Author: Joel Ross

Is hitting tennis balls on a racquetball court (or squash court) helpful to your tennis game? The answer is unequivocally … YES! I am living proof … 63-years-old and still improving. It is amazing!  For 100 days in a row (a little extreme), I have been hitting on the racquetball court at my local JCC for a half-hour. That's a lot…

In Team of Rivals, which is about Abraham Lincoln’s presidency during the Civil War, there were so many instances where Lincoln’s generals failed to pursue the retreating enemy after a decisive victory. History teaches us that the Civil War could have ended much sooner had some of these generals been more aggressive. In the game…

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 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,…

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.

I was watching NOVA on Channel 13 last night. It was about the brain. The speaker was describing how when she was young, she had a chance to make the U.S. Olympic soccer team as a goalie. On the day she was being scouted, she said that she "choked" and let an easy shot pass under…

For someone who is consistently losing, the "fine line" between winning and losing can feel like a "hump" instead. Keep your feet moving … during, after and before each ball. Block everything else out. As long as the feet are moving, everything else will usually fall into place. Be prepared and happy to get into a long…

Hoping … it goes over the net or stays in? Praying … your opponent misses? Watching … your opponent run after it? None of the above Start moving after you hit and prepare for the next shot … vigorously!

Matches are not the time to practice what you have learned or what you are working on. Eventually some new things that you are working on will naturally incorporate into your game as they become automatic. It’s important to get your best results in matches … stick with what you know and do best.