by Liz Kobak
@LizTennis
U.S. Davis Cup Team To Compete In Open Air Baseball Stadium For First Time At Petco Park
The event is being organized, staged and promoted by the USTA. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on December 6 (a USTA member pre-sale begins December 4). For more information, fans can call the U.S. Davis Cup hotline at (888) 484-8782 or visit www.usta.com/daviscup.
“Our squad is ready to go up against a tough adversary in the British squad,” said U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier. “Andy Murray is one of the strongest players in the sport and we expect our home crowd to come out and support us in what will be a thrilling Davis Cup tie.”
ATP World Tour Stars Raise Children’s Charity Funds
ATP Stars Juan Martin del Potro, Tomas Berdych and others helped Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity collect £410,000 at Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Gala at London’s Natural History Museum on Saturday.
The Moët & Chandon sponsored Gala launched Barclays’ 2013 ATP World Tour Finals (playing through November 11) and generated essential funding for Great Ormond Street Hospital’s new respiratory ward. Now in its third year, the 2013 Gala brought the total charity money raised to £1.2 Million since 2011. An exclusive auction was held on Saturday, including a chance to meet the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champion and a rare gold-leaf Methuselah of Moët & Chandon signed by red carpet World Tour players.
“The Gala has been another terrific success, and a great way to welcome many of the world’s best players to London ahead of next week’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals,” said Barclays ATP World Tour Finals Tournament Director Andre Silva. “We’re very proud to have helped raise more than £400,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity for a third consecutive year, and would like to thank all those who gave so generously on the night in support of such a worthy cause. We look looking forward to another spectacular season finale at The O2 over the next eight days.”
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals has welcomed more than one million fans to its O2 arena these past four years, becoming one of the world’s most lucrative and highly attended indoor tennis tournaments since moving to London in 2009. Tickets are available here: http://www.BarclaysATPWorldTourFinals.com.
USTA Names Tennis Development Workshop Awards Recipients
The USTA announced that eight tennis coaches and administrations were honored at its Tennis Development Workshop in Denver Nov. 1-3 for holistically enhancing this beloved game.
There were six 2013 award categories:
- Adaptive Tennis National Community Service Award: USTA Adaptive Tennis program leader exhibited continual tennis excellence, dedication and service. Winner: Omaha Tennis Buddies, Omaha, NE. (http://www.tennisbuddiesrock.com/)
- Eve F. Kraft Community Service Award: Bestowed upon those who exemplify Kraft’s mission to give everyone wanting to play tennis opportunities. Kraft was a teacher and USTA staff member who introduced many disadvantaged community members to tennis. Winner: Celia Rehm, Jacksonville, FL.
- Janet Louer USTA Jr. Team Tennis Organizer of the Year: Awarded to individuals who positively impact children’s lives and communities. Winner: Heidi Stryker, Irvine, CA.
- National Community Tennis Association of the Year: Honors one CTA for developing tennis in its respective community. This category contains 17 nominees, one from each USTA section. Winner: Savannah Area Tennis Association, Savanna, GA.
- National Junior Tennis & Learning Chapters of the Year: Awards organizations that maximize their tennis programs according to their specific budgets, segmented into three tiers. Winners: A’s & Aces (Exceeding $500,000), New Orleans, LA; Prince George’s Tennis & Education Foundation ($50-500,000), Prince George County, MD; Olivencia Tennis (less than $50,000), San Sebastian, Puerto Rico.
- Trainer of the Year: One who promotes tennis’ growth through exemplary on-court training. Winner: Bill Phillips, Lafayette, LA.
Troicki Missing ATP Action Midway Through 2014 Season
The International Tennis Federation announced that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel has lowered Viktor Troicki’s ITF match suspension from 18 to 12 months.
This decision came after careful evaluation of Troicki and the Doping Control Officer’s misunderstanding. Given Troicki’s degree of fault, his suspension was replaced with a 12-month ineligibility period effective July 15, 2013; he is allowed to compete again after July 15, 2014. While Troicki’s Monte Carlo Masters matches, prize money and ranking points won are still disqualified, the CAS has allowed Troicki to retain prize money and ranking points attained from other competitions he played.
Last week the ITF announced Marin Cilic’s reduced tennis suspension. Read more about Troicki’s here: http://www.itftennis.com/antidoping/news/decisions/cas-decision-in-the-case-of-viktor-troicki.aspx#fwlViMwqR6XJHsUx.99.
Opponent’s Ethnicity Makes Tunisian Tennis Player Forfeit Match
The International Tennis Federation banned Tunisia from the 2014 Davis Cup after one of its players was ordered not to compete against an Israeli opponent at a Challenger last month.
The ITF said in a statement that the Tunisian federation was guilty of “interfering with international sporting practice” when it ordered Malek Jaziri to withdraw from his quarterfinal against Israeli player Amir Weintraub at an ATP Challenger tournament in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The ITF said its board voted unanimously to suspend Tunisia from the Davis Cup for one year, with Tunisian member Tarak Cherif recusing himself from the vote.
Jaziri, who was ranked top 70 ATP last year, caused his country’s Davis Cup suspension after tennis federation representatives allegedly forbade him from playing his Israeli opponent. Once Tunisia’s tennis federation officials heard of this upcoming match-up against Weintraub, a federation representative allegedly immediately interceded via e-mail and demanded Jaziri withdraw indefinitely. Tunisia’s top-ranked tennis player initially cited a knee injury as his reason for withdrawal.
“There is no room for prejudice of any kind in sport or in society,” said ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti. “The ITF Board decided to send a strong message to the Tunisian Tennis Federation that this kind of action will not be tolerated by any of our members.”
Tennis Channel Debuting New Studio Set, Live Show
Tennis Channel unveiled its new studio set this November in conjunction with men’s year-end championships coverage Nov. 4-11 and Davis Cup Finals Nov. 15-17.
The Culver City, CA set introduced live coverage show Tennis Channel Live – similar to what the network provided on the US Open grounds and other tournaments in recent years. In 2014 it becomes home to nightly tennis news update show Court Report.
“Viewers have reacted extremely positively to the on-site studio shows at the Slams and other competitions, and we’ve always planned to expand this concept to more events throughout the year,” said Tennis Channel Executive Producer Bob Whyley. “We cover more than 100 tournaments every year, and envision a point where Tennis Channel Live is used to enhance virtually all of them. It was important to us that the new set reflected our signature conversational environment, as opposed to a straight news desk. Tennis has never had this type of studio show on television, and this is a natural progression in our network’s evolution as the sport’s on-air home.”
The new set debuted on Monday during Tennis Channel’s live and week-long coverage of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, featuring coverage by sportscaster Brett Haber, Hall of Famer Tracy Austin and former top 5 ATP pro Jimmy Arias. Roland Garros Champion Michael Chang, renowned coach Paul Annacone and WTA sensation Sloane Stephens are making show appearances.
Liz Kobak won the 2013 USTA National Women’s Open Singles Grass Court Championship. She is a 2010 Columbia University graduate and Northwestern University journalism master’s recipient. She is a former WTA ranked pro and #1 ranked United States junior tennis player who rates her 6-4, 6-1 win on Italian clay over Sara Errani as her best victory.
