It's about time they got to this to improve the image of women's tennis. The loud grunting from some players is a tool for gaming your opponent and becomes clear when the volume increases when you get into trouble in a match. Some players are silent and hit the ball just as hard. So, whether an acquired habit or an emotional release, the use of the grunt as it exists is now getting serious attention in women's tennis and I would love to see this applied to the men's side of the tour as well.
Check out the story on this website.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/06/27/quiet-at-us-open-wta-plans-crackdown-on-excessive-grunting/
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Rafa Gets His Stolen Watch Back
Not exactly a tennis article but it's nice to know Rafa won't be on the hook for a watch worth over $300K. No matter who you are, you can't count on not losing your valuables while staying in a room.
Stolen Watch Found
Stolen Watch Found
Monday, June 11, 2012
Rafa Retains his Crown as King of Clay
He's amazing to watch as he runs down every ball humanly possible and a few I'm not sure are within the reach of mortals. The fourth set is the one where we can see Rafa has no interest in losing his title. The score is 5 all and he pulls off an ace to get up 30 love. The struggle continues with Novak not letting up but finally Rafa takes the game to go up 6 to 5 in the fourth. It's now 30 all and the pressure is on. Rafa attacks with a forehand and is now at match point, Djokovic hits a double fault from 30 serving 40 and Rafa takes the crown. Novak sits in disappointment while Rafa climbs to the stands to share the victory with his family.
The score is now 7 French Open Championships for Nadal surpassing Borg's 6.
Tennis fans are blessed to have Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer competing against each other in this amazing era of tennis.
The score is now 7 French Open Championships for Nadal surpassing Borg's 6.
Tennis fans are blessed to have Nadal, Djokovic, and Federer competing against each other in this amazing era of tennis.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Nadal: King of Clay
French Open Men's Final 2012: The match is rain delayed and is scheduled tomorrow. Nadal had steamrolled through the first two sets and rain delays and intermittent rain frustrated his style of play. If I had to bet, I'll put my chips on Rafa to complete the win.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Winter Tennis
Where you live helps determine how you will develop as a tennis player.
Anne Arundel County Maryland is a great place to learn to play tennis. I grew up there and the community support for playing tennis was and is ideal except for the weather. I spent winters contemplating spring while hoping that soon I would be out on the tennis court if the weather warmed even momentarily.
Accept the limitations of your environment and work around them.
Despite this climate, Anne Arundel County has a tremendous amount of tennis opportunity for junior players since there are now multiple indoor clubs and numerous outdoor facilities and public courts. These vary in condition from excellent and newly resurfaced courts to courts that are barely playable. Still this gives anyone an opportunity to find an outdoor court when the weather is good.
The long hard days of winter.
In mid-February the temperature is down the 20s it often won't break the 30s. As tennis players there really isn't much to look forward to unless you have the tennis channel or lots of indoor tennis time. Back in the 1960’s and 1970’s there were few options for a junior tennis player because there was no tennis channel and indoor tennis time was hard to come by unless your parents were fully committed to your game. I would scrape together some money from my part-time job back then and play once every few weeks with some high school friends at a local indoor club. Other than that, I spent the winters doing tricks with my with my old Poncho Gonzales wooden racket. And if my parents weren’t home I would stand a foot away from the wall in my bedroom or basement and practice volleys and half volleys.
To paraphrase Shakespeare and Thomas Paine in relation to what I was going through as a young tennis player , “this was my long winter of discontent,” I used to dream of living in Florida when I was a junior knowing I could be outside in warm weather playing tennis and doing just about anything else. Instead, I generally spent my time in front of a TV set or reading through the winter. Later I took up basketball since that was free and provided lots of physical activity. 40 years later I'm still here, but at least I have indoor time to fill the gap and that is my recommendation for you.
Accept your place in the pecking order of tennis or find a way to play year round.
Bottom line: if you want to be a tennis player in any location where winter outdoor tennis is unavailable, you'd better play indoors or you're unlikely to improve enough but to become strong tournament player. Find a way to get into an indoor league, team, or purchase your own indoor time even if it means renting a ball machine too. Without this effort throughout the winter it is very difficult to hold onto the improvements in your game that you accomplished in the previous outdoor tennis season.
www.BrentHerrick.com - Copyright 2009
TennisTeachingProfessional.com
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Volley Tactics
If you are learning to volley, the main thing to keep in mind when using it during play is to hold back on your first volley and save the angles and speed for close in volleys.
Attempting to win the point from the service line when volleying generally loses the point. Work your way forward with a deep volley if possible and one that allows you to easily cover the angle of return from your opponent.
Save the full swinging volleys for high and slow returns commonly known as floaters.
Attempting to win the point from the service line when volleying generally loses the point. Work your way forward with a deep volley if possible and one that allows you to easily cover the angle of return from your opponent.
Save the full swinging volleys for high and slow returns commonly known as floaters.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Learning Tennis
Finding the right way to learn Tennis
How do you start yourself or your kids on the way to learning Tennis?
Taking private lessons is the fastest way to get improvement, but it is the most expensive approach. Group lessons can accomplish your objective to improve while keeping the cost of your new sport under control.
Here are a number of reasons why group lessons make sense.
It is a great opportunity to meet other players of equal ability.
Group instruction presents a more social atmosphere than private lessons.
A regular weekly schedule for classes commit you to learning when you have prepaid for a series of lessons, and this is the method most group instruction set up.
It is much less expensive by the hour to learn in a group format where usually the rate is between $10- $20 per hour per student versus private lessons that go from $50 on up to past $100 per hour depending on the market and the background of the teacher.
One of the most important aspects of finding a tennis coach, instructor, or Pro as they are often called is to determine their background in teaching as well as their playing skill.
The term Pro is also used to describe the professional teacher in each of these sports, and has been used interchangeably for both players and teachers.
I often use the phrase term tennis teaching pro to make sure there is no misunderstanding as to what my actual background is when talking to someone. Many very good players never played for money in a professional tournament, but have played college tennis and amateur tournaments. These players make up the majority of the Tennis Teaching Pros throughout the world. Often, the past professional players get into coaching college teams or work at high-end resorts and private clubs where they can claim with some level of authenticity that they were among the best in the world. This cachet is even more valuable with name recognition, and thus you will find many past great players with their own tennis training facility and their names visibly advertised. Still, many of the pros that work at these type of operations come from the vast ranks of college and amateur tennis players that find teaching tennis as a great outlet for their enthusiasm and desire for a tennis lifestyle that it presents.
Instructor Qualifications:
Look for someone with some level of certification from either of the two major Tennis Teaching organizations worldwide, either the Professional Tennis Registry or the United States Professional Tennis Association. Both have Professional certifications that will guarantee that your teacher is a skilled player and has extensive teaching background and knowledge.
Basing your choice of instructors simply on their tournament record is not a sound approach to learning the game. Many highly skilled players have not acquired the specific knowledge necessary analyze strokes and effectively impart playing skills to others. These are distinct areas of preparation that do not necessarily match those found in top athletic performers in tennis.
If you are a beginner it is best to find an instructor that will focus on your ability to acquire the basic skills needed to develop a sound game and hiring a world class player to teach you as a beginner is akin to renting a supercomputer to total up your shopping list when you could do the same with a low cost calculator. It is not only a waste of money and resources, but also most top level coaches generally prefer to work with advanced players rather than beginners.
Here are some characteristics to look for when choosing a Tennis Instructor.
Experience: How long has the instructor been teaching and playing and where? If your instructor is a club Pro at a private or public facility it is more likely they have extensive background.
If you go to many recreation and parks programs you may find that the instructor is a high school student working on a summer job with little experience beyond playing high school tennis, so look for some certification.
Personality: Find one that suits you, be it a fitness coach style with a drill sergeants bark, or someone with more understated demands who will work with you and generally not criticize or require much other than that you hit lots and lots of balls during a lesson. Try to avoid the talker that spends all of their time talking and little demonstrating. Better teachers vary between explanations, demonstration, feeding balls, or running drills with you and the class. If you want a talker you can simply buy or check out a video at the library, or better yet, read a book on the subject. Talkers generally don’t know they are, but haven’t taken the training to avoid this malady.
Methods: Some Pros like to hit balls with you and spend little time on technique while others are technicians that focus on developing your strokes in a methodical fashion. Somewhere in between are those that know the technical requirements needed for developing a good stroke and use simple graduated methods and parcel out your stroke into components that will eventually build your game.
Equipment:
It is not necessary to spend $300 on the latest racket technology that is currently promoted for you to learn the game. Rather than spend this amount, if you can find a racquet that is less than 10 years old with a mid to oversize frame it will most likely work as well for you as the top price models. Spending your money on court time and group instruction will be a much wiser investment than a high priced new racket. A good pair of tennis shoes that offer strong lateral support is a must. Many running shoes do not offer this and can be a source of ankle injury risk.
Ok, so you have your tennis racket and are ready for lessons. Once you begin your classes it is best to remember that it is essential to practice in addition to the time spent in lessons. Not only will this rapidly increase your playing skill, but also you will be able to learn more as your skills increase.
Here is where to find group instruction in Tennis.
Summer group lessons are found at local community colleges, county recreation and park programs, and USTA programs.
Summer camps are a compressed way to get the kids into tennis and depending on the size of the groupings it can be either simply a day of exercise and recreation or a focused way to introduce them into the sport of tennis.
Finding a Pro for private or group instruction is available through online sources.
Tennis Lessons.com
Professional Tennis Registry
United States Professional Tennis Association
Reprinted with Permission from: www.BrentHerrick.com - Copyright 2008
How do you start yourself or your kids on the way to learning Tennis?
Taking private lessons is the fastest way to get improvement, but it is the most expensive approach. Group lessons can accomplish your objective to improve while keeping the cost of your new sport under control.
Here are a number of reasons why group lessons make sense.
It is a great opportunity to meet other players of equal ability.
Group instruction presents a more social atmosphere than private lessons.
A regular weekly schedule for classes commit you to learning when you have prepaid for a series of lessons, and this is the method most group instruction set up.
It is much less expensive by the hour to learn in a group format where usually the rate is between $10- $20 per hour per student versus private lessons that go from $50 on up to past $100 per hour depending on the market and the background of the teacher.
One of the most important aspects of finding a tennis coach, instructor, or Pro as they are often called is to determine their background in teaching as well as their playing skill.
The term Pro is also used to describe the professional teacher in each of these sports, and has been used interchangeably for both players and teachers.
I often use the phrase term tennis teaching pro to make sure there is no misunderstanding as to what my actual background is when talking to someone. Many very good players never played for money in a professional tournament, but have played college tennis and amateur tournaments. These players make up the majority of the Tennis Teaching Pros throughout the world. Often, the past professional players get into coaching college teams or work at high-end resorts and private clubs where they can claim with some level of authenticity that they were among the best in the world. This cachet is even more valuable with name recognition, and thus you will find many past great players with their own tennis training facility and their names visibly advertised. Still, many of the pros that work at these type of operations come from the vast ranks of college and amateur tennis players that find teaching tennis as a great outlet for their enthusiasm and desire for a tennis lifestyle that it presents.
Instructor Qualifications:
Look for someone with some level of certification from either of the two major Tennis Teaching organizations worldwide, either the Professional Tennis Registry or the United States Professional Tennis Association. Both have Professional certifications that will guarantee that your teacher is a skilled player and has extensive teaching background and knowledge.
Basing your choice of instructors simply on their tournament record is not a sound approach to learning the game. Many highly skilled players have not acquired the specific knowledge necessary analyze strokes and effectively impart playing skills to others. These are distinct areas of preparation that do not necessarily match those found in top athletic performers in tennis.
If you are a beginner it is best to find an instructor that will focus on your ability to acquire the basic skills needed to develop a sound game and hiring a world class player to teach you as a beginner is akin to renting a supercomputer to total up your shopping list when you could do the same with a low cost calculator. It is not only a waste of money and resources, but also most top level coaches generally prefer to work with advanced players rather than beginners.
Here are some characteristics to look for when choosing a Tennis Instructor.
Experience: How long has the instructor been teaching and playing and where? If your instructor is a club Pro at a private or public facility it is more likely they have extensive background.
If you go to many recreation and parks programs you may find that the instructor is a high school student working on a summer job with little experience beyond playing high school tennis, so look for some certification.
Personality: Find one that suits you, be it a fitness coach style with a drill sergeants bark, or someone with more understated demands who will work with you and generally not criticize or require much other than that you hit lots and lots of balls during a lesson. Try to avoid the talker that spends all of their time talking and little demonstrating. Better teachers vary between explanations, demonstration, feeding balls, or running drills with you and the class. If you want a talker you can simply buy or check out a video at the library, or better yet, read a book on the subject. Talkers generally don’t know they are, but haven’t taken the training to avoid this malady.
Methods: Some Pros like to hit balls with you and spend little time on technique while others are technicians that focus on developing your strokes in a methodical fashion. Somewhere in between are those that know the technical requirements needed for developing a good stroke and use simple graduated methods and parcel out your stroke into components that will eventually build your game.
Equipment:
It is not necessary to spend $300 on the latest racket technology that is currently promoted for you to learn the game. Rather than spend this amount, if you can find a racquet that is less than 10 years old with a mid to oversize frame it will most likely work as well for you as the top price models. Spending your money on court time and group instruction will be a much wiser investment than a high priced new racket. A good pair of tennis shoes that offer strong lateral support is a must. Many running shoes do not offer this and can be a source of ankle injury risk.
Ok, so you have your tennis racket and are ready for lessons. Once you begin your classes it is best to remember that it is essential to practice in addition to the time spent in lessons. Not only will this rapidly increase your playing skill, but also you will be able to learn more as your skills increase.
Here is where to find group instruction in Tennis.
Summer group lessons are found at local community colleges, county recreation and park programs, and USTA programs.
Summer camps are a compressed way to get the kids into tennis and depending on the size of the groupings it can be either simply a day of exercise and recreation or a focused way to introduce them into the sport of tennis.
Finding a Pro for private or group instruction is available through online sources.
Tennis Lessons.com
Professional Tennis Registry
United States Professional Tennis Association
Reprinted with Permission from: www.BrentHerrick.com - Copyright 2008
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