Which tennis destination will you visit in 2019?The ATP has released the 2019 ATP World Tour calendar, a tournament schedule that will feature 63 tournaments in 31 countries across six continents, in addition to the four Grand Slams.
The 2019 calendar offers a continuation of the existing tournament structure and schedule that, since 2009, has so successfully served as a global platform for the world’s greatest men’s professional tennis players, leading to record growth for the Tour, tournaments and players over the past decade.
In addition to the four Grand Slams, the 2019 schedule will feature nine leading ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, 13 ATP World Tour 500 events, and 39 ATP World Tour 250 tournaments, with all roads leading to the spectacular season-ending Nitto ATP Finals at The O2 in London, as well as the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
The announcement of the 2019 calendar comes on the back of a record-breaking year for the ATP World Tour in 2017. More than 4.5 million fans attended ATP World Tour tournaments last season, an all-time record, while 995 million fans tuned into the action on television and online.
Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “Our calendar has yielded strong results for the Tour over the past 10 years, attracting record audiences and leading to triple digit increases in prize money during that period. We’re pleased to extend the existing calendar through to 2019 as we look to continue the sustainable growth that has underpinned the Tour over the past ten years.”
Total on-site prize money on the ATP World Tour this season is set to reach US$137.5 million (excluding Grand Slams), an increase of more than 110 per cent since 2008, when numerous structural changes were made to the Tour.
South African Tennis Rankings
South African Mens Rankings as at 18 October 20181.Kevin Anderson
2.Raven Klaasen
3.Lloyd Harris
4.Ruan Roelofse
5.Nikala Scholtz
6.Lance-Pierre du Toit
7.Philip Henning
8.Khololwam Montsi
9.Charl Morgan
10.Pierre Malan
South African Womans Rankings as at 18 October 20181.Chanel Simmonds
2.Zoe Mitzi Kruger
3.Megan Basson
4.Lize-Alet Morkel
5.Delien Kleinhans
6.Myah Petchey
7.Maretha Burger
8.Rochelle Pienaar
9.Linge Steenkamp
10.Tamsin Hart
Blog 5 November 2018HOW OFTEN SHOULD TENNIS COURTS BE RESURFACED?Tennis courts should be resurfaced every 4 to 8 years. This is a standard range with quite a few variables, as you could imagine.
Some reasons why the same resurfacing process would last 4 years on one court and 8, or double the amount of time, on another.
Tennis courts, and other sport surfaces, should be properly built. There are important differences between a parking lot or driveway, and a tennis court surface. The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) maintains construction guidelines for tennis courts and even has a certified tennis court builder program. If tennis courts are not built correctly, they could require more frequent repairs and resurfacing. Here are just some of the common construction problems influencing the decision of
how often tennis courts should be resurfaced:
- Improper slope = ponding water and premature breakdown of acrylic surfacing system.
- Insufficient compaction = susceptible to deforming, moisture damage, cracking, etc.
- Incorrect or missing drainage system = backup of water and a long list of problems like surface bubbles/blisters, premature surface wear, and more.
South African Mens Rankings as at 29 October 20181.Kevin Anderson
2.Raven Klaasen
3.Lloyd Harris
4.Ruan Roelofse
5.Nikala Scholtz
6.Lance-Pierre du Toit
7.Philip Henning
8.Khololwam Montsi
9.Charl Morgan
10.Pierre Malan
South African Womans Rankings as at 29 October 20181.Chanel Simmonds
2.Zoe Mitzi Kruger
3.Megan Basson
4.Lize-Alet Morkel
5.Delien Kleinhans
6.Myah Petchey
7.Maretha Burger
8.Rochelle Pienaar
9.Tamsin Hart
10.Linge Steenkamp
Blog 2019-01-15
Murray: the end. Or is it?
It was like every epic match Andy Murray has ever played: an emotional rollercoaster of a ride, the desperate refusal to concede defeat and the final twist in the tail.
Yes, Melbourne Park waved a heartfelt and emotional farewell to Scotland’s finest on Monday night; yes, Muzz and his crocked hip turned back the clock (and the medical notes) to pull out a stunning five-setter and, yes, Muzz eventually lost to Roberto Bautista Agut. That was it. He was leaving the Australian Open for the very last time as a player. Or was he?
As only Muzz can, he left us all guessing. Certainly, the packed house in the Melbourne Arena and a good 60 million Poms back home would do anything to eke another couple of seasons out of their man’s career but the X-rays of his right hip, that knackered joint that was causing him so much pain, showed little to be positive about.
Yet as he saluted the crowd, thanked them for the support this year and in the 13 summers before, he threw out a tiny ray of hope. He would do everything he could to be back. It would involve major surgery, there were no guarantees it would work and he might, indeed, be heading off into retirement. But he would try to be back. He would give it all he had. And that is Andy Murray through and through.
There are two main themes in all the tributes that have flooded in since his tearful retirement announcement on Friday: Murray was tireless in his search for perfection – there was nothing he would not do or try, no drill or gym routine he would not punish himself with, in order to be the very best he could be. And the other message that came shining through was that everyone thinks Muzz is a thoroughly decent bloke. None better.
The old saying has it that you never miss your water until the well runs dry. Fortunately for most of us, we came to understand Murray long before his hip gave out. The tears on Centre Court when he lost the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer in 2012 was a lightbulb moment for the Brits: this young man who they may have criticised for him sometime grumpy on-court demeanour and industrial language – he cared.
He cared passionately about the sport, the people who had helped him get to that final and every fan watching him. He had not won and he could not bear the fact that he might have let them down. That was the moment: every woman of a certain age in the stadium wanted to give him a hug and every fella wanted to buy him a pint. He was now their man.
Australia spotted Murray’s worth quite a bit earlier. The scruffy teenager with the wild hair and a bit of attitude sparked interest. The man who got to five Melbourne finals and lost the lot but never stopped try, won admiration. And his tennis drew the crowds.
But for all his many achievements on the court, it is his presence off it that has won him so, so many fans. The fact that most of the women’s locker room are devastated that their champion is retiring speaks volumes for his standing in the tennis community.
An advocate of equality in everything – prize money, women’s rights, gay rights, name your cause – and an eloquent spokesman on most every subject, Murray’s popularity grew and grew. The players not only respected him, they liked him – and in the competitive world of pro sport, it is rare to find an individual about whom no one has a bad word to say.
Looking in from the outside, first impressions of the grim-faced Scot in the heat of battle may not have been encouraging. But for all that his on-going arguments with himself during matches involved language both colourful and anatomically descriptive, his rare run-ins with the court officials were professional and precise. No rude words there.
And then, off the court, he was a completely different man. To see Murray with those ladies of a certain age, was a sight to behold. Polite, gentlemanly, chivalrous even – the Muzz, like his brother, is a frightfully well brought up young man. Then to see him with his team, with his peers – that was another side of him again: laid back, funny (his humour tends towards the dry and sarcastic) and utterly without ego.
That everyone who put finger to keyboard to post their views on his retirement commented more on his character than his tennis was proof positive that Murray meant more to the world than his tennis results – even if his tennis results were the stuff of legend.
Down in the press bunker, Muzz will be sorely missed. The go-to man on any subject, his articulate, considered responses on any topic from tennis to politics via football and Ferraris kept us all busy for a decade and a half. Until his hip became a major issue and his patience was stretched to breaking point, he used to give extra time the British press pack who traipsed around after him from continent to continent.
Win or lose, injured or not, he answered every question politely and fully. Two minutes with Muzz could give you a lead story on a wet weekend in Margate. He was a class act.
But, then again, we may not miss him for long. He may be back. He may not….but he just might. A Murray cliff-hanger? That’s our boy.
