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56 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | NOVEMBER 2020 Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. I hope you all enjoyed watching the last Grand Slam event of 2020, The French Open, as much as I did. The tennis professionals, especially the top players, make it look so easy to make miraculous shots that seem almost humanly impossible. Time and time again, they do it as if they're just taking a walk in the park. What's not so obvious on the TV screen, however, are all the other hidden elements they bring to these matches. Some examples are: long hours of practice, strength and endurance training, mental toughness, and past experiences, etc. All of these elements play a very important role on the court. One of the many challenges the pros all have to face each year is that the four Grand Slam events are played on very different court surfaces. At that high level of competition, the slightest difference on how they handle the ball speed or ball bounce could mean winning the championship title vs the runner-up. For those who are not too familiar with the different court surfaces, here's a very simplified breakdown: 1. Australian Open – Hard court on a Plexicushion surface, medium-paced with lower ball bounce and less spin. 2. U.S. Open – Hard court on a Pro DecoTurf surface; slightly faster with higher ball bounce. 3. French Open – Clay court, slowest, toughest to win, it's a battle of endurance, favored by baseline players and all-court players. 4. Wimbledon – Grass court, toughest to play on; really fast and slippery, ball stays low and sail. As we can see, each surface has its own characteristics and playability. The pros have to adjust their style of play to adapt and still be able to compete at their intensely high level and make it look easy. That's why they make the big bucks and you and I are still frustrated weekend warriors! Hats off to the pro tennis players! Stay safe and see you all on the courts at The Courts! Website: https://sites.google.com/view/tennis-fourseasons/home. ~ Stan Lam, (714) 757-2141, slamcpa@gmail.com Tennis Club This article features Alan Chan. He is a gentle, unassuming person who really doesn't want to be in the limelight. But as his friend, I think deserves some time in the spotlight. He is one of the first players to start and organize paddle tennis. Not sure how many years he was doing this before I started to play, but I have been playing for at least 10 years. One of his most admirable traits is he never gets angry during play. Good play, bad play, he only criticizes his own mistakes. Often heard, is "Oh no," "What am I doing?" "Rule #1, get it over the net." If any players get into an argument, he is the first to smooth things over. Several years ago, we formed a paddle tennis committee to regulate play times and set some basic rules to follow. Many players have cycled through this five-person group, maybe spending a year or more in rotation. Alan has always participated. He is the one member who doesn't vote on any issue unless there is a tie. So we are all lucky to have this guy steering the paddle tennis group, encouraging new players to start up, and promoting paddle tennis as a fun activity. Come out and meet him for a healthy alternative to regular tennis. In paddle tennis, you only have to run half the distance to reach the ball. ~ R. Terry Miller Paddle Tennis Alan Chan in action I thought I would just pop in here to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving, and I am hoping all is well with each and every member. Now, on with my standard message about our club. With the coronavirus threat bringing everything to a halt, this will be my generic Breeze article until things get back to normal again and I have something to write about. Our Club has 16 members with an average of 10 players participating each week. We have relaxed rules about throwing distances, pretty much where you are comfortable throwing, so everyone can participate and have fun. We have Quarterly Tournaments both Singles and Doubles with the winners' pictures being included in the Breeze. We have quarterly social events, which consists of dinner at The Kopper Kettle Bistro at 5 pm followed by dessert at one of our member's homes, which gets our spouses and significant others involved and makes for a fun evening of fellowship and camaraderie. We usually cap the evening off with a rousing game of LCR (Left/Center/Right). We're always looking for new members, so while you are hunkered down in your homes for the next several weeks, be thinking about joining us. We meet at The Summit every Wednesday at 9 am fall through spring, and 8 am in the summer. Our contacts are Ron Erickson at (951) 846-3288, rejlerickson@sbcglobal.net or Gary Christie at (951) 845-0520, goldtoy@earthlink.net. ~ Ron Erickson Horseshoe Club

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