Tennis and All That

I’m disappointed that Serena is out of the Australian Open but pleased she beat the world number 1, Halep because it’ll boost her world ranking and seeding in future tournaments. However I’m delighted that the Czech women, Kvitova and Ka. Pliskova, are marching on and make up 50% of the semi-finalists. Here’s hoping for an all Czech final! They both deserve to win the title. Both are playing even better than last year. Pliskova played excellently against Osaka in Tokyo last year so has the game to beat her. However, Osaka may have tried to learn from it so could play slightly differently this time around. The key for Pliskova, I feel, is to get out of the starting blocks quickly and keep up the pressure on Osaka because she does throw her racquet about when upset and losing, as she did this tournament against Hsieh. Osaka made a comeback in that match by improving the speed of her footwork, making more small, adjusting steps, meaning she moved better and transferred her weigh...

In my previous post, I ended last season celebrating the Czech Fed Cup win over USA in the final. I start 2019 by celebrating two big title wins for two top Czech women players: Karolina Pliskova won Brisbane and Kvitova won Sydney International! Congratulations to both! May they collect many more titles this year! The sad news for Czech tennis is the retirement, due to ill health (from viruses/reactive arthritis), of Lucie Safarova, a hugely talented all-court player who was great to watch. I’ll miss her! Another loss for the game is Agnieszka Radwanska who has also retired due to a foot injury that, like Andy Murray’s hip, doctors are unable to repair, especially for the strains of competitive tennis. I’ll miss her creative shots! Her good friend, Caroline Wozniacki, is dealing with rheumatoid arthritis but is excited to be defending her Australian Open title. The Australian Open main draw starts now, in an hours’ time or so. So, on a fun note before they start, h...

I want to dedicate this post to the fantastic Czech Fed Cup team who are the champions by beating USA in the finals 3-0 in Prague. I’m so proud of your achievement and your amazing Fed Cup record of six titles in eight years! Brilliant team work! I’m still smiling about it. What a lovely way to end the year! It’s also a great year to win it as we are celebrating 100 years of independence from Austro-Hungarian oppression and, co-incidentally, today also marks 100 years to the day when TG Masaryk became the first president of independent Czechoslovakia.

The US Open Women’s Final cast an uncomfortable shadow across not only the last Grand Slam of the year but also the rest of the year. It was great that Serena Williams received Comeback Player of the Year Award which she richly deserved for her incredible rise up the rankings and on reaching the finals in two Grand Slams back to back. This still does not compensate for the dreadful treatment she received at the hands of Ramos who was not the only out of control umpire during the US Open. Umpires are there to ensure that the match goes smoothly for the players and that all their needs are met. It’s their responsibility to make sure the players know what’s going on and what the score is. The spectators also expect to be told the score and if anything out of the ordinary is happening eg a trainer is being called on court and for whom. A match is stressful for the players so the umpire should create a pleasant environment for both players and spectators. They are not some authoritarian fi...

Yesterday, the ITF’s facebook page announced their support 1 for the umpire, Carlos Ramos and the decisions he took during the Women’s Final to give Serena Williams code violations. My comment today on their post was: “No, his decisions were not in accordance with the wording or definitions of the Grand Slam Rulebook 2018, see page 44 under 'Coaches and Coaching'. Serena did not "receive" the coaching nor was there "communications...between" her and her coach. Both Serena (during and post match) and her coach (interview with Pam Shriver) have made that clear, she didn't see him do it. It also says this "may be construed as coaching" - crucial word being may not must! Nowhere does it say you penalise a player for their coach's gesturing etc during a match. Coaching during warm-up or match is not listed as 1 of the 5 things a player is responsible for their coach doing. So it is wrong to penalise Serena for something she did not do or...

Just as I thought that controversies were over at the US Open and we can focus on the game we have the greatest controversy of all. The women’s final was not just controversial it was unfair. Inbuilt into the philosophy of sport is fairness.  For video clips and a timeline of the controversial events during the women’s final, see:   https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2018/09/08/serena-williams-vs-naomi-osaka-us-open-2018-final-live-score/ First code violation – warning for coaching: Serena is 1-0 up in the second set against Osaka when she is given a coaching violation by the umpire, Carlos Ramos. Serena defends herself, which she has every right to do since she is a sportswoman with integrity. Her reputation is now being called into question by giving her this warning through no fault of her own. Should Ramos have given Serena a warning for coaching? The warning is based on Mouratoglou’s hand signals while sitting in the stands. The rules are vague but do state...

No Grand Slam would be one without some controversy. We’ve scarcely started the US Open and already a player has received a code violation. We were all shocked to see a…….sports bra! Not a lingerie bra but a black, non-see-through full sports bra. Alize Cornet, simply slipped off her top to turn it the right way round but the male umpire jumped on her and gave her a code violation. What did you want her to do? She’s a top athlete she doesn’t want photos beamed around the world with her top on the wrong way round. Journalists would have a field day! If she demurely leaves the court like a heroine in a Jane Austen novel she receives a time violation. Alize can’t win. Besides, one of the big topics often commented on is the bathroom breaks. Apparently, these are unnecessary and merely strategic rather than because the players are looking after their health by doing the right thing and drinking to stay hydrated otherwise they can become seriously ill. This is especially true when there a...