We all know about the kids who win many tournaments at the age of 12. We can view this success on the sidelines generating those proud parents who think their son will be the next Roger Federer and their daughter the next Maria Sharapova. There are so many of these young juniors across USTA- and…
American junior tennis is in need of saving from the perils of Thanos, Fortnite, cellphone addiction and that obsessive dance called “The Floss.” It’s time for the agents of U.S.T.A. to assemble the original tennis Avengers to come to save the day. Who would they choose to play the core roles? Pete Sampras is…
Parenting is a tough job. Having a child that plays USTA tournaments makes it even harder. Quite often, the parents seem to suffer more than the players. If you walk into a random tennis club on a Friday or Saturday during a USTA tournament, you will find yourself in a tension-filled room with parents…
There is ample proof that tennis players often have difficulty controlling their emotions. This even holds true for players who have obtained greatness. Roger Federer was prone to anger and temper tantrums until he reached the age of 20 and well into his professional career. McEnroe was famous for screaming, “You cannot be serious,”…
What is one of the first things you do when you figure out your son or daughter’s starting time for their tournament on the weekend? You type their opponent’s name into Google and you get to see their Tennis Recruiting Rating and results. You may also look up their UTR Rating. Then, you may…
As I write this article, the fourth Nor’ Easter in the last three weeks is pounding the local area. Still, spring is finally here, and college and scholastic teams have begun to practice outside. Conditions are difficult to say the least. Players who are well-prepared for the challenges that cold, windy, sunny conditions on cracked…
As one may know, tennis applies constant side to side movements and quick changes of direction. Tennis shoes play an important role in preventing injuries and allowing one to move better on different tennis court surfaces. One way to prevent unnecessary tennis injuries is by wearing adequate tennis shoes for each court surface, something often…
Think back to the last Grand Slam final you saw … the winner and runner-up always raise the microphone and shout out to their team, thanking them for their unwavering support. In order for any athlete to reach the highest level of performance, there are underlying principals which can serve as a guide to the…
Competitive players often find that they cannot maintain consistent play, focus and a strong positive attitude during matches. Let’s consider a “Competitive Player” as one who, at any level, plays matches that are important to them. We would expect a higher-level player to be more evolved and a less-experienced player to be less-evolved, but…
I was thinking about all of you who follow this column and have been extremely loyal after all these years. I was thinking about your tennis … your wins, your losses, while looking ahead to see what is next. It came to me to ask you … Are you improving? Do you feel that all…