Author: dlockwood2@berklee.edu

I thought that might get your interest.

There are no bears in this announcement.

Bummer that the Nor’Easter wiped away and possible final matches this weekend BUT on September 21st, Alan Tang and Neal Riley played what seems like a poetic end to the summer, with Alan squeaking out a 6-3, 2-6, 10-6 victory to RECLAIM his Challenge Ladder Spot on Top of the Ladder: well done, Alan!!!

Neal Riley wins TWO prizes this summer (GREEDY!), for First Place on the Points Ladder with a whopping 70 points. He also wins one for making the Biggest Leap of the Summer, starting the season at #26 and rising all the way to #3! Nice job, Neal Riley! Teach us your ways.

Neang Chea came in second place on the points ladder and will also receive a prize for his 60 points! Way to go Neang.

Prizes will be in the mail soon, fellas.

Thanks all for another great summer of tennis and sportsmanship and of course… Sass!

Special thanks to Web Master Chris Wood for making this whole system WAY more user-friendly than ever and making my job wicked easy!

See you next summer, bitches!

-Doug

Greetings.

The challenge ladder is entering its’ true home stretch, remember that September 27 is the last day for official matches. Before Prizes are awarded.

Nice win for Caleb Adams, taking down my personal nemesis, Neang, to take over the number 8 position.

On an unrelated yet ESSENTIAL note, I am appearing this Fall in a Dracula spoof called ‘Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors’ over in Watertown at the Mosesian Center. If you enjoy Mel Brooks and Monty Python, this is your show!

I am playing not one but TWO different women.

It’s an honor.

Here is a link with all of the info about dates and times and tickets. If there is a ‘group’ of you that are interested in going, please let me know and I can have Evan our Marketing Director reach out about a discount.

I’d truly appreciate the support.

Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors

Enjoy these beautiful September conditions!

xo

Doug

Greetings!

As we all prepare to head the US Open for our respective debuts in the Main Draw, our summer ‘warm-up’  on the Tennis4All Challenge Ladder continue to offer elements of shock, surprise and…revenge!

Let me take you back.

On June 6th Alan Tang was defeated by Ronald Grimsby, 6-2, 7-5.

On August 17th, Alan got some revenge with an almost mirror score of 6-3, 7-6.

What kinds of adjustments did Alan make? What had he learned? Will Mr. Grimsby seek out a rubber match? What did he learn? #1 could be at stake. Because that’s where Mr Tang sits. #1.

The top 3 ranked players as of this post are:

Alan Tang

Neal Riley

Ronald Grimsby

Beware though….John Presloid is making a steady ascension up the ladder, including a recent 10-8 Super Tie Break win over my personal nemesis, the ever-fit Tom Walsh. How far can Presloid’s momentum take him? Does he have what it takes to unseat the Tang?

Speaking of Neal Riley, he continues to impress, not only in matches played (a whopping 63 points, 20 more than the next player down) but also in the opponents he is defeating, such as Roman Krasikov, who was vanquished by Mr. Riley, in a numerically pleasing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 match.

Congrats to Kevin Lalli who is in Second place on the Points ladder at 43, a slim one point lead over Neang Chea, who no doubt has more matches up his rainbow sleeves.

Keep getting out there. The weather is pleasing. The courts are awaiting.

Make challenges.

Play on

-Doug

I know it seems like I just posted an update recently and well….you’re not wrong. But I simply had to write again because there is a new Leader on top of the Challenge Ladder and his name…is Neal Riley!

On the morning of Saturday August 1st, Neal defeated me in a tight match, 7-5, 7-5….I was devastated and exhausted.

Neal was neither of those things. He had more work to do, you see. Later that SAME DAY, Neal made his way over to another challenge and promptly defeated the #1 player, Ronald Grimsby, in what sounds like a grueling: 3-6, 7-6, 10-3 epic!

I have never felt more like a warm-up in all my life.

Whatever.

Well done, Neal!

I also must say Thank You to Ronald (whom I hope to meet sometime!) who unbeknownst to me, started a tradition that I love! He had a little #1 sticker kinda thing and after the match, he gave it to Neal. Lovely idea, Ronald!

Now the question is…how long can Neal hold on?

Will it be Ronald’s revenge?

Or is there someone else ready to rise from the lower rungs and TOPPLE Mr Riley?!?!

I look forward to the homestretch.

Adios for now,

Doug

We are making our way toward the US Open and as we do, things on the Tennis 4 all Challenge ladder are heating up!

Congrats to Mr. Krasikov for some fairly decisive straight set wins over Mr Chea and Mr Riley to arrive at third place under Mr Wu and Mr Grimsby. Speaking of which, will anyone usurp said Grimsby from the top? Only Time will tell.

Well done to Mr Chea and Mr Riley who continue to battle, both one another (2 matches to 1 for Mr Riley) and for points! (41 for Mr Riley and 37 for Mr Chea). It will be interesting to see how that drama plays out!

Nice job Kevin Lalli who is presently at 3rd place on the points ladder with 30.

Lots of time left and the weather seems to be getting better for tennis (IMHO) so get out there and play, damn it!

Please remember to communicate with one another as challenges are issued. After you challenge someone, text or email them to try and set up a match.  Sometimes it’s still not possible for players to mutually make it work within two weeks of a challenge due to summer plans so remember that you CAN hit Cancel on a challenge even after it has been made. THis frees both you and your challengee up for other possible matches.

As always, let me know if you have any questions.

Yours on the 16th floor,

Doug-less

Greetings Challenge Ladder Combatants!

The grass season is upon us. Sigh.

While the pros duke it out in prep for Wimbledon, we here on the challenge ladder duke it out for that esteemed top spot on the ladder that matters.

Speaking of which, well done to Ronald Grimsby who defended his pre-season ranking on top by defeating last year’s champ, Alan Tang, in a 6-2, 7-5 sizzler on June 2nd!

If I know Alan, there will be a second battle.

Early season congrats to Neang and Daniel who lead the Points Competition with 24 and 21 respectively.

Also must give props to Neang for two super tie-breaks in the last few days, both were 11-9 scores, one was a victory (over yours truly, ENRAGING!) and the other was a loss (congrats to Neal)

The web page seems to be functioning well, all hail to Chris Wood: web master-Cat Woman extraordinaire!

Remember that when you challenge someone on the dashboard, you ALSO need to follow up by emailing or texting them to actually set up the tennis match.

See you out there.

Thus ends my grass reflection

-Douglas

Hello June!

We are in week 2 of the Summer Challenge ladder and already there has been some drama on the courts, courtesy of some super tie-breaks, some three setters and just a lot of running.

Some updates on the new platform: PLEASE READ

When you submit a challenge on your Dashboard, an email will automatically be sent to your opponent: yay! They still have to Accept on their dashboard. Then the two of you can work out a time and date to play etc. You cannot plug in the result of the match until it has been Accepted by the opponent on the dashboard.

For Going on leave (vacation or injury): when you click on ‘Inactive’ you will have the ability now to include what dates you will be gone and when you will return. This will look like a Yellow dot on your status and will let players know not to challenge you for the time you will be gone.

When you are actually gone/Inactive, your dot/status will turn Red

This will look Your status while you are Active will be Green. When you include

When you return, click it back to Active and it will become Green again.

Thanks all, looks like a beauty week for tennis!

Doug

Hello out there in tennis land.

While Roland Garros begins tomorrow, OUR summer challenge ladder begins TODAY! Mais oui!

Some announcements:

I’m happy to report we are already at 30-strong players here on ‘opening day’ of the ladder. Some new names. Some familiar names. Exciting!

Please let friends know they can still join the ladder at any time this summer.

Make sure you are current in your Tennis 4 All Membership dues (due June 1). otherwise you will be BOUNCED instantly (and dramatically) from the ladder. Don’t be that person.

Players can now switch themselves between “Active” and “On Leave” from their Dashboards

When you click on “Change”, you get a calendar where you can enter the date you’ll be coming back (or TBD  for injuries). On that date, the ladder will automatically change the player back to “Active”.

On the Ladder page, you can hover over the “On Leave” text and a popup will appear showing the player’s return date

Also: Players who are “On Leave” can switch back to “Active” if they want to return earlier than their Return Date. Also, players on leave cannot initiate any challenges until they return.