The Ageless Sport of Tennis

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!

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

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!

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!!!

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

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.

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Andy's Busy, Now What?

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?

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

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