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Chris Howard, Courier Columnist

Stories by Chris

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There’s nothing like a road trip to the BNP Masters tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

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So where are we today in Prescott with the game of tennis, what are the pluses and minuses of where we’ve been and where we hope to take the future of the game, the sport, the history of it all and in our own neck of the woods?

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It’s back to almost normal business for the March 7 to 20, 2022 BNP Paribas Open Masters Tennis Tournament held in Indian Wells, CA and at the IW’s Tennis Garden site for the 22nd year.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist February 24, 2022
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The little things in life become more and more aware to you as you grow into the later years of life, the journey, the people, the carrots that spur you on when it would be so easy to say, “Why go to all that effort, time and expense for something that has a good chance of not going in your favor”?

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist February 17, 2022
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If you haven’t heard, or if you’d like to be updated, there’s a very exciting mega sports and recreation center (over 100,000 square feet) with a restaurant/sports bar that will be opening in early April called “Espire Sports.”

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist January 27, 2022
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The statement, “Any press is good press,” might be true overall, but when it comes to the 2022 Australian Open this year and Novak Djokovic and his COVID problems with the government as the top tennis news story, I’m not so sure.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist January 13, 2022
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As our local tennis programs and play head forward, we are hoping and planning that 2022 will be a great year of junior, young adult, adult, senior and super senior play in all kinds of avenues of play and at a variety of sites in and around the Mile High City.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist January 4, 2022
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A new movie that is now in the theaters across the country and on HBO called “King Richard”, is about how Richard Williams devised a 78-page written plan to make his two girls (Venus and Serena who weren’t even born yet) become the greatest tennis players of their era — and against all odds achieved that dream.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist December 2, 2021
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Playing any sport and trying to attain better and better ability levels is a daunting task both mentally and physically.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist November 18, 2021
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In our quest for finding the right racquet for our tennis games, the question as we get older, a step or two slower and probably not quite as strong armed in our swings is - what head size, length and weight of racquet is in our best interest?

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist October 28, 2021
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Wasn’t the BNP Tennis Masters Tournament always held in March?

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist September 30, 2021
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On Valentine’s Day of 2014 I was snowboarding at Arizona Snowbowl in Flagstaff and hit a jump going too fast, lost control and landed on my neck which paralyzed me from the chest down.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist September 2, 2021
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So how does a young man from the railroad towns of Hyannis and Ashby, Nebraska (population 287) go from being the son of a rancher to a rodeo cowboy and later a tennis professional?

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist August 19, 2021
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It’s probably reasonable to say most of us have lived through the greatest time frame the professional game of tennis may ever have, with four players, who are still competing, that have won 20 or more major singles championships with maybe a few more to come.

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This past Saturday the inductions for the International Tennis Hall of Fame took place in Newport, Rhode Island, and in some ways they were kind of the same, and in another kind of different.

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Many of us have fleeting moments of thinking, “Wouldn’t it be fun to get back out and start playing some tennis”, and then the thought passes and we go on with what life takes us through on a daily basis.

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Last year the game of tennis’ normal inductions and professional lawn tennis tournament was cancelled at the Newport R.I. International Tennis Hall of Fame due to COVID, but this year are excited and ready for a large, fun crowd to attend — Sunday, July 11, to Sunday, July 18, 2021, for the men’s singles and doubles tournament and induction ceremony and special festivities to enjoy!

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Recently I received an email from a former Prescottonian who is probably the best-known tennis athlete we can claim as ours, Taylor Johnson, who is currently playing for UCLA, which just finished its season, reaching 4th in the country. They won the Pac-12 regular season and made the NCAA’s Elite 8.

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The game of tennis, like many things during COVID, took a hit.

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The past two weeks for me have been exhilarating and, yet again, eye-opening that nothing in this life is to be taken for granted.

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Now into the 26th day of my/our “Bike and Tennis Across American” trip and the end is nearing.

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Many of you know I’m in the middle of a bike ride across the country, promoting tennis and biking, going from San Diego, California, to St. Augustine, Florida.

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It’s not easy to deal inwardly when the ball and your racquet become out of sync, or your opponent isn’t cooperating with what you’re trying tactically against them.

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We hear about all the today’s top players, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and such, and it’s called for because they are the current players who are making news in the tennis world; but once upon a time there was this kid from Rockhampton, Australia who was catching the eye of top coaches in the bigger cities like Brisbane.

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Recently I was at a tournament watching a variety of tournament players gearing up for battle and you could see who was really getting ready to bring it and who were not in the same arena of mental and physical warfare.

When you reach a certain age (almost 66 for me), there’s a tendency to look back and reminisce about how you got where you are.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist February 20, 2021

What motivates and pushes a person to become the best in the field they have chosen as an instructor and teacher in the world of tennis?

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist February 4, 2021
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We’ve heard every cliché known to mankind about our competitive spirit and the world we live in to survive…”It’s dog-eat-dog,” “The law of the jungle,” “Every man for himself,” and, “No one remembers who came in second place.”

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist January 25, 2021
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We’ve all been going through hoops to not get COVID, yet the numbers have increased, and unless we are wrapped in a bubble there are still certain risks that are unavoidable.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist December 28, 2020
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When playing the game of tennis, there are a bundle of special mannerisms that make playing the game much more fun and enjoyable, known as tennis etiquette.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist November 26, 2020
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When I first picked up a racquet at the age of 12 there was no inclination that this game of tennis would be any more than a fleeting moment in life, something to have some fun with for a while, hanging out with neighborhood buddies, challenging ourselves to something different from baseball, basketball, football or getting into trouble.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist November 17, 2020
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Any time you have a couple of the top players in the world playing one another, especially in the finals of a grand slam, there would be much interest.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist October 27, 2020
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My background in the Prescott area has been primarily tennis and health clubs since 1985. Teaching and managing facilities. As of the past few months our tennis avenues have been compromised with Yavapai College shutting down the tennis facility once again, the PHS tennis facility with limited hours now that school is back in session Monday through Thursday, the Prescott Athletic Club who recently opened their pool, tennis and pickleball courts and had hoped to have a grand opening — now shut down due to City of Prescott technicalities on a building that has been up and running for over 30 years. A lot of discombobulation to say the least.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist October 13, 2020
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There comes a day when you’ve been on the tennis tour much longer than most, and in this case 22 years for right-hander Mike (two minutes older than his twin) and lefty Bob Bryan, the winningest doubles team in the history of tennis!

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist September 24, 2020
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As a tennis columnist the past 27 years and playing, teaching and making a living of sorts in the game since the late 1960’s, I’d much rather be writing about the U.S. Open (being played without a crowd, but still playing) or the Bryan brothers (greatest doubles team ever) who have just retired.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist September 14, 2020
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I had a chance to recently catch up with Prescott’s Taylor Johnson at UCLA. Here is a peek at what we discussed:

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist August 27, 2020
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I guess in these trying times, being somewhat flexible is necessary. The Yavapai College tennis facility will now begin its second time of being shut down due to the virus or complications surrounding it.

By Chris Howard, Courier Columnist August 13, 2020
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Over the years I’ve got to see a lot of different tennis, multi-purpose clubs, country clubs, sub-division recreational areas, college, high school and parks and recreation facilities, each one has its own challenges to be the best they can in servicing their clients.

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Normally at this point in the professional tennis season we’d be watching the “March to the U.S. Open going full bore, with The Canadian Open in Toronto/Montreal followed by the Washington, D.C. Citi Open, both now canceled due to the virus.

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“Ten years ago I’d have not only gotten to that shot, I’d have hit a winner past you,” I inwardly thought to myself with a pasted smile but with a real comment of just, “Nice shot.”

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A blink, a chance happening, volunteer help, pats on the back, a little success, job prospects and opportunity, ignorance, roadblocks, open doors, diversifying, looking at the big picture, making decisions, trying not to be afraid, listening to your heart, giving back, family and community, continuing forward … life in a nutshell for this columnist and his journey in the tennis world.

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Sixteen-year-old Coco Gauff from Delray Beach, Florida seems to be a very poised and focused person, not only as a tennis player but more lately as a Black Lives Matter impromptu speaker at a local rally in her hometown.

“If there’s such a thing as a tennis bum, I’m it,” [Whitney] Reed matter-of-factly admitted to Sports Illustrated in a characterful 1962 profile.

It’s on! The U.S. Open is going to take place Aug. 31 through Sept. 13 in New York and with that what will the script be for what’s to take place?

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It is coming down to crunch time to decide if the two last major tennis tournaments of the U.S. Open series will be held this summer, the Western and Southern Open, normally held in Cincinnati, followed by the U.S. Open one of the four major grand slam events.

Tennis isn’t what it was 3 or 4 months ago, with a barrage of events, league play, full tennis groups, and all facilities open for play without restrictions and now some trepidation in our mindset.

My brother Jeff and I discussed how the makeup of a match like 23 singles grand slam winner Serena Williams would do today against former great and bad boy, commentator, tennis legend, John McEnroe, with their current age difference.

The Yavapai College tennis facility opened back up this past Saturday with all seven courts in use by 8 a.m. and the patrons are thrilled to be playing there once again.

Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus), life has indeed changed on many fronts especially the last two months here in Prescott. Even for the tennis players and their normal outdoor routines with Yavapai College and the Prescott High School tennis facilities locked up - most would say at this point unwarranted.

As a newbie tennis player in the 1960’s and at ages 12 to 13 I was the low man (kid) on the totem pole in regard to wanting to play with the better men and women players in the area of Newark, Ohio.