Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Former Australian tennis star Mark Philippoussis is currently facing financial collapse as he is unable to pay his mortgage on his Williamstown home in bayside Melbourne.
Philippoussis earned more than $8 million dollars on court over the years, but is now being sued for failing to pay the mortgage and not just for a small amount, for about $1.3 million.
“Money came in left, right and centre; you just thought that’s how it was for everyone and that’s how it will always be,” he said.
“It’s the toughest time of my life right now, but it’s also the best time because I’ve woken up to so many things in my life.
“When I get back up from this I’ll appreciate so many things so much more. I’ve fallen down and I’ll get back up. This is how it is. It’s life.”
What do we do what we find ourselves in a winning position in a match? Most make two errors. They focus on the outcome of winning the match and they defend their lead. Both of these two things have catastrophic results!
There are many many examples even at an elite level Web players have started thinking about the end of the match. Things like shaking hands, shaking the umpire’s hand, photos with the trophy, people to think in their speech etc.
Thinking about the outcome and defending your lead a common symptoms when winning a match. There are processes and strategies you can execute to ensure you see the match to its completion as the winner.
Read the full article at http://playtennistowin.com/blog
The tennis court can be a very lonely place for a singles player. In between points it is easy for our mind to wander and be distracted. People wandering around the behind court, planes flying over, other matches going on around you, all have the potential to take your focus away from the match.
It is impossible, nor is it recommended that you stay focused during the whole match. You need to have many breaks, in between points. The challenge, is to regain a high level of concentration quickly at the start of each point.
A technique, I am sure that you have seen the professionals do, is to maintain straight strings in your racquet. Keeping your strings straight makes very little physical difference, however is a great concentration technique.
You will see top players continually straightening their strings before each point. While they are straightening their strings their concentration is very focused. It gives them place for their eyes to focus while they think about the next point and how they going to execute their plan.
If you stick to this technique is easy to see when you are not concentrating. If you look down at your racquet, notice that all your strings are not straight, you need to concentrate more and take more time before points.
Try it out and let me know how you go!
Michael
When you are playing it a tournament at a tennis centre for the first time it is very important to make sure you know a few of the finder details about the centre.
Spending a little bit of time gathering all this information will make your time at the tournament much more relaxed. You will know how to prepare, you’ll know what to expect, and most importantly you will feel in control and settled in unfamiliar environment. This will allow you to focus on your match and your opponent and improve your chances of winning.
In the weeks leading up to the event find out the following information:
* How you are going to travel to the tennis Centre?
* What facilities they have at the tennis Centre.
* Do they have toilets and change rooms?
* Do they have restringing service?
* What is the turnaround time for a restring?
* Do they have a pro-shop?
* Do they sell consumables like grips, wristbands?
* Do they sell healthy food and sports drinks?
* Where are the practice courts?
* What time is another practice courts available?
* Do you need to book a practice court?
* What are the opening hours for the pro shop?
* Do they sell clothing? Just in case you run out of fresh clothes.
* Is the tournament being played at more than one tennis Centre? If so does the tournament arrange transport between the tennis centres?
* What is the surface of the courts at the tennis Centre? (and other tennis centres being used?
* If you’re travelling by car where can you park your car? Are there costs associated with parking?
* If you are relying on public transport know the timetables especially the last bus or train. is public transport safe?
* If possible get a map of where the tennis Centre is located.
* If possible also get a layout of the tennis Centre marking on it where the toilets are, food, pressure, tournament office.
It is a great idea to get the tournament a day before it starts if possible. Try and arrange a warmup practice hit at the tennis Centre start to familiarise yourself with the environment. This will help you relieve some anxiety coming into your first match of the tournament.
If you require accommodation, try to stay within walking distance of the tennis Centre. This is especially important if you have a late match followed by an early match the next day.
For most tournaments this tennis centre would become your home for a couple of days or maybe a week. You need to feel comfortable as soon as possible to increase your chances of winning early matches in the tournament. if possible, even try and find some photos of the tennis Centre to further familiarise yourself.
I hope that helps!
Michael
All players should use different shoes for different surfaces. The main 2 differences are hard courts and ‘slippery’ courts. (eg clay, dirt and synthetic grass)
On the weekend I watched a young player slip over on Synthetic Grass during the warm up for his match. Synthetic Grass has a layer of sand over it making it slippery. He slipped because of his shoes. He was wearing his 2 month old, hard court shoes. He had left his grass court shoes at home this time. After falling and taking some skin off he forfeited the match in the warm up!
(in an upcoming article I talk about what you SHOULD do if you injure yourself in a match)
Amazing, you can do all this training and practice and something simple like keeping 2 pairs of shoes in your bag can determine how well you play. Simple really! I personally always have both sets of shoes in my bag. Even if I am playing a ‘hard court tournament’ I will bring my grass court shoes just in case. Why? Well I know that if there is a delay sometimes other ‘outside’ courts are used. This may mean different tennis centers are used and potentially they can be a different surface.
Be strict with yourself. Never wear your grass court shoes on a hard surface – not even once. The hard courts just strip the tread off – you want maximum grip when you need it.
So why different shoes?
There are 2 main things to look for when deciding what shoes to wear when. Cushion and grip pattern.
On a hard court surface the pattern does not matter as much as the cushion. Having extra padding, cushioning, gel, air – whatever the technology – is important.
Elite players notice the difference between a good and inferior pair of shoes. Always purchase shoes with padding at the front as well as the heel. This subtle and overlooked difference can be the difference between you feeling light or heavy on your feet.
I remember playing in shoes which were the model down from the top model. It felt like I was playing in thongs. Tennis players spen alot of time on the balls of our feet – jumping for smashes, recovering from a wide ground stroke, going forward on our volleys. You really notice the difference with extra cushioning at the front.
The other reason why cushion matters on hard court is the heat of the court. Playing on a hot court in the middle of the day can be very draining. You need a large buffer between you and the court to keep that heat away from your feet.
Cushioning also – obviously – protects you from injury. By the shoe absorbing the impact – it stops you from taking the impact to your ankles, knees and leg muscles. You also want some ankle support.
Ok, now ‘slippery’ surfaces. Clay, synthetic grass, grass etc. Cushioning and durability is less important. It is more about the tread pattern typically you want a shoe with the majority a heringbone pattern. The rubber can actually be softer so the shoe can mould to the surface of the court. The old Dunlop Volleys are a great shoe for these conditions – however – offer very little ankle support or cushioning.
NEVER wear your shoes on the wrong surface. You need your slippery tread to be fresh, not worn from use on a hard court. And Vice Versa.
Keep both pairs in your tennis bag if you are going to an event and there is a chance between playing on either surface. It can be the difference between winning and loosing.
I also recommend playing on both surfaces regularly. Playing on slippery surfaces is a completely different game to hard courts. They are both very enjoyable. We are going to discuss some surface strategies in an upcoming article.
Ok, I heard about this last night and tried it. This is a great little test and skill enhancer. We are not working on improving any stroke in particular however your whole game will improve.
The drill goes like this.
What you need – 2 players. One Serving and the other Receiving. 2 balls – one for the server and one for the receiver.
- The Receiver starts the drill by bouncing a ball on their racquet, not letting it touch the ground.
- The server serves another ball whenever he or she is ready. – Second Serve speed – about 80% serve.
- The receiver must continue to keep bouncing the ball on their racquet, hit the ball the server served and continue bouncing the ball on their racquet.
It sounds difficult however you work it out after a few serves. What I worked out is – tap the ball gently only leaving the racquet about 1 foot. Just after the server makes contact with the ball tap the ball higher (not sure how high I was not watching the ball in the air – I was focussing on the return- maybe 3 meters)
This really trains you to work on your peripheral vision and after a while you are actually become quite relaxed and confident you can make the return and keep bouncing the ball on your racquet.
After you have finished that drill try hitting normal returns… How easy are they now !!!
By overloading your system you work on all your senses. An advanced version of this would be to have people throwing balls at you, random noise next to you, or obstacles you need to step around. When all these distractions are taken away and ‘all’ you have to do is hit a return it much easier !
What do you think? Leave a comment or let us know another drill you like and use 
Michael
Ok, firstly anxiety and nerves are slightly different things.
Anxiety is where you are looking forward to achieving a particular outcome in the future. The frustrating part about anxiety is that you are basically waiting for a ‘time’ to achieve it. For example a match on the weekend, in a few hours etc. Usually anxiety goes away once the match has started and you are able to do something about the outcome.
During a match or just before anxiety is usually replaced by nerves. So, what are these nerves? A definition of nerves is: ‘the gap between what needs to be done and what you believe you can do’.
Nerves are good – it mean that you care about the outcome !
Again, ‘what needs to be done’ – beat this opponent, play strong, volley well, work out how to beat someone.
The next part – ‘what you believe you can do’ – can you beat this opponent, play well etc. The closer your ‘belief’ on your ability to ‘achieve’ what needs to be done the less nerves you should have…. Never thought about it that way? The nerves are proportional to the size of the gap! Examples
If you are confident you can beat someone you might be slightly anxious to do it – but not nervous.
If you think you are going to loose, and are sure you can achieve loosing well you wont be nervous. (being negative – but proving a point)
If you are playing a good player of similar standard however you are feeling a little rusty, well you might feel nervous about how you will perform on the day.
How do you reduce nervousness?? Increase confidence. How do you increase confidence? Be confident in your preparation leading into the match. Your fitness, technique, routines etc.
If you are well prepared, confident with what you have done before the match you should be less nervous.
Preparation is something you can work on to reduce anxiety ! It makes you already in control of the outcome – preparing yourself. Now do you see how they fit together?? Interesting…
There also other tips for confidence like strategy and mental rehersal – that is going to be in another article!!
Have a great day !! Michael
As Early As Possible. Yes, go out after your volley. Do not wait for it to come to you.
This does a few things.
Firstly it gets you moving forward to the volley. With your body momentum going forward you will use your body weight as the main power in the volley. Most people who stand very flat footed tens to swip and slap at their volleys in an attempt to generate power.
Secondly, it forces you to take an attacking approach to the volley which really threatens the opponent.
Thirdly, the earlier you hit the ball the higher over the net the ball is at contact. The longer you let the ball come to you, the lower your volley will be hit. So, with a lower volley you will then need to hit up on the ball to clear the net and are forced to play a softer shot.
Forth, with your momentum going forward you will continue to get closer to the net on the next volley – therefore closing out the point at the net.
Fifth, you will naturally hit the ball out in front of your body which is essential for good volleys.
Wow – all these results just by thinking about hitting it as early as possible !
Volley positive, go forward and close the point out.
Michael
One of the most challenging parts of tennis is that nearly every ball is going to come to you differently. In most other sports there are not as many variables. This is one of the great parts about tennis, the challenge!
Ok having said that, the shot with the LEAST number of variables is our serve. We can PLACE that ball anywhere in the air, we can decide WHEN to toss the ball up. Two big variables !!
So why do people server inconsistently, or continually chasing their ball toss? The answer, an incosistent ball toss ! Sure a bit of wind might alter it slightly but really not that much.
What can you do? Practice your ball toss. Practice placing the ball in the air in the same spot over and over. Dont hit the ball practice the toss only.
Your ball toss – if you dont hit it – should land in the same place on the court. When I was young we used to place the racquet flat on the ground. Racquet handle butt against our front toe, strings toward the net. When we tossed the ball up it should land on the strings. We would practice landing our ball toss over and over, landing it on the same spot on the ground.
Only with a consistent ball toss, can build a consistent serve. Many people grip the ball too hard on the ball toss, ‘chuck’ it up then worry about it afterwards.
The ball toss should be a very gentle, gracefull placement. Start by holding the ball gently with your fingers. Nearly with your finger tips. Turn your hand so your palm faces your body. Gently release the ball with the tips of your finger, place it up there. Are you thinking about your ball toss differently now?
Work out where your toss should be for your different servers and practice placing them up there. Get the height right and how far forward or behind your head etc.
Enjoy ! Michael
Wristbands, they sometimes are a little forgotten. Well here is an insight, they are not a fashion accessory – they are a performance enhancing tool !! Ok, why?
They are used to do a few things. Firstly, to wipe your forehead to stop sweat dripping into your eyes and secondly to stop sweat running down your arm, hand and onto your grip.
Remember in a previous article I talked about keeping a loose grip for more power?. I also talked about keeping your grips fresh and moisture free to keep the grip sticky.
Getting the picture? Yep, wristbands increase the life of your grips, keep moisture away from your hand and grip, therefore allowing you to continue to grip the racquet lightly!
Most people would never think of wristbands having an effect on their strokes – but indirectly they do !!
Having said all that – some top players dont wear them. See the articles pictures. You can now make up your own mind if they will help you!!
Exciting news readers !! All I will say is check out The Tennis Times. http://thetennistimes.com
More on that tomorrow !!!
Michael
During a match we tend to tighten up in pressure situations. Serving is where these pressures can mount up. Why? Well, we are expected to win our serve AND we are in control of when the point starts. (Here also lies the opportunity to become a very sold server – more about that another time) If you find yourself pulling your serves into the net it is usually due to you dropping your ball toss shoulder too early. Right handers – your left shoulder. Left handers – your right shoulder. (if ball toss shoulder wasnt clear enough )
This is definitely the case IF you find you are looking at the ground after serving. Some people are hunched over after the serve with little forward momentum.
So what to do? A very easy cue to remember in the match – is ‘keep your front shoulder up high’. I mean, really keep it up high for as long as you can. In actual fact it will be forced down eventually as you make impact and follow through the serve.
See the example of the picture in this article. Federer has his left hand and shoulder reaching high. His front shoulder is much higher than the back shoulder.
‘Keep your shoulder high’ is the simple cue in the match to get your serves back on track.
By forcing this action you will stay very tall during the serve and it will force you to go ‘up’ and ‘out’ to the ball.
Stay tall, feel strong, and build a solid serve you can rely on in any situation.
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Signup – until tomorrow !!
Elite level players will use different shoes for different surfaces. The main 2 differences are hard courts and ‘slippery’ courts. (eg clay, dirt and synthetic grass)
There are 2 main things to look for when deciding what shoes to wear when. Cushion and grip pattern.
On a hard court surface the pattern does not matter as much as the cushion. Having extra padding, cushioning, gel, air – whatever the technology – is important.
Read the full article at The Tennis Times http://thetennistimes.com
Welcome to Daily Tennis Tips. The goal of this web site is pretty clear – Enjoy and Improve Your Tennis.
How? We will be discussing techniques, strategies, fitness, stretching, equipment and preparation. Our target audience is for tennis players from 5 years old to 105 years old. Yep that should cover it !!
Things to look out from our team are:
Equipment Discussion about strings, shoes, racquets, clothing and what variations are good for different surfaces and conditions.
Mental discussions. Topics like routines, mental imagery and identification of turning points. We will also point out how people like Nadal control their mind and routines they use. There were some great examples on Sunday night in the Wimbledon doubles final !
Strategy tips. Discussions on how to beat a base line players, players with big serves, etc.
Tips about technique. Improving your game from serves to volleys, ground strokes and drop shots.
Enjoy the site, please feel free to contact me with any feedback, any suggestions and anything you would like to discuss.
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Thanks and have a great day !
