A Senior Tennis (USA and International) & Travel website by Carolyn Nichols
USTA Announces Young Seniors Teams (35/40/45) for Croatia in September
2021 Young-Seniors World Championships (35/40/45)
Good luck everyone!
Click here to see the list on usta.com
ITF Seniors World Championships (50/55/60) Date Change!
Below is the text of the press release issued today by the ITF (International Tennis Federation). Link to press release on ITF tennis.com
Click here for more information on the ITF World Championships.
The ITF has today confirmed, following consultation with the Croatian Seniors Tennis Association (host organiser) and other tournament stakeholders, that the 2021 ITF Seniors (50-55-60) World Championships in Umag, Croatia, originally scheduled to take place from 6-19 June 2021, will now be played from Sunday 29 August to Saturday 11 September. The event will remain in Umag, with the Team event running from 29 August – 3 September, before the Individual event from 4-11 September.
The ITF Seniors Committee has taken this decision in light of the ongoing situation, globally and in Croatia, with significant travel restrictions remaining in place for many nations and regions. At this time, too much uncertainty remains to allow participants to make the necessary arrangements for an event of this scale in June. The health and safety of everyone involved remains the foremost priority.
The rescheduled Seniors World Championships will immediately proceed [sic] the ITF Young Seniors World Championships which begin on 12 September. The ITF Young Seniors World Team and Individual Championships remain scheduled to take place in Umag from 12-25 September as well as the Super Seniors World Team and Individual Championships on Mallorca, Spain from 10-23 October 2021.
Players and teams are advised not to book any travel or accommodation until the tournament fact sheets have been published, approximately 4 months prior to the event.
2021 Young Seniors (35/40/45) Cup Team Information
Are you eligible to participate? Read the guidelines here. Of particular importance are the following changes which supersede the eligibility requirement and timelines as follows:
2021 Young-Seniors World Championships (35/40/45)
2021 Young Seniors Team Championships – Participating Teams**
Factsheets, Accommodation and Travel Documents:
The 2021 ITF Young Seniors (30*-35-40-45 years) World Team & Individual Championships will take place in Umag, Croatia from Sunday 12 September – Saturday 25 September 2021. The Team Event will take place from 12 – 17 September 2021. The Individual Event from 18 – 25 September 2021.
2020 ITF Seniors World Championships, Men’s and Women’s 50, 55, 60
Team Tournament: April 26 – May 2, 2020
Individual Tournament: May 2 – 9, 2020
Location: Boca Raton (team) & Palm Beach Gardens (individual), Fla.
Important Dates:
October 1, 2019: Application posted on USTA.com.
November 10, 2019: Application deadline.
November 13, 2019: Players who have applied for consideration will be posted on USTA.com.
November 18, 2019: Deadline to notify the USTA of any omissions to the posted applicant list (cutoff date for 24 month period for which to consider results).
December 16, 2019: Team selection posted to USTA.com and players will be notified of their status.
January 20, 2020: All paperwork (excluding travel itinerary) due to USTA staff (including player agreement, media packet, copy of passport, & IPIN).
February 1, 2020: Players may begin to make their travel arrangements.
March 1, 2020: Travel arrangements due to staff.
April 26, 2020: Seniors World Team Championships begins.
2020 Young-Seniors World Championships (35/40/45)
Team Tournament: Sept. 13 – 19, 2020
Individual Tournament: Sept. 19 – 26, 2020
Location: Umag, Croatia
Important Dates:
March 1, 2020: Application posted on USTA.com. Click here to view
April 11, 2020: Application deadline.
April 14, 2020: Players who have applied for consideration will be posted on USTA.com.
April 19, 2020: Deadline to notify the USTA of any omissions to the posted applicant list (cutoff date for 24 month period for which to consider results).
May 11, 2020: Team selection posted to USTA.com and players will be notified of their status.
June 11, 2020: All paperwork (excluding travel itinerary) due to USTA staff (including player agreement, media packet, copy of passport, & IPIN).
July 11, 2020: Players may begin to make their travel arrangements.
August 10, 2020: Travel arrangements due to staff.
September 13, 2020: Seniors World Team Championships begins.
2020 Super-Seniors World Championships (65/70/75/80/85)
Team Tournament: Oct. 11 – 17, 2020
Individual Tournament: Oct. 17 – 24, 2020
Location: Mallorca, Spain
Important Dates:
April 1, 2020: Application posted on USTA.com.
May 1, 2020: Application deadline.
May 5, 2020: Players who have applied for consideration will be posted on USTA.com.
May 10, 2020: Deadline to notify the USTA of any omissions to the posted applicant list (cutoff date for 24 month period for which to consider results).
June 1, 2020: Team selection posted to USTA.com and players will be notified of their status.
July 1, 2020: All paperwork (excluding travel itinerary) due to USTA staff (including player agreement, media packet, copy of passport, & IPIN).
August 1, 2020: Players may begin to make their travel arrangements.
September 1, 2020: Travel arrangements due to staff.
October 11, 2020: Seniors World Team Championships begins.
Click here for the 2019 Senior International Cup team selection guidelines.
Draws for 2019 Super Senior Cups in Umag Now Posted
Please click on the following links below to view the final draws for the 2019 ITF Super-Seniors World Team Championships.
Kitty Godfree Cup, W 65 (USA is in Group A); USA is in the 1-4 playoff
Althea Gibson Cup, W70 (USA is in Group B); USA in the 1-4 playoff
Queens’ Cup, W75 (USA is in Group B); USA in the 1-3 playoff
Doris Hart Cup, W80 (USA is in Group B); USA in the 1-3 playoff
Britannia Cup, M65 (USA is in Group C); USA in the playoff or 1st
Jack Crawford Cup, M70 (USA is in Group F); USA in the 1-6 playoff
Bitsy Grant Cup, M75 (USA is in Group B); USA in the play off for 1st
Gardnar Mulloy Cup, M80 (USA is in Group B) USA in the playoff for 1st
Men’s 85 Cup. (5 team round robin)
More information here including links to blog articles and players.
USTA Announces Super Senior (65-85) Timeline for Umag, Croatia: Applications Are Closed; View List of Applicants; Teams Announced May 1st
The USTA sends teams to the ITF World Team Championships annually. For 2019 the 65/70/75/80/85 are playing in Umag, Croatia.
Applications are now open until April 1. Applications are now closed
The list of applicants can be found here.
For more information including a link to the guidelines for team selection, click here.
The timeline posted on USTA.com is:
ITF Super Seniors World Championships, Men’s and Women’s 65, 70, 75, 80, 85
Team Tournament: September 15 – 20, 2019
Individual Tournament: September 21 – 28, 2019
Location: Umag, Croatia
Important Dates:
March 1, 2019: Application posted on USTA.com.
April 1, 2019: Application deadline.
April 5, 2019: Players who have applied for consideration will be posted on USTA.com. .
*April 10, 2019: Deadline to notify the USTA of any omissions to the posted applicant list (cutoff date for 24 month period for which to consider results).
May 1, 2019: Team selection posted to USTA.com and players will be notified of their status.
June 1, 2019: All paperwork (excluding travel itinerary) due to USTA staff (including player agreement, media packet, copy of passport, & IPIN)
July 1, 2019: Players may make their travel arrangements.
August 1, 2019: Travel arrangements due to staff.
September 15, 2019: Super Seniors World Team Championships begins
*The results for any tournament that has started by this cutoff date will be considered in its entirety.
2019 World Championships Dates & Sites (Seniors: Portugal; Super Seniors: Umag; Young Seniors: Miami Beach)
From the ITF Website:
2019 Seniors World Team Championships
The ITF are pleased to confirm that the ITF Seniors World Team & Individual Championships 2019 will take place in Lisbon & Estoril, Portugal from Sunday 4 August to Saturday 17 August 2019. The Team Championships will run from Sunday 4 August to Friday 9 August although Saturday 10 August will be used if there is inclement weather. Further information will be made available in early 2019.
2019 Super Seniors World Team Championships
The ITF are pleased to announce that the 2019 Super-Seniors World Team Championships will take place in Umag, Croatia from Sunday 15 September 2019 to Friday 20 September 2019. Please note, Saturday 21 September will be used if necessary.
Further details of the 2019 event will be made available early in 2019.
2019 Young Seniors World Team Championships
The ITF are pleased to confirm that the ITF Young Seniors World Team & Individual Championships 2019 will take place in Miami Beach, Miami, FL, USA from Sunday 20 October to Friday 25 October (Saturday 26 October will be used if necessary). The Individual Championships will run from Saturday 26 October to Saturday 2 November inclusive. Further information will be made available in early 2019.
Saturday September 29, 2018, Reporting from San Diego, CA
The ITF Super Senior Individual World Championships finished in Umag today and American players can back with seven titles including one singles gold ball.
Dori DeVries (NorCal) won the 80 singles title in Umag, edging her teammate Burnett Herrick (NC) in the final in a match tiebreak. The 80s women dominated the division, also taking bronze in singles (Roz King, SoCal) and gold, silver and bronze in doubles. Dorothy Wasser (FL) combined with Inge Weber, CAN to win the doubles, edging DeVries/King for the title. Carol Wood (MD)/Herrick took bronze. Kaz Saito was a semifinalist (bronze medalist) in 80 men’s singles. Nick Ourusoff (USA) was a bronze medalist in mixed with Elena Mikola.
Daniel Grossman (NorCal)/Andrew Rae (AUS) successfully defended their men’s 65 doubles title.
Bruce Barrett (FL) won his first world title, teaming with Chris Ornstien (GBR) to win the men’s 70 doubles crown. Liane Bryson (SoCal) also won her first world title, teaming with Petro Kruger (RSA) to take the women’s 70 title. Brenda Carter (SC)/Elle Krocke (NED) were bronze medalists.
In the 75s, Cathie Anderson (SoCal)/Fred Drilling (FL) won the mixed, handing Peter Pokorny his only loss of the fortnight. Drilling/Jimmy Parker (NM) were doubles finalists. Donald Long was a singles finalist, having edged Drilling 76 in the third before falling to Pokorny in the final. Parker was a bronze medalist as well. Suella Steel (SoCal)/Charleen Hillebrand (SoCal) were bronze medalist in women’s doubles.
Joe Russell/George McCabe won the men’s 85 doubles and Russell was a finalist in singles.
All results can be found here.
Photos are here from team event.
USA Wins Four Titles in Croatia
Posted from San Diego, CA
The USA ended a successful week in Umag Croatia with four gold and four silver medal winning teams.
The USA won the Men’s 65 (Britannia), 85s, Women’s 65 (Kitty Godfree) and 80 (Doris Hart) Cups.
The USA was a finalist in the Men’s 75 (Bitsy Grant) and 80 (Gardnar Mulloy), Women’s 70 (Althea Gibson) and 75 (Queens) Cups.
The Men’s 75 fell 2/1 to Austria. Don Long won at #2, Jimmy Parker lost a tough 3-setter to legendary Peter Pkorny and Michael Stewart/Fred Drilling fell in doubles.
In men’s 80s, Sweden upset the USA 2/0. Lester Sack won at #2 singles, Kaz Saito fell at #1 and Goldwater/Hayes dropped the doubles point.
Please click on the following links below to view the draws and order of play for the 2018 ITF Super-Seniors World Team Championships.
Draws for individual world championships
USA Wins Doris Hart Cup; Other Finals are Ongoing
Friday September 21, 2018, Palm Desert, California, USA; 5:15 am PDT
A second article will be written tomorrow, or earlier to recap all matches.
The USA Women’s 80s team, the Doris Hart Cup, beat Great Britain today in Umag, Croatia, to give the USA a second gold medal winning team (the Men’s 85 won yesterday). Dori DeVries won first at #2 singles and Roz King clinched the win at #1 singles. Both wins were emphatic.
The Men’s 70s beat Great Britain today to clinch a 9th place spot. After losing the first day the team won four consecutive matches. Geoff Moore and Brent Abel won the singles point; the doubles is ongoing. (Thanks to Don Clark for the photo).
In other finals, the USA is up 1/0 in the women’s 65 (Kitty Godfree) over Australia; the men’s 65 (Britannia) over Austria and is down 1/0 in the women’s 70s (Althea Gibson) against France. The women’s 65 team is shown below (photo by Carol Clay).
The women’s 70s team: (photo courtesy of Liane Bryson).
Please click on the following links below to view the draws and order of play for the 2018 ITF Super-Seniors World Team Championships.
USA Wins Men’s 85s; Will Play for Seven Cups Friday; Teams Go 4/0 on Thursday
Thursday, September 20, 2018
San Diego, California, USA
The USA will compete in seven finals on Friday in Croatia. Matches in Center, Grand Stand and Court 1 at ATP Stadium will be streamed live (see links below). Draws have been posted for individuals, see link below.
The USA was in action in four Cups today, the Men’s 65, 70, 75 & 85.
The USA WON the Men’s 85 behind the singles play of Saul Snyder and Joe Russell and the doubles expertise of George McCabe/Chuck Nelson. Here’s a photoof McCabe, Snyder, Russell and Nelson from the opening ceremonies. They beat Australia in the final round robin match, going 4/0 in the competition.
The Men’s 70s, Crawford Cup, has been on a roll since their loss on Monday. They beat Finland 3/0 today and play for 9th tomorrow. Geoff and Brent played the doubles; Clark and Hammel played the doubles (winning again in a match tiebreak).
The Men’s 65s and 75s both played Australia today in their respective divisions and both won 2/1.
The Britannia Cup team, M65 saw Dave Sivertson win at #2 singles; Len Wofford played a great match against Andrew Rae but fell 76 64 and Paul Wulf/Tom Smith won the doubles point. Photos courtesy of Jeanne Sivertson; I created the collage.
In the Men’s 75, Bitsy Grant cup, G. Waygood was too good for USA’s Fred Drilling at #2 singles, winning 76 46 62. Jimmy Parker at #1 won 64 64 over A.Walker. Drilling and Michael Stewart were too good for Waygood/B. Rehn, winning 64 62.
Matches on center court are being streamed here: http://Htsv.hr/live-stream. Matches start at 9am CET (GMT +2).
Please click on the following links below to view the draws and order of play for the 2018 ITF Super-Seniors World Team Championships.
Draws for individual world championships
September 19, 2018
San Diego, California, USA
The USA reached the final of all four women’s events in the ITF Super Senior World Team Championships in Umag, Croatia for the second straight year. In 2017 the women went four for four in the finals. However, three of the four teams had to win the doubles to advance today.
On the men’s side, the men’s 65 and 75s have reached the semis while the 80s are in the final and the 85s have won the three matches they have played.
The Godfree (W65) team beat Great Britain 3/0 without any trouble. Wendy McColskey and Karwasky won the singles points and Judy Dixon/Vicky McEvoy won the doubles. The team is now in the final.
The women’s Althea Gibson (W70) team had a tough time with the German team today. Molly Hahn fell at #2 singles but Brenda Carter won in straight sets at #1 and Carter/Betty Wachob took the doubles point (with Liane Bryson coaching). The USA is now in the final.
The Queens (W75) beat France 2/1. Cathie Anderson at #2 singles was a wall; Suella Steel lost at #1 singles to Michelle Bichon (a former Olympian in javelin…her serve and movement are remarkable); but Charleen Hillebrand/Steel won the doubles convincingly 62 61. The team is in a 3-team round robin group and needs to win one more match to seal the gold.
The Doris Hart (W80) team also won 2/1, over #2 seeded Canada. Burnett Herrick won easily at #1; Roz King lost to 2017 World Champion Inge Weber, but Carol Wood/Dori DeVries point handily to advance the team to the final.
The Britannia (M65) team beat Netherlands 3/0 to advance to the semis. Tom Smith and Dave Sivertson again played the singles while Paul Wulf/Len Wofford won the doubles. Photos below courtesy of M65 spouses; collage made my me.
The Jack Crawford (M70) team, playing in the 9-16 group, beat So Africa 3/0 to advance to the 9-12 playoff group. Geoff Moore won in three sets at #2 singles; Brent Abel won at #1 singles and Don Clark/Laury Hammel scored their first win, taking the doubles point 10-6 in the match tiebreak. Photo courtesy of Don Clark.
The Bitsy Grant (M75) team beat Germany 3/0. Don Long at #2 won in three sets; Jimmy Parker at #1 and Fred Drilling/Michael Stewart in doubles dropped only four games in those two matches. They are now in the semis.
The Gardnar Mulloy (M80) team continued its domination, beating Argentina 3/0, with the loss of only nine games, only four of which were in singles! Lester Sack and Kaz Saito won the singles while Jerald Hayes/Lloyd Goldwater took the doubles point. The team has advanced to the final.
Matches on center court are being streamed here: http://Htsv.hr/live-stream. Matches start at 9am CET (GMT +2).
Please click on the following links below to view the draws and order of play for the 2018 ITF Super-Seniors World Team Championships.
Draws for individual world championships
USA Sweeps Day Three at ITF World Team Championships, Umag
Tuesday September 18, 2018
San Diego, CA, USA
The USA went eight for eight on Day three of the 2018 ITF World Team Championships in Umag, Croatia
The Kitty Godfree Cup team (W65s) were merciless against Sweden, dropping only two games in three matches! they advance now to the semifinals. Wendy McColsky & Tina Karwasky played singles; Vicky McEvoy/Judy Dixon won the doubles. Since medals are awarded for 1st-4th place, they are guaranteed a medal…now the only question is what color?
The Althea Gibson Cup team (W70) won 3/0 against Great Britain but not without a fight; Molly Hahn at #2 singles edged her opponent 64 in the third; Brenda Carter won easily at #1 singles and Liane Bryson/Betty Wachob fought hard to win 75 75. They are now in the semis of the playoff group for gold.
Photos for W70 team courtesy of Brenda Carter.
The Queens Cup (W75) beat Australia 2/1. Cathie Anderson dropped only two games at #2 singles; Charleen Hillebrand fell to Judy Hancy at #1 singles in three tight sets, but Hillebrand/Suella Steel won the doubles with the loss of only three games. They are guaranteed a medal too, since there are three teams in the playoff group for gold.
The Doris Hart Cup beat Germany 3/0 without the loss of a set. Dori DeVries at #2 and Roz King at #1 won the singles and Carol Wood/Burnett Herrick won the doubles point. They are now in the semis and play #2 seed Canada tomorrow. Canada finished second in their group of four, falling 2/1 to Great Britain today.
The Britannia Cup (M65) swept Great Britain 3/0. Tom Smith made his first singles appearance of the week at #2; Dave Sivertson won at #1 and Paul Wulf/Lenny Wofford won the doubles in three sets, getting better with each set, 36 63 60. They play Netherlands in the quarters in ATP stadium tomorrow. If you want to get up early, the match will be live streamed! (The ITF draws the byes randomly and #2 seeded Austria got on the one bye in the 1-7 playoff group).
The Jack Crawford Cup (M70) had a bye today and plays South Africa tomorrow in the 9-16 playoff group.
The Bitsy Grant Cup (M75) team beat Japan today 3/0, with Fred Drilling at #2 and Jimmy Parker at #1 each dropping only a game; Don Long and Michael Stewart won 64 62. They play Germany in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
The Gardnar Mulloy Cup (M80) dominated Czech Republic 3/0 with Lester Sack at #2 singles, Kaz Saito at #1 (and playing his first cup) winning the singles and Jerald Hayes/Lloyd Goldwater winning the doubles point. The team dropped only four games today. The team is now in the semifinals.
The Men’s 85 are playing a five team round robin. Today they beat Sweden 3/0, dropping only eight games behind the singles play of Saul Snyder and Joe Russel and doubles pairing of Chuck Nelson/George McCabe. They are 3/0 and just need to win one more match for the gold. Tomorrow they have the day off, and they play Australia Thursday or Friday.
Please click on the following links below to view the draws and order of play for the 2018 ITF Super-Seniors World Team Championships.
Monday September 17, Los Angeles, CA
The USA Men’s 85, Women’s 80 (Doris Hart Cup) and Men’s 70 (Jack Crawford) teams won today in Umag.
The Crawford Cup team beat Turkey 2/1, with Cup rookie Laurie Hammel making his singles debut. He lost a tight match, but Geoff Moore won handily at #1 singles and combined with Brent Abel to take the doubles point. They finish 2nd in their group and will play for 8th Wednesday-Friday.
The Hart Cup Team trounced Australia 3/0. Burnett Hedrick and Roy King won the singles points. Carol Wood/Dori DeVries won the doubles.
The Men’s 85 beat Germany 3/0. Saul Snyder and Joe Russell won the singles points and George McCabe/Chuck Nelson won the doubles.
Tomorrow all USA teams except Men’s 70 are in actions.
Photos are from Carol Wood and Brent Abel.
Umag/Umago
Trieste Airport, Trieste, Italy
The Super Senior World Team Championships started today; since I finished my tournament on Thursday, I’ve been biking around Umag and taking photos of the players practicing and helping take team photos and photos of the opening ceremonies. Today and yesterday I biked into old Umag which is a real mixture of old and new…a very old building with a satellite dish and air conditioner; laundry hanging between streets above restaurants; clear water filled with small fish not far from t-shirt hawkers.
Yesterday the opening ceremonies took place after all the captains’ meetings, where draws were made. (These can be found here, along with photos). The players all walked into the stadium to music and four flag bearers remained as the rest of the countries paraded in. It made for a colorful picture when all the players in their nations’ tracksuits walked in. Players from countries from A (Argentina) to Z (Zimbabwe) walked in before host country Croatia arrived to cheers.
And that’s a wrap for this European trip…I’m on my way to home via Munich…thanks for reading.
Draws for Super Seniors World Championships
Please click on the following links below to view the draws and order of play for the 2018 ITF Super-Seniors World Team Championships.
Draws for Cups (click on results to see draws)
Draws for Individual World Championships (Coming Soon)
GMP Cup 2018 Champion
Thursday September 14, 2018, Umag, Croatia
It was a lovely day to play tennis today in Umag…a bit of cloud cover to make it feel cooler and no wind.
I played Sylvia Reigl of Austria in the final. Sylvia is a good athlete….she shows up for matches on her scooter…I’d fall off of one! She took up tennis late, but has a strong lefty forehand, and likes to run. She also seems to like pace so I rope a doped her, giving her little pace and few angles. She hit four winners in the first game…after that I won the next 12, though she had game points.
I watched the end of my doubles partner’s match after mine ended. She was playing Laura DiVittori of Italy, who is a nice player with good variety. Laura won but Ellen played pretty well.
45 minutes after they finished we were on the doubles court. We played the final on center court which was cool. There were a few people watching (maybe to get some shade and comfortable seats!). We played Petro Kruger and Sue Jamieson and Ellen played fantastic doubles. I was consistent and we won 61 61 but really had a fun match. Petro hit one shot where she misfit the ball and the ball hit her racquet several times (one continuous motion) before it ricocheted off the frame and into the court for a winner.
After doubles, I watched Ellen (and Marc Pepin) play mixed against DiVittori and Quentin Massey of NZL. There were lots of long games but DiVittori and Massey won the majority.
There was a trophy presentation after the matches….big trophies (though the mens’ trophies, even for consolation were much larger than the women’s trophies…hmmmm…but the women’s had handles). Ellen won three trophies but she was driving home so it was ok.
I rode my bike around for a while after that and ran into some Aussies at the grocery store and then back at the ATP stadium, ran into my doubles partner from Klosters and Barcelona, Kerry Ballard, and also some Americans, Brent Abel, Don Long, Jimmy Parker, Michael Stewart and Don Clark from the 70s and 75 teams, and Mai Ichikawa.
And that’s a wrap on the Umag tournament. It was fun, decently organized, with good weather. The venue is nice, if you want to see Croatia, it’s a good starting point.
September 12, 2018, Umag, Croatia
GMP Cup 2018
I played singles and doubles today; singles against Radomila Martinicova and doubles with Ellen Neumann in the 55s.
The singles was actually my second round robin match, but winning it meant I reached the final. Radomila is from Czech Republic and is a nice player but was hampered by an Achilles injury so couldn’t run like she’d wished, especially after drop shots.
In doubles we played against Sylvia Reigl and another Austrian, Maria (who was hampered by a knee injury). I’m playing with Ellen Neumann from Germany who ambitiously entered three events and is now in the final of the 55 singles, doubles and mixed (with Marc Pepin of Canada).
For the obligatory court comment of the day: the courts were playing much better today. The tournament staff was taking clay off of court 11, which is the one where I practiced Monday and played both matches today. Monday the clay was like a pillow, today it was fine. Even though the courts are still very slow and soft I like them.
The one thing that some of the tournament referees are not doing is checking the net height when they put up singles sticks…the net on our court was about two inches low (5 cm)! I noticed it after the first game and a referee was promptly dispatched to measure and fix it. And my opponent hit a lot of balls into the top of the net during the match.
As is normal in ITF seniors tournaments, foot faults are rampant and officials notice and completely ignore foot faults. I saw one player who was footfaulting about 2 feet into the court on most serves, an official was monitoring that match and said he could do nothing unless standing on the court…but he was there to answer calls about line calls and was only 6 inches outside the court. I’m not sure what the solution is but allowing officials standing just outside a court or inside a court to at least warn players about foot faults would be a start. Either that or let players serve from wherever they wish…from the baseline, from the service line, from the net…..we’d all feel like John Isner serving from the net! At least the player I observed foot faulting was not serving and volleying and though the player’s footfaulting may have extended the match it did not impact the outcome.
Tomorrow is the last day of the tournament for me, singles at 9am and doubles not before 11 (more like noon or so). We play Petro Kruger and Susan Jamieson, who are already finished with singles.
For more information click here.
GMP Cup 2018: Successful Start
I played my first match at the GMP Cup in Umag today, and beat an Austrian player, Ingrid Bruggraber. We played on Grandstand Court, and the match was live streamed and umpired, very unusual for a senior event. The courts here are really slow and have a lot of clay on them. (I know I wrote that before but it’s worth repeating daily). And the balls, Head ATP are pretty heavy. I hit a lot of successful dropshots today.
After playing and lunch (and a massage!) I rented a bike and with another American, Joann Nicodermus (the massage therapist) rode to a Croatian Lidl and also to a Spar. It’s really interesting looking at grocery stores in different countries. The Lidl format is similar but the foods are different (alas, no carrot salad!). The Spar, which is more of a traditional grocery store had lots of pate; the Lidl specialty seemed to be ice cream and ice cream bars. It was a nice ride and I was happy to be back on the wheeled transport of my choice, a bike, rather than driving a car!
There wasn’t a lot more to the day today but I have a couple of matches tomorrow, singles and doubles. The tournament is trying to finish by Thursday, then I’ll have some time to explore the area more.
The tournament website (including a link to matches which are being live streamed) is here: Tournament Web Site and Live Streaming Links
