Modern tennis has definitely changed. Most players have honed their baseline game to the max. They can be consistent, aggressive, offensive, defensive, and everything in between. However, the serve and volley play can still be an important part of a winning formula. Many players are returning serve from way behind the baseline, some even right…
A ball hit high and deep in the court is an extremely difficult shot to deal with in tennis. There are three different options that will help you reply to this shot, and hopefully help you turn the point in your favor. If the ball is going very slow and doesn’t have much topspin on…
We lost an icon when Jim Loehr recently passed away. I was lucky enough to know Jim and have followed him since the 1970’s when he began working with Tim and Tom Gullikson. Dr. Loehr was the first person to use sports psychology on the professional tennis tour. He was able to get his players…
Tennis players like to think that they will walk out on the court and play the best they can possibly play in their upcoming match. The truth is, that rarely happens. Even the best players in the world have many matches where they underperform. However, the better the player is, the better they are at…
Many tennis coaches still focus on teaching their players how to hit ten plus balls in a row. The theory is that if a player can consistently do this, their opponents will make a lot of mistakes, resulting in a winning formula for the match. This may still be true if the players are not…
The standard doubles position used to be one player on or slightly behind the baseline when returning or serving, and the other player on the service line (receiver’s partner) or in the middle of the service box (server’s partner). This has changed somewhat because players are hitting the ball harder and with more spin, in…
I have written about playing tennis in the wind before. Today, I gave a lesson with 15 mph winds with gusts up to 30 mph. It was also less than 40 degrees when we started and barely got to 50 by the end of the lesson. This reminded me of some of the things that…
Almost everyone has one side (hand and arm) that is dominant. When playing tennis, your non-dominant hand can be very helpful. First of all, you should use that hand to help get yourself back to the ready position. After hitting a forehand, make sure your other hand gets back on the racquet. This will help…
Tennis is an extremely difficult sport, possibly the most difficult to excel at. Combining hitting the ball, movement, strategy, mental toughness, and the competitive aspect can be extremely challenging. In my opinion, being able to execute all of this over a two, three, four, or five hour period puts professional tennis players near the top…
I learned a lot about coaching during a match from my seven plus years of experience with my brother, Paul, on the ATP Tour and during his earlier development. One of the most interesting things about this is that I had a very difficult time using what I had learned in my own matches. I…
