ERSA Pro Stringer 3 - 2019 prostringer 3-2019 web

www.ersa-stringers.com INDUSTRY NEWS Jimmy Arias Named Director of Tennis at IMG Academy IMG Academy announced that Jimmy Arias has been promoted to Director of Tennis. Arias joined the Academy as Director of Player Development in 2018, and will now oversee all aspects of the Academy program, including boarding school, camps, professional player training and events. Arias was one of the original tennis students at IMG Academy, then the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, when it opened in 1978. He turned pro at age 16, and within three years, reached the U.S. Open singles semiﬁ nals, won the 1981 French Open mixed doubles and claimed four professional singles titles. Arias reached a career-high of No. 5 in the world in 1984 at age 20. Since his retirement from the professional ranks, Arias has been involved in the game as both a coach and a commentator for ESPN, The Tennis Channel, Rogers Sportsnet and the Canadian Broadcasting Network. IMG Academy also named longtime coach Pat Harrison to Director of Tennis Operations. In his new role, Harrison will oversee the day-to-day management of facilities, staﬃ ng and tennis program delivery. Arias takes over for Rohan Goetzke, who moved on to pursue other opportunities in tennis. Goetzke served as Director from 2012-19. During that time, IMG Academy developed four players who reached World No. 1 in the junior rankings (Miomir Kecmanovic, 2016; Whitney Osuigwe and Axel Gellar, 2017; Sebastian Korda, 2018). #TeamYonex Wins Four of Five Categories at Singapore Open 2019 The Singapore Open did not disappoint this year for either Team Yonex or for the fans. Kento Momota (JPN) won in a thrilling seesaw battle with Anthony Ginting (INA), while Thai mixed doubles pair, Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai overcame the world’s top pair to win their highest achievement yet. In both men’s and women’s doubles, Japan made its opening arguments for this month’s Asian Games and next month’s Sudirman Cup. Ginting has beaten Momota just three times in their previous nine meetings, most notably at last year’s China Open, and he looked very much on course to do so again, as he smashed his way to an early ﬁ rst game win, allowing Momota just 10 points. Even in the second, Momota found himself 11-16 down, but Momota’s stamina was unwavering, as he fought his way back to take the second game 21-19. That seemed to take the wind out of Ginting’s sails, and Momota eventually sealed the deal at 10-21, 21-19, 21-13 in one hour and 13 minutes. The third-seeded mixed doubles Thai pair required less than half that time to sail past Ma- laysians Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing. After upsetting World no. 1 pair Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong in the semi-ﬁ nals, nothing was going to stop them from cruising to a 21-14, 21-6 win in the ﬁ nals for the biggest win of their careers. In men’s doubles, Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda, continuously one of the most excit- ing pairs on the tour to watch, ran up against the Indonesian pair, Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. Kamura and Sonoda fairly easily took the ﬁ rst game but in the second, the Indonesians found their footing against the high-ﬂ ying energy of the Japanese pair and squeaked out a win at 19-21. But it was not to last, and Kamura and Sonoda went on to win their ﬁ rst Tour title of the year at 21-13, 19-21, 21-17. Finally, in women’s doubles, reigning World Champions Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Naga- hara defeated Korean pair Kim Hye Jong and Kong Hee Yong in two close, straight games, 21-17, 22-20. In the previous round, they knocked oﬀ current World No. 1’s Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota for the third time in seven meetings, including at last year’ World Championships, fueling the growing rivalry between the compatriots. ERSA PRO STRINGER // ISSUE 3-2019 14

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