The U.S. Tennis Writers Association recognized the best in tennis writing by presenting its 2006 Writing Awards on Stadium Court at the Sony Ericsson Open on March 26. Left-to-right: Freelancer Sandra Harwitt and Tennis Week's Richard Evans, both accepting awards on behalf of the winners, and USTWA V.P. Jim Martz of Florida Tennis magazine and USTWA President and third-place winner Liza Horan of Tenniswire.org. Photo courtesy Sony Ericsson Open

Key Biscayne, Fl.—Top tennis writers were honored at the Sony Ericsson Open on March 26 as winners in the Eighth Annual U.S. Tennis Writers’ Association Writing Contest. The ceremony took place on Stadium Court.

Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle was a stand-out, capturing five of the 11 awards, including a clean sweep of the "Game Story" category. Other media outlets whose writers claimed prizes are Tennis Week, TENNIS Magazine, Los Angeles Times, SI.com, and Tenniswire.org.

“The winning stories were chosen by a panel of three tennis-loving journalists, who evaluated 82 entries from 21 media outlets, dealing with everything from the pro tours and recreational tennis to industry news,” says USTWA President Liza Horan. “We're thrilled to present the winners with their prizes on Stadium Court again this year."

Entries came from daily newspapers, consumer and trade magazines, and websites in the categories of "Feature Story," "Game Story," "Hard News/Enterprise Story" and "Column/ Commentary." The contest is open to all writers, regardless of USTWA membership. Winners were chosen by judges Robin Blackburn-Ellis and John Martin, both of whom are associated with Columbia University's School of Journalism, and Esquire Editor-in-Chief David Granger.

THE WINNERS ARE...

Category: Hard News/Enterprise
1st: "The Ubiquitous Fan," by Lawrence Jeziak, Tennis Week
2nd: "Tennis No Longer a Scarlet Letter at Rutgers," by Kent Oswald, Tennis Week
3rd: "Federer Uses Media Spotlight to Help Children," by Liza Horan, Tenniswire.org

Category: Feature Story
1st: "Tennis in the Green Zone," by Peter Bodo, TENNIS Magazine
2nd: "Sampras Plays Tour Guide," by Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times
no 3rd place award

Category: Column/Commentary
1st: "A Match that Sweetly Recalls an Earlier Time," by Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle
2nd: "A Breach in the Royal Tennis Halls?" by Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle
3rd: "Reflections on Andre," by Richard Deitsch, SI.com

Category: Game Story
1st: "A Fond Farewell," Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle
2nd: "What We All Wanted: Nadal-Federer at Centre Court," by Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle
3rd: "Women's Final is a Jewel," by Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle

About the Judges
Robin Blackburn-Ellis administers the National Magazine Awards at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
David Granger is editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine.
John Martin is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a longtime national correspondent for ABC News.

About the USTWA
The U.S. Tennis Writers’ Association advocates on behalf of tennis media on issues ranging from the rights of the press to growth of the profession through improved coverage of the sport by mainstream media and increased opportunities for future writers. Officers of the organization are: President Liza Horan of Tenniswire.org; V.P. Peter Francesconi of USTA Magazine and Racquet Sports Industry; V.P. Jim Martz of Florida Tennis; and V.P. Mark Winters of Winters Associates, Secretary Ann LoPrinzi of The Trenton Times; and Treasurer Andre Christopher of Tennis Championships Magazine and custom publisher H.O. Zimman, Inc.

For more information or access to hi-res photo, contact:
Liza Horan, 212-844-9274, liza@tenniswire.org
Peter Francesconi, 203-259-9870 x.24, pfrancesconi@tennismagazine.com

Event Date: 03/26/07
Event Title: USTWA Writing Contest Awards Presentation at Sony Ericsson Open

Company Website

Company Profile
Tenniswire.org/companies/ustwa/index.html