Tip of the Week: Tennis is Crazy

June 29, 2022 | By Steve Annacone
GettyImages-1097569880_crop
Photo courtesy of Getty Images

 

Whenever two players step on the singles court for a tennis match, there is a favorite. Usually, the favorite is the person who is ranked higher or has the better career results.

However, there is a very strange thing that happens in tennis, more than any other sport: the better player does not always win.

The scoring in tennis is bizarre; 15-30-40-deuce-ad-game; what does this all mean? It basically means that the person who is behind has a great chance to come back. It also means that right when you think you are about to win the match, a few points going in the other direction can change the outcome. Add tiebreakers to the equation and you have total chaos.

Admittedly, the better player will win more often than not if the players step on the court together enough times. Again though, there are matchup issues, conditions on a given day, injury considerations, court surface, and many other variables that can affect the outcome.

The bottom line is, if you are the player, play every point the best you possibly can, never give up, and always remember that the match is never over until you shake hands, or bump elbows, at the net…

 


Steve Annacone
Steve Annacone, USPTA Elite Pro, is the Director of Annacone Tennis, www.annaconetennis.com and MyHamptonspPro, www.MyHamptonsPro.com throughout the Hamptons, NY. Sam Alexander, Steve, and Gill Gross run the TOP (Tennis Optimization Players-Top Team) program at the Tucson Jewish Community Center (Tucson, AZ) for high level players ages 8-18. Please contact Steve at sannacone@tucsonjcc.org or 865-300-7323
Centercourt
USTA NTC

New York Tennis Magazine March/April 2026