What does it mean to be elite? Is it just the top 10 players in the world? What about Division 1 college stars like Michael Zheng (Columbia) and Nishesh Basavareddy (Stanford), who have reached top 600 ATP rankings while excelling as full-time student-athletes at Ivy League schools? Are they not elite? And what about the…
As Junior Program Directors of Gotham Stadium Tennis, we often hear the same question: “Is my child ready for their first tennis tournament?” We understand that the idea of competing can feel scary and nerve-wracking for young players. However, we also know that this step is a crucial and exciting part of a player’s development….
More than a decade ago, Gabe Slotnick was sitting in the office of his accounting job at NYU Medical Center, pondering the next step in his life. While he was successful in the corporate world, he longed for something that would provide him more fulfillment. A former Division III tennis player at Yeshiva University in…
When we think of weapons in tennis, we often picture big serves or explosive forehands. But at every level of the game, the ability to disguise your shot, especially on the backhand side, can completely shift the momentum of a point. Two of the most effective tools to add to your arsenal are the backhand…
The local tennis community boasts some of the top coaches in the world, and with this wealth of talent available, New York Tennis Magazine took the opportunity to pick the brains of some of these coaches. These coaches share their thoughts on a wide variety of tennis topics and issues, ranging from junior tennis to…
When he steps onto the court, the atmosphere shifts. Even the most restless kids pause for a moment — it’s as if Pavlo Bednarzh can command attention without saying a word. His voice is firm, his movements confident, and his eyes radiate the energy of a man who has lived and breathed tennis his entire…
Nearly 30 years ago, Chrissie, John and their father Jimmy established the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida. By combining the experience of a champion with world-class coaching, cutting-edge training methods and premier facilities the Evert Tennis Academy is able to offer unrivaled programs for players of all ages and abilities. The Evert Tennis…
Despite common thought, it is inconsequential how good a player your coach was in their playing career. But it is of great consequence whether he or she can help you grow. Most of the parents and kids don’t understand this and hence, it’s a constant struggle to find a good coach. When we talk about…
Arcadi Edelman is a coach at MatchPoint NYC, but this isn’t just the story of a coach. It’s the story of a man who still walks onto the court in New York every day, in sweltering 95-degree heat racket in hand, watching a child’s reaction as attentively as he did half a century ago. A…
There is a dirty little secret in the cloistered world of competitive junior tennis: Cheating and gamesmanship are rampant—and nobody is doing anything about it. For many children and parents, their first exposure to the junior tennis circuit is a shock. Unlike most other sports, junior tennis is one of the few sanctioned competitions where…