Video 1.   Patty Fitzgerald - Gear Check

Video 2.   Patty Fitzgerald - Member Profile

Speaking of women's doubles, congratulations to Donna Porter and Audrey Reinsel-Hughes, Idle Hour's Women's Doubles Champions 2020.

Our Tennis Life Trivia Question:

How many Idle Hour Tennis Club Singles Championships has Audrey Reinsel-Hughes won?

Be the first to answer and win a fabulous prize! Send your guess to me at
OurTennisLife@idlehourtennis.com

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With the election around the corner, I recommend a vote for Lisa Raymond into the International Tennis Hall of Fame!

You can cast your vote for Lisa by going to www.tennisfame.com.  Voting is open through at least October 25th, 2020.  Lisa Raymond is a local tennis legend born in Norristown, attended the Academy of Notre Dame in Villanova, and even trained and worked out here at Idle Hour Tennis Club!

Lisa was College Player of the year at Florida, won 11 Grand Slam doubles titles, 79 total doubles titles, was ranked #1 in the world in doubles and #15 in singles, not to mention winning a Bronze medal in the Olympics.

She is on the ballot for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and you can vote for her! 

I approve this message!


That's it for now.  Share your thoughts and comments. 

More to come on Our Tennis life.

Bob
OurTennisLife@idlehourtennis.com

Lots of examples come to mind, some best behavior, some worst behavior, some in gray areas:

• A friendly IHTC competitor would remind me that I knew the score of a game but didn’t correct it in their favor, while they were serving.  What is the right thing to do in this situation? This is the gray area of sportsmanship.
• This reminds me of my Hall of Fame high school baseball coach, Robin Roberts, teaching our team how to steal an opposing catcher’s signals.  Is this good sportsmanship?  Major League Baseball ruled that it’s unfair to steal opposing team signals using TV cameras and binoculars but OK to use player observations on field.
• Serena Williams’ coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was caught red-handed on TV relaying coaching signals to her during her US Open finals match.

Every day, every friendly match, be it singles or doubles, sportsmanship comes into play.  All of us were taught some basic good practices that apply while on court. And most of us adhere to the concept of fair play but here are some that occasionally get overlooked or may not be known by the player.
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• Keeping score of the in-game points is the responsibility of the server announcing loud and clear before each serve.
• Calling a let can be made for many reasons and any player on court can call a let.
• Not getting to a ball before it bounces twice is determined by the player who is attempting to hit the ball.
• Play must be continuous with a reasonable rest between change-overs, usually 90 seconds.
• Line calls are easy, the line is in! Any doubt? Call the ball in! And there always is evidence of a ball mark on Har-Tru courts. 

Would it be better if all USTA, high school, college, ATP, WTA players had to call their own lines, no lines-persons, no ball people, no chair umpires?
 
Join the USTA at usta.com as an active member and request a copy of the
“Friend at Court “, the rule book of tennis.
 
I would love to hear your thoughts on sportsmanship and how we can preserve fair play on court.  Reply to OurTennisLife@idlehourtennis.com
 
Have fun, compete, and play fair!

Bob Strimel
OurTennisLife@idlehourtennis.com

That's all from Our Tennis Life, more to come.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Bob
OurTennisLife@idlehourtennis.com

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​Playing tennis can add years to your life.   This is the best recruiting tool we all can use to get more people playing tennis, and joining Idle Hour.  Tell everyone you know about the health benefits of tennis.  

So, go ahead, play some more, smart move.
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Oh, BTW, you know the USTA holds national tennis tournaments for players 90 years old and above.  They get it!  Last summer I witnessed a 94 year old play doubles at IHTC.  He had great hand/eye coordination.  So did his partner, just a kid at 79! 

Yup, tennis is truly a lifetime sport.

Please respond to our blog with any thoughts and experiences you want to share.  Keep Our Tennis Life rolling along.
 
That’s all from Our Tennis Life, more to come.
 
Bob
OurTennisLife@idlehourtennis.com