Lovingly, Lynn: Read up on gold-star chair ump Lynn Welch, who’s profiled by Nick at USOpen.org. Requesties: Next write-up should be on Enric Molina.
(photo by Don Starr/USTA via usopen.org)
RELATED POSTS
>> a puppet’s ode to lynn welch
>> adatbotw (a day at the bank of the west)
>> tsf podcast: the botw roundtable edition
OK, one picture. Fellow tennis blogger DeShawn Besabella asked me to do this interview about TSF for his lovely #TennisBloggerTuesday series.
(Screengrab via besabella.com)
TSF Podcast Feb. 2011 | Nick McCarvel with David Thorpe | To download MP3 in iTunes, just click link
Our mid-winter musings: TSF Podcast Feb 2011
What fun doing a podcast with one David Thorpe is. You folks don’t want to miss this one: we talk player-name pronunciation (it’s Rah-OWE-nitch, BTW), South American cultural customs, high fashion and how Roger Federer‘s real estate savvy has helped him stay on the top of his game. Plus! Danielle Ribner of Loup joins the convo live from Delray Beach to tell us how dang hot it is down there (jealous D!) and how fricking cool her latest photo shoot was. Oh, and how could I forget? David and I talk up Jim Courier, and what an adventure he’ll have as a one-man Davis Cup team next week in Chile. Click above! | TSF Vault: Podcasts
(ap photo via forty deuce)
As the Australian Open launches into its final weekend, David Thorpe joins us for a TSF podcast, our first of the 2011 season. We catch up with David on his thoughts of Justine Henin‘s re-retirment, the future of Li Na (and the domination of Chinese tennis?!), AO scheduling for the men and our favorite moment from the last 10 days. | More podcasts from TSF
Listen now: TSF-Podcast-Aussie-11
(photo by getty images)
Melbourne movie makers: While the Australian Open has always been known as the “fun” Major, it can also be tapped for the way it approaches things differently than the other three in the Western Hemisphere. This year, one aspect setting the AO apart is its tennis film festival, called Changing Ends Take Two. The festival describes itself as “an independent short film event for budding filmmakers to submit a film with the theme ‘Take Two’ as part of the Tennis Film Festival to be shown during Australian Open 2011.”
There are certainly plenty of entries to sift through. If you want to take a glance, start off in the 2010 tab to take a look at what was popular in 2010, including the most-viewed vid, “When You Have Tennis:”
And we kind of agree: who needs girls? | TSF Vault: More of the off-court tennis world in video
Admirable action: Remember Hudson Taylor? We do. He’s the former Division I all-star wrestler that is straight and is taking it upon himself to be one of the loudest non-gay voices for gay rights. Someone fighting for the well being of others?! Go figure. Recently Taylor launched AthleteAlly.com, in which visitors are asked to sign a pledge to support an accepting community in their own athletic worlds. So far, Hudson has 1,000+ signatures. All hail (and visit) a good cause.
Me, too: While hubby Andy Roddick gets plenty of ink about his form at the Aussie, Brooklyn Decker is sure to get some press on her own. The model/ actress (yes, actress) reportedly told Self that Papa Decker had to have an intervention with the youngster when she began her career so as not to “wreck her body.” Guess the talk worked.
Picture this: While everyone is clad in bursts of pastels and bright colors, we’re digging Sophie Ferguson in red, white and blue Fila. | More Fila on TSF
(“changing ends” screen shot via ao.com; ferguson via getty)
Since we’re done with our fashion coverage for the year (we only kid!), we decided to look a little bit closer at the tennis that will be played at the upcoming Australian Open, which begins Sunday night on American television.
Tomorrow: Who’s Up, Who’s Down and the Dark Horses of the AO | Follow us on Twitter @TSFtennis
The Power List – How the top men (and women) stack up
1. No one can come into the AO feeling better than Roger Federer. The Swiss Mister won his season-opening foray in Doha without dropping a set, beating Nicolay Davydenko in the final. Along with his win at the World Tour Finals, Federer has notched 10 straight matches. Federer played three exhibitions during the off season – all against Rafael Nadal – and looks primed to defend his title in Melbourne.
2. Serena Williams. It might be strange to see Serena’s name second on this list, but the current world no. 4 will be the biggest female force in this year’s draw – absent force, that is. The defending champion hasn’t played a match since winning Wimbledon, and the ladies look lost without her. Serena beat Justine Henin in the most memorable Slam final of last year here, and the sticky courts of Australia won’t have the same female ferocity without her.
3. Rafael Nadal is appropriately third on our list – especially seeing that he has won three straight Slams. And there are three factors that play into Rafa winning an illustrious, fourth straight Major: his health (most namely his knees); his focus against lurking dark-horses (there are plenty – check back tomorrow); and his ability to rise against the Roger challenge. He failed in two of those in losing soundly to Federer in London in November, but will look to build his confidence one match at a time at the AO.
4. There is hard to find a more like-able – or more important, match-savvy – player on the WTA right now than Kim Clijsters. Clijsters captured the US Open for the second straight year in 2010, and then went on to dominate the women’s season-ending event. Her loss in Sydney’s final on Saturday to Li Na? We say that’s a good thing: A more-focused Kimmie won’t produce any 6-0, 6-1 third-round catastrophes this year.
5. Robin Soderling and Andy Roddick and Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. OK, it’s a little unfair that we bunched these four gents together, but at this point, it’s hard not to. Soderling had a hot start to 2011, winning Brisbane and once again proving that he is no flash in the pan. As for Roddick – who lost to Sod in the Brisbane final – the American is said to be in some of the best shape of his life had seems as hungry as ever. And it’s hard to believe that Murray and Djokovic have just one Slam between the two of them. How is that possible? (See Nos. 1 & 3 for answer.) Any of these fellas could walk away from Melbourne the champ, and few would be surprised…
6. Is there more of a mystery than Justine Henin on the women’s side? She is the female version of Juan Martin del Potro, hasn’t played since Wimbledon, but might be playing second fiddle to Kim’s current reign. Justine shocked us all by making the finals last year. It was in 2010 when she toughed through a straight-set win over now-retired Elena Dementieva, and again has a Russian seed (that’d be Kuzy) in the Round of 32. | Full women’s draw
7. While Tomas Berdych continues to be a mystery since his French-Wimbledon brilliance (he’s 12-13 since July), Nikolay Davydenko and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga have made their own noise to start 2011: Davydenko took out Nadal in Doha and Tsonga fell to Roger at the same tourney. Tsonga is a former finalist here (downing Fed in the semis in ’08), while Davydenko has (shockingly) still not been to the last two of a major. Any of these three could fit in with our group at No. 5, but do they have what it takes to run seven matches straight?
8. Here’s a new trio for you folks: Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic and … Bojana Jovanovski. While we could have included Janko Tipsarevic in this line-up, but this new ladies three-some is sure to have the eyes of some WTA followers over the next two weeks. Our guess: the three gals will chalk up 7 total wins (AI 4, BJ 1 and JJ 2) over the two weeks. The ultimate question? Who will have the best year of the bunch? Jelena is a dismal 9-13 since a French open semis run and Jovanovski beat Kanepi, Pannetta and Rezai last week alone. And another new coach for Ana… | Ana just wants to have fun?
9. Venus Williams didn’t win a set in two round-robin matches last weekend in Hong Kong. She hasn’t played a WTA match since the US Open. And before that? Wimbledon. It’s anybody’s guess for Family Williams in Melbourne this year.
10. Three ladies who have a solid shot at a week-two run and a decent chance of a first-round crash out include Caroline Wozniacki, Vera Zvonareva and Maria Sharapova. Wozniacki won just one game in an exo with Zvonareva last weekend, and both had bizarre early losses in Sydney. Sharapova’s ’11 debut? A second-round crash against Greta Arn. Just another (four) reasons that this might be Kim Clijsters’ Aussie to win.
Tomorrow: Who’s Up, Who’s Down and the Dark Horses of the AO
(federer photo future capetown; soderling photo via getty)
Sad that you haven’t seen more fashion coverage from us this year? Well here it is. In one post. For the entire year. Now we’re hanging up our measuring tape, magnifying glasses and red pen and watching The Devil Wears Prada in German over, and over, and over again. Click image to watch the video.
Nicolas Mahut, the famous Frenchman who was on the losing end of the epic Wimbledon battle with John Isner last summer, made quite the ruckus at the Hopman Cup in Perth recently, donning matching outfits with mixed doubles partner Kristin Mladenovic. Even Bethanie Mattek Sands, the queen of quacky outfits was giving some giggles. And dang, isn’t Mahut looking good? We think so. | 28-year-old journeyman Mahut into round 2 of Aussie qualies
(image via youtube)
Taylor-made: Taylor Dent announced his retirement from pro tennis this week, following a 12-year career that saw him reach as high as no. 21 in the world. Dent, now 29, won four career titles but saw his progress cut short due to a high volume of injuries. He returned to the tour over the last 18 months after being out for much of 2006 and 2007, amassing a 12-19 record in 2010 and a ranking of no. 85. We’ll miss ya, Mr. Serve-and-Volleyer. TSF Vault: The Dent Diaries.
The way of the ladies: Ana Ivanovic ended 2010 unlike any recent ending she’s had to a season, winning the title in Bali with three impressive victories and vaulting herself back into the top 20. Ivanovic won 13 of her final 15 matches of the year with her title in Linz. Ravi Ubha gave Ana the thumbs up to become a major Slam contender in 2011 or 2012, while giving the exact opposite forecast for countrywoman Jelena Jankovic (who finished 2010 6-11). Ubha had his crystal ball out for the WTA contingent on ESPN.com. The WSJ Weighs in: The Wall Street Journal had a piece last week on how – just how? – Caroline Wozniaki took the top spot in tennis.
In this case, that winner was The West Side Tennis Club stadium at Forest Hills, which survived a club members’ vote to destroy the stadium and use the site to build luxury condos. A two-thirds majority was needed for the condo deal to go through, but members instead voted in a 123-123 tie. The future of the club, which hosted the US Open until its move to Flushing Meadows in 1978, is now unknown.
Potty Problem: In case you missed it, Ana Ivanovic had a little bathroom trouble in Linz while working her way to her first career title in two years. FortyDeuce has the video (second from the top). Ivanovic was docked a game for taking too long a break in her second round match against Barbora Strycova.
You betchya: Depending on which way you see it, Roger Federer‘s name was (or is?!) swirling in a betting controversy that claimed Fed provided insider info to IMG agent Ted Forstmann during the 2007 French Open. Federer claims to have no part in the scandal, but a few days after the story broke, Forstmann admitted to betting, but said he received no insider info.
Austrian alliance: Thomas Muster continues his comeback attempt in Vienna this week, where he lucked out by not only receiving a wildcard into the main draw, but then getting a lucky loser in the opening round after Ernests Gulbis pulled out for “personal reasons”. Our fave Austrian, Jurgen Melzer, is the tourney’s top seed.
More short balls including a survey of surveys, short(er) balls and another look at The West Side Tennis Club after the cut. (more…)
The WTA launched a new logo on Sunday, saying that the new look is to “serve as a distinctive and modern reminder of the captivating athleticism and excitement that has driven the international popularity and growth of women’s pro tennis and placed it firmly at the nexus of sport and entertainment.” We’re more curious: what do you think of that font?
The WTA said that it used leading global branding company Chermayeff & Geismar, a design firm that has worked with companies like NBC, PBS, Armani Exchange, National Geographic and Barney’s New York. Up next for Chermayeff & Geismar? TSF! OK not really, but as cheesy as the video below is, we kind of loved it. The dramatic music and the flashes of all the WTA greats from the years’ past had us all nostalgic and wishing for… a J-Cap comeback?! Or at least for someone to take control of the tour and stake her claim in twenty eleven.
(logo screen grab via the wta web site; video screen grab via youtube.com)
Justine Henin made her return to Belgian television earlier this week by singing and dancing on a variety TV show. Singing the song “Now It’s Time” on the show Cap 48. Was that lip synching we saw there, JuJu? Might have to refer to this video to figure it out. Hopefully Lady Henin didn’t re-injure her elbow in said dance routine, in which she wore a bright white pant suit, black dance shoes and had her hair put up. Now we get why she wants her phone on a desert island: she has the Autotune app.
Justine is scheduled to take on Kim Clijsters in an exhibition in December, though she hasn’t made her 2011 schedule public yet. Guga Kuerten is due to play an exhibition in his home country of Brazil in December as well, flying down former rival Andre Agassi for a little hit and giggle. Fame bound? Meanwhile, Andre headlines the 2011 ballot for the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The last time Andre was in Newport? To help honor his wife Steffi during her own induction in 2007.
With the tennis season winding down, the exo season is picking up. The Belgians will do battle in their home country and Guga has Andre going south. Roger has invited Rafa up to Switzerland for a duel of their own, which, if the trailer runs true, will be mostly giggling and not much hitting. Stateside, no less than four exo’s will take place in November and December, with players like Anna Kournikova, Martina Navratilova, Mark Philippoussis, Mardy Fish and the Bryan Brothers participating in one event or another. (Line up: Surprise, Ariz. | Delray Beach | DC | Vero Beach, Fla.) (Exhibition info from tenniswire.org)
The season is prematurely over for a myriad of WTA ladies, including Venus, Serena and Maria Sharapova. The Williams sisters will not only miss the Season Ending Championships but also the Fed Cup finals, which they had expressed interest in playing after controversy swirled in their lack of participation in the team’s ties earlier in the year.
More of short balls – featuring short(er) balls – after the cut. (more…)
While the rain raged on in Beijing, delaying both the men’s and women’s final until Monday, we popped into the virtual China Open store for a glance and the goodies being offered up this year. It would be unjust to ignore what their store has to offer; while the clothing selection left something to be desired, there are a few diamonds of the fuzzy slash plastic slash “What is that, exactly?” variety. Just what we love…
This gorgeous and somewhat subtle (at least for the China Open online store… ) scarf has great detailing. If you look closely, you can see the tiny man chasing down a tennis ball. Buy for about $21 USD.
You may think it cheesy, but we love the top to this mug, which retails for about $8.
More of our picks from the China Open store after the cut… (more…)
Giving a damn: We made note of Ellen’s powerful words last week after the disturbing rash of suicides among LGBT youth. The nation has banded together in a variety of ways, including the We Give a Damn project that was launched by the True Colors Fund. This past Sunday night, activists held a candlelight vigil in Washington Square Park in New York City. Actor and blogger, Andrew Kennan Bolger, documented the evening on video. More to watch: We Give a Damn has a few of their own videos, featuring some of our favorite big and small screen faces – among others. Check them out. Plus: Zachary Quinto says (Tweets?) the right thing after 50 Cent runs his mouth again.
Commercial offerings: There’s plenty to see on YouTube if you go and type in ‘tennis’ in the search bar and sift through the many (dozens? hundreds?!) of homes for sale that happen to include tennis in their property in one way or another. One good find we had this week was an old Heineken commercial that hadn’t crossed our path before. Watch the video – camera tipping and all – here. Meanwhile, we found the newly-released Australian Open commercial (below), tagged “A Whole New Level” via the ladies over at OntheBaseline. None other than Ms. Sam Stosur makes five appearances in the 31-second clip. Joining Serena, Roger and Rafa as the faces to be seen at the AO 2011.
The injury diaries: The injured Justine Henin is set to test the competitive waters in an exhibition against Kim Clijsters in Antwerp on December 9th. Things aren’t as peachy for Robby Ginepri, who broke his arm in a biking accident and will be out of the game for the rest of the season. We’re hoping for a Sam Querrey kind of return for the current world no. 118… not a James Blake kind of return.
Tennis shavings: Things are feeling a bit more Blake than Querrey over at NYC-based Tennis magazine. The publication announced earlier this week that they would cut four of nine editorial positions and begin outsourcing most of its art and photo work, focusing more in-house on Tennis.com. The magazine recently shuffled Sarah Unke from her role on the print side to be online editor following the departure of Abigail Lorge. It’s unclear who is still calling Tennis his or her work home, though assistant online editor Ed McGrogan posted an ESPN blog item earlier today. 10tenmedia, a New York creative firm, will handle much of the mag’s print design.
Body games: Former Tennis cover girl Anna Kournikova made an appearance on the small screen on NBC’s “Biggest Loser” last night. Kournikova served up some motivation for the contestants, and they seemed to inspire her, too. ESPN the Magazine hits newsstands this week with their annual “The Body Issue.” The mag always chooses several different covers to print (six this year), and wheelchair tennis queen Esther Vergeer got the nod for one of those covers in this cover print. The US women’s water polo team also has a cover, as does golfer Camilo Villegas (yeah, we’ve never heard of him either).
More of short balls, including a giggling Roger and an all-inclusive short(er) balls, after the cut.
Fall is coming to fruition across the country. Well, that is if you don’t live in the Los Angeles area. Southern Cal was hit with quite the heat wave earlier this week – temperatures topping around 113 degrees around downtown. On this week’s short balls, we’re staying away from the heat and traveling around the country (and world!), region by region, to bring you tiny tidbits in URL-linked style.
The Midwest is losing one of its tennis gems, as the stadium that hosted the (formerly-named) RCA Championships – the Indianapolis ATP stop for 21 years – was put to the wrecking ball this past week. (via jon_wertheim) Remember: Better times in Indianapolis, which lost its tourney to Atlanta this past year.
The Southeast | The WTA celebrated the 40th anniversary of what it describes as a day of “rebellion” and “independence” last Thursday, September 23rd. In 1970, Billie Jean King and “The Original Nine” broke away from the tennis czars to form the WTA with help from a few business-savvy folks (and Virginia Slims cigarettes). The total purse at the 1970 Virginia Slims Invitational in Houston? $7,500. The winner took home $1,600, which is one about one tenth the money first-round losers are awarded at today’s majors.
Meanwhile, in the Southwest, Mirjana Lucic continued her winning ways this past week by capturing the title at the USTA Pro Circuit swing in Albuquerque. Lucic took out three Americans on her way to the championship. This week, she’s in action up north at the $50,000 event in Las Vegas.
Further west of Lucic’s success in Big Sur, California, Bob Bryan announced he was engaged to longtime girlfriend Michelle Alvarez. And west coast companies Diesel (Los Angeles) and Nike (Portland, Ore.) have new ad campaigns out. The Diesel campaign, “Kick Ass” takes a sarcastic approach to their shoes kicking ass (literally) and not being fitted for running. Nike’s “BOOM” campaign features several well shot (and edited) commercials. In all those split-second shots of different sports, your not missing a tennis moment. The sport didn’t make the cut for this promotional track, FYI. More FYI: Nike’s Q1 profits were up 9% overall. Maybe thanks to Rafa? Or the bed bugs? Probably Rafa…
More geographical adventures (including a dive into New York City!) after the cut… (more…)
Kimiko Date Krumm wowed us with a return in her late 30s, but her 40s are already looking that much better. A day after stunning top seed Maria Sharapova in the first round at Tokyo, KDK took down Daniela Hantuchova, 13 years her junior, 2-6 6-0 4-0, retired, to move into the third round. Oh, and did we mention it was her 40th birthday?!
History lesson: KDK has taken down the likes of Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, Lindsay Davenport, Iva Majoli and Conchita Martinez at her home tourney. The latter three wins came in 1995, when she was crowned Princess with a win, and the last time she advanced this far. She meets the resurgent Francesca Schiavone in the third round.
More: American Coco Vandeweghe won her fourth match in a row Tokyo with a second-round win over Aravane Rezai. She takes on Julie Goerges, who took down a sputtering Sam Stosur in a second-round clash. Prior to Tokyo, Vandeweghe had lost four straight matches after a quarterfinal run in San Diego.
(ap photo)
Walking up to the grounds for day one of Wimbledon in 2009, I was surprised to hear most English tennis fans weren’t really talking about Andy Murray or the Rafa-Roger rivalry, but instead about the new starlet of British tennis: Laura Robson.
The year before, Laura had won the Girl’s Singles title at Wimbledon, becoming the first home-grown champion in the singles bracket since 1984 and launching her into a kind of celebrity that garnered her an opening-day billing on Court No. 2 at the Championships in 2009. And this just wasn’t any opening-day match, but rather one that was opening the new stadium, making Robson the name to watch on the court’s first-ever match.
Since her run at Wimbledon in ’08 and her ’09 ceremonial opening, Robson has made a habit of playing a contained schedule mixed of both girls junior events and WTA and ITF circuit matches. The past two US Opens, the 16-year-old Brit has bowed out in the the third round of qualifying, just short of a shot at the main draw.
This week in Tokyo, however, Robson qualified for the main draw [PDF] of a WTA tournament for just the second time in her career (Birmingham, 2010). She lost in the opening round to Greta Arn, but some say the calculated approach by Team Robson to keep the young Brit on a light schedule and continue to grow her physically and mentally (she played one official tournament between Wimbledon and the Open) could pay dividends in her future.
But before we get all crystal ball on you, we were happy to get a few questions into Laura via email. She’s an active Tweeter, with a good sense of (dry, British) humor, and has professed love for Neil Patrick Harris, Chipotle, YouTube watching, Bikram yoga, fantasy football (soccer) and much, much more.
TSF: If you could meet Neil Patrick Harris in person, what would you ask him?
Laura Robson: I would ask “How did you get so cool?”.
TSF: After winning a match in the States, are you most likely headed to a Chipotle? How many times did you go there while in New York?
LR: After a match I am most likely to head anywhere that is going to be relatively quick, Chipotle is perfect for that reason. We must have gone there 5 or 6 times throughout the whole trip.
TSF: What’s your hidden talent? Like something that would make you a YouTube star?
LR: I can juggle pretty well. Really bad singers also become popular on YouTube. I could be one of those people.
TSF: Last year it was “Party in the USA.” What song are you jamming out to at this US Open?
LR: This US Open I was rocking out to Lenny Kravitz, Drake and I listen to a lot of Dubstep music (if you haven’t heard any Dubstep, YouTube ‘Four Floors (Diplo Edit) – Sunday Girl‘). Sounds amazing on massive speakers.
More with Laura Robson, BFF to FortyDeuceTwits, after the cut. (more…)
There was lots of things happening on the pro tennis tours this summer. There were some strange storylines with confusion surrounding the injuries of Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro and a wild US Open culminated with two familiar champions winning in vastly different ways.
We asked earlier this summer what you thought would take shape for the US Open Series, now we’re curious – with the Series past and the year’s final Slam in the books: what was your summer story?
Was it the absence (and off-court activity) of Serena? Was it the mom-can-defend Slam run by one Kim Clijsters? Was it Rafa claiming his ninth major, completing the career Slam? Or did something altogether different capture your tennis eye (like, say, Nadia’s outfit)? Perhaps you were inspired by the runs of Vera or Novak, or loved the story that Sweet Caroline just may prove her #1 ranking after a title in New Haven and an impressive run to the semis. Dare we even mention the Andy Roddick debacle? Maybe that was your fave for other reasons…
Tell us in the comment section below.
(photo by kyliemm via flickr.)
TSF is introducing a new series of posts that we’re calling “spotted in the city”. These posts will be full of the random stuff that your TSF editors come across in the daily world of New York and Los Angeles. From shoe sightings on the street to storefronts to a tennis celeb on the pavement, we’re ready with our low-quality cell phone cameras to capture tennis fashion off the courts. See something you think might work for the series? Snap a pic and send us a note! The best part is you don’t have to be in NYC or LA… or any city for that matter! Tennis fashion is happening all over the place, and we always love to hear from our readers. -NM
We spotted this vintage HEAD tennis racquet and cover at a Housing Works Thrift Shop in SoHo a few weeks ago. The thing was going for $6. The strings were intact and the grip felt good. We’re a little disappointed we didn’t swipe it for leisure play with friends this fall! Remember: another HEAD sighting in SoHo, earlier this year. (Full disclosure: I work for Housing Works, Inc.)
The back wall at the Boast party this past week in NoHo was covered in stylish, old-school photos aplenty. The re-launch party – cleverly tagged “Back in play” – was at the art space 40 Great Jones.
A model holds court (or street) outside the Boast party in NoHo. She was sipping on a Southside cocktail – oh so delicious!
(tsf photos)
It’s not often you see a clothing line come along and provide promotional shots that include an ATV (above), a guy trying desperately to manage a bloody nose and another spooning out cantaloupe while inside a vintage car. But Boast is doing just that, re-launching the classic 1970’s American brand with a new look and feel that screams The Royal Tenenbaums meets Lacoste meets MTV‘s Jackass.
While that might be a complicated description, Boast’s line of polo tees are as simple as they come. Simple and successful. The polos, which come in three styles — pinstriped, tipped and solid — all retail for $68 and are made with hand-picked Peruvian cotton, a high quality long-staple fabric.
Boast has a history that they can be pretty, well, boastful about. (Yes, we had to go there. It’s over and done with now, we promise!) In 1973, tennis instructor Bill St. John started the brand that mostly emulated the success of Johnny Mac and Jimmy Connors, turning true tennis style into an American thing. Eventually, the likes of Roscoe Tanner, John Updike and George W. Bush would don the threads of the company.
Boast’s return was marked at a re-launch party Wednesday night in NoHo, downtown Manhattan, where TSF caught up with Alexander Tiger, one of the partners in making the re-launch happen. While he was thrilled to have the site live and functioning, he promised that the clothes would be in stores soon, and that 2011 would bring a more diverse Boast, with performance wear and accessories to boot.
“We just wanted to get to today, to have the product here and everyone able to see it and touch it,” Tiger said while guests sipped on Southside cocktails with miniature tennis racquet stirrers. “This is a true American heritage brand, something Ryan Harrison could wear.”
While we can’t quite imagine Harrison in the $1,200 hand-crafted navy blazer for sale alongside the polos, our fave was the tipped polo with red and orange, just enough color to make us feel, well, you know… boastful.
Browse: Boast’s online store. We like this pinstripe polo in Kelly green. Also available in navy, Carolina blue and red.
(photos courtesy of boast)
tennis served fresh 