Welcome to On the Baseline!

Pardon the dust…

You’ve probably noticed some changes around here over the last week or so. I’m one of the owners of the group that bought Onthebaseline.com from Justin Pohn in July. We’ve spent the balance of the summer making renovations—some visible and some not so visible—to what we think is the premier women’s tennis site on the web.

We’ll hopefully get to know each other much better over the coming months and years, but I’d like to start with some preliminary introductions.

I’ve been a professional writer and ghostwriter for more than 20 years at some of the largest sports magazines in the world, and I’ve written or co-written 15 golf, travel and business books. I write about golf instruction, cars, travel and the economics of sports every day, but I’ve always been a tennis player trapped in a golfer’s job. I was a ball boy (in acid-washed denim Agassi shorts, no less) at the USTA pro circuit event in the next town over. I paid for my first year at Michigan State teaching tennis lessons. And my first overseas assignment was covering the 1994 Australian Open. Justin would undoubtedly beat me in a match, but I like to think you’d enjoy the story I’d write about it.

My partner (and wife) Penelope is the business and operations specialist for this and the other sites we own. Penne was a senior international business development manager for Conde Nast (the parent company that owns Golf Digest, Vanity Fair, Vogue and The New Yorker, among other magazines), and she has more than 10 years of experience in sports licensing, media planning and buying. She is more comfortable on the telephone making advertising deals than on the court, but we’re working on that. Our office is in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where we live with our two young daughters.

Our goal is to give women’s tennis fans an attractive and interactive hub for professional news and analysis, a place to find advice about their own games, gear and travel, and a forum to connect with fans around the world. And we’re hoping that you’ll always feel like you’re in good hands here.

The new look and organization of the site is just the first phase. We’re in the process of building a roster of terrific writers, photographers and reviewers to fill some of the new sections you see listed above. And we’re going to carry on many of the great programs and traditions Aaress and Justin created, like the Baseline Awards and the Player to Watch series.

As with any construction project, there might be some hiccups. But stick with us this fall as we roll out new content, and please don’t hesitate to tell me what you think about it. If we’re getting it wrong (or right!), I want to know. You can email me here anytime, or comment on our Facebook page here.

Comments

You must login to facebook in order to comment.