How many times have you seen an athlete get tight, underperform or choke in a big event? In practice, they play great—not a care in the world, going for broke on every shot, and effortlessly succeed while doing so. Yet once the competition starts, their best shots become their worst. Perhaps their big forehand, previously…
It happens very quickly. The contract is in front of you, your pen moves across the paper, the ink is still not dry and your business status changes immediately. Instantly, you are the CEO of your own company. The ______ Group [enter your name]. From now on, every decision you make, both on and off…
In addition to pure talent, the greatest champions of the game acquire relentless self-belief and determination through preparation. Every player has experienced a certain amount of doubt when down in the score or struggling through a match. Look at Andy Murray during the 2012 Olympics and 2013 Wimbledon Championships. There were critical points in each…
Former World Top-10 Tim Mayotte has joined forces with renowned junior coach Lee Hurst to launch the Mayotte-Hurst Tennis Academy at Cunningham Sports Center in Fresh Meadows, N.Y.—just a short distance away from the U.S. Open site where Mayotte once reached the quarterfinals. “There is a wealth of sports talent among the youngsters in this…
Every day, coaches from all around the world tell their students "get a bucket of balls and practice your serve.” This is great advice; however, just going out and practicing your serve without a purpose might just lead to boredom. Oftentimes, you will see players hitting serve after serve, and they are more concerned with…
New York Tennis Magazine has the unique opportunity to pose questions from our readers to tennis coaching legend Nick Bollettieri. Nick has coached 10 world number ones, including Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, Martina Hingis, Jelena Jankovic, Marcelo Rios, Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova, and Venus and Serena Williams, as well as a host of…
I am asked all the time from competitive tennis players … is the game more mental or physical? In my life-long adventure through the world of competitive tennis, I have found that the mentally tough players win more than the physically gifted. When I was a young player in the juniors, most of my problems…
“The Leader in Sports Entertainment” is ESPN, and one of their top correspondents, Sal Palantonio, lectured at SUNY Oneonta where I coach men’s and women’s tennis. When he spoke, something he said resonated with me. He noted, "Always use the tools to be successful that are available to you.” A sports reporter from the leading…
You can imagine that, in the 28 years I have been coaching varsity high school tennis teams, I have virtually seen it all. To be a bit more clear, I have worked with players who have thrived in pressure-packed situations and others who have turned into mental “mush” when the match was on the line….
Years ago, coaches would tell their students to recover to the middle. Nowadays, whatever shot you hit, you should recover slightly cross-court to that. If you hit to the center of the court, you should recover to the center as well. That is ideal, however, I was interested in what the professionals were doing, and…