I often sit in meetings with other head coaches from a variety of sports at the college where I lead the men’s and women’s tennis programs. I attend forums and seminars, spending time trying to learn new ways to improve within the coaching profession. I share coaching stories with other instructors, and invariably, there is…
Hey fans of Roger Federer … this installment of “The Jensen Zone” is for you! Even if you do not have Federer as your favorite player, it is easy to respect the Swiss champion and his approach to sportsmanship, competition and appreciation for the game he plays. One thing that makes me sad is that…
A friend of mine just returned from a three-week trip to Japan and told me a story I found impossible to believe. This same story also brought tears to my eyes. It occurred at the end of a long day of shopping in Kyoto. She was in a very high-end department store and it was…
The 2015 Grand Slam season has concluded and on the men’s side, Novak Djokovic walked away with the U.S. Open trophy, defeating Roger Federer in four sets. Both Novak and Roger have had consistently solid years. They are both poster boys for the thread which I have woven into my articles during the previous year:…
Thank you, Roberta Vinci. Finally, someone has opened our eyes and made a clear statement: Tennis is not all about hitting the cover off the ball. Somehow, we all bought into the idea that the only way to play is to stay on the baseline and slug it out. Vinci showed us that simply changing…
The USTA has announced that its Player Development Division will host a series of coaching education symposiums geared to engage under-represented coaching communities. The overall goal of these symposiums is to continue USTA Player Development’s ongoing efforts to create a collaborative partnership with a full spectrum of its American tennis stakeholders. At the symposiums, USTA Player Development…
Many of the top coaches and teaching pros at clubs throughout Long Island come from places all over the world. The tennis community on Long Island is one big melting pot, and because of that, various techniques and training methods are available. One of those teaching pros is Alexandru Pop-Moldovan, who works at Christopher Morley…
In developing a player’s tennis swing, the eyes are often overlooked. Perhaps that’s because we use our eyes all day long as we accomplish daily tasks. We use them with precision to scan (to find), track (to follow) or focus (to take action). We take them for granted. But a tennis stroke requires something more….
The Long Island tennis community has some of the sport’s best facilities, both indoor and outdoor, and best coaches in the world. With this wealth of talent available right in our own backyard, Long Island Tennis Magazine recently took the opportunity to pick the brains of some of these top coaches. What you will find…
There are four main types of serves in tennis: Flat, Slice, Topspin and Kick. A Slice, Topspin and Kick Serve each have a specific direction of spin. The central focus of every serve is pronating. Pronating simply means that, at contact, the hand naturally moves from an inside to outside position by means of the…