The USTA has a whopping $30 million annual player development budget, according to The New York Times. Given their goal to "Create the Next Generation of Champions," things are not going too well. While the women's side seems brighter than the men's side, the outlook for the next great American, capable of winning multiple Grand…
Tennis is an old game, not the oldest of games, but certainly an old one. Part of what gives tennis an even older feel is the fact that it has been so resistant to change, but whether welcome or not, technology has played a large part in the changes in the sport of tennis over…
I see so many talented players play like pros on the practice courts and fall apart during matches. It doesn't matter what level of play, I find the transition from practice to match player sometimes is the toughest hurdle to overcome. For example, a player once had a double fault and a toss issue. So,…
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…
Tomas Berdych responded from an embarrassing defeat to Stan Wawrinka on Monday by routing U.S Open champion Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1 to stay alive at the ATP Finals in London. The Czech lost his fifth straight opening round match at the ATP Finals in his loss to Wawrinka, but won his fifth straight second round-robin…
Mini-tennis is the best way to warm up for any tennis endeavor. Whether that be a match, some casual hitting, a drill session or anything else, mini-tennis sets you up for success by getting you ready to play your best. I was playing a match recently, and as usual, I started by warming up. Usually…
In the July/August 2014 issue of Long Island Tennis Magazine, I published “The Pink Elephant on the Court.” Since it appeared in the pages of this magazine, I have received an overflow of comments from kids who said “OMG, how did you know what I was thinking? This is exactly what I want to tell…
American professional tennis success reached a historic low at this year's Wimbledon, and theories have been thrown around on how to fix this "problem," but I'm not so sure it's a “problem.” Maybe it's an opportunity to reflect and reevaluate what we really value as a culture. Why is it so important to pursue manifest…
In the summer of 1981, Mike Silverman of City Parks Foundation, a Levittown, N.Y. resident, was fresh out of college with an undergraduate degree in political science and plans to take a year off to work before going to law school. When Silverman accepted a six-week summer job teaching free beginner tennis lessons to kids…
I believe Roger Federer will go down as so much more than a great tennis player. He was a transitional player in many aspects. Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi handed him the torch to improve upon the state of the game. Up to that point, the pro Tour was dominated by Americans. Federer and his…