Carol and I dropped over on that afternoon to watch the doubles finals. Unfortunately Rhona and her partner lost.

We went back Sunday to watch the singles final. Rhona played a woman from New Mexico. If we can call Rhona “The Backboard”, then this woman was “The Backboard Plus”. She made maybe 5 unforced errors from the baseline in the entire match. And her passing shots were something to behold, among the best I have seen below the Tour. She hit them from everywhere, no matter from how deep or off-court. which partially negated Rhona’s offense. You could call her PSQ (Passing Shot Queen). But she did not know that our Rhona is DSQ (Drop Shot Queen), which Rhona used to devastating effect.

Rhona lost the first set and was down 1-4 in the second, but battled back (for hours) to serve for the match. On her 3rd match point (4 and a half hours after they began), Rhona hit an approach to the backhand, and PSQ rifled yet another ripper cross-court. Earlier this would have been just another winner (as Rhona said later, “I was getting pissed”), but a lunging backhand drop-volley, feathered just over the net, was an unreachable drop-dead-struck winner. Game-set-Championship, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.

Way to go, Rhona!!! They should put you in the Hall of Fame. (Oh, wait, they already did!)

Robert Culbertson

Tennis is changing the way we think about kids tennis. I remember playing tennis with my friends starting about age 11. I was tall, skinny and competitive but the game of tennis was frustrating to me. My parents threw me in lots of clinics and private lessons, and with enormous dedication and determination I began to get the hang of it.

But honestly, why make it so difficult for kids to play and enjoy this sport? Well, the answers have finally arrived. Just like all of the other junior sports, who use appropriate size equipment and courts, tennis is going to make it kid friendly with scaled down equipment and smaller playing fields.

In 2012, all USTA sanctioned tournaments for 10-and-under are required to be played using a combination of smaller courts, lighter and lower-bouncing balls and smaller and lighter racquets. Scaling tennis to a child’s size allows them to rally and play the game more quickly.

Why is this so important to our sport? As a teaching tennis professional, I will have the tools to teach the young players how to achieve success quickly, without losing them to frustration or bad habits! With the smaller courts, lower bouncing balls and smaller rackets designed for kids 10 and under, kids are able to rally and play the game early on. This makes tennis fun and increases the likeliness that they will return to the court eager to play again and again all the while improving their skills.

As leaders in the industry, Greenwood Athletic and Tennis Club recognizes the positive effects these tennis balls will achieve, but not just for 10-and-unders, but also for other ages. From our Future Stars to our Quickstart players to Grand Prix and Aces, we will utilize the appropriate tennis ball. You will witness how our youngest of players to the more advanced junior will exhibit better technique and overall enjoyment due to these changes..

Youth basketball and soccer and baseball all use smaller equipment and playing fields to build a strong foundation and now, tennis is there, with kids in mind. After all, other sports don’t make kids play like adults, so why should tennis?

Women’s 3.0 Doubles:  Martha Heppard / Diana Pahnke
Women’s 3.5 Doubles:  Helene Wolk / Rebecca Hite
Women’s 4.0 Doubles:  Tricia Banks / Kelly Root
Women’s 4.5 Doubles:  Amy Hand / Julie Wilson

Men’s 3.0 Singles:  Krishnan Kannan
Men’s 3.5 Singles:  Steven Arnold
Men’s 4.0 Singles:  Mark Arlen
Men’s 4.5 Singles:  Tom Forti
Men’s Open Singles:  Mark Miller

Men’s 3.0 Doubles:  Gary Wolfson / Patrick Lee
Men’s 3.5 Doubles:  Cole Wist / David Schott
Men’s 4.0 Doubles:  Greg Jensen / Mark Arlen
Men’s 4.5 Doubles:  Adam Burbary / Dave Perkins
Men’s Open Doubles:  Ryan Haith / Dave Hand

Mixed 6.0 Doubles:  Jan Smart / Krishnan Kannan
Mixed 7.0 Doubles:  Michelle Harmsen / Shami Behbehani
Mixed 8.0 Doubles:  TBD
Mixed 9.0 Doubles:  Amy Hand / Adam Burbary