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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JUNE 2020 51 Just in case: Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. By the time this article is in print, some hardcore tennis fans will have gone back out to the courts playing like there's no tomorrow, as we all have been cooped up for weeks on end due to the coronavirus stay-at-home mandate. Just like many of you, I did my share of surfing the Internet during this unexpected "jail time" in the house, reading up on everything about COVID-19, and yes, about tennis as well (Oh, come on, you have too. Just admit it). While doing so, I came across an article on the longest match ever played in the history of professional tennis. Some of you trivia fanatics might already have all the details in that match memorized. For the rest of us, here are some rather interesting tidbits for us to chew on: When: June 22, 2010 – June 24, 2010 Where: Wimbledon, England Who: John Isner (US) vs Nicolas Mahut (France) Winner: John Isner Total Play Time for the Match - 11 hours and 5 minutes over a period of three days Total Play Time for the fifth (final) Set – 8 hours and 11 minutes Total Games Played in the Match – 183 Total Games Played in the fifth (final) Set – 138 (no tiebreak) Total Aces Served: 216 (113 by Isner and 103 by Mahut) Here are a couple of other stats you might also find interesting: On Sept. 24, 1984 at a tournament in Richmond, VA, Vicki Nelson and Jean Hepner had the longest rally ever in professional tennis history – 643 shots that lasted 29 minutes. Incidentally, that was also the longest match in women's professional tennis history (by time) which lasted 6 hours and 31 minutes. Nelson won both the long rally and the match, 6-4, 7-6 (11). On the other hand, in 1946 at the Surrey Open Hard Court Championships, Jack Harper defeated J. Sandiford in just 18 minutes with a score of 6-0, 6-0. Harper lost just one single point, making it the shortest men's professional singles match on record. So, there you have it. Now that we are all pumped up by these unbelievable records in tennis history, let's get back out to the courts and try to break them. Who knows? Some of you young whippersnappers may just do it one day. See you all at The Courts! Website: www.sites.google.com/view/tennis-fourseasons/home. ~ Stan Lam, (714) 757-2141, slamcpa@gmail.com During this time of great self-discipline and restraint in order to protect ourselves and our neighbors from this new virus, we are also missing one of our favorite activities — joining our friends at The Courts playing ping pong. It is an indoor sport, and many of us prefer playing doubles, which brings us even closer together. Plus, it would be difficult to play a match without touching ping pong balls that have been touched by other players and pass on cooties. So, while we are staying home and staying safe, we are doing what we can to stay in shape. Playing a challenging ping pong match requires stamina and flexibility. If we are just sitting around, we could risk injury when it is time to get back to the tables. Now is a good time to be doing daily stretching, cardio, hand weights and even yoga to be ready when the time comes. Let's watch what we eat so we don't come back sluggish and slow. Nothing can lose a point faster than a partner who can't move out of the way when you need to hit a spinning angle shot. Some players have discovered virtual ping pong apps to entertain, but it is just not the same. Stay home, stay safe, but be ready for when those doors open again! For more information, contact Bob Rubenstein, brube88@gmail.com. ~ Sandra Butler-Roberts Ping Pong Tennis Club Plaque displayed at Wimbledon

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