Confidence is a very important part of a good player’s “toolbox”. When the point gets long, the game is tight, or the match is on the line, confidence can be the difference in a player’s ability to execute the shot or play the point well. The problem is that confidence comes from having success….
As a young sports fanatic, I used to play all sports that were available. In those days (the 1970s), there was no Internet and in Israel, barely any television, so it was either sports or other hobbies (for the rainy days) that filled my day. But since there is hardly any rain in Tel…
If you are a competitive tennis player, you want to win. The problem is, so does your opponent. In fact, everyone wants to win. The best way to give yourself a great shot at winning is to focus on what you need to do on the way to the desired outcome. This is the…
A widely circulating news story and USTA post reveals that a teacher once told U.S. Open Women’s Singles finalist Leylah Fernandez to quit tennis and focus on school because she would never make it. Fernandez used this teacher’s skepticism as rocket- fueled inspiration to drive herself to succeed. Fernandez clearly is a winner, and…
Tennis is a game of facing constantly evolving challenges and attempting to find an answer that can allow you to overcome them. Fortunately, we live in an amazing era, filled with a vast wealth of knowledge on almost any topic we can imagine, as well as the ability to access much of that information…
Since the game of tennis has gotten faster and faster, it often feels like you are hitting from an off balanced position. Whenever there is time, try to synchronize your last step with the ball contacting your strings. This means getting your foot to hit the ground as close as possible to the ball…
One of the most frequent mistake coaches, parents and observers do when analyzing their young player’s performance is failing to see the tight relationship between coordination and physical skill with the specific technical skills of tennis. How specific coordination and training can help our young players master the technical skills of tennis is the…
I recently recorded a podcast for my show, Prodigy Maker, in which I discussed the topic of Moonballing, especially in junior tennis. The topic got a lot of commentary online and I wanted to share some thoughts from the show with the Long Island Tennis Magazine readership, and my experience coaching many world-class juniors….
Tennis is an extremely complex sport. It is not easy to figure out how to correct a problem or a mistake, and even tougher when you are the one out on the court playing a competitive match. Technique is very important, but often it breaks down because of a player’s strategy or noise that…
Watching the ball is a huge part of hitting it solid on the tennis court. Another part of this concept is getting your position to be consistent based on what you are seeing with your eyes. The goal should be to end up with the ball close to the same distance away from you each time. In addition,…