I HEART TENNIS!

Oh Maria...

2011-06-02T08:16:00.001-07:00

Apparently Maria Shriek-a-pova isn't a big reader of my blog. If she had looked over this post from February-- http://paul-ihearttennis.blogspot.com/2011/02/whats-worse-than-double-fault.html -- about double faulting, maybe she wouldn't be back to making wedding plans with her LA Laker Lover instead of playing in the Roland Garros finals.

And here are the match statistics:

http://www.rolandgarros.com/en_FR/scores/stats/day17/2602ms.html

Of the 10 double faults she had in two sets, 2 were particularly troubling. One was on a break point against her at 4-3 in the second set and the other was on match point. That's right, Maria lost her Roland Garros semi-final match by double faulting on MATCH POINT. Here is what she had to say after the match: “At times, I didn’t serve well, and was rushing more than maybe I had to, and maybe—considering the conditions—maybe I was just trying to go for too big of second serves, especially.” Really Maria, ya think?

Granted, Li Na is an excellent returner, most of the women on the pro tour are. And look at Maria's serving speed average, 158 and 154Km per hr. For those of you who can't do the math in your head-- including me-- that's 2.54 MPH slower on her second serve. What are you thinking Maria? On a windy day when you have already been broken on a double fault, after 9 double faults, you go for too much on your serve on MATCH POINT?

But she's young, only 24. She'll have lots more time for weddings, and shrieks of delight and... frustration in her future.

And to you Li Na, you go girl!
(are people still saying that?=)

Shoes... the OTHER important piece of equipment

2011-05-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

So how much do your shoes weigh and how well do they protect your feet?

I am generally a Wilson or a K-Swiss kinda shoe guy. Most of the shoes I have worn are about 14.9 ounces for my size (10.5). I did however buy a K-Swiss pair and each one was a massive 17.8 ounces! I was worried that they would be too heavy to play competively in but that's not really the case. Also, my feet and connective tissues the next morning feel a bit better than when I play with the lighter weight shoes.

Turning back to the sub- 15 oz shoes - I can get by with lightweight shoes because I am 155 lbs. If I weighted 210, generally you want something in the 17+ ounce range as they will cushion your bigger bones and more mass.

And just like running shoes, your shoes are shot BEFORE you see the toe give way. The insoles compress and lose the cushioning and to a certain extent support. Yes, gel cushioning and air pockets still have life for a long time, but that is generally just a portion of the cushioning. The stiff foam that is between the sole of the shoe and insole where your foot sits is prone to compression over time and can lose cushioning before the OUTsole is shot.

Just food for thought.

Using Our Tennis Brain

2011-05-11T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am playing EPIC doubles yesterday with the guys. I double faulted - which is not my usual M.O. but you know, it happens. Then before my next serve I remembered my rule: GET THE NEXT SERVE IN. I did, but I watch lots of other players who after a double fault put a third serve OUT... then it's like a 50-50 with lots of players, half the time it's ANOTHER double fault or they get it in.

What tennis rules do you have for yourself? Don't overswing when trying to pass someone at the net? A well placed lob can be as good as a pass?

Our tennis brain can STORE this information but we need to retrieve it when needed and apply it. Make rules for yourself regarding your warm-up, second serve returns, or whatever has worked for you in the past that you think is important.

God gave us a brain not just so we can enjoy old Everybody Loves Raymond reruns, but also so we can learn from our mistakes and our successes. That's a good blue-print for tennis as well as life.

In Praise of Smallness: The Humble Dampener

2011-05-09T21:29:00.001-07:00

OMG! I cannot believe I am writing about this topic. But before I go further, there have been one (or more) of my previous posts about not sweating the racquets so much, and here I am sweating the REALLY small stuff! Having said that, I owe my tennis amigo Ian a thank you for the inspiration for this. He is all about finding the smallest-lightest dampener and for me, it's more about the size or length that matters (uh, we are still talking about DAMPENERS aren't we?!?). I find that if using a poly hybrid (poly in mains, nylon in crosses), I can get by with as little as a rubber band and it feels/sounds fine. With full nylon as most of my racquet set-ups are, I need something the size of a dime to a quarter to do the trick, which impacts maybe two to three main strings and the bottom cross.

And then there's my latest racquet condundrum- a Yonex RDIs 200. I strung it around midpoint in tension and it was hard for me to hit... too tight. Then I went 3 lbs lighter and with warmer weather upon us, I was launching balls from Griffith Park to just shy of my Burbank home! And then I found the right dampener. It had been maybe 5 years since I had used a "worm" style dampener that weaves in and out of the mains strings, contacting generally between 4 and 6 strings. And you know what? It helped control the power considerably and changed the sound from a very annoying metallic ping, back to the dull "thud" that I am use to.

A scientist friend of mine remarked recently at Indian Wells how quiet the balls sounded when coming off the racquets of the players. He then went on to say that sound is energy, implying that there wasn't a lot of wasted energy. If sound is indeed a form of energy or represents energy, then changing the sound (and feel) with a dampener does indeed change the power of a racquet - even though there are posts galore on message boards swearing that the use of a dampener is "all in ones head". And even if that were to be true, the mental edge or added confidence of playing with a dampener is still significant. So racquet techies, while I am not a fan of tricking out a racquet with lead tape to change it's playing characteristics, I am in favor of experimenting and finding the right dampener. While not as significant for ones tennis as losing 5 to 10 pounds or learning better technique, it does have its place in the tennis kingdom - albeit a very small niche.

The Demo Dilemma

2011-02-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

In Praise of Balance and Swingweight

About every 15-18 months I like to demo some new tennis racquets. The four that I just returned to Tennis Warehouse (TW) were two from Prince and two from Yonex.

The thing that irks me a bit is that when I first started demoing racquets perhaps 7-8 years ago from TW, they were all strung with a quality multifilament (high end nylon) like Tecnifibre NRG2 and they were strung at mid-point + 2 lbs. Today you get them and you are lucky if you can even identify 2 of the 4 strings. Forget about tension, there is no way of knowing because a lot of tennis-techies will cut out the existing strings and restring them with their favorite string at a tension they generally like to play.

And as most of us already know, string composition, from gut to nylon to polyester, varies the feel greatly. Coupled with that, increasing or decreasing string tension can result in power and control for your style if strung correctly.

So about the only thing you can demo when trying out a new racquet is the FEEL while swinging, volleying and serving. For instance, I found I could hit groundstrokes fine with the Prince XO3 but the swingweight and balance prevented me from serving well, especially when it came to a kickserve. Furthermore, demoing a racquet when you are fresh at the start of a hitting session often feels different when you are tired after 90+ minutes. The swingweight is more obvious to you when you are tired than when you are fresh.

The size of the sweetspot and the power/control ratio can always be tweaked later when stringing for your preferences but if it it doesn't feel good-- balance and weightwise-- then no amounts of stringing and restringing are going to make it feel better. Of course there are those among us who use lead tape at various places to alter the playing characteristics, and I was one of those briefly 7 or so years ago, but that is a slippery slope-- always tweaking it, never satisfied.

To summarize, don't flip out and say that one racquet has too much or too little power when trying out a new stick. The stringing can greatly influence power level and control but you can correctly evaluate the balance and swingweight even before you hit a ball, just by going through the various strokes you will be playing in a match. That should be your primary guide in selecting a new racquet.

Playing Relaxed or Playing Tense...

2011-02-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

More on the MENTAL Side of Tennis

Here an excerpt from a PGA Tour article about actor Bill Murray and his playing partner D.A. Points who had just won the Pebble Beach golf tournament yesterday. This is Bill Murray speaking:

I think most people playing in a tournament, or in any enterprise, they just get too nervous, but staying loose, I mean, the best people in any profession, the whole thing is about being as relaxed as you can. Michael Jordon is all about being relaxed. He's the greatest there was and couldn't be more relaxed and great actors are the same way. There's almost no tension in them.

About 3 years ago I was playing in a tennis league and I recall feeling nervous as I played this guy in singles that I had never met before. Between the first two sets I recall trying to talk to him someone energetically about stringing as I sensed he (and I) were both a bit nervous, but he more so because it looked like he was playing poorly compared to his ability and this conversation would help break the tension. He said "listen, I will talk to you about whatever after we are done but not right now, sorry."

I continued to play fairly well and he continued to play poorly. Instead of relaxing and playing with a guy he was starting to get to know better, he played worse, against a stranger, a nameless opponent.

When coaching, I would ask my players who were they more relaxed playing against: a teammate or a stranger? A teammate of course. So I put this suggestion out there: during changeovers, talk to the other guy - ask him about his school, how long he's been playing, what other sports he plays - get to know him a bit. This way you begin to develop a relationship and you will be more at ease, more relaxed. And that can lead to better tennis. It doesn't mean that you can't think and concentrate when thinking about a service return, but now it's will be returning a ball from a person you know, not from some scary stranger.

What's Worse Than a Double Fault?

2011-02-09T08:57:00.001-08:00

In tennis, there aren't too many things than a double fault. But I can think of one (or two) and that is TWO DOUBLE FAULTS (DF) BACK TO BACK, or just one DF on break-point, set-point or the biggest nightmare, a DF on match-point.

When I coached I would always remind guys that after a DF try EXTRA HARD to get the next serve in. If not, you have just served 3 balls out, what are the odds that the next one is going to go in? The psyche is a fragile thing and confidence in yourself needs to remain high. Don't put yourself in that uncomfortable position. It even happens in the pro game. It's called a meltdown, and it's ugly when it happens to them and ugly if it ever happens to you.

So remember, if you double fault, the next serve, throw in a 75% hard serve, with some extra spin to safely make it over the net (like a second serve) and play the point. Keep your confidence high and don't put extra pressure on yourself. That's your opponents job, just as your job is to put pressure on them.

Learning From Others Mistakes

2010-12-15T13:59:00.000-08:00

What a sight I saw yesterday!

Oh why didn't I take a picture! So you will have to use your imagination. Picture this: There is approximately18-20 feet between the baseline and the back fence. This guy (late teens or so) was on the court next to me using a ball machine to hit from. Of those 18 -20 feet behind the baseline, he camped out to hit forehands about 6 feet from the back fence, meaning he was a good Andy Roddick TWELVE to FOURTEEN feet behind the baseline to hit the ball! Apparently he as auditoning for the new "anti taking the ball early" tennis campaign that was all the rage in 1943.

If that wasn't bad enough it appeared he was trying to break his strings, his racquet, and/or his arm. He swung at every ball with every ounce of energy. I wouldn't want to be his arm today, especially considering at least 25% of the balls were flat and bounced twice before he hit them.

I applaud him ONLY for setting up the machine to roll heavy topspin deep into the court, kicking balls up shoulder high after landing within a foot or two of the baseline - we should ALL learn to hit those balls better. But his solution, to get back as far as humanly possible is probably the worst way to play that ball-- see an earlier post here- http://paul-ihearttennis.blogspot.com/2010/03/what-to-do-about-those-pesky.html for other suggestions on how to play these deep balls.

So we can learn from our own mistakes or the mistakes of others. Either way, it should lead to better, more consistent tennis.

So Basic, it's Revolutionary!

2010-10-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

I play hockey. Once or twice a week I lace up my ice skates and play hockey against a bunch of other gray-hairs like myself. Skating kicks my ass. It's mainly anaerobic and I drip sweat every game, a lot. (What's the TENNIS CONNECTION? stay tuned).

About a month ago I was feeling a bit hungry before a game and I had a Clif Bar and maybe 15 ounces of water to wash it down. Guess what? I skated great... very strong, good endurance. Coincidence? Maybe. Since then I have not had another Clif Bar 30 minutes before a game but I have had 15-20 ounces of water chugged (room temperature allows you to swallow faster) and then gone out to play at least 3 times.

Last Tuesday afternoon I donated a whole unit of blood. Losing those precious red blood cells (that carry oxygen) usually means 2 weeks of hard(er) labor on the ice. I skated yesterday, 4 days post donation and again pre-hydrated and guess what? I felt good, felt strong, much better than usual being down some hemoglobin. I know your body replenishes the blood volume in less than a hour or two but the iron in your blood far less quickly.

So the application for tennis? We ALL drink during a match, duh! But some of our tennis matches are particularly hard with a lot of running and pressure. Does it make sense to PRE-hydrate if we know we are going to have a particularly hard match? Yup. The lack of hydrating also cost me a few excruciatingly painful days with kidney stones about 10 years ago, due to dehydration. Mild dehydration which happens before your body's thirst sensation, also leads to fatigue. This is well documented through treadmill running studies and is actually now common sense for most athletes. So drink up, before - during- and after your athletic contest or training.

Water. It's what's for dinner.

;)

Don't Assume...

2010-09-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

I have played a few men in the last 2-3 weeks that are around 5'6" or 5'7". The assumption I have when playing someone a few inches shorter than I am is to stand closer to the baseline for a service return because hey, they aren't going to overpower me. WRONG DUNLOP BREATH! In the latest match with a smaller server I was continually late in swinging and couldn't switch my grip or make the adjustment until I went back to my usual return position, 6+ feet beyond the baseline.

This allowed me to "swing away" unless I wanted on occasion to creep inside the baseline to chip back a return to vary the pace.

So remember, don't assume and underestimate your opponent, they just might surprise you and surprises on the court by your opponent are not usually going to be in your favor.

April 24 post REVISITED!

2010-08-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Serving During a Tie-Breaker

The other day my partner and I had clawed our way back from 4 games down in a set to get ourselves into a tie-breaker. My partner was serving during the tie-break at 8-9 (set point). He faulted on his first serve meaning that if the next serve didn't go in we would lose the set! How is that for pressure?

Long story short-- he got the serve in and we won the set 11-9. But the point of this is DON'T PUT YOURSELF (AND YOUR PARTNER) IN THAT POSITION. Get the FIRST SERVE IN for ALL THE BIG POINTS - and being down SET POINT is a pretty big point!

Having A Weapon!

2010-07-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

The tennis weapons are generally a forehand, backhand or serve. When my friend recently played in a tournament, winning his first match and losing the second, he told me, "I need a weapon." I don't think he was asking me about guns, knives or a taser, but something he could do on the court to trouble his opponent.

Could great defense be a weapon? Consistancy? Mixing UP a serve that tops out at 75 mph? Yup. All of those can be weapons. I even quipped initially to him that "correct scorekeeping" could be a weapon because when you play people my age (50!) and I say to him while I'm serving, 30 - all? he can reply, "No, LOVE 40!"

QUICKNESS can also be a weapon as can TENACITY. An opponent who seemingly gets to EVERYTHING causes you to overhit or go for too much with that volley or overhead or try and finish a point too early.

We can't all have Roddick's serve, Rafa's quickness or Soderling's (flat) forehand, but can all become better at one thing and maybe even be known for it.

Paying Attention Out There!

2010-05-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

Two things.

I am playing the other day and it occurs to me that when I lose a game at love, it's generally 4 points in about 75 seconds. One and two ball rallies typify these games so guess what? When I am down at Love-40, I now try and just keep the ball in play and play a longer point. Since making this adjustment I have begun to win a higher percentage of these games, but it started with PAYING ATTENTION to my game and recognizing a pattern.

Numero dos. I played with a friend last week and I had never played him in singles before, only in doubles. I noticed that when serving on the deuce court, he would clobber his forehand return to me. BUT on the AD court he would actually prefer a backhand to return and would at times run around his forehand. There was something about the angle of the serve, or something else that wouldn't meet his eye about that forehand return that he didn't like. Knowing this led me to serve to him more effectively. So to reiterate and again remind readers, "the unexamined tennis game is not worth playing."

Tie-Breaker Anyone?

2010-04-24T22:14:00.000-07:00

After playing two sets with a friend today we then played two tie-breaks for fun. It had been maybe more than a month since I had played one and then months before that. As I was serving in the tie-break I was reminded that getting the first serve IN is even more important than during a regular game.

Not getting the first serve in is basically risking a double fault. As everyone knows the first one to seven (by two) wins so giving a free point (or two) out of 7 is like burning money because it's wrinkled. Not good.

So the next time you are in that situation and it's your serve, try for a 3/4's serve to your opponents backhand if possible. It's a safe, effective shot and you won't be throwing anything away.

And since we're on the subject of STRINGING...

2010-04-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

I have been stringing for maybe 5 to 6 years. I would guess I am coming up on 100 racquets already on two different machines. Of the approximate 100 racquets, I have strung my own maybe 60-70 times and the others for kids on the tennis team that I no longer coach.

Currently I string two types of nylon in my own racquet. My current hybrid consists of Tecnifibre NRG2 in the mains (the vertical strings) and Prince Synthetic Gut with Duraflex (or PSGD for those "in the know") in the crosses- horizontal strings. I also string the shorter cross strings 2 lbs softer since the shorter the string the less elastic it is.

Anyhow, I say all this because as I was demoing some new racquets from Tennis Warehouse I received 4 racquets and 2 of the four I could not identify what the strings were. It got me to thinking about these phantom strings and I decided that I would rather have unknown strings at the proper tension rather than my favorite strings strung too tight or too loose. In other words, the TENSION IS MORE IMPORTANT than the string but of course you can have the best of both worlds by having your favorite string AT the correct tension for your game, and the season (see post immediately before this one).

When I moved out here from MN in '96, I was a casual (and weak) 4.0 player. My Head racquet was probably 28mm thick (beam) meaning at over an inch it was stiff and powerful. The trouble was I could never control the darn thing. So I cut out perfectly good strings and had it restrung at the stringers suggestion 4 lbs tighter. It was just cheap synthetic gut but do you know what? All of a sudden the "suck" racquet was now a much easier, much more controllable tool. Of course I overdid it later when I had it strung 4 lbs tighter again, learning that there is a happy medium and finding a good balance between power and control.

So what's the lesson? Pay attention to your tension and even write it down. I do EVERYTIME I restring and keep that paper with my tennis gear so I can reflect on it each time I need to restring and make small adjustments or keep it just "as is". There is nothing worse than playing with a racquet that is strung too tight-- it has the sweetspot of a penny. Conversely, a racquet strung much too loose and it will be great for overheads (at the net) and not much else since you won't be able to place your power with any accuracy.

Stringing Different for Summer

2010-04-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

Hey Y'all,

Why would someone string different for an average temp of 80 vs an average high of 65? Because WARMER weather means more ELASTICITY in the strings and more power -- but less control. Usually stringing about 2 lbs TIGHTER in the Spring/Summer does the trick.

So if now in the warmer weather you find more of your balls sailing long, time to adjust with your next stringing.

What to do about those pesky...

2010-03-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

HIGH KICKING BALLS to your BACKHAND? Yeah, good question. The absolute WORST thing to do in reponse is to back up and get yourself way off the court. Then your weak return will be shallow and your opponent will be able to read WAR and PEACE in the interim while they are readying themself for your ball.

SO if that is the worst, the BEST bet would be to MOVE IN- before the topspin takes over and it climbs above your shoulders. This way you can take it as a volley, or half volley. Another idea is when practicing, have someone hit 50 of them (high kicking backhands) to you while you hold your ground and LEARN to hit a ball ON THE RISE-- ala the Nick Bolleteri - Andre Agassi school of thought.

This is a hard shot for everyone but it becomes easier with practice. So pick one of those 3 styles mentioned above, or practice all three, until you get comfortable handling these difficult shots.

Reading about...

2010-03-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

Not exactly reading a "how to" book, but if you are an Agassi fan, as I once was and to a certain extent, still am, it's an interesting read that puts you into the locker room before a big match, what's going on, an inside look that I hadn't really read before.

It's probably at your library, but reserve it since this 2009 book goes fast.

Also, Sampras's book is there though I didn't see James Blake's book though I am told it too is a good read.

A Contrarian Moment

2010-02-17T13:56:00.000-08:00

I first heard the word contrarian maybe 20 years ago when I would follow the stock market with some interest. A contrarian would buy stock in a company when everyone else would be running for the exits. A contrarian acts contrary or against what would seem to be "common sense".

The common sense for most people on the tennis court is to win you have to hit the ball hard, harder or hardest.

The other day I was playing a good friend whose game I know well and once again he was attacking the net. His shot to me was mid-court to my backhand side. I generally loop the ball to his backhand with topspin so he has to volley UP or hit a half-volley. I have erred in the past hitting a hard line drive right at him but that usually results in an easy block volley putaway for him and I lose the point.

-- Back to the point above. My opponent is at the net and instead of me looping the ball with topspin or hitting it hard, from my backhand side, I hit an angled 25 mph slice to his backhand side that would land at his feet-- knowing he would have to half volley. He can half volley "okay" and I would not do this against a doubles specialist or someone else who is gifted with short balls. So what happened? My opponent half volleyed weakly (as I expected or hoped) and I came in and won the point.

It takes brains, instinct, and a contrarians appetite for risk taking to hit a ball softly to your opponent but sometimes it's exactly the right thing to do.

Are You Addicted?

2010-02-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

***** BREAKING NEWS!!*****
This is even MORE important than hitting with the right racquet!

Yes, that might sound sacrilegious, especially if you work for Wilson or Prince, but I am continually reminded of what is MORE important than using the "best" equipment. Actually there are probably 5-10 things more important-- just read some of my older posts-- but I would say the number one thing is to TAKE THE BALL EARLY (inside the baseline, like our pal Fed in this picture).

Many tennis players sit (and camp out, build a house, raise a family...) AT or BEHIND that security blanket called the BASELINE-- waiting, waiting, waiting for the ball to come to them, which with topspin, it often does. I think the addiction to staying on the baseline is even more common than being hooked on Twitter, Reality TV, or Facebook. There are so many balls that you can come into the court and take 5-8 feet early and just those few feet can make a world of difference to your opponents "prep time". Being INSIDE the court just a few feet also gives you better angles into your opponents court; angles that don't exist from behind the baseline.

Worse than camping out at the baseline are those players that BACK-UP because the ball is coming in at an extreme angle, and they fear the ball getting above their shoulders. If you do back up, it now gives your opponent even MORE time to set up for their next shot. If the ball is coming in and going to kick up high, taking the ball early-- with a 1/2 volley, full volley, swinging volley, or a regular shot will be much better than giving your opponent ample time to get into the court and become the aggressor.

Taking the ball earlier than usual many times also has the added benefit of hitting a slightly flatter ball, which is faster and that too gives your opponent less time to set up for their shot.

Finally, a long baseline rally gets into a rhythm, and that is not necessarily a good thing. By taking the ball early, it disrupts your opponents rhythm, perhaps enough to draw an error.

Resist the Urge

2010-01-20T14:22:00.000-08:00

We could be talking about eating chips here, or donuts. We all know how tempting those are, but of course this will have something to do with tennis.

As I watched Juan Martin del Potro play James Blake yesterday I couldn't help but notice how unnaturally hard that the Argentinian could hit the ball. It got me excited and I tried to look to see what racquet he was playing with. The fantasy behind that thought was "if I get that racquet I can hit like him!"

Sure, and if I switch to T-Mobile I will be chatting up with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Okay, so we all know that to be folly, and yet, we all have the illusion that if I buy racquet X, I will be playing like my favorite player. Forget the fact that I played tennis maybe for 300-400 hours last year, am 49 years old, almost 5' 10" and not quite Herculean at 155lbs.

Would my using del Potro's racquet allow me to hit like him? Let's compare those above statistics with his-- all estimated on an annual basis:

1000-1200 hours playing or practicing

300-500 hours additional physical training

6' 6" and 180 lbs

21 years old

Coupled with this are numerous meetings with an entourage including nutritionists, sports psychologists, coaches, equipment gurus, and massage therapists/trainers, etc. Sure, give me the same racquet as del Potro and I'm ready for the tour.

It's ridiculous but everytime Federer wins a Grand Slam, more Wilson racquets are sold. And everytime Tiger wins, more Nike golf equipment goes out the door, well that and Trojan condoms (sorry, couldn't resist).

But the best racquet for you (and me) is the one we can control the best. One that combines both power and control and one that won't lead to arm pain or tennis elbow. Sure it would be nice to hit with "the next big thing" but resist the temptation. Better training and practice, more intelligent shot selection, better strategy, and losing some weight will all result in improved tennis, as much or more than the new racquet we lust for.

If you're interested, here is a related post I wrote last year- but more on the "new technology" that racquets have. http://paul-ihearttennis.blogspot.com/2009/02/searching-for-holy-grail.html

Trying to Hide Your Weakness

2010-01-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

It use to be that this man, Fernando Gonzalez, would hardly hit a backhand. If so, it was generally a defensive stroke. You will still see him today sometimes get into that old bad habit of running around his backhand to hit a powerful forehand, but as many of us know, if it doesn't end the point, most of the court is now open for your opponent to reply.

Gonzalez today is an improved player. He has practiced and practiced, and... his topspin backhand and will hit it in pressure situations often with good results.

On the recreational level however, many are not confident with their backhand, or other weakness, and not hit it very often. A few years ago while coaching the boys high school team, there was a player in matches who would only slice his backhand, and often, not very well. In practice however, at my urging, he would hit over it with topspin, often hitting a powerful shot. But in a match he was too afraid to try this. When I would see him hit his ineffective slice, short, he would often lose the point, so I would insist he hit topspin. Then he would try and few and upon missing a shot, he would go back to his old safe pattern. To quote Proverbs, a dog always returns to it's vomit.

Why bring this up, again? As I have said before - http://paul-ihearttennis.blogspot.com/2009/08/superman-had-kryptonite.html te.html - and will say again, you have to practice what you are not good at. Your opponent is a problem solver and will quickly discover what you don't do very well. Can you imagine having a weakness driving a car? Uh, yeah I don't brake well and my right turns I always hit the curb and sometimes pedestrians feet if they stand too close. Sounds dumb? It is. And that's not the way to play tennis either, with a glaring weakness or two. Shaq needs to practice freethrows, and you and I need to practice our serve, volleys, overheads, backhands, or anything else that makes us less than we could be on the court.

Fartlek - it's not what you think!

2010-01-05T09:37:00.001-08:00

Okay, quiz time. Fartlek is:

a. something embarassing that happens while playing tennis

b. a South American herb found near the Orinoco River known for it's antioxidant and edurance producing properties

c. a type of running; Swedish for "speed play"

Okay, it's C, though I tried to fake you out with B.

Yesterday I spoke to the tennis coach that replaced me and asked her what she had planned for her first week of practice. "Conditioning, running on the track", came her swift reply. I said "great", and I meant it. Later I started thinking about the type of running that is required in tennis. In singles, at the highest levels, there is the need for raw speed, power, and endurance. In doubles, running tends to vary more depending on the level, age and style of your opponents.

Regardless of the type of tennis, we can all agree at any level or game (singles or doubles) that running in tennis is not a regular, static jog. The type of running varies a lot, and thus a type of running or training called fartlek is perfect for tennis.

Here's how it works, at least for me. I find a loop (high school track, pond, around the block, etc.) and I run for 7 - 10 minutes a slow to moderate warm-up, then I begin. I'll pick out something in the distance, maybe a telephone pole and if it's 40 yards away, I might go from my 9 minute mile to a 6 minute pace for that 40 yards. Then I will slow to my 9 minute pace again for 20-30 seconds, find something else in the distance (maybe 200 yards away) to run to and then run at maybe 8:00 pace effort, and so on. I will keep this up for 20-40 minutes, always varying the pace and then a brief warm down and stretching before calling it quits.

Here is a link that probably explains it better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fartlek

Fartlek training is excellent for tennis because it approximates the way tennis is played - overall aerobic conditioning interspersed with high intensity anaerobic sprinting. Another benefit that this type of running provides it's light years more interesting and enjoyable than the standard same paced running that we usually do. I mean, c'mon, nothing is more boring than running like a gerbil on a treadmil or around a track, that's why God invented MP3 players. However, I can honestly say that for me, fartlek running is (almost) as good as listening to your favorite podcast or band while you run, and the running is more purposeful too - at least for tennis.

Try it, what do you have to lose?

Moving in Singles

2009-12-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

About a week ago I was glad my playing partner was about 10 minutes late. It was about 48 degrees, overcast and cold! I used this time to do side to side to side to SIDE steps in an effort to warm up my legs, tendons and ligaments. When it came time to play, I was much more confident in doing my side steps when covering the courts from side to side. Why is this movement important? After hitting a ball from near a sideline, you have to recover through side-steps to the center of the court to cut down on angles that your opponent has.

As you probably know in singles, there isn't as much sprinting side to side to get a ball. And if one does have to turn to run (forward) to the other baseline, it's many times to throw up a lob or some other desperation shot.

So I did my warmup side steps, maybe 2 feet between steps but when I was actually playing, I noticed that many of this side to side steps were more on the order of 6 to 12 inches at a time; more often a sideways stutter step. In a long rally, you might have 10-15 balls to hit, and of that, maybe 8-12 changes of direction. Many of those direction changes take small steps, large steps, microadjustments, etc.

And like practicing your serve, overheads, backhands or more, it makes sense to PRACTICE MOVEMENT on the court. Personally, I can move very fast forward and my stamina is better than average. However, moving side to side in a long rally, I tire quickly. You do not use the same standard muscles (quadriceps, hamstrings) that you use when running forward, that you use when you go side-to-side.

So the next time your partner is late, or hey- here's an idea-- arrive early to do this WORK- yeah, it's not as fun as hitting a ball but if practiced enough, movement drills will ultimately lead to better tennis and more winning, and that is fun.

A little Coke, a little Pepsi...

2009-10-30T13:41:00.000-07:00

A Little Crystal Meth

I generally keep this blog to improving your game but me, like everyone else, is a bit surprised by the confessions made by Andre Agassi this week about his crystal methamphetamine use when he was down (and almost out) in '97. I have always liked Andre, and still do, partly because I try to play like him and he was always an underdog when playing his nemesis Pistol Pete Sampras.

It is unfortunate however if young readers get the impression that you can fool around with drugs, quit anytime, and then remake yourself into something special. Andre's meth use is the exception and not the rule. But when you are 15 or 20, it's hard to believe you can't just stop when you want to, it's the hubris of youth.

I read the full excerpt in Sports Illustrated yesterday and what is more amazing and entertaining (and frightening) is how Andre talks about his father's single-mindedness of making him a champion. It's a story of child abuse but not in the usual sense. It's a cautionary tale for overzealous parents and for those high achieving juniors who are trading in their youth for the dreams of their parents.

It is exquisitely well written which means Andre didn't write it, but he told the stories and approved of what was written. While Pete got the better of him most times on the court, it's Pete now who double faulted when asked by a reporter last month about what is his most inspiring project he is currently committed to. After a long awkward pause, he mumbled something about being busy raising young kids. Indeed. You know after reading about Andre's father Mike that Andre and Steffi won't be little league parents.

Superman Had Kryptonite

2009-08-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

I have...

I am playing some new guy the other day and about 3 games into it he yells in exasperation either during or right after a point, "what's your weakness?"

I didn't yell back "my second serve" but instead yelled back something slightly off-color, trying to be funny.

Five years earlier I would have had to respond to him, "well, where do you want me to start?"

I have told players before, and probably already written this in somewhere earlier in this blog but, you are only as good as your weakest stroke. Under pressure, that weak shot becomes your achilles heel and is sure to break down even further.

We all like to hit our favorite shots but to improve, schedule some time with a ball machine, or a tennis lesson, because if you're not getting better, you're getting worse-- because your opponent is improving, so in relation to her/him, standing still is taking a step back.

What is your weakness? fitness, overheads, backhands, pace, no pace, second serve ad court, volleys, half-volleys, keeping score, returns... Think about it and then set a goal to improve and a plan to get there. Aloha.

Foot Faulting Your Way to Success!

2009-07-23T14:05:00.000-07:00

Quiz Time... what is the tennis equivalent to the "gimme putt" in golf? I think it would be the foot fault. This broken rule is about as common as forgetting the score, which at my age is about as common as wrinkles.

Being about 5' 10" in my K-Swiss shoes, I discovered the other day that while I am not tall enough to see over the net when my oponent is serving, I can see through the net and under the tape and get a good look at his or her feet while serving.

This is the first time I have seen it while playing. "Ah-- take two, looked like you foot faulted" I said. I said it about a minute later again. I felt like a cretin, but c'mon, it's breaking a rule. And if I had really wanted to, I could have called it about 5-10 more times. It began to bother me so much I stopped looking for it. And we are not talking about stepping on the line, but across it, into the court before contact was made.

That was Monday. When I played the same person Wednesday, a mere 2 days later, he wasn't foot faulting. I watched for it maybe for 5 serves and nope. His motion had changed. After about his 3rd or 4th service game he said to me, "have you noticed my feet on my serve today?"

"Yeah, the front one isn't moving - no foot faults."

"I discovered that if I keep my front foot planted, it gives me better stability and I can also control the direction better."

Did you catch that? With one day of practice, my friend was able to retrain his body and his muscle memory and make a change that not only complied with the rules, but also resulted with a better stroke.

Now if we could just get the other 12 million recreational players who regularly foot fault to do this.

What can this man teach us about TENNIS?

2009-06-29T13:20:00.001-07:00

Chuck "The Iceman"

Liddell

Ultimate Fighting

Championship Fighter

No, I don't believe Chuck plays tennis, so what can we learn from him to improve?

Back in February of 2008 he was on a radio program called WAIT,WAIT, DON'T TELL ME, a humorous news based program on NPR. I heard him that day being interviewed by Peter Sagal.

Among other things Peter asked him about was does it help to get "worked up" and angry about the person before you go into the ring with him? Chuck said actually no. Paraphrasing here, Chuck says "I'm not an emotional fighter. Emotion CLOUDS YOUR JUDGEMENT, implying it gets harder to problem solve and execute if you get too emotional (and less rational) when you are in battle. http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=19108930 That conversation is at about the 2:10 mark.

You hear that tennis fans? Settle down a bit and think while you are out there. Losing ones cool may have (or may not have) helped some pretty famous tennis players, like McEnroe and Connors in the 70's, and more recently Nadal, Hewitt and The Poster Boy for Tennis TESTOSTERONE-- Gael Monfils. Every time Monfils jumps around the court shouting in glee after winning a big point, I can't help but think all that adrenaline is going to tire him out later in the match, when it wears off. Coupled with that are the emotions that accompany these large outbursts. They have to affect your judgement. Might doesn't always make right in tennis or otherwise you would have people looking like Chuck Liddell winning Wimbledon every year.

Andre Agassi also was interviewed late in his career and he talked about tennis is problem solving. Isn't that the truth. Let's say you are down 2-6, and have a breakpoint at 3-3. Your last 2 break chances you hit both service returns long trying to break serve with a return winner. I don't know, I'm no Einstein but I think instead of again overhitting the return, you might want to try something safer. However, so many people never seem to make any adjustments, or pay attention to learn from their mistakes. Remember that old definition of insanity: Doing the same thing again and again but expecting different results.

I also wrote another post related to this about your tennis hard drive-- see here http://paul-ihearttennis.blogspot.com/2009/02/is-your-tennis-hard-drive-faulty.html if you are interested in this important but often neglected part of the our game, the mental side of tennis.

Viva Roger!!

2009-06-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

You gotta be happy for the guy... he's got the monkey off his back. Is his victory diminished because he did't beat Nadal in the final? Nah, not unless you such a Nadal fan that you are considering naming your firstborn Rafa.

Federer overcame many serious contenders and deficits. He was behind in sets won against 3 different opponents, and went 5 sets twice.

As good as he was he has to rethink the backhand slice service return. Many, many of these balls are just making it 2-3 feet beyond his opponents service box and that is a short ball. It's hard to break serve when you are continually getting winners hit off of your returns or making forced errors over your opponents 2nd shots.

Yet, the men's game generally comes down to a few break chances that decides the match. In the case of the Fed's semi-final against Del Potro, in the first 4 sets the person that won the set was the one that was the first to break the opponents serve. In the 5th set, the pattern only differed slightly - they went break-break-break, with Roger getting broken on his serve in the middle of those three games.

You are only as good as your weakest shot-- whether it be your 2nd serve, your backhand return, your overhead, volley, etc. And under pressure, the weakest shot breaks down even further.

A few years ago I rallied with a boy who was going to be on the tennis team the next year. In the 10 minutes of rallying, he ran around his backhand and hit maybe 8-10 inside-out forehands cross court. He loved it so much he probably would have married it. Sure, practice your favorite strokes, but it's MORE important to practice your weakest ones. That's where improvement occurs, for you, me, Roger and anybody else that plays this great game.

Socrates once said, the unexamined life is not worth living. I say the unexamined tennis game is not worth playing. We can all improve leading to more enjoyment but the first step is identifying an area (or two) to start that improvement.

Still Playing, Still Improving?

2009-05-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Tennis YES, but what else?

Is tennis your number one sport? It's mine followed by hockey and cycling. But what else do you do for exercise? Walk, run, soccer, bike, golf, weights, basketball, swim? I know that many sports are complimentary to each other. For example, some Olympic athletes have gone from cycling to speed skating and vice versa. Both sports reward powerful leg muscles and a good lung capacity.

What about tennis? What else would support and actually compliment tennis? Andre Agassi before he retired was known for his 1/4 mile UPHILL wind sprints in the Vegas desert. He was also said to do bench press reps of 250+ lbs.

When I think about tennis (singles especially), I think about a lot of side to side movement, and a fair amount of forward and backward running as well. I think of basketball. The movement is similiar, as well as using anticipation on your opponents next move. It also takes arm muscles, plus a strong heart and lungs. Of course I can also name a number of people who have had their knees scoped because of basketball being a contact sport, but other than that, playing once a week or 4-5 times a month could be useful.

Weight training. I am not suggesting you need to bench over 200 lbs on a regular basis but lifting free weights especially (to help with balance, recruiting more muscle fibers), you can isloate your triceps (important for throwing-- which is partly the service motion), do lifts for your lats (good for trunk rotation on ground strokes), curls-- good for your writsts-- important for volleys as well as all shots-- and well, I think you get the idea.

Personally I am not as keen on weights for your legs, I am old-skool there, thinking that running, or running hills/stairs is a more natural movement.

Other exercises? Both cycling and swimming are terrific for building cardiovascular stamina - important if you have to run down a lot of balls which I think describes most of us.

That's it. Think about giving up one day a week, or maybe a few times per month and cut the tennis short by augmenting your exercise with something else that will make you a stronger, more well rounded tennis player. It adds variety and may also help with injury prevention, since you will be building and recruiting additional muscles for support.

Try it. It might just be fun and it could make you a better tennis player - how about that?

The Ageless Sport of Tennis

2009-04-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

I originally wrote this in March of 2004--

Yesterday I played tennis, doubles, with three other men. One was in his early 60’s, another 74, and the last one 77. I was thinking this wouldn’t be the best tennis to participate in since I was a youngish 43 and probably mistakenly think that I have more in common with Andre Agassi than I do these guys. I was wrong.

Art the youngest of the three called me and told me that he had some “good players” to play some doubles with. He mentioned something about a “guy who’s almost 78 who has a son who is ranked in Southern California in the 45’s [age group], but he can still really play.”

I said “sure” and agreed to meet them at 10 a.m. at the courts down the block from my house. I thought that the ‘father and son’ would probably take on the 60 year old and I and it would be fun.

Even though John (the 77 year old man) might have a 45-year-old son who is a very good player, that son wasn’t there. Instead I got a 74-year-old partner (Skip) and we played against Art and John.

For those of you who know the game of tennis you would think that being the person at the net with your partner serving you could “poach” (cut across the net to intercept the opponents return) a lot. You would think. I mean it makes sense that guys in their 60’s and 70’s who grew up learning to play in the 1940’s and 50’s with wood racquets would not hit with great topspin and power. They grew up during a time where the words “power” and “tennis” went about as well together as “Hummer” and “good gas mileage.”

The first time I served to John (who is about 5’ 6”) my partner didn’t poach and intercept an easy, soft return. When I served to John he sliced the ball back toward me so deftly that it forced me off the court completely and almost into a light pole that is about 6 feet off the court. I couldn’t successfully return his shot and we lost the point.

I found that this would be the rule rather than the exception for our tennis that morning. What the trio of elder players lacked in power, they more than made up for it in consistency, angles, touch and placement.

There was one player though that double faulted the most and missed more volleys than all the other players. No, not the 77 year old as you might think. It was I, the youngster of the group, with the most hair.

I guess that brings me to the moral of this little tennis anecdote. Now I could say something about aging like it’s never too late to accomplish something in life. Like how the guy who started McDonalds was 52 at the time, or how Colonel Sanders got his start at age 65. Or even how Jack LaLanne at age 89 still wakes up at 5 a.m. every day, lift weights and swims for two hours. But nah, for me the lesson is much simpler; do not serve to a 77-year-old players backhand, lest he make you look foolish.
Jack LaLanne, looking like Bono in shades, celebrating his 90th back in October 2004

It's Getting to be That Time of Year Again!

2009-03-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

Protect Yourself!

The sun is both our friend and our enemy. It causes us to: miss overheads, age our skin more quickly, it can even cause a mole to become cancerous. But it's our friend too-- the sun helps us produce Vitamin D, makes our commutes to work, school or play safer, and grows our food among other things.

Generally the tannest part of me is my red-neck. That is unless I wear my outback hat, like the one pictured above. Between that and slathering on-- with a latex glove during a match so my hands aren't greasy-- sunscreen 30 or above generally.

And the health educator in me wouldn't be doing his service if I didn't mention the ABCD's of melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. Check it out, it's worth a click and keep an eye on those moles--- especially the ones that get a lot of sun exposure. http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d001201-d001300/d001207/d001207.html

and on the humorous side, as far as tan lines go for tennis players, it could be worse!

Practicing Better

2009-03-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

Tennis scientists say rubbing your head with your tennis racquet increases tennis knowledge by 4% on average. Try it today!

Who’s winning? Who won? Don’t you just love that question? It is only eclipsed by the question I heard early in the days of the long distance running movement in the late 70’s or early 80’s. It would come from someone you worked with asked you what you did over the weekend.

I ran a 10k.

Did you win?, they would ask excitedly.

Oh yeah, I beat over 6000 other runners, about 50 of who are supported financially and training for the Olympics. I lapped them, beat them all by 10 minutes, thanks for asking.

The other day I am playing with my friend David and from the next court, the question comes “Who’s winning?”

For me to yell back, we both are would require a lengthy explanation so I just say “he is” but the truth of the matter was I really didn’t know. I hadn’t forgotten the score, we don’t keep track.

The David Formula

Here’s what we do. We play 3 games—keeping score each game, alternating serve after each game, but don’t take a break and switch sides until after the third game. Then we just repeat this format all morning or afternoon.

What format allows us to do is several things:

Work on specific areas (maybe return of serve, serve and volley, a new grip, rushing the net more, etc.) It allows you to practice without fear of failure because you won’t blow a game based on trying your new technique and think now I’m behind, this sucks.! Also, it’s not a formal thing---- hey, I’m going to try all serve and volleys for this game so please return it right to me. Instead it’s something you decide in your head and work at it in your own way, so it feels less like practice, and more like playing, which of course you actually are.

Get in better condition. Playing 3 games consistently is quite a workout! Often one of those 3 games will have multiple deuces or an extended rally. When this happens it will test your conditioning considerably. Imagine that happening in the first game, you have two more full games before you sit.

It's fun, with less pressure and allows you check your ego at the door since your performance that day is not tied to winning or losing.

Sure, there are times that I am aware I just won (or lost) 3 games in a row, but generally after 90 minutes or two hours of hitting this way, I really don’t know if I won 14 games and lost 10, or won 11 games and lost 19.

I hit with a boy from the high school team about 2 months ago and told him of this format and asked if he wanted to try it. He said, “sure, but I’ll never be able NOT to keep track of the score, I’m just that way.” About thirty minutes into playing, at a changeover he smiled and said, “you know, I really don’t know what the score is.”

The David Formula. Three games + rest (repeat...) = improvement. It’s worked well for us, and it might work well for you too.

Growing the Game of Tennis!

2009-03-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't That Be Nice?

The number of tennis participants (in the US) reached an all-time high in 1973-74 as the colorful characters of Connors, McEnroe and even the quiet genius of Bjorn Borg made for some interesting matchups. -- Click here to see that actual rise and fall of participation since 1960. http://www.tennisindustry.org/PDFs/ParticipationHistory.pdf

As tennis participation has fallen or plateaued since '99, the game of golf has skyrocketed-- and you can blame Tiger Woods for that in part. And it's not just mens golf either. While Tiger may not have motivated that many young girls to get into the game, in Europe the recently retired Annika Sorenstam did that for the Barbie set. South Korea routinely fills up the women's leader board with as many as 12-14 of the top 20 spots thanks to the stellar play 10-15 years ago of Se Ri Pak. And now golfs new Tigeress hails from Mexico-- Lorena Ochoa --so we can only expect many young Latinas south of the border asking for golf clubs now for their next birthday instead of last years Bratz Dolls.

So what does this have to do with GROWING THE GAME of tennis? Yeah, good question. We obviously could use some more exciting personalities that are in the top 5, or maybe top 3 that hail from the land of the currently unemployed. It's not like we aren't trying but at least we have Roddick marrying a bikini model and he often has hilarious post-match interviews. Andy even hosted Saturday Night Live a few years back---okay 2003, just after winning the US Open -- that alone probably got 1000 people out in the following week with their old wooden Jack Kramers. However, other than that, tennis needs some colorful and GREAT players. The Williams sisters, while great, have been standoff-ish and play less tournaments than virtually all others in the top 20 of the WTA.

It wouldn't hurt to maybe get a new PR firm and come up with clever commercials going head to head against golf--- we compare quite favorably I think---- Tennis offers...

better workout-- you can't use a pullcart or electric cart to get to your next shot in tennis

faster workout 1.5 to 2 hours versus 4-5+ hours for golf

tennis has singles or doubles, or mixed doubles for variety

cheaper-- way cheaper and in this economy this cannot be stressed enough! Most racquets retail for $95-$140 (x2) versus clubs that can cost $250-1000+ and green fees of $25 to $100+ dollars each time you play

hit 75-125 balls in golf for 18 holes versus the fun of clobbering 200-300 in an hour in tennis

One other fan friendly thing to do, as Billy Jean King has suggested, is that both the mens and women's tours play more combined events. Aside from the 4 majors, there are only 2-3 others that you can see men and women play a court away from each other. This value added benefit is appreciated by most tennis fans and could really also appeal to the next generation of players.

We have the superior product and unless Tiger Woods (or Obama) changes sports to tennis, we have some serious marketing to do to protect and grow this great game of ours.

link to the USTA http://www.usta.com/

link to the Tennis Industry Association http://www.tennisindustry.org/

POWER, POWER, POWER!!!

2009-02-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

Speaking of power, I was playing with my friend Rufus yesterday and he had a new racquet. It was a RAMBO XF15 THUNDERBAT which is (surprise!) a stiff, powerful racquet. Rufus from the first point hit hard penetrating baseline shots, a noticeable uptick in power and depth from his normal game.

For the first 3-4 games I was breathing hard, chasing deep shots into both corners. My goose was cooked – tennis wise. Then something interesting happened. On shots that were mid court to him, he came in and hit it long (out) more often than not. What had been a wonderful racquet 5 seconds earlier was now an unwieldy cannon.

Power is only good on a tennis court if you can harness it and direct it. From the baseline he was a monster but for the mid court stuff, the monster lost its bite and the racquet became a one trick pony.

So this is just a reminder that while power might be the most intoxicating of all the tennis weapons, it is also the most overrated. The other tennis P’s... placement, position and pa-variety are all equally or more important armaments in an effective tennis arsenal.

Searching for the Holy Grail

2009-02-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

There are people out there, okay men out there, that are at Frys or Best Buy right now trying to decide between the 48” Plasma 720 HDTV or the 52” LCD1080Q HDTV. It’s a big decision, for them. In either case they are convinced that their quality of life, er… TV life, will be enhanced such that they will reach TV or DVD nirvana. And it will work for them, for about 6 months. Six months from now they will read an article or see an ad for the new DIGITAL FP2000 with a Zerna 12XKF Controller that promises to make all other TV’s obsolete. And now they have to have "the new one".

The Holy Grail. A mythical object that promises eternal life, fresher breath, a flatter stomach, well behaved children and more! Just 4 E-Z payments of $29.99, Visa-Mastercard accepted! Call now, operators are standing by. Sounds ridiculous huh?

If you read a tennis magazine and look at the racquet ads you see phrases like areo modular, woofer, smart grip, aerogel, magnetic speed, flexpoint, metallix, speed port, morph beam, n-code, v-engine, and a whole lot more!

-- for a dizzying array of tennis tech, click on this>

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/technologies.html

Each promises that the feature will translate into better shots. What they don’t mention is that losing 10 lbs, taking some lessons, and going for more reasonable shots will actually improve your tennis a lot more than all those things combined. However, we don’t want to think about that, we want the quick cure—for our double faults, slice onthe golf course, weight loss, baldness, etc.

Instead of searching for the Holy Grail, be the Holy Grail. Could Tiger Woods win the Master’s with clubs bought at K-Mart? Probably. Could Nadal pick up a used racquet from a Salvation Army and beat most of us 0 and 0? Probably.

I am not saying that certain strings and racquets can’t lead to improvement, but the best gut and racquet will not make up for bad technique or being out of position, etc.

So if you’re looking for that one magic racquet (or string) okay, but remember it’s a slippery slope. One player I know has switched racquets (and brands) more than 5 times in 2 years. Don’t look for the next "big thing" as far as equipment goes, work on your game the old fashioned way; with lessons, improved technique, improved conditioning and better on court decision making.

HURRY - LIMITED TIME OFFER!

2009-02-11T07:36:00.000-08:00

Dog not included.

Be one of the first 3 to "FOLLOW THIS BLOG" and receive a valuable can of tennis balls! New ones! Optic Yellow! Extra Heavy Duty! X-outs? Nah... not for you guys! Hurry, a limited time offer!!!

Okay, questions...

"Um, like what if I'm the 6th or 7th person to "Follow this blog"? Do I get anything? -signed Lonely in Los Feliz

Dear Lonely,

Yes, of course we have something for you. You will get valuable tennis information and insight from an old guy by reading this blog!!! Oh, I can see from your face you are massively disappointed. Well, maybe for you I can find an overwrap or a dampener then.

Andy's Busy, Now What?

2009-02-10T09:18:00.001-08:00

Knee Bend or Wrist Snap?
A secret I have found to more powerful serves is have Andy Roddick hit them for me. However, there are so many times when he is not available I am forced to serve on my own. I guess it's time consuming being engaged to a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model. Bummer.

In the reader questions area of TENNIS magazine about two years ago someone asked what had a bigger impact on service speed; wrist snap or knee bend/jump? When watching the pros it's easier to identify the knee bend and jump into the court, they all do it. But watching the wrist snap is harder to see.

To answer this question, TENNIS magazine referenced a study about wheelchair tennis players. Since there is obviously no knee bend, all the service speed can be attributed to arm and wrist motion. They found that wrist snap is responsible for more service speed than an able bodied player bending their knees and jumping.

Personally, there are so many moving parts on me when I serve I often forget about this last necessary step but if you can coordinate many things at once, try BOTH the wrist snap and a knee bend that will propel you into the court after you hit the ball.

Keep in mind that service speed is probably overrated. Consider these stats from Roddick and Federer from the Australian Open, semi-finals: SERVING STATS

.................... Roddick .....Federer

Avg Speed -1st .....128 ........117

Avg Speed - 2nd ....107 ........97

First serve % .........65 .........66

Aces ....................8 .........16

Dbl Faults ..............2 ..........0

Looks like the bigger server should have won, but of course Fed prevailed 6-2, 7-5, 7-5. And despite serving slower than Roddick, he had twice as many aces. Placement of serves and varying your serve, especially at the high school level will yield many more service return errors than the big 100 mph heater up the middle, or into the body.

Singles vs. Doubles...Who's the Better Player?

2009-02-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

Playing singles is generally the marquee spot in a tennis line-up or at a tournament. However, at the pro level with 4 players at the net, (less so in high school), it can be very fast and exciting compared to long rallies in singles, or a power serve-missed return that is common in men's tennis.

There is a bias toward singles assuming that they are the better athletes, more skilled etc. Let's examine this bias. When returning in singles, a deep return anywhere is good. In doubles, unless the return is cross-court with pace, it can and should be intercepted - point lost. In singles you know who is going to get the ball when it comes toward you-- there's uh... you and no one else, you take every ball. In doubles, there is communication or else no one takes the ball or CRASH, both go for the same ball and hit racquets, or worse, hit heads or head to racquet.

When I serve in singles, I have only a few things to think about, and I am fairly relaxed since it is common for me to have 10 (or so) service games in two sets and have 0-2 double faults. However, when I serve in doubles, all the normal things to consider come into play-- wind direction, the returners ability on FH and BH sides, where did I serve last time, etc.-- but now an additional consideration or pressure comes up. I don't want to let my partner down. If I double fault in singles, yeah, it's a drag but you move on. In doubles, a double fault gives me guilt because I have let my partner down. Furthermore, with my partner at the net if I serve too soft, especially a 2nd serve to avoid a double, then some teams will whack their return with the ferocity of an Ova (take your pick) right at the head of my partner at the net.

In football, who's a better player, a cornerback or safety? In baseball, a centerfielder or a 3rd baseman? In those sports as in tennis, there are similiar skill sets required at different positions but there are also unique qualities and skills required. So one is not better than another, they are just different.

Swinging It In Your Favor

2009-02-05T08:25:00.000-08:00

Momentum Boy

There is something more powerful in tennis than an Andy Roddick serve. In fact this power is not found just in tennis. It occurs in most sports including basketball, hockey, baseball and football among others. This fearsome power in sport is called momentum.

In tennis it produces some surprising results. When the box score reads 6-2, 0-6, 6-2 people are left scratching their heads and thinking ‘what happened there?’ Sometimes tennis commentators will announce things like ‘Nadal has just won 11 of the last 13 points’. If his opponent can’t find a way to derail Nadal’s momentum, it will be a short afternoon. Though I don’t completely understand this complex phenomenon myself, as it encompasses the fields of sports psychology, strategy, and unknown intangibles, I have noticed some things to change momentum and swing it in the opposite direction.

When I am coaching a high school boy and he is underperforming and nothing seems to be working for him, I tell him he needs to change something (because obviously the path he is on is working. Change something. Personally, I have changed momentum in changing racquets (especially when they might be different or just strung different), changing sunglasses (or just taking them off), changing tactics (attacking the net more, less/more pace, etc. When I suggest a tactic change to a player or doubles team, I will tell them “stick with it, even if it doesn’t work the first few times”. Too often they see the first failed attempt at a changed tactic as “well that didn’t work” so they just go back to what wasn’t working originally. Not smart psychology, not smart tennis.

There are also times where you or you and your partner are riding a wave of momentum to apparent victory and then the 5-1 lead is lost and you are kicking yourself at the start of the tie breaker thinking “how in the heck did it come to this?”

A few suggestions. First, recognize when you have momentum in your favor and do everything you can to maintain it. Last week, two boys I coach in doubles had this score after two sets: 6-3, 2-6. With Sam and Marko serving to start the 3rd set, Sam held serve and then they broke their opponents quickly to take a 2-0 lead. And this was after losing the last set 2-6. I was sensing a big momentum swing in our favor as these two games had been won rapidly and then Marko served. Several missed first serves and two double faults later they were at deuce. In our no-ad league the next point wins so we were on the verge of losing the all-important momentum that had gained after losing the 2nd set. What led to Marko’s double faults and a very complicated serving game was unrestrained enthusiasm and adrenalin from the quick 2-0 start. His heart was in the right place but not his head.

Nothing leads to a loss of momentum faster than double faults and missing a lot of first serves. Momentum is sometimes a fleeting phenomenon and you have to do everything in your power to keep it on your side. Short of rushing, it is prudent to continue play quickly with momentum which in part doesn’t give the opponent time to think or analyze what’s going on. Getting first serves in, even if they are softer, more spin is the smarter bet than risk longer serving games with possible double faults that rob the server of his spirit while at the same time bolstering hope in his opponent.

More about pace of play when momentum is on your side. A few years ago when playing singles, I raced off to a 5-0 lead against an opponent I had never played. At the changeover, I told him I had run out of water and had to use the drinking fountain about 150 feet away. At the drinking fountain I ran into someone I hadn’t seen for a long time and it would have been awkward to just say “hi”. We ended up talking for a longish 4-5 minutes. I was very apologetic to my opponent when I returned and then he ran the next 6 straight games on me to take a 6-5 lead. Talk about momentum swings.

In life, as in tennis, the KISS method of doing your work often pays off. Keep It Simple Stupid is a reminder to us to get the serve in, or get the return in, and then go from there. Especially at the high school level with boys, testosterone runs high, and they think that “might makes right”. If hitting harder was always better than we would see Mr. Olympus types crowding us out for court time.

Momentum is the best thing you can have in sports. Next time you recognize it’s “present” in your match, do what you can to keep it, or if it’s running against you, do what you can to change it in your favor, short of gamesmanship.

Momentum, once lost, is hard to find again

Serving With a Purpose

2009-02-04T13:50:00.000-08:00

Andre Agassi in the last year of his career was interviewed and in that interview said that tennis and life were similar, both involved problem solving. Isn’t that the truth?

In tennis against a worthy opponent, problem solving can make the difference between who goes on in the tournament and who goes home.

A frequent singles opponent of mine I’ll call Jason, attacks my second serve with a lot of pressure and a fair degree of success. That’s a problem for me so it led to me doing some problem solving before the match. We played today and in two sets, I had 9 service games. I served about 85% as hard as I usually do and it enabled me to get all but three first serves in. This meant I only had to face a very aggressive returner 3 times today. It’s also no coincidence that I held 7 of my 9 service games today.

I figured out that strategy before the match, but many times you have to problem solve during a match. Yesterday I played doubles and in my first service game I missed a first serve on the deuce court. My admittedly weaker second serve to the returner’s forehand was returned powerfully right at the head of my doubles partner at the net. Dylan fortunately blocked it so he didn’t get hit but we lost the point. Big problem. Immediately I decided for the rest of my serves to the deuce court that all of them would be to the deuce returner’s backhand side. Problem solved. My partner was protected and the returner was frustrated in playing the forehand return side but having to return all my serves from his backhand side.

In that same doubles match one of our opponents, Andy, was thinking like me. Every serve to me in the deuce court was to my backhand. While not a weakness for me, it’s generally not a serve I can hit with as much power as the forehand. Andy served with a purpose, which was not to put him or his partner in trouble right away from my return.

When beginning tennis players serve the goal is to just get the ball in play so you can play the point. However, as a player becomes an intermediate and can control the pace and location of most of his/her serves, they should serve more purposefully and thoughtfully. Considerations of wind direction, opponents returning ability, a rough percentage of your first serves going in, number of double faults, missed serves to which side and going deep or short, plus more, should help a person to make necessary adjustments to their serving games.

One of our intermediate high school boys (a 3.5- 4.0) nicknamed The Ball Magnet has a hard, flat first serve but he only gets it in maybe 20-25% of the time. His second serve makes him look like a 2.0 player and unfortunately he has to use it a lot unless I am there to remind him to “take a little off that first serve to get it in”. Something magical happens then, he serves over 50% and wins a lot more points.

Tennis is not just a physical game. It’s also emotional and mental. The mental part is continually analyzing what’s working and what isn’t and then making adjustments to your game. Problem solving helped Agassi have a lot of success on the court and it can help your game too.

Even Better Than Google?

2009-02-04T09:01:00.000-08:00

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.

Is Your TENNIS Hard Drive Faulty?

2009-02-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

I was in a round-robin tennis league a few years ago where you played everybody once, and if you wanted to play them more, you could count the score only if the outcome was different from the first time around. In other words, you couldn’t just keep playing the same (weaker) player to build up your standings.

Anyhow, the first time I played “Malcolm” I played an all-court game and attacked the net fairly often. In the second set I was at the net and he couldn’t pass me so he hit the ball right at me – but not in a mean—trying to kill me way. I had less time to get out of my own way and I missed the volley. Four or five points later there I was at the net again and hey, here comes the ball, again, right at me. I lost the point. And just to confirm what we both already knew I lost one more point at the net in the same way. I played the rest of the match at the baseline unless it was an easy put-away. For the first 15 games we played I volleyed like a champ. I volleyed well on my forehand and backhand. Malcolm late into our 2nd set learned something about me – a weakness of mine and then used it when I was at the net.

Fast forward 3 weeks later and I am playing Malcolm again. I remember the lesson I learned from three weeks earlier but the funny thing was Malcolm apparently had forgotten. I nervously approached the net in this second match and found fairly easy volleys to handle everywhere but right into my body. It wasn’t just once or twice, it was all day. Did he not notice the first time we played a weakness I had? I sure remembered but apparently his hard drive (okay brain) didn’t think it was important to recall that advantage.

When I am playing a new opponent my brain is looking for weaknesses from the very first warm-up ball struck.

‘Hum, dumped my slice into the net, let’s try another and see what happens.’

‘He looked awkward on that high ball to his forehand, hum, wonder if he will do that in our match.’

And so on.

A favorite tennis statistic is something like 40-70% of the time it takes to play a tennis match is the time between points. We all have a lot of time to think about and process what is taking place during the points. So next time you play, pop some Omega 3 capsules and fire up that gray matter so you can pay attention. Being a keen observer of your opponent may make the difference on a few key points and in a close match, that’s all it takes. Pay attention on the court and in life – it won’t just help your tennis score, it might save your life.

Know Your Strike Zone

2009-02-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

Swing Batta Batta Swing!

In baseball, the “strike zone” is the area where if the batter doesn’t swing, the umpire behind the plate is supposed to call a strike against the batter. A batter with a keen eye can get a free pass to first base in the form of a “walk” if the pitcher doesn’t have good control of the ball and doesn’t throw the ball over the plate and somewhere between the top of the players knee to just above the waist area. In baseball you don’t have to swing at any pitch if you don’t want to but in tennis all balls that would land “in” do have to be hit back.

As I work with beginner and intermediate high school players I see a lot of players wait for the ball to drop to around their knees and then try and get under it to hit it back. They do so with sporadic success. They are practicing hitting a ball from their preferred strike zone about two feet off the ground. More advanced players usually take the ball earlier and many like to try and hit the ball when it’s near or slightly below the waist area. An adult friend I play with occasionally likes to try and crush the ball when it’s at his shoulder area. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

It seems that many players have a preferred strike zone where they like really swing out when the ball meets their eye in a certain spot, at a certain speed in relation to where they are standing, etc.

Now as noted earlier, in tennis you have to hit every ball that you think is going to land “in”. But hit doesn’t mean pound the ball. Most balls that are coming toward you, you do want to try and attack, you just want to hit it safely back. This could be a ball around your knees, at your shoulders, above your head or even a ball that’s at your waist level but because you had to run 30 feet at a virtual sprint to get it, it’s not a ball to hit back hard.

Your strike zone in tennis where you can swing out a bit should be a ball that is probably near your waist area, at a pace that is comfortable for you, the balls spin is comfortable for you and the area of the court where you will make contact is inside the baseline.

One of my frequent tennis opponents hits a ball that is of moderate pace but much flatter than what most of today’s players hit with an eastern or semi-western forehand. For me, I have less time to set up because of the less spin he imparts on the ball. So even though this ball might be in my swing away strike zone (for me my waist area), I am cautious unless I have more time to set up.

Similarly, many players will see a ball land short in mid court, but with backspin, as a green light to attack. However, this backspin throws off their timing and many less careful players will get ahead of the ball and pull the ball off-court, or make contact too far out in front (because of the spin) and their shot falls into the net. That’s why you don’t see a lot of professional players attacking a ball that is sliced back to them. While this ball may meet other criteria for the strike zone (inside the baseline, lack of pace, at or near waist high), because of the spin it makes it deceptively hard to attack.

If players are mindful of what kind of ball they can hit hard with reasonable success, and conversely, hit a ball safely when it’s not in their strike zone, they will play better percentage tennis and can expect to cut down on unforced errors and win more points.

Another point to be mindful of is that your opponent also has an area that is their swing away strike zone. If you can keep the ball away from this area or put the ball into an awkward area for them, it will force them to either hit more safe shots to you or if they’re impatient, it may cause them to try and some hit balls hard that they should have better played safely. Just because you have to hit virtually all balls back in tennis doesn’t mean you have to hit them all aggressively. Pick and choose your opportunities you’re your patience should result in more points. The best baseball players that flirt with the magical .400 hitting percentage each year are coincidentally some of the people who also lead the lead in walks. They have learned when to swing (hard) and when not to. We as tennis players would be smart to follow their example.

Best of Both Worlds

2009-02-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

Uh, What's Spanish for Topspin?

There was a little known tennis match the other day, between 2 journeyman named Nadal and Federer. Um, okay… maybe that was understated a bit. Their latest match, for the championship at the Australian Open was at least for tennis fans—The Day the Earth Stood Still, II. Though this was the 19th time they have played, Nadal had before the match won 12 of the 18 previous matches which should have made him the clear favorite. However, Federer has won more hardcourt titles and also giving him the edge was the way he went through the draw including a 2 hour semi-final against Roddick versus Nadal’s 5 hour, 385 point marathon against Verdasco.

So all the stars were in line for Federer to match Sampras’ record of 14 grand slam singles titles, or so it seemed. Federer was expected to win. To show how much emotion and pressure he felt he wept on the court when it was over. Can you imagine Tiger Woods losing the Masters in a playoff and then crying at the awards ceremony (well maybe if the win meant breaking Nicklaus’ record).

This blog is titled “best of both worlds”, because both Nadal and Federer do things that assure they will both be 1 and 2 in the world for well into the foreseeable future.

Nadal’s strengths include a new and improved serve. Two years ago a returner could be aggressive and put away his 90 mph second serves. Now his first and second serve are kicking, or flat, into the body, or out wide - it’s why the best baseball pitchers are paid so much, it keeps the person at the plate (or at the return line) guessing and it’s harder to hit well.

Groundstrokes. When you see Nadal play, especially in person or when the camera gods warrant a ground view, you can see the massive spin that Nadal imparts on the ball. Spin hit slowly is nothing. Spin hit with tremendous power is called a “heavy ball” and it takes strength and the sweet spot of your racquet to return the ball. If Nadal hit flat he would be sending spectators to the emergency room in the first and second rows. However, because of the topspin he can swing like Barry Bonds on vitamins and the ball always makes it back into the court. When I would coach players at the high school level and if the ball hit the net (or tape), or if the ball went long, my advice was always the same—MORE TOPSPIN. Check out these players pics on this page - right before impact – think they are hitting UP on the ball? Do teen girls like the mall?
Hey, let’s not forget about the sensitive guy from Switzerland who has had a pretty good career for himself who has Tiger Woods’ cell number. Federer is fun to watch play. He like Nadal both play AMAZING DEFENSE and can turn a point almost lost into just another one for the highlight reel when they come up with an amazing shot – and they both do it with regularity.

But aside from their great defensive games—which club players never seem to focus on, is Federer’s ability to TAKE THE BALL EARLY. When you can take the ball in the court- versus behind the baseline, you are giving yourself more angles which can easily end the point in your favor. Also, once you hit it, you are also giving your opponent less time to react and then get to your shot. Combining that with the flatter trajectory that Roger hits and that’s why he was #1 for over 200 weeks until late into 2008.

Best of both worlds—Nadal’s spin, and Roger’s ability to take the ball early. The PGA has a commercial with pro golfers making amazing shots, and says “these guys are good”. But watching Federer and Nadal for any 20 minute period in any match and it’s “these guys are not good, they’re damn good!” True that.