How many times have you found yourself in a match in which you were just a few points or games from winning? Maybe the score was 6-3, 5-2, and you began to think, “This is great. I’m going to be the champion!” or, “Only four more points and the trophy’s mine!” or even, “My friends…
The late season surge from Roger Federer winning his last three tournaments of the year (Basel, Paris and London) show tremendous signs that the player of the last decade will be ready to make a run for the top spot again in 2012. Federer did not win a Grand Slam title in 2011 and was…
Traditionally, strokes are developed and corrected by haphazardly focusing on body movements, racket movements and ball and racket interactions. This approach is confusing, ineffective and needlessly complicated because it fails to address the kinetic chain of events that led to a successful stroke. I suggest a different paradigm for managing tennis stroke production corrections by…
The New York City tennis community is blessed to have some of the best indoor facilities and best coaches in the world right here in our backyard. Recently, New York Tennis Magazine spoke with some of these top coaches to get some insight into their coaching/training strategies, what they look for in a great player,…
Change is constant … oftentimes motivated by necessity, and other times, triggered by technology in an effort to maximize convenience. Rarely do we have a choice but to adapt, even if we are not clear on how we feel about the particular change. From posted mail to e-mail, landlines to cellphones, and from enjoying the…
Do you ever win the first set easy and lose in three? Of course! It happens to every competitive player at some point in time. The scenario goes something like this … You start the match against a very good player totally pumped-up and ready to kick butt! Your focus and concentration are at their…
There are many different ways to define “choking” on a tennis court. There is a simple definition to me. Choking is when you get so nervous that it negatively impacts your on-court performance. There are a few keys to try and relax your body and your mind to avoid being so nervous that you “choke.”…
Perhaps the most important quality for success in tennis is steadiness and the avoidance of errors. It might come as a surprise then, that in practice "Blue Chips" miss more shots than “Five Stars,” while "Five Stars” miss more shots than “Four Stars,” etc. If you are thinking that superior players miss more balls because…
I am still fired up from this year’s U.S. Open … the most physical Grand Slam tournaments I’ve ever been a part of since I began playing them in 1983. Before the tournament began, there was an earthquake centered in Washington, D.C. and felt on the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with no…
A surfer sits out in the open ocean. The water is calm, the surfer is in complete control. Atop his surfboard, the surfer can enjoy the tranquility of his sport. However, he has not come out to the open water to enjoy tranquility. The surfer has ventured out in search of the big wave ……