Earlier this week, on Monday, the US Open Tennis Tournament opened in New York.  Have you watched any of it yet?  The event is August 31 – September 13, 2015.   This year is the 135th edition of the tournament and is the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the year.

It was fun to come across these three U.S. stamps and wanted to share them today – do you have any of them in your stamp collection already? I’m going to have to look at adding them to mine.   I still remember going to Tennis camp at Hilton Head and how humid it was for the entire week – will have to go back and check my scrapbook as I believe it includes a postcard I sent myself from Tennis Camp.

“Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility.”  – Billie Jean King

Hazel Wightman

From the Arago site –  “Though specifically honored on a 1990 25-cent postage stamp for her status as a gold medal winning Olympic athlete, tennis player Hazel Wightman was most famous for her dominance of women’s tennis between 1909 and 1929. During that period, Wightman won numerous U.S. Championships in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles categories. Her influential presence in the tennis world continued as a competitor until the mid-1950s and an ambassador for the sport until her death in 1974.”

Arthur Ashe

As a follow-up theme from Tuesday’s blog post on Gonna Fly through Fall (Sept. thru Dec. planning) you could decide that next year you want to plan to attend one of the Grand Slam events in person.  The four major championships held are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open  – you could start planning to make one to attend live in person now! 

Althea Gibson

At the USPSStamps site it includes the Althea Gibson Forever U.S. Stamp – 49 cents – “…honors Althea Gibson (1927-2003), a pioneering tennis player who became the first black Wimbledon champion. The tall, lean Gibson was fast, had a long reach, and relied on a booming serve and precise volleys. She blazed a trail for a future generation of African-American players, such as Arthur Ashe and sisters Venus and Serena Williams.”   When the stamp was dedicated in 2013 it included Tennis legend Billie Jean King as a speaker.  

It was really nice to come across this coverage of that stamp first day of release on You Tube.  Thank you to Kristal Hart. (On Twitter @KristalHart)

“What is the single most important quality in a tennis champion? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well.” – John McEnroe

Thank you to @USPS, @USPSStamps, @PostalMuseum, and @KristalHart who were referenced in today’s blog post.

Perhaps this upcoming Labor Day Holiday weekend will find you dusting off your tennis racket and hitting the courts!   Gotta’ LOVE it!

Anchors Aweigh,  

Helen