Nadal Proves There is No Place Like Home

I think he likes Barcelona.  What do you think.  This is win number 8 for Nadal at his home country's event.  The clay must be part of his DNA.

Wimbledon Offers a Huge Payout

Wimbledon Announces New Prize Money Increase

Winning Wimbledon isn't what it used to be.  Back in 1968 which appears to be when they first started actually awarding prize money according to the chart on the Wimbledon website they used to award the men's winner 2,000 British Pounds.  Move the clock forward into 2013 and the winner of men's singles will see 1.600,000 Pounds.

Wimbledon Prize Money and Finance going back to 1968

As you can see, many of the early winners at Wimbledon must feel some envy when these numbers are compared to theirs.

Pro players below the top 10 are quite happy with the new pay scale as well.  Big increases for those that lose early.

The good news about this increase is that many of the pros down toward the number one hundred postion will see a 60% increase in their winnings.  This will help maintain the depth of the tour where making enough money to attend tournaments has always been a difficult concern for those without deep pockets.

Just so it is clear, the prize money is equal for men and women.  

Tennis - A Sport for All Ages

Last night at dinner with a fellow pro he told me that a wife wanted to buy her husband some tennis lessons for his birthday.  At first that didn't seem unusual until he told me the potential student was 92 years old.  Amazing huh.  I want to be standing at 92 and here are people training, playing, and competing in a physically demanding sport at that age.

Find me another sport that has a 90+ division for competition.  Some will say golf, but I say golf is a game and if a sport, so are fishing and curling which tell you that not all sports are equal.  Admittedly I am biased towards tennis but I hope you get my point.

I have a student who is 87 years old and he called me up again this Spring for lessons.  And so it goes, since I've had many that keep playing well into their 80's and beyond.

The first rule is playing tennis as you age is to keep playing and don't stop.  If you stop it is definitely tougher but whatever you do keep finding a way out onto the court for your health and happiness.

Here is the USTA Tennis Tournament listings for Seniors and Adults.  Take at look and see the 90 and over division.

Meanwhile there are ten and under competitions and teams for youths through the USTA.

Is the Tennis Tour Really Grueling?

You always hear it from the guys at the top that the tour is too long and too physically demanding.

I can't identify with such complaints since I  never pulled down millions for hitting tennis balls and instead look at an hourly rate.

Here is what the pros say according to ESPN.

Dream Matches and Best Matches Ever

I have so many best matches ever to watch and remember that it is now hard to say what is the best match of all times.

I still remember Rosewall and Laver in Houston for the WCT finals in 1971 and I suppose there were others but this one stands out to me.  Video.

Here are the dream match-ups that I found listed on Yahoo for 2013.

How about McEnroe vs Wilander in the Davis cup match that lasted 6 hours.


This site isn't bad.  It has a personal choice for the top 20 best matches with a slide show.  I agree with about half of these.  Of course I didn't see all of them, but it is likely the writer didn't see all the matches I've seen either.

I still can't believe it has been 31 years since Mac beat Wilander in that Davis Cup match.  I will have to say Mac is a great commentator for tennis matches but he still has that temper going onto the court.

Wilander is a gentleman and his traveling tennis camps are a great testament to his love of the game and his willingness to share it.   

 Check out Wilander on Wheels.