Camden Riviere won the 2014 IRTPA Championships in Manchester. Meanwhile, back at home, the National League got underway. Please check the calendar to find when the pros are coming to your club. It's a great opportunity to see how the game is really played!

 

The momentum for a court in Charleston continues to grow. Check out their progress and find out how you can become involved.

 

Are you suffering from an expanding waistline or is the court just getting bigger? This month's Tip from the Pros will advise you on how to overcome these problems.  Do you suffer from tennis elbow? We are introducing a new column by Dr. Anders Cohen - a neurosurgeon and avid tennis player - on medical issues. Find out this month how to deal with that pesky sore elbow. If you've got a question or suggestion for future topics for Dr. Cohen, send them to us.

 

Court tennis historians will be interested in a new blog by Cees De Bondt on "Caravaggio's Ill-Fated Tennis Match" and the connection to a painting entitled "The Death of Hyacinth." Ever wondered about the history behind The Fowler Hamilton Cup at Prince's Court and the connection to the War of 1812? Read on - we've got all the answers.

 

 

Until next month...

 

Sincerely,

Jane Lippincott - Editor 

U.S. Court Tennis Association

 

P.S. Don't forget to turn your clocks back.

 

             

Players from Aiken, New York, Newport, and Boston played in the dual tournament weekend in Boston for the U.S. Mixed Doubles and Jimmy Knott. 

 

A small but solid field of five teams played in the Mixed.  The first and second rounds went as expected with Pat and Jen Winthrop (#1 seed) meeting Dillon Aldrich and Amanda Avedissian (#2) in the final.  The Newport siblings got off to a great start and took the first set.  Dillon and Amanda regrouped, started making many fewer errors, and took the second fairly easily.  The teams exchanged games for most of the third set with great rallies all around.  Amanda's volleying, Dillon's gets and steady play, Pat's forces and good serving, and Jen's steadiness made for some very exciting points.  When the Winthrops went up 40-0 at 5/4, the crowd assumed the match was over.  After six match balls, the score would soon be knotted up at 5-5.  Dillon made some great gets and beat a chase better than three with a dedans shot to stave off a match ball.  Pat served a very good last game and Jen and Pat got some unforced errors to get ahead in the eleventh game, which they closed out.  A thriller of a match and one of the closest Mixed Doubles finals ever!

 

For the full story, photos and draws, click here 

The first medals of the 2014/15 season were awarded in Newport on October 12 at the USCTA Under 19 Junior Doubles. Known as the Lieb Cup, in honor of the late John Lieb, the event attracted nine players from Newport and Washington.

 

The weekend began on Friday afternoon with the players participating in a series of drills and practice games.  Saturday morning began with a clinic for Tiny Tots. Throughout the summer, Newport has been running a Tot's clinic for players between four and nine years old. Seven tots participated and then stayed on to watch the "big kids" go through their drills. Footwork, backhands and forehands were the focus of the Saturday morning drills.  Click here for the full story. 

The 2014-15 U.S. National League season is underway!  If a match is coming your club, you should make every effort to watch as it is a night full of unbelievable tennis and the professionals always appreciate your enthusiasm and support.  Throughout the season we will report the National League standings in the column to the right.  See below for match results and reports.  The Boston/Washington team, featuring world #1 Camden Riviere, is off to a strong start winning their first two matches.  Good luck to all of the teams!

OCTOBER 8 - New York def. Tuxedo/Philadelphia 2-1
OCTOBER 9 - Boston/Washington def. Chicago 2-1

OCTOBER 30 - Boston/Washington def. Tuxedo/Philadelphia 2-1

Camden Riviere successfully defended his IRTPA Championship title in Manchester this past month. Camden defeated Bryn Sayers in the final, 6-2,4-6, 6-4,6-4.  John Lumley, Rich Smith and Ricardo Smith also played in the tournament. Click here for the draw.

 

Next stop for the pros is the British Open  - Singles and Doubles - at Queens Club on November 16-25. The U.S. will be well represented by: Camden Riviere, James Stout, Rich Smith, Ricardo Smith, John Lumley, Steve Virgona, Tim Chisholm and Josh Bainton. We'll be sure to keep you posted on all the action via the website and Facebook.

 

Click for the British Open Singles Draw and the Doubles Draw 

The fund raising for Charleston is going great guns. We have $830K pledged which is over half the needed amount to build a court.

I was in Aiken two weekends ago and the buzz was buzzing about the court. It seems the Aiken guys and gals are seeing the potential for a sister court a couple of hours away and the pledges were starting to come in. For those of you that haven't pledged, now is the time!!! Go to the new web site, www.charlestoncourttennis.com and make a pledge today. No amount is too small or too large. We need everyone in the court tennis community to participate in this effort and we'll achieve our goal of a new court in America!!!

Daniel Island Club is incredibly pleased and impressed that we have raised this much money, but we need to have reached our goal of $1.6million by June 1, 2015.

Please contact me with any questions, or pledges (845)-642-2673.

Begin construction in the Summer of 2015 or bust!!!!!!!! 

Caravaggio's Ill-Fated Tennis Match
An Inquiry into a Painting
by CEES DE BONDT

After some nine years of research into The Death of Hyacinth painting an increasing number of art scholars that I contact for their opinion tend to support my interpretation that the production of the picture was sparked by Caravaggio's famous tennis match of 1606.

Follow me on this quest for the hidden identity of the painting. The story will be "served" out to you in sequels, unfolding itself as a whodunit, and following a trail that is full of twists and turns.

by HAVEN PELL

 

Followers of court building projects will recognize the name Francis Hamilton. He was deeply involved with the Washington effort in the 90s, the saving of the building at Troon from threatened demolition and with the near win in Edinburgh.

 

Fewer will know that he is a direct descendent of British General Robert Ross, who won the Battle of Bladensburg and led the burning of Washington in the War of 1812. At Bladensburg, the leader of the American forces, Commodore Joshua Barney, was wounded in the thigh and captured while slowing the inexorable British advance. Barney surrendered his sword and, because of his valor and that of his outmanned troops, General Ross paroled him rather than imprisoning him.

 

Tom Hamilton, Sculptor, Joanna Campbell Blake, Francis Hamilton and John Giannetti, the leader of the creation of the memorial. Careful observers will see Joshua Barney's thigh wound just over Tom's head. (Tom does not have a Mohawk; it was extremely windy.)

 

The sword, however, was passed down through the Hamilton family until Monday, October 20, when Francis presented it to the citizens of the United States of America at a ceremony at the Navy War Museum in Washington.

 

During their visit, Francis and his son, Thomas, both representing Hardwick House played a match against Temple Grassi and Haven Pell for the Fowler Hamilton Cup, originally donated by Hamilton and Ian Fowler, another founder of the Washington court, to serve as a prize for any contest between Prince's Court and a touring side from England.

 

Grassi and Pell were victorious by 10-7 thus evening the Washington-sacking score albeit 200 years late. Since very few actually know who won the War of 1812 and since it was the last time England and the United States were on opposite sides in a war, the commemorative picture split the two teams rather than having the contestants stand on opposite sides of the cup, which is seen at hazard Hamilton (a.k.a. the door) commemorating an earlier act of generosity.