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Well, well, well….some spicy news to report.

We have a new 4.5 arrival on the ladder this week in the form of one Ian Shank. Welcome aboard, Ian. There is only one other 4.5 on the ladder and that player sits on top. Will Ian make his way up for a 4.5 showdown with Mr. Lee? We shall see….there are some very talented 4.0s who might have something to say about it….

Speaking of making his way up, Mr. Mark McDonough defeated Mr. Terry Epps this past brutally hot weekend over at Tufts and took over the #3 spot. Well done, Mark:  only two players ahead of you now!

As Mark and Terry began to warm up, I was being soundly defeated by Mr. Alan Gnani. It has been 2 substantial losses to Mr Gnani this summer, and despite the fact that he’s just a super nice guy, I am FURIOUS!

On the points ladder, Mr. Jason Wu and Mr. Marnin Romm are starting to run away with things, entering the 70s now. You guys are astonishing!

Remember, fabulous prizes will be awarded to the top 2 on the points ladder, the number 1 of the challenge ladder itself and 1 prize for whomever rose the highest from beginning to end of summer. Hopefully, I have kept track of that….I totally have.

This weekend doesn’t look quite so brutal on the humidity-side of things. I look forward to reading about your scores from Block Island, where I will be competing in the Lockwood Family Olympics.

yours sincerely,

The Ladder Master

 

Your ladder master is impressed.

Despite scorching local temps, you continue to get out there and play tennis.

I got off the plane tonight coming home from Oakland and was overwhelmed by the wall of humidity.

But not you. The summer challenge ladder players cannot be stopped.

Mr. Wu, Mr. Romm and Mr. Le continue to battle it out on the Points ladder, all of them have entered the 50s, very well done to them!

Mr. Romm also continues to ascend the Ladder itself…some very impressive wins of late. Mr Jackson and Mr Smith are also putting together some nice victories of late. How high can they soar?

Mr. Lujares and Mr. Wu have had two EPIC matches already this season, both won by Mr. Lujares…perhaps third time’s the charm for Mr. Wu?

Mr. Lee continues to Lead the ladder in the #1 position, thwarting the valiant efforts of Mr. Epps most recently…(who now has a hold on the #3 spot, by the way.) Can anyone melt this man’s game down?

Keep hydrating. Keep reporting. Keep making sure I’m getting the scores and shit right.

-Ladder Master Lockwood

 

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