Hard is Fun

It would be fitting and proper if Iga Swiatek never lost another match. Also, huge fan of Marketa, Aio Ito, and fan of Ann Li, Tauson, Muchova and Aryna

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@islandtennisace She's also done something pretty crazy this season:

EIGHT times this season she has lost the 1st set and won the match.

Overall, she is 11-6 in 3 set matches this year.

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@islandtennisace She's also done something pretty crazy this season:

EIGHT times this season she has lost the 1st set and won the match.

Overall, she is 11-6 in 3 set matches this year.

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@DepartureJay You should just put that top one through a paper shredder - it's the best use of it.

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

It's only more tedious the farther you go - I did finish it but trust me, the syrup does not end until you're drowning in it.

Also let's be real here - all these "donors" slowly dying as they lose organs - what operation could they possibly survive except kidney???

Heart - dead
Lungs - dead
Liver - dead

Are we to believe they are being made to donate arms and legs???

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@srirachagod77 OMG the difference in Rublev's arms

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@islandtennisace That looks like Dinara Safina:

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

Ashlyn Krueger (6'1) v. Darja Vidmanova (6'3") in the Ilkley semis - the tallest WTA matchup ever??

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@sopp1_sopii @tennisafiya oh, to think they have bonded over their dislike of Harriet Dart

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

Pliskova v. Vekic - one of those matchups that take you back in time.

They first played in USO qualifying in 2012 - Donna was 15 and won easily

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@ZachInMillioke suck in your gut some more you fat f-

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

I think there are a few explanations, some of them you may not particularly like.

The first one is that ON AVERAGE the balls coming back over in the WTA have less rpms or mph or both that gives WTA players more time and a higher ball to be able to swing instead of block.

A corollary of that is that more women than men are less comfortable at the net, so many only move forward when they ARE EXPECTING that high floater that they can put away with a swing volley. They do not approach on shots that may not give them that time.

The other explanation is that it is much easier to hit a winner against a woman than a man. Women ON AVERAGE do not move nearly as well as the men. That makes hitting a winner off a swing volley much more likely.

In the men's game it's a more difficult task to hit the ball THROUGH the court, so a player may opt for a traditional volley where they can drop it, slide it or do something to the ball that minimizes the chance that the opponent will have a chance to hit a forceful shot from behind the baseline.

Finally, I think there has been almost a robot quality to how tennis instructors have taught girls. "I am programmed to teach every girl the semi-western (or western) FH first and foremost."

Less opportunity to explore other groups and therefore the traditional grips and volley become an afterthought. I think so many girls don't really learn how to volley until well into their junior development

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

I think there are a few explanations, some of them you may not particularly like.

The first one is that ON AVERAGE the balls coming back over in the WTA have less rpms or mph or both that gives WTA players more time and a higher ball to be able to swing instead of block.

A corollary of that is that more women than men are less comfortable at the net, so many only move forward when they ARE EXPECTING that high floater that they can put away with a swing volley. They do not approach on shots that may not give them that time.

The other explanation is that it is much easier to hit a winner against a woman than a man. Women ON AVERAGE do not move nearly as well as the men. That makes hitting a winner off a swing volley much more likely.

In the men's game it's a more difficult task to hit the ball THROUGH the court, so a player may opt for a traditional volley where they can drop it, slide it or do something to the ball that minimizes the chance that the opponent will have a chance to hit a forceful shot from behind the baseline.

Finally, I think there has been almost a robot quality to how tennis instructors have taught girls. "I am programmed to teach every girl the semi-western (or western) FH first and foremost."

Less opportunity to explore other groups and therefore the traditional grips and volley become an afterthought. I think so many girls don't really learn how to volley until well into their junior development

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

It's not nice to say so, but they should have a mid-year tournament consisting only of top 50 players dramatically underperforming.

Call it the Summer Chopped Round Robin Open.

It would be fascinating to see if Samsonova, Alexandrova, and Tauson could even beat each other.

Throw in Xinyu, Tjen, Joint, Raducanu, and Paolini and you'd have a who's who of who's playing bad this year.

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

Navratilova's play style was to get to the net as soon as possible in any point, hitting slices and low flat balls. The closest analog today is Tatjana Maria although Maria has a much bigger 1st serve.

Very different from Chwalinska.

It would be interesting to see a player who tries to win 80% of their points at the net, but it probably would not succeed

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@Hiikamaaru_ 1st lefty in 34 years to win women's RG (Seles, 1992)

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

Here's some good trivia about Maja Chwalinska (although I don't want to jinx her).

If she wins, she will be the 1st left-handed RG champion since 1992, 34 years.

Monica Seles won that year.

She will also be only the 3rd left-handed player to win a slam since that time (Kvitova (2x) and Vondrousova)

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

The @wta has a new landing page for statistics called "Stats Hub" where they list the leaders in many statistical categories, but it's 90% useless because it includes players who have played even one WTA match.

I just think any SELF-RESPECTING ORGANIZATION would fix this right away and not be so brainless in their thinking.

Look at the leaders in these categories (attached). Can anyone as a fan use this garbage???

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@Igaclayblev It's funny that while Sabalenka has beaten Kasatkina 8x (against 2 losses) she has never managed to completely annihilate her. Kasatkina always gets her 4-6 games

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

I'm glad you remembered that! I was thinking of that but couldn't remember where or when. But I do remember that Kalinskaya was so pissed that day - verbally complaining about Osorio

It seems like Osorio had that reputation when she was younger, but has matured out of those games.

They need to talk it out

[Hard is Fun @AlpineHills10S]

@eustace_on7 That is absolutely pure class from Gauff - many many players would not have waited