Author: dlockwood2@berklee.edu

Well, the grass court season is done. Ms. Rybakina and Mr. Djokovic did fine I guess… but the real intrigue is here with the Summer Challenge Ladder!

Mr. Grosdidier and Mr. Lee had their first battle and Mr. Lee proved a worthy #1, prevailing 1 and 1. So many 1’s, so little time….

Will it be Mr. Krasikov or Mr. Epps who take on Mr. Lee next? Mr. Epps has been making his way slowly but surely up both the matches ladder AND the points ladder where he is currently #4 in both! How far can he go? Only time will tell….

Mr.Le, Mr. Wu and Mr. Romm remain the top 3 contenders on the points ladder but so much could change in these next few months: no rung is really secure. Some may in fact be on the wobbly side even as I type…

A few matters of business: if you know you’ll be traveling or have an injury that will keep you out for over a week, please let me know so I can ‘freeze’ you and so others don’t come after you with their challenges. Also, you may want to check your Spam folder once every couple of days. It is possible that some challenges are ending up there in that spammy wasteland. To that end, if you are a challenger and you don’t hear from the person you’ve challenged within a day or two, you may wish to try them via text/phone.

I’m doing a bit of traveling myself these next few weeks, hopefully my back will also have time to recover from chasing Mr. Poyar’s and Mr. Lee’s spin-balls all over the place (!)

I will have my lap top by my side however, ready to update your results during this beautiful spell of summer we are having. While many in the world turn their attention to the U.S. Open series, while players prepare for San Jose, for Cincinnati, for Washington DC and eventually for the U.S. Open itself, my focus remains GLUED to this page…to the 2022 Summer Challenge Ladder.

There is simply nothing else like it.

-Ladder master Longlegs

Hi Ladder!

Just wanted to remind everyone of one of the rules for the Challenge Ladder which is that when someone challenges, you have 2 weeks to try and make it work with them and if you cannot do that, it is a default win for the challenger. This is to ensure participation and movement on the ladder for everyone who is signed up.

It’s totally fine to say to them right off the bat, ‘I cannot play in tbe next 2 weeks so please take tbe default’

All that happens is that they replace you and you drop directly under them.

Happy 4th of July weekend and please let me know if you have any questions

Doug of night

It’s Grass Season, folks.

As things heat up at the All-England club, over here at the Challenge Ladder, things are just as Hot.

And I do mean that literally. Today, Mr Gnani served yours truly a hot bagel in the first set over at the steamy Northeastern Courts (butter, no cream cheese!) and there was not much improvement for me in set 2. Nice one Alan!

The top 3 on the ladder remain the same: Mr Lee, Mr. Grosdidier and Mr Krasikov. Will anyone attempt to usurp any of these masters? When will Mr. Lee face his first challenger? These are the questions that keep me up at night!

Over on the Points ladder, it’s a tight 3-way race between Mr Wu, Mr Le and Mr Romm….these guys really got out there in the month of June but….can they keep it going in July? We shall see…

I had the pleasure of losing to Mr McDonough last week over at Newton South. Nice plentiful courts in great condition over there by the way, if you’ve got transport. Nice to meet you Mark!

Good luck to everyone at Wimbledon this week (Vamos Rafa!!) and good luck to everyone on the Summer Challenge Ladder 2022.

Remind any friends that its not too late if they would like to join! We always have room.

Yours on ice,

Doug, the ladder master, LongLegs

As we all prepare for the grass court season leading up to Wimbledon, I have an update on the Summer Challenge Ladder:

We’ve had 17 total matches played this summer already, well done getting out there folks!

Mr Grosdidier has already risen to #2 on the ladder. He is #1 on the Points Ladder. Well done, John!

Scott Lee remains at the #1 rung…who will challenge him for the top spot? Will it be Mr Grosdidier or someone we don’t even suspect?

We’ve had several tie breaks, a few delicious bagels and even one default! Something for everyone!

I have also (recently) made a big mistake, giving one player credit for the win even though it was correctly communicated that the other player had won. So…make sure, even after you’ve submitted your scores, that it appears correctly on the web site. Because ya know what? I make mistakes.

Some lovely weather coming up this week: i look forward to receiving your scores and (hopefully) recording them correctly, lol

Now, lets go Celtics!

-The Ladder Master

Greetings members of the 2021 Summer Challenge Ladder.

It is my honor and privilege to announce the winners of the 2021 Summer Challenge Ladder.

The Winner for the Biggest Mover is….Jason Wu!

Jason jumped from the 30th rung to a season-ending 11th rung for a 19 rung LEAP! Well done, Jason!

The Top Two on the Points Ladder are:

First Place: Raúl García with 81!!!

Second Place: Jason Wu with 69 (no comment)

Special kudos to Raúl for really getting out there and committing to TENNIS!

And now… the Winner of the Summer Challenge Ladder 2021 is…John Grosdidier!

The man from Kansas was in dominant form last Saturday despite my best efforts. Well done, John. The battle has just begun….

You will all be receiving fabulous prizes for your efforts.

Thank you all for your reporting, your patience, your playing, your resilience, your wit, your good cheer, your sweaty pits, and your beautiful smiles. I hope to see you again next summer here and on the courts of Boston and vicinity.
Until then….

The Ladder Master, over and out

 

 

 

 

Gorgeous Sunday! Congrats to Mr Wu and Mr. Chuang for getting wins on this beautiful day.

Just a reminder that This is the final week of the ladder, thru this Sunday, the 26th.

Mr. Grosdidier and I have one last tangle scheduled for this weekend. We were both asked to play for Laver Cup but felt this match was more important.  #priorities

Mr García and Mr. Wu are pretty much uncatchable over on the Point Ladder. Well done this summer, guys!

Remember that fantastic prizes will be given to the Two Top Point Accumulators, the Player who made the largest ascension during the Summer, and of course, the Top Player on the Ladder itself.

There is so much riding on this week, it’s almost too much.

Have a terrific week everyone!

-The Ladder Master…