Draws are here (USTA membership needed to view for reasons only USTA knows).

There was a lot of good tennis and I had another airline snafu…thinking Charlotte is NOT the place to change planes and should be avoided at all costs.

Kathy Settles beat Argentinian player Maria Perez Gimenez to take the 55 singles, cementing her status as an all court player, having won the hard and grass in 2024. The 55 doubles is a round robin and has several rounds yet to play.

Terri Thyssen/Lori Robertson beat top-seeded and defending champions Erin Boynton/Anne Frautschi in a brilliant display of aggressive tennis…Robertson, a tall left, dominated the middle and Terri (who is NOT tall), nonetheless produced impressive power from all parts of the court. Susan Wright and I won bronze 63 63 over Tracey Thompson/Kim Dean.

Boynton/Wright will play the 65 singles final after Boynton beat Thyssen 4,4 and Wright beat Thompson 62 62.

In the 75s, the top four seeds advanced to the singles semifinals with Gwenda Ward to play Toni Novack and Judy Dixon to face Brenda Carter.

In doubles, two teams took different paths to the final: Dixon/Leanne Bryson beat #4 seeded Janet Rice/Kristen Padberg 62 62 while Ward/Susie Peiffer won a second straight three-setter, this over #2 seeds Carter/Kathy Bennett 57 76 (6) 64.

In the 85s there were some tough three setters which led to retirements: Dorothy Wasser retired against Ingrid Rehwinkle 16 75 42 ret and Sheila Palmer, who beat Chris Smith in three sets yesterday retired 6-0 down to Roz King today in the semis, so the final will be King/Rehwinkle.

In 85 doubles they are playing a round robin.

It was another windy day today but not quite as bad as yesterday, and highs were in the upper 80s. Considering that the courts were above ground watered and not watered during the day, they played pretty well.

So, after playing and watching the end of the 65 doubles, I got gas and drove to the airport to catch my 7:20 pm flight to Charlotte on American Airlines, asked the woman who checked me in if it was on time (she said no delays), and checked my bag…only to find out AFTER going through security that it was delayed and I would miss my connection. Not wanting to be stuck in Charlotte overnight (and the next flight out was Friday afternoon or evening), I went back to check-in, requested my bag be returned (which took some time), rented another car for a day, and went back to Pelham (my reservation ends Friday). Fortunately, I never cancelled my original 5:20 am flight on Delta (no more going to Charlotte), so have a flight tomorrow back to West Palm Beach…maybe I should have made up with Spirit after all and taken their Friday morning nonstop (which would involve another rental car and an uber…no thanks).

I have a third flight connecting in Charlotte in a week and am busy checking out alternate airlines and flights to San Diego…maybe I’ll have to drive to Fort Lauderdale and leave my car there…

And for me, that’s wrap on Pelham. The tournament had its good and bad sides…it’s a city facility (and a very nice one), and run by a city employee..but the people could not have been more lovely; the comparison to Houston is rough; lots of 8am matches when courts were free most of the day (maybe ask more questions of the USTA and the players before the tournament begins?) handing out of the USTA balls was not well done (no display, the employee behind the desk couldn’t even find ours initially) and no ceremony in distributing them; but the learning curve was there and in an upward trajectory. The draws were disappointingly small overall, especially the 55s since the ball was dropped on the scheduling of that event by the USTA, not by the tournament. Also, no prize money or awards other than the USTA balls. But a very nice player gift…pros and cons.

One more piece of news (did you read to the end?): Christina Kaus has replaced Charlotte Hartsock (injury) on the 60s Cup team.