There are obviously many different styles of play in tennis. Most players are put in one category or the other: offensive or defensive. However, the best players tend to be the ones who can do some of both. More importantly, the player who eventually wins the match is likely to be the one who…
One of the most under-developed skill sets for competitive tennis players is their ability to scout opponents and then build a winning plan against their opponent based on their scouting. The ability to create a game plan from scouting opponents is an essential factor for the player to be able to go through tournament…
In almost every match, one player is usually the favorite. Sometimes this is based on ranking and results and other times it is based on what they look like hitting the ball and the weapons that they possess. If the player who is ranked lower or is perceived as being the weaker player, wins…
Football teams spend hours and hours watching film of past games to determine what is working, and what is not. Tennis players may not always have the luxury of accessing film of their matches, but a good coach can help a player come up with a plan that will have a greater chance of…
Watching the Laver Cup last weekend has made it pretty obvious that tennis (at all levels) comes down to combining consistent serving with consistent returning over the course of the match. This is the case in both singles and doubles. Europe did this better than the World in this year’s event. Even though the…
As she approached the possibility of a fourth surgery on her ankle, Anna Tatishvili faced the tough decision that many professional athletes must face at one point in their careers: continue to work through rehab and play through pain, or hang it up. “It was towards the end of 2019, I was rehabbing and…
Losing is a major part of tennis. When a player loses a match without being mentally fit, it can set up a challenging recovery process, both for the player and for the coach. Very often tennis players, especially at the junior level, react to losses in a very negative way, which directly affects their…
Back in the day, we were always told to recover to the middle of the court after hitting a shot. Because the speed of the game has changed, it makes more sense these days to move towards the open court immediately after hitting your shot. In addition, try recovering to an area that leaves…
Over the last few decades, off-court conditioning has moved away from distance running and focused on shorter sprints, intervals, and high intensity training. On one hand, this is a very good development by tailoring the training to the demands that tennis athlete face on the court. On the other hand, the needle may have…
I have written about this before but after watching the 2021 U..S Open, I felt the need to repeat. Novak Djokovic was always the poster boy for my idea about following through the same way, regardless of how your opponent hits their shot. However, Danil Medvedev beat Novak at his own game in the finals….