Even Better Than Google?

Become a Student of the Game

I am not a heretic, really. But to suggest something might be better than chocolate, the early rounds of American Idol, Megan Fox, or Google, well, let’s just say this is almost on par with most of those magical things.

Here is the definitive list of places to go, resources of tennis information, version 1.5. Sure there is more, perhaps add your comments and sites/books and we will print an updated 2.0 list sometime.

INPO (in no particular order)

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ the Tennis Warehouse – Talk Tennis message boards. Page down and you will see a Miscellaneous category with Tennis Tips / Instruction but I have also learned a lot about Strings/Stringing in that self-named category.

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/LC/lcfrontpage.html this is the Tennis Warehouse Learning Center. I have learned a lot about racquets on this website though you can see there are many categories that look very appealing. Check it out, it’s new and improved with eye-catching icons!

http://www.tennisserver.com/ Tennis Server. Two particular links at this website are great--- 1) Turbo Tennis has fantastic articles/insights into the game, as in how to improve yours. 2) Pro Tennis Showcase has amazing photos of the top pros in action, check out some of their Australian Open pics—you won’t find better ones anywhere! Word.

http://www.racquetresearch.com/ is on Racquet Research. Even though much of the information seems to be from 2002, the LINK on that page to Is a Lightweight Racquet a Good Idea? is outstanding and if you heed it's advice, your throbbing forearm and elbow will thank you.

http://tennis.about.com/od/instruction/u/instruction.htm Believe it or not, ABOUT ‘s website has a section on tennis that is pretty darn good! They have a number of photo instruction lessons which don’t look very flashy at first but are solid, good information and easy to understand.

Jeff Cooper seems to have written most of this at the About site and to give you a taste of him, here is his BLOG from that website http://tennis.about.com/b/ - and an excellent excerpt from his latest post on the AO. -- Too much emotion can easily get in the way of executing your strokes, especially if your strokes require the precise execution that Roger's do. Rafa has much less to worry about in that regard, because he hits with so much topspin, he can just rip away at the ball and count on the spin to bring the ball down into the court. Under pressure, Rafa's shot selection and execution are simpler than Roger's, and his emotional makeup is probably much simpler, too. Rafa's dominant emotion seems to be a ferocious competitiveness, whereas Roger seems to carry a more complex mix of thoughts and feelings, one of which is a growing doubt about his ability to beat Nadal.

So the next time you get rained out from your game, right after you are done doing pushups, and crunches, go on-line and read about your favorite sport, then get out and try something you learned. That’s all for now. Now give Google a rest and click on a few of these links and start learning. Become a student of the game.

Ball kids at the Australian Open. When watching the pros, don't just be amazed by their power; watch for their variety of shots, movement, etc.