About two years ago I went to watch one of my students play a USTA Eastern Section tournament. It was a 12U event, his opponent was a nice little player and it was a close match. However, I noticed right away that the kid kept looking at his watch before and after every point;…
One of the most important concepts a tennis player will learn is to take control of the point. Obviously, we cannot control everything that goes on in a tennis match. However, if you are able to control the point more often than your opponent, your chances of success greatly increase. Controlling the point can…
One of the quickest ways to elevate your club doubles game is through proper positioning, strategy and tactics. Club members are often out of position and struggling to get to balls and marvel how advanced players seem to know where the ball is going before it is struck by the opponent. Anticipation is the…
I am often asked what prepares a young tennis player for playing at the collegiate level. Over the course of 25 years in the business, my answer has evolved. Between my role as head coach of the NYU Men’s tennis team for 10 years (including scouting prospects nationwide) and my current role as owner…
The best players in the world repeat a lot of the same ideas over and over again in their matches. This is a building block for consistency. Developing consistency starts with figuring out what is and what is not important for performance. Starting the point well with a good serve or return, and getting…
As a director of tennis at clubs and programs for more than 20 years, I’ve seen all the sides of tournament play … as a player, coach, tournament director and USTA official. Unfortunately, the number of players participating in tournaments these days is lower than in year’s past. Part of the issue is players…
We all know that tennis is a game of skill, strategy and strength, and winning means playing a game that’s just a single shot better than your opponent. With every point potentially being a win-or-lose situation, the emotional roller coaster that players are subjected to is challenging, to say the least. A player has…
The game of tennis has moved more and more towards using speed and power to win the point. This has made it more difficult to be successful at the net. Simplifying your volley technique has become extremely important. I have always emphasized very little racquet movement on the volley. Your focus should be on…
Serving and returning serve are the two most important shots in the game. However, just getting these shots in play is not going to be enough to win the match against a good player. The first shot that you hit in a match sets the tone for how the point will be played. It…
As the ball in today’s game travels faster than ever due to racket construction and string technology, plus bigger, stronger and more powerful athletes playing the game, absorbing and redirecting pace have become two very important skills to master. Here is a cliffs notes presentation of these two topics: Absorbing pace occurs when an…