Ex tennis journalist (@Extennisjournal) header
Ex tennis journalist (@Extennisjournal) profile picture

American writer/reporter/researcher.

USA
Joined September 2011
Riyadh was hit with missiles again today. That’s the 4th time. If I were signed up to play Six Kings in Riyadh next week, I would have withdrawn by now. The airport, which was hit earlier, is a 15 minute drive from the venue where the tourney is staged.
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The airport is closed until Oct. 17th. I find it very strange that we haven’t heard a single word from the Six Kings Slam people.
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Exactly 40 years ago, Aug. 1986, I was at a tennis exhibition at the Rye Town Hilton. USSR Davis Cup player Alexander Zverev Sr. was playing (along with top ten players at the time). None of us could have imagined he would have a son that would win 2 Slams in 2026. Life is wild.
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And six years later, he’s at the U.S. Open. Thanks for turning us on to him, Colette!
B12s quarterfinalist Teodor Davidov never hits a backhand. Alternates serving left-handed and right-handed too #adidasEasterBowl
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So here is my take on all the court side seats along the alleys in Arthur Ashe that became available to the general public this year. The USTA tried to do what Roland Garros and Wimbledon were doing…offer the best seats with a hospitality package. (Part 1 of 2)…
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Usually with Roland Garros and Wimbledon, you get a gift, like a free towel. No such luck here. The menus and all day snacks are excellent, but the Blue Room service was a tad bit slow. The air-conditioning was on way too high in the Blue Room. (part 2 of 3)…
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But the convenience of having your seat just a 30-second walk to your 5th row stadium seat was worth it. (The Overlook has better snacks and it’s self serve but you have to walk to the stadium). I would give this first-time attempt by the USTA a B+.
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Off the top of my head, I think the last time we saw an all-Czech women’s singles final at Wimbledon was when Martina Navratilova beat Hana Mandlikova exactly 40 years ago in the 1986 final. However Martina had already become a U.S. citizen five years earlier, in 1981.
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I’m going to chime in here about the doubles game. It requires quick hands, a totally different strategy than the singles game, and can offer rapid fire net play that’s truly entertaining. I think the people who dont watch doubles just haven’t learned to appreciate this. (1 of 2)
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(2 of 2). And doesn’t anybody remember in the 1990s, the year-end ATP finals were held in one city for singles, and another city/continent for doubles. The Woodies were popular back then, having won 11 Slams. The doubles tournaments were always well attended.
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Two Sinners won in California today: Jannik in Indian Wells, and the movie “Sinners” at the Oscars.
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Anybody watching the Australian Open in the USA can watch it live on ESPN Deportes Vivo. If you are an Optimum cable subscriber, in the New York area, it’s on channel 227 (next to Tennis Channel on 226).
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Yes! Very entertained!
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED 🤯🤯🤯 Rapid fire doubles action in Turin! #NittoATPFinals | @CheloArevaloATP
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Front row tickets for the first day of the WTA finals in Riyadh are $22. That’s a good price for 4 matches.
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It was nice and sunny about 20 minutes ago at the @DavisCup at Delray Beach, with the doubles being played, and Czechia was ahead in the second set after losing the first set in a tiebreaker. Suddenly the siren went off for lightening and everybody had to evacuate the stadium.
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But the match resumed at 6:07 pm, Florida Time. It’s sunny again.
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And less than 2 years later, the 🇨🇿 sister act win the U.S. Open junior girls doubles title.
If you watched 15-year old Czech Alena Kovackova win the Wimbledon juniors in 2023, you should keep an eye on her 14-year old sister Jana who won the #JOB23 @veltri_tennis Orange Bowl 14 & Unders in Florida today. Another Czech sister act to watch for in the future!
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Anybody else pulling their hair out with this men’s doubles final? Wow, at 40 years old, Zeballos and Granollers are serving for the championship.
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And the #5 seeds won! Wow. What a match.
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Art Seitz, Whose Camera Caught Tennis Greats On and Off the Court, Dies at 82 nytimes.com/2025/09/05/sport… via @NYTimes Thanks to @christophclarey for catching this earlier today in the NYT obits. Art was a character, part of the old guard of ‘70s and ‘80s tennis photographers (more)
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It was a smaller, more intimate circle of full-time tennis writers and photographers back then. Art Seitz, Mel DiGiacomo, Michael Cole, Carol Newsom and more. Back when the players could hang out freely on the club terrace, watching matches without getting mobbed by spectators.
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