As another Albany Tennis Club Championships draw to a close, I’d like to offer some memories, as well as some recent history and observations about tournament play at the club. 

Some of my earliest memories of the club involve playing in the famed USTA Tri-County Open, which attracted many high-level players (think plenty of NTRP 5.0 players but even some players above 5.0) from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and as far as California. 

I never had much success in the tournament in high school and college, but I was humbled and inspired by the skill on display. Years later, some of my most memorable matches would be against Larry Yakubowski in men’s open doubles and mixed doubles. I played in the doubles championship match against Larry and Dave Denny with Max Levine as my partner. Late in the second set, Max and I were on the verge of victory, but I started to feel emotional at the prospect of beating my coach and tennis mentor in a championship match and could barely put a ball in the court. Luckily, Max coolly carried us to the title! 

While the Tri-County hasn’t taken place at the club since 2019, the Club Championships, which began in 2022, have kept some of the Tri-County’s competitive spirit alive, while fostering a strong sense of ATC community. The structure of the Club Championships has already gone through multiple iterations: The first year it took place the entire month of August, and draw sheets were kept in plastic folders at the club and manually updated; staff pros like me and Mark Mirasol played in the tournament alongside members. Another year there were many small level-based singles and doubles draws. And some years the draws were open to non-ATC members who paid entry fees to compete in the tournament. 

Regardless of the format, the tournament has always created a buzz around the club. Indeed, what strikes me most this year are the many players, family members, and “tournament watchers” who came out to enjoy the great tennis and community. I think it’s fair to say that the Club Championships are truly becoming an ATC tradition!

On Saturday, September 19, ATC held a dual event: a fundraiser for 15-Love and a celebration for retiring Club Manager Larry Yakubowski.

More than 60 club members, former members, and members of the Capital Region tennis community turned out for this special day.

We raised over $2,500 for Love-15, whose programming for the Capital Region’s youth centers on the five pillars of tennis, literacy, healthy living, college prep, and STEM. Maxine Brisport, interim executive director of 15-Love, spoke to the audience and expressed her deep gratitude to club members and their generosity.

We celebrated some outstanding doubles tennis at the club with the Women’s Open Doubles Championship and the Men’s 65 & Over Doubles. Congratulations to all the players for the spirited competition, great sportsmanship, and plenty of memorable moments!

Lisa Allison & Linda Burtis (1) won the Women's Open Doubles ChChampionship against Sonam Sherpa & Jessica Hayashi (2).

James Axford & Pat Bologna (1) won the Men's 65 Doubles Championship against Shrikant Parekh & Mark Culotti (3)

Congratulations to Betty Lin for winning the Women's Open Singles in a tiebreaker against Sonam Sherpa, the defending champion! Great job to both players!

There was plenty of power on the courts this morning—not just in the serves and forehands, but in the spirit, determination, and camaraderie of the women who came out to play.

With the U.S. Open showcasing some incredible women’s matches this week, it’s a great reminder of the strength, resilience, and competitive spirit women bring to sports at every level.

That same spirit was on display at the club this morning as women took to the courts to compete, connect, encourage one another, and enjoy the game.

Strong women. Strong competition. Strong community.

Here’s to the power of women in sports—one point, one match, and one morning on the court at a time.

CLICK HERE to see some of our women in action.

On Saturday, September 19, ATC will host its annual fundraiser for 15-Love, a not-for-profit that uses tennis as a medium to provide programming on literacy, healthy living, college prep, and STEM education to inner-city youth.

We have partnered with 15-Love for several years now and hope to make this year’s event even more successful.

This year will be extra special as we will also celebrate Larry Yakubowski’s 20 years of service to ATC. Larry recently stepped down as manager of the club and will soon be moving to Rhinebeck to be closer to family. Combining the 15-Love fundraiser with a celebration of Larry’s service is a natural fit. Using tennis to build a happier, healthier, and stronger community is what Larry is all about.

Please join us on September 19 (rain date: Sunday, September 20) beginning at 12:30 pm at the ATC courts to help raise funds for 15-Love and to wish Larry well moving forward. We are asking for donations of $25 or more for 15-Love (we will gladly accept donations greater than $25!). We will provide food and drink at the party. And it wouldn’t be a proper send-off for Larry without a community doubles event.

If you plan on attending, RSVP to Chris Bradt (albanytennischris@gmail.com) and tell him (1) that you will be attending and (2) whether you will be playing tennis (the tennis will likely go from 2 to 4 pm, but if you can’t stay the whole time, that is ok as well).

Hope to see you there!

You’ve seen Harry at the club. In the early morning hours getting the courts ready to play. Or throughout the day working on issues with the courts or facilities. He always has a greeting, always a smile, and always fixing something.

Harry has been playing tennis all his life, has been a member of ATC for five years, and has worked at the club for the last three-plus years.

“I want to be as valuable to the club as I can,” Harry said.

Why are the nets always at the correct height? Because Harry checks and adjusts them. He also, along with Steve Beditz, replaced the net winches with a safer option that’s easier to use.

When the new court irrigation system went in last year, Harry worked tirelessly to fill the swales around the heads and the low spots where the trenches were dug. He’s studied what makes an excellent clay court playing surface and has learned how to roll the courts, how much to water them (and when), and how to adjust and optimize the water pressure coming from the sprinkler heads.

“I would always listen to our members,” Harry said. “If they were experiencing problems with the courts or facility, I wanted to know about it, and I wanted to take care of it.”

You might call Harry a “Jack of All Trades.” His long career will attest to that. From serving in the United States Air Force as a heavy equipment mechanic to working in sales at Granger, from installing chimney liners to being in the lumber business, Harry has seen a lot, experienced a lot, and knows how to get a job done. Along the way, he raised a family and now has six grandchildren.

Many thanks from all of us at ATC to Harry. The club runs better when he’s fixing things.

A big thank-you to our two staff members, Nicholas Demarco and Daryl King, out there helping with the weeding!

If any of our tennis club members would be interested in lending a hand with some weeding, we’d really appreciate the extra help. Every bit makes a difference in keeping our grounds looking their best!

Interested in helping? Please email me!
albanytennischris@gmail.com

Thank you to everyone who helps make our club such a great place to be!

On Sunday, our court attendant Declan Chirlin returned to college. Have a great school year, Declan!