The inaugural Laver Cup, pitting Team Europe against Team World, was a huge success and the best idea to reinvigorate tennis in a long time. This was the tennis version of Golf’s Ryder Cup, and it was fast-paced, exciting and highly-competitive. I’m no fan of tennis exhibitions, because it is not real competition as the…
Maria Sharapova is back and better than ever. She is practically unstoppable. With this year’s U.S. Open behind us, it’s now time for the “Maria Sharapova Image Rehabilitation Tour.” Maria has a tell-all, say-nothing book about the profound difficulties of being a beautiful, wealthy, incredibly successful tennis star who was rightfully convicted of cheating. The…
The U.S. Open is about to bring the tennis world together into our backyard, but here on Long Island, the local tennis scene is anything but cohesive and it’s worth a discussion. Self-promotion is a great way to grow your program, but sadly, I see many examples of some going too far with dishonest representations,…
Imaging playing great to get to the finals of the biggest stage in tennis. Here is your chance for immortality, your shot at striking out Babe Ruth or slamming on Michael Jordan and you get flattened over by a runaway freight train. You might just cry. Marin Cilic did and who can blame him? The…
How would the best male tennis player do against the best female tennis player? The man would win. What if the man were pregnant and the woman had the superpowers of Jessica Jones? The woman would win. What if the man were ranked better than 700th in the world and he played Serena Williams? The man would…
The two big stories at this year's French Open are the coming out party of Jelena Ostapenko and the total domination of the men's field by Rafa Nadal. The 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko did more than just fill a void at the top level of women's tennis. She played with the heart of a champion and…
Back in the day, men's tennis was ruled for a time by big-mouthed boors who railed against the injustices and perceived slights inflicted by the tennis establishment. The irony, of course, is that these rebels without a clue rarely played by the rules of sportsmen-like behavior. Some of these tennis thugs have grown up, but…
The Memphis Open, the only indoor ATP tournament in the U.S., is leaving after 41 years and relocating to The Nassau Coliseum next February. Remember when pro tennis was scheduled to come to Long Island last year at Hempstead Lake State Park? That "event" folded before it got started, but this is the real deal, led by…
Roger Federer won the BNP Paribas Open last week after a recent six-month injury layoff. At the ripe age of 35, he is rewriting the record books, seemingly defying the laws of physics and human biology. With both Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray struggling, it's reasonable to pencil Roger in as an early Wimbledon favorite…
I watched a highly ranked student compete in a national tournament the other day and behave emotionally, talking to herself, throwing her arms up in the air and displaying anger at her performance. Her opponent responded with a few "questionable" line calls and yes, I believe it was a response to my student's behavior. Not…