Australian Open Fantasy Tennis

I woke up to the news that Novak Djokovic has been kicked out of Australia. I can’t pretend to be sad about that. Not only does it remove a major hurdle for Rafa to win his second Australian Open (although I still think that’s unlikely), but it clarifies the men’s draw for fantasy tennis!

Want to play? You have only a few more hours to pick your fantasy team, so put down your dust mop and get busy!

Go to FanSlam.us. After you log in, you’ll see a long list of contests, most of which are marked “private.” Scroll down past all that, and you’ll come to a second grid marked “Fanslam Calendar: Upcoming Tournaments.” The contests you want are the first two listed, marked “Enter Free.”

You can find the rules on the FanSlam site or in last year’s blog post, Fantasy Tennis Is Here.

In the past, I’ve tried to set up a contest within a contest, with limited (actually, zero) success. I’ll keep trying, though, because one of these days someone will surprise me. If you want to compete within the LittleYellowBall community, set up your fantasy team(s) on FanSlam. Then return here and post your team roster(s) in the comment section. (Yes, there is a comment section. Keep scrolling.)

It’s no use coming to me after the tournament ends, claiming you were player “FedererFan1” on FanSlam and, hey look at that, you just happened to finish in first place. If your picks aren’t posted on LittleYellowBall before the first serve is struck (tonight at 7, EST), you’re out of luck.

In the event of more than one person entering this contest with me (as if), the person with the best result wins. There will be only one winner for each draw.

Here are my picks for the men:

My picks for the men
  • Nadal
  • Auger-Aliassime
  • Bautista Agut
  • Taylor Fritz
  • Alcaraz Garcia
  • De Minaur
  • James Duckworth
  • Andy Murray (a bargain at $5,000!)

And for the women:

My picks for the women
  • Kontaveit
  • Badosa
  • Halep
  • Gauff
  • Anisimova
  • Cornet
  • Keys
  • Kvitova

Winner gets a can of tennis balls—which, of course, will be Triniti balls.

Have fun!!

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My 2022 Resolutions AND a January Challenge

Happy 2022, everyone!

Have you made your resolutions for the new year yet? I have, and as usual, my list is too long. After all these years, it’s hard to believe I still have that much left to improve.

My resolutions always include something to do with writing, and this year is no different. Along with specific projects I’d like to finish, I aim to write a blog post a month. That’s a pretty low bar, especially with the Grand Slam fashion face-offs accounting for a full third of the total. Really, we’re looking at eight non-face-off posts a year. If I can’t manage that, I should just fold up shop.

Here, then, is post #1: My tennis resolution! (Yes, I’m satisfying my blog resolution by writing about my tennis resolution. And maybe my tennis resolution could be to improve my court fitness by losing weight. And I could lose the weight by cooking at home more, for which I could resolve to sign up for a Blue Apron membership, which I can do right now from my computer… There! Three resolutions knocked off in five minutes. I am killing it in 2022.)

Okay, here’s my real tennis resolution: Get closer to the net. Continue reading “My 2022 Resolutions AND a January Challenge” →

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Triniti: The Greener Tennis Ball

Is there anything better than opening a new can of tennis balls? There’s that gratifying pop as the seal breaks and the pressure is released. There’s that distinctive aroma, an intoxicating blend of new rubber and stale air. The balls roll out of the can and into your palm, and they’re bright and pristine and full of promise. Ahhhh. It’s going to be a good day.

Of course, there’s a dark side accompanying all this new-can fetishizing. Tennis has a pollution problem. I’m sure, like me, you toss your old cans into the recycling bin, but I’m also sure you’ve heard plastic recycling is mostly a sham. Less than ten percent of plastics actually get recycled, and tennis ball cans present an extra challenge because of the metal lip around the top.

We know why this matters. Overflowing landfills. Degraded oceans. Microplastics in our air, food, and water. I love a fresh can as much as the next person, but I don’t want to eat it. 

I won’t pretend I’m especially eco-minded. I don’t even compost, for cryin’ out loud. I mean, how hard is it to compost? But I’ve started looking for some easy changes I can make—the low-hanging fruit, so to speak. My latest is swapping out my Cerave gel facial cleanser for the bar-based one. Same product without the plastic. It’s pretty much a no-brainer.

Which brings us back to our dreaded tennis cans. 

Earlier this year, I tried out a new tennis ball, the Wilson Triniti. Since most tennis shopping is done online, there’s a good chance you haven’t seen these before. (Yes, they’re sold online, as well as in stores, but unless you know they exist, you wouldn’t be looking for them.) Continue reading “Triniti: The Greener Tennis Ball” →

13

Friday Fashion Face-off: Worst-Dressed at the 2021 U.S. Open

Late again. But to make it up to you, we have two polls!

A couple of people suggested Naomi Osaka for inclusion on this week’s worst-dressed list, and while I can’t disagree, I also can’t pile on the poor girl. She’s clearly having a rough time adjusting to the expectations that come with being a champion. My heart went out to her when she was crying in her interview after her third-round loss.

So to demonstrate our compassion, let’s pile on other people and see if we can make them cry instead.

Continue reading “Friday Fashion Face-off: Worst-Dressed at the 2021 U.S. Open” →

7

Friday Fashion Face-off: Best-dressed Woman at 2021 US Open

Yes, I know it’s Sunday. Friday is a state of mind.

What a strange and wonderful Open it’s been on the women’s side. I won’t comment on the
results of the final since some people may have recorded it, but both young women were
deserving of the title, much like our best-dressed nominees. Continue reading “Friday Fashion Face-off: Best-dressed Woman at 2021 US Open” →

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Friday Fashion Face-off: Best-dressed Man, 2021 US Open

Every slam, it’s the same story. I’m completely blindsided by the first Friday. How can it be time for another best-dressed man contest??

Fortunately, I was sent a gentle reminder by good friend and blog reader Eileen. An avid student of the game, Eileen went to the US Open for the opportunity to study the finer points of strategy and stroke execution. So dedicated is she in her quest for tennis excellence that she even shot some instructional video to continue her studies at home: Continue reading “Friday Fashion Face-off: Best-dressed Man, 2021 US Open” →

8

Famous Tennis Tykes: A Quiz!

Normally we’d be having oodles of fun today with our worst-dressed fashion face-off. But then I got to thinking: Is this really who we want to be as tennis fans? After everything we’ve been through during this ongoing pandemic nightmare, shouldn’t we focus our energies on building each other up? Supporting each other through our travails, sartorial or otherwise? Have we learned nothing?

A blog is a powerful platform, one I should be using to further the causes of self-esteem, mental health, and general fashion tolerance. No longer will we be poking fun at people for outfits they had no hand in choosing. From now on, this blog will be dedicated to positivity and warm, fuzzy feelings.

(Also, I couldn’t find any worst-dressed nominees for Wimbledon. Such is the drawback of a dress code. We’ll revisit these high-minded ideals once the US Open starts.)

But fear not—we still have interactive photographic content to, um, interact with. Behold this nifty quiz, featuring our favorite stars’ warm and fuzzy childhood photos brazenly ripped from the internet. (If this blog gets shut down, you’ll know why.)

Enjoy–and if you like it, please share it by email or social media! Continue reading “Famous Tennis Tykes: A Quiz!” →

12

Friday Fashion Face-off: Best-dressed Woman, 2021 Wimbledon

Tomorrow morning Ash Barty and Karolina Pliskova face off on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon. But first they’ll have to duke it out here, in the mucky bog of my blog. Will one of them take home the title of Best-dressed Woman, or will it be the surprise contender who steals the show? Continue reading “Friday Fashion Face-off: Best-dressed Woman, 2021 Wimbledon” →

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Friday Fashion Face-off: Best-dressed Man, Wimbledon 2021

Every blog day is a joy, but some days you just have to work a little harder for it. Case in point: The “best white outfit on a guy” contest. It’s always a challenge to find some detail—any detail—that can set one outfit apart in a sea of bland undershirts. Things got so dire at one point that I even considered nominating Novak Djokovic!

But the specter of the twirpy Serb on my best-dressed list brought me back to my senses. I redoubled my efforts and finally identified these three worthy candidates. Continue reading “Friday Fashion Face-off: Best-dressed Man, Wimbledon 2021” →

6

Fantasy Wimbledon!

Just a quick post to let you know that the free fantasy league for Wimbledon is now open for entries. You have all weekend to figure out your teams, so don’t come crying to me next week that you missed out on the fun.

Here’s the link to my original post on the fantasy league, where I describe the process: Fantasy Tennis Is Here!

Here’s the link for setting up your women’s team: https://www.fanslam.us/contest_teams.php?contest=626

And here’s the link for the men:

https://www.fanslam.us/contest_teams.php?contest=625

Should we have our own internal contest? Of course we should. Post your team rosters in the comments section before play begins on Monday, June 28. Winners will get (what else?) a new can of tennis balls!

 

 

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