Category: Challenge Ladder

The countdown has begun.

This Sunday the 29th of September is the last official day for the 2024 Summer Challenge Ladder and STILL there are questions that need to be answered….such as….

Will anyone shake Mr Tang? Mr. Houlden and Mr. Krasikov continue to loom directly underneath him on the second and third rungs respectively but there is only one spot at the top and he has been holding it for pretty much the whole summer…will anyone challenge him this week? Come on, People!

Over on the points ladder, Mr Wang continues to lead with 40 points, Mr. Goldman has the second rung at 34 points and Mr Wu is right there with 33 points. Remember on this ladder, it is the top TWO who will both receive prizes of inestimable worth…(Trust.)

The other prize for who has made the biggest jump from start of summer to end of summer I shall keep a mystery.

All will be revealed by the end of next week. On that note, if you do play this week/weekend, please try and get me your results by Tuesday October 1st so I can announce final results by Friday and the massive celebrations can begin!

Yours always,

Dougie of the Longlegs

Greetings!

The US Open begins today, even as the Summer Challenge Ladder arrives at the homestretch

We have just about one month to go, and I am writing with a few updates:

On the Ladder itself, the top 3 players continue to have the last names of:

Tang

Houlden

Krasikov

There is only ONE prize in this category and that’s for the player who ends up #1: will it be one of these 3 or will there be an attempt to dethrone as the season reaches its’ conclusion?

On the points ladder, the top 3 names are:

Wang

Goldman

Wu

Remember here that the top TWO point-accumulators will receive prizes.

Some August tight matches of note include:

Grosdidier over McDonough:  6-4, 7-6 (6)

Wang over Jackson in a rare official 3 set match: 7-5, 2-6, 6-2

Goldman over Chak:  6-3, 4-6, 10-8

Remember the official last day of competition is September 29.

Happy almost September! Play on!

-Doug

 

Greetings Challenge Ladder Athletes of the World!

An update.

August is here and while some things change, some things stay the same on the ladder.

Up top, it is still Tang, Houlden and Krasikov holding the #1, #2 and #3 positions. But will Krasikov’s extended vacay render him rusty upon return? Time will tell.

Wu and Grosdidier have been making major strides up the ladder…can they make it all the way to the top?

On the Points Ladder, it is a tie for the top 2, with Coombs and Wu and Jackson is looming just one point below. Remember, the top 2 on the points ladder will receive Extravagant prizes!

Some very close scores of late: Jackson over Lalli, Coombs over Wu and Grosdidier over McDonough being especially close.

The ladder goes until the end of September so it is not too late to make your run! I know its hot (!) but hydrate and play early or late if you can.

Let me know if you have any questions or if I have failed you in some way.

I worked on my second serve today after double faulting an entire game away on Tuesday night. What are you doing for YOUR second serve?

-Doug

 

Greetings Ladder Participants!

I have been remiss in my sassy updates.

Deal with it.

It’s hot out there. Please hydrate.

As the Wimbledon tournament progresses with some new names, we have some new names on the local front as well: shout out to Ian Wang who is BOUNDING up the ladder in recent weeks, taking over the Points ladder with 19 total points (yours truly holds on to second place in a tie with Steve Goldman); Ian is also ascending up the Competition Ladder…how far can he go? All the way to the top? Only time will tell.

On the Competition Ladder, Alan Tang sits up there at the #1 rung, with newbie James Holden one rung of revenge below…Roman Krasikov can be heard in 3rd place, ready to POUNCE! I look forward to seeing how the top of the ladder might continue to shake in the next few weeks.

Please make sure you check that I’ve updated scores/points/placements correctly, as I am prone to error in these summer months.

Be safe out there in the heat. Play early or play late! And if you come across any outdoor courts you find especially beautiful and possibly uncrowded, please let me know and I can include that in the next post!

Beware of summer camps during the week now. #kids

Thanks all. Keep challenging, Keep moving. Don’t forget to floss.

-Doug

Hello0oooo!

This is it folks, the last week of the 2023 Tennis4All singles Challenge Ladder. Sunday the 24th is the final day to officially compete and werk your way up!

Will anyone unseat the Losey?

Will Alan Gnani, my main foil and nemesis (yes, he beat me AGAIN after I won the first set. i’m NOT BITTER!!!)….will he catch one of the top 2 spots on the points ladder to win a prize? If I am one of the top 2 on the points ladder, what will I give myself?

And who, just who. will win a prize for making the largest leap from summer’s beginning to summer’s end?

So many questions to be answered. Frankly, it’s exhausting to even ponder. I’ll be back here mid-week next week with the answers…..

Until then, play tennis IN THE RAIN! (actually thru Saturday it looks allright)

-Doug of the legs which are long

Hello Tennis Ladder Combatants!

The end of the tennis ladder season is nigh. September 24th is the last day of official competition.

Things were a little quiet this Labor Day weekend but there was one battle on Monday that must be reported, as Jason Wu defeated Tom Walsh in a super close 7-5, 7-6 battle in the Heat!

Previous to that loss, Tom Walsh had a clutch 10-8 third set tie break win over Roman Krasikov. Roman then defeated yours truly the next day. I’m not happy about it.

Conroy Jackson also pulled thru recently with a third set 10-7 tie break win over Aron Chuc.

With only a few weeks to go, a few questions remain….will anyone take down the Mr. Losey? Will Sarah seek revenge for the top spot or will Alan Tang make a late season challenge? You could cut the tension with a knife!

Over on the points ladder, despite my recent LOSING streak, I am somehow atop the standings with Conroy and Alan Gnani right below. Remember that the top 2 on the points ladder receive prizes. Awkward.

There will also be a prize for whoever has made the biggest jump from where they were at the start of the standings to the end of the league but I’ll leave that a mystery for now.

Hopefully the heat will break soon and we can all get out there and play these last few weeks. Along with my friend, and the first person I defeated at the start of the summer, Carlos Alcaraz.

Until next time….

Longlegs

Greetings robust August challengers!

I have a very important update.

There is a new leader on top of the Summer Ladder and his name… is Ryan Losey! On the first day of August he challenged and defeated Sarah Evenson, who had been at #1 all summer. Congrats on your long reign, Sarah, and congrats Ryan, to you and your team, on being #1. I hope you enjoy the view…while it lasts…. : )

Remember, we play through September 24 so there is still lots of time for DRAMA!

Top 3 now reads: #1 Ryan Losey #2 Sarah Evenson #3 Alan Tang

Will Sarah seek revenge?

Will Alan reach up in an attempt to take the top spot?

Will Carlos Alcaraz re-join the ladder?

Anything could happen.

Over on the points ladder, Conroy Jackson remains in the top spot with yours truly gaining traction in the #2 position. Pengcheng Wu is right beneath me and my position feels tenuous at best. Nice job Pengcheng.  I can feel your fingers right at my sneakers!

Enjoy the tennis. Enjoy the US Open Series. Play on

-Doug of the longlegs

 

Greetings fellow Ladder Climbers!

July is winding down and things on the Challeng Ladder are continuing to heat up.

The weather looks spectacular this weeks so get out there and play tennis!

Sarah Evenson continues to maintain her spot at #1 though she’s only been tested ONCE this season! Who will take her on next? Maybe soon it will be me? I see you Sarah.

Jason Wu, Ryan Losey, Mark McDonough and Ming Che round out our top 5. Others are lurking directly below though….look out top 5! We are coming after YOU!

Over on the points ladder, well done to Conroy Jackson who is the leader by more than 10 points with 37: the Conroy Caravan!

Tied for second are myself and Pengcheng Wu with 26 points each. Bill Lamberson and Alan Gnani are ties for 3rd with 20 points apiece. Great work getting out there everyone!

Please let any friends who may be interested know that believe it or not they can STILL join the ladder! We go thru most of September!

Please remember to let me know too if you have any vacation time where you need to be ‘frozen’ for a spell. I will have one of those coming up myself the week after this.

The US Open series begins soon: be ready be inspired, be the ladder!

-Doug

 

 

Greetings Summer Challenge Ladder Competitors!

We are nearly one month in to the 2023 Tennis 4 All Summer Challenge Ladder and things are certainly heating up! 23 Matches have been played. The fans are going wild!

Happy to report we are 46 players-strong overall. Please let friends know they are still welcome to join. There is always room on the ladder. Would love to get to 50!

Newcomer Sarah Evenson remains on top of the Overall Standings, backing it up with a victory over newcomer Jared Sawyer.  Nice job, Sarah!

Speaking of Jared Sawyer, he had a huge win yesterday over the ever-tenacious Alan Gnani, moving him way on up to #5 in the rankings: well done, Jared!

Over on the Points Ladder, Scott Enos finds himself in a familiar place at #1 with 13 total points….Steve Sage and newcomer Bill Lamberson are right behind him with 12 points each. Great work all 3 of you getting out there to play lots of tennis!

The weather has been a bit unpredictable but this week looks pretty good as we all prepare for Wimbledon.

Don’t forget about the pot luck this Saturday, hosted by the ladder’s own Dan Chak. Contact him if you need info: dan@chak.org      Thanks for doing that, Dan!

I’ll be unable to attend as I’m performing in a matinee of Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ which is entering its final week over at the Balch Arena at Tufts. This is not a museum-piece of Shakespeare hoity-toity nonsense but rather, a highly Queer production for our Times. Come check it out if you are interested! I’m the Fool.

Buy Tickets!

Otherwise, I’ll see you out on the courts!

Cheers,

Doug

 

 

 

Greetings Tennis4All Summer Challenge Ladder Tennis Community!

This Saturday May 27th marks the beginning of official match competition. Not a bad idea to start setting those up if you have not done so yet. Take a look at the rules again if you’re not clear about who you can and cannot challenge.

Make sure the winner emails me with the results, and please include Who challenged who as that manifests in different points.

One thing I neglected to include in my initial invitation: if you would like to, please send me a quick message with your preferred pronouns, and also let me know if I have your consent to include those with your name on the ladder. If you would prefer not to do this, totally fine of course, just make sure when you and your opponent introduce yourselves to one another, that you include this information if it is important to you.

Thanks and for those of you with matches this weekend, Enjoy!

-Doug (he/him)