* RCOC Restoration Making Progress

The court restoration is moving along very well at the Racquet Club of Chicago. Under the direction of Bill Bickford with help from John Cashman and Ally Bulley and other RCOC members, work has gone well all spring. Chris Ronaldson, Colin Lumley and Peter Lucke-Hille have been providing expert advice on the proper detailing of such elements as bandeau height, tambour angle and gallery and dedans openings. The Middlesex University court in London has been used as a model.             The RCOC has been following the original 1924 blueprints for the court, which have produced a couple of interesting issues.… Read the Full Story >

* Ten Questions for Challenger Steve Virgona

* Ten Questions for Challenger Steve Virgona

Steven Virgona, the senior professional at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, will be challenging Rob Fahey at Queens Club in London on 24, 26 and 28 April in a best of thirteen set match for the world championship of tennis. 1. How did things go at Seacourt against Bryn Sayers in early March? You won pretty comfortably, 7 sets to 2: 6/4 6/2 6/4 6/5 6/4 5/6 6/3 3/6 6/4 [For more on the Final Eliminator, see The Final Eliminator My preparation and game planning for the match went a long way to building a 4 sets to love lead… Read the Full Story >

* Chicago Restoration Begins

Work began on Monday 20 February 2012 on the restoration of the court tennis facility at the Racquet Club of Chicago. The original court had opened in October 1924 and was used until sometime in 1936 when the club converted it into a lawn tennis court. Pierre Etchebaster gave an exhibition there in 1931, playing against the club pro Charley Williams. One RCOC member, George Husband, even won the U.S. national amateur title in 1927. Now, in the last few days, the court is finally on the way to returning to court tennis play for the first time in more… Read the Full Story >

* Phil Shannon Retires

Phil Shannon, a Yorkshireman, found himself a court tennis pro at Prested Hall from June 2002 to June 2005. A month later he came to Prince’s Court in Washington and worked there as assistant professional until his official retirement on 2 March 2012. Phil is moving on to the mortgage business.  A much beloved figure, Phil cooked up feasts, cajoled league play and generally made court tennis seem the most exciting thing in the world. His emailed invitation to the 2010 Prince’s Court league was typical. He promised: “BBQ’s, curry cook offs, theme evenings like Croatia night, classical music jammin… Read the Full Story >

* National League Finals

* National League Finals

The third season of the USCTA National League ended with the most exciting finales in its history. Like with the past two seasons, Philadelphia was in the finals.             Last year Philadelphia had hosted Tuxedo in the championshp match and had beaten them relatively easily, with Rob Whitehouse and Steve Virgona winning in straight sets. The year before Philadelphia had faced hosts New York in the inaugural finals and lost in an exciting match: Mike Gooding had defeated Whitehouse, Virgona took out James Stout and then Gooding & Stout had beaten Virgona & Barney Tanfield 8-4 in the doubles.            … Read the Full Story >

* Annual Dinner a Fantastic Success…& photos…

 Note: A link to photos from the evening by Michael Do can be found at the end of the story!         The fourteenth annual dinner of the United States Court Tennis Association was held on Friday 9 December 2012 at the Racquet & Tennis Club. By most metrics the event, organized by Brian Owens, was the most successful dinner yet. One hundred and seventy-five people from around the world attended—many were in town to play in or watch the Whitney Cup and others came to support the Association and be a part of its yearly reunion.   It is always special to be… Read the Full Story >

New England Wins Second Straight Whitney Cup – UPDATED

           The 77th annual Payne Whitney Memorial Inter-City Cup, played at the Racquet & Tennis Club on 11-13 December 2009, was again a diabolically close and unpredictable affair, An amalgam of Newport and Boston, New England again drank champagne out of the cup.             The play was magnificent. Never before had such a completely high and deep caliber of talent participated in the Whitney Cup. Twenty-four of the twenty-five top U.S. amateur players played (the only one missing, Will Broadbent, was at the club but injured). Joining the four new Whitney Cup players were a throng of wily veterans, some… Read the Full Story >

2003 Boomerang Cup

WITH ACHING livers, steak and snag-filled bellies and mostly unbruised egos, twenty-two Americans have been slowly limping home from the greatest by-annual fortnight of tennis on the planet, the Boomerang.      There is nothing quite like it. Every other January the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club hosts a gargantuan party. There are two tournaments run concurrently: the Boomerang, a team competition, and the RMTC Handicap Doubles. Both are doubles. Both involve round-robin play with the top teams going through to a knockout draw. Both are handicapped, with the abilities ranging from Julian Snow and his 6+ to Jean Ferris and her… Read the Full Story >