Since the speed of the game has increased so substantially, many shots hit by your opponent seem impossible for you to run down and return. A great way to work on covering more of these seemingly unreturnable shots is to get in the frame of mind that you are going after every ball regardless…
A lot of tennis professionals are doing video tips on Facebook and other social media sites these days. I recently saw several video tips from Tom Gullikson, who I know from my coaching days on the ATP Tour. Tom was a great player, winning the 1984 French Open Mixed Doubles title along with Manuela…
Since most points end after the serve (ace, service winner, missed return or double fault), it is extremely important to get your return of serve in play and force the server to hit another shot. Focusing on the basics will make this more likely and will also give you a chance to get the…
I know the COVID-19 crisis is going to be resolved. It may take longer than we had hoped. This is a great time to practice tennis on your own. I had not hit a ball in the last three weeks until the other day. I took ten balls and a racquet to the court. After…
Tennis is one of those unique sports in that for the majority of a junior’s competitive career, the only people who consistently watch them play are their parents. Unlike team sports where the coach is with the team at practice and matches, tennis coaches often coach their hour-long private lesson and go home. That…
“I made it to the final of my tournament last week!” “I got a baby puppy this week!” “My AP History class is killing me!” These are just a few of the phrases I hear on a weekly basis from students during lessons/programs, and it’s easy to assume they are being talkative or only…
It’s obviously very helpful to hit a lot of tennis balls if you are trying to become the best player you can be. However, there are times when this is not possible. Doing some things at home can add a lot to your skills on the court. First, make sure you have a good…
As everyone knows, we are in the process of being taught a lesson on our ability to control certain things in our day to day lives. That being said, there are things we can do to help the situation even though there are uncontrollable aspects to the problem. Applying this to a tennis match,…
As a coach, I counsel many families about how much tennis children should train at different ages and whether to cross-train in other sports and it’s a common question on my podcast, The Prodigy Maker Show. The bottom line is that every kid is different. Some can play tennis exclusively from the start while…
If you are a doubles player, you and your partner have had this conversation before: who plays which side? 75 percent of players prefer their forehand, so if they play on the deuce side, they can rip the forehand return of serve cross court. But if they play on the ad side, they have…