We started the 2015-16 season on a high note. In the last five days of September we had the Bathurst Academy in New York, the Sears Cup in Boston and the first National League match in Newport. And, we are just getting started - it is going to be a great year!

Charleston Court Tennis continues to roll along with an anticipated construction start date by the second quarter of 2016. They are so close, but your help is still needed. Be sure to read Greg Van Schaack's article for all the details.

The "Doctor" is back this month and reporting from the maternity ward. Don't miss this story. Rob Whitehouse, in this month's Pro Tip reminds us that hitting the ball at a "Mach Ten" pace is fun, but not necessary when going for the Tambour. Read on to find out what you should do.

The New Yorker refers to our sport as "antique" but not the woman who dominates it - Claire Fahey. We've attached a link to the story that appeared last weekend. Speaking of Claire, Rob Fahey won the 2015 French Open singles and teamed up with Tim Chisholm to win the doubles. Congratulations to both.

Finally, could someone please tell Joaquin to take a hike? I don't want to be known as the weather reporter for tennis. Fingers crossed she goes far, far, out to sea.

Until next month....

Sincerely,

Jane Lippincott - Editor

U.S. Court Tennis Association

THE LATEST FROM CHARLESTON

By Greg Van Schaack

Attention all Charleston Court Tennis pledgees and potential donors!!!

The collection of pledges has begun in anticipation of starting construction in 2016. It is critically important that all pledges be paid by December 1st so that Daniel Island has comfort to include us in their permitting process with the goal of beginning construction on the new court tennis court by early in the second quarter of 2016 (hopefully April!!!)*. For those of you who have made pledges, instructions are spelled out below. For those of you intending to give (and we still need substantially more support) the same instructions apply.

1) All donations may be made through the Charleston Court Tennis website using a major credit card. Just go to www.charlestoncourttennis.com and click on the "Contribute Now" and then the "send donation" icons. The funds will be deposited in the US Court Tennis Preservation Foundation account. Please consider adding an additional amount on to your credit card payment to defray the credit card charges incurred by Charleston for this convenient payment method.

2) Checks may be made out to the US Court Tennis Preservation Foundation and mailed to: USCTPF c/o Jane Lippincott PO Box 194, Jamestown, RI 02835

3) Appreciated stock may be endorsed to the US Court Tennis Preservation Foundation for credit against your pledge.

As we go forward, you can be certain that your interests and money are being watched over by an outstanding group of people whose goal it is to finish this project, on time and on budget!! The Charleston Court Tennis, LLC Advisory Committee is comprised of the following individuals:

Greg Van Schaack - President, Charleston Court Tennis, LLC
William Blalock - Treasurer, Charleston Court Tennis, LLC
Charles de Casteja - Head of New Court Development USCTPF
Matt Sloan - President of the Daniel Island Company
Greg Keating - General Manager of the Daniel Island Club
PJ Yeatman - USCTPF Board Member & experienced real estate developer
Archie Gwathmey - Retired Corporate Executive and resident of Tuxedo Park, NY and South Carolina
William Hall - Former Tuxedo Park resident and President of American Classic Tea Company, Wadmalaw Island, SC
Calhoun Witham - Charleston based financial planner and member of Aiken Tennis Club
Mike Noll - former court tennis professional and current building contractor
Ex Officio - William McLaughlin - President USCTPF
Ex Officio - Jeremy Wintersteen - President USCTA

Your committee is already meeting and working closely with Daniel Island Club to expedite the permitting process, finalize the completion of drawings, and the oversee the construction project once begun. All donors should know that Daniel Island will be the project manager. They have worked closely in the past with the construction company that we have chosen, Hill Construction, and are very comfortable with the job of project manager.

Everyone who has pledged, given or intends to give, please pat yourselves on the back. This project could not have gotten this far without your invaluable support!!! The CCT, LLC thanks you very, very much. We're moving forward to BREAK GROUND IN APRIL!!!!

*In the very unlikely event that this project does not break ground, all donations made through the USCTPF will become property of the Foundation's new court development fund and may be redeployed on a different project. Tax deductibility should not be affected.

B Division: Forton & Corrance- finalists, Hollins, Schenkein & Inselbuch (winners)

2015 SEARS CUP

by Arthur Drane

The R.D. Sears Cup was held at the T&R last weekend. It is the first USCTA tournament of the 2015-2016 season! We hosted players from seven different clubs. Players traveled from far and wide. Besides a great draw in Court Tennis, there were tournaments in Racquets and Squash as well. Matches began on Thursday evening and continued through to Sunday. On Friday evening there was a BBQ held in the parking lot. Nelson and Alex had the grill going for hours. It was a beautiful evening weather-wise. Good to get outside after playing matches all day. Saturday brought another full day and evening of matches in all three sports. During the end of Court Tennis play there was a cocktail party held in the Hamlen Room. "Keytar Bear" provided entertainment. A legendary street performer who has been listened to and photographed with thousands of fans, both local and especially tourists. Sunday morning saw the last matches being played before the Finals in each division. Final Playoffs began at 2 PM and continued until after 6 PM. I would like to extend a special thanks to the Pros. Tony, Camden and Matt did an excellent job marking. Janice Pearson, Tom Dobbins and Tom Picken keep things running smoothly. Mario and Oscar kept the club looking great! All in all it was a fun filled weekend. Thanks to everyone who came from out of town. For those that could not come please keep us in mind for next year!

Click here for the results and photos.

Photo from Barney Tanfield

2015 BATHURST ACADEMY

by Barney Tanfield

Last weekend The United States formally started preparations for the 2017 Bathurst Cup in France. Six players from Bathurst Academy met in New York for a vigorous training camp. Pat Winthrop, Alex Spence, Peter Cipriano, Garrett Gates, Tom McGinnis and Danny McBride each spent more than intensive ten hours on court throughout the weekend.

The Bathurst Academy is part of an overarching Player Development program run by the United States Court Tennis Preservation and Foundation and The United States Court Tennis Association. Both organizations actively support the academy and its goals of reinvigorating the top tier of amateur Tennis in the United States.

Special thanks for this training camp go to both the USCTA and USCTPF as well as the Racquet and Tennis Club and it's professionals Adrian Kemp, Neil Smith and Barney Tanfield.

THE DOCTOR IS IN...

by Dr. Anders Cohen

Dr. Cohen goes outside his usual "practice" and visits
the maternity ward of court tennis racquets!!

Click here to read about the Doctor's on-site visit.

French Open Doubles - Photo from Comite Francais Courte Paume

2015 FRENCH OPEN

The 2015 French Open was held in Paris in September. Rob Fahey defeated Steve Virgona in the singles - 6-1,6-0,3-6,6-4. Fahey teamed up with Tim Chisholm to win the doubles over Kieran Booth and Ben Matthews. The score was 2-6,6-1,6-1,6-5.

Click here for the draws.

OCTOBER

9-11

U.S. JUNIOR NATIONALS/

LIEB CUP

WASHINGTON

U19, U17, U15, U13
Junior Doubles

16-18

JIMMY KNOTT

BOSTON

Top amateur level singles

23-25

HADDEN TOMES INVITATIONAL

Registration Form

TUXEDO

Invitational Handicap Doubles

NOVEMBER

5-8

SILVER RACQUET

NEW YORK

Invitational singles for the top 12 amateurs

5-8

NY OPEN HANDICAP

NEW YORK

Handicap singles for professionals and amateurs

6-8

U.S. LADIES OPEN

BOSTON

Singles and doubles championships

13-15

CALHOUN WITHAM

AIKEN

Doubles for handicaps 25 and over

19-22

JIMMY DUNN

PHILADELPHIA

Doubles round robins for multiple levels

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 2015-16 SCHEDULE

TIPS FROM THE PROFESSIONALS

Use that Tambour

By Rob Whitehouse

I know that we all know how hard it is to read the Tambour! How many points do we lose on the receiving side from misreading the tambour? The ball hits square, goes behind us, misses then goes under the grille or catches the edge! Keep a tally the next few matches that you play and I bet you will see that a lot of your points are lost judging that tambour. So hit the tambour is the play this month! Remember to vary up speeds and height. Hitting the ball Mach Ten is fun but the higher, medium pace to the tambour will probably get the job done. Watch your opponent scramble trying to read the high Tambour, but another good tip is don't laugh when they hit it into the floor!

Good Luck on the court and hope to see you at the Jimmy Dunn in November!

2015-16

NATIONAL LEAGUE

SCHEDULE

New England vs New York

30th September @ Newport

New England wins 5/2

Hollins defeats Kemp
2/6 6/3 6/5

Howell loses to Stout
6/2 5/6 4/6

Hollins/Howell defeat Stout/Kemp 8/7

New York vs Chicago / Philadelphia

5th October @ New York