Coaching

I find it quite amusing when I attend junior tennis tournaments and see the teenagers huddled around either socializing or trying to snap a photo for social media. Then, suddenly their name is called and they need to rush to the court to play a match. They may win or lose, but if they do not...Read more

The final matches of the Orange Ball Box league during the spring of 2017 were critical. After five consecutive months of weekly matches hosted and organized by Center Court Tennis Academy in Chatham, NJ, the point spread between the top performers was marginal. My son, Rafael, was the youngest...Read more

Many people have their opinions of how someone became so good on the ATP Tour and then there are those who played and saw the progression of how someone became such a great tennis player. I am not sure if I was fortunate or unfortunate to have played Kevin Anderson five times on the ATP Tour. I was...Read more

There are several important factors that contribute to match performance of a tennis player, including: Physical, Psychological, Technical and Tactical (management of skills or decision-making), respectively. Although these different factors all together contribute to a tennis player’s match...Read more

Hurry! Turn! Move your feet! Watch the ball! Hit up! These are catch phrases that so many instructors use that are really meaningless without explanation. Yet they are yelled across the court everywhere as though repeating them over and over will do the trick. Then, we have an overload of online...Read more

On a flight returning from Portugal this past June, I was with 24 varsity collegiate players from the Oneonta State Tennis program. I had eight hours with my thoughts on a transatlantic journey from Lisbon to New York. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play some team exhibitions...Read more

I’ve been involved with tennis for more than 40 years now, and have seen the game evolve to what it is now. There is no doubt in my mind that the racket size should have remained their original size when invented. That decision, which was ultimately a commercial decision, would change the game...Read more

The tennis racket spins on its head. Someone says “Up.” Four tennis players crowd around the spinning racquet. It falls to the ground. A player examines the butt of the racquet and says, “It is up and I defer.” “Oh, fudge. Gosh darn it,” I think. “The dreaded ‘defer’ … now what do I do?” After the...Read more

You've battled for 12 straight games against a formidable, evenly matched opponent and now it's come down to one game. Your heart rate is picking up and your feet are barking. The end is inevitable, sudden and even the name, “Tiebreaker,” coined by Tennis Hall of Famer Jimmy Van Alen, says, “...Read more