Happy New Year! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and are all rested up as it's going to be a busy couple of months ahead. Over a dozen national championships are on the line, National League, the U.S. Open and the 2015 World Doubles Championship and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Wow!

2014 ended on a high note with the Whitney Cup weekend. New York reversed last year's result by beating Greentree/Aiken in the final. The annual USCTA dinner and auction were a huge success, with over $100,000 being raised for Charleston. In addition to the auction, seven individuals were honored for their efforts over the past year from sportsmanship to improvement to service to the game. It was a spectacular weekend.

Camden Riviere won the National Open over James Stout capturing his third consecutive National Open title to add to his growing list of international wins in the past year. National League continues on in January and February before the pros turn their attention to the U.S. Open scheduled for late February in Boston.

Speaking of Camden, this month's Pro Tip comes from the 2014 USCTA Professional of the Year - Tony Hollins. According to Tony, if you stay calm, you too can retrieve just like Camden. What an interesting goal for 2015.

Tuxedo is busily planning for the 2015 World Doubles Championship, while Jim Zug and crew are gearing up for the second annual International Tennis Day in June. Don't worry, though, there's plenty more going on between now and June - just check the website.

New year, new look is what we're saying about our new website. Thanks to Jon Crowell and Ryan Carey, we have a new look. Take a peek and tell us what you think. 

Sincerely,

Jane Lippincott - Editor 

U.S. Court Tennis Association

Happy holidays to all!

2014 NATIONAL OPEN

For the full story and draws, click here.  

THE 81st WHITNEY CUP

by Zach Sacks

The Racquet & Tennis Club hosted the 81st annual Payne Whitney Intercity Doubles competition December 12th - 14th. The tournament included six teams of ten players each with nearly all of the top-50 U.S.  amateurs represented. Matches were best of three set affairs with 2-2 shortened third sets and no deuce-ad scoring. Four young at-heart rookies (Peter Cipriano, Geoff Ellis, John Saxe, and Gary Swantner) took to the courts in tow of their wizened teammates.

Beginning on Friday morning, the East court hosted two matchups in Group 1: Greentree-Aiken vs. Philadelphia and New England vs. Philadelphia. With some fresh blood and high hopes, Philadelphia fell flat against Greentree-Aiken. Despite close sets and good efforts in the second and fourth pairs, it was only the Philadelphia senior team of Dick Tanfield and Peter Vogt which came away with a win over the reigning champions; 4-1 in matches, Greentree-Aiken over Philadelphia.  

Click here for the full story. 

CHARLESTON UPDATE: JANUARY 2015

For more information on Charleston Court Tennis and how you can make a pledge, visit  www.charlestoncourttennis.com  or contact Greg Van Schaack at (845)-642-2673.

THE NEPTUNE BOOK
OF TENNIS & RACKETS

James Bruce will be visiting U.S. club in February to promote his book The schedule is as follows:

"THE NEPTUNE BOOK OF TENNIS & RACKETS " by James Bruce will be published in February 2015.

This is a complete revision and update of his father the late Lord Aberdare's earlier books, which have long been internationally regarded as the most authoritative works on the games of Real Tennis and Rackets.  It provides the reader with a comprehensive account of everything that has happened in the games from their inception hundreds of years ago to 2014.

This new edition is bursting with over 300 new photos all in colour covering not just active courts and players but also every known court still standing in the UK, Ireland, USA and Australia.

The book contains comprehensive and completely re-written chapters on the history and present situation of every active court in the world (over 200 new pages) covering all that is new in the games-people, places, clubs and achievements. The author has also scoured the records of the UK, Australia, Canada, France and the USA to bring the statistics of all major tournaments up to date.

This large format book has over 450 pages.

The order form for either the £35 standard edition or the £350 leather-bound limited edition (100 copies) can be found by clicking here. 

If for any reason you are unable to open the attachment, send an e-mail (with your mailing address) to alan@tennisbookshop.com and a printed copy of the order form will be immediately mailed to you wherever you are in the world."