"The highest reward for a person’s work is not what they get for it, but what they become of it."—John Rushkin Did you ever watch a professional tennis match and wonder how the players make their extraordinary shots look so effortless? Perhaps you even thought it looks so easy that you should be able to…
One of the first things we are told when we begin our journey in tennis is that the serve is the most important shot. Unfortunately, I ask many intermediate and advanced players about the simple biomechanics of the serve, and they become suddenly mute. We all understand that the toss is vital when trying to…
The tennis player is a person first and a performer second. This idea may seem obvious, since we are all born without a racket in our hands, and when we first walked onto the court to play, we didn’t miraculously change identities—we were the same person. Rafael Nadal, in his book Rafa, says, “Tennis is…
Walk around the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center during this year’s U.S. Open and you will see players from every part of the globe. Even multi-generations are represented in the junior and senior events. While the assortment of differing playing styles is vast, the fundamentals displayed by the world’s top…
Winning Tennis Strokes is a short guidebook to tennis techniques and a splendid general introduction to tennis strokes. With this book, Bill Longua, a veteran tennis instructor and USPTA pro, has produced a concise guide to learning the fundamentals of the game. As Longua explains in his foreword, this book is intended for players who…
It’s the best time of year … time for the 2012 U.S. Open. This is a time where you can personally appreciate the amazing talents you are witnessing on the courts, but more importantly, a great time to improve your own game by observing the players, not just watching them. When watching great players, observe…
From Aug. 6-10, Rob Polishook, mental training coach, founder of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group, and New York Tennis Magazine contributor, led a five-day workshop at the renowned Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, N.Y. Omega is a trusted source for wellness and personal growth, welcoming more than 23,000 people to workshops and conferences throughout the year….
In my opinion, many club players do not fully appreciate the potential benefits of varying grips to help produce and deal with a robust arsenal of shots. The modern game of tennis has racket technology and court surfaces that allow for increasingly higher bounces and the player to impart more spin than ever before. With…
How is it that most “developmental players” show up with a decent forehand grip and stroke, but it ends right there. How is it that they have a hard time grasping the concept of a Continental Grip? How is it that they miss out on learning a grip that will help them execute a variety…
The Jensen Brothers are going to bring it in Georgia! I am so excited to tell you that Murphy and I are now part of the Sea Island Experience! From 1990 when Murphy played at the University of Georgia (UGA), the Jensen family has been part of the Atlanta tennis scene. The opportunity to work…