Industry news

USTA Invests $1.3 Million for 10U in 26 Markets

The USTA will invest $1.3 million to introduce 10 and Under Tennis in 26 communities. The USTA’s goal over the next five years is to bring 10 and Under Tennis to kids in more than 100 local markets nationwide.

Each of the 26 communities will receive $50,000 in matching grants from the USTA to be used to build new courts and adapt current tennis courts to accommodate 10 and Under Tennis. In addition to the national $50,000 grant, the markets will receive an additional $50,000 grant from their respective USTA sections, for a total of $2.6 million invested in the communities.

Communities also will work with the USTA national office to ensure local organizers are taught the proper techniques and skills to implement 10 and Under Tennis. The USTA and its 17 sections will work with schools, public parks and youth organizations to add tennis to PE classes and after-school programs.

As kids develop their skills, they also will be encouraged to participate in Play Days, USTA Jr. Team Tennis and USTA tournaments. The $50,000 will be provided over a three-year period for communities to add new programs.

“With this approach, tennis has become the newest ‘pick-up’ sport, and we expect to see participation numbers increase dramatically in the very near future,” says Kurt Kamperman, the USTA’s chief executive of Community Tennis.

The USTA has created USTA.com/facilities for groups interested in applying for court construction or renovation grants. As part of a public-private partnership, the USTA will build courts in places where local officials, public parks and schools commit to building tennis into their core programming for kids.

For more info, visit 10andundertennis.com.

The 26 markets receiving $50,000 grants are:

Amarillo, TX
Bay Area, CA
Boise, ID
Bridgeport, CT
Cary, NC
Charlottesville, VA
Columbus, OH
Corpus Christi, TX
Greenville/Spartanburg, SC
Hillsborough County, FL
Indianapolis, IN
Lexington, KY
Louisville, KY
Midland, MI
Milwaukee, WI
Montgomery County, MD
New Orleans, LA
Portland, OR
San Diego, CA
Seminole County, FL
Shreveport, LA
St. Paul, MN
Stockton, CA
Trenton, NJ
Wellington, FL
Yonkers, NY

‘Get Your Game On’ at USPTA Conference in Sept.

The USPTA’s World Conference on Tennis — “Get Your Game On” — will be Sept. 19-24 at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, Fla. More than 1,500 tennis-teaching pros, industry leaders, media and manufacturer representatives are expected to attend.

This year’s speakers include Tracy Almeda-Singian, Dr. Martin Baroch, Lorenzo Beltrame, Martin Blackman, Craig Jones, Kurt Kamperman, Jose Higueras, Page Love, Rick Macci, Patrick McEnroe, Luis Mediero, Emilio Sanchez Vicario, Dave Kozlowski, Jorge Capestany and Kerri Whitehead.

The event also includes a Tennis Buying Show on Sept. 22. Exhibitors will include tennis equipment, apparel and footwear companies, marketers and wholesalers of hard and soft goods, video analysis, Web-based programs and software, teaching aids, court surfacing and lighting, awards, educational materials, nutrition bars and vitamins, and more.

To register, or for more information, visit usptaworldconference.com.

TIA Board Adds Adidas, ASBA

The Tennis Industry Association has added David Malinowski (left), the tennis category manager for Adidas, and Fred Stringfellow (right), the executive director of the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), to its board of directors. Malinowski and Stringfellow join Dave Miley of the ITF, who was named in April, as the newest members of the TIA board.

“We’re pleased to have both David and Fred join the TIA board of directors,” said TIA Executive Director Jolyn de Boer. “David and Fred, along with Dave Miley, have broad and valuable experience that will help this industry and the TIA as we work toward our three key areas of focus: frequent player growth, tennis economic growth, and communications/positioning to broaden the TIA’s reach with the industry and consumers.”

Malinowski joined Adidas last year and is responsible for all U.S. tennis products and sales. As ASBA executive director, Stringfellow represents nearly 400 companies in the sports facility construction industry, including builders, suppliers and designers of tennis courts, tracks, sports fields and indoor facilities.

Amex, USTA Partner for 2nd Annual ‘Fresh Courts’

American Express is again partnering with the USTA for its second annual Fresh Courts program, a community funding effort that invests in the renovation of existing tennis facilities across the U.S. Launched in 2010, this year’s program will support tennis facilities at La Mesita Park in San Diego, Jefferson Recreation Center in Washington D.C., North Avondale Courts in Cincinnati and Astoria Park in Queens, N.Y.

All work on the courts will be performed by the USTA’s Facility Assistance department and will be funded by American Express. Work on the facilities began in July, with the goal of having all three sites completed by early fall. By the end of 2011, the Fresh Courts program will have successfully repaired 26 courts across the country.

American Express will join local officials and youth tennis players in each of these communities to celebrate the new Fresh Courts and to honor individuals in each city who have helped to bring the game of tennis to members of their community with the Fresh Courts Community Leadership Award. All award recipients will travel to the US Open in September as guests of American Express to watch the Men’s and Women’s Doubles finals.

Tennis Fantasies Israel Schedules Camp

Tennis Fantasies Israel has scheduled its first Tennis Fantasy Camp in Israel May 6-15, 2012. The trip combines clinics, matches and sightseeing and visits such places as Tel Aviv, Akko, Galilee and Jerusalem, where participants will have the chance to play at venues run by the Israel Tennis Center, in addition to touring historic locations, museums and other places of interest.

Tennis legends currently set to lead the group include former U.S. Davis Cup players Brian Gottfried, Harold Solomon and Dick Stockton. Former world No. 22 pro Shlomo Glickstein rounds out the staff and will be the group’s Israeli host.

The event costs $3,000, which includes all transportation within Israel, breakfasts, two dinners, tennis, lodging tour guide and sightseeing attractions. A portion of every registration fee will benefit a new co-existence program for local Jewish and Arab children involving tennis, families and teachers.

For more information, contact program creator Steve Contardi through tennisfantasiesisrael.net.

Huczek To Advise Ashaway on Products

Ashaway Racket Strings has announced that recently retired racquetball World Champion Jack Huczek has agreed to help the company steer the development of UltraKill and other product lines.

"Jack has been an Ashaway sponsored player for most of his career, and recently has been very instrumental in the development of Ashaway’s new UltraKill product family," says Steve Crandall, Ashaway’s VP of marketing.

"Certainly, there are few people who understand more about how string behaves in a racquet than Jack. So despite his decision to retire from professional competition and to pursue a new career with Ericsson, we’re pleased he is keeping a finger in the racquetball world a while longer."

"Working with and acting as an ambassador for my sponsors has always been an enjoyable part of being a professional racquetball player," Huczek says. "I’ve worked with Ashaway on the UltraKill family since its inception. I’m very pleased with the opportunity to continue that work with Ashaway, and perhaps help out with some other products as well."

Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co., based in Ashaway, R.I., is the only U.S. manufacturer of string for squash, tennis, racquetball and badminton. Visit ashawayusa.com.

Sharapova, Wozniacki Top Forbes List

Maria Sharapova, who hasn’t won a Grand Slam title since 2008, remains the world’s highest paid woman in professional sports for the seventh straight year. The annual list, from Forbes magazine, shows the Russian’s earning, mostly from off-court endorsements, at an estimated $25 million, twice as much as her nearest rival, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, currently the world No. 1. Race car driver Danica Patrick was third with $12 million.

Seven of the top 9 female earners were tennis players: 1) Sharapova, $25 million; 2) Wozniacki, $12.5 million; 4) Venus Williams, $11.5 million; 5) Kim Clijsters, $11 million; 6) Serena Williams, $10.5 million; 8) Li Na, $8 million; 9) Ana Ivanovic, $6 million.

Har-Tru to Host Maintenance Seminar

Har-Tru Sports will host a Har-Tru Maintenance Certification Seminar on Sept. 27-28 at Sportime at Randall’s Island in New York City. The seminar is designed for anyone managing, maintaining or considering installing clay tennis courts, including club managers, teaching pros, court builders and maintenance professionals.

The purpose of the seminar is to bring together leading experts on indoor and outdoor clay courts to discuss the construction and maintenance of clay. The seminar also will include information on the causes of indoor and bubbled court surface compaction and what techniques are being used to alleviate it.

For more information, contact Ed Montecalvo at 877-4HARTRU or emontecalvo@hartru.com.

Gamma Debuts Scor-Post Pro

Gamma Sports has come out with the Scor-Post Pro, the next generation scoring device which replaces the discontinued Scor-Post. The newly designed Scor-Post Pro is more durable than its predecessor, but maintains a similar appearance on court.

The Scor-Post Pro has an extruded center column, molded ball cups that can be individually replaced, and top and bottom caps that secure the center column and ball cups in place. The molded top cap has channels that support Scor-Post Name Cards.

The Scor-Post Pro ($69.95 retail) uses tennis balls to score matches, with standard scoring allowing for three traditional sets or an eight-game pro set. The Scor-Post Pro ships with an all-metal support that attaches to the net post with quick release hose clamps for easy court change over (no tools needed). Scor-Post Name Cards, dry erase poly cards that identify players or teams, are sold separately.

Ashaway Adds to UltraKill Racquetball Line

Ashaway Racket Strings has introduced UltraKill 16 racquetball string, which utilizes the same Zyex core polymer as other members of the UltraKill family, but in a special, multi-stranded monofilament construction that increases power and resilience, says the company. This Zyex construction allows UltraKill 16 to maintain tension throughout the life of the string for consistent performance, says Ashaway, while the 16-gauge (1.30 mm) thickness maximizes durability. For more information visit ashawayusa.com.

Undefeated Kastles Win World TeamTennis Title

The Washington Kastles completed the first perfect season in the 36-year history of World TeamTennis, defeating the St. Louis Aces 23-19 in the WTT Finals in late July in Charleston, S.C. It was the Kastles’ second WTT title in the last three years, in only its fourth season as a franchise.

Three Kastles players were singled out for season honors: Leander Paes won male MVP, Arina Rodionova won female rookie of the year and Murphy Jensen won coach of the year. Liezel Huber of the runner-up St. Louis Aces won female MVP honors.

PTR to Host Professional Development Weekend

The PTR will hold its Professional Development Weekend Oct. 6-9 at PTR Headquarters and Van der Meer Shipyard Racquet Club on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Among the speakers are Iñaki Balzola, Dr. Louie Cap, Doug Cash, Colleen Cosgrove and Judy Vogt, Craig Jones, Kurt Kamperman, Anne Pankhurst, Tito Perez, Dr. Bryce Young and Tim “Dr. Dirt” Wilkison. On court and classroom topics include How to Make Money with QuickStart, Great Games & Drills for Your Not so Great Juniors, How to Play Better Doubles without Hitting a Ball, Coaching Philosophy, 30 Unique Error Detections & Corrections, How to Run Junior Camps, Social Media for Tennis Pros, Hard & Clay Court Maintenance and more! The event is open to everyone; registration is $349.

The PTR also is hosting a club and Facility Managers Conference at PTR Headquarters on HHI Oct. 5-7, which is designed for club owners, club managers and tennis directors.

For information or to register, visit Events at ptrtennis.org or call 800-421-6289.

By the numbers

Tennis Racquet Performance

Specialty Stores, January - June, 2011 vs. 2010

Units	2011	310,717
	2010	320,274
	% change v. ‘10	-3%
Dollars	2011	$44,546,000
	2010	$45,248,000
	% change v. ‘10	-2%
Price	2011	$143.37
	2010	$141.28
	% change v. ‘10	1%

Top-Selling Racquets at Specialty Stores

By year-to-date dollars, January-March 2011

Best-Sellers

Babolat Aero Pro Drive GT (MP)
Babolat Pure Drive GT (MP)
Babolat Aero Pro Drive+ GT (MP)
Babolat Pure Drive Lite GT (MP)
Wilson BLX Six.One 95 16 × 18 (MS)

“Hot New Racquets”

(Introduced in the past 12 months)

Wilson BLX Blade (MP)
Prince EXO3 Red (2011) (OS)
Prince EXO3 Blue (2011) (OS)
Wilson BLX Cierzo Two (OS)
Prince EXO3 Tour 16 x 19 (MP)

Top-Selling Tennis Shoes at Specialty Stores

By year-to-date dollars, January – June, 2011

Prince T22
Adidas Barricade 6.0
Nike Air Breathe 2K10
Babolat Propulse 3
Nike Air Breathe Free 2

Top-Selling Tennis Strings at Specialty Stores

By year-to-date units, January - June, 2011

Prince Synthetic Gut Duraflex
Babolat RPM Blast
Wilson NXT
Wilson Sensation
Prince Lightning XX

(Source: TIA/Sports Marketing Surveys)

Peoplewatch

The National Sporting Goods Association announced the appointment of Dale Donaldson, owner of Mallard’s Source for Sports in Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada, and the reappointment of Jeff Brusati, president of T&B Sports in San Rafael, CA to the NSGA Board of Directors.
American pro Robert Kendrick says he’ll appeal his suspension for doping violations. The ITF banded the 31-year-old for a year after he tested positive for the banned substance known as methylhexanamine (MHA) at the French Open.
Gamma Sports has hired Chris Nauman as national sales manager for the tennis specialty sales channel in the U.S. He can be reached at naumanc@gammasports.com.
Longtime USTA volunteer and contributor to tennis Mac MacDougal passed away July 7 following a battle with cancer.
Skirt Sports, the women’s fitness apparel company based in Boulder, Colo., has hired Leanne Hand as its vice president of marketing. She previously worked for Dunlop-Slazenger, Russell Athletic and Moving Comfort.
Venus Williams is the newest spokesperson for Jamba Juice. Williams is also a Jamba Juice franchise store owner and plans to open five stores in the Washington D.C. area over the next two years.
Lindsay Davenport, expecting her third child, was forced to withdraw from the World TeamTennis Pro League season after her doctor put her on travel and activity restrictions. In July, Davenport tweeted that “things are better and looks like another girl.” She and her husband, Jonathan Leach, have a boy, 4, and girl, 2.
James Blake’s lawyers submitted a proposal to the Bridgeport, Conn., Board of Parks Commissioners in July to build a $4 million, private funded tennis facility with seven indoor courts. The hope is to have the facility ready by September 2012.
USTA First Vice President Dave Haggerty will be inducted into the USTA Middle States Section Hall of Fame in October. Former ATP CEO Mark Miles will be inducted into the USTA Midwest Section Hall of Fame in December.
Top badminton players Kyle Emerick (top) and Sarun Vivatpatanakul (bottom) have joined the Wilson Badminton Team and have signed long-term agreements with Wilson Sporting Goods.
George Acker, longtime men’s tennis coach at Kalamazoo College, died on July 20.
Former world No. 3 Elena Dementieva married her longtime boyfriend, hockey pro Maxim Afinogenov, in Moscow.
Gigi Rock is the new commissioner of the Women’s Professional Racquetball Tour.
Chris Walling of Atlanta has been named USTA Southern Director of Adult Tennis and Section League Coordinator. He has served in his present position as the Local League Coordinator for USTA Atlanta for three-and-a-half years.
Alexios Halebian of Glendale, Calif., and Luca Corinteli of Alexandria, Va., who live together at the USTA Training Center-Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., captured the boys’ 18s and 16s singles titles, respectively, at the 2011 USTA National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach in July. Gabrielle Andrews of Pomona, Calif., won girls’ 18s singles title at the Racquet Club of Memphis.

Ashaway Offers Dynamite 16 Tough

Ashaway Racket Strings’ new Dynamite 16 Tough tennis strings utilize Zyex core resin in a special, multi-stranded monofilament construction that increases power and resilience, says the company. Zyex construction allows the 16-gauge Dynamite 16 Tough to maintain tension throughout the life of the string for consistent performance, according to Ashaway. Visit ashawayusa.com for info.

PTR Receives NCACE Accreditation

PTR announced that it has gained Level 5 accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Coaching Education (NCACE) for its Master of Tennis – Performance program.

“We congratulate PTR for recognizing the value of having an accredited coaching education program,” wrote NCACE Executive Director Christopher Hickey. “PTR has shown that it is a leader among leaders. Your Master of Tennis coaching education program will serve as a prototype for other organizations seeking to promote excellence in coaching preparation.”

NCACE, a division of AAPHERD, promotes and facilitates coaching competence within all levels of amateur sport by overseeing and evaluating the quality of coaching education programs. In addition, NCACE endorses comprehensive standards for sport practitioners, including: volunteer, interscholastic, collegiate, and elite coaches. Through accreditation, NCACE provides leadership and guidance to coaching education providers.

USTA Serves Grants $400K in Scholarships

USTA Serves, the National Charitable Foundation of the USTA, will grant 78 high school students a variety of college scholarships totaling over $400,000. Each year, USTA Serves awards scholarships to deserving youth who have participated in USTA and other organized youth tennis programs, have demonstrated high academic achievement, and require financial assistance for college matriculation.

Among the awards are:

Marian Wood Baird Scholarship Award (one $15,000 award): Claire Hafner, senior, St. Charles East High School, St. Charles, IL.
Dwight Mosley Scholarship Award (two students each receive $10,000): Tyler McGinnis, senior, home-schooled, Washington, D.C., and Christopher Hunter, senior, Half Hollow Hills High School, Melville, NY.
Dwight F. Davis Memorial Scholarship (two students each receive $7,500): Grace Trimble, senior, home-schooled, Winchester, KY, and Christopher Barnes, senior, University of Detroit Jesuit High School, Royal Oak, MI.
Eve Kraft Education & College Scholarship (two students receive $2,500): Rachel Knight, senior, Fife High School, Puyallup, WA, and Brandon Schlack, senior, Los Alamitos, Long Beach, CA.
USTA Serves College Education Scholarship (55 students each receive $6,000)
USTA Serves College Textbook Scholarship (16 students each receive $1,000)

Sponsor Package Announced for GSS Attendees

The fifth annual GSS racquet stringers symposium, to be held Sept. 24-28 at Saddlebrook Resort in Tampa, announces a new sponsorship, says symposium founder and owner Tim Strawn. Babolat, Gamma, Prince and Wilson will be involved in a joint effort to sponsor the event this year. Each symposium attendee will receive a triple racquet thermal bag, 12 sets of premium string, and a premium racquet from one of the four companies.

“We’re fortunate to have such great support from these companies,” Strawn says. “The retail value of this giveaway is between $350 to $450 and this is just one part of the overall package attendees will receive. This should go a long way in offsetting the registration costs to attend this year.”

GSS also welcomes Nathan Price, Prince’s global manager for strings, grips, accessories, and stringing machines. Price will host an open roundtable session as well as conduct the popular Prince speed-stringing contest.

The symposium has added several new speakers as well as eight new seminars. Visit gssalliance.com or call 540-632-1148.

ASBA Sees Record Number of Award Applicants

The American Sports Builders Association, the national organization for builders and suppliers of materials for athletic facilities, has announced an all-time high number of entrants in its annual awards program. This year, members entered a total of 126 projects to the awards program, an increase from the previous high of 87.

Awards are given for tennis courts, running tracks, indoor multi-purpose facilities, and sports fields. There were 40 tennis projects submitted for awards: 21 outdoor facilities, 16 residential courts and 3 indoor tennis facilities. For info, visit sportsbuilders.org.

Social Networking Making a Mark on Fitness & Exercise

Social networking and Generation Y’s focus on technology might be having a dramatically different impact on America’s fitness patterns than many assume, according to the “2011 Tracking the Fitness Movement,” released recently by the SGMA.

Rather than locking young people into an inactive lifestyle, social media may be driving the younger generation into new forms of fitness activities, the report says.

Highlighting Gen Y’s (those born between 1980 and 1999) physical fitness trend is the growing interest in group exercise. High-impact aerobics, step aerobics and group stationary cycling activities have all increased more than 20 percent in participation within the past three years.

In tennis, the TIA-managed Cardio Tennis — an on-court group fitness program, has seen rapid growth. The latest research shows that more than 1.5 million people have engaged in Cardio Tennis since its inception in 2005 and that participation has grown 81 percent from 2008 to 2010.

Shortsets

Defending US Open champs Rafael Nadal and Kim Clijsters, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, former US Open champion Andy Roddick and 2010 US Open Wheelchair champ David Wagner will team up with actor Bradley Cooper, New York Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony, and pop star Cody Simpson at the 16th Annual Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day on Aug. 27 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
The 2011 US Open prize money purse hit a record $23.7 million. Both the men’s and women’s US Open singles champions will earn a record $1.8 million.
Fila Luxembourg, S.a.r.l entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Berkshire Fashions Incorporated for the design, manufacture and sale of Fila branded accessories for the US market. The line will launch in the fall and will feature men’s, women’s, boys’ and girls’ styles.
Through July, the USTA added 15,000 new 10 and under members, through its “First Year Free Membership” offer for kids, which will run through the end of the year.
The U.S. will host Belarus in the first round of the 2012 Fed Cup, Feb. 4-5. The site is still to be determined.
The 27th annual Wimbledon Racquet, Clothing & Equipment Census carried out by Sports Marketing Survey Inc., which measures the brands competitors use at each event throughout the tournament, placed Wilson as the overall No. 1 racquet brand at Wimbledon 2011, with 191 players (32 percent) selecting this brand — an increase of six players since 2010.
Canadian tennis star and current world No. 29 Milos Raonic unveiled the Lacoste “Tribute” shoe collection in downtown Toronto in July, which honors tennis legend and company founder Rene Lacoste. Raonic, who has reached as high as No. 25 on the ATP Tour, is Canada’s highest ever ranked player.
The National Association of Tournament Directors (NATD), a new association designed to bring together tournament directors of all sports, has named sports industry veterans Louise Waxler as President/CEO and Mike Chandler as Vice President of Sports Industry Relations. Visit NATDweb.org.
The USTA is teaming up with Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf to encourage children to get healthy, active and into the game through the USTA’s 10 and Under Tennis program. The collaboration includes a new 30-second commercial, titled “Story Time,” airing during the US Open.
The Southlake Tennis Center in Texas won the 2011 USTA Facility of the Year Award, which will be presented during the US Open in New York. The award recognizes outstanding efforts in tennis facility, tennis programming and contribution to the game of tennis.
Former pro players Katrina Adams, Leslie Allen, Rodney Harmon and Ann Koger coached and spoke to juniors at USTA Eastern’s 13th annual Camp A.C.E. (Achieving through Coaching and Education). The camp, which ran from July 24-30, is a National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) Regional Leadership camp, which provides world-class tennis and fitness instruction, and sessions on finance, careers, and college admissions.
Nike is facing new claims of worker abuse in Indonesia. The report stemmed from interviews in March and April by the Associated Press of dozens of workers at Pou Chen Group factory in Sukabumi, about 60 miles from Jakarta that make Converse shoes. Among the charges are that supervisors throw shoes at workers, slap and kick them, and call them dogs and pigs.
Auburn, Ala. has been selected to host the 2012 and 2013 USTA Southern Jr. Team Tennis Championships.
Pressureball is a resusable, flexible pressurized tube that its creator, Barry Mulder, says will maintain the bounce in new balls and will restore the bounce in balls that have lost their pressure. The tube, which sells for $19.90, can hold up to eight tennis balls and is inflated with any pump, such as a bicycle pump. For info, visit pressureball.com.
K-Swiss Inc. reported that net loss for the six months ended June 30 was $29.9 million, or 84 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $19.2 million, or 55 cents per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2010.
USTA has been named one of the “CIO 100.” CIO is a magazine and website for information technology executives, and it honors 100 organizations that have distinguished themselves by creating business value through the use of IT.
USTA Eastern says that 4all by jofit women’s tennis apparel brand will outfit one of the sections Adult League teams that will advance to the USTA National Championships in the fall.
Are you a tennis pro or facility director looking for an Apple iPad2 app for lesson tracking, video, lesson history, a chalkboard and other features? Check out 10sPro, available at the iTunes store (or at portland10s.com for more info), developed by longtime pro Mike Stone.
Nike signed a five-year lease for 26,000 square feet at a Beaverton property adjacent to its world headquarters. More than 100 employees will work in administration and lab research at the new office space.
Under Armour Inc. reported revenues increased 42.2 percent in the second quarter, to $291.3 million from $204.8 million in the prior year. Net income increased 77.1 percent to $6.2 million, or 12 cents a share, from $3.5 million, or 7 cents, a year ago.
Adidas AG raised its forecast for 2011 after profit and sales came in better than expected in the second quarter. The company says its sales are now expected to increase 10 percent.

2011 Stringers Digest

The 2011 edition of “The Stringer’s Digest,” containing about 6,000 stringing patterns for all types of racquets (including 113 patterns added this year), is now available for USRSA members. This indispensable tool for all stringers and pro shops has detailed stringing instructions for virtually ever tennis, racquetball, squash and badminton frame in circulation. It is the only source in this industry for this information, and it includes stringing patterns for frames that have long been discontinued by their manufacturers. For more information on The Stringer’s Digest, call the USRSA at 760-536-1177 or visit racquettech.com.

Special 9/11 Tributes Before US Open Finals

The US Open and the USTA will remember those whose lives were lost on Sept. 11, 2001, with a pair of pre-match ceremonies in Arthur Ashe Stadium before both the men’s and women’s finals.

Prior to the start of the prime-time women’s singles final on Saturday night, Sept. 10, there will be a special performance by Grammy and Emmy Award-winner Cyndi Lauper. On Sunday, Queen Latifah — musician, television and film actress, label president and author — will preside over a tribute before the start of the men’s singles final. Queen Latifah performed at the US Open’s first ever Opening Night Ceremony in 2002, which was 9/11 themed.

For both the women’s and men’s singles championships “9-11-01” will be inscribed on Arthur Ashe Stadium court as part of this memorial tribute. The USTA also will include on the upper ring encircling Arthur Ashe Stadium the 9/11 memorial logo developed by the City of New York.

“The USTA’s goal is to mark this solemn occasion in a dignified and respectful manner,” said Jon Vegosen, USTA chairman of the board and president. “We are one of this nation’s global stages on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and we have a special responsibility to honor those fallen and those who responded heroically on that fateful day.”

Each ceremony will include a moment of silence and the unfurling of a giant American flag over the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium by a U.S. Marines Corps color guard. On Sunday, the 10th anniversary, the two men’s players competing in the final will enter the court through an honor guard comprised of members of the New York Police Department, the Fire Department of New York and the Port Authority Police, and there also will be a military flyover at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Congratulations To the Following For Achieving MRT Status

New MRTs

Karina Prieto, Orlando, FL
Sebastian Toro, Orlando, FL
Tim Goetz, Fayetteville, NC
Brandon Arradaza, Big Rapids, MI
Dan Leyer, Bryn Mawr, PA
Karen Lavi, Bryn Mawr, PA
Brett Snyder, Houston, TX
Oliver Jones, Newton Square, PA

New CSs

Phil Gaerlan, Colorado Springs, CO
Michelle Tran, San Diego, CA
Chris Capps, Fort Myers, FL
Nattie Chan, Oberlin, OH