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Westchester Tennis Ladder Adds Women’s Doubles

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April 23, 2024

By Shana Liebman–

On May 8th, the annual Westchester Tennis Ladder (WTL) will launch its fifth season, this time with a new women-only doubles ladder.

Over 300 players competed in last season’s coed ladders (Advanced and Intermediate), but this season (May 8-August 27), women will have their own doubles ladder. WTL creators and local tennis nuts, Michael Moshan of Irvington and David Zuckerman from Edgemont, say they are responding to a specific demand. “Women’s doubles is a thing in the suburbs,” Moshan says. “It’s competitive, but there’s also something social about it. It’s probably a little less intense than singles, and it might attract a more casual player — which is awesome. We definitely want to support it.”

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Female players can join the ladder as a duo — or WTL can help them find a partner. “If you’re a female tennis player doing one of those weekly clinics at a club, you can join one of WTL’s singles ladders, or maybe you’re more comfortable playing doubles,” Zuckerman says. “Either way, it’s time to put that training into practice.”

Another change this year is that the Intermediate Ladder, introduced last year for players with a skill level between 3.5-4.0 (United States Tennis Association ratings), will now include players at the 3.0 level. “The 3.0 level is still pretty good,” Moshan says. “You can hit, but you typically have some trouble with movement or more advanced shot-making. These players want to compete too.”

Last year, WTL facilitated over 1,200 matches around Westchester (including players from Fairfield County, Connecticut) and hosted three end-of-year tournaments. “The levels we saw at the Advanced Ladder were incredible,” Moshan says.

“We’re thrilled with the community created around the ladders. Westchester tennis players were starving for matches. They had no vehicle to meet other players near their level and get in some competitive but friendly matches,” Zuckerman adds. “We’re so psyched about how much WTL has grown and how much everyone is enjoying the ladders.”

Players navigate their games on the easy-to-use app. They can challenge each other, arrange matches, and record the results. The cost for those who join before May 8th is $50 for the season; it’s $60 for those who join mid-season.

Phil Futernik, who played in last year’s ladder, says that when he moved to Irvington in 2020, “the ladder opened the door to an amazing network of great tennis players and generally good people. It’s been so much fun competing again with something on the line. Vamos!”

For more information and to register, email westchestertennisladdere@gmail.com

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