Black Tennis Pros

Longer Off-Season • 30% increase in off-season (7 to 9 weeks, with season to end in October) Streamlined Calendar Structure • 20 Premier events featuring top players (reduced from 26 Tier I/II events): - 4 Premier, mandatory, $4.5 million equal prize money combined events anchoring calendar in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing - 15 other Premier events, including $2 million events in Dubai, Rome, Cincinnati, Toronto and Tokyo, and other top events in Paris, Charleston, Stuttgart, Stanford, Los Angeles, Sydney, Berlin, Eastbourne, New Haven and Moscow - Season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, featuring equal prize money of $4.45 million • 30 International tournaments, culminating in season-ending Commonwealth Bank International Tournament of Champions Healthier Calendar • Longer off-season, more in-season breaks for players (eg. post-Wimbledon) • Player commitment reduced by 23%, from 13 to 10 tournaments for top players • Limitation on top player ability to play events outside of 20 Premier events Record Prize Money • 39% increase in Tour prize money from 2006 to 2009 Equal Prize Money • Equal prize money at 4 Grand Slams, 4 Premier cornerstone events (Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Beijing), Dubai and season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships Record Investment • $710 million in new stadium facility investments, including world-class new stadiums in China and Madrid • $84 million in season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships deals in Doha 2008-2010 and Istanbul 2011-2013 More Combined/Back-to-Back Events • 31% of events will be combined men/women • 46% of events will be either combined or back-to-back in 2009 Revenue Sharing • Tennis' first ever revenue sharing to see players share in tournament revenue growth, and link player commitment to increases in prize money China • Major Tour presence and expansion into China market, with China Open as one of the four cornerstones of the calendar, and a new Asia-Pacific Tour HQ in Beijing New Ranking System • Best 16 results and more directly linked to the Tour's top events by awarding of "zero pointers" for any missed Premier commitment tournament, Grand Slam or the Sony Ericsson Championships Stronger Penalties/Suspensions • Suspension system for Top 10 players who miss Premier commitment tournaments and increased withdrawal fines Click here to see the 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Calendar. The 2009 Tour calendar features 54 tournaments (inclusive of the four Grand Slams) across 31 countries and record prize money of over $86 million. The international breadth of tournaments includes 25 events in Europe, 15 events in the Americas and 14 events in the Asia-Pacific region. Seventeen combined events include Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing, Sydney, Moscow, Eastbourne, New Haven, Brisbane, 's-Hertogenbosch, Estoril, Memphis and Acapulco, along with the four Grand Slams. Eight back-to-back men/women events include Dubai, Tokyo, Rome, Cincinnati, Canada, Auckland, Bastad and Warsaw. 2009 will also see new tournaments in Madrid, Brisbane, Monterrey, Ponte Vedra Beach, Bastad, Warsaw and Osaka. Additionally, in 2011, Rome, Cincinnati and Canada will all be combined men/women events. On Court Coaching The 2009 Roadmap calendar will also feature on-court coaching at all events, following approval by the Tour Board at its US Open meeting of this fan entertainment innovation. The decision to implement on-court coaching follows extensive testing of the concept and strong support from broadcasters, sponsors and tournaments and majority support from the Tour's Players Council. Under the new rule, players can request their coach once per set, either on a changeover or at the end of a set. In addition, a player may request her coach if her opponent has requested a medical timeout or change of attire/toilet break. All coaches called on court during televised matches will be required to wear a microphone to capture the coaching conversation for TV viewers. "I applaud the Tour for taking a bold step to increase access and enhance entertainment for TV viewers," said Jason Bernstein, ESPN's Senior Director for Programming & Acquisitions. "Women's tennis has been a leader in player access initiatives, and on-court coaching will be a great addition for the fan experience."

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U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe was unswayed by recent events at Flushing Meadows when making up the team for the semifinal in Spain later this month. McEnroe passed over two hot-handed American men, Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish, and named the same team of Andy Roddick, James Blake and the doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan to meet the Spaniards in Madrid as the Americans defend their 2007 title.

"I'm happy to see those guys doing well," McEnroe said of Querrey and Fish, who had breakthrough runs at the Open. "I hope those guys continue to put up good results and to make it a difficult decision for me in the future. But for this match it wasn't a difficult decision."

Fish beat Blake in the third round and made it to his first Open quarterfinal before falling to world No.1 Rafael Nadal. Querrey, a 20-year-old Californian, fell to Nadal in four sets in the fourth round. Blake remains the second-highest-ranked American, McEnroe argued. He also said he wanted to stay with a team he has used in 11 straight ties. "I want to go with the guys I think give us the best chance to win," McEnroe said. "At this point, I still thoroughly believe that Roddick and Blake give us the best chance."

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My goodness! I do believe that Oracene and Richard's baby girl wanted to win this match. Though neither of the parents was on hand to watch the match, older sister Isha supported her younger siblings in much pain.

"I wasn't praying, I was so stressed," she said. "It is so difficult to watch them. At the end of the day, you want them to play a good match and for the best person to win."

In the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2008 U.S. Open, American Serena Williams returned, ran down and swung at just about everything that big sister Venus could throw at her...and that was a lot.

The match started up a bit slow, but by the end of the first set, the ladies had ramped it up to a genuine level of excitement. It appeared that Venus would take the first set, but the price of a few errors on her part was high, let alone the fact that Serena would just not let go.

Crank it up a few notches and the second set mirrored the first set with it appearing that Venus was going to prevail. But just like she dug her heels in at the end of the first set, Serena dug in harder as the second set progressed.

Serena saved ten, count 'em, ten set points to defeat Venus 7-6(8/6), 7-6(9/7), and advance to the semifinal round.

Post match Serena said, "I thought for sure we'd be in three sets, I thought, 'I'm going to go change my dress because I'm really sweaty and put a new one on.' And then I was like, 'Oh, maybe I won't have to do that."

"I feel like I should have a trophy now. Unfortunately I don't, and I got to go to the next round."

"She made a couple errors and it was really luck for me because she never makes those errors. I can't say that I was disappointed. I obviously want the best for her, but in that situation you want to win, too."

"I try not to look at her, because if I look at her, I might start feeling sorry," Serena told the crowd afterward.

Serena had to come back from being 5-3 down when Venus let the first set slip away, I thought surely she wouldn't let that happen in the second.

Venus said, "I felt like I was always in control, if it was someone else, I definitely feel like I would have won the match."

"I'm a very good closer, so today was, um — I've never had a match like this in my life, so I guess there's always a first."

"I don't think it'll ever be under dramatized until we're housewives. Until that time, we'll hopefully keep playing good tennis against everyone and also against each other."

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With the second week of the 2008 U.S. Open underway and the semifinal weekend of Davis Cup play coming up on September 19, I thought it appropriate to reflect on someone who holds great significance to both, Arthur Ashe.

When I think of Arthur Ashe I always think of his humanity first and foremost, rarely do I even associate him with Davis Cup play, but that is a significant area of his tennis legacy. I have compiled related data from different sources to take a look at his coaching role as Davis Cup Captain.

Excerpt from "Arthur Ashe: A Biography" By Richard Steins

Arthur Ashe had played his last Davis Cup match in 1978. His heart operation and his retirement from active tennis play in 1980, however, did not diminish his love for the Davis Cup tradition. Just a few months after his surgery, Arthur was offered the opportunity of a lifetime. While attending the U.S. Open in New York, he was approached by Marvin P. Richmond, the incoming president of the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA; formerly the USLTA). Richmond told Arthur that Tony Trabert, a former tennis champion and current captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team, wanted to resign. Richmond wanted Ashe to replace Trabert. Trabert, one of the great tennis champions a generation older than Arthur, had been captain of the team since 1976 and had presided over victories against Great Britain in 1978 (in which Arthur had played) and Italy in 1979.

Arthur was ecstatic. This was a dream come true. The captaincy of his beloved Davis Cup team was exactly what he had hoped he could have. Now that he had been sidelined from active play, the Davis Cup team would be an excellent way to keep his hand in the game and to manage a team that represented his country in international play. Little did Arthur know that the adventure he was about to embark on would be, in his own words, "a disorganized, sometimes exhilarating, sometimes frustrating and even humiliating epic of victories and defeats, excitement and tedium, camaraderie and isolation."

In the early 1980's just as Arthur took over as captain of the team, the Davis Cup leadership decided to award prize money. In 1981, a Japanese company put up $1 million to sponsor the competition. In 1983 the NEC Corporation announced that it would donate $2.5 million to the Davis Cup.

After the United States, the next most dominant country in Davis Cup play was Australia, with a total of 24 wins between 1900 and 1979. Arthur was keenly aware of this venerable tradition and of the prestige that was on the line every time his country played in an international arena. He was to discover, however, that among the younger generation of players, the tradition and its history meant absolutely nothing - and he would pay a steep price in trying to manage a team of tennis players who were distinct individuals, each with his own idea of right and wrong and not at all afraid to demand what he believed was right for him.

Managing The "Bad Boys"

Tony Trabert wanted out as Davis Cup captain in 1980 because he was sick and tired of dealing with the younger players, in particular because of their self-centeredness, their rudeness on the court, and their willingness to challenge the rules and traditions of tennis. Trabert was known as a tough "law-and-order" man when it came to enforcing discipline on the team. He was the captain, and the team was expected to follow his orders. The fact that many team members bucked his leadership was a source of great frustration.

Arthur also considered himself a law-and-order person, as long as the rules were fair, which in tennis he believed they were. But he thought his management of the team might be smoother because he could relate more easily to the younger generation of players since he was closer to them in age. He would soon discover, however, that this was not to be the case in all instances, that the job of managing the "bad boys" of tennis would be one of the most challenging times of his life.

Arthur was also taking over as captain at a time when Davis Cup play was losing its appeal around the world as a spectator sport. Many top players, not just some Americans, declined to play in Davis Cup matches, and attendance at Davis Cup games had dwindled over the years. Arthur felt that he had a responsibility to help restore Davis Cup play to its former esteem. In many countries, the Davis Cup squad is selected by a committee. But in the United States, the captain chooses the team, or, at least, extends the invitation to top players to join.

In 1980, Arthur already had some of the best young players on his team. On of the most talented-and one with a notorious reputation for bad behavior on court-was John McEnroe. Already on his way to becoming one of the greatest tennis players of all time, McEnroe was deeply committed to Davis Cup play. Jimmy Connors, however, was not, but despite his tiff with Arthur in the mid-1970s over his the question of his patriotism, he could be convinced to play Davis Cup tennis, although his commitment was never really strong or consistent. He played a couple of Davis Cup matches in 1976 but had not been part of the team since then.

Soon after he took over as captain, however, Arthur had more on his mind than Connors. He had to assemble a team for a match against Mexico. For singles he had McEnroe and another fine player, Roscoe Tanner. His original doubles team, Stan Smith and Bob Lutz, was replaced by Marty Riessen and Sherwood Stewart after Smith developed an arm injury. McEnroe performed brilliantly, while the others on the team had their ups and downs. The United States won the games against Mexico, but the training sessions before the games and the games themselves were a quick initiation for Arthur into the difficulties of being captain. In dealing with the egos and demands of individuals who were used to being stars in their own right, having to "keep them happy" was not a part of the job Arthur particularly liked. But he had to do it, and true to his well-developed sense of duty, he did.

The 1981 quarterfinal matches wagainst the defending champion Czechoslovakia, were played in the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York, and the were an example of all the complex problems and frustrations Arthur faced as captain of the Davis Cup team. Arthur had assembled the strongest team possible in addition to McEnroe, he had gotten the releuctant Connors to play, and Stan Smith and Bob Lutz were scheduled for the doubles match. The first match was between McEnroe and therising Czech superstar Ivan Lendl. More than 17,000 fans bought tickets to see the two young stars play each other. The Davis Cup matches were suddenly a hot ticket for tennis fans who previously had not been interested.


Excerpt from International Tennis Hall of Fame

...An amateur would never do so well again. As the last remaining pro, Okker got the $14,000 first prize while Ashe was happy to settle for $28 daily expenses for his historic triumph, the first major for a black since Althea Gibson's Forest Hills triumph a decade before. Ashe's victory also boosted American morale by ending the U.S. male championship drought that dated back 13 years to Tony Trabert's 1955 win.

That year Ashe was also a Davis Cup drought-buster, spearheading the U.S. drive to the sterling tub, last won five years before. He won 11 straight singles (the most in one campaign for an American) in the drive to retrieve the Cup from Australia. In the finale he beat Ray Ruffels easily on opening day, and, after the Cup was clinched by Bob Lutz and Stan Smith in doubles, Ashe finally gave way, losing to Bill Bowrey in a meaningless third-day match. The season closed with Ashe winning 10 of 22 tournaments on a 72-10 match record.

He would win both his singles in 1969 and 1970 as the U.S. successfully defended the Cup against Romania and then West Germany. In the latter his third day defeat of Christian Kuhnke, 6-8, 10-12, 9-7, 13-11, 6-4, was the longest match (86 games) in a Cup-deciding round. Eight years later he reappeared for a vital cameo that led to another Cup for the U.S.; his 6-2, 6-0, 7-5 singles victory over Kjell Johansson was the clincher over Sweden, 3-2, in the semifinal at Goteborg.

Ashe put in 10 years of Davis Cup, topped for the U.S. only by John McEnroe's 12 and Bill Tilden and Stan Smith's 11 each, and won 27 singles, second only to McEnroe's 41.

He returned in 1981 as captain for five years, piloting the victors of 1981 and 1982.


Excerpt from Answers.com

As his first post-retirement venture Ashe served as Davis Cup captain from 1981 to 1985. He was only the second captain in over 30 years to lead the U.S. team to consecutive victories, 1981 and 1982.

His new life was a rebirth with many directions. Ashe's Davis Cup campaigns, his protests against apartheid in South Africa, and his controversial support of higher academic standards for all athletes received much media attention. But he actually spent most of his time quietly dealing with the challenges of the "real world" through public speaking, teaching, writing, business, and voluntary public service.

Excerpt from BNET

...He recalled that Ashe, one of Wimbledon's greatest singles champions, discovered him while touring with tennis pros in Cameroon.

Noah said he had heard of the tennis titan, but wasn't aware he was Black. "It surprised me that he was Black. I had no idea, so of course, him having the same color as me, he was my hero," Noah told USA Today. "After we hit (some tennis balls), I asked him for an autograph, and he gave me a racket instead. That was very special to me. In many ways, I cherished that racket. You must understand, at the time, I was living in a home with no electricity," Noah added.

It was Ashe, who urged French officials to include the youngster in their junior training program. He did and followed in the footsteps of Ashe, winning championships. And just as Ashe became the first Black to captain the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team, Noah became the first Black to captain the French Davis Cup tennis team.

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When you've reached your first Grand Slam quarterfinal after years of toiling away in obscurity, as Fresno native Raquel Kops Jones did Sunday at the U.S. Open, what's the first thought that comes to your mind?

"The semifinals," a smiling Kops-Jones said.

Teaming up with fellow American Abigail Spears, the pair won its third round women's doubles match against the French team of Stephanie Foretz and Camille Pin 6-4, 7-6 (1).

With all four players trying to reach their first quarterfinal in a major, Foretz and Pin appeared tentative while Kops-Jones and Spears attacked the net from the start. The American team won the first eight points and jumped out to a 5-1 lead in less than 20 minutes.

Once Foretz fought off two set points on her serve at 1-5, Kops-Jones and Spears began to spray their ground strokes well beyond the baseline and miss routine put away volleys.

"It was definitely nerves," Kops-Jones said. "They began to establish their presence more as the match progressed, but I definitely let them get into my head."

Foretz and Pin rallied to 4-5 before strong serving from Spears clinched the first set. Despite being up a set, Kops-Jones and Spears never appeared settled as they loudly chastised themselves many times during the match.

"We beat Stephanie two weeks ago when she played with a different partner, so we were aware of how fantastic an opportunity this was for us," Spears said. "We knew that we were capable of winning the match if we served well and executed well."

Down 4-5 in the second set, a winning lob by Foretz gave the French pair two set points on Spears' serve. Spears fought off both with aces, and an overhead winner from Kops-Jones leveled the second set at 5-5.

Both Pin and Kops-Jones held their serves to send the second set into a tiebreaker. Three consecutive winners by Kops-Jones and a volley smash by Spears gave the Americans a commanding 4-1 lead. Moments later, at 6-1, a winning overhead by Kops-Jones clinched the match.

In the quarterfinals, Kops-Jones and Spears will face the No. 5 seeds, Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain, who were silver medalists in the women's doubles event at the Beijing Olympics. That match is not on today's schedule.

"It's going to be a fun match," Spears said. "They both play a lot from the baseline, so there's going to be a lot of lobs and dipping shots. I just hope we're able to have fun when we get out there and enjoy the moment."

Regardless of what happens, Kops-Jones said she is satisfied with her performance this week.

"What I've accomplished by reaching the quarterfinals hasn't even sunk in yet," she said. "I'm not even sure how it will feel once it finally does. I just know that I'm going to sleep well tonight."

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The potential drama surrounding the two American superstar sisters Venus and Serena Williams used to be palpable...but not anymore. If the sisters have shown us nothing else, they have shown us that they love each other first and foremost, and that they love tennis. Their familial relationship is foundational in their lives and no matter how many times they meet in competition on the courts, nothing changes between the two of them.

Their statements to that effect, as well as the joy that they have been able to share in earning doubles titles together, is sufficient evidence to for me to watch these ladies play without trepidation and simply enjoy their prowess.

Of their having to meet in the quarterfinals Venus said, "if I had a sister who wasn't good then it would be easier because I would just beat her. But obviously she is very good."

"We have to meet in the quarters but this would be a huge milestone for me to win this championship. That's how I see it, as trying to win the tournament."

Serena said, "it sucks....that's how I feel. Even the semis would be better than the quarters. At least one of us will make it to semis."

"It's my career and her career. I know she can definitely bury it. So I can do the same thing."

So here's to a good match. I'm already thrilled that one of these ladies will advance to the semifinals.

No loss here!

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