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Wofford and U.S. team reach final of 2008 Austria Cup
I
n October, Len Wofford of Portland, Ore.,
traveled overseas to Antalya, Turkey to represent
the United States as a member of the 2008
International Tennis Federation (ITF) Super
Senior World Championship team. Conquering
the clay courts of Turkey, Wofford and his
teammates Larry Turville of Dunellon, Fla., Phil
Landauer of Dublin, Ohio and Tom Smith of
Alpharetta, Ga., reached the final of the Austria
Cup, a team competition for men 55 and over,
and one of the most coveted team events on the
ITF Seniors circuit.
After defeating teams from the Netherlands,
Ireland, Great Britain and France, the U.S.
reached the Austria Cup final where they faced
daunting opposition. To claim the title, the
U.S. would have to defeat three-time defending
champion Australia and their leader Andrew
Rae, currently ranked No. 1 in the world Men’s
55 rankings. With his team’s No. 1 singles player
down with an injury, Wofford stepped up to take
on Rae. “Playing Andrew Rae, seeing if I could
hold my own, it was a great experience for me,”
Wofford said. “My strategy was to go out and
wear him down.”
He succeeded in challenging Rae for every
point but in the end Wofford fell just shy of the
win. “We were matching strokes but Andrew’s
experience just prevailed. He knows how to win
the tough matches.”
Fit to Play
[ Continued from page 8 ]
Water also encourages a shorter recovery time than a similar workout
on land and provides buoyancy, pressure, and a cooling effect (provided
you are not running in the hot tub) that allows for a faster recovery
time (Sirdevan & Petersen, 2004).
Rule 11: Passive Rest
Rest is one of the most important principles of training. It is essential
for coaches and athletes to realize that the body requires a certain
period of time in order to recover from illness, training-related fatigue
or stress. Sleep is probably the best form of rest to aid recovery and
high performance athletes may require up to 10-12 hours of sleep per
night. Lack of sleep can be a potential problem. The last time most
people including athletes had a really good sleep was when they were
still in school. As we mature there is always a reason to go to bed later
including text messaging, computers, homework and television but at
some point it is necessary to block those distractions and get solid rest.
Practical Application: To ensure a good night’s sleep, minimize
caffeine in the late afternoon and avoid excessive alcohol. Also avoid
hot showers and heavy exercise just before bed since a higher than
normal body temperature makes it harder to sleep. Avoid long afternoon
naps and try sticking to a schedule and routine.
Conclusion
Training and competition fatigue experienced by players is a necessary
part of the adaptive process. The challenge for most coaches
and players is to identify which specifi c capacities are fatigued and
then select appropriate recovery strategies to restore the player to a
normal functioning state. Without the appropriate recovery techniques
and time, the player will not adapt to the stress of training and will be
at risk of overtraining or overuse injuries (Chandler & Kibler, 2003).
Training and playing tennis are both physically and mentally
demanding and recovery sessions must be incorporated into sports
specifi c training programs. Coaches and athletes alike need to be more
aware of the importance of restoration and regeneration following
heavy workloads. It is wise to equip oneself with the knowledge of
how best to use the equipment, facilities and modalities available to
facilitate recovery. �
Clothing and shoes worn by exercise model Nina Nittinger were provided by BROOKS.
Australia defeated the U.S. by the narrowest
of margins to win their fourth consecutive
Austria Cup championship. The
U.S. duo of Landauer and Smith won the
doubles point but Smith lost a hard fought
three-set battle at No. 2 singles to end the
match at 2-1 in favor of the Aussies.
Although the team suffered a tough
loss, there was still much to be gained
from competing on an international stage.
“Getting to know my teammates and sharing
in the camaraderie was the best part,”
Wofford explains. “I also really enjoyed
playing people from other countries. As
you compete in events like the Austria
Cup, you end up seeing the same people
so you really are able to form friendships
with all of these players from different
countries.”
If you would like to learn more about the ITF
Senior and Super Senior World Championships
as well as other opportunities for international
competition, visit the ITF Seniors website at http://
www.itftennis.com/seniors.
Section honors 2008 USTA
Pacific Northwest award
winners
he section recognized its 2008 award winners
T
during the USTA Pacific Northwest Awards
From left, Larry Turville, Tom Smith, Phil Landauer and
Len Woff ord were selected by the USTA to compete in
the 2008 Austria Cup where they fi nished second in a
fi eld of 21.
Dinner held this fall at the Embassy Suites
Hotel in Portland.
We would like to congratulate all of the
2008 section award winners and thank them
for all they do to develop tennis in the Pacific
Northwest. For a complete list of recipients
please visit our website at www.pnw.usta.com
and click on ‘Awards’. �
Juniors disprove theory and practice good
sportsmanship on court
recently read an article in Th e New York Times about the “epidemic of cheating” in
I America’s high schools. Of course, the article referred to cheating in the classroom
but cheating is cheating and oft en cheaters will cheat wherever they go. In my role as a
tennis offi cial who oft en works junior tournaments and as a high school tennis coach,
I have seen converse evidence. I would argue that cheating is actually rare among high
school age tennis players.
As an umpire, I remind junior players that they are responsible for all the calls on
their side of the court. Th is includes giving the benefi t of the doubt to their opponent. As
a high school coach, I teach the importance of this to every player that comes through
our program. I believe that it is this aspect of high school tennis that makes the game
so uniquely important, especially for a junior player whose character is still being
formed. I would not go so far as to say that junior tennis players NEVER cheat but I
will assert that incidences of cheating are rare. It is a far more frequent occurrence to
see competitors play balls that are narrowly out than it is to see bad calls during both
high school competition and USTA sanctioned tournaments.
To illustrate my point, I recently witnessed a highly competitive match between
two of Seattle’s best high school tennis teams. Th e outcome of the dual meet was
determined by one call in a singles match. A player in the third set of his match was
NET NOTES
FROM THE
CHAIR
By Ira Moss,
USTA Offi cial
serving with the score at, 5-6, 40-all in a no-ad format. At one point during the critical rally, the player on
serve started to call his opponent’s shot on the far sideline “out”. Th e call would have resulted in his winning
the game and would have sent the match into a third-set tiebreak. As soon as he made the call, the player
realized that he was not certain; he stopped himself and asked for his opponent’s help in making the call. His
opponent promptly advised him that the shot was good. His judgment was immediately accepted and both
players shook hands to end the match.
“Requesting an opponent’s help,” is addressed in “Th e Code”. In point 11 under “Making Calls”, Th e Code
states the following: “When an opponent’s opinion is requested and the opponent gives a positive opinion, it
must be accepted. If neither player has an opinion, the ball must be considered good. Aid from an opponent
is available only on a call that ends a point.”
Th is exchange between the two young men was an outstanding example of good sportsmanship. Since this
was a call that ended the point (and ended the match as well) the player was within his rights to ask for his
opponent’s help. When a positive opinion was given it was immediately accepted even though it cost the player
the match and his school lost the dual meet as a result.
Some things are more important than winning; good sportsmanship and a player’s reputation, especially at
the junior level are far more valuable then the outcome of any tennis match. �
www.pnw.usta.com � WINTER 2008/09 TENNIS TIMES
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