Greentree wins 2019 Whitney Cup

Greentree wins 2019 Whitney Cup

by Peter Pell 2019 Whitney Cup by the Numbers… 5 The number of consecutive Whitney Cups won by New York prior to this year.  The Greentree team ended the streak on the back of remarkable wins in the finals by Addison West & Ben Stein (over Spike Willcocks & Lex Miron), Dylan Patterson & Hugh McDonald (over Bruce Manson & Jonathan Larken), and Simon Aldrich & Rob McLane (over Greg Van Schaack & Lincoln Frank). 0.08 The differential in the ratio of games won to games lost, which sent Greentree to the finals over New England and Washington.  The three… Read the Full Story >

Greentree

Greentree

by George Bell On a Sunday morning in January, I turned off a major roadway in Manhasset, NY and entered Greentree, an estate marked by a modest, painted sign that you could easily miss. Malls and car dealerships had displaced the Gold Coast mansions long ago, but not this one. Hemmed in by the neon of another century, Greentree had defied the odds, frozen the clocks. The quiet was immediate. The property’s entrance road gave passage to a forgotten world, where great stretches of cold, blue light lay across an inch of new snow.  The security guard stepped out of… Read the Full Story >

22nd USCTA Annual Dinner, Awards & Auction

The 22nd USCTA Annual Dinner, Awards and Auction will take place Friday, December 13th, 2019 at the Racquet and Tennis Club, 370 Park Avenue.  Please join us to welcome William T. Vogt to the Hall of Fame Class of 2019 and award the 2019 Plimpton Prize to Richard Travers who is traveling from Australia for the evening. The cocktails and silent auction will start promptly at 6:30 pm, followed by dinner, awards and live auction at 7:30 pm. Brook Hazelton will once again handle the live auction and we look forward to some fierce bidding. The link for the auction catalog… Read the Full Story >

Salve University Team is “Official”

Salve University Team is “Official”

by Trevor Jones On October 15, after two and a half seasons of play, the Salve Regina University Court Tennis Club was finally recognized as an official student organization by the university. In 2018, I had transferred to SRU as a sophomore and was playing varsity tennis for them. I decided to give court tennis a shot, thinking it would be a one-time thing, as it would help me meet my bucket list goal of playing every racquet sport in the world at least once. Instantly, however, I was captivated and wanted to play more. Mike Gooding, head pro at… Read the Full Story >

A Note From the World Masters: The Heart of the Matter

A Note From the World Masters: The Heart of the Matter

A Note from the World Masters: The Heart of the Matter by George Bell This is the story of a single frightening shot in an unimportant match. The ball struck and felled our opponent such that he lay on the floor flopping — but it is also the story of a reverie triggered by that blow, which brought back to me, slowly, as if summoned from a forgotten place inside, the pleasures that court tennis has offered me. Why such things should occur amid adversity is unknowable. In the days after the match, as our small caravan of competitors in… Read the Full Story >

USCTA Annual Meeting

USCTA Annual Meeting

President’s Report by James Zug Last month the USCTA gathered for its annual general meeting. The venue was Tuxedo Park, which was hosting the World Masters. The meeting was very robust, with representatives of the other three national governing bodies and many members of the USCTA. My president’s report: The state of the U.S. Court Tennis Association is strong. We have 1,089 members, the most we have ever had. This is remarkable. If you had said a quarter century ago that we’d have almost eleven hundred members in 2019, no one would have believed it. Many clubs’ membership rolls have… Read the Full Story >

Treats for Teams in Tuxedo

Treats for Teams in Tuxedo

by Steve Hufford The Bostwick and Danby teams, three each, had the enviable assignment of practicing and competing for a week in Tuxedo Park. With matches overseen by the capable, yet somewhat immobile, Tim Chisholm; daily breakfasts and lunches provided courtside; and access to all the amenities of the Park, the players enjoyed amazing team dynamics, constant high-quality play, and the relaxing environs of the lake and grounds. Charles de Casteja, billeting lead, called on his deep bench of hosts to house just about all the players from Australia and England, along with some US players.  The soggy weather during the… Read the Full Story >

Salve Regina University Plays First Team Match

Salve Regina University Plays First Team Match

by Trevor Jones, Founder, and Captain – Salve Regina University Court Tennis Team Recently, the Salve Regina University Court Tennis Team was privileged to have its first-ever match in team and university history. With many thanks to Mike Gooding, we were able to schedule a match with the members of the National Tennis Club at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. So, on the morning of, we feasted on breakfast together in the clubhouse and suited up in our whites to take the court for our first match in programme history. After many cold, early Wednesday morning and late Friday… Read the Full Story >