Wheelchair participants socializing during the tennis tournament.

Wheelchair Tennis-Part 2

The aspect of wheelchair tennis at the PNW Sectional Tournament, held at the Salem Swim and Tennis Club, you don’t see, is how the players travel.

Wheelchair Travel

These wheelchair players are not just local. They come from all over. Of course local players from Keizer, Sandy, West Linn, Redmond, Portland, Bend, and Salem, are represented. Then there are players from Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, California, Kansas, Idaho, Utah, and Florida. There are international players from British Columbia, Canada (go Canada); Chile, Chile; Mexico City, Alamos.

I get lost in thought, sometimes, just imagining what these players go through to travel to tournaments: transportation to the airport, go through customs(if out of country), get to their seat on the plane, what about getting to the bathroom on the plane (if needed), deplane, go to baggage claim, be picked up at the airport and get a ride to their lodgings. All this accommodating their two wheelchairs and luggage. Remarkable.

Wheelchair Rules

Lets get to the on court part, where the participants are playing tennis. What is the difference between regular tennis and wheelchair rules. Well, for one thing, the ball, when in play, can either be taken out of the air, or played on one or two bounces. Once it bounces three times it is out of play. The other main rule has to do with the service motion. The player, from a stationary position,  can make one (or none) slight roll of their wheelchair before they serve the ball. With the addition of a few other rules regarding propelling and ‘keeping you butt’ in the chair, the rules of ITF or USTA apply.

Social Behavior

While the players are competing for rankings in the division they are playing in, it is awesome to observe the players interacting with each other off the court – many times waiting to play – other times having lost – just socializing. There are groups of two or three on the side of the walkway, between the two sets of courts. There are others, on the end looking down the courts. They are conversing and enjoying each others company. Very different from the tennis we observe in the professional ranks or USTA Junior, Senior, or League play where the players come and go without taking time to socialize.

Conclusion

I had not officiated at a Wheelchair Tournament for a couple of years. It was nice to be invited back. I remembered many of the players and met the newer players such as Casey Ratzaff , a 19 year old from Wichita,Kansas – Wichita, Kansas. I did a double take when I heard where Casey was from. How could anyone from Wichita, Kansas learn wheelchair tennis? In researching Casey, I learned he did indeed have a great teacher and inspiration to learn tennis. He is fast becoming an inspiration to those who learn of his background and to those he meets, me included.

My time officiating at the wheelchair tournament went by too fast. Each player has a story of how they ended up in a wheelchair. If only those of us who have a tendency to complain could spend a little time with these players, our own ‘grousing’ would end and we would walk away, inspired by those whose desire and courage put mine to shame.

Wheelchair Tennis

Picture of wheelchair participants on the tennis courts at Salem Swim and Tennis Club

Have you ever considered what it would be like to play tennis from a wheelchair?

PNW Sectional Wheelchair Tournament

The PNW Sectional Wheelchair Tournament was recently held at the Salem Swim and Tennis Club in Salem, Oregon. I was privileged to be one of the officials.

One of the first impressions is the number of wheelchair parking slots marked. Over half the parking lot is reserved. That is when it hits you again – the difference in arrival of the players. Some have their own custom fitted vans, others have a spouse as the driver, and others are driven in by tournament provided vehicles – with a driver, of course.

Each player has their own method of departing their vehicle. Those with a van open the driver’s door, slide the side door of the van open, reach around and pull their wheelchair out and around to a position beside the driver’s seat. They then leverage themselves out of the driver’s seat into their wheelchair. The process is not finished there. They then proceed to lift another wheelchair out of the van, set it on the ground beside them, open it up, reach in, pull out their racket bag with all their equipment in it, set it on the second wheelchair , lock up the vehicle, then proceed up the walkway to the club, pushing the second wheelchair with their racket bag on top in front of them, while using their other arm to push the wheelchair they are sitting in, up the walkway. This is a skill they all have learned.

Others have their driver, maybe their spouse, friend, or provided driver from the tournament bring their wheelchair to the side of the car they are sitting on and they then set themselves up leveraging themselves from the vehicle to their wheelchair. Their second wheelchair is then set up with their equipment sitting on top and, if the ‘helper’ doesn’t come with them, will push their second wheelchair up the walkway while using their other arm to propel the chair they are sitting in. All this before they have even set ‘wheel’ on the tennis court. I’m tired already.

Why the Second Wheelchair?

Para sports all have different requirements. Each sport has specifications in movement and leverage that require different constructive elements in the wheelchair used. Tennis is no different. The cant that is required on the wheels, the body type of the individual, the type of injury sustained, all enter into the para athletes decision on the type of chair used. All this to say the chair the player uses in daily living cannot be used in the competitive environment of tennis.

Conclusion

When starting this blog I didn’t realize how much was entailed in writing about it. There is so much more I will include on my next blog: the rules of wheelchair tennis, bathroom breaks, the socialization that takes place during the play, etc. I have enormous respect for wheelchair participants and only hope these articles will give you just a little insight of what is their ‘world’.

A total solar eclipse

A Tennis Players Eclipse Experience

All tennis players have an eclipse experience every time they play a match. They either experience the umbra (the fully shaded inner region of a shadow cast by an opaque object, especially the area on the earth or moon experiencing the total phase of an eclipse), the penumbra (the shadow cast by the earth or moon over an area experiencing a partial eclipse), or don’t experience the eclipse at all.

Umbra

A unique experience is coming to residents of Oregon August 21st, 2017. A total solar eclipse will be visible across a specified swath that falls across Oregon. From  Lincoln City to Newport the umbra will be experienced by residents and visitors from all over. A million plus visitors are expected in Oregon alone to view this awe inspiring two minute blackout.

How does this relate to tennis players? I was watching the Western and Southern 1000 ATP Masters held in Mason, Ohio (close to Cincinnati). The match up of the day was Nadal and Kyrgios. Nadal, seeded number one and due to take over the number one position in the world rankings, was the favorite going into the quarter final match. Both players had played previously in the day. This was their second match, which was testing in itself. Kyrgios had called the trainer on a previous match due to a hip/muscle acting up. It looked to favor Nadal.

Looks can be deceiving. Kyrgios came out playing in the ‘umbra’. He totally eclipsed Nadal to a point where, early in the second set, he played a ball with a trick shot(between the legs) that was insulting to a player of Nadal’s calibre. That is how good Kyrgios was playing. He didn’t take into account the crowd’s adverse reaction to his ‘trick’ shot. In his mind, he was playing in the zone(umbra), was in total control, and having fun. He must have thought the crowd would be understanding of the ‘fun’ he was having. He underestimated the crowd’s reaction of his seeming lack of respect for a player of Nadal’s calibre. The crowd turned against him. It didn’t disturb his awesome level of play for long, and he won the match.

Penumbra

There are many matches a tennis player has where they are in the penumbra of an eclipse. In a penumbra there is a percentage involved. For example you can be in the 96 percentile of the eclipse, which means you experience only 96 percent of the total eclipse. It could also be 50 percent, or 25 percent.

Applying that same percentage to your ability playing in a tennis match, you could be playing at a high level with small gaps of unforced errors. You could also be at a 50 percent level where half your shots are well thought out and half are not, or at 25 percent, which would not be a winning percentage.

Outside of the Umbra and Penumbra

This is definitely not the place to be in when you want to win. There are days when, no matter how hard you try, you cannot find the right combination to win. Thing just don’t go right for you.  

While none of us wants to be in that position, there is an up side to those days. Based on 55 years of playing and coaching experience, when approached with the right attitude, those outside the penumbra days, can provide a positive outcome. If a player works harder on those days at raising the level of their game; maybe a day, maybe two days, maybe a week later, they take a jump up in their level of play. It is as if they forced their way to a higher level by working harder when faced with adversity.

Conclusion

With the advent of the solar eclipse to be seen August 21, 2017, in parts of the US, new terminology can be used by tennis players to categorize their level of play. While all of us would like to play in the umbra, you will be fortunate to have that happen twice a year. For those of us who play outside the penumbra of the eclipse that, too, will fortunately happen approximately twice a year. For the rest of the time we all have to play in varying percentages of the penumbra. Welcome to the human race. Has that been your experience?

Ilie Nastase-Ion Tiriac

Romanians are known as passionate people. None seem to show more passion than Ilie Nastasie and Ion Tiriac. Both are more than willing to speak their mind, with no regard for the repercussions.

Ion Tiriac was born May 5th, 1939. Growing up playing ice hockey and tennis, tennis became his outlet to the world. It gave him freedom. In 1970 he won the French Open doubles title with Ilie Nastase. Watching Tiriac, I always thought of him as a player that used 100% of his ability. He was not nearly as physically talented as Nastasie, but mentally, there were few players that were as wile. Ilie Nastaste was born July 19th,1946. He was one of the most physically talented players on the tour. Nastase turned pro in 1969 and won 58 career titles. I always thought if he had had Tiriac’s mental ability, he would have been at the top for a long time.

Recently Nastase has come under suspension by the ITF for untoward remarks that were outside the lines of sportsmanship. Because of this he has been denied a seat at the French Open and Wimbledon and seems on the edge of  having his name withdrawn from the Hall of Fame. In spite of this he did show up at the Madrid Open and even presented the trophy to the winner, Simona Halep, also Rumanian. Halep did not seem to have any problem with Nastasie presenting her the trophy, but the head of the WTA, Steve Simon did. Nastase came under fire for being allowed to attend the Madrid event. However, his long time friend, Ion Tiriac, came to his aid and called for the WTA to apologize for their criticism of Nastase.

Conclusion

If you were in a position of authority in this matter how would you deal with it. Would you criticize Nastase attending and presenting the winner’s trophy, as did the WTA,  or would you take the other side – he should not have been allowed to attend, and Ion Tiriac should certainly not have demanded the WTA apologize.

Tennis – Federation Cup – Ilie Nastase

Ilie Nastase, captain of the Rumanian Fed Cup tennis team, held true to his status as tennis’s ‘bad boy’. The Fed Cup is the premier international team competition in women’s tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The competition was known as the Federation Cup until 1995. The Fed Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition, in terms of the number of nations that compete.^[2][3]  Ilie Nastase, captaining the Romanian team against Great Britain in their 2017 Fed Cup face-off , got himself thrown out and suspended by the the ITF for his behavior.

Tennis – Ilie Nastase

Ilie Nastasie developed a negative image and reputation, in spite of his obvious talent.

When I was tennis director in Hampton, Virginia, back in the early 70’s, a series of tennis exhibitions were arranged by Bill Reardon between Illie Nastase and Jimmy Connors, primarily on the East coast. The unofficial word at that time was that these exhibitions were guaranteed money, even though they were promoted as ‘head to head’, winner take all matches. It turns out the money was guaranteed for both players, which, if promoted as such, would not have drawn the crowds. Granted the onus was on Bill Reardon as the promoter, but it also left a tainted image of the two professional players that they were part of a false promotion.

Subsequently moving to New Jersey I became tennis director at the East Orange Tennis Club. I was invited to the professional $10,000 tournament held at Orange Lawn Tennis Club, where Ilie Nastase was playing. The president of my club invited me out with himself and Ilie Nastase after Ilie’s evening match. As we were walking out of the club, three young ladies joined us. Not understanding the situation I asked about them. Ilie and Michael told me they were ‘company’ for the evening. Ilie had recently been married. I excused myself and went home to my wife and family, quite disappointed.

1979 US OPEN

In 1979 I was at the US Open when Ilie Nastase played John McEnroe in the second round of the evening match. Ilie always had the reputation as a player who was athletically gifted above the other players. In his mind though Ilie loved playing ‘cat and mouse’. If he was the better player he would literally play mental and strategical games on court to make fun of his opponent.  For example, instead of winning a point outright, he would hit a drop shot, or another shot, to give the player another chance at keeping the ball in play, just to play with him. Watching him athletically, he was so talented. He just could not focus 100% on being true to his talent. He opted for gamesmanship. He ruined Frank Hammond’s (a stellar official respected by all the other professional players) career in that US Open match. Ilie opted for a pathway in life that was outrageous at times, yet so gifted and talented at others.

Conclusion

Hopefully you have read the account of Ilie’s behavior at the Fed Cup? If you haven’t, please do so. If you were on the committee who suspended him what would your input be? Would you give him the benefit of the doubt and not suspend him for life, or, would you vote the game would be better served without him?