slow twitch muscle fiber. Ifyou are going to spend the time and en-ergy on practice, then I suggest you firstidentify the actual goal and target thepractice to be practical, addressing thespecific demands of that which you seekto accomplish. In this case, if you wish tobe adept at short, reactive, explosive,multi-directional sprints, then build VO2Max with quick directional change runsusing a 3:1 Tabata protocol.

Failure does not need to be discourag-ing since success does not impact thelearning potential of the experience thatcan be achieved from feedback.

For example, let’s say you and I are be-ginners at darts, and we each are given1,000 chances to hit a bullseye from 10 ft.You get to closely examine the result ofeach toss, but I must look away after toss-ing the dart. If you toss too high, then youwill immediately know and lower your aim.If you hit the bullseye, then you may rein-force your aim. As long as you have createdperfect conditions for feedback, then you

will learn and improve. Since I have no op-portunity for feedback, I may succeed, butI will not learn and progress. Therefore, it isthe quality of the feedback that determinesthe learning potential of the experiencerather than the success of the objective.

The most successful players have inter-nalized the joy of practice, rather than thethrill of victory. Monica Seles said, “I just loveto practice and drill and all that stuff.” SerenaWilliams revealed, “It felt like a blessing topractice because we had so much fun.” TigerWoods once said, “My dad never asked meto go play golf. I asked him.” These players alldemonstrate a growth mindset in which thejoy of the process is the driving force for as-pirations rather than a fixed mindset in whichresults are the motivation.

Many players confuse hitting tennis ballswith meaningful and practical practice. Inorder for players to go from good to great,they must practice with a clear and practicalpurpose. They must step out of their comfortzone and take joy in the process of improve-ment, knowing that failures are inevitable.They must rid their practices of the emotionalinterference that is precipitated by failure, sothat they get quiet and productive feedback.Every shot is a learning experience.

Steve Kaplan is the owner of BethpagePark Tennis Center, as well as the directorof Reebok Academy for New York CityParks Foundation. Over the last 33 years,Steve has been the longtime coach of morethan 500 nationally-ranked junior players,14 state high school champions, two NCAADivision 1 Singles Champions, and numer-ous touring professionals and prominentcoaches. Steve’s students have beenawarded in excess of $7 million in collegescholarship money. He may be reached bye-mail at [email protected].

Why Failure is Necessary


Iam still fired up from thisyear’s U.S. Open … themost physical Grand

Slam tournament I’ve everbeen a part of since I beganplaying in 1983. Before the

tournament began, there was an earth-quake centered in Washington, D.C. andfelt on the USTA Billie Jean King NationalTennis Center with no physical damageto the site of the Open. A Hurricanenamed Irene put a direct hit on the U.S.Open grounds just a day before the tour-nament began. The matches were de-layed by just an hour on the field courtsand two hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium.Two solid days of rain in the secondweek pushed the women’s final to Sun-day and the men’s final to a third Mon-day. In addition, you must also take intoaccount the emotional toll of the 10thanniversary of Sept. 11 on the New Yorkarea, as so many of the professional ten-nis family have connections to thattragedy. The event I was supposed toparticipate in at the 2011 U.S. Open, the“Dead Division” or the “Over Your Play-ing Weight by 35 Pounds Division,” akathe “Former Champions Division,” wascancelled due to the bad weather.

The entire tournament presented someamazing challenges and still producedone of the best U.S. Opens in history. Themen’s final was a match that reflected therough and tough U.S. Open of 2011.Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal infour sets, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1, but by thefourth set, both players had gone pastempty and were playing on fumes.Djokovic tweaked his lower back late inthe third set and Nadal poured every

ounce of energy, power and will into win-ning the third set. It was the most physi-cal men’s Grand Slam final I have everseen. I have seen the five-set thrillers inother Slams, but this final was played at alevel none of those were played at. I havenever seen anyone wear Nadal out, butDjokovic did. The pace of the rallies wasat a level in the third set I have never seenin the game. Nadal dug so deep into him-self to redline to the max in order to winthe third set and stay alive in the final.Nadal was so spent after the third set, thateven an injured Djokovic was too much tohandle. Djokovic is 6-0 against Nadal thisseason alone, and Nadal must evolve as aplayer once again to compete for the topspot in the world. Like Rafa did as a claycourt player to win Wimbledon and lastyear’s U.S. Open, Nadal must adapt hisgame to beat Djokovic.

That is the beauty of our game. It will

always challenge you to come up withmore to succeed. If you don’t … the gamewill pass you by. The game gets better …are you getting better? Go for the lines!

Born in Grayling, Mich., Luke Jensen ishead coach of the Syracuse UniversityWomen’s Tennis Team. Jensen’s resumeincludes 10 ATP Tour doubles titles andsingles victories against Andre Agassi,Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe,Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, BorisBecker, Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier.Jensen and his brother, Murphy, won the1993 French Open doubles title. He wasalso a member of the 1991 and 1992Davis Cup Teams. His ambidextrous play,including his ability to serve the ball witheither hand at 130 mph, earned him thenickname “Dual Hand Luke.” He may bereached by phone at (315) 443-3552 ore-mail [email protected].

Phone: 917-355-9290See My Portfolio at

www.photoshelter.com/c/kennethgoldberg

Official Photographer for Long Island and New York Tennis Magazine

Actor’s Headshotsand Sports Photography

Are My Specialties.

Kenneth GoldbergPHOTOGRAPHER


By Michael Sarro

While people play sports for many differentreasons, the ultimate goal of playing a sportis to win. In New York City high school tennis,there has been one team that, for the past 13years, has yet to fail at that goal, the LadyTerriers from St. Francis Prep.

Thirteen years ago, John Brennan took thegirl’s tennis team coaching job for St. FrancisPrep. Never did he imagine that during histenure there, his team would never lose amatch. When this issue went to press, CoachBrennan’s record as head coach of the St.Francis Prep Lady Terriers is an astounding199-0! In that time span, the team has won 13league titles (including this year), 12 StateChampionships and 12 Mayor’s Cups.

A record of 199-0 is almost unheard of inany sport at any level. According to CoachBrennan, the reason why his teams have beenable to see such a high degree of success isin large part due to the amount of talent thatconsistently attends the school, as well as theregiment they use to prepare for matches.

“You have to have talent in order to suc-ceed,” said Brennan. “Once you have thenecessary talent, what you do from there isimportant as well. Our team practices a lot,four to five days a week and two hours a day.I even work with the girls during the summerto keep them in shape and make sure theyare getting the necessary playing time in.”

When asked about the degree of competi-tion in the league, Coach Brennan said, “Thecompetition in the league is good, but it couldbe better. Top junior players often do notchoose to play for their high school team, butwith my team, I encourage it for our top play-ers. I often use the example of one of my for-mer players, Shinann Featherston, who wasranked number one in the USTA Eastern Sec-tion and ranked in the top 10 nationally. Play-

ing for our team helped her inher personal matches and ulti-mately prepared her for her col-lege career.”

St. Francis Prep’s team hasgained such a reputation thatthe best local players often at-tend the school to play tennis.When parents approach CoachBrennan, they often ask aboutpossible scholarships.

“Often, when girls come out for the team,parents ask about scholarships and while Iwould love to recruit on that level, I tell themthat we obviously cannot offer any money,”said Coach Brennan. “What we can offer isthat your child will improve their tennis game,while also getting a great education andpreparation for college.”

Undefeated teams have the added pres-sure and high expectations to win all the time.

“I constantly feel pressure to win, as I amcompetitive and don’t like to lose,” saidCoach Brennan. “However, if we were to lose,I wouldn’t make any excuses. If someonebeats us, they beat us.”

To Coach Brennan and the girls of theteam, the ultimate goal is to win the Mayor’sCup (the New York City Championship). TheMayor’s Cup means the most to the team asit encompasses all divisions (public schools,private schools and Catholic schools) to finda city champion. Before the season began,the team set the goal of going undefeatedand winning the Mayor’s Cup again. Accord-ing to number one singles player, senior KatieDerienzo, “Winning the Mayor’s Cup willmean a lot to us this year. There are a lot ofgood teams which makes it that much morespecial to win it”.

Number three singles player, SamanthaRosca-Sipot, added, “To win the Mayor’sCup this year would mean even more to me

because I am a senior and would like to endmy career with another City Championship.”

When asked what separates this teamfrom the others in the league, Samanthareplied, “I think a lot of it has to do with ourteam atmosphere. We all get along so welland have fun every day in our practices andmatches. We have become a small familyand want to win for each other.”

When asked the same question, Derienzoanswered, “I believe a lot of it has to do withCoach Brennan. He always wants us to im-prove and motivates us constantly. He pushesus to play our best and we want to win for him.”

Both girls are currently looking at collegesand plan to play tennis for whichever schoolthey attend.

All good things must come to an end, andthis streak might end next year due to the factthat St. Francis is losing an astounding sevenseniors from this year’s team. Next year mightbe an uphill battle, but based on past success,I don’t think anyone would be surprised to seeanother undefeated season from the LadyTerriers en route to another City/State Champi-onship and Mayor’s Cup Championship.

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

St. Francis Prep Keeps the Streak Alive


The South Brooklyn Tennis Association(SBTA) and USTA/Eastern recently partici-pated in the “Vive Tu Vida! Get Up! Get Mov-ing!” event in the Bronx at the Fordham

Road Ren-a i ssanceF e s t i v a l .The event,presentedto promotep h y s i c a lactivity, nu-

trition, and various health screenings, wassponsored by the Hispanic Federation withthe National Alliance for Hispanic.

SBTA and USTA/Eastern were on hand topromote the 10 & Under Tennis initiative usingthe QuickStart format. Jose Rodriguez,USTA/Eastern tennis services representa-tive and Pablo Sierra, SBTA and chair ofthe Volunteer Committee, were on hand toperform the QuickStart demonstration, andAlexis DeJesus, SBTA volunteer, was man-

aging the booth.The weather was not

great, but as the cloudsdeparted and the crowdarrived, the event wasswamped with theeager Bronx crowd, onhand to take part inthe day’s activities ofhealth screenings,music, food, salsa music, dancing, and ofcourse, tennis. Within a very short period oftime, there were between 15,000-20,000 peo-ple converged on a five to six block radius en-joying the festivities.

The SBTA and USTA/Eastern booth wascrowded with individuals requesting informa-tion regarding local tennis, and after fourhours, all of the complimentary copies of NewYork Tennis Magazine, the Official Publicationof the USTA/Eastern-Metro Region, which in-cluded all literature regarding 10 & Under Ten-nis, were gone.

The SBTAcontends thatplaying tennisevery otherday for 50-60min. is a greatway of reduc-ing stress, and even lowering glucose lev-els in the event you are diabetic.

Pablo Sierra is USTA/Eastern-Metro RegionBrooklyn Representative. He may be reachedby e-mail at [email protected].

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Ready for the football seasonSabine Lis icki(@sabinelisicki): Myfavorite player isDrew Brees, so I’mgoing with the

Saints! :) But I still remember how great Pack-ers played in the Super Bowl …

John Isner (@JohnIsner):Patrick Peterson meet#89 Steve Smith. Thisain’t LSU rook. Best in theleague …

What do they do in their time off?Caroline Wozniacki(@carowozniacki): Camehome today, unpacked,went grocery shoppingand cooked. Proud of my-self LOL. Now I am tired,lying in bed chilling.

Serena Williams(@serenawilliams): Hadan amazing time atHamptons Party tonightwith @Venuseswilliams.

Novak Djokovic (@Djok-erNole): I had a goodday off today: Had agood hit, relaxing dinnerand I‘m ready for tomor-row’s challenge.

S a n i a M i r z a - M a l i k(@mirzasania): Spa daytoday with @anammirza :)Girls have to pamper them-selves sometimes :)

Serena Williams (@sere-nawilliams): With @andy-roddick we miss you@ B r o o k l y n D D e c k e rAndy’s nuts!!!!!

Justin Gimelstob (@ justingimel-stob): Hanging at Yankee Sta-dium.

Victoria Azarenka(@vika7): Watched V.Klitchko fight! Great vic-tory! Congrats! Realstrong!

Sabine Lis icki(@sabinelisicki):Horseback ridinganyone? :D

Hurricane Irene had them scaredSania Mirza-Malik (@mirza-sania): Hurricane Irene com-ing … supposedly the worst in100 years … Yikes! Hit at 8:30a.m. tomorrow before every-thing shuts down.

Serena Williams (@ser-enawilliams): Ok. Its offi-cial. I’m scared. I’m inNYC. Oh boy … #Hurri-caneIrene :(

Sabine Lis icki(@sabinelisicki):Flights are can-celled because ofthe hurricane ...

Hope to find a solution soon! Now I’m off tobed. Good night <3.

Fashion Week has them excitedSerena Williams (@sere-nawilliams): Wow. Fash-ion Night out, footballgame opener, U.S. OpenTennis … And I havehomework :(

Carol ine Wozniacki(@carowozniacki): NYCis so busy tonight …Fashion Week starting!!

Victor ia Azarenka(@vika7): Aloha people!I’m back in the plane andback to NY for a coupleof days! I’m going to

Fashion Week :) First time! So I’m really re-ally excited!


Open congrats!Sabine Lisicki(@sabinelisicki):So proud of mydoubles partnerSam to win her

first Grand Slam title!

Bob Bryan (@Bryanbros):Congrats to Sam Stosur.

C a s e y D e l l a c q u a(@caseydel lacqua) :Congrats Sammy …bloody awesome game!

Anastasia Rodionova(@arodionova): Woohoo!Sam won U.S. Open!!!!Bravo!

K a t i e O ’ B r i e n(@kat ie jobr ien) :Sam Stosur … RE-SPECT!

Amer Delic (@amerdelic):Congrats to my neigh-bor Sam Stosur onwinning the U.S. Open!Well done.

Taylor Dent (@taylor-dent81): I hope every-one is enjoying thistennis as much as Iam!! These guys are in-credible!

Shahar Peer (@shaharpeer):WWWWOOOOWWWWwhat a match Nadal vs.Djokovic!

Carol ine Wozniacki( @ c a r o w o z n i a c k i ) :Watching Nole againstNadal … What a final!

Among the celebrities who attended the open

• Donald Trump• Jeremy Piven• Vanessa Hudgens• Justin Timberlake• Beyonce• Jay-Z• Brooklyn Decker• Chris Bosh• Will Ferrell• Olivia Munn

Zvonareva bares all for magazineWorld number threeranked Russian tennis starVera Zvonareva hastaken it off for ESPN: TheMagazine’s “Body Issue,”posing nude for a pictorialalongside other notable

sports celebs including Jose Reyes of the NewYork Mets, U.S. Women’s soccer star HopeSolo, and speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno.

Savic banned for life for fixing matches

Serbian tennis playerDavid Savic hasbeen hit with a life-time ban from thesport for attempting

to fix multiple matches. Savic was fined$100,000 after being found guilty of threeviolations. These bans begin immediatelyand at the time of the ban, he was ranked659th. Just this past May, DanielKoellerer was banned as well for life forthe same violation.

First Lady Michelle Obama loves tennis

At the 2011 U.S.Open, First LadyMichelle Obamaapplauded theUSTA for engag-ing millions ofchildren in tennis,introducing ten-nis into thou-

sands of elementary schools throughoutthe country, and building more than2,000 courts that provide a place foryoung people to play tennis. The USTA’sefforts were part of its partnership withboth the President’s Council on Physi-cal Fitness and the First Lady’s Let’sMove! initiative to encourage more chil-dren to become active and lead health-ier lifestyles. The USTA exceeded itscommitment.

The First Lady was in New York to par-ticipate in a USTA 10 and Under TennisClinic at the U.S. Open. She was joinedby several current and former tennischampions including Billie Jean King,Serena Williams, John McEnroe,James Blake, MaliVai Washington andKatrina Adams, as she thanked childrenfrom the Harlem Junior Tennis and Edu-cation Program for participating in herLet’s Move! initiative.

“I have been trying to get to the U.S.Open my entire life. I am so incredibly ex-cited to finally be at my first U.S. Open, but I amequally excited and proud to be standing inpartnership with the USTA and all they havedone for hundreds of thousands of kids acrossthis country. You are an example of what wecan do when we put our minds to it,” said FirstLady Michelle Obama. “I am again grateful tothe USTA. The courts you build, these kids-sized courts, are just amazing. They will breakthat barrier; they will make tennis accessible tokids… I am so proud of the USTA.”

continued on page 36

• Blake Lively• The Iceman• Bar Refaeli• Owen Wilson• Christine Taylor• Ben Stiller• Dennis Leary• Bradley Cooper• Alec Baldwin• Adrian Grenier


Djokovic breaks ATP money mark in 2011

Novak Djokovic’s nightwin over Rafael Nadalin the finals of the 2011U.S. Open earned theworld’s top-rankedmen’s singles tennis

player a $2.3 million payout, pushing theSerbian’s earnings in 2011 to date overthe $10.6 million mark. Djokovic’s $2.3million U.S. Open payout consisted of$1.8 million for winning the event, plus a$500,000 bonus for finishing second inthe U.S. Open Series Standings.Djokovic’s win over Nadal in a rematch oflast year’s U.S. Open finals, gave thenumber one-ranked ATP player his 64thwin of the year with just two losses in 12tournaments to date in 2011.

Djokovic will make more money in2011 than any other men’s professionalplayer during a full season, topping hisfinals opponent Nadal who took homearound $10 million last year, while partic-ipating in 17 tournaments and Switzer-land’s Roger Federer who earnedaround $10 million as well in 2007 andtook part in 16 tournaments.

McIlroy and Wozniacki verify romantic link

U.S. Open champand golfer RoryMcIlroy has admit-ted that he is ro-mantically involved

with top-ranked WTA star CarolineWozniacki from Denmark. McIlroy’s ad-mission verifies a relationship that hasbeen long-rumored as McIlory has beenspotted in New Haven, Conn. supportingWozniacki at the New Haven Open at theConnecticut Tennis Center in Yale.

“Obviously, different sports, but we’repretty much in the same position at ayoung age and we can talk about thingsthat probably a lot of 21-, 22-year oldscan’t talk about,” said McIlroy. “It’s nice tohave someone that sort of understandswhat you’re going through.”

Venus vs. Shaq for OreosVenus Williams joined Shaquille O’Nealon “FOX & Friends” with host BrianKilmeade at FOX Studios in New York

City battling it out overOreos at Chelsea Piersin tennis, basketball andan Oreo-eating contestas part of the promotion

for the new Triple Double Oreo. Venuslost the competition after Shaq’s Oreo-eating team defeated hers.

“Shaq got lucky today but it was reallyfun,” said Venus.

Shaq said of Venus, “She’s fabulous.She’s always been a great athlete.”

Serena and Roddick to team up?Serena Williams hasdropped an intriguingTwitter bombshell, withthe former number one

hinting that she might be teaming up withAndy Roddick for some mixed-doubles inAustralia. Her post-U.S. Open tweet, however,begs as many questions as it answers.

“Me and @andyroddick decided to playmixed-doubles Australia! We love Aussie!Book it, it’s real!,” the Tweet read.

2012 Australian Open to Offer$25 Million in Prizes

Hometown hero and 2011 U.S. Open champ Stosur to receive hero’s welcome Down Under

The 2012 Australian Open, set for Jan. 16-29 at Melbourne Park will be therichest tournament in Grand Slam tennis history, with the winners of boththe men’s and women’s singles to pocket $2.2 million U.S. and a total of

$25 million U.S. will be paid out at the event.French Open Director Craig Tiley expects defending champion Kim Clijsters

and 2011 U.S. Open finalist Serena Williams to participate on the women’sside of the draw, in addition to Australia’s own Samantha Stosur, the 2011U.S. Open champion.

“We know that Kim’s been out for most of the year, but she’s planning onbeing back to defend her title,” said Tiley. “We’ve still got three months to go,but the last communication is that she’s planning on being back. The samething with Serena, she unfortunately missed this year’s Open [2011 AustralianOpen] with her injury, but she’s back playing, we all saw at the finals of theU.S. Open, and she’ll be here too.”

The fan favorite on the women’s side of the draw will be Australian nativeStosur. Coming off her 2011 U.S. Open title, Stosur, currently ranked seventhin the world, will receive a heroes’ welcome.

“We are so proud of Sam Stosur. The importance of her spectacular suc-cess at the U.S. Open, winning convincingly over Serena Williams in her ownbackyard, cannot be underestimated and is a huge boost for the sport in Aus-tralia,” said Tennis Australia CEO Steve Wood. “Sam and her team haveworked so hard and so consistently over a long period of time, and GrandSlam success, achieved by only a select few, is a well-deserved reward.”


The United States women’s tennisteam has won the gold medal andbronze medal in girls

singles tennis at the PanA m e r i c a n G a m e s i nGuadalajara, Mexico. Thenumber two seed, NewYork’s Irina Falconi capturedthe gold medal afterdefeating Puerto Rico’sMonica Puig, 6-3, 6-2. Thelast American woman towin a tennis gold medal atthe Pan American Gameswas Pam Shr iver in1991.Another local product,the top-seeded 19-year-oldChristina McHale fromEnglewood Cliffs, N.J., wonthe bronze medal, defeatingArgent ina’s F lorenciaMolinero, 6-1, 6-1.

Currently ranked 77th in the world,Falconi turned pro 18 months ago fol-lowing a stellar two-year career at Geor-

New York City’s Irina Falconi Wins Gold Medal at Pan American Games

gia Tech, where was named the 2010 Col-lege Player of the Year. She had her best

result as a professional atthe 2011 U.S. Open,reaching the third roundafter upsetting Slovakia’sDominika Cibulkova in thesecond round in ArthurAshe Stadium. Falconicompeted in the threeother Grand Slam tourna-ments this year, qualify-ing for the AustralianOpen and Wimbledonand winning a USTA play-off to earn a wild cardinto the French Open.

Currently ranked a ca-reer-high 42nd, McHalebecame the youngestplayer in the WTA Top 50after reaching the third

round of the 2011 U.S. Open where shedefeated the number eight seed, MarionBartoli of France in the second round.

Three weeks prior, McHale upset thetop-ranked women’s player in the world,Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, at theOlympus U.S. Open Series event inCincinnati. McHale trains at the USTATraining Center-East at the USTA BillieJean King National Tennis Center inFlushing, N.Y., and was one the first play-ers to train full-time at the USTA PlayerDevelopment Headquarters in BocaRaton, Fla., as part of the residency pro-gram from 2007-2010.

The Pan American Games are heldevery four years in the year immediatelyprior to the Olympic Games, and tennishas been contested at the Games sincethe event’s inception in 1951. Among theAmericans who have won a gold medalin singles at the Pan American Gamesare Althea Gibson (1959, singles), ArthurAshe (1967, mixed-doubles), PatrickMcEnroe (1987, men’s doubles), PamShriver (1991, singles, women’s doubles,and mixed-doubles), and Paul Goldstein(1999, singles).

New York’s Irina Falconi, cur-rently ranked 77th in the world,took home the gold for the U.S.at the 2011 Pan AmericanGames in Guadalajara, Mexico


Longines Takes Center Court for

New York Tennis Magazine had theprivilege to spend some time withtennis legend Steffi Graf for the

Longines Tennis Court for Kids Clinic at theHarlem Armory. Taking part in the eventwas the Harlem Junior Tennis and Educa-tion Program (HJTEP), which provides 500inner-city youth with the opportunity toplay tennis, while also receiving an edu-cation. Katrina Adams, former pro playerand executive director of the HJTEP, wasdelegated to emcee duties in a Q&A ses-sion with students of the program, Graf,and former pro circuit player MurphyJensen.

Longines teamed up with Graf for theLongines Tennis Court for Kids Clinic aspart of their “Women Who Make a Differ-ence Awards,” which celebrates extraordi-nary women who have made an impact onchildren’s lives.

Adams interviewed Graf and Jensenwith questions provided by students ofthe HJTEP. One question presented toboth was, “When did you start playingtennis?” Graf replied, “I was three-and-a-half years old. My father started byteaching me in the house, using thecouch as a net, a slightly different wayto learn than QuickStart which is a greatway to learn tennis. In other sports, yougrow into it which makes the game eas-ier and gives you a better chance to suc-ceed. QuickStart should be a great pushfor American tennis in the upcomingyears.”

In response to the same question,Jensen said, “Well I don’t know about youguys, but I would say that QuickStart is aslight upgrade to a couch.”

After the laughter died down, he con-tinued, “I started at the age of two orthree as my father was a professionalfootball player and wanted to play a sportthat the entire family could play. It wasbecause of him that my brother Luke andI got into tennis, which truly is the sportof a lifetime. Look at me, I started playingnot knowing where it would take me, andI am retired at this point, but I am still heretoday speaking to you guys about the op-

portunities that tennis can lead to.”Both Graf and Jensen described tennis

as a way to lead to other opportunities inlife. Graf said that, “Tennis gives you a widerange of cultures. It is played by peoplefrom around the world all because it is funto play.”

Jensen added, “Tennis is an intense life.It takes hard work and dedication and givesyou chances and platforms for life.”

When Adams asked Graf her biggestregret, she replied, “Definitely leavingschool early. I turned pro at the age of 13and didn’t have much time to get an ed-ucation. Education comes first, I am

telling you this here today and I tell mykids this every day. While tennis is funand can lead to opportunities, it is im-portant to get your education.”

After the Q & A session, it was time tohit the courts where lucky students hadthe opportunity to get some free lessonsand hitting time with Graf and Jensen.The event was part of Longines’ globalcommitment to support and develop fu-ture tennis stars. Graf and Jensen wereparticularly impressed with one potentialfuture superstar, DJ Spigner of HJTEP,who represents the best of what bothLongines and HJTEP stand for.

Harlem Junior Tennis and EducationProgram enjoying the lessons provided at theLongines Tennis Court for Kids Clinic

Steffi Graf practices with a member of theHarlem Junior Tennis and EducationProgram

American up-and-comer Sloane Stephens (far left)and Steffi Graf (right) with some young players at theLongines Tennis Court for Kids Clinic at the HarlemArmory

Murphy Jensen provides some on-court instruction during the

Longines Tennis Court for KidsClinic at the Harlem Armory

Steffi Graf and Murphy Jensen takepart in a question and answer sessionwith attendees at the Longines TennisCourt for Kids Clinic

kids


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

Master the new world of 10 and Under Tennis.

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

Sharpen your grant-writing skills.

Meet volunteers and teaching pros from across USTA Eastern.

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

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

MORE THAN A GAME. IT’S A LIFESTYLE.


BNP Paribas hosted the 12th AnnualTaste of Tennis event where the toptennis players in the game and the

top chefs in the world gathered together inManhattan at The W Hotel to showcasesome amazing food, whip up some signa-ture cocktails and dance the night away. Itwas a great way for the stressed-out ten-nis stars to get a chance to relax andenjoy the cuisine just prior to the start ofthe 2011 U.S. Open. Some of the playerson hand were Americans Mardy Fish andJames Blake, Spain’s Rafael Nadal andFernando Verdasco, Tommy Haas fromGermany, Victoria Azarenka from Belarus,and many more. The city’s top chefs whoworked hard to feed the athletes includedMichelle Bernstein, Gabe Thompson,Mark Vidal and Kerry Heffernan just toname a few.

It was a night dedicated to the playersas an opportunity to relax and forget aboutthe task at hand, prepping for the finalGrand Slam of 2011, the U.S. Open inFlushing Meadows, N.Y.

“I love coming back home and playing infront of my home crowd,” said JamesBlake. “It is a very exciting time of year andthe energy from the crowd is unlike anyother tournament I play in.”

Proceeds from the event went to theNYJTL, the largest junior tennis program inNew York City. This was the second year ina row that the NYJTL was the beneficiaryof the Taste of Tennis event which was es-tablished in 1999.

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

The Stars of the Court andKitchen Shine for the BNP

Paribas Taste of Tennis EventBy Michael Sarro

New York Rangerscenter Brad Richardsjoins James Blake onthe red carpet

TV personality A.J.Calloway was on hand for

the Taste of Tennis event

Tennis Player Heidi El-Tabakhfrom Canada enjoying the redcarpet arrival at The W Hotel



Spain’s Rafael Nadalarrives in New YorkCity for the BNPParibas Taste of Tennisevent

Russian tennisplayer Mikhail

Youzhny

Chef Emma Hearst arrivesat the Taste of Tennis eventin NYC

Germany’sTommy Haastakes part in theBNP ParibasTaste of Tennisevent

World number five-ranked Vera Zvonareva from Russia isinterviewed on the red carpet

Chef Marco Porceddu at the 12th Annual BNPParibas Taste of Tennis event

than 20 different divisions, the competitionwas fierce and exciting.

Ten years ago might have been a lowpoint in our nation’s history, but these uni-formed men and women have shown us tohow to be strong, resilient and dedicatedindividuals. From watching the camaraderieand competitive instinct of the tennis play-ers, you can see how motivated these indi-viduals are in whatever task they have athand. Determination and the desire to suc-ceed is what ultimately won it for the tennisdivisional winners, but in the end, all theparticipants are winners and heroes basedon the risks they take every day of their

lives in order to protect us. A special thankyou to the Bravest and the Finest of NYCfrom New York Tennis Magazine and itsreaders and congratulations to all the par-ticipants of the 2011 World Police and FireGames. Good luck to all of the participantsof the next World Police and Fire Games in2013 as they head to Northern Ireland foranother year of friendly competition amongthose who serve and protect us.

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

Sept. 11th, 2001 will forever be a daythat lives in infamy. Many lives werelost and impacted greatly by the at-

tack on the World Trade Center. On thatday, and during the following weeks andmonths, it was New York’s Police Depart-ment and Fire Department who were thefirst to respond and attempt to restoreorder and save the lives of people in dan-ger. Many uniformed officers also lost theirlives, and 10 years later, they are still re-membered and honored for their bravery.

In 1985, the World Police and FireGames were implemented to promotesport and fraternity within the police andfirefighting communities. Held bi-annually,the World Police and Fire Games havebeen hosted by numerous countriesthroughout the world, attracting as manyas 8,000 world class athletes representingmore than 70 countries. Ranging fromarchery to wrestling, there are a total of 69athletic events to compete in. Each 10-dayevent begins with a grand opening cere-mony, and continues with numerousplanned social events and a memorial serv-ice spread throughout the week. The fes-tivities culminate with the passing of theflag to the following host country at theclosing ceremony. The event is the secondlargest multi-sporting event in the world,only surpassed by the Olympics.

To respectfully coincide with the 10-yearanniversary of Sept. 11th, the 2011 WorldPolice and Fire Games were held in NewYork City. The tennis matches were held atStadium Tennis Center and Sportime Ran-dall’s Island, offering international com-petitors two of the finest tennis facilities inthe city. Competitors traveled from all overthe world, including Italy, Brazil and Spain,to test their athletic prowess against thetop police and fireman athletes. With more

The World’s Finest and BravestTake to the Courts

By Michael Sarro




SERVING UP THE LATEST IN TENNIS NEWS:Local Coverage

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By Roman Prokes

Players are alwayslooking for an edgeon the court. They

work with teaching pro-fessionals to master their technique,coaches to solidify their tactics, trainers toameliorate their conditioning. Why not havean expert help with your equipment? Thatis the goal of an on-court consultation.

I have been working with top pro players forover three decades. I have aided players likePete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick,Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki, andcountless others throughout the world. Thismassive experience has pushed me to reallyunderstand the game from the equipmentperspective. Players are constantly search-ing for the best specification of frames, han-dles, weights, balances, strings and tensions.I have seen the enormous diversity whenplayers change any of these variables. Oneexample is recently when I was on the courtwith Maria Sharapova and her coach MichaelJoyce. Even though Maria was hitting withextreme force, Michael hardly broke a sweat.Maria’s shots were not as efficient as theycould be. By testing multiple equipment vari-ables and giving her direct feedback, Mariawas able to alleviate her shoulder pain, addsome pop to her ground strokes, improve herconfidence and numerous other benefits.By choosing the right specifications, wequickly had Michael doing all the running.The difference was enormous and instan-taneous, creating results that translated totournament wins and ranking points. Pro-fessionals are not only superhuman incompetition, but they have an uncannyability to feel differences in almost any in-finitesimal change when testing equipment.This continuous discussion of minute de-tails of equipment with myself and top pro-fessionals has educated me to really seewhat specification is needed to achieve aplayer’s desired results.

This gave me the idea to do what I always

did for the best players in the world for every-day players as well. I have tested this in acouple of formats, and have tweaked andperfected the system where, within aboutone hour of on-court time, I can determinethe best possible racket frame, grip size,weight, balance, string and tension for anyplayer. Typically, when searching for the cor-rect equipment, players demo rackets.These are programs where a player borrowsa racket, tests it for couple days, and afterfew tests, buys the racket. I have seen moretimes than I can recount, where a player pur-chases multiple rackets only to come backa few weeks later saying that they don’t likethe racket. In effect, a player ends up havingspent a lot of money and the result is notwhat they hoped for.

That’s where I think an on-court consul-tation is far superior. The process requiresaccess to all pertinent racket demos for aplayer’s game, customization resources, atennis hitter with consistent hitting andmeaningful feedback, and a player lookingto improve. The player tests different rack-ets, strings, tensions and customizations, allthe while, they receive feedback from thehitter who has the best gauge of their per-formance. I analyze the performance, hearwhat goals are desired, and advise whichvarious equipment changes to try. There isreally no definitive format of doing this be-cause every player is very unique. Some-times, the player can try a lot of rackets,whereas other times, not many at all. Some-times, the results come with retail rackets offthe shelf, and sometimes, rackets need tobe adjusted to distinct specifications to beperfectly matched to a player’s specificneeds. In this well-controlled environment, aplayer gets the best litmus test of the equip-ment, as well as allowing the consultant toimplement changes to the racket. At the endof the process, the player and the consultantall agree on one to two possible options.The player is then encouraged to test the se-lected rackets a few more times under dif-ferent conditions.

An on-court consultation is a very pre-cise and methodical way to find out whatworks best for you. It will always be achance for a player to test equipment in acontrolled environment, with the guidanceof an expert, as well as the feedback of aneducated coach/pro. It’s a chance for aplayer to know what works optimally forthem without the “what ifs” (what if I triedthis racket at a different tension, what if thisracket was heavier, what if I used thisracket against a big hitter, etc.). Whetheryou end up with a whole new racket frame,a customization of your current racket, anew string, new tension, or a modificationthat you didn’t know existed, one thing iscertain … you will improve.

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

The On-Court Consultation:A N e w W a y t o F i n d t h e P e r f e c t R a c q u e t f o r Yo u


Vanderbilt Tennis ClubPhoto credit: Erica Gannett for IRL Productions

Tennis Train-ingat the

Earlier this fall, the Vanderbilt Ten-nis Club, located on the fourth floorof Grand Central Station opened itsdoors to the public with a “GetServed” launch party promoted byIRL Productions. At the openingevent, Vanderbilt members had theopportunity to play tennis gamessuch as King of the Court and Of-fense-Defense for free court time.To go along with the fun games, aDJ was present spinning top hitsechoing in the massive facility. TheDJ had to have one eye on thecompetition himself as tennis ballswere flying over his head.

When members were not com-peting against each other for freecourt time, they had the opportu-nity to go to the second floor of thefacilities where Eldad Zvulun, headtennis pro for Vanderbilt, was pro-viding members with on-courtvideo analysis in the clubs practicelanes.

“It is a great opportunity to seeinstant results in your tennis game,as you can see what you are doingwrong and correct it almost imme-diately,” said Eldad.

The hitting lanes provide playersa close proximity with the tennispro and are a unique and innovativeapproach to teaching tennis. Whilethe competition was vicious forcourt time, all the players were hav-ing a blast and enjoying their firstexperiences on the new court.Some players were even going old-school and were using wooden rac-quets against their competition,which was all part of the fun andgames at the new facility.


At the end of the outdoorseason, Prospect Park Ten-nis Center held an end of

the year tournament open to thepublic. The tournament featureda men’s and women’s singlesbracket, a men’s and women’sdoubles bracket, and a mixed-doubles bracket. Now celebrat-ing its fifth year, the ProspectPark Championships has grownfrom a modest neighborhoodtournament to a large-scaleevent that attracts high-level tal-ent from throughout the greatermetropolitan area.

On the women’s side, JulieLilien won the tournament andsaid that, “I play in other tour-naments, but really enjoy play-ing here at these facilities. Ihope to play in the men’s drawnext year,” she added whilechuckling.

Playing in the men’s drawmight not be a bad idea, as shehad a dominating performancewinning the women’s bracket,as well as winning the mixed-doubles tournament with herpartner Robert Cooper.

Keenan Hughes won themen’s draw in his first appear-ance in the tournament. ForKeenan, he decided to play be-cause “It is fun as you get olderto realize that you can still com-pete with high-quality players. Itisn’t often that I play competi-tive tennis anymore, but when Ido, it is quite exciting.”

With 64 players on each sideof the draw, Julie and Keenan’svictories were well-earned andthey will look to defend their re-spective titles at next year’sProspect Park Championships.

Prospect Park Hosts

5th Annual End of Season Tournament


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Once a year, the USTA nationally rec-ognizes all those who promote andgrow the sport of tennis by holding

the Community Tennis Development Work-shop (CTDW). For three days, the tenniscommunity is brought together to learn,teach, inspire and honor people who workso hard for a sport that they love. The an-nual gathering has become one of the mostimportant that the USTA holds as it bringstogether Community Tennis Associations(CTAs) and National Junior Tennis andLearning (NJTL) programs from all acrossthe country.

In 2011, the workshop was held inWashington, D.C. and focused on thegrowth of 10 & Under Tennis, the newestinitiative launched by the USTA. Attendeesare offered an array of classes and work-shops dealing with tennis programming,marketing and communications, facilitiesand advocacy and many more.

Along with providing these educationalseminars, the USTA uses this opportunityto acknowledge the most outstandingcommunity tennis programs in the country.This year, the New York Junior TennisLeague was recognized for their hard workand dedication to growing the sport of ten-nis by winning the NJTL of the Year Awardafter many years of providing free tennisprogramming, as well as after school tu-toring programs. The USTA invited NewYork Tennis Magazine to attend the galaand highlight the NJTL of the Year Awardrecipient, the NYJTL.

Over the last few years, the developmentof youth tennis has been one of the mainfocuses of the USTA. According to USTAstatistics, tennis has about 20,000 youthplayers in the 10 & Under age group, while

soccer has approximately two million play-ers in the same age group. Much has beendone to modify the game in order to makeit easier and more enjoyable for youngerplayers with the development of the Quick-Start Method and now most recently withthe addition of 10-and-Under Tennis. The10 & Under Tennis program is a competi-tive style of play involving the QuickStart

method which uses smaller courts and rac-quets, as well as bigger foam balls to slowdown the game for young beginners. Theoverall theme of this year’s CTDW was howto implement it into programs.

The overall buzz at the workshop wasthat this new initiative is great for the over-all sport but especially great for kids in thehopes of gaining and retaining players.

Pictured here (front row, left to right): Emily Steinberg, R.A.L.L.Y.: Racquet and LiteracyLeague for Youth, 2010 NJTL of the Year; Dr. Deborah MacFarlane-Antoine, NYJTL, 2010NJTL of the Year; Sandy Martin, Saint Paul Urban Tennis, 2010 NJTL of the Year; BobBratcher, 2010 Eve Kraft Community Service Award; Brenda Gilmore, 2010 Eve KraftCommunity Service Award. (back row, left to right) Becki Steinberg, R.A.L.L.Y.: Racquetand Literacy League for Youth, 2010 NJTL of the Year; Jim O’Neil, NYJTL, 2010 NJTL ofthe Year; Lewis “Skip” Hartman, NYJTL, 2010 NJTL of the Year; Jon Vegosen, USTAChairman of the Board and President; Gordon Smith, USTA Chief Operating Officer andExecutive Director; Julie Watson Dick, 2010 Janet Louer USTA Jr. Team Tennis Organizerof the Year Award; Jim Holt, 2010 Adaptive Tennis Community Service Award; EleniRossides, Executive Director, Washington Tennis and Education Foundation, 2010 CTA ofthe Year

The USTA Community TennisDevelopment Workshop:

Growing the Game


“Other sports have had modified ver-sions of their game so kids could play foryears,” said USTA Chairman of the Boardand President Jon Vegosen. “It may havetaken us a while, but with the addition of10 & Under Tennis, we can now say thattennis has joined the ranks of other youthsports.”

Many of the classes and seminars weredevoted to 10 & Under Tennis in order toeducate pros and organizations on thespecifics of the program since it is fairlynew. In addition to the educational aspectof the workshop, several people and pro-grams received awards for their dedica-tion to growing the sport.

Among the select few of recipients, theNew York Junior Tennis League (NYJTL),located in Manhattan, was fortunateenough to receive the NJTL of the YearAward. The NYJTL is the largest tennisand education-themed community organ-ization in the United States and offerscomprehensive school and community-based programs throughout New YorkCity’s five boroughs. They serve over100,000 youths ranging from ages 6-18and provide free tennis for all participants.The NYJTL was founded by Arthur Asheand Lewis “Skip” Hartman in 1971 and for40 years, the New York Junior TennisLeague has provided the joys of tennis

and education to underserved children.By participating with the NYJTL, chil-

dren are provided the necessary tools toexcel on and off the tennis court throughthe sport of tennis. An example of this canbe seen by their many after school tutorclasses and college prep courses. Thiswas best summed up by President andChief Executive Officer Deborah MacFar-lane Antoine who said, “Our kids becomebetter people because of tennis.” TheNYJTL has been providing its services for40 years now and is a great role model forother NJTLs.

Upon receiving the award for NJTL ofthe year, founder Skip Hartman thanked acountless number of NYJTL employeesfor their years of dedication and hardwork. Hartman went on to say, “Otherthan my family, nothing has been more lifefulfilling than working with the NYJTL.”Skip also mentioned how his programswould not be what they would be if not fordevoted volunteers who help in any waythey can. This was very well-received asmany people in the audience were in factvolunteers and not paid for their efforts to-wards growing the sport. In closing, Skipstated, “If savvy committed volunteerstackle the important problems that facetheir communities, then they can be verysuccessful.”

Skip’s concluding remarks echoedthrough the room as the weekend was away to say thank you to everyone for alltheir contributions and that with a littlehard work, anyone can make a difference.In one way or another, everyone who at-tended the workshop had made strides togrow the sport of tennis. Tennis needsthese dedicated individuals to promoteand grow the sport and they are doingjust that. This is evident by the 5,000 orso people who attended the workshopand are doing so much for the sport thatwe all love.

In 2012, the USTA Community TennisDevelopment Workshop will be held inNew Orleans from Jan. 13-15. For the firsttime ever, it will feature a special sessionon the new CTA Health Check systemwhich is a way for CTA’s to asses them-selves. It is a self-evaluation processwhere they try to assess their strengthsand weaknesses, identify areas that needimprovement, and also find resourcesthat can help in planning and implement-ing strategic goals which is the ultimategoal of the workshop to begin with. TheCTA Health Check evaluates four mainareas of a CTA: Structure, Planning, Pro-gramming and Communications. All arevery valuable to the amount of successany CTA will have.

USTA May Alter U.S. Open Schedule to Accommodate Off-Day

U.S. Open officials are exploring the possibility of amending itsschedule to switch its final day to a Monday. The three otherGrand Slam events, the French Open, Australian Open andWimbledon all wrap up their action on Sundays. USTA Tour-nament Director Jim Curley has told The Associated Press thatthe USTA has opened discussions with CBS about finding away to heed players’ calls for a day off between the men’ssemifinals and final.

The U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam event that sched-ules its semifinals and finals on consecutive days, Saturdayand Sunday. One proposal would shift the men’s final fromSunday to Monday, and the women’s final from Saturday toSunday. The USTA also is considering keeping the men’s titlematch on Sunday, but moving the semifinals to Friday.


NEW YORK TENNIS CLUB

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

UPCOMINGEVENTSNOVEMBER 2011Thursday-Sunday, November 3-6USTA/ITA National Indoor IntercollegiateChampionshipsUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis CenterFlushing, N.Y.For more information, visit USTA.com.

Fridays, November 4, 11, 18 & 25Friday Night Round Robin TournamentsMidtown Tennis Club341 8th Avenue (27th Street)New York, N.Y.8:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.For more information, call (212) 989-8572,ext. 104 or visit MidTownTennis.com.

Friday, November 4Sportime Randall’s Island Friday Night AdultTennis MixerSportime at Randall’s Island1 Randall’s IslandNew York, N.Y.7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.For more information, call (212) 427-6150or visit SportimeNY.com/Manhattan.

Saturdays, November 5, 12, 19 & 26Saturday Night MixersRoosevelt Island Racquet Club281 Main StreetRoosevelt Island, N.Y.8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Supervised Doubles10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Open Court TimeFor more information, call (212) 935-0250or visit RIRCTennis.com.

Saturday-Monday, November 5-72011 New York State Public High SchoolAthletic Association Girls High School TennisTournamentEastside Racquet Club140 West Seneca Street • Manlius, N.Y.For more information, call (518) 690-0771or visit NYSPHSAA.org.

Saturday, November 19Triples TournamentRoosevelt Island Racquet Club281 Main Street • Roosevelt Island, N.Y.For more information, call (212) 935-0250or visit RIRCTennis.com.

DECEMBER 2011Fridays, December 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30Friday Night Round Robin TournamentsMidtown Tennis Club341 8th Avenue (27th Street) • New York, N.Y.For more information, call (212) 989-8572,ext. 104 or visit MidTownTennis.com.

Friday, December 2Sportime Randall’s Island Friday Night AdultTennis MixerSportime at Randall’s Island1 Randall’s Island • New York, N.Y.7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.For more information, call (212) 427-6150or visit SportimeNY.com/Manhattan.

Saturdays, December 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31Saturday Night MixersRoosevelt Island Racquet Club281 Main Street • Roosevelt Island, N.Y.8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. Supervised Doubles10:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Open Court TimeFor more information, call (212) 935-0250or visit RIRCTennis.com.

Saturday, December 10Cardio Tennis PartyRoosevelt Island Racquet Club281 Main Street • Roosevelt Island, N.Y.For more information, call (212) 935-0250or visit RIRCTennis.com.


N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G SBoys & Girls Metro Rankings(as of 10/17/11)

BOYSMetro Boys 10 SinglesRank ..Name ............................City1 ..........Shand Stephens ..................New York, N.Y.2 ..........Kemal Irfan Aziz ..................Staten Island, N.Y.3 ..........Derrick Mu ..........................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.4 ..........Derek Raskopf ....................New York, N.Y.5 ..........Stevan Stojkovic..................Flushing, N.Y.6 ..........Eitan Khromchenko ............Staten Island, N.Y.7 ..........Christopher Tham................Flushing, N.Y.8 ..........Lantis Wang ........................New York, N.Y.9 ..........Maxwell Igor Kachkarov ......Flushing, N.Y.10 ........Shawn Jackson ..................Staten Island, N.Y.11 ........Sidharth Chawla..................New York, N.Y.12 ........Alex Zlotchenko ..................New York, N.Y.13 ........Jonathan Glinsky ................Brooklyn, N.Y.14 ........Jeffrey Fradkin ....................New York, N.Y.15 ........Tyler Kats ............................Astoria, N.Y.16 ........Sunjay Dev Singh ................New York, N.Y.17 ........Aaron Jackson ....................Staten Island, N.Y.18 ........Steven Daniel Nazaroff ........Brooklyn, N.Y.19 ........Noah D. Edelman ................New York, N.Y.20 ........Oliver Obeid ........................New York, N.Y.21 ........Alexander Nielsen ..............New York, N.Y.22 ........David Krasner ....................Staten Island, N.Y.23 ........Tristan Taylor, ......................New York, N.Y.24 ........Will Coad ............................Brooklyn, N.Y.25 ........Teddy Brodsky ....................New York, N.Y.26 ........Joseph Wilkanowski............Long Island City, N.Y.27 ........Oliver Wetherill Tockman ....Brooklyn, N.Y.28 ........Scott Fischer ......................New York, N.Y.29 ........Harry Portnoy ......................New York, N.Y.30 ........Jeffrey McCready ................Brooklyn, N.Y.31 ........Zachary Targoff ..................New York, N.Y.32 ........Wesley Zhang......................Staten Island, N.Y.33 ........Blake Frank ........................New York, N.Y.34 ........Alex Portnoy ........................New York, N.Y.35 ........Christian Leonard Gruyon ....Bronx, N.Y.36 ........Ryan McCook......................Saint Albans, N.Y.37 ........Christopher Ronald Borter ..New York, N.Y.38 ........Max Kessler ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.39 ........Daniel Rafael Helfgott..........New York, N.Y.40 ........Robbie F. Werdiger ..............New York, N.Y.

Metro Boys 12 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........Kemal Irfan Aziz ..................Staten Island, N.Y.2 ..........Derek Lung ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.3 ..........Mitchell Mu ........................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.4 ..........Ethan Moszkowski ..............New York, N.Y.5 ..........David Moldovan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.6 ..........Oliver Jevtovic ....................Astoria, N.Y.7 ..........Derrick Mu ..........................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.8 ..........Chrstopher Tham ................Flushing, N.Y.9 ..........Shand Stephens ..................New York, N.Y.10 ........Cameron Gruss ..................New York, N.Y.11 ........Matthew Joshua Ross ........New York, N.Y.12 ........Philip Belmatch ..................Staten Island, N.Y.13 ........Ethan Finley ........................New York, N.Y.14 ........Christopher Kolesnik ..........Staten Island, N.Y.15 ........Stevan Stojkovic..................Flushing, N.Y.16 ........Jonathan L. Molfetta ..........Howard Beach, N.Y.17 ........Zachary Jordan Lieb............New York, N.Y.18 ........A.J. Lehrman ......................New York, N.Y.19 ........Michael Cooper Jr. ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.20 ........Lantis Wang ........................New York, N.Y.21 ........David Mizrahi ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.22 ........Robert Shinder ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.23 ........Logan Gruss........................New York, N.Y.24 ........Dyaln Friedman ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.25 ........Eitan Khromchenko ............Staten Island, N.Y.26 ........Andreja Radevic ..................New York, N.Y.27 ........Nicholas Rudman ................New York, N.Y.

28 ........Javier Nathaniel Luna..........New York, N.Y.29 ........Gregory Thomas Coe ..........New York, N.Y.30 ........Emil Nadyrbekov ................Brooklyn, N.Y.31 ........Max Leon Adelman..............New York, N.Y.32 ........Bryce Philip Kassalow ........New York, N.Y.33 ........Adam Lane Bernstein ..........New York, N.Y.34 ........Joseph R. Reiner ................New York, N.Y.35 ........Shawn Jackson ..................Staten Island, N.Y.36 ........Gabriel Sifuentes ................Flushing, N.Y.37 ........Will Coad ............................New York, N.Y.38 ........Itamar I. Oron ......................New York, N.Y.39 ........David Dylan Pines ..............New York, N.Y.40 ........George Allen........................New York, N.Y.

Metro Boys 14 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........Denis Korol..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.2 ..........Evan Liberman ....................New York, N.Y.3 ..........Nate Newhouse ..................New York, N.Y.4 ..........Zachary Kaplan ..................New York, N.Y.5 ..........Andrew Penn ......................New York, N.Y.6 ..........Brett Robert Raskopf ..........New York, N.Y.7 ..........Andrew E. Hauser................New York, N.Y.8 ..........Garrett Thomas Sopko ........Brooklyn, N.Y.9 ..........Leonard Margolis ................Brooklyn, N.Y.10 ........Bojidar Ivanov Todorov ........Rego Park, N.Y.11 ........Horia George Negru ............Middle Village, N.Y.12 ........Oliver Mai............................Little Neck, N.Y.13 ........Alexander Fallone................New York, N.Y.14 ........Scott Alexander Glauber ......New York, N.Y.15 ........William J. Trang ..................Staten Island, N.Y.16 ........Adam Chan ........................New York, N.Y.17 ........Frank George Nicolazzi ........Flushing, N.Y.18 ........Leonardo Escudero ............Ozone Park, N.Y.19 ........Cameron Gruss ..................New York, N.Y.20 ........Xavier Pacthod ....................New York, N.Y.21 ........Peter Lohrbach....................Little Neck, N.Y.22 ........Antony Jippov ....................New York, N.Y.23 ........Robert Eugene Millman ......New York, N.Y.24 ........Jordan Rey-Anatole ............Brooklyn, N.Y.25 ........Ethan Moszkowski ..............New York, N.Y.26 ........Jonathan L. Molfetta ..........Howard Beach, N.Y.27 ........Cole Fluehr..........................Forest Hills, N.Y.28 ........Daniel Usvyat ......................Forest Hills, N.Y.29 ........Dan Ion Negru ....................Middle Village, N.Y.30 ........Andrew Zucker....................New York, N.Y.31 ........Owen Silitch........................New York, N.Y.32 ........Kevin A. Pertsovsky ............Brooklyn, N.Y.33 ........Matthew Chin......................Flushing, N.Y.34 ........Kumeil Hosain ....................New York, N.Y.35 ........Seid Mulic ..........................Long Island City, N.Y.36 ........Nick Papyan ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.37 ........Massimo Costantini ............New York, N.Y.38 ........Ian Lee................................New York, N.Y.39 ........Josh Charap........................New York, N.Y.40 ........Sam Krevlin ........................New York, N.Y.

Metro Boys 16 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........Michael Jasienowski ..........Middle Village, N.Y.2 ..........Jonathan Compres ..............East Elmhurst, N.Y.3 ..........Benjamin M. Erichsen..........Bronx, N.Y.4 ..........Brad Gaffin..........................New York, N.Y.5 ..........Michael Jared Lesser ..........New York, N.Y.6 ..........Jack K. Spiegel ..................New York, N.Y.7 ..........Jordan A. Selig ....................New York, N.Y.8 ..........Justin S. Selig ....................New York, N.Y.9 ..........Justin Ho ............................Brooklyn, N.Y.10 ........Joshua Freud ......................New York, N.Y.11 ........Gregory Gon........................Flushing, N.Y.12 ........Jonathan Cohen ..................New York, N.Y.13 ........Anthony Santino..................Douglaston, N.Y.14 ........Daniel Witke........................Brooklyn, N.Y.15 ........Leonard Margolis ................Brooklyn, N.Y.16 ........Dillon McKenzie ..................Laurelton, N.Y.17 ........Kevin Patrick Roan ..............Howard Beach, N.Y.18 ........Mark Semerik ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.19 ........Ryo Kono ............................New York, N.Y.

20 ........Jason Grunfeld....................New York, N.Y.21 ........Lamar Hurt..........................New York, N.Y.22 ........Eugene Rozygrayev ............New York, N.Y.23 ........James Marcus Dorman ......New York, N.Y.24 ........Alexander Fallone................New York, N.Y.25 ........Alexander Newhouse ..........New York, N.Y.26 ........Kevin Valdez........................Jamaica, N.Y.27 ........Luke E. Sherman ................New York, N.Y.28 ........Alexander Pintilie ................New York, N.Y.29 ........Zachary Kaplan ..................New York, N.Y.30 ........Safraz Altaf Hamid ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.31 ........Paul Pricop..........................New York, N.Y.32 ........Travis A. Arffa ......................New York, N.Y.33 ........Yihao Yang ..........................New York, N.Y.34 ........Spencer Bistricer ................New York, N.Y.35 ........William J. Trang ..................Staten Island, N.Y.36 ........Jun Yiminaga ......................Little Neck, N.Y.37 ........Douglas L. Mo ....................Douglaston, N.Y.38 ........Brian Murray ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.39 ........Rohil Vir Basu......................New York, N.Y.40 ........Matthew Winter ..................New York, N.Y.

Metro Boys 18 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........David N. Zhukovsky ............Brooklyn, N.Y.2 ..........Sean J. Solomonoff ............New York, N.Y.3 ..........Ryan E. Villarruel ................Staten Island, N.Y.4 ..........Brad Gaffin..........................New York, N.Y.5 ..........Michael Gross ....................Floral Park, N.Y.6 ..........Rodion Kaplounov ..............New York, N.Y.7 ..........Hugh H. Mo ........................Douglaston, N.Y.8 ..........Enrique Torres ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.9 ..........James M. Rubin ..................New York, N.Y.10 ........Lear Haninovich ..................New York, N.Y.

GIRLSMetro Girls 10 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........Carolyn Brodsky ..................New York, N.Y.2 ..........Miriam Irfan Aziz ................Staten Island, N.Y.3 ..........Juliana Kislin ......................New York, N.Y.4 ..........Diana Ellen Sosonkin ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.5 ..........Gabriella Eitkis ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.6 ..........Katherine Kachkarov ..........Flushing, N.Y.7 ..........Diana McCready..................Brooklyn, N.Y.8 ..........Isabella Nicole Tushaj ..........Bronx, N.Y.9 ..........Nicole K. Cee ......................New York, N.Y.10 ........Izabela Almaleh ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.11 ........Dakota Fordham..................New York, N.Y.12 ........Rebecca Izyayeva................Staten Island, N.Y.13 ........Zoe Kava ............................New York, N.Y.14 ........Elisabeth G. Schlossel ........New York, N.Y.15 ........Lena Kovacevic ..................New York, N.Y.16 ........Kassia Taylor ......................New York, N.Y.17 ........Audrey Pacthod ..................New York, N.Y.18 ........Rebecca Eliana Fisch ..........New York, N.Y.19 ........Amy Kaplan ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.20 ........Perene Wang ......................New York, N.Y.21 ........Amanda Solecki ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.22 ........Zoe Sulju Moon ..................New York, N.Y.23 ........Grace L. Kennedy ................New York, N.Y.24 ........Isabella T. Hartman..............New York, N.Y.25 ........Tatiana Mandis....................New York, N.Y.26 ........Olivia Lynch-Burgdorf..........Douglaston, N.Y.27 ........Caroline A. Schlossel ..........New York, N.Y.28 ........Cassie Tian..........................Flushing, N.Y.29 ........Bella Kaplan........................New York, N.Y.30 ........Caroline Paige Kantor ..........New York, N.Y.

Metro Girls 12 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........Sydney Lynn Katz ................New York, N.Y.2 ..........Victoria Judy Hanuman ......Brooklyn, N.Y.3 ..........Juliana Kislin ......................New York, N.Y.4 ..........Patricia Obeid......................New York, N.Y.5 ..........Kyra Bergmann ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.6 ..........Rachel Okin ........................New York, N.Y.7 ..........Katherine Kachkarov ..........Flushing, N.Y.

8 ..........Brittny Jo Ferreira ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.9 ..........Danielle Kade ......................New York, N.Y.10 ........Victoria Zezula ....................Ridgewood, N.Y.11 ........Lia Kiam..............................New York, N.Y.12 ........Olga Drahanchuk ................Brooklyn, N.Y.13 ........Alexa Nobandegani ............New York, N.Y.14 ........Chrstina Huynh....................Astoria, N.Y.15 ........Sonia Tartakovsky ..............New York, N.Y.16 ........Sarah Finley ........................New York, N.Y.17 ........Miriam Irfan Aziz ................Staten Island, N.Y.18 ........Isabelle Rovinski ................New York, N.Y.19 ........Jennifer Yu ..........................Forest Hills, N.Y.20 ........Johnniesha Joy Breiten ......Bronx, N.Y.21 ........Carolyn Brodsky ..................New York, N.Y.22 ........Stephanie Li ........................New York, N.Y.23 ........Anastasia Nicole Koniaev ....Forest Hills, N.Y.24 ........Olivia Simone Morris ..........Floral Park, N.Y.25 ........Charlotte May Mosler ..........New York, N.Y.26 ........Michelle Sorokko ................Douglaston, N.Y.27 ........Donna Marie Episcopio........Bayside, N.Y.28 ........Shelly Yaloz ........................Little Neck, N.Y.29 ........Steffi Antao ........................Briarwood, N.Y.30 ........Skyie Stamper ....................Bronx, N.Y.31 ........Maryna Bohdanovska..........Brooklyn, N.Y.32 ........Alice Soares Pinho ..............Woodside, N.Y.33 ........Anna Maite Kaplan ..............New York, N.Y.34 ........Isabella Nicole Tushaj ..........Bronx, N.Y.35 ........Kiara A. Rose ......................New York, N.Y.36 ........Nicole K. Cee ......................New York, N.Y.37 ........Nicole Veronica Semenov ....Brooklyn, N.Y.38 ........Rebecca Izyayeva................Staten Island, N.Y.39 ........Izabela Almaleh ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.40 ........Fjolla Arifi ............................Astoria, N.Y.

Metro Girls 14 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........Jenna B. Borenstein ............New York, N.Y.2 ..........Nicole Holloran....................Bayside, N.Y.3 ..........Erika Tinalli ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.4 ..........Vanessa Hanuman ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.5 ..........Ashley Sarah DelMissier......Forest Hills, N.Y.6 ..........Keren Khromchenko............Staten Island, N.Y.7 ..........Marierose Apice ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.8 ..........Julia Zbarsky ......................New York, N.Y.9 ..........Alexandra Sanford ..............New York, N.Y.10 ........Jennifer Grace Richards ......New York, N.Y.11 ........Sarah Warman Hirschfield ..New York, N.Y.12 ........Victoria Zezula ....................Ridgewood, N.Y.13 ........Alexandra Koniaev ..............Forest Hills, N.Y.14 ........Sofia Anouk Aisiks ..............New York, N.Y.15 ........Lydia Greer Weintraub ........New York, N.Y.16 ........Hannah Jaye Gendel ..........New York, N.Y.17 ........Arianna Sunshine Motta ......Staten Island, N.Y.18 ........Nicole Schnabel ..................Woodhaven, N.Y.19 ........Zorriana B. Johnson ............New York, N.Y.20 ........Stefana Vujinovic ................Brooklyn, N.Y.21 ........Alexus Gill ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.22 ........Cecilia Anne Swenson ........New York, N.Y.23 ........Shammiel Fleischer-Amoros ..New York, N.Y.24 ........Lipika Raghunathan ............New York, N.Y.25 ........Jennifer Yu ..........................Forest Hills, N.Y.26 ........Isadora Braune....................New York, N.Y.27 ........Anna Maite Kaplan ..............New York, N.Y.28 ........Sarah Horne ........................New York, N.Y.29 ........Hannah Spears....................New York, N.Y.30 ........Isabelle Rovinski ................New York, N.Y.31 ........Danielle Kade ......................New York, N.Y.32 ........Caitlin McCarthy Ervine ......New York, N.Y.33 ........Kiara Rose ..........................New York, N.Y.34 ........Patricia Obeid......................New York, N.Y.35 ........Grace Tom ..........................Rego Park, N.Y.36 ........Sydney Lynn Katz ................New York, N.Y.37 ........Electra Frelinghuysen ..........New York, N.Y.38 ........Donna Marie Episcopio........Bayside, N.Y.39 ........Chelsea Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.40 ........Jennifer Reiss ....................New York, N.Y.


N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G SMetro Girls 16 SinglesRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........Emi Lewis ..........................New York, N.Y.2 ..........Erika Tinalli ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.3 ..........Jenna B. Borenstein ............New York, N.Y.4 ..........Irina Titova ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.5 ..........Brittany Biggs......................Bronx, N.Y.6 ..........Isis Gill ................................Brooklyn, N.Y.7 ..........Julia Zbarsky ......................New York, N.Y.8 ..........Sara Levy-Lambert..............New York, N.Y.9 ..........Nicole Schnabel ..................Woodhaven, N.Y.10 ........Paolina Zanki ......................Astoria, N.Y.11 ........Danielle Hupper ..................New York, N.Y.12 ........Sara Heath ..........................New York, N.Y.13 ........Arielle L. John ....................Cambria Heights, N.Y.14 ........Anne Oliver ........................New York, N.Y.15 ........Alicia Ng ............................Howard Beach, N.Y.16 ........Camille Price ......................New York, N.Y.17 ........Claire Harnett ......................New York, N.Y.18 ........Brianna Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.19 ........Vania Savic ........................Woodside, N.Y.20 ........Bianca Signore....................Staten Island, N.Y.21 ........Nicole Druzhinsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.22 ........Alexa Morgan Leopold ........New York, N.Y.23 ........Claire Keyte ........................New York, N.Y.24 ........Stefana Vujinovic ................Brooklyn, N.Y.25 ........Sarah Rahman ....................East Elmhurst, N.Y.26 ........Sofia Degtyar ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.27 ........Lipika Raghunathan ............New York, N.Y.28 ........Alexandra N. Samadi ..........Staten Island, N.Y.29 ........Priscilla Signore ..................Staten Island, N.Y.30 ........Ashley Sarah DelMissier......Forest Hills, N.Y.31 ........Julia Greenberg ..................New York, N.Y.32 ........Sarah Horne ........................New York, N.Y.33 ........Sofia Anouk Aisiks ..............New York, N.Y.34 ........Olga Voronetskaya ..............Forest Hills, N.Y.35 ........Hediye Karabay ..................Flushing, N.Y.36 ........Zoe Anderson ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.37 ........Briel Biggs ..........................Bronx , N.Y.38 ........Gabrielle F. Freitag ..............New York, N.Y.39 ........Nicole Serras ......................Whitestone, N.Y.40 ........Esther Rodriguez ................Bronx, N.Y.

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

Boys & GirlsSectional Rankings(as of 09/27/11)

BOYSSectional Boys 10 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City4 ..........Ethan Leon..........................Woodhaven, N.Y.8 ..........Derek Raskopf ....................New York, N.Y.15 ........Steven Daniel Nazaroff ........Brooklyn, N.Y.17 ........Robbie F. Werdiger ..............New York, N.Y.19 ........Christopher Tham................Flushing, N.Y.20 ........Shand Stephens ..................New York, N.Y.21 ........Eitan Khromchenko ............Staten Island, N.Y.27 ........Jonathan Glinsky ................Brooklyn, N.Y.28 ........Oliver Obeid ........................New York, N.Y.30 ........Harry Portnoy ......................New York, N.Y.31 ........Noah D. Edelman ................New York, N.Y.32 ........Tyler Kats ............................Astoria, N.Y.33 ........Michael Cooper Jr. ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.34 ........Alex Portnoy ........................New York, N.Y.

36 ........Derrick Mu ..........................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.40 ........Will Coad ............................Brooklyn, N.Y.41 ........Aleksa Pljakic......................Forest Hills, N.Y.42 ........Zachary Portnoy ..................New York, N.Y.50 ........Maxwell Igor Kachkarov ......Flushing, N.Y.52 ........Jeffrey Fradkin ....................New York, N.Y.57 ........Kai Yuminaga ......................Little Neck, N.Y.58 ........Alexander Nielsen ..............New York, N.Y.60 ........Marcos Souza Lee ..............New York, N.Y.65 ........Jacob David Livianu ............Brooklyn, N.Y.70 ........Ethan Cai Yablon..................New York, N.Y.71 ........Teddy Brodsky ....................New York, N.Y.73 ........Sidharth Chawla..................New York, N.Y.77 ........Tristan Taylor ......................New York, N.Y.79 ........Alex Zlotchenko ..................New York, N .Y.85 ........Christian Leonard Gruyon ....Bronx, N.Y.87 ........Brian Tyutyunik ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.88 ........George Scribner Bader ........New York, N.Y.91 ........Joseph Wilkanowski............Long Island City, N.Y.93 ........Sunjay Dev Singh ................New York, N.Y.96 ........Nash Crofoot Johnson ........New York, N.Y.97 ........Ryan David Brandes ............Rego Park, N.Y.98 ........David Krasner ....................Staten Island, N.Y.101 ......Garrett Chao........................New York, N.Y.105 ......Jeffrey McCready ................Brooklyn, N.Y.113 ......Blake Frank ........................New York, N.Y.114 ......Daniel Galisteo Gordon ........New York, N.Y.115 ......Scott Fischer ......................New York, N.Y.116 ......Jace K. Alexander................New York, N.Y.119 ......Wesley Zhang......................Staten Island, N.Y.125 ......Donald James Smith ..........Roosevelt Island, N.Y.128 ......Max Kessler ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.132 ......Dylan Connor Reziniano ......New York, N.Y.140 ......Stephen Samuel Sloan ........New York, N.Y.143 ......Benjamin Singer..................New York, N.Y.146 ......David Brandes ....................Rego Park, N.Y.147 ......Blake Aviv ..........................New York, N.Y.148 ......Samuel Thornton Charlton ..New York, N.Y.149 ......Harry Thornton Charlton ......New York, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City7 ..........Sumit Sarkar ......................New York, N.Y.21 ........Sam V. Vagner ....................Staten Island, N.Y.23 ........Jeffrey Gorilovsky................Brooklyn, N.Y.25 ........Max Prohorov......................Rego Park, N.Y.34 ........Gary C. Fishkin ....................Staten Island, N.Y.36 ........Ethan Leon..........................Woodhaven, N.Y.47 ........Jacob Kern..........................New York, N.Y.64 ........Kemal Irfan Aziz ..................Staten Island, N.Y.66 ........Oliver Jevtovic ....................Astoria, N.Y.69 ........Gabriel Sifuentes ................Flushing, N.Y.71 ........David Mizrahi ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.73 ........James Kandel Dill ..............New York, N.Y.78 ........Allan Ethan Magid ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.84 ........David Moldovan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.97 ........Zachary Jordan Lieb............New York, N.Y.101 ......Matthew Joshua Ross ........New York, N.Y.103 ......Logan Gruss........................New York, N.Y.118 ......Mitchell Mu ........................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.119 ......Tanner Ross Bhonslay ........New York, N.Y.121 ......Shand Stephens ..................New York, N.Y.126 ......Christopher Tham................Flushing, N.Y.130 ......Stevan Stojkovic..................Flushing, N.Y.141 ......Lantis Wang ........................New York, N.Y.144 ......Philip Belmatch ..................Staten Island, N.Y.149 ......Derek Lung ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.150 ......Ethan Finley ........................New York, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City7 ..........James Franklin Wasserman New York, N.Y.8 ..........Christopher Paul Auteri ........Staten Island, N.Y.9 ..........Oliver Sec ..........................New York, N.Y.11 ........Alex Knaff............................New York, N.Y.

13 ........Edan Lee Sossen ................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.14 ........Gal Mathew Sossen ............Oakland Gardens, N.Y.15 ........Mitchell Ostrovsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.18 ........Victor Miglo ........................Kew Gardens, N.Y.20 ........Philip Raytburg....................Brooklyn, N.Y.24 ........Felipe P. Osses-Konig ..........Rego Park, N.Y.25 ........Alexander Thrane ................New York, N.Y.26 ........Ananth Raghavan................New York, N.Y.30 ........Cole Gittens ........................New York, N.Y.35 ........Aleksandar Kovacevic..........New York, N.Y.39 ........Marcus T. Smith ..................Little Neck, N.Y.42 ........Christian O. Gloria ..............Queens Village, N.Y.44 ........Ian Witmer ..........................New York, N.Y.69 ........Jordan D. Jordan ................Astoria, N.Y.72 ........Alex Chao............................New York, N.Y.77 ........Jared Fields ........................New York, N.Y.78 ........Peter Lohrbach....................Little Neck, N.Y.102 ......Cameron Gruss ..................New York, N.Y.107 ......Ethan Nittolo ......................Flushing, N.Y.122 ......Andrew Hauser ..................New York, N.Y.123 ......Antony Jippov ....................New York, N.Y.128 ......Andrew Penn ......................New York, N.Y.130 ......William J. Trang ..................Staten Island, N.Y.146 ......Michal Pisarek ....................Forest Hills, N.Y.150 ......Evan liberman ....................New York, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City3 ..........Joshua Yablon ....................New York, N.Y.15 ........Dennis Druzhinsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.25 ........Ryoma Haraguchi................New York, N.Y.26 ........Zachary Yablon....................New York, N.Y.28 ........Artemie Amari ....................New York, N.Y.30 ........Win Smith ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.31 ........Justin Fields........................New York, N.Y.36 ........Lucas Pickering ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.40 ........Daniel Kerznerman..............Brooklyn, N.Y.42 ........Richard Sec ........................New York, N.Y.47 ........Cameron Daniels ................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.60 ........Sachin Raghavan ................New York, N.Y.68 ........Christopher Paul Auteri ........Staten Island, N.Y.77 ........Douglas L. Mo ....................Douglaston, N.Y.91 ........Alexis Cai ............................Woodhaven, N.Y.92 ........Steven H. Koulouris ............Long Island City, N.Y.95 ........James Wasserman..............New York, N.Y.113 ......Jonathan Walter Selegean ..East Elmhurst, N.Y.124 ......Victor Miglo ........................Kew Gardens, N.Y.130 ......Andrew S. Arnaboldi ............New York, N.Y.134 ......Matthew Balilo ....................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.137 ......Alexander Pintilie ................New York, N.Y.140 ......Jacob Frisch........................New York, N.Y.145 ......Michael William Anzalone ....Howard Beach, N.Y.147 ......Marcus T. Smith ..................Little Neck, N.Y.150 ......Jun Yuminaga ....................Little Neck, N.Y.

Sectional Boys 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City3 ..........Andrew Adams....................South Richmond Hill, N.Y.16 ........Stefan D. Ilic........................Forest Hills, N.Y.30 ........Jake Sosonkin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.32 ........Richard J. Del Nunzio ..........Forest Hills, N.Y.36 ........Eric R. Brinzenskiy ..............Staten Island, N.Y.52 ........Alexander J. Petrone ..........Staten Island, N.Y.66 ........Leon Pan ............................Brooklyn, N.Y.67 ........Justin Vijungco....................Forest Hills, N.Y.70 ........Christopher Jou ..................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.71 ........Dennis Druzhinsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.78 ........Justin Fields........................New York, N.Y.81 ........David F. Arroyave ................Floral Park, N.Y.82 ........Justin S. Pagan ..................Flushing, N.Y.87 ........Jacob S. Huber....................New York, N.Y.88 ........Joseph Vivaldi Motta ..........Staten Island, N.Y.93 ........Ian Antonoff ........................New York, N.Y.99 ........Jeremy Kochman ................Brooklyn, N.Y.110 ......Christopher A. Jimenez........Oakland Gardens, N.Y.

112 ......Joshua Yablon ....................New York, N.Y.115 ......Christian Waldron ................Bronx, N.Y.117 ......Steven W. Wilson ................Bronx, N.Y.121 ......Stephen Monk ....................New York, N.Y.142 ......Sean J. Solomonoff ............New York, N.Y.

GIRLSSectional Girls 10 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City4 ..........Dasha Kourkina ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.6 ..........Christina M. Kuynh ..............Astoria, N.Y.9 ..........Miriam Irfan Aziz ................Staten Island, N.Y.10 ........Michelle Sorokko ................Douglaston, N.Y.12 ........Nicole K. Cee ......................New York, N.Y.13 ........Shelly Yaloz ........................Little Neck, N.Y.17 ........Isabella Nicole Tushaj ..........Bronx, N.Y.20 ........Carolyn Brodsky ..................New York, N.Y.23 ........Kyra Bergmann ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.25 ........Katherine Kachkarov ..........Flushing, N.Y.26 ........Perene Wang ......................New York, N.Y.27 ........Elisabeth G. Schlossel ........New York, N.Y.29 ........Gabriella Eitkis ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.30 ........Rebecca Eliana Fisch ..........New York, N.Y.35 ........Rebecca Izyayeva................Staten Island, N.Y.36 ........Zoe Kava ............................New York, N.Y.39 ........Diana Ellen Sosonkin ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.45 ........Diana McCready..................Brooklyn, N.Y.46 ........Anastasya Menshikova........Brooklyn, N.Y.53 ........Sarah Williams ....................New Hyde Park, N.Y.57 ........Dakota Fordham..................New York, N.Y.58 ........Lena Kovcevic ....................New York, N.Y.61 ........Amanda Solecki ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.64 ........Sabrina Boada ....................Woodhaven, N.Y.68 ........Stella Gray ..........................New York, N.Y.69 ........Steffi Antao ........................Briarwood, N.Y.71 ........Valicia Browne ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.80 ........Amy Kaplan ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.81 ........Kassia Taylor ......................New York, N.Y.82 ........Grace L. Kennedy ................New York, N.Y.83 ........Sophia Weiland ..................Ridgewood, N.Y.84 ........Zoe Sulju Moon ..................New York, N.Y.88 ........Isabella Hartman ................New York, N.Y.92 ........Cassie Tian..........................Flushing, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........Sarah Rahman ....................East Elmhurst, N.Y.6 ..........Aleksandra Bekirova............Brooklyn, N.Y.12 ........Alexus Gill ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.14 ........Dasha Kourkina ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.15 ........Jennifer Grace Richards ......New York, N.Y.16 ........Chelsea Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.17 ........Jennifer Yu ..........................Forest Hills, N.Y.23 ........Victoria Sec ........................New York, N.Y.26 ........Lauren Elizabeth Munari......Middle Village, N.Y.27 ........Nicole Veronica Semenov ....Brooklyn, N.Y.28 ........Michelle Sorokko ................Douglaston, N.Y.34 ........Regina Furer ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.47 ........Anastasia Nicole Koniaev ....Forest Hills, N.Y.48 ........Brittny Jo Ferreira ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.54 ........Juliana Kislin ......................New York, N.Y.61 ........Shelly Yaloz ........................Little Neck, N.Y.65 ........Katherine Kachkarov ..........Flushing, N.Y.71 ........Alice Soares Pinho ..............Woodside, N.Y.73 ........Christina Huynh ..................Astoria, N.Y.79 ........Olivia Simone Morris ..........Floral Park, N.Y.81 ........Kyra Bergmann ..................Forest Hills, N.Y.83 ........Olga Drahanchuk ................Brooklyn, N.Y.87 ........Danielle Kade ......................New York, N.Y.91 ........Sydney Lynn Katz ................New York, N.Y.92 ........Lia Kiam..............................New York, N.Y.99 ........Stephanie Li ........................New York, N.Y.103 ......Zoe Radojicic ......................New York, N.Y.108 ......Victoria Judy Hanuman ......Brooklyn, N.Y.112 ......Isabel Balilo ........................Flushing, N.Y.


N E W Y O R K R A N K I N G S113 ......Sarah Finley ........................New York, N.Y.115 ......Rachel Okin ........................New York, N.Y.130 ......Charlotte May Mosler ..........New York, N.Y.134 ......Miriam Irfan Aziz ................Staten Island, N.Y.136 ......Alexa Nobandegani ............New York, N.Y.138 ......Kaya Alagappan ..................New York, N.Y.141 ......Johnniesha Joy Breiten ......Bronx, N.Y.146 ......Diana Ellen Sosonkin ..........Brooklyn, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City1 ..........Anna Ulyashchenko ............Brooklyn, N.Y.2 ..........Jessica Golovin ..................New York, N.Y.3 ..........Jessica Melanie Livianu ......Brooklyn, N.Y.6 ..........Arnelle Sullivan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.7 ..........Sabrina Xiong......................Fresh Meadows, N.Y.17 ........Shayna M. Spooner ............New York, N.Y.25 ........Yuka Lin ..............................Kew Gardens, N.Y.27 ........Sophia Kryloff......................Brooklyn, N.Y.29 ........Isis Gill ................................Brooklyn, N.Y.35 ........Christina Puccinelli..............New York, N.Y.36 ........Jillian Rose Auteri................Staten Island, N.Y.37 ........Anastasiya Malinouskaya ....Staten Island, N.Y.41 ........Julia D. Fisch ......................New York, N.Y.47 ........Alexus Gill ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.53 ........Regina Furer ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.60 ........Ashley Sarah DelMissier......Forest Hills, N.Y.61 ........Julia Zbarksy ......................New York, N.Y.64 ........Michelle Khaimov................Jamaica, N.Y.67 ........Brianna Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.68 ........Alexandra Koniaev ..............Forest Hills, N.Y.76 ........Jennifer Grace Richards ......New York, N.Y.81 ........Dasha Kourkina ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.88 ........Jennifer Yu ..........................Forest Hills, N.Y.104 ......Marierose Apice ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.119 ......Aleksandra Bekirova............Brooklyn, N.Y.127 ......Cecilia Anne Swenson ........New York, N.Y.139 ......Vanessa Hanuman ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.140 ......Claire Harnett ......................New York, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City8 ..........Hannah Shteyn....................Staten Island, N.Y.10 ........Ariana D. Rodriguez ............Bronx, N.Y.11 ........Emily Safron........................New York, N.Y.16 ........Nadia Smergut ....................New York, N.Y.19 ........Lily Bondy ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.23 ........Samantha P. Tutelman ........New York, N.Y.25 ........Arielle N. Griffin ..................Jamaica, N.Y.27 ........Jessica Golovin ..................New York, N.Y.30 ........Destiny Grunin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.32 ........Alexa Sara Meltzer ..............New York, N.Y.36 ........Kimberly Salkin ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.39 ........Laura Maria Chitu................New York, N.Y.46 ........Stefani Lineva ....................Middle Village, N.Y.48 ........Victoria Lynn Zoha ..............New York, N.Y.67 ........Sophia N. Schlossel ............New York, N.Y.76 ........Anna Ulyashchenko ............Brooklyn, N.Y.96 ........Isis Gill ................................Brooklyn, N.Y.100 ......Elizabeth Tsvetkov ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.102 ......Augusta Conway ................New York, N.Y.105 ......Erika Tinalli ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.108 ......Arnelle Sullivan ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.115 ......Shayna Spooner ..................New York, N.Y.116 ......Jessica Melanie Livianu ......Brooklyn, N.Y.127 ......Ilana Levich ........................Staten Island, N.Y.128 ......Rebecca Fakas....................Little Neck, N.Y.129 ......Sabrina Xiong......................Fresh Meadows, N.Y.131 ......Champagne Mills ................New York, N.Y.132 ......Sophia Kryloff......................Brooklyn, N.Y.135 ......Allie A. Jackson-Hing ..........Rosedale, N.Y.139 ......Brianna Williams ................Brooklyn, N.Y.142 ......Christina Puccinelli..............New York, N.Y.146 ......Jenna B. Borenstein ............New York, N.Y.147 ......Arielle John ........................Cambria Heights, N.Y.148 ......Nia Rose ............................New York, N.Y.

Sectional Girls 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City3 ..........Leighann Sahagun ..............Queens Village, N.Y.7 ..........Emily Safron........................New York, N.Y.13 ........Ariana D. Rodriguez ............Bronx, N.Y.18 ........Becky Shtilkind ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.20 ........Hannah Shteyn....................Staten Island, N.Y.22 ........Manuela Velasquez..............Kew Gardens, N.Y.23 ........Alexis S. Tashiro ..................Jamaica, N.Y.26 ........Jacqueline R. Katz ..............New York, N.Y.33 ........Samantha P. Tutelman ........New York, N.Y.34 ........Angela Assal ......................Bronx, N.Y.37 ........Madison Gordon ..................New York, N.Y.40 ........Nadia Smergut ....................New York, N.Y.44 ........Arielle N. Griffin ..................Jamaica, N.Y.48 ........Dayana Agasieva ................Forest Hills, N.Y.49 ........Destiny Grunin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.52 ........Alexa Sara Meltzer ..............New York, N.Y.53 ........Kathleen Piit Uy ..................Elmhurst, N.Y.57 ........Allison Immergut ................New York, N.Y.60 ........Jordan P. Zola......................New York, N.Y.61 ........Katie Derienzo ....................Douglaston, N.Y.63 ........Lisa Ventimiglia ..................Bayside, N.Y.67 ........Marylen Santos ..................Jamaica, N.Y.73 ........Nicole Rydzewski ................Maspeth, N.Y.77 ........Monica Gokhberg ................Brooklyn, N.Y.78 ........Gabrielle Sullivan ................Brooklyn, N.Y.82 ........Kyra Silitch..........................New York, N.Y.87 ........Lily Bondy ..........................Brooklyn, N.Y.96 ........Loulou Revson ....................New York, N.Y.98 ........Charlotte Camacho..............New York, N.Y.101 ......Sophia N. Schlossel ............New York, N.Y.103 ......Jessica Golovin ..................New York, N.Y.108 ......Kimberly Salkin ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.109 ......Laura Maria Chitu................New York, N.Y.110 ......Jemila Brady ......................Bronx, N.Y.117 ......Joanna haich ......................Flushing, N.Y.127 ......Allie Jackson-Hing ..............Rosedale, N.Y.140 ......Olivia Boccardi ....................New York, N.Y.149 ......Rachel Colton......................New York, N.Y.

Boys & Girls National Rankings(as of 10/12/11)

BOYSNational Boys 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank..Name ..........................City145 ......Sumit Sarkar........................New York, N.Y.235 ......Jeffrey Gorilovsky ................Brooklyn, N.Y.296 ......Gary C. Fishkin ....................Staten Island, N.Y.354 ......Max Prohorov ......................Rego Park, N.Y.381 ......Sam V. Vagner......................Staten Island, N.Y.518 ......Ethan Leon ..........................Woodhaven, N.Y.575 ......Jacob Kern ..........................New York, N.Y.795 ......Kemal Irfan Aziz ..................Staten Island, N.Y.929 ......Oliver Jevtovic ....................Astoria, N.Y.

National Boys 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City25 ........James Franklin Wasserman New York, N.Y.48 ........Christopher Paul Auteri ........Staten Island, N.Y.62 ........Gal Mathew Sossen ............Oakland Gardens, N.Y.71 ........Oliver Sec ............................New York, N.Y.82 ........Edan Lee Sossen ................Oakland Gardens, N.Y.83 ........Alex Knaff ............................New York, N.Y.132 ......Mitchell Ostrovsky ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.141 ......Victor Miglo ........................Kew Gardens, N.Y.240 ......Alexander Thrane ................New York, N.Y.253 ......Cole Gittens ........................New York, N.Y.299 ......Ananth Raghavan ................New York, N.Y.348 ......Philip Raytburg ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.372 ......Aleksandar Kovacevic ..........New York, N.Y.378 ......Felipe P. Osses-Konig ..........Rego Park, N.Y.646 ......Marcus T. Smith ..................Little Neck, N.Y.758 ......Christian Gloria ....................Queens Village, N.Y.820 ......Noah Wilson ........................New York, N.Y.841 ......Ian Witmer ..........................New York, N.Y.

National Boys 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City23 ........Daniel Kerznerman ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.65 ........Joshua Yablon......................New York, N.Y.132 ......Zachary Yablon ....................New York, N.Y.245 ......Courtney Jaycen Murphy ....Bronx, N.Y.332 ......Win Smith............................Brooklyn, N.Y.340 ......Justin Fields ........................New York, N.Y.474 ......Artemie Amari......................New York, N.Y.550 ......Sachin Raghavan ................New York, N.Y.576 ......Ryoma Haraguchi ................New York, N.Y.581 ......James Franklin Wasserman New York, N.Y.645 ......Lucas Pickering ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.651 ......Richard Sec ........................New York, N.Y.955 ......Douglas L. Mo......................Douglaston, N.Y.

National Boys 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City21 ........Andrew Adams ....................South Richmond Hill, N.Y.62 ........Alexander J. Petrone ............Staten Island, N.Y.127 ......Richard J. Del Nunzio ..........Forest Hills, N.Y.330 ......Jake Sosonkin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.363 ......Stefan D. Ilic ........................Forest Hills, N.Y.421 ......Eric R. Brinzenskiy ..............Staten Island, N.Y.452 ......Daniel Kerznerman ..............Brooklyn, N.Y.

GIRLSNational Girls 12 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City50 ........Sarah Rahman ....................East Elmhurst, N.Y.106 ......Aleksandra Bekirova ............Brooklyn, N.Y.168 ......Chelsea Williams..................Brooklyn, N.Y.196 ......Dasha Kourkina ..................Brooklyn, N.Y.197 ......Alexus Gill............................Brooklyn, N.Y.209 ......Jennifer Grace Richards ......New York, N.Y.220 ......Jennifer Yu ..........................Forest Hills, N.Y.232 ......Lauren Elizabeth Munari ......Middle Village, N.Y.316 ......Victoria Sec ........................New York, N.Y.324 ......Michelle Sorokko ................Douglaston, N.Y.381 ......Nicole Veronica Semenov ....Brooklyn, N.Y.519 ......Regina Furer ........................Brooklyn, N.Y.685 ......Anastasia Nicole Koniaev ....Forest Hills, N.Y.

National Girls 14 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City33 ........Jessica Golovin....................New York, N.Y.39 ........Anna Ulyashchenko ............Brooklyn, N.Y.67 ........Jessica Melane Livianu........Brooklyn, N.Y.139 ......Sabrina Xiong ......................Fresh Meadows, N.Y.151 ......Arnelle Sullivan....................Brooklyn, N.Y.274 ......Shayna M. Spooner..............New York, N.Y.316 ......Isis Gill ................................Brooklyn, N.Y.363 ......Yuka Lin ..............................Kew Gardens, N.Y.407 ......Christina Puccinelli ..............New York, N.Y.492 ......Julia D. Fisch ......................New York, N.Y.495 ......Anastasiya Malinouskaya ....Staten Island, N.Y.569 ......Sophia Kryloff ......................Brooklyn, N.Y.770 ......Jillian Rose Auteri ................Staten Island, N.Y.

National Girls 16 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City48 ........Emily Safron ........................New York, N.Y.141 ......Ariana D. Rodriguez ............Bronx, N.Y.171 ......Nadia Smergut ....................New York, N.Y.213 ......Hannah Shteyn ....................Staten Island, N.Y.224 ......Lily Bondy............................Brooklyn, N.Y.238 ......Arielle N. Griffin....................Jamaica, N.Y.252 ......Samantha P. Tutelman..........New York, N.Y.292 ......Destiny Grunin ....................Brooklyn, N.Y.295 ......Jessica Golovin....................New York, N.Y.434 ......Alexa Sara Meltzer ..............New York, N.Y.710 ......Laura Maria Chitu ................New York, N.Y.752 ......Anna Ulyashchenko ............Brooklyn, N.Y.821 ......Stefani Lineva......................Middle Village, N.Y.945 ......Kimberly Salkin....................Brooklyn, N.Y.983 ......Victoria Lynn Zoha ..............New York, N.Y.

National Girls 18 Singles—Metro RegionRank ..Name ..........................City56 ........Leighann Sahagun ..............Queens Village, N.Y.82 ........Emily Safron ........................New York, N.Y.112 ......Jacqueline R. Katz ..............New York, N.Y.207 ......Ariana D. Rodriguez ............Bronx, N.Y.329 ......Becky Shtilkind....................Brooklyn, N.Y.363 ......Hannah Shteyn ....................Staten Island, N.Y.464 ......Manuela Velasquez ..............Kew Gardens, N.Y.470 ......Angela Assal ........................Bronx, N.Y.488 ......Arielle N. Griffin....................Jamaica, N.Y.516 ......Samantha Tutelman ............New York, N.Y.520 ......Alexis S. Tashiro ..................Jamaica, N.Y.533 ......Madison Gordon ..................New York, N.Y.562 ......Gabrielle Sullivan ................Brooklyn, N.Y.577 ......Dayana Agasieva ................Forest Hills, N.Y.786 ......Diana Dzarasueva................Brooklyn, N.Y.894 ......Nicole Rydzewski ................Maspeth, N.Y.895 ......Jemila A. Brady....................Bronx, N.Y.961 ......Charlotte Camacho ..............New York, N.Y.


NOVEMBER 2011Friday-Sunday, November 4-6 & Thursday-Saturday, November 10-12L1 Alley Pond Eastern Designated Closed ChampionshipsLevel 5 FICAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Grand Prix: B (14)s, FICSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries isMonday, Oct. 24 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Saturday-Sunday, November 5-13RIRC NTRP Men’s 4.0 TournamentRoosevelt Island Racquet Club281 Main StreetRoosevelt Island, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked N M (4.0)s, SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $70 per player (deadline for entries isWednesday, Nov. 2 at 12:00 p.m.)For more information, call (212) 935-0250.

Friday-Sunday, November 11-20L1B Sportime RI November ChallengerSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger B (14)s, SE; G (16-12)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries isFriday, Oct. 28 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Thursday-Sunday, November 17-20+Men’s 45 New York Tennis Indoors SectionalChampionshipsNew York Tennis Club Indoors3081 Harding Avenue Bronx, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked M (45)sdSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $65 per player singles, $35 per player doubles (deadline for entries is Thursday,Nov. 10 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 239-7919.

Friday-Sunday, November 18-20L3 Alley Pond Tennis Center ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Novice BG (14-10)s, RRSurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $40 per player (deadline for entries is Monday,Nov. 7 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, November 18-27L2O Sportime RI November ChampionshipsSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate B (12)s, SE; G (18-12)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday,Nov. 4 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Friday-Sunday, November 18-20L2O Alley Pond Open ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate B (18-14)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $50 per player (deadline for entries isWednesday, Nov. 2 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Wednesday-Sunday, November 23-27L1B NCT BG14 & G18 Thanksgiving Classic ChallengerNorth Shore Tennis-Go Tennis34-28 214th PlaceBayside, N.Y.Divisions: Challenger B (14)s, SE; G (18,14)s, SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $50 per player (deadline for entries isWednesday, Nov. 9 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 224-6303.

Friday-Sunday, November 25-27L3 Sportime RI November Eastern UPS ChampionshipsSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Novice BG (12-10)s, RRSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $40 per player (deadline for entries is Friday,Nov. 11 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Friday-Sunday, November 25-27November Adult Championships at Sportime Randalls IslandSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked M (Op, 35, 45, 55)s, SE; W (Op)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $65 per player (deadline for entries is Friday,Nov. 11 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information call (646) 783-5301.

Friday-Sunday, November 25-27USTA National OpensUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis CenterFlushing Meadows Corona ParkFlushing, N.Y.Divisions: B (12)s, FIC; B (12)d, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $102.63 per player for one event, $103.13 for two (deadline for entries is Thursday, Oct. 27 at noon) For more information, call (718) 760-6200.

Friday-Sunday, November 25-27USTA National OpensAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: G (12)s, FIC; G (12)d, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $102.63 per player for one event, $103.13 for two (deadline for entries is Thursday, Oct. 27 at noon) For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

USTA/Metropolitan RegionTOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

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


USTA/Metropolitan RegionTOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

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

Monday-Sunday, November 28-December 4Alley Pond TC Men’s & Women’s Singles ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked MW (Op)s, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $60 per player (deadline for entries isSaturday, Nov. 26 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

DECEMBER 2011Wednesday-Friday, December 2-4 & 9-11L1 Alley Pond Tennis Center ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester BoulevardQueens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Championships BG (12)sd, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player singles, $27.25 per player doubles (deadline for entries isMonday, Nov. 21 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, December 9-18L2O Sportime RI December ChampionshipsSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls IslandNew York, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate B (12)s, SE; G (16-12)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $50 per player (deadline for entries is Friday,Nov. 25 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Friday-Sunday, December 9-11L3 BG 10&U Gotham TennisStadium Tennis Center725 Exterior StreetBronx, N.Y.Divisions: Quick Start: BG (10 [60’Court/Orange Ball])s, RRSurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $35 per player (deadline for entries is Friday,Nov. 25 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (347) 515-4402.

Friday-Sunday, December 9-182011 NCT Holiday ClassicNorth Shore Tennis-Go Tennis34-28 214th Place • Bayside, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked X (Op)d, SE; M (35, 45, 55)sd, S E; W (35)sd, SESurface Type: Clay IndoorEntry Fee: $75.75 per player singles, $38.13 per playerdoubles (deadline for entries is Friday, Dec. 2 at 5:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 224-6303.

Monday-Saturday, December 12-17Alley Pond Men’s & Women’s ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester Boulevard • Queens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked MW(Op)s, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $60 per player (deadline for entries is Friday,Dec. 9 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, December 16-18L3 Sportime RI Eastern UPS December ChampionshipsSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls Island • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Novice B (10)s, RR; G (12-10)s, RRSurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $43.50 per player (deadline for entries isFriday, Dec. 2 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 781-5301.

Friday-Sunday, December 16-18L3 Alley Pond Eastern UPS ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester Boulevard • Queens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Novice BG (12-10)s, RRSurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $40 per player (deadline for entries is Friday,Dec. 2 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Friday-Sunday, December 16-18NTRP Alley Pond TC ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester Boulevard • Queens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Ranked NMW (3.0-4.0)s, SE; N W (3.0-3.5)d,SE; NX (3.0-3.5)d, SE; CM (6.0-7.0)d, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $60 per player (deadline for entries is Sunday,Dec. 11 at 11:59 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Sunday-Thursday, December 25-29L2O Alley Pond ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester Boulevard • Queens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Intermediate BG (18-10)s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries isMonday, Dec. 12 at 7:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

Monday-Friday, December 26-30L1 Sportime RI Holiday ChampionshipsSportime at Randalls Island1 Randalls Island • New York, N.Y.Divisions: Championships BG (18, 14-12 s, SE;Championships: BG (10 [78’Court/Yellow Ball])s, SESurface Type: UnknownEntry Fee: $54 per player (deadline for entries is Monday,Dec. 12 at 1:00 p.m.)For more information, call (646) 783-5301.

Monday-Friday, December 26-30USTA National Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Mixed OpenIndoor ChampionshipUSTA Billie Jean King National Tennis CenterFlushing Meadows Corona Park • Flushing, N.Y.Divisions: MW (Op)sd; X (Op)dSurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $86.50 per player singles, $43.50 per player doubles (deadline for entries isMonday, Dec. 12 at 5:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 760-6200.

Friday-Sunday, December 30-January 1L1 Alley Pond New Year ChampionshipsAlley Pond Tennis Center7920 Winchester Boulevard • Queens Village, N.Y.Divisions: Championships BG (16)s, SESurface Type: Hard IndoorEntry Fee: $54.25 per player (deadline for entries isFriday, Dec. 16 at 5:00 p.m.)For more information, call (718) 264-2600.

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

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

nytennis nov dec11

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