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2020 ITF Seniors (50-55-60) World Team & Individual Championships are Postponed to 2021

Posted on March 17, 2020 4:51 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
From the ITF website: https://www.itftennis.com/en/news-and-media/articles/2020-itf-seniors-world-championships-dates-locations-information/

2020 ITF Seniors (50-55-60) World Team & Individual Championships

*POSTPONED*

Updated April 23, 2020: Postponed till 2021, dates TBA

Location

Team Championships: Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Individual Championships: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Dates

As of 17 March 2020, the ITF Seniors (50-55-60) World Team & Individual Championships is postponed as a precautionary measure linked to the potential impact of the COVID-19 virus on the event.

Every effort will be made by the host organisers, USTA and ITF to reschedule the event for a later date in 2020 provided a safe, viable date can be identified. Further updates relating to this will follow in due course.

Venues

Team Championships: Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Individual Championships: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Fact Sheet

The fact sheet for both the Team & Individual Championships are available below should they be helpful to you in contacting hotels in the City. They will remain until the end of March for this purpose.
- Team Championships Fact Sheet (as of 04-03-2020)
- Individual Championships Fact Sheet (as of 27-02-2020)
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📂This entry was posted in 2020 Seniors World Championships, Florida 2020 Seniors, Boca Raton, FL ITF Individual World Championships ITF NEWS ITF World Team Championships 📎and tagged Boca Raton Florida green clay itf ITF Seniors ITF Seniors World Team Championships Palm Beach Gardens Seniors Tennis World Team Championships

USTA Senior Teams (2020, Florida) Announced (World now postponed to 2021)

Posted on December 16, 2019 3:47 pm by

Comment

2020 USA Senior Cup Team Members

	Maria Esther Bueno Cup Women's 50			Fred Perry Cup Men's 50
Andrea Rice	Bethesda	MD	Art Hernandez	Huntington Beach	CA
Jenny Klitch	Palm Beach Gardens (captain)	FL	Dana Gill	San Jose	CA
Julie Cass	Austin	TX	Eoin Collins	Houston	TX
Vesna McKenna	Hollywood	FL	Oren Motevassel (Captain)	Boynton Beach	FL

	Maureen Connolly Cup Women's 55			Austria Cup Men's 55
Fran Chandler	Jackson	TN	Bill Moss (captain)	Malibu	CA
Mary Dailey	Delray Beach	FL	Eric Luxembourg	Sarasota	FL
Shelly Works (captain)	San Antonio	TX	Leo Young	Eagle	ID
Vicki Buholz	Dallas	TX	Wilie Alumbaugh	Leawood	KS

	Alice Marble Cup Women's 60			Von Cramm Cup Men's 60
Robin Harris	San Diego	CA	Daniel Waldman	Washington	DC
Pat Purcell	St. Louis	MO	Mark Vines	Naples	FL
Shannon Gordon-Carney	St. Louis	Mo	Mike Fedderly	Palm Desert	CA
Susan Wright	Orlando	FL	Mike Tammen (captain)	Portland	OR

These 24 players were to have represented the USA in Senior Fed and Davis Cup (using the new Davis Cup format of one week with round robin play followed by knockout play). The competition originally was to take place in Boca Raton, Florida April 26-May 1, 2020. The competition has now been postponed to 2021 but will still take place in Florida, USA. There may be some change to team makeups for 2021, but the USTA will announce any changes.

From USTA.com: (note that Robin Harris has replaced Diane Barker on the Women’s 60s team; Barker is injured.)

From itftennis.com:

2020 ITF Seniors (50-55-60) World Team & Individual Championships

Location

Team Championships: Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Individual Championships: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Dates

Team Championships: Sunday 26 April to Friday 1 May 2020. If there is inclement weather, matches may be played on Saturday 2 May

Individual Championships – Saturday 2 May to Saturday 9 May

Venues

Team Championships: Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Individual Championships: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Fact Sheet

The fact sheet for both the Team & Individual Championships are now available. Please note that the listed venues for the individual world championships may change.

How to enter individual world championships 2020

List of participating teams entered 2020 (as of Feb 26, 2020)

📂 2020 Seniors World Championships, Florida 2020 Seniors, Boca Raton, FL International Tennis News ITF Individual World Championships ITF NEWS ITF World Team Championships 📎 Boca Raton Florida green clay itf ITF Seniors ITF Seniors World Team Championships Palm Beach Gardens Seniors seniors tennis Tennis USA USTA World Team Championships

Doubles Champions; Singles Final Saturday

Posted on July 19, 2019 1:01 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
Bordeaux, France

It was another lovely day in Bordeaux. Sue Bartlett and I were rescheduled to the 6th match after 8:30 (not before 2pm)…we got on around 5pm. We played two Spaniards, Encarnacion Gomiz and Carmen Lang and won 60 60, (and there were 3 no-ad games we played). We played on Court 7, which is basically concrete with a bit of red clay on top, painted lines, dangerously slippery.

Sue and I play the singles final tomorrow 4th match after 9am, not before 1:30pm but on Court 1, the first time either of us has played a match on the main bank of courts. It’s unlikely I’ll see much if anything of Bordeaux this trip but I’ve seen a lot of Villa Primrose, which is a lovely old club.

Don’t forget to sweep the court after play!

Ross Persons finds himself in three finals; he won the mixed 55 with Luisa Gouveia of Portugal; and he’s in the 60 men’s final vs Belgian Pierre Godfroid and the men’s doubles final with Fritz from the Netherlands.

Darren Price from USA and Andrew Moraghan GBR are into the QF of the men’s 45 doubles, beating two Brits to reach the semis.

And that’s a wrap on today’s action. Final tomorrow then on to the next stop Sunday morning.

Draws

Previous posts:

Traveling…

Bordeaux Doubles Day

Bordeaux Thursday; Singles Success; Slippery Clay!
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📂This entry was posted in Bordeaux Bordeaux Grade A France Grade A Tournaments ITF Tennis Travel Uncategorized 📎and tagged Andrew Moraghan Bordeaux Carolyn Nichols Darren Price France Grade A itf ITF Seniors red clay Ross Persons Seniors seniors tennis Sue Bartlett Tennis tournament Villa Primrose
NEW: USTA NATIONAL Category III Indoor Championships JULY 4 – 7 2019 DENVER, CO Men’s 50, 55, 60 Singles and Doubles Women’s 40, 50, 60 Singles and Doubles Mixed 40, 50, 60 Doubles

Posted on April 27, 2019 8:24 am by Carolyn Nichols Comment
June 24th is the deadline for this new Indoor Cat III which will feature some fast 4 and match tiebreak formats. It will take place in July in Denver.
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📂This entry was posted in Tennis Travel USTA 📎and tagged Category III Denver Fast 4 Indoors Match tiebreak men's Mixed Seniors Tennis tournament USTA Women's
Dates, Locations of 2020 World Championships

Posted on March 11, 2019 1:00 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
2020 World Championships

The ITF Seniors Committee are very pleased to communicate the following dates and venues for the 2020 World Team & Individual Championships.

2020 Young-Seniors World Championships (35/40/45)
- Location: Umag, Croatia
- Team Event: Sunday 13 September up to Saturday 19 September 2020
- Individual Event: Saturday 19 September to Saturday 26 September 2020
2020 Seniors World Championships (50/55/60) April 23 update: postponed to 2021
- Location: Boca Raton & Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
- Team Event (Boca Raton) – Sunday 26 April up to Saturday 2 May 2020
- Individual Event (Palm Beach Gardens) – Saturday 2 May to Saturday 9 May 2020
2020 Super-Seniors World Championships (65/70/75/80/85)
- Location: Mallorca, Spain
- Team Event: Sunday 11 October up to Saturday 17 October 2020
- Individual Event: Saturday 17 October to Saturday 24 October 2020
Read more at https://www.itftennis.com/news/302706.aspx#8zoTXWLXAlHrkmWP.99
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📂This entry was posted in 2020 Seniors World Championships, Florida 2020 Seniors, Boca Raton, FL 2020 Super Seniors World Championships, Mallorca 2020 Super Seniors, Mallorca 2020 Young Seniors, Miami Beach ITF Individual World Championships ITF NEWS ITF World Team Championships Miami, FL Seniors World Team Championsihps 📎and tagged itf ITF Seniors ITF Seniors World Team Championships ITF Super Seniors World Championships Miami Seniors super seniors Tennis World Team Championships young seniors
Les Grandes Dames Palm Beach Gardens Cat II/ITF Grade I Finished with a Blast of Air

Posted on January 20, 2019 4:14 pm by Carolyn Nichols 1 Comment
Fort Lauderdale, FL

I’ll start today’s blog by wishing my dad a happy 94th birthday. He’s a tennis player and when I called to wish him a happy birthday he naturally asked how the tournament went….so this is how it went.

It was WINDY today…the Palm Beach Gardens Tennis Center is a wonderful public facility but doesn’t have a lot of breaks from the wind. It rained for several hours starting around 7am but stopped about 10…and the wind continued.

I played Diane Barker. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve lost to her over the past 25 or so years and I lost again today but it was a good and long match, 64 76 (3). The first three games of the second set took about 45 minutes! On one point I hit (attempted to hit) a crosscourt forehand and saw the ball change directions 90 degrees in the air and land on the line…and bounce over the side fence! (Diane didn’t win that point). On another, I set up to hit a forehand and I think whiffed when the wind pulled the ball an entirely different direction. Despite these challenges, we had long points and overall the match was of good quality. In the tiebreak Diane tightened up her game and didn’t make an error…too good. (Thanks Brad Sprayberry for the photo below.)

The 3/4 playoff between Kathy Vick and Wendy McColskey was even longer than ours, and was at 5-5 in the third when we finished. McColskey won 75 57 75. Kathy is definitely getting her court time this week, this was her second singles three-setter and she’s had two three-set doubles matches too.

Bunny Allare won the 5-8 playoff group with a 63 76 (8) win over Frances O’Sullivan.

Suzanne Siegler finished 9th.

In doubles, Ligia Bottinelli and Abi Neuthaler beat Ann Jacobs/Betsy Savitt to claim the title, 76 75. Foulk/Allare beat Vick/Kim Jones to place third.

And that’s a wrap on the first tournament of the year. The odd divisions will be played in February in Fort Lauderdale and the evens will reconvene in Naples at the end of February.

Draws and results are here.

Photos are here.

26.830867-80.103812
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📂This entry was posted in Category II Nationals Category II Tournaments Category II USTA Tournaments ITF NEWS ITF Tournaments Palm Beach Gardens Grandes Dames 19 Palm Beach Gardens, FL Travel USTA 📎and tagged Diane Barker Florida green clay itf ITF Grade 1 Palm Beach Gardens Palm Beach Gardens Tennis Center Seniors Super Category II Tennis USTA wind
Kraujina, Klitch, Novack, Weber Win Singles Titles Saturday

Posted on January 19, 2019 6:43 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
Kristin Kraujina of Florida won the 30 singles on a sunny, breezy Saturday. Kraujina lives in a town called Sunny Isles Beach, which sounds awfully pleasant! She won the four player round robin without dropping a set.

Jenny Klitch of Florida dominated the 50 singles, dropping only two games (routing her opponents en route to the title one could say). She beat Yvette Kruger who is a very good tennis player, 60 61, playing steady, aggressive and smart tennis. Alice Stubbs of NC placed third, winning a tough three-setter over Canadian Adrienne Simmons.

Toni Novack, also currently residing in Florida (there’s a theme here), upset top seeded Molly Hahn of MA 64 62, hitting her usual (for her) magical dropshots to take the 70s title. Susan Kimball placed third over Brenda Winstead.

Inge Weber, of Canada (but spending the winter in, you guessed it, Florida) beat Dorothy Wasser, her doubles partner 75 62 to take the 80s crown. Burnett Herrick took third over Lucille Kyvallos.

The 60s had a larger draw so only the semis were played today. I beat a tired Kathy Vick 61 62 and in the upset of the day, Wendy McColskey won a set from Diane Barker. Then Diane, according to Wendy, changed her strategy, which was a very effective adjustment since Diane won the next two sets 61 61. Their match lasted only a few minutes longer than our match.

Klitch and Andi Piski won the 40 doubles over Stacey Williams/Mariana Hollman 61 62 in an entertaining match.

Susan Harris/Patricia Randolph from Alabama won the 50 doubles, beating Williams/Hollman in a marathon match 76 (5) in the third!

Ellen Goodman/Winstead upset Hahn/Kimball in the 70 doubles final, 64 67 64. Hahn/Kimball rallied from 15 down in the second to force a deciding set, but Goodman/Winstead played awfully well to get the win. It was really windy in the afternoon (I saw a tent blow over) which affected the 70s doubles match a lot but overall the quality was very good.

Wasser/Weber won the 80s round robin doubles over Carol Wood/Herrick in three sets.

In semifinal action, the 60s doubles semis were both decided by a third set. Ann Jacobs/Betsy Savitt took out Kathy Vick/Kim Jones in three sets while Ligia Bottinelli/Abbi Neuthaler beat Kathy Foulk/Bunny Allare 61 in the third.

Results are here.

Photos are here.
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📂This entry was posted in Category II Nationals Category II Tournaments Category II USTA Tournaments ITF Tournaments Palm Beach Gardens Grandes Dames 19 Palm Beach Gardens, FL Tennis Travel USTA 📎and tagged Category II clay Essen Florida green clay itf ITF Grade 1 ITF Seniors Palm Beach Gardens Seniors Tennis USTA
USA Women’s 50 Advance to Final; USA Women’s 55, Men’s 55 Fall in Semis

Posted on August 16, 2018 12:38 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
The USA Women’s 50 had a terrific win versus France today. Jenny Klitch got the team off to a positive start with a 75 60 win at #2 singles (against a player to whom she’d lost in 2014). That set the stage for a big battle at #1 singles with Debbie Spence Nasim playing for the USA. Debbie rallied from 15-40 down at 6-5 in the first set to take the opening set. An hour or more later, her opponent took the tiebreaker to level the match. The third set was another long battle, finally won by Nasim 75. Debbie had been sick and her breathing at times was labored but she fought so hard, hit great backhands and propelled the USA team into the final with her win. They play home team Germany in the final.

The USA women’s 55 team fell to Germany in the semis, with Vicki Buholz at #1 and Tracy Houk at #1 losing very tough and competitive matches.

The USA men’s 55 fell 2/1 to Germany, with Bill Moss picking up a win at #2 but then losing the #1 singles and the doubles points in straight sets.

The USA men’s 50 team fell 2/1 to defending champion Italy in the 5-8 playoff with Eoin Collins supplying the sole point for the USA team.

The USA Men’s 60s, Von Cramm Cup, are still playing, tied at 1 match apiece and having lost the opening set of the deciding doubles.

Please click on the following links to view the Draws and Results:

2018 ITF Seniors Teams Fred Perry Cup (M50)

2018 ITF Seniors Teams Maria Esther Bueno Cup (W50)

2018 ITF Seniors Teams Austria Cup (M55)

2018 ITF Seniors Teams Maureen Connolly Cup (W55)

2018 ITF Seniors Von Cramm Cup (M60)

2018 ITF Seniors Alice Marble Cup (W60)

Draws for the individual world championships are here.

48.384229510.0102421
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📂This entry was posted in Germany ITF Individual World Championships ITF World Team Championships Travel Ulm-Neu Ulm Germany Ulm-Neu Ulm Germany Ulm-Neu Ulm, Germany 📎and tagged Germany Grade A itf ITF Seniors ITF Seniors World Team Championships Neu-Ulm red clay Seniors Tennis tournaments TSV Pfuhl Ulm USTA World Team Championships
Practice Day & Hunting for Ice

Posted on August 5, 2018 1:41 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
I practiced today again with Nora Blom and Annelies Simons from Netherlands. We had a chance to practice with the Prince balls they use here (not for sale in the US); but the altitude of 4000+ feet has more of an impact on play than the balls I think. We had a nearly two hour practice and it was fun.

The lines here are again different from those in Germany, Spain or France. The German lines were thicker, smoother and didn’t meet at the corners, there was a gap. The Spanish and French lines were painted on the courts.

After practice I was able to get ice from my hotel for my shoulder, but still wanted some ice for my small cooler. I looked all over the Coop and didn’t see any. I finally asked and was told it was by the butcher. I still didn’t see any but asked the butcher and it turns out they sell ice by the kilo (about $2 a pound). Then they wrap it up and seal it. I guess there’s not a lot of demand for ice here.

I relaxed in the afternoon. Tomorrow I’m hitting early with Nora, and will watch my potential opponents play in the afternoon, weather permitting. The weather has been nice but there have been frequent afternoon thunderstorms.

Nora and Annelies are below…note the Dutch flag in the background between them (it wasn’t an accident).

Flowers are at most windows and are beautiful. August 1 was Swiss national day and there are still a number of Swiss flags around town.

46.86709389.8831412
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📂This entry was posted in ITF Tournaments Klosters Klosters Grade A Travel 📎and tagged Grade A Ice itf ITF Seniors Klosters red clay Seniors Switzerland Tennis tournaments
Düsseldorf Shopping Expedition

Posted on July 7, 2018 1:52 pm by Carolyn Nichols 4 Comments
Today Jenny Cerff and I had a plan (well I had a plan) to go to Düsseldorf, walk the full length of the Konigsallee and then go to the Rhine and walk along it and possibly visit a castle. We made it to Konigsallee and a few streets around it and not much further. We did however cross the Rhein in the car several times due to missing turns! Fortunately it’s not a toll road.

It was another lovely day, and there were again hoards of people out shopping and watching World Cup soccer.

We arrived about 11am in Düsseldorf and left after 9pm when shops were closing. Jenny is a shrewd bargain hunter and found some nice work and tennis clothes and I got a dress. We actually had to talk one dress (for Jenny) off of a mannequin since it was her size and the last one in the store. Below are the before and after photos of the mannequin. The mannequin’s arms had to be removed to remove the dress. Many years ago my Cup teammates and I attempted to undress a mannequin in a German sporting goods store to buy the clothing it was wearing. It was a hilarious moment in a “you had to be there” way (we removed a leg but not the shorts, finally a store employee helped us out). This time it was a smoother process…

We found a huge sports store, the Decathalon. It had everything from girls ballet leotards to bowls to camping gear to tennis clothes under one roof.

It was a fun day and we do plan to make it to the Rhein tomorrow after a morning tennis practice.

51.22496696.7756638
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📂This entry was posted in Dusseldorf Essen Germany Essen Germany Grade A Germany ITF Tournaments 📎and tagged Carolyn Nichols Dusseldorf Essen ETUF Germany Grade A itf ITF Seniors Jenny Cerff red clay Seniors Tennis tournaments Travel
Donner und Blitzen & Rain in Essen; Successful Semifinal Day

Posted on July 5, 2018 9:05 am by Carolyn Nichols Comment
Thursday began with Thunder (donner) and lightning (blitzen) followed by scattered showers The courts got wet at the club but many people worked hard to dry them off, mostly by dragging mats around to get rid of puddles. No fancy clay court dryers here!

The 9am consolation matches were farmed out to other clubs and main draw 10:40 matches started by 10:30. Sabine and I got on at 11:15 for our 10:30 match (the one that was scheduled for 1:30, then 6pm then 10:30!

I won 62 60, but the first set was closer than that, many back and forth long games. Our match lasted about 75 minutes; the other semi between Gundi Weiland and Lyn Mortimer went over 3 hours. I saw some of the first set and both players were playing well, long rallies and deep slices. Lyn prevailed 57 64 62. We play tomorrow, presumably at 10:30.

Jenny Cerff won the consolation singles and is playing mixed now at 6pm. There’s a player dinner later.

Draws and Results (click on order of play first).
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📂This entry was posted in Essen Germany Essen Germany Grade A Germany ITF Tournaments Tennis Travel 📎and tagged Essen ETUF Germany Grade A itf ITF Seniors Seniors seniors tennis Tennis tournaments
Mittwoch Victory in Essen

Posted on July 4, 2018 11:47 am by Carolyn Nichols 2 Comments
Today, Wednesday (Mittwoch in German), I played my quarterfinal match against Sabine Robertz, a German player who lives about an hour from the tournament site. She is a quick, steady player, but I played well and beat her 60 61. We played on Center Court again and once again the stands were empty! I play next the winner of Sabine Schmitz, the #2 seed (and tournament director) or Annelies Simons from the Netherlands. They started late, after 6pm, since Annelies drives after work from the Netherlands to play). Update: Now the top half of the draw (with a local club team member) is scheduled for 10:30 am and the bottom half at 6pm with the final at 10:30 am! Originally both were scheduled for 1:30.

Center Court, ETUF, Essen

The top seed in my division, Australian Lyn Mortimer, took on Jutta Boekmann, who took out Jenny Cerff yesterday. Lyn prevailed in three sets, winning the third set decisively 61 after splitting two tight sets earlier. And speaking of Jenny, she won her consolation match today handily to put her in the consolation final tomorrow. Fortunately Jenny checked the draw one last time before going to sleep. She was surprised to find out she played at 9am! Not as surprised though as her opponent who didn’t have internet access and showed up at 11.

The match of the day was that between Nora Blom and Heidi Eisterlehner. Heidi won the first set; Nora attacked the net in the second successfully and continued her success in the third, going up 5-2 before Heidi changed tactics and drove the ball more, keeping Nora back. Nora had one match point at 65 before Heidi won the match 76 (5) in the third (62 36 76). It was a nice match between two outstanding players.

After I finished my noon match, Jenny and I did the rounds…of grocery stores. We stopped first at Edeka to get ice (the Edeka was the only store which carried ice of the three we visited today) and chocolates (Ritter Sport, 59 cents this week!); Aldi (apples), and Netto (owned by Edeka) (feldsalat, what we call Mache, a type of lettuce). We also learned many new words, to go with our new favorite saying Gute Fahrt (Bon Voyage or Good Trip).

This is a photo of the bottle recycling machine. Leergut hier means “empties here”, and of Jenny with our ice, a rare commodity here.

At the Aldi, we saw this sign that said Kundenparkplatz and parkdauer: customer parking and parking time (1 stn = 1 hour) respectively. (Since there was a photo of a car being towed, we wanted to know what the sign said.) In the stores, the chocolate and sweets aisles are long and fully stocked…similar to the chips aisles in an American store.

The last word of the day is ankunftszeit which means arrival time; it was on this placard which was in the rental car. We figured out that it was something to put o the dashboard showing what time we arrived in the parking lot.

Draws are here (go to order of play, then click on draws).
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📂This entry was posted in Essen Germany Essen Germany Grade A Germany ITF Tournaments Travel Uncategorized 📎and tagged Aldi Edeka Essen ETUF Germany itf ITF Seniors Netto red clay Ritter Sport Seniors Tennis
The German Open, Last Practice

Posted on July 2, 2018 10:00 am by Carolyn Nichols 3 Comments
After a day off , Jenny Cerff and I hit the practice court today for a final tune-up before the tournament. We had a solid practice. It was another warm sunny day, marred only by the racket of a grass mower cutting several feet of growth off the levee behind the courts. I thought they were grinding wood, it was so loud! Then music began over the PA system. It was a good challenge to our concentration.

I found out a bit about my opponent today. She’s a marathon runner, very fast and left handed, it’s a bit of a tricky opener. Jenny plays a woman who is on the German Cup team this year, also a challenge.

After tennis, as usual we bought ice from the Edeka, then hit Tennis Point (so I could get my racquet strung), and Penny Market.

The recycling of bottles here is interesting. There’s a deposit of 15-25 Euro cents on most cans and bottles. At most stores there’s a machine where customers can insert bottles they purchased at that chain and get a refund to use at the store. It’s fast and easy.

We returned to the club and they have put flags up from many countries including South Africa, which Jenny appreciated. There’s no USA 🇺🇸 flag though, so I stood in front of the German Open sign instead.

Top 65s players Nora Blom and Heidi Eisterlehner were in action on the 2 center courts today. Nora is shown below (iPhone photo).

German Senior Open Draws

German words of the day:

Platz = Court

Trinke = drink

Eis = ice cream
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📂This entry was posted in Essen Germany Essen Germany Grade A Germany ITF Tournaments Tennis Travel Uncategorized 📎and tagged Essen ETUF Germany Grade A itf ITF Seniors red clay Seniors Tennis tournaments Travel women's senior tennis
Sundaze or The Calm Before the Tournament

Posted on July 1, 2018 1:03 pm by Carolyn Nichols 1 Comment
It was a mellow sunny Sunday in Essen today. The calm before the tournament.
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📂This entry was posted in Essen Germany Essen Germany Grade A Germany ITF Tournaments Travel Uncategorized 📎and tagged Essen ETUF Germany Grade A ITF Seniors red clay Seniors Tennis
Germany: Practicing on the Red Clay

Posted on June 29, 2018 10:51 am by Carolyn Nichols 1 Comment
Jenny Cerff and I had a good practice this morning at the ETUF club. The weather has been quite nice, with highs in the low 80s and lows in the upper 50s-low 60s, and a slight breezes, perfect for tennis. Sabine, the TD took a few photos of us from the club balcony overlooking the courts.

The draws are out and I play a good German player on Tuesday afternoon. The draw is below.

After about a two hour workout, I had a massage and Jenny had lunch, then we hit the Edeka to get ice (no ice at the club at all that we could find), and got back to the hotel. We went out wandering on foot to and Aldi market and then to a DM (something like a small Walgreen’s with organic snacks and no Snickers bars) where I got Saptil, my favorite travel laundry soap…though I did just find out there are laundromats nearby, so finding and using one may be another day’s adventure. We passed a lot of bakeries, which had some really tasty looking treats, but managed to resist. We figured out what this parking sign meant…pay parking.

Most of the stores we’ve been frequenting don’t take Visa, MasterCard or AmEx. They do accept some cards, but not those. So be prepared to use cash at Penny Market or Edeka.

This pretty church is next to our hotel, wedged between two modern buildings.

We are practicing very early tomorrow before going to Dusseldorf for the day to watch a German league match. More on that tomorrow (or more likely on Sunday).
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📂This entry was posted in Essen Germany Essen Germany Grade A International Tennis News ITF Tournaments Travel 📎and tagged Dusseldorf Essen Germany ITF Seniors red clay Seniors Tennis tournament Travel women's senior tennis
Mont Tremblant, Canada, ITF Regional

Posted on June 6, 2018 5:39 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
Tuesday was a travel day, Toronto to Montreal by air then Montreal to Mont Tremblant by car. I landed midday so the traffic wasn’t bad leaving Montreal. Mont Tremblant is a ski area bout 90 minutes from the Montreal airport. It’s a very pretty, green, wooded area situated on a long, narrow lake. The weather was supposed to be very rainy, but I missed most of the rain and it was somewhat sunny and nice most of the way, but cool.

I had arranged a hit with an American from Florida, Mirek Wierzbicki, and though the courts at the tournament site were pretty much underwater all day, the courts a few miles away were fine and we got in an excellent hour of hitting, and also warmed up this morning.

I played my first tournament singles match since last July, against Marie-Claude Gendron from Montreal. She was playing her first ITF tournament but is a very good athlete and fast. I did win though and play a second round robin match tomorrow. Mirek won too but has a tough one tomorrow.

There are a fair amount of American men here and world #1 in the men’s 60s, Glen Busby from Australia is here along with Americans Tony Crabel, Jimmy Parker and Nick Ourusoff and others.

It’s very pretty here and the town is touristy but cute. I’m about a 15 minute walk from the courts along a nice walking path. The club is right on Lake Tremblant and has red and green clay courts. I’m playing on the green clay but the men’s 60s are being held on the red.

The draws are here. https://www.itftennis.com/seniors/tournaments/tournament/info.aspx?tournamentid=1100042086

46.209701-74.602254
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📂This entry was posted in Canada ITF Tournaments Mont Tremblant Mont Tremblant RC1 2018 Travel 📎and tagged Canada itf ITF RC Mont Tremblant Seniors Tennis Tennis Canada
Nideffer, Wright, Carter Claim Hard Court Singles Crowns in La Jolla

Posted on May 11, 2018 8:39 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
“May Gray” is a think in coastal California…when the fog off the ocean hangs onshore and it’s cool and misty (while being a toasty 100+ in the Desert). Today was a May Gray sort of day, highs and lows in the 60s, but breezier than normal and the sun absent. The weather was pretty good for playing tennis though and there was lots of action on the La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club courts today.

Ros Nideffer started off proceedings with a solid 64 64 win over Andrea Rice. Rice tried a lot of things…serving and volleying, slicing and dicing, driving to Ros’ forehand…Ros was largely able to dictate with her forehand and hit some fantastic volleys too. Shelly Works beat Michelle Saunders for the bronze, rallying from 1-4 down to win 64 60. Even from a distance I could see Shelly was determined to hit balls higher than Michelle’s comfort zone. Playing Shelly when tired is a tough ask.

Susan Wright and Shannon Gordon Carney took the court next. Susan won 63 62 but Shannon impressed with her movement and solid game; Susan served great, hit the ball early and made few errors in winning the title for the second straight year. Tracey Thompson beat Leslie Murveit 62 62 for bronze.

Nideffer and Debbie Spence Nasim played Jami Jones/Deb Higa in a rematch of last December’s 40s final and though the result was the same, with Ros/Debbie winning 63 62, the match featured some lengthy games and great rallies. Paulson/Rice won the bronze with a three set win over Hammargren/Lyons.

By the time our match started on Court 1 it was after 3:30 and getting darker with a light mist. We won the first set 63, and then the mist turned to rain, and play was cancelled for the day around 5:30pm. We resume play at 9am tomorrow. The 3/4 playoff between Tina Karwasky/Carolyn Lane and Una Davis/Colleen Ferrell was a topsy-turvy affair. Una/Colleen won the first set 63…and Tina/Carolyn promptly won the second 61. On to the third where Una and Colleen went up 5-1. I went to warm up for doubles…and came back and they were still playing…a tiebreak (and Tina/Carolyn had gone up 65 before Colleen held serve to level the set). Una and Colleen finally won the set 7-5 in the tiebreak to win the bronze for the second straight year.

Brenda Carter avenged her loss to Molly Hahn at the Clay by beating her 75 64 (rallying from 1-4 down in the first set). Betty Wachob finally had a short match, beating Brenda Winstead 62 60 to take the bronze.

The 70 doubles will be played tomorrow morning.

The 80s finals are set for tomorrow: King vs DeVries and King/DeVries vs Herrick/Wasser.

Jane Lutz/Rita Price won the round robin 90 doubles gold. The last round robin matches in 90 singles are tomorrow.

I’ll add more photos tomorrow…have to get ready for an early match now!
- Court 1 matches are streamed here: https://www.ipcamlive.com/ljbtc
- Results can be found here: https://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=205807#&&s=7Draws21
- Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xE8s7qfPu3d6au33A
- Fans can tune-in to RadioTennis.com on Friday, May 11 at 9 a.m. to listen to live audio play-by-play of the day’s matches on Court No. 1. Tennis broadcaster Ken Thomas will provide the live web cast commentary at https://radiotennis.com/.
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📂This entry was posted in Category I Nationals ITF Tournaments La Jolla National Women’s Hard Courts, La Jolla Beach and Tennis Clubn Tennis Travel USTA 📎and tagged Category I hard courts itf ITF Seniors La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club senior women's tennis Seniors Tennis USTA USTA Category I
Finals Set for Women’s 50/60/70 Singles & Doubles

Posted on May 10, 2018 11:27 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
It was another gorgeous La Jolla day full of lots of great tennis from 8am to after 8pm. The finals are now set for most of the women’s divisions.

In the 50s, Andrea Rice ended unseeded Michelle Saunders’ run and Ros Nideffer beat Shelly Works to book a date with Rice in the final tomorrow. In doubles, #2 seeds Debbie Higa/Jami Jones overcame a slow start to beat #3 seeded Ellie Hammargren/Jennifer Lyons 60 in the third. Debbie Spence Nasim/Ros Nideffer’s slow start consisted of dropping 2 games in the first set vs zero in the second against Paulson/Rice. It will be a rematch of the 40 Hard Court final from last December in the final. As I left, Newman/Prejeen were playing Works Zimmermann in a 5-8 playoff match at a little after 8:30. Works/Zimmermann finally won it 63 in the third. They face Lane/Karwasky who beat Oconnor/Traylor in three sets, finishing around 8:30.

Susan Wright continued her stellar play in the 60s, beating #3 seeded Leslie Airola Murveit without dropping a game, while Shannon Gordon Carney showed no ill effects from her 7 hours on court yesterday, beaing #2 seeded Tracey Thompson 75 61 to reach her first national singles final. Thompson/Wright advanced to the doubles final, edging Una Davis/Colleen Clery Ferrell 75 64. Robin Harris and I beat Tina Karwasky/Carolyn Lane 63 62. Robin played terrific tennis (to the surprise of no one). The marathon match of the day in this division was in the quarterfinal playoff between Andrea Barnes and Sherri Bronson, finally won 76 in the third by Bronson.

In the 70s Brenda Carter won the battle of the Brendas, beating Brenda Winstead to advance to the final. Molly Hahn finally ended Betty Wachob’s marathon run, beating her 75 75. This final will be a repeat of the clay final from three weeks ago in Naples, Florida. The doubles final will be a repeat of the semis at that event. Leona Bryson/Kathy Bennett beat Elizabeth Barnhill/Barbara Hubbard and Carter/Wachob showed no mercy on Carol Gay/Sheila Johnson.

The 80s moved into the semis without upsets, other than that #4 Carol Wood defaulted her quarterfinal singles match due to injury and Dorothy Matthiessen retired up a set and down 43 to Burnette Herrick.

Next report will probably be on Saturday morning. We play at 2:30. If on Court 1 you can stream it online.
- Court 1 matches are streamed here: https://www.ipcamlive.com/ljbtc
- Results can be found here: https://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=205807#&&s=7Draws21
- Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xE8s7qfPu3d6au33A
- Fans can tune-in to RadioTennis.com on Friday, May 11 at 9 a.m. to listen to live audio play-by-play of the day’s matches on Court No. 1. Tennis broadcaster Ken Thomas will provide the live web cast commentary at https://radiotennis.com/.
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📂This entry was posted in Category I Nationals ITF Tournaments National Women’s Hard Courts, La Jolla Beach and Tennis Clubn Travel 📎and tagged Category 1 Florida gold ball hard courts ITF Seniors La Jolla La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club senior women's tennis Seniors Tennis tournaments Travel USTA USTA Category I women's senior tennis
National Hard Courts Day 3: Long Matches, Great Tennis

Posted on May 9, 2018 11:02 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment
Wednesday May 9, 2018

La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, La Jolla, CA

The National Women’s Hard Courts continued on Wednesday, which was quarterfinal day for the women’s 50 & 60s. There were lots of long matches, great matches and a few upsets too.

Betty Wachob won another grueling match today over Gwenda Ward, 61 57 76 (5)…the same score by which she beat Carolann Castell the day before. Luckily though her doubles was shorter…she combined with Brenda Carter to advance quickly to the semis.

Shannon Gordon-Carney also won a three+ hour singles, upsetting #4 seeded Colleen Clery Ferrell, a local tennis director and fan favorite, 46 62 64. Her doubles though was also long and grueling, lasting over three hours against Clery Ferrell and Beach Club member Una Davis. Colleen and Una won it 67 (6) 63 64, finishing around 8:30 pm under lights. Colleen/Una had multiple set points in the first set before succumbing in the tiebreak and fought hard to win the second…points were lasting 10, 20, 30 shots even though Una and Colleen were at the net more often than not. Cindy Abel, Shannon’s partner, was just returning to national play after a long absence but was lobbing and moving as well as ever and Shannon, who played at UCLA, is a fine doubles player. The match was played in great spirit before an engaged crowd on Court 1.

Shannon Cindy

Colleen Una

Joy

Shannon

Colleen

Una Davis

In the 50s, Michele Saunders caused her second upset in a row, beating #4 seeded Alicia Rowley 76 57 63. With such long matches, it’s understandable why matches were backed up so long today! Saunders takes on Andrea Rice next while Shelly Works will face Ros Nideffer. Rice beat another Beach Club member and fan favorite, Jenny Rens in an entertaining match 64 64. Rice teamed with Paulson to upset the #4 seeds, Works/Anna Zimmermann in three sets to advance to the semis.

Jenny Rens

Jenny Rens

Robin Harris and I beat Donna Drosner/Debbie Burgess 61 61 and take on Tina Karwasky/Carolyn Lane, who upset #4 seeds Andrea Barnes/Leslie Airola-Murveit 60 63. Colleen/Una face Tracey Thompson/Susan Wright on the other side of the draw.

In the 70s, Brenda Winstead upset Mary Alice Pisani, the 4th seed 75 36 64. In doubles Carol Gay/Sheila Johnson ousted Molly Hahn/Suella Steel, the #3 seeds.
- Court 1 matches are streamed here: https://www.ipcamlive.com/ljbtc
- Results can be found here: https://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=205807#&&s=7Draws21
- Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/xE8s7qfPu3d6au33A
- Fans can tune-in to RadioTennis.com on Friday, May 11 at 9 a.m. to listen to live audio play-by-play of the day’s matches on Court No. 1. Tennis broadcaster Ken Thomas will provide the live web cast commentary at https://radiotennis.com/.
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📂This entry was posted in Category I Nationals ITF Tournaments La Jolla National Women’s Hard Courts, La Jolla Beach and Tennis Clubn Tennis Travel USTA 📎and tagged gold ball hard courts itf ITF Seniors La Jolla La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club senior women's tennis Seniors Tennis tournament Travel USTA Category I
National Women’s Hard Court Nationals, La Jolla: Day 1

Posted on May 7, 2018 9:52 pm by Carolyn Nichols Comment

The USTA National Women’s 50-90 Hard Courts are underway at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. For the first time, this tournament’s matches played on Court 1 will be streamed LIVE by going to https://www.ipcamlive.com/ljbtc. You won’t be able to smell the sea air but you will be able to see some great senior women’s (and later in the week, men’s) tennis.

There were 30 teams in the women’s 50 doubles, and that division featured the match of the day: Carolyn Lane, returning to national play after a long hiatus/Tina Karwasky (who has never had a hiatus since hitting her first ball!) against Karen Ann Broe/Rainy Miller, two strong local players. Lane, from Arizona, adapted quickly to the much heavier sea air, and imposed herself on the match at critical times in each set, never allowing Broe/Miller to stretch a lead. Karwasky drilled returns to set up Lane; Miller was a wall especially on her returns and Broe served and volleyed beautifully. In the end Lane/Karwasky’s greater experience ruled, and they won 75 46 64 in a highly entertaining match on Court 3.

Una Davis/Prentiss Van Den Berg a 5-8 seed, were upset by San Diegans Shelley Goodson/Karyn McCartney in 50 doubles. Una was happy to have made it to the courts at all because she thought her first match wasn’t till Tuesday.

All draws and results can be found here.

Below are some photos of a first round 50s match featuring club member Lucia Romanov Stark. You can see the court one camera (white) above the LJBTC logo.