Regentville versus Melville Park
The Regentville tennis team hosted the team from Melville Park condo based in Simei yesterday. This will be the first home leg for the Regentville tennis team as an away match at Melville Park will be scheduled at a later date. The weather had been fortunately with us and we had perfect sunny conditions great for tennis. The last couple of days prior to the match had been plagued with foul weather and thunderstorms especially in the afternoons and late evenings that would have definitely brought a premature end to our scheduled tennis friendly.
Incidentally, this was also our first tennis friendly against a side from the eastern part of Singapore. Most of the other tennis teams we had played against before had been more from the western or northern ends of Singapore. It’s always nice to meet new players and increase our tennis network by having more matches against other tennis groups in Singapore. In all, we played a total of 12 matches. 10 men’s doubles and 2 mixed doubles.
The tennis matches were played in good friendly spirit and gamesmanship which is the most important aspect of any game. Both teams put up a great effort in making this friendly a successfully one. On behalf of the Regentville tennis team, I would like to Thank the Melville Park tennis team for coming down to Hougang to play with us. I would like to also Thank Jenny from Sports Report (OUB Center), the match organizer, for Melville Park for arranging the friendly tennis match between the two teams.
Photos of the tennis friendly between Regentville & Melville Park here.
Incidentally, this was also our first tennis friendly against a side from the eastern part of Singapore. Most of the other tennis teams we had played against before had been more from the western or northern ends of Singapore. It’s always nice to meet new players and increase our tennis network by having more matches against other tennis groups in Singapore. In all, we played a total of 12 matches. 10 men’s doubles and 2 mixed doubles.
The tennis matches were played in good friendly spirit and gamesmanship which is the most important aspect of any game. Both teams put up a great effort in making this friendly a successfully one. On behalf of the Regentville tennis team, I would like to Thank the Melville Park tennis team for coming down to Hougang to play with us. I would like to also Thank Jenny from Sports Report (OUB Center), the match organizer, for Melville Park for arranging the friendly tennis match between the two teams.
Photos of the tennis friendly between Regentville & Melville Park here.
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Clay Courts in Singapore
I finally got a chance to visit Singapore’s only public clay tennis courts located at Alexandra Park last week to catch some of the Regentville tennis players compete in the Grayling Mixed doubles invitational 2008 tournament. I had previously heard much about the coveted clay tennis courts in Singapore, but never really had a chance to actually find out where these clay courts in Singapore were located. I only got to know there were actually clay courts in Singapore about two years ago from some of my expat friends who were based here in Singapore. I also had conflicting views of how to get there. Last week, I finally had an excuse to visit the clay courts at Alexandra park to see for myself what was it like and how do you actually get there. If you go online, there are almost no references about clay tennis courts in Singapore and instructions to get there. I have decided to write an article to provide more information about Singapore’s one and only public clay tennis courts, its exact location and how you can actually find your way there by public transport.
In my opinion, the reason why Singapore’s one and only public clay tennis courts remains pretty much an unknown entity is mainly due to its “hidden” location. Those who know about it would have
heard it by word of mouth through friends like myself. The public clay courts at Alexandra Park are not easily accessible or located on any major roads or landmarks in Singapore. Its situated deep inside a wooded residential part of Singapore which houses one of the very few remaining British colonial bungalows.
Unlike Yio Chu Kang tennis center, which sits directly opposite the Yio Chu Kang MRT station or Kallang Tennis Center that has been around for ages and is located at the intersection of Geylang and Nicoll Highway. The clay tennis courts in Singapore is situated in place where it’s not easily seen or accessible by the public. It is more easier to get there by taxi or car, but it is still possible to walk from the main road - Alexandra Road.
Where landmarks are concerned, the Singapore clay courts are located very close to Queensway Shopping Center, Alexandra Hospital and IKEA Alexandra. To walk from clay tennis courts to Queensway shopping center for example will take you around 15 to 20 minutes. The total distance would be around 2km or so. Refer to map above to see distances in relation to familiar “landmarks” around that area. I hope that map below will give you clear directions how to get to the Singapore clay courts at Alexandra park.
For more detail instructions on how to get to the clay courts you can also refer to this map here. The address, fees and contact numbers for the Singapore clay courts are found below:
Address:
10A Winchester Road
Alexandra Park
Singapore 117784
Operating Hours: 7am to 7pm (not sure if its later now with added flood lights)
Court Booking Fee: $15/Hr
Contact: 96362007, 81779351
And you can find out more about the Singapore Tennis Clay Courts at their website. There are a total of 4 tennis courts. 3 red clay and one looks like a greenish Har-Tru surface or "American" clay. From what I understand, they have just recently installed flood lights for play during the night. So you can now play clay court tennis at night as well. The clay courts in Singapore is run by an ex Canadian pro Art Hobbs who also played Davis Cup for Singapore in 1993 with an impressive 5-1 Davis cup record. I knew Art from my Kallang Tennis Center days with the Puma Tennis Coaching program back in the late 80s. More information about Art Hobbs can be found here. Art Hobbs Bio. Besides, Art there are also 4 resident tennis coaches at the Singapore tennis clay courts. You can give Art a call to organize tennis coaching and tennis clinics as well. More information about coaching and clay court tennis lessons in Singapore can be found here.
Graylings Annual Invitation.
The clay court at Alexandra park also holds an annual mixed doubles clay court tennis event in Singapore which has been running since 2003, called the Grayling Mix Double’s Tennis Invitational.
Sponsored by Grayling a PR and events management company. This event celebrated its 5th anniversary last week. It’s great to see competitive tennis played on clay courts in Singapore.
Most of tennis courts found here in Singapore are mainly hard courts, we have a few lawn courts in private clubs and some synthetic grass courts. To play tennis on a clay court surface here in Singapore, is indeed a great experience for somebody who hasn’t played on this surface before. I certainly have not, but after visiting the Singapore clay courts I wouldn’t mind giving it a try the next time I am there.
If you want to get a taste of clay court tennis in Singapore, I strongly recommend you check out the clay courts at Alexandra park. Remember it's hidden amongst old British Bungalows and a lush forested area. Use the map above to find your way there. For the distance, I think it’s worthwhile to be able to get a taste of clay court tennis here in Singapore. (Pictured right Didi & Eri representing the Regentville Tennis Team). (Above Top - Yoshi).
Photos of Grayling Mixed Doubles Tennis Invitational 2008.
In my opinion, the reason why Singapore’s one and only public clay tennis courts remains pretty much an unknown entity is mainly due to its “hidden” location. Those who know about it would have
heard it by word of mouth through friends like myself. The public clay courts at Alexandra Park are not easily accessible or located on any major roads or landmarks in Singapore. Its situated deep inside a wooded residential part of Singapore which houses one of the very few remaining British colonial bungalows.Unlike Yio Chu Kang tennis center, which sits directly opposite the Yio Chu Kang MRT station or Kallang Tennis Center that has been around for ages and is located at the intersection of Geylang and Nicoll Highway. The clay tennis courts in Singapore is situated in place where it’s not easily seen or accessible by the public. It is more easier to get there by taxi or car, but it is still possible to walk from the main road - Alexandra Road.
Where landmarks are concerned, the Singapore clay courts are located very close to Queensway Shopping Center, Alexandra Hospital and IKEA Alexandra. To walk from clay tennis courts to Queensway shopping center for example will take you around 15 to 20 minutes. The total distance would be around 2km or so. Refer to map above to see distances in relation to familiar “landmarks” around that area. I hope that map below will give you clear directions how to get to the Singapore clay courts at Alexandra park.
For more detail instructions on how to get to the clay courts you can also refer to this map here. The address, fees and contact numbers for the Singapore clay courts are found below:
Address:
10A Winchester Road
Alexandra Park
Singapore 117784
Operating Hours: 7am to 7pm (not sure if its later now with added flood lights)
Court Booking Fee: $15/Hr
Contact: 96362007, 81779351
And you can find out more about the Singapore Tennis Clay Courts at their website. There are a total of 4 tennis courts. 3 red clay and one looks like a greenish Har-Tru surface or "American" clay. From what I understand, they have just recently installed flood lights for play during the night. So you can now play clay court tennis at night as well. The clay courts in Singapore is run by an ex Canadian pro Art Hobbs who also played Davis Cup for Singapore in 1993 with an impressive 5-1 Davis cup record. I knew Art from my Kallang Tennis Center days with the Puma Tennis Coaching program back in the late 80s. More information about Art Hobbs can be found here. Art Hobbs Bio. Besides, Art there are also 4 resident tennis coaches at the Singapore tennis clay courts. You can give Art a call to organize tennis coaching and tennis clinics as well. More information about coaching and clay court tennis lessons in Singapore can be found here.
Graylings Annual Invitation.
The clay court at Alexandra park also holds an annual mixed doubles clay court tennis event in Singapore which has been running since 2003, called the Grayling Mix Double’s Tennis Invitational.
Sponsored by Grayling a PR and events management company. This event celebrated its 5th anniversary last week. It’s great to see competitive tennis played on clay courts in Singapore.
Most of tennis courts found here in Singapore are mainly hard courts, we have a few lawn courts in private clubs and some synthetic grass courts. To play tennis on a clay court surface here in Singapore, is indeed a great experience for somebody who hasn’t played on this surface before. I certainly have not, but after visiting the Singapore clay courts I wouldn’t mind giving it a try the next time I am there.
If you want to get a taste of clay court tennis in Singapore, I strongly recommend you check out the clay courts at Alexandra park. Remember it's hidden amongst old British Bungalows and a lush forested area. Use the map above to find your way there. For the distance, I think it’s worthwhile to be able to get a taste of clay court tennis here in Singapore. (Pictured right Didi & Eri representing the Regentville Tennis Team). (Above Top - Yoshi).
Photos of Grayling Mixed Doubles Tennis Invitational 2008.
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Fake Wilson Tennis Racquet
About a year ago I wrote an article about a fake Babolat Pure Drive and how fake tennis racquets being passed off as genuine item. A year has passed and the counterfeit tennis racquet industry has grown even more in prominence and stature. It has now even got to the point where buyers are scrutinizing each and every aspect of the racquet especially if they intend to purchase 2nd hand or used tennis racquet from an online tennis forum, online auction site or from a racquet trader. Looking at the amount of fake tennis racquets flooding the market, one can hardly blame an overzealous tennis racquet buyer. Let’s face it, one has to be more cautious now… This has generally ruined the market for used or 2nd tennis racquets.
I personally like to demo and review tennis racquets. Here in Singapore, we hardly have access to any demo tennis racquets unlike in the US. What I usually do is to purchase a brand new or used tennis racquet, string the racquet with my preferred strings and tension and then play test them. At the end of my play test, I would write my personal racquet review and then sell the racquet off once I’m done with it. In the past, that was a relatively easy thing to do. You just put up an ad in the local tennis forum or let some of friends or contact know. Depending on the condition of the racquet, popularity of the brand, as well as model and price the racquet, it would be sold relatively quick. A done deal so you say? Absolutely Not! Now I will get inquiries about if the tennis racquet is genuine or fake? If it was a counterfeit from China, or if I had any receipts, papers, guarantee cards or hologram labels to determine its full authenticity? It’s more of a hindrance now to have fake tennis racquets in the market if you personally ask me.
The fake tennis racquets are looking every bit as genuine as their authentic cousins. To make matters worse, In Asia, we do not get the latest tennis racquet models only until two to three months later after the tennis racquet is introduced into the US markets. So one is often extremely tempted to buy a tennis racquet online to be the first to own one here in Singapore. I highly recommend that you’d be careful, as being the first, does not always mean getting an authentic tennis racquet! To the naked eye, it’s very hard to tell if the tennis racquet is genuine or fake now which brings about serious implications to the buyer. What’s worst, is most of the fake tennis racquets are coming out from China which incidentally are where the real or genuine tennis racquets are made under license from the original tennis racquet manufacturers.
Most of the major tennis manufacturers such as Head, Wilson, Babolat, Dunlop, Prince and a few others are produced under license from racquet manufacturing plants in China. The question in one’s mind now is whether this is a genuine or counterfeit tennis racquet? Truth be told, it’s now very difficult to judge unless you really know your tennis racquet. You will also need to take into account where the tennis racquets came from, as although genuine, they might have slight cosmetic differences coming from different factories or batch processes. Like the differences discovered with my genuine Wilson K Factor K Six One 95 Asian tennis racquets.
The Fake K Blade comes with a longer than usual throat.
Recently, there also had been a stir caused by a seller trying to pass off a fake tennis racquet as a genuine one on a local tennis forum. I shall not want to dwell whether it was an accidental or deliberate act or what exactly happened in full detail. If you want to read more about it visit this link to find out about the Fake Wilson K Blade racquet. What I would like to point out is that the fake tennis racquet in this case, a Fake Wilson K Blade had been passed off as a authentic Wilson racquet. Personally it looked like the “Real Deal” to me. There are some obvious distinctions and some of the potential buyers had spotted the differences from a mile away.
Fake K Blade has White letterings instead of Gold letterings that a genuine K Blade comes with.
I got some information courtesy of Reynold a moderator from this forum (TFN). He briefly explains the differences between an original and a fake Wilson K Blade. See more pictures of the Fake Wilson K Blade below.
Screenshot of the TFN forum posting/entry about the Fake Wilson K Blade
There is also some information that about the Chinese based online site that the seller had purchased from. I have not personally verified or authenticated these claims. You can refer more to the posting in the forum about the fake Wilson K Blade. I am however unsure if this counterfeit tennis racquet was supposed to be a Wilson K Blade Tour, Wilson K Blade 98 or Wilson K Blade Team versions.
Check out the Ncode Grommets instead of the K Factor Grommets a dead give away!
This article is to just highlight that a buyer has to really beware of what has been peddled online before they make their purchase, as well as spot the differences between a fake Wilson K Blade compared to a genuine one. I hope this information provided had been useful in your research. I would appreciate if anybody has more information and pictures detailing fake or counterfeit tennis racquets to kindly email me some photos so that I can post them on my site. I want to create more awareness towards fake tennis racquets and how buyers should be wary of them. I am a strong advocate against purchasing fake tennis racquets and will strongly advise anybody from attempting to purchase one.
When it comes to "faking it" even the racquet dampeners are not spared. Genuine K Factor 95 in background.
When in doubt, ask or try to make note of the racquet differences with the genuine one. It’s always safer to err on the safe side by being cautious. Go with the genuine product, its always better that way than getting yourself injured for frustrated when you found out that you have purchased a cheap imitation or fake later on by trying to save a couple of bucks.
Here's something you probably might have not noticed the trimmings on the racquet cover.
More images and description of the Fake Wilson K Blade can be found here. Thanks to Reynold a moderator from TFN for sending me the pictures and detailed description on the differences between a genuine and fake Wilson K Blade tennis racquet.
I personally like to demo and review tennis racquets. Here in Singapore, we hardly have access to any demo tennis racquets unlike in the US. What I usually do is to purchase a brand new or used tennis racquet, string the racquet with my preferred strings and tension and then play test them. At the end of my play test, I would write my personal racquet review and then sell the racquet off once I’m done with it. In the past, that was a relatively easy thing to do. You just put up an ad in the local tennis forum or let some of friends or contact know. Depending on the condition of the racquet, popularity of the brand, as well as model and price the racquet, it would be sold relatively quick. A done deal so you say? Absolutely Not! Now I will get inquiries about if the tennis racquet is genuine or fake? If it was a counterfeit from China, or if I had any receipts, papers, guarantee cards or hologram labels to determine its full authenticity? It’s more of a hindrance now to have fake tennis racquets in the market if you personally ask me.
The fake tennis racquets are looking every bit as genuine as their authentic cousins. To make matters worse, In Asia, we do not get the latest tennis racquet models only until two to three months later after the tennis racquet is introduced into the US markets. So one is often extremely tempted to buy a tennis racquet online to be the first to own one here in Singapore. I highly recommend that you’d be careful, as being the first, does not always mean getting an authentic tennis racquet! To the naked eye, it’s very hard to tell if the tennis racquet is genuine or fake now which brings about serious implications to the buyer. What’s worst, is most of the fake tennis racquets are coming out from China which incidentally are where the real or genuine tennis racquets are made under license from the original tennis racquet manufacturers.
Most of the major tennis manufacturers such as Head, Wilson, Babolat, Dunlop, Prince and a few others are produced under license from racquet manufacturing plants in China. The question in one’s mind now is whether this is a genuine or counterfeit tennis racquet? Truth be told, it’s now very difficult to judge unless you really know your tennis racquet. You will also need to take into account where the tennis racquets came from, as although genuine, they might have slight cosmetic differences coming from different factories or batch processes. Like the differences discovered with my genuine Wilson K Factor K Six One 95 Asian tennis racquets.
The Fake K Blade comes with a longer than usual throat.Fake K Blade has White letterings instead of Gold letterings that a genuine K Blade comes with.Screenshot of the TFN forum posting/entry about the Fake Wilson K BladeThere is also some information that about the Chinese based online site that the seller had purchased from. I have not personally verified or authenticated these claims. You can refer more to the posting in the forum about the fake Wilson K Blade. I am however unsure if this counterfeit tennis racquet was supposed to be a Wilson K Blade Tour, Wilson K Blade 98 or Wilson K Blade Team versions.
Check out the Ncode Grommets instead of the K Factor Grommets a dead give away!When it comes to "faking it" even the racquet dampeners are not spared. Genuine K Factor 95 in background.When in doubt, ask or try to make note of the racquet differences with the genuine one. It’s always safer to err on the safe side by being cautious. Go with the genuine product, its always better that way than getting yourself injured for frustrated when you found out that you have purchased a cheap imitation or fake later on by trying to save a couple of bucks.
Here's something you probably might have not noticed the trimmings on the racquet cover.More images and description of the Fake Wilson K Blade can be found here. Thanks to Reynold a moderator from TFN for sending me the pictures and detailed description on the differences between a genuine and fake Wilson K Blade tennis racquet.
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