Ever felt like you don’t really know what to do during a match? You just kind of run around and hit the ball here and there? Understanding the question in tennis is half of the battle. It’s all to do with the incoming ball. So, the first step is to learn to rate the…
John Carpenter called me up from Atlanta around the time of the U.S. Open back in 2019 B.C. (Before Covid), seemingly out of the blue. He explained that he had read many of the articles I had written for local, well-regarded publications: Long Island and New York Tennis Magazines. He had written a book…
I’ve been obsessed with understanding the game within the game of tennis since I finished my competitive career in Europe 10 years ago. And now I’ve been lucky enough to learn about the Global Online Teaching Technology Access (GOTTA) system and language, and boy has it changed my perspective on how to look at…
I just finished a super season of summer camp in Vermont. Players from all over the country and world visited our small academy in the green mountains for serious high performance training. It’s becoming harder and harder to find serious training in the summer. Many academies and camps offer more recreational programs—Mickey Mouse type…
Growing up as a young tennis player in the late 1970s was very different from the reality that junior tennis players are facing today. In Tel Aviv, Israel where I grew up, the coaches were all using a wood racquet and they all used to play with one grip: continental. They all used to…
For the last few years, famous Brazilian tennis coach Larri Passos has spent time out in East Hampton on Long Island, working as a coach and consultant at the Ross School Tennis Academy (RSTA). RSTA’s Director of Tennis Vinicius Carmo is a fellow Brazilian who knows Passos from their time in South America, and…
Ever since I heard the news that Roger Federer is retiring after the Laver Cup, I have been trying to come up with a way to use his approach to the game as a tool to help tennis players who are striving for improvement. Obviously, we are not going to be able to play…
There is no one “best” way to play tennis. Some players win by keeping the ball in play and running down as many shots as possible. Others have big weapons like their serve or forehand, and can use those shots to get their opponent in trouble or win the point. There are players who are…
I have always thought my math skills were pretty good. My grades in every math related class I ever took were A’s; except for geometry (C). Ironically, one of the best things I do on the tennis court is to use angles to win the point…weird. Tennis is really all about math. If you…
Tennis professionals and coaches all have their own way of communicating. However, there are many words of wisdom coming from your instructors that have been repeated so many times, they get taken for granted and are often overlooked in a match situation. These can be your most helpful ideas out on the court when…