U. S. Open Tennis Blog

It seems that in the tennis world this year, all the talk is about grunting. It seems to be getting out of hand, according to those closely connected with the sport.

We’re talking, of course, about the loud grunt a player makes right as he or she is swinging the racket. And it’s especially become annoying for some with female players.

Want to know how widespread the problem has gotten? It’s even overflowed into kids’ tennis. AP reports that one nine year old girl in Sunbury, Australia, was banned from playing at a local club because of her loud grunts.

The girl is Lauryn Edwards, and the club banned her from playing tennis following an opposing player’s complaint. The Mt. Carmel Tennis club then told Lauryn’s flabbergasted parents. The father, Duncan Edwards, said the ban is “pathetic” and has made his own complaint to Tennis Australia and Tennis Victoria.

It’s no surprise to those familiar with tennis that Lauryn’s favorite player and idol is the notorious grunter, Russian player Maria Sharapova. However, Lauryn’s father says his daughter’s grunt is not at Sharapova’s level and that the situation is way overblown.

On the adult level, in advance of the U.S. Open, tennis legend Chris Evert has come out opposed to today’s loud grunting. She said she noticed that the grunting gets louder when the player hits what they perceive as a winning stroke, and that this smacks of poor sportsmanship. Evert says the loud grunts are distracting, and she feels they’re getting louder and louder with the younger generation of players.

So who are the sports loudest grunters among female tennis players The Tennis Federation rates them as following (Keep in mind that a lion’s roar is 110 decibels):

Maria Sharapova 101 decibels
Monica Seles 93.2 decibels
Serena Williams 88.9 decibels
Lindsay Davenport 88 decibels
Venus Williams 85 decibels
Victoria Azarenka 83.5 decibels
Elena Bovina 81 decibels
Anna Kournikova 78.5 decibels
Kim Clijsters 75 decibels
Elena Dementieva 73 decibels

As the current rules stand within the International Tennis Federation’s conduct code, an umpire can award a point to the opposing player if he feels that the player has hindered her in any intentional way. This would presumably mean by unnecessary grunting as well. In addition, there is a new proposal which, if passed, will ban outright the emitting of an excessive amount of noise during a game, with the grunter facing the possibility of a game or match forfeiture.

On the other side of the issue, in an interview with NPR, women’s tennis coach Luke Jensen of Syracuse University says there’s value to grunting. He says some players get so tied up with their emotions that grunting helps them release those emotions.

So will the grunting at the U.S. Open reflect the same kind of grunting that has been seen at Wimbledon. Perhaps. But then, Americans probably go in for that kind of thing more so than their counterparts over in the UK.

So you’ve bought your tickets to the U.S. Open, you’ve traveled to New York and you’re ready to watch some tennis–but it starts raining. What then?

It’s not uncommon to have a rain delay at Flushing Meadows during the U.S. Open. However, it’s rare that you’d get rained completely out of a session. The staff at the event tries very hard to deal with the rain so that the show goes on. However, if there is an all-day rain event, you might wind up having to watch the event next year.

Even if it looks like rain on the day you’re set to attend the Open, plan on going to Flushing Meadows anyhow. More than likely, the grounds crew will manage to get the event going. In the event of a total downpour, log onto www.USOpen.org for an announcement about the rain. There might also be an announcement on the local TV news.

If your entire session does get completely rained out, you’ll be allowed to either exchange for another session or get the same seats on the same day next year. The bad side of this, however, is that you’ll need to be at the box office in Flushing Meadows in order to get the switched tickets for this year. However, you can get the tickets for next year through the mail. Either way, there are no refunds.

If you have tickets for an early session which gets rained out, then you’ll have the opportunity of getting tickets for a time later in the week. However, you’ll need to be in Flushing Meadows immediately when the rain delay is announced in order to try to exchange at their box office so you can beat others; there will be a limited number of tickets to be exchanges. This will probably mean you have to stand in the rain to get the new tickets.

If one of the matches in your session has already been completed when there is a rain delay, you might get only half value when you exchange your tickets. Check out the event’s inclement weather policy to find out exactly what you’re eligible for.

Here’s the really bad news: Sessions 23 and 26 are not covered under the Inclement Weather Policy. That means if you happen to get rained out of those, you’re just out of luck. However, the management most likely would honor tickets for a final which has been rescheduled. They just like to keep their options open.

The good news is that it’s very uncommon for Mother Nature to conspire against a person so totally that he gets completely shut out of the event that he planned so hard for. So by all means, make your trip to New York for the Open fully expecting that you’ll get to see the tennis that you paid to see; most likely, it’ll happen.

With prize money of more than $ 19 Million to be won over a period of weeks, the US Open is one of the most coveted trophies in Tennis. This year the grand stage again will be at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York City. The hustle at the venue has already begun with the selection of the ballpersons even as the tourney begins not before 25th August. The qualifying draws start early on 25th August but the final draws begin only on 31st August which would then go on till 13th September.
So what else is new with the US Open? The Governing body USTA have announced the launch of the new official website which will present detailed information as well as integration with social media websites. It aims through this website to cover some other local Tennis tournaments too. There is special attention paid to the interactive games and contests for fans also. This is one of the big projects undertaken by USTA and their aims are higher than ever. Fans can now get updates of scores, ticket rates and TV schedules on their social profiles on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc.
Eager to join the big preparations many superstars have already joined the tournament draws which include Caroline Wozniacki – defending champion, Marion Bartoli, Amelie Mauresmo among the women and Mardy Fish and Tommy Robredo were a few among the men’s category. Wozniacki expressed her thrill on coming back to defend her title at the Pilot Pen. She said that she loved the atmosphere at the tournament last year and the terrific fan support helped her to the title. Marion Bartoli is renowned for her exploits against former World No. 1 Justine Henin during initial draws for the Wimbledon finals in 2007 and for having Pierce Brosnan applaud for her from the Royal Box!
On the screen side of US Open, there seem to be huge partnerships coming together for the benefit of the TV viewers. The USTA, ESPN and Tennis Channel have collaborated together and have agreed to telecast 400 hours this time round for the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series. This will be the first time ESPN, Tennis Channel and CBS will become the US Open broadcasters in collaboration.
Of course all this is planned because they expect a scintillating set of matches. With Nadal falling out of Wimbledon and Fedrer making the most of his absence in 2 consecutive tournaments, it will be interesting to see what the US Open brings. Clearly Fedrer is the favorite for the title with 4 consecutive previous wins, but Nadal, Djokovic, Roddick and others cannot be counted out. Will they give Fed-Ex a run for his money? On the other hand – in Women’s Tennis the Williams sisters seem to be going strong once again after making it to the Wimbledon Finals in grand style. Can they be defeated on their home turf? The anticipation rises.

Flushing Meadows hosts from the 31st of August to 13th of September some of the greatest tennis in the world. Players from around the world compete in Men’s events (Singles and Doubles), Women’s events (Singles and Doubles) and Mixed Doubles. The heart-pounding on-court excitement is broadcasted around the world, and entire cities will be tuned in to see Roger Federer and Serena Williams, the 2008 winners defend their crowns.

The 128th U.S. Open of 2009 is anticipated to be watched by millions, in most part for the much-anticipated comeback of Kim Clijsters, Former World No. 1, who announced in March, 2009 her return to professional tennis. Loyal fans are hoping her two years off from tennis will not have much effect on her superb game, and many tout the 26 year old Belgian as the next U.S. Open champion.

The current U.S. Open Women’s Singles Champion Serena Williams is another player whose power-play, brute strength and nerves of steel will have eyes glued to her every move, on and off court. Her recent form has been astonishing, reaching the Semi-Finals of Wimbledon by defeating Elena Dementieva, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6, on the 2nd of July, 2009.

Roger Federer, the stylish Swiss, whose on-court charisma and record winning streak has won him a massive following world-wide. With a career win percentage of nearly 90%, this incredible athlete has still many years left in his game. Although currently ranked World No. 2, the BBC Sports commentator John Lloyd proudly declared Federer as “the greatest player of all time”, an opinion widely held by many.

Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis superstar, who has bagged none less than siz Grand Slam titles, has left his fans and his handful of critics in the dark regarding whether or not he will make an appearance at the 2009 U.S. Open. Having had to withdraw from the Wimbledon championships due to tendonitis in the knees, his fate regarding the U.S. Open is still undecided.

Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Venus Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Agnes Szavay are just some of the names that will be highlighted on score boards and in newspapers, following the events. The men’s singles players will include heavy weights such as Novak Djokvic, who won his first grand slam title at the 2008 Australian Open; David Nalbandian, Andy Roddick, David Ferrer, Andy Murray, Fernando Gonzalez – and others.

The Flushing Meadows hard courts will also host notable doubles names, including Bob and Mike Bryan, Simon Aspelin an Julian Knowle and Martin Damm and Leander Paes – all who stand an equally good chance of claiming the 2009 U.S. Open Men’s Doubles crown. Women’s Double duos include Cara Black and Liezel Huber, who as a team have won the 2007 Wimbledon and Australian open, and are a force to be reckoned with.

Young or old, tennis lovers or not, millions will be tuned in to watch some of the greatest tennis played at the 2009 U.S. Open – an event not to be missed under any circumstance!