Playing tennis and other sports that are social might add years to your life, according to a new epidemiological study of Danish men and women.
The study found that adults who reported frequently participating in tennis or other racket and team sports lived longer than people who were sedentary. But they also lived longer than people who took part in reliably healthy but often solitary activities such as jogging, swimming and cycling.
The results raise interesting questions about the role that social interactions might play in augmenting the benefits of exercise.
At this point, no one doubts that being physically active improves our health and can extend our longevity. Multiple, recent epidemiological studies have pinpointed links between regular exercise and longer lives in men and women.
But whether some activities might be better than others for lengthening life spans remains in dispute. One widely publicized 2017 study of more than 80,000 British men and women found that those who played racket sports tended to outlive those who jogged.
Those results piqued the interest of an international group of scientists. They previously had examined links between jogging and longevity and concluded that moderate amounts of moderately paced running led to greater gains in longevity than more-gentle or strenuous running.
To start, they turned to the same data resource they had used for the jogging study, the Copenhagen City Heart Study, an ambitious, ongoing attempt to track the lives and health of thousands of men and women in Copenhagen.
The study’s participants had all completed health exams and lengthy questionnaires about their lifestyles and whether and how often they took part in eight sports common in Denmark, including cycling, swimming, running, tennis, soccer and, perhaps unexpectedly, badminton.
The researchers zeroed in on 8,600 of the participants who had been part of the study for about 25 years.
They cross-referenced records with the national death registry to see if and when any of these people had passed away.
Then they compared activities and life spans.
The most obvious finding was that people who had reported almost never exercising were more likely than the active to have died in the ensuing decades.
The associations between particular activities and life span were more surprising.
Cycling was the most popular activity among the Danes in the study, many of whom reported riding for four or more hours every week. Their pedaling was associated with a lengthier life span, adding an average of 3.7 years to riders’ lives, compared to sedentary Danes.
Running likewise was associated with an extra 3.2 years of life.
But these gains were notably less than for playing tennis, which was linked to 9.7 added years of life, or badminton, which was linked to an extra 6.2 years, or soccer, which added almost 5 years to players’ lives.
These associations remained unchanged even when the researchers controlled for people’s education, socioeconomic status and age.
Why and how some sports might add more years to people’s lives than others is impossible to know from this kind of observational study, says Dr. James O’Keefe, a study co-author and the director of preventive cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute at Saint Luke’s Health Center in Kansas City.
The differing physical demands of some sports could play a role, he says, although little of the exercise in this study was heavily intense, whether people were cycling or backhanding a shuttlecock.
Income and other aspects of people’s lifestyles also likely matter, he says. The researchers tried to account for socioeconomic factors, but it remains possible, he says, that people who have sufficient money and leisure time to play tennis live longer because they have sufficient money and leisure time, not because they play tennis.
Still, he suspects that the social aspects of racket games and other team sports are a primary reason that they seem to lengthen lives, he says.
“We know from other research that social support provides stress mitigation,” he says.
“So being with other people, playing and interacting with them, as you do when you play games that require a partner or a team, probably has unique psychological and physiological effects,” he says, amplifying the benefits of the exercise.
That possibility requires verification, he says, especially in randomized experiments directly comparing different types of exercise.
But for now, people who run or ride solo might consider finding a group or partner with whom to work out, he says.
“Raising your heart rate is important” for health, he says. “But it looks like connecting with other people is, too.”
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/POST-Tennis4Life-e1555388595767.png152200Robhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob2021-07-23 08:59:172021-07-23 14:54:09The Best Sport for a Longer Life? Try Tennis.
How Walking, Dancing, Tennis Can Build Up the Brain
Exercise can freshen and renovate the white matter in our brains, potentially improving our ability to think and remember as we age, according to a new study of walking, dancing (tennis) and brain health.
It shows that white matter, which connects and supports the cells in our brains, remodels itself when people become more physically active. In those who remain sedentary, on the other hand, white…
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-FitForLife-e1555388731725.png152200Robhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob2021-07-18 08:19:292021-07-18 08:28:25NYT: How Walking Can Build Up the Brain
in your home with other people you live with, except if someone in your household is self-isolating
travelling in a vehicle (car) by yourself or with other people you live with.
Public transport
You must wear a face mask in NSW when
using public transport, hire vehicles, taxis and rideshare services
waiting for public transport at a bus or light rail stop, train station or ferry wharf.
Residential buildings: Greater Sydney
From Tuesday 13 July 2021, in Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour, residents, staff and visitors must wear a fitted face mask in indoors area of common property in residential buildings.
You do not need to wear a mask inside your own apartment.
indoor areas of schools by all staff and students from Year 7 and above in Greater Sydney (outside Greater Sydney, masks are recommendedindoors for all staff and students from Year 7 and above) – some exemptions apply
workplaces
gym classes or dance classes
COVID-19 Safe outdoor gatherings
controlled outdoor gatherings
entertainment facilities (such as theatres, cinemas, music and concert halls)
major recreation facilities (such as stadiums, showgrounds, theme parks, racecourses, and motor racing tracks)
indoor recreation facilities (unless it is strenuous exercise).
You must wear a face mask if you
work at a hospitality venue located in NSW and
deal directly with members of the public.
Premises that are used for the purpose of providing health services are not retail or business premises.
Airports and commercial domestic flights
Face mask rules apply to airports and commercial domestic flights across NSW.
You must wear a face mask when
indoors at a NSW airport, including the passenger waiting area and
Given the number of infectious cases in the community, the following changes will be made to further limit the spread of the COVID-19 Delta strain.
On the basis of updated health advice, the following changes come into effect across Greater Sydney including the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour until 11.59pm on Friday, 30 July:
From 11.59pm on Saturday, 17 July:
Retail premises will be required to close (‘click and collect’, takeaway and home delivery can still operate), except the following can remain open:
Supermarkets and grocery stores (including butchers, bakeries, fruit and vegetable stores, liquor stores and fishmongers);
Stores that predominantly sell health, medical, maternity and infant supplies;
Pharmacies and chemists;
Petrol stations;
Car hire;
Banks and financial institutions;
Hardware, nurseries and building supplies;
Agricultural and rural supplies;
Pet supplies;
Post offices and newsagents; and
Office supplies.
In addition to the stay-at-home rules, residents of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool LGAs cannot leave their LGA for work except for emergency services and healthcare workers (including aged and disability workers). Where those workers do need to leave their LGA for work, they are required to be tested every three days, even if they do not have symptoms;
Anyone who leaves the home must have a mask with them at all times. They must be worn when you are working outdoors, in outdoor markets, outdoor shopping strips, and in an outdoor queues waiting for products such as coffee and food; and
All carpooling to be stopped unless among members of the same household.
From 12.01am on Monday, 19 July:
All construction to be paused; and
Non-urgent maintenance, including cleaning services, and repair work on residential premises to be paused.
From 12.01am on Wednesday, 21 July:
Employers must allow employees to work from home if the employee is able to do so, failure to do so can result in a fine of up to $10,000.
We are constantly reviewing the health advice and will continue to update the community if any changes are required.
All other restrictions currently in place across Greater Sydney including the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour will remain in place.
These decisions have not been made lightly and we understand this is a difficult time for the community and appreciate their ongoing patience.
It is vital people continue to come forward for testing to help us find any COVID-19 cases in the community.
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-news-e1555388843470.png152200Robhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob2021-07-17 13:30:302021-07-17 13:59:23Restrictions to further limit the spread of the COVID-19 Delta strain
The sport’s biggest names are withdrawing from the Games left and right. Even Novak Djokovic is on the fence during his historic season.
Len
Novak Djokovic entered the tennis season aiming to pull off something no man has ever managed in the sport: a sweep of all four major tournaments, plus a gold medal in the Olympic singles tournament. And after dominating Wimbledon earlier this month, he’s now most of the way there.
Yet even with history on the line, Djokovic is having second thoughts about making the trip to Tokyo. So are plenty of others in the tennis world with far less to play for. There are no rankings points or prize money on offer and these summer Olympics are set to be the most restrictive in history due to pandemic regulations.
So while athletes in most Olympic sports are determined to get to Tokyo no matter what, the list of tennis stars who have already withdrawn reads like a roster of the sport’s most famous names. Roger Federer on Tuesday became the latest to withdraw from contention, citing a setback to his surgically repaired right knee. He joined Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu, top-ranked American Sofia Kenin, and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who all pulled out to better prepare for the U.S. Open, which begins in late August.
“Obviously I want to play the Olympics, I want to represent my country. It’s a dream for me,” said men’s No. 10 Denis Shapovalov, of Canada. “But it’s really tough with these restrictions. It puts a lot of pressure on you.”
One player with definite plans to be there is Japan’s Naomi Osaka. After skipping the French Open and Wimbledon, citing mental-health concerns, she is set to be one of the faces of the Games.
WSJ NEWSLETTER
Notes on the News
The news of the week in context, with Tyler Blint-Welsh.
Women’s world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty said after her Wimbledon win on Saturday that she also plans to go—even though it means she will now spend a total of up to eight months away from her native Australia. But Djokovic, her counterpart on the men’s side, remains on the fence.
“My plan was always to go to the Olympic Games,” he said after winning his 20th Grand Slam title at the All England Club on Sunday. “But right now I’m a little bit divided. It’s kind of 50/50 because of what I heard in the last couple days.”
Djokovic was stunned that the bubble around the Athletes’ Village might be so tight that he wouldn’t be allowed to watch other events in person or bring along key members of his team, like his racket stringer.
So rather than strain to fly halfway around the world, many would just prefer to head straight to the North American hard court circuit and prepare for their runs at Flushing Meadows, where a round of 16 appearance alone is worth $250,000 in prize money. Kyrgios, for instance, said he felt less than 100% physically and preferred to spend the time recovering than taking a chance at a tournament that had so little going for it.
“It’s been my dream to represent Australia at the Olympics and I know I may never get that opportunity again,” he wrote on Twitter. “But I also know myself. The thought of playing in front of empty stadiums just doesn’t sit right with me. It never has.”
Athletes have known for months that no fans from outside Japan would be allowed to attend events. But Tokyo organizers only announced in the past two weeks that not even domestic supporters would be in the stands.
For tennis, that would be a return to the dark days of last fall, when the U.S. Open and Roland-Garros unfolded in virtual silence. Players hated it. And this season, every new tournament has brought them closer to the atmospheres they remembered in the pre-pandemic world.
This June in Paris, authorities unexpectedly lifted a curfew so that 5,000 people could watch the epic conclusion of the French Open semifinal between Djokovic and Nadal. And by July in London, British authorities had opened up enough to fill the stands completely at the men’s and women’s singles finals on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
Players also enjoyed looser controls than they did during last year’s brutal season. The idea of going back into that environment in Tokyo is more than some can handle.
“It was a lot to do with the restrictions, being in the bubble again, this whole situation,” Shapovalov said. “It’s not easy mentally for anybody. That was a big part of the decision.”
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-goss-e1555388932669.png152200Robhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob2021-07-17 08:48:552021-07-17 09:16:18Why Tennis Stars Are Saying No to the Tokyo Olympics - WSJ
This intimate series follows Naomi Osaka as she explores her cultural roots and navigates her multifaceted identity as a tennis champ and rising leader.
There are robust training montages and glimpses of unusual gym devices (the highlight of all sports docs), but the focus of this three-part mini-series is more on the psychological aspects of Osaka’s game rather than on the strictly athletic ones.
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-goss-e1555388932669.png152200Robhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob2021-07-17 08:39:272021-07-17 09:04:25Naomi Osaka | Netflix Official Site
The NSW Government has extended the Sydney lockdown until July 30.
Tennis NSW in consultation with the Badge Panel has made the decision to cancel round 11 and 12 matches of the Saturday Badge competition on Saturday 17th and 24th July and round 12 and 13 matches of Thursday Badge competition on Thursday 22nd and 29th July. The matches will be marked as a washout with both teams sharing the points.
At this stage the Sydney Badge competition will resume play with round 13 on Saturday 31st July. Round 9 of the Saturday Badge competition will still be postponed until Saturday 14th August. Thursday Ladies Badge will resume play with round 14 on the 5th August as per the fixtures. This is obviously subject to change pending COVID-19 restrictions.
This also means that the finals for Saturday Badge will now be played on 21st and 28th of August and Thursday Ladies Badge will now be played on the 19th and 26th August.
All of the most up to date Covid-19 information can be found at the link below.
WIMBLEDON, England — Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Elise Mertens won the women’s doubles title at Wimbledon on Saturday after saving two match points against Russian duo Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina.
The third-seeded Hsieh and Mertens won 3-6, 7-5, 9-7 on Centre Court. They clinched a back-and-forth third set when Hsieh hit a backhand winner to break Vesnina’s serve.
“We were very happy we could close it because it was just going on and going on,” Mertens said.
It was the third Wimbledon doubles title for Hsieh, all with different partners. It was a first for Mertens, who has also won the Australian Open and U.S. Open doubles.
The unseeded Russian duo had two match points at 5-4 in the second set and also served for the match at 7-6 in the third.
Mertens also had a chance to serve out the match at 5-3 in the third.
“It was such a tough match,” Mertens said. “We just kept going. … We never gave up. That’s the fighting spirit we had today that maybe made with the difference.”
Vesnina was looking for a fourth Grand Slam doubles title and second at Wimbledon. Kudermetova was playing in her first Grand Slam final
Novak Djokovic won the Wimbledon men’s singles championship on Sunday, defeating Matteo Berrettini of Italy.
The 6-7(4) 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory gave Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked tennis player, his 20th Grand Slam singles title, tying him with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Just as important, it gave Djokovic his third Grand Slam title of the year and positioned him to become the first man in more than a half-century to win the calendar Grand Slam when he competes at the U.S. Open later this summer.
Djokovic won the Australian Open in February, the French Open last month and captured the Wimbledon title for a sixth time on Sunday, successfully defending the title he won in 2019, the last time Wimbledon was held.
Rod Laver was the last man to win the calendar year Grand Slam, in 1969. Since then, no male player has arrived at the U.S. Open holding three Grand Slam titles in the same year.
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-goss-e1555388932669.png152200Robhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob2021-07-12 09:38:542021-07-12 09:45:25Novak Djokovic Wins Wimbledon and 20th Career Grand Slam Title
Ash Barty etched her name in history and achieved a childhood dream with a thrilling three set win against Karolina Pliskova in the Wimbledon final.
Barty beat Pliskova 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in just under two hours to become the first Australian to win Wimbledon since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-goss-e1555388932669.png152200Robhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob2021-07-11 07:59:312021-07-11 08:17:17Wimbledon 2021 Ladies Final Match Highlights: Barty vs Plisoka
The number of active cases in Sydney has risen to 376 as of today. (Source: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/stats-nsw.aspx)
Today the NSW Government announced that restrictions will be increased during the Lockdown ending at 11:59 pm on Friday 16th July. This date is also likely to be extended again if cases continue to with the current trend.
From 5 pm today (Friday, 9 July) the following additional restrictions will be in place:
Outdoor public gatherings limited to two people (excluding members of the same household);
People must stay in their Local Government Area or within 10kms of home for exercise and outdoor recreation, with no carpooling between non-household members;
Browsing in shops is prohibited, plus only one person per household, per day, may leave the home for shopping; and
Funerals limited to ten people in total (this will take effect from Sunday, 11 July); The four reasons to leave your home remain in place:
Shopping for food or other essential goods and services (one person only);
Medical care or compassionate needs (only one visitor can enter another residence to fulfill carers’ responsibilities or provide care or assistance, or for compassionate reasons);
Exercise with no more than 2 (unless members of the same household); and
Essential work, or education, where you cannot work or study from home.
Given the latest restrictions: – This means singles only. Bookings will be limited to one hour. – Do not come to the Club if you are outside the area. – All members must sign in using the Service NSW App. – You are only permitted at the Club if you have made a booking. Please arrive only a couple of minutes before and leave immediately after playing. – Keep 1.5 metres from other people. – The Clubhouse will remain closed.
Keep safe Virginia Secretary MLTC
https://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/POST-TennisNews-e1525932928279.png114150Robhttps://www.manlylawn.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/manly-lawn-tennis-club-logo.pngRob2021-07-09 14:03:412021-07-09 14:39:02COVID Update - Increased Restrictions During Lock Down
The Best Sport for a Longer Life? Try Tennis.
/in News, Tennis4Life /by RobThe study found that adults who reported frequently participating in tennis or other racket and team sports lived longer than people who were sedentary. But they also lived longer than people who took part in reliably healthy but often solitary activities such as jogging, swimming and cycling.
The results raise interesting questions about the role that social interactions might play in augmenting the benefits of exercise.
At this point, no one doubts that being physically active improves our health and can extend our longevity. Multiple, recent epidemiological studies have pinpointed links between regular exercise and longer lives in men and women.
But whether some activities might be better than others for lengthening life spans remains in dispute. One widely publicized 2017 study of more than 80,000 British men and women found that those who played racket sports tended to outlive those who jogged.
Those results piqued the interest of an international group of scientists. They previously had examined links between jogging and longevity and concluded that moderate amounts of moderately paced running led to greater gains in longevity than more-gentle or strenuous running.
For the new study, which was published this week in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, these same researchers decided to widen their inquiry and look at a variety of sports and their associations with life and premature death.
To start, they turned to the same data resource they had used for the jogging study, the Copenhagen City Heart Study, an ambitious, ongoing attempt to track the lives and health of thousands of men and women in Copenhagen.
The study’s participants had all completed health exams and lengthy questionnaires about their lifestyles and whether and how often they took part in eight sports common in Denmark, including cycling, swimming, running, tennis, soccer and, perhaps unexpectedly, badminton.
The researchers zeroed in on 8,600 of the participants who had been part of the study for about 25 years.
They cross-referenced records with the national death registry to see if and when any of these people had passed away.
Then they compared activities and life spans.
The most obvious finding was that people who had reported almost never exercising were more likely than the active to have died in the ensuing decades.
The associations between particular activities and life span were more surprising.
Cycling was the most popular activity among the Danes in the study, many of whom reported riding for four or more hours every week. Their pedaling was associated with a lengthier life span, adding an average of 3.7 years to riders’ lives, compared to sedentary Danes.
Running likewise was associated with an extra 3.2 years of life.
But these gains were notably less than for playing tennis, which was linked to 9.7 added years of life, or badminton, which was linked to an extra 6.2 years, or soccer, which added almost 5 years to players’ lives.
These associations remained unchanged even when the researchers controlled for people’s education, socioeconomic status and age.
Why and how some sports might add more years to people’s lives than others is impossible to know from this kind of observational study, says Dr. James O’Keefe, a study co-author and the director of preventive cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute at Saint Luke’s Health Center in Kansas City.
The differing physical demands of some sports could play a role, he says, although little of the exercise in this study was heavily intense, whether people were cycling or backhanding a shuttlecock.
Income and other aspects of people’s lifestyles also likely matter, he says. The researchers tried to account for socioeconomic factors, but it remains possible, he says, that people who have sufficient money and leisure time to play tennis live longer because they have sufficient money and leisure time, not because they play tennis.
Still, he suspects that the social aspects of racket games and other team sports are a primary reason that they seem to lengthen lives, he says.
“We know from other research that social support provides stress mitigation,” he says.
“So being with other people, playing and interacting with them, as you do when you play games that require a partner or a team, probably has unique psychological and physiological effects,” he says, amplifying the benefits of the exercise.
That possibility requires verification, he says, especially in randomized experiments directly comparing different types of exercise.
But for now, people who run or ride solo might consider finding a group or partner with whom to work out, he says.
“Raising your heart rate is important” for health, he says. “But it looks like connecting with other people is, too.”
NYT: How Walking Can Build Up the Brain
/in Ask the Pro, News, Tennis4Life /by RobHow Walking, Dancing, Tennis Can Build Up the Brain
Exercise can freshen and renovate the white matter in our brains, potentially improving our ability to think and remember as we age, according to a new study of walking, dancing (tennis) and brain health.
Read More | Print & PDF
Face mask rules | NSW Government
/in COVID, News /by RobWhen to wear a face mask
There are rules for wearing a fitted face covering (face mask)
You do not need to wear a face mask when you are
Public transport
You must wear a face mask in NSW when
Residential buildings: Greater Sydney
From Tuesday 13 July 2021, in Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour, residents, staff and visitors must wear a fitted face mask in indoors area of common property in residential buildings.
You do not need to wear a mask inside your own apartment.
Find out more about the Greater Sydney rules for wearing a face mask in a residential building.
Non-residential indoor areas
You must wear a fitted face mask when you are in an indoor area of a non-residential premises in NSW.
Examples of the areas where a face mask must be worn are
indoor areas on common property of a strata titled, community titled, or company titled building
indoor areas of construction sites
any part of a licensed premises that is used for the purposes of gaming, and gaming lounges
You must wear a face mask if you
Premises that are used for the purpose of providing health services are not retail or business premises.
Airports and commercial domestic flights
Face mask rules apply to airports and commercial domestic flights across NSW.
You must wear a face mask when
www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/rules/face-mask-rules
Restrictions to further limit the spread of the COVID-19 Delta strain
/in Club News, COVID /by RobGiven the number of infectious cases in the community, the following changes will be made to further limit the spread of the COVID-19 Delta strain.
On the basis of updated health advice, the following changes come into effect across Greater Sydney including the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour until 11.59pm on Friday, 30 July:
From 11.59pm on Saturday, 17 July:
From 12.01am on Monday, 19 July:
From 12.01am on Wednesday, 21 July:
We are constantly reviewing the health advice and will continue to update the community if any changes are required.
All other restrictions currently in place across Greater Sydney including the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour will remain in place.
These decisions have not been made lightly and we understand this is a difficult time for the community and appreciate their ongoing patience.
It is vital people continue to come forward for testing to help us find any COVID-19 cases in the community.
Restrictions in regional NSW remain unchanged.
Read the latest COVID-19 information.
www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/restrictions-to-further-limit-spread-of-covid-19-delta-strain
Why Tennis Stars Are Saying No to the Tokyo Olympics – WSJ
/in Goss /by RobThe sport’s biggest names are withdrawing from the Games left and right. Even Novak Djokovic is on the fence during his historic season.
Novak Djokovic entered the tennis season aiming to pull off something no man has ever managed in the sport: a sweep of all four major tournaments, plus a gold medal in the Olympic singles tournament. And after dominating Wimbledon earlier this month, he’s now most of the way there.
Yet even with history on the line, Djokovic is having second thoughts about making the trip to Tokyo. So are plenty of others in the tennis world with far less to play for. There are no rankings points or prize money on offer and these summer Olympics are set to be the most restrictive in history due to pandemic regulations.
So while athletes in most Olympic sports are determined to get to Tokyo no matter what, the list of tennis stars who have already withdrawn reads like a roster of the sport’s most famous names. Roger Federer on Tuesday became the latest to withdraw from contention, citing a setback to his surgically repaired right knee. He joined Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu, top-ranked American Sofia Kenin, and Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who all pulled out to better prepare for the U.S. Open, which begins in late August.
“Obviously I want to play the Olympics, I want to represent my country. It’s a dream for me,” said men’s No. 10 Denis Shapovalov, of Canada. “But it’s really tough with these restrictions. It puts a lot of pressure on you.”
One player with definite plans to be there is Japan’s Naomi Osaka. After skipping the French Open and Wimbledon, citing mental-health concerns, she is set to be one of the faces of the Games.
WSJ NEWSLETTER
Notes on the News
The news of the week in context, with Tyler Blint-Welsh.
SIGN UP
Women’s world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty said after her Wimbledon win on Saturday that she also plans to go—even though it means she will now spend a total of up to eight months away from her native Australia. But Djokovic, her counterpart on the men’s side, remains on the fence.
“My plan was always to go to the Olympic Games,” he said after winning his 20th Grand Slam title at the All England Club on Sunday. “But right now I’m a little bit divided. It’s kind of 50/50 because of what I heard in the last couple days.”
Djokovic was stunned that the bubble around the Athletes’ Village might be so tight that he wouldn’t be allowed to watch other events in person or bring along key members of his team, like his racket stringer.
So rather than strain to fly halfway around the world, many would just prefer to head straight to the North American hard court circuit and prepare for their runs at Flushing Meadows, where a round of 16 appearance alone is worth $250,000 in prize money. Kyrgios, for instance, said he felt less than 100% physically and preferred to spend the time recovering than taking a chance at a tournament that had so little going for it.
“It’s been my dream to represent Australia at the Olympics and I know I may never get that opportunity again,” he wrote on Twitter. “But I also know myself. The thought of playing in front of empty stadiums just doesn’t sit right with me. It never has.”
Athletes have known for months that no fans from outside Japan would be allowed to attend events. But Tokyo organizers only announced in the past two weeks that not even domestic supporters would be in the stands.
For tennis, that would be a return to the dark days of last fall, when the U.S. Open and Roland-Garros unfolded in virtual silence. Players hated it. And this season, every new tournament has brought them closer to the atmospheres they remembered in the pre-pandemic world.
This June in Paris, authorities unexpectedly lifted a curfew so that 5,000 people could watch the epic conclusion of the French Open semifinal between Djokovic and Nadal. And by July in London, British authorities had opened up enough to fill the stands completely at the men’s and women’s singles finals on Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
Players also enjoyed looser controls than they did during last year’s brutal season. The idea of going back into that environment in Tokyo is more than some can handle.
“It was a lot to do with the restrictions, being in the bubble again, this whole situation,” Shapovalov said. “It’s not easy mentally for anybody. That was a big part of the decision.”
www.wsj.com/articles/tokyo-olympics-tennis-djokovic-federer-serena-11626275677
Naomi Osaka | Netflix Official Site
/in Goss /by RobThis intimate series follows Naomi Osaka as she explores her cultural roots and navigates her multifaceted identity as a tennis champ and rising leader.
There are robust training montages and glimpses of unusual gym devices (the highlight of all sports docs), but the focus of this three-part mini-series is more on the psychological aspects of Osaka’s game rather than on the strictly athletic ones.
www.netflix.com/au/title/81128594
COVID Update – Sydney Badge
/in Badge, COVID /by RobThe NSW Government has extended the Sydney lockdown until July 30.
Tennis NSW in consultation with the Badge Panel has made the decision to cancel round 11 and 12 matches of the Saturday Badge competition on Saturday 17th and 24th July and round 12 and 13 matches of Thursday Badge competition on Thursday 22nd and 29th July. The matches will be marked as a washout with both teams sharing the points.
At this stage the Sydney Badge competition will resume play with round 13 on Saturday 31st July. Round 9 of the Saturday Badge competition will still be postponed until Saturday 14th August. Thursday Ladies Badge will resume play with round 14 on the 5th August as per the fixtures. This is obviously subject to change pending COVID-19 restrictions.
This also means that the finals for Saturday Badge will now be played on 21st and 28th of August and Thursday Ladies Badge will now be played on the 19th and 26th August.
All of the most up to date Covid-19 information can be found at the link below.
https://nsw.gov.au/covid-19/latest-news-and-updates
Good luck to all teams and stay safe.
Kind Regards,
TNSW Competitions
Wimbledon 2021 Ladies Doubles Final Highlights
/in Club News, Goss /by RobHsieh/Mertens vs Kudermetova/Vesnina
WIMBLEDON, England — Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Elise Mertens won the women’s doubles title at Wimbledon on Saturday after saving two match points against Russian duo Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina.
“We were very happy we could close it because it was just going on and going on,” Mertens said.
It was the third Wimbledon doubles title for Hsieh, all with different partners. It was a first for Mertens, who has also won the Australian Open and U.S. Open doubles.
The unseeded Russian duo had two match points at 5-4 in the second set and also served for the match at 7-6 in the third.
“It was such a tough match,” Mertens said. “We just kept going. … We never gave up. That’s the fighting spirit we had today that maybe made with the difference.”
Vesnina was looking for a fourth Grand Slam doubles title and second at Wimbledon. Kudermetova was playing in her first Grand Slam final
Hsieh/Mertens vs Kudermetova/Vesnina | Ladies’ Doubles Final Highlights | Wimbledon 2021 – YouTube
Novak Djokovic Wins Wimbledon and 20th Career Grand Slam Title
/in Club News, Goss /by RobNovak Djokovic won the Wimbledon men’s singles championship on Sunday, defeating Matteo Berrettini of Italy.
The 6-7(4) 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 victory gave Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked tennis player, his 20th Grand Slam singles title, tying him with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Just as important, it gave Djokovic his third Grand Slam title of the year and positioned him to become the first man in more than a half-century to win the calendar Grand Slam when he competes at the U.S. Open later this summer.
Djokovic won the Australian Open in February, the French Open last month and captured the Wimbledon title for a sixth time on Sunday, successfully defending the title he won in 2019, the last time Wimbledon was held.
Rod Laver was the last man to win the calendar year Grand Slam, in 1969. Since then, no male player has arrived at the U.S. Open holding three Grand Slam titles in the same year.
Wimbledon 2021 Ladies Final Match Highlights: Barty vs Plisoka
/in Club News, Goss /by RobAsh Barty etched her name in history and achieved a childhood dream with a thrilling three set win against Karolina Pliskova in the Wimbledon final.
Barty beat Pliskova 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 in just under two hours to become the first Australian to win Wimbledon since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.
Wimbledon 2021 Men’s SF: Djokovic vs Shapovalov Match Highlights
/in Club News, Goss /by RobCOVID Update – Increased Restrictions During Lock Down
/in Club News, COVID /by RobThe number of active cases in Sydney has risen to 376 as of today.
(Source: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/stats-nsw.aspx)
Today the NSW Government announced that restrictions will be increased during the Lockdown ending at 11:59 pm on Friday 16th July. This date is also likely to be extended again if cases continue to with the current trend.
From 5 pm today (Friday, 9 July) the following additional restrictions will be in place:
The four reasons to leave your home remain in place:
Given the latest restrictions:
– This means singles only. Bookings will be limited to one hour.
– Do not come to the Club if you are outside the area.
– All members must sign in using the Service NSW App.
– You are only permitted at the Club if you have made a booking. Please arrive only a couple of minutes before and leave immediately after playing.
– Keep 1.5 metres from other people.
– The Clubhouse will remain closed.
Keep safe
Virginia
Secretary MLTC