Tickets for U.S. vs. Spain Davis Cup tie in Austin go on sale to the general public on Friday
The USTA announced that tickets for the 2011 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal between the United States and Spain to be played at the Frank Erwin Center on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, from July 8-10, will go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 8 at 10 a.m. CDT. An exclusive pre-sale for tickets started on Tuesday and will go until Wednesday or until supplies last. Tickets are sold as a three-day series with prices ranging from $90 to $500. Tickets can be purchased by calling (888) 484-8782 or by visiting texasboxoffice.com. This will be the fifth time a Davis Cup tie has been played in Texas and first since the United States knocked off visiting Spain 3-1 in the 2002 quarterfinal at the Westside Tennis Club in Houston. The United States squad is 4-0 all-time in Texas during Davis Cup competition.
Records broken again at Sony Ericsson Open
Records galore were broken at last week’s Sony Ericsson Open, a hot spot for not only the players but for fans around the world. A record total of 316,267 fans visited the Tennis Center at Crandon Park during the two week event just minutes south of Miami in Key Biscayne, including the men’s finals attendance record of 14,625 on Sunday, April 3, which saw No. 2 ranked Novak Djokovic beat world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in three nail-biting sets. This year, nine sessions sold out, while 33,203 showed up to watch the tennis on Saturday, March 26, breaking that days old 2007 record of 32,916. For the second year in a row, all 348 vacation packages were sold out for the event. Overall, more than 14,000 hotel rooms were booked directly through the Sony Ericsson Open. On site retail sales saw an increase as well, up 65 percent from last year.
Charleston to host 2011 World TeamTennis Finals
The “Best Tennis Town in America” also known as Charleston, S.C., will host the 2011 World TeamTennis (WTT) Finals at the Family Circle Tennis Center from July 22-24. The three-day, season-ending event will include WTT Conference Championship matches and the WTT Finals. In 2010, the Kansas City Explorers captured their first championship and the King Trophy, named after WTT co-founder Billie Jean King. The 36th season of the WTT Pro League kicks off on July 4 and runs through July 21. The top two teams from each conference advance to the WTT Finals Weekend presented by GEICO in Charleston. The Eastern Conference Championship is set to take place on Friday, July 22 at 7 p.m., while the Western Conference Championship is set for Saturday, July 22 at 5 p.m. The Conference Champions face off for the title on Sunday, July 24 at 5 p.m. Tickets for the WTT Finals Weekend presented by GEICO went on sale on Monday, April 4. Weekend packages range from $50 – $150, with single session tickets priced at $15 – $55. Tickets can be purchased through the Family Circle Tennis Center Box Office at (800) 677-2293 or through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.familycirclecup.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
Tennis Social Network website launched by former college tennis standout
Just last week, a brand new tennis social networking website for players and fans around the world was launched by Dennis Riegraf of Stuttgart, Germany, a former star tennis player at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. Riegraf, who led the Fighting Knights to the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2007 and is currently working full-time in finance in South Florida, created the social networking website on his own to allow tennis fanatics the opportunity to enjoy the sport at a whole new level. TennisBook365 (http://www.tennisbook365.com) helps you connect and share with all tennis players, coaches, fans, beach tennis players, organizations and tournaments worldwide through an innovative approach incorporating the most popular social networking applications. Riegraf said some of the features will remind users of Facebook. Features on the brand new website include: Profile, Players Lounge (Similar to Facebook’s popular newsfeed), Find Players (An area where you can search for players in your respective city), Tennis Buzz (Tennis News and Scores of ATP, Challenger, and Futures Tournaments), TennisTube (Video channel, where you can rate and comment on all videos), Your Shots (An area where users can upload and share tennis related pictures), Groups, Forum, Tennis Tweets (Features all ATP, WTA and retired tennis players that are on Twitter – listing all their tweets in real time, plus celebrities on Twitter), Practice (You can play a tennis game and 60 other games), TennisWood – Gossip Blog Outlet (Similar to Perez Hilton and TMZ), Fantasy Tennis, Recruit and Sponsor Me (Listing all D1, D2, NAIA schools and giving advice about eligibility and recruiting. Members can upload their resumes so they can get recruited), Centre Court (Events and set-up rallies), Health & Fitness and Beach Tennis. TennisBook365 is already very active on Twitter (@TennisBook365). The official Twitter page for TennisBook365 has more than 390 tennis enthusiasts already following its every tweet.
Second season of Fit to Hit with Danielle Dotzenrod on Tennis Channel is off and running
On Sunday, April 3, the second season of Fit to Hit with host Danielle Dotzenrod on Tennis Channel premiered. Fit to Hit is a half-hour tennis health and nutrition series, which will take a look at sports diet and fitness from a tennis player’s prospective. Tailored for both amateur and professional players, new episodes of the series will be shown Sunday nights this spring. In the first episode that was just shown, Danielle enjoyed power training with Andre Agassi’s longtime trainer, Gil Reyes, and enjoyed power foods and supplements. The episode was filmed in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The next episode can be seen on Sunday, April 10.
International Tennis Hall of Fame accepting open nominations for Class of 2012 until April 15, 2011
The International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum is currently accepting open nominations for the Induction Class of 2012. Nominations may be made in three categories – Recent Player, Master Player and Contributor. Nominations for 2012 are due on April 15, 2011, and may be submitted online at tennisfame.com/NominationForms. All nominations will be reviewed by the Hall of Fame’s Enshrinement Eligibility Committee to determine those who have met the minimum criteria for induction. Voting panels comprised of tennis media, tennis industry experts and Hall of Famers will vote on the ballot that is established. The ballot for 2012 induction will be announced during the 2011 US Open, and those elected by the Hall of Fame’s voting panels will be announced early in 2012. The official Class of 2012 Induction Ceremony will take place in July 2012 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum in Newport, Rhode Island.
Murray and Berdych granted wild cards into Monte Carlo
No. 4 ranked Andy Murray and No. 7 Tomas Berdych were awarded main draw wild cards into the Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo, which will take place at the Monte Carlo Country Club from April 9-17. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has won the prestigious red clay court tournament six consecutive years.
Tsonga drops coach Eric Winogradsky
The French Tennis Federation announced on Monday that Frenchmen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has parted ways with coach Eric Winogradsky after having him by his side since 2004. Winogradsky helped coach Tsonga to a runner-up finish at the Australian Open in 2008, five ATP World Tour singles titles and a career-high ATP ranking of No. 6 in 2008. The French Tennis Federation said Tsonga will organize his own coaching structure from here on out.
Clijsters not playing Fed Cup or Madrid due to shoulder and wrist injuries
Kim Clijsters announced that she will be skipping Belgium’s Fed Cup semifinal next week against the Czech Republic, as well as the Madrid Open in early May due to a shoulder and wrist injury. The former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam singles champion said a busy spring schedule overexerted her right shoulder and wrist. She will not be able to hold a tennis racket for the next few weeks. Clijsters, currently ranked No. 2 on the WTA Tour, hopes to return on May 9 in Rome, which will allow her two weeks of good preparation before the start of the French Open in Paris. “I don’t want to force anything,” said Clijsters. “I want to avoid at all cost that this becomes chronic.”
Venus will travel to Germany for United States’ Fed Cup match, won’t participate
Venus Williams will travel to Germany for the United States’ Fed Cup World Group playoff match in Stuttgart, but is not expected to play due to a hip injury that has sidelined her since the Australian Open. The United States Tennis Association said Tuesday that Williams’ management team said she would accompany the team. The USTA said it considers that enough to fulfill participation requirements for the 2012 Olympics, because Williams is willing to play Fed Cup and can’t because of injury.
Raymond and Huber to team up on trial basis
Doubles legends Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber announced that they will be teaming up together in doubles on a trial basis. For most of 2011, Raymond has been playing with Julia Goerges, while Huber has been playing mainly with Russia’s Nadia Petrova since splitting with Cara Black. “Huber and I are going to start to play some together and give it a shot,” Raymond said in her WTA blog. “Amazing to think that after all of these years we have never played together while having played against each other countless times. The long and short of it is that, like any relationship, things happen. Some partnerships work out, others don’t and you just hope you are better as a result from each experience…None of us have a crystal ball and can see what the future holds. In life, you take chances, leaps of faith and hope for the best. I am excited about this opportunity and time will tell.”
Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) signs two new corporate members
Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) announced the signing of two corporate members, BoomerTennis.net and Solar Bat Leverage. BoomerTennis.net, the ultimate online tennis club, combines social networking opportunities with major consumer discounts and expert, age relevant information to form the premier site for active, adult tennis players of all skill levels. Solar Bat Leverage is known as the most advanced tennis sunglass lens ever developed. With its patent pending gradient green tint, the tennis ball and lines are illuminated, while blocking out damaging and often blinding rays of the sun. Solar Bat Leverage presents advanced technology with superior visual enhancements of a player’s most important tertiary targets, the ball and lines.
Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond Park is the best kept secret in the New York City tennis world
The new Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond Park, located in the shadow of Yankee Stadium at East 152nd Street and the Harlem River, can be labeled “the best kept secret in New York City tennis.” With sixteen cushioned, US Open style deco-turf, hard courts – including twelve indoor courts which are open for indoor play from October through April — New York City’s newest indoor/outdoor tennis center commenced its first indoor season at the end of 2010. The tennis center is an integral part of Mill Pond Park and the Yankee Stadium Redevelopment Project. Formerly a vacant and decaying industrial site, Mill Pond Park has been transformed by the City of New York into a new 10-acre park, the first significant park on the Bronx bank of the Harlem River in decades. In addition to the new tennis center and adjacent clubhouse, Mill Pond Park features an outdoor classroom, beach area, picnic/barbeque area, waterfront views, a large sunken lawn space, sitting/viewing platforms, historical and way-finding signage, landscaping and an esplanade that unites the site. The state-of-the art indoor seasonal “bubble” covering twelve tennis courts at the Stadium Tennis Center is one of the largest tennis bubbles or domes of this type in the world, covering an area of over 4 million cubic feet and a footprint of more than 75,000 square feet. In addition, an adjacent planned clubhouse will be completed in the coming months and will feature a pro shop, café, locker rooms and lounge areas, wi-fi computer access, workspace where children can do schoolwork and read, and a tennis library. The excellent lighting, high indoor ceilings and spacious backcourts of the new Stadium Tennis Center are sure to please the tennis playing public and tournament level players. The Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond Park offers a full complement of tennis programs for juniors and adults of all skill levels in partnership with Gotham Tennis Academy, a leader in developing and operating tennis programs in New York City. Through its partnership with Gotham Tennis Academy, the new tennis center has established a team of top-notch, experienced tennis professionals and offers popular junior development and advanced training tennis programs including high performance elite training for ranked juniors. For adult players, fast-paced group clinics and Cardio Tennis workouts are offered daily, in addition to indoor seasonal court rentals, private lessons, game arranging, leagues and tournament play. The tennis center can be accessed easily by public transportation as it is located across the street from the 153rd Street Yankee Stadium MetroNorth Hudson line train stop – just a short walk from either the 161 Street-Yankee Stadium or 149th Street-Grand Concourse subway stops on the No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, B or D subway lines. By car, the facility can be reached from Exit 4/5 on the Major Deegan Expressway (Interstate Route 87). Sixty parking spots are available for patron’s use. For more information about Stadium Tennis Center at Mill Pond Park, visit www.stadiumtennisnyc.com or call (718) 665-4684. Visit www.gothamtennis.com or call (646) 292-3511 to learn more about the Gotham Tennis Academy.