champion john

By Leigh Sanders

* Four-time US Open champion John McEnroe will officially announce Wednesday the opening of his John McEnroe Tennis Academy housed at the new $18 million SPORTIME at Randall’s Island tennis and fitness facility just off of Manhattan. The academy will begin its first full season of junior tennis this September and joins an already bustling complex which includes SPORTIME Stadium, home of the WTT franchise the New York Sportimes. There are 20 indoor and outdoor Deco-Turf and Har-Tru courts which are enclosed for the indoor circuit and lit for evening play, while the facility also encompasses a 20,000 sq.ft. clubhouse which incorporates classrooms, a computer lounge and fitness and training facilities. McEnroe has said that the academy will run an “open call” policy where players can try out for scholarships starting in September.

* The USTA have announced that four clay courts are to be installed at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens, NY, in a bid to improve American’s fortunes on the surface. It will be the first appearance of such courts since the arena opened in 1978. Poor results for Americans during this year’s clay-court season has led to criticism of the country’s approach to the surface and the USTA agrees that changes have to be made as opposed to ten year’s ago when clay was not even considered when developing a player. “Now, every player who comes through the USTA system will have a very strong grounding in clay-court tennis,” said Gordon Smith, executive director of the USTA, in a meeting of reporters to help promote Tennis Month. Multi-Grand Slam tournament winner Chris Evert has backed the decision insisting that the surface helped her body keep fit in a sport where injuries are all too common. “It’s much better for your body,” she told the gathered reporters. “I never had one injury and I was brought up on clay. If you want to prolong your career, grow up on clay.”

* Officials of San Diego’s WTA tournament have announced that Mercury Insurance Group have signed a deal to sponsor the newly crowned Mercury Insurance Open played at the La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, California from July 31-August 8. The tournament is one of the 10 Olympus US Open Series events and stars such as Ana Ivanovic, Daniela Hantuchova and Dinara Safina have already signed up to play.

* IUPUI officials have announced that the Indianapolis Tennis Centre is to be demolished ahead of the long-running ATP event’s movement to Atlanta this July. All indoor and outdoor courts will be removed to allow the NCAA headquarters at White River State Park to expand. The NCAA is funding the project.

* Eleven cities have bid to host this year’s Fed Cup Final to be competed by the USA and Italy. Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Pacific Palisades and San Diego have indicated an interest as have Cleveland, the island of Hawaii, Jacksonville, Fla., Portland, Ore., St. Louis and Surprise, Ari. Final bids are due to the USTA by June 4 for the November 6-7 showpiece and the winning venue will be announced the week beginning June 14.

* AEGON International tournament director Gavin Fletcher hopes for a better men’s field at Eastbourne in 2011. While 13 of the to 20 female players will be on show this year John Isner (ranked No. 19) will be the top player in the male draw. “We won’t accept the status quo. We want the men’s event to improve,” he told BBC Sport. “We need to try and attract more players down here in the future.” The Lawn Tennis Association has also announced that the 34^th annual Maureen Connolly Challenge Trophy will take place alongside the AEGON International event in Eastbourne. The three-day event pitches the top U18 female players from GB against the USA in the best of 12 3-set matches – eight singles rubbers and four doubles.

* The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London’s o2 Arena won the ‘Business Achievement of the Year’ award at the 2010 British Sport Industry Awards in London last Thursday (May 13). The ceremony, attended by 1,500 top businessmen and athletes, was recognized as being a resounding success in terms of attendances and income for the sport of tennis. The tournament attracted an indoor record of 256,820 over the eight days and the ATPWorldTour.com website drew a weekly record of eight million visits and over 1.5 million video streams. The o2 Arena also won the ‘Sports Venue of the Year’ award while the ATP finals also made the final shortlist for the award for the ‘Best Use of Digital Communications in Sport.’

* The ATP has announced changes to this year’s World Tour Finals which will “improve scheduling and qualification” according to BBC Sport. There was confusion on court last year as Juan Martin del Potro faced an agonising wait following his win over Roger Federer while officials worked out whether he’d pipped Andy Murray to qualification from the group stages. Up-to-date information on group standings is to be displayed on big screens throughout the matches to help supporters and competitors while evening games have been moved forward to 8pm after many supporters had to leave before the end of matches in 2009 to catch the last trains home. “We listened to feedback from the public, fans, players and media and thought it made sense to move it,” said ATP executive chairman and President Adam Helfant. The 2009 event was regarded as a success despite the problems.

* The All England Club has announced that an official “Championships Poet” will be on hand to provide unique coverage of “everything Wimbledon” during this year’s tournament. British comedian and poet Matt Harvey has been selected for the gig and he is said to be “delighted.” As well as the every-day events like matches, umpires and the stereotypical strawberries and cream, he may even get to write about a meeting with Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who is said to be attending the tournament on June 24, her first visit since 1977.

* Both Kim Clijsters and Nikolay Davydenko will miss the 2010 French Open through injury. 2009 US Open winner Clijsters has suffered with a build-up of fluid in her ankle so has called time on her 2010 clay-court season. Russian world No. 6 Davydenko joins Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in missing out with a wrist injury. James Blake, Igor Andreev, David Nalbandian, Gilles Simon, Tommy Haas, Urszula Radwanska, Sania Mirza and Sabine Lisicki are all also absent.

* 2004 Wimbledon semifinalist Mario Ancic has been handed the first wildcard to the AEGON International Championships at the Queens Club this summer as he continues his comeback from the illness which almost ended his career. The Croat missed the second half of 2009 with his second bout of Glandular Fever and says he cannot wait to get back out on the grass, his favorite surface. “The tournament was always really good to me – the Tournament Director gave me a wild card when I was 18 and now again, and we have always had a great relationship,” said Ancic in an official statement. “Coming to Wimbledon again this time is going to be an exceptional feeling for me after missing it last year. Grass is where I had my best results and I feel I can do a lot of damage. I believe I have a shot to go a long way.”

* 19-year-old Ukrainian Kristina Antoniychuk has become the latest tennis player to be banned for doping. The ITF announced on May 12 that she tested positive for the banned diuretic furosemide at the Mexican Open on February 22. She claimed the drug entered her system through a prescription and while the ITF accepted her explanation they reminded all players that they are responsible to ensure “no prohibited substance enters their body.” Her sentence lasts 14 months and she can return to action on April 21, 2011. All her results since the test will be disqualified.

* Promotion has begun on this year’s China Open with a parade of Miss Bikini winners from throughout the world around the centre court. Organisers want a “more fashionable” event this year according to the report on the Sky Sports News channel.

* The New York Sportimes are making it very easy to watch world-class tennis at their $18 million state of the art Sportime at Randall’s Island Tennis Center this July. The Sportimes will provide free shuttle bus service from several stops on the East Side of Manhattan, starting two hours prior to each match and returning to the same locations following the conclusion of each night’s event.  For the July 5, 11 and 12 matches, the team will also reimburse Sportimes ticket holders who drive to Randall’s Island for the matches for their RFK bridge toll.  Ticket holders who submit a paid toll receipt, or show an EZ-Pass badge, will have the cost of the toll subtracted from their ticket price or reimbursed onsite.  More information at www.NYSportimes.com.

* John Isner, currently ranked No. 19 in singles on the ATP Tour, will play for the WTT Boston Lobsters on July 13 when Boston hosts the Springfield Lasers.  The Lobsters have put together a special tennis clinic and luncheon package for Isner fans.  For more information, visit www.BostonLobsters.net.

* Lleyton Hewitt has become only the second Aussie, after Pat Rafter, to pick up the ARAG Fair Play Trophy at the ARAG ATP World Team Championships in Dusseldorf this week.

* Martina Navratilova has announced she will couple her cancer radiation treatment with partnering Jana Novotna at the French Open senior doubles event. The four-team mini tournament takes place during the second week of Roland Garros which begins Sunday.

* MorFit Performance, the New York-based sports brand worn by stars like Pat Cash, has been announced as one of the initial sponsors of new NESN tennis show “World Tennis with Harry Cicma.” For more information, go to www.MorfitPerformance.com

* Tennis Magazine and Tennis.com editor James Martin has left his position to become a soccer writer for ESPN.com.

* Former USTA Chief Business Officer Pierce O’Neil has put his home in New Canaan, Conn., on the market with a listing price of $5.1 million

* There have been changes in the staffing of the International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum in Newport, RI, recently. Bill Rompf is no longer the Director of Tennis while Dave Baldwin has taken up the post of Chief Marketing Officer.