A New York Times article titled "Reasons Not to Stretch" by Gretchen Reynolds was published today, April 3 and posted on the USPTA Eastern Division Facebook page. This article refers to two recent studies that add to the scientific body of evidence that pre-exercise static stretching alone is counter-productive to athletic performance, and dynamic warm…
Less than 10 percent of all tennis shots are hit from a center position on the court. Note that every serve is hit from a slightly off-center start, and each return of serve is hit from even closer to the sideline. Why is it then that more than 90 percent of all tennis balls are…
Tennis, at the most elite level, is incredibly physical. The very best players may be some of the best athletes in the world … in any sport. That’s why when I hear the simplistic statement "at the top level of tennis, everyone has the physical skills to succeed. The difference is mental," I wonder what…
A burst of speed to gain position is what is needed for most shots to succeed. It is imperative to be in the most fantastic position to hit every ball if you want to hit a great shot. Most of the time, the only way to gain that position is with a burst of speed. Where does that…
Jesse Owens, the great Olympic champion in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, was taught by his coach at Ohio State to run like a horse. What he meant was, look straight ahead when you run, with a singular purpose of getting to the finish line first. Just the way a horse runs. Have you ever seen…
In the first half of this recent Super Bowl, San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick was shut down by the Baltimore defense. His "play action" fake handoffs to his running backs were just awful and fooled absolutely no one. As an analogy to tennis, disguise in shot-making can be an effective method to take away time…
In the third set, it seemed that Serena had fully recovered from a back ailment. Both women were serving well, hitting great groundstrokes. Many of the rallies were long standoffs. However, the game-changer was that Sloane was very comfortable and adept at coming to the net. She had a great feel for her approach shots,…
I Googled "Tennis" today at 4:00 p.m. and the first news story that came up is about an estate auction of Arthur Ashe’s trophies and wisdom teeth. Besides being bizarre and slightly disturbing, it seems to demonstrate a real lull in tennis news that this is the top story. The number two entry is an…
Sloane Stephens is the real deal and that’s great news for U.S. tennis. She is a star in the making and has the power, speed and temperament to be a truly exceptional player for many years ahead. As of this writing, she is getting ready to face Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian…
Instinctively knowing what to do and doing it automatically. Comes from long and hard practice. Be decisive. Stay with the shot. It’s simple. It works. It must be automatic. It is the holy grail of tennis.