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Improve Your Tennis Serve by Loosening up And Relaxing

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Loosen Up Man

Who doesn’t want a 155mph serve like Andy Roddick?  How many of us have tried to increase our serve speed by clenching our muscles and trying to hammer the ball?  And how many of those testosterone-filled muscle-clenched serves have gone straight into the net or back fence without any increase in speed?

Turns out one of the ways to develop more pop on your serve is by relaxing: everything from your shoulder down to your grip.  A relaxed arm and grip allows your arm and racquet to whip through the ball, creating more racquet head speed, and therefore more power and spin.  On the other hand, a flexed and tight muscles prevent your arm from whipping and creating the necessary racquet head speed.

Every wondered why a whip cracks like in Indiana Jones?  Its because the tip of the whip travels faster than the speed of sound, over 700mph, creating a miniature sonic boom.  But how fast does the handle of the whip move?  How about the first foot of the whip?  Each segment of the whip moves faster and faster until finally the tip moves faster than the speed of sound.  Your body should act the same way on serve.  Your shoulder only moves slowly, but your elbow moves faster, and your wrist even faster.  Finally, the tip of your racquet will be moving at 100mph+.  This is all only possible by keeping the parts of your body relaxed and fluid.

Try this exercise to loosen your arm and increase your serving speed:

1.  Serve while gripping the bottom of the racquet with your thumb and first three fingers only.  Let your pinky hang off the end of the grip.  This will force your grip and arm to be looser (make sure you don’t throw your racquet in the process!!).

2.  After serving 20-25 serves this way, add your pinky back on to the racquet for control, but keep your arm as loose feeling as it was before.

3.  You may not immediately serve like Andy, but you’ll find you add serious whip and miles per hour to your serve!

Written by fishcorn
Professional Tennis and Fitness Instructor

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Tennis Shoes – The Ace

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Tennis is a sport indulging hours of inevitable practice. Owing to this the tennis player`s feet experience a lot of stress during each serve and also in moving around the tennis court. The strength and stability of a person forms the main foundation. The lower body strength in a person plays a vital role in offering the required force such that the upper body exhibits equivalent power in carrying out this action. The more powerful and stronger is the game, the heavier is the stress on their feet and this is supported well only by tennis shoes.

Protecting the feet of a tennis player is essential with a good pair of tennis shoes. The force and momentum is more due to the concentration on their body, especially the feet. The shoes with cushioned soles are a must for each tennis player as it absorbs the effect of running on various surfaces and also shields the feet from stress caused while carrying out serves as well as in returning shots. A pair of good tennis shoes should come with advanced sole technology offering the player an advantage in exchanging backhands and forehands during the course of the game.

Providing comfort to the player`s feet is crucial and durable tennis shoes are the right choice. The shoes chosen should offer sufficient grip as unwanted slips may cause severe injuries that may be career threatening as well. Quality shoes empower the experience of a player, besides contributing to health and career longevity. Tennis shoes are designed such that it offers maximum comfort and support, apart from protecting the feet. This makes buying quality product mandatory, else it may affect the feet of the wearer and result in poor performance. Owing to the long hours of playing, the wear and tear is frequent and hence the shoes should come with heel pads and reinforced toe ascertaining a prolonged wear.

Selecting the perfect pair of tennis shoes is important for tennis players. The selection criterion is based on certain things such as the feet type of the player, the surface of playing and proper fit of shoes. People prone to blister should certainly wear thick cushioned fitting shoes. Tennis shoe that fits the width of the feet is ideal for players. A strong and big built player should certainly prefer heavier type of shoes. However, shoes of light weight are appropriate for players desiring for enhanced foot spread and alertness.

Playing on soft courts implies that shoes with a smooth and flat sole are ideal. However, one must check for no bumps or knobs on the sole. But, hard court surface players are recommended for durable and challenging shoes as the hard courts are certain to damage the sole tread of the shoes. This also results in shoes slipping. Conversely, hard surfaces meant providing additional protection to toes by wearing appropriate tennis shoes.

Tennis shoes are conveniently available in many styles and shapes. There are custom made shoes, besides the ready made shoes. Customized shoes are designed based on the player`s specifications and requirements. Such type of tennis shoes is more expensive than the regular ready made shoes. Purchasing tennis shoes should be done keeping in mind the best quality and comfort and not the color and style of the shoe. Selecting the accurate shoes is of significance to give best performance and the top brands include Nike, Puma, Adidas, Reebok, Lacoste, British Knights, Converse and K-Swiss.

You can have access to articles about tennis shoes in portuguese language from page PoloMercantil

Written by robertoms2003

jeffsalzensteintennis.com Watch this tennis lesson to see how you can improve your tennis serve right NOW! Use the continuous tennis serve drill in this video to fix your serve motion and raise your level today. Novak Djokovic has challenges in his tennis serve because his elbow drops too low in the trophy position. Keeping your elbow up on your tennis serve will help you increase the power and control on your tennis serve. Your tennis serve is all about consistency and not letting the elbow drop will increase it. Keep this in mind next time your are hitting your tennis serve playing tennis and you will see results. Former ATP Top 100 ATP Tour player, USTA High Performance Coach and Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Jeff Salzenstein, reveals inside this video the secrets on how to improve your serve technique with a simple drill You can get more cutting edge tennis tips and tactics at http

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How to Teach Your Kid Tennis

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Teaching your child tennis can be one of the most rewarding and valuable experiences in your life, and theirs. You are granted the joys of watching your kid play, run, learn, and succeed; while your child is granted knowledge that will last him a life time. Unfortunately, most parents simply do not have enough knowledge as a tennis player or an athlete, to really help their kid succeed nor enjoy the sport enough to continue playing tennis as a hobby. To put it bluntly, this article will help; it will teach you the fundamentals of teaching your kid tennis, so you can teach the fundamentals of tennis to your kid.

Here is the most important thing a parent can do before putting their kid on the court, or in any athletic setting for that matter. Stretch your kid out. You want to stretch your kid for at least 5-10 minutes. Not only well this help prepare proper athletic habbits for them in the future, but it will prevent them from injuring themselves on the court. Make them run as well. Get their heart rate up, get them energized to play tennis. If they don’t want to run, make it a game–chase them, race them, gie them incentives to run. At the same time this can be used conversly and you can threaten them by taking away certain privledges they have on the court. Here is a disclaimer: make all threats and incentives tennis related–dont include your home life on the court. Also be weary about using threats on the court, use them as a last resort–you want your child to think tennis is fun.

Teach them about tennis rules, but just teach them the basics at first. Show them where the baseline is, the singles line, the service line, the net, the center line. Tell them the ball has to go over the net. Like I said, the basics. You can include more rules such as foot faulting, where to serve, and other things of that nature, but for now the basics are appropriate because its easier to remember. At first they may not remember these rules, but if you continue to go over them before you get on the court, they will eventually learn them. You can also quiz them for prizes or other incentives depending on how many they get right. Incentives should always be tennis related– such playing games at the end of practice

Next on the agenda, is the grip. The grip is vital to their learning experience. If you teach them the proper grip they will make better contact with the ball more often and simply succeed more. Here is how: first hold their racket by the head, and turn it on the side so the strings are not facing the floor. You should not be touching the grip. Tell them to “shake hands with the racket”. That is the grip they should use, it is called the continental grip. As you progress your child and teach them in more depth about topspin, you may want to change their grip to a semi-western–to do this you turn the racket face so it becomes “closed”. However, that is another article.

To further help them succeed more in their first few practices, conduct hand-eye coordination workouts. This should be fun for your kid and it will help them make better contact with the ball sooner. To begin your hand-eye coordination workouts, have them bounce the ball on their rackets, or dribble the ball with their rackets on the ground. The ball in either drill should not be bouncing very high at all. Do this before every practice. Try to make it fun for them, make a game out of it. Bet them they can’t make it up to a certain number, and have them try to reach it. Kids, in their playful nature, will gladly take you on. If your kid already has good hand-eye coordination, or has improved since your workouts started, have them move on to more advanced bounces. Have them turn the racket face 180 degrees per bounce (the ball should hit both sides), have them put a spin on the ball while bouncing, or my personal favorite, have them bounce the ball on the frame of the racket. If your kid is struggling with the basic exercises, start out by just bouncing the ball and catching it with their hands, or throwing the ball up and catching it with their hands. Give them lots of praise, as confidence is key.

Now you are ready to hit with your kid, but before you do, teach them the ready position. The ready position is where you are facing forward shoulders parallel to the net with your knees bent. The racket should be up and both hands should be on the racket. They should be in this position before they hit any ball.

Once they master the ready position, have them come up to the net for volleys. The reason we do volleys instead of groundstrokes first is simple: volleys are easier than ground strokes at this level. Have them stand close to net, and tell them to make a “stop sign” with their racket. What this should mean is “put your racket up”. The racket head should be well above their wrist. Tell them to watch the ball when they hit, and to try to hit the logo on the center of the racket (the big P on prince rackets). Try to phrase it like “Hit the big P for a Perfect shot!”. Emphasize clearance over the net. In other words tell them to “make a rainbow over the net with the ball” Yeah, these lines are cheesy but it will get through to them. Also instruct them to step forward with their opposition leg (if their forehand is their left side, they should be stepping with their right and visa versa). When they step their body should be turned so their side is facing the net. When they are about to hit tell them to yell a fun phrase like “Splat!” at contact. Stand on the other side of the net, and toss them balls on the forehand side. This drill helps them watch the ball, and works on their hand-eye coordination. If they have trouble have them hold the ball and hit it over the net themselves until their hand-eye is better. Once they master the forehand volley have them move on to the backhand volley. The grip on the backhand volley is tricky, it will be the same grip you use on the back hand. You want your kid to have two hands on the racket. Have them hold the racket in continental grip with their strong hand. The weak hand goes on top of the strong hand. Make sure the weak hand is turned correctly. The palm should be on the flat of the grip. To see if your kid is holding the racket right, look at their strong hand’ s knuckles, it should be facing the opposite direction the weak hand knuckles are, more or less. Do the same drill you performed with the forehand volley. When your kid gets good, have them stand in ready position and throw them balls to either the backhand or forehand without warning. This forces them to get back into ready position after each hit. With both step 6 and 7, make this fun for your kid. Give them encouraging words like “Nice Shot” etc. Also, if you get hit, pretend it hurts, it lets them laugh and gives confidence they are hitting the ball hard like on t. v. Try making a game out of it, tell them to get 10 in a row. Or begin feeding with a racket, or volleying back their shots (if your volleys are good enough to give them a nice easy hit).

Now they are used to hitting the ball, have them hit some groundstrokes with you.All grips on both the backhand and forehand are the same as well as the stepping motion. When they hit a ground stroke, tell them they should either be “Making a C” or be “bringing their racket from low to high”. Both encourages and forces your kid to hit with proper topspin. I like telling your kid to make a “C” with the racket because it helps them learn to bring the racket back and prepare for the shot. What making a C means is when they bring their racket back, the motion should resemble a C. Emphasize the contact point. The contact point should be around the abdomen just a little in front your kid. You still want to emphasize making a “rainbow over the net”, stepping into the ball, and hitting the logo on the strings. Instead of saying “step/hit”, now the kid should say “Bounce” as the ball bounces in front of them and “Hit” when contact is made at the contact point. Have them drop the ball in front of them and hit the ball. Once they get the hang of that, feed them balls from across the net. again make games with them to keep the lesson fun. Give incentives for doing well, and encouragement if they struggle. When your kid get good, start feeding with your racket, and start rallying with them (don’t spin the ball however). When you start rallying with them play “Beat the pro (or parent in this case)” where you kid tries to take a point off you. Give them a prize every time they win, like you doing push-ups or something. However, that’s up to you!

Now comes the hard part: serving. First have them practice their toss by tossing a ball up above their head in front of them. Keep practicing until their toss is good enough for them to not move and still be able to catch the ball. As for serving, tell them to put their racket behind their back like they are “scratching their back”. This is how they should start serving every time. Have them extend their racket above their shoulder so they are reaching up as high as they can. This is their contact point for the serve. End the service motion there. Tell them they should be hitting the ball when they toss at the highest point they can with out jumping. They should still be hitting the logo, and be making a rainbow. Start at the service line with the goal of just getting it over the net. Work your way back to the baseline as your kid gets better. Serving is a hard thing to grasp for a kid. You want to be encouraging so they don’t get discouraged, because they will at times. Make sure you focus on clearance over the net, nothing else, and your kid will get better–that’s the time you talk about direction, placing, spin, etc.

All these tips, however, mean nothing if you don’t shape their attitude towards success and failure. This is why I cautioned you earlier to be weary about incentives and threats. You want to shape their attitude towards tennis to be fun, but at the same time they need to realize its not free time. This way they will continue to strive to improve through practicing and drills, but enjoy it at the same time.

See more tennis tips and tricks at Totally Tennis

Written by nthakore

jeffsalzensteintennis.com I had a viewer comment on my tennis serve on the Nadal Serve Video I have posted (http The viewer commented on the fact that I am not “following through” on my tennis serve. If you study Pete Sampras, who had one of the greatest serves of all time, you will see him arm bend right after contact. Bending your arm right after contact on the tennis serve will allow you to relax and pronate your hand and arm correctly. We have all heard the word “PRONATION” from a coach when they are explaining the tennis serve. The key is to be like Pete Sampras and actually get that arm to bend after contact during the tennis serve. The next comment this viewer made stated I was not jumping out into the court enough on the tennis serve. I am here to set the record straight on this tennis serve myth. If you study the videos of servers like Federer, Sampras and Roddick, most of the time they will land on the baseline or just in front of the baseline after their tennis serve. Traditional coaching might tell you jump out into the court as far as you can after the tennis serve. Well this leaves you, what some might call, “no man’s land”. This is not a good position to be in after your tennis serve. Take a hint from players like Roddick, who have been known to hit serves upwards to 158mph, and try not to leap out into the court after your tennis serve. The very last comment this viewer posted was that my toss was too far over my head on the tennis serve. If you compare my …
Video Rating: 5 / 5

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Tennis Player Profiles: Andy Roddick

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Considered by many as perhaps the greatest American tennis player of all time, Andy Roddick have etched his name in the history of tennis and further cemented his legacy as among the finest tennis stars of all time. The 27-year-old Roddick boast an immaculate 76 percent (512-162) winning record in singles match during his continuing career.

Roddick is known for having the a strong and ferocious serve and even holds the record for the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis at 155 mph done during a match at the 2004 Davis Cup.

Roddick was born in Omaha, Nebraska, USA where he first learned the sport of tennis. His two brothers Lawrence and John were deeply involved with the sport and they were local tennis heroes in Nebraska — a factor that probably influenced Roddick to enter the sport and pursue his ambition to become the best tennis player in the world.

Early in his career, Roddick went on a slump as he was unable to win even a single match that prompted him to mingle with the thoughts of quitting the sport. However, due to his intense love for tennis and his sheer determination, Roddick improved his game and rose out of adversities.

During the early 2000s, Roddick’s popularity grew tenfold as he dished out brilliant performance after another against the best of the best tennis players the world has to offer. He defeated the likes of the legendary Michael Chang, Pete Sampras and Marco Ancic en route to establishing his name among the world’s finest.

In 2003, Roddick won his first grand slam title, winning the US Open. Thus, paving the way for him being recognized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) as the world’s number one tennis player.

More so, the battle for the world rankings was too tight to call as Roger Federer was winning match after another. True enough, Roddick’s reign as world number one ended in February 2004, when the mighty Federer surpassed him.

From then on, Roddick became an instant celebrity on and off the tennis court. His relationships were an open book for all to salivate upon. Reportedly, Roddick dated American actress and singer Mandy Moore but such affair did not materialize in a serious relationship. Hence, Roddick is now happily married to Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and actress Brooklyn Decker.

In 2010, Roddick announced to the public that he was diagnosed with mononucleosis. Fortunately, according to the doctors, Roddick is bound to recover from such illness.

Written by jlramos

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Tennis Tips – How to Win on Grass

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I have coached many tennis players and recently I played my first match on grass. Here are a few observations and tips for winning on this surface. These tips should be of interest to players with varying levels of skill and expertise.

1. Take the ball early.
2. Shorten the points.
3. Shorten your backswing to compensate for the speed of the surface.
4. Practice getting down low to get those low shots.
5. Think of grass as being the opposite of playing on clay or on hard turf. The ball will not sit up for you. It will stay down.
6. Develop a good slice to keep the ball low and accommodate the grass surface.
7. A short serve can be a weapon on grass because it can force your opponent to move in and be off balance.
8. A slice serve can be a huge weapon on grass because it can force your opponent to return a wide and low ball.
9.

When setting up to serve, find a spot on the grass which will give you a reliable bounce for your pre shot routine.
10. Come in whenever you can.
11. Chip and charge returns of service.
12. A low soft drop shot when used properly can be a killer shot on the green stuff.
13. Wear sneakers that will give you good traction on grass.
14. Practice volleys, swinging volleys and overheads.
15. Take the ball in the air often, so the odd bounces which you get on grass will not hurt your ability to win points and games.
16. Watch the bounce very carefully and read the ball’s direction, spin, height and pace early on.

Jay P. Granat, Ph.D. is a psychotherapist and the founder of http://www.stayinthezone.com He has written several books and developed several programs to help people perform to their fullest potential at sports, at work and at school. Dr. Granat, a former university professor, has appeared in The New York Times, Good Morning America, AP, ESPN, Golf Digest, The BBC and The CBC. He can be reached at info@stayinthezone.com. His books include Zone Tennis and Get Into The Zone In Just One Minute. He is also the author of How To Get Into The Zone With Sport Psychology And Self-Hypnosis, How To Lower Your Golf Score With Sport Psychology And Self-Hypnosis, 101 Ways To Break Out Of A Hitting Slump and Bed Time Stories For Young Athletes. Golf Digest named Dr. Granat one of America’s Top Ten Mental Gurus. He was recently featured in a documentary film on long distance running. Dr. Granat writes a weekly column for three newspapers. He is also the author of Zone Tennis. This book is available at major book stores.

Tennis Now TV presents “Winning Tennis: Instruction by Jeff Salzenstein.” In today’s lesson, Salzenstein talks about what you should eat after a match or a workout, and what to watch out for when buying protein powder. Salzenstein is an 11-year veteran of the ATP tour who ascended to the top 100 in the rankings. Now he is a USTA high performance coach and a nutritional therapy practitioner, and founder of the JS Performance Tennis School in Denver. In addition to coaching, he also runs a blog, which you can find here: www.jeffsalzensteintennis.com

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The Psychology Of Match Play In Tennis

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The first and most important point in match play is to know how to lose. Lose cheerfully, generously, and like a sportsman.

This is the first great law of tennis, and the second is like unto it to win modestly, cheerfully, generously, and like a sportsman. The object of match play is to win, but no credit goes to a man who does not win fairly and squarely. A victory is a defeat if it is other than fair.

Yet again I say to win is the object, and to do so, one should play to the last ounce of his strength, the last gasp of his breath, and the last scrap of his nerve. If you do so and lose, the better man won. If you do not, you have robbed your opponent of his right of beating your best. Be fair to both him and yourself. “The Play’s the thing,” and in match play a good defeat is far more creditable than a hollow victory. Play tennis for the game’s sake. Play it for the men you meet, the friends you make, and the pleasure you may give to the public by the hard working yet sporting game that is owed them by their presence at the match.

Many tennis players feel they owe the public nothing, and are granting a favour by playing. It is my belief that when the public so honours a player that they attend matches, that player is in duty bound to give of his best, freely, willingly, and cheerfully, for only by so doing can he repay the honour paid him. The tennis star of today owes his public as much as the actor owes the audience, and only by meeting his obligations can tennis be retained in public favour. The players get their reward in the personal popularity they gain by their conscientious work. There is another factor that is even stronger than this, that will always produce fine tennis in championship events. It is the competitive spirit that is the breath of life to every true sportsman: the desire to prove to himself he can beat the best of the other man; the real regret that comes when he wins, and feels the loser was not at his best. The keen competitive spirit that stimulates a match player also increases the nervous strain. This should be recognized by tournament committees, and the conditions of play should be as nearly standardized as weather permits. The first thing to fix firmly in your mind in playing a match, is never to allow your opponent to play a shot he likes if it is possible to force him to make one he does not. Study your opponent both on and off the court. Look for a weakness, and, once finding it, pound it without mercy.

Remember that you do not decide your mode of attack. It is decided for you by the weakness of your opponent. If he dislikes to meet a netman, go to the net. If he wants you at the net, stay back and force him to come in. If he attacks viciously, meet his attack with an equally strong offensive. Remember that the strongest defence is to attack, for if the other man is occupied in meeting your attack, he will have less time to formulate his own system. If you are playing a very steady man, do not strive to beat him at his own game. He is better at it than you in many cases, so go in and hit to win. On the other hand, if you find that your opponent is wild and prone to miss, play safe and reap the full crop of his errors.

It saves you trouble and takes his confidence.

Above all, never change a winning game.

Always change a losing game, since, as you are getting beaten that way, you are no worse off and may be better with a new style. The question of changing a losing game is a very serious thing. It is hard to say just when you are really beaten. If you feel you are playing well yet have lost the first set about 3-6 or 4-6, with the loss of only one service, you should not change. Your game is not really a losing game. It is simply a case of one break of service, and might well win the next set. If, however, you have dropped the first set in a 2 out of 3 match with but one or two games, now you are outclassed and should try something else.

Take chances when you are behind, never when ahead. Risks are only worth while when you have everything to win and nothing to lose. It may spell victory, and at least will not hasten defeat. Above all, never lose your nerve or confidence in a match. By so doing you have handed your opponent about two points a game a rather hard handicap to beat at your best. Never let your opponent know you are worried. Never show fatigue or pain if it is possible to avoid, since it will only give him confidence. Remember that he feels just as bad as you, and any sign of weakening on your part encourages him to go on. In other words, keep your teeth always in the match. Don’t worry. Don’t fuss.

Luck evens up in the long run, and to worry only upsets your own game without affecting your opponent. A smile wins a lot of points because it gives the impression of confidence on your part that shakes that of the other man. Fight all the time. The harder the strain the harder you should fight, but do it easily, happily, and enjoy it.

Written by Pipshower

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Top Tennis Tips

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you want to get better at tennis, you need to focus on a combination of hard work and skill improvement. It’s impossible to get better without working hard and you won’t make much progress until you refine your skills. With that in mind, what should players do to get better at the game? Here are some top tennis tips to help you become the player you have the ability to be. 

Get a tennis lesson

The first tip might seem like an obvious one, but too many people push it aside. If you want to improve at the game, you need to get a tennis lesson. Teaching professionals can look at your game and figure out where you need improvements. Maybe your problems are in the grip or maybe you have issues with footwork. These are things that can be fixed by a good pro, so you owe it to yourself to give one of them a chance to help you improve. Keep this in mind as you move forward. Lessons also give you a valuable opportunity to practice hard and work on your skills. 

Improve your setup

Almost more important than almost anything else is your setup. If you want to be powerful and accurate, you need to set up well to the ball. Whether you are hitting a forehand, backhand, or a volley, make sure your feet are in good position. Work hard on your balance and work on getting to the ball in time. Your feet should be at least shoulder-width apart to give you a chance at solid power. 

Nothing beats topspin

Some players wonder the key to having good power and solid accuracy as well. When you go get a tennis lesson, they will have you focus on the topspin portion of your game. You should work hard on rolling over the ball with a full swing. Most tennis pros will tell you that a low to high approach is the best way to hit a good topspin forehand. Keep your focus on starting low and really getting behind the ball. When you come through with a nice follow-through, you will have hit an excellent shot. 

No player can become great without constantly working on his or her skills. A tennis lesson can give you the foundation that you need to move forward. Consider this if you really want to reach your tennis potential.

Free online content for your website, if you’d like to use this article, please keep the links in.

 

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Should You Have Tennis Lessons?

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Hi,
When you have decided to take up playing tennis it might be a good idea to put some of your hard earned cash into having some tennis lessons. Make sure you do your homework and find a professional tennis coach who will set you of in the right direction. In choosing someone to coach you, make sure they have the desire to help you identify your problems, and support you while you are developing all your tennis skills.

I will give you many tips on how to improve your tennis, and some of the web sites that I recommend can also take you through the learning experience, look at these sites and see what they have to offer. Newsletters and free Video tutorials are available, and much more. Take note that with all the tennis lessons in the world if you do not focus on your feedback and act upon it you will probably encounter your same old problems with no improvement.

The moral of the story is, if you are being coached then take responsibility for your own actions to become the best tennis player you can be.

Many people look to blame their coach for their level of improvement, when they should be addressing their problem with acting upon their own feedback and lack of practice. In tennis there are no shortcuts to learning the game, take one problem at time and solve it. It may take you six months to solve a problem or just a few days, if you keep practicing you will get better.

Every time you go onto a tennis court make sure you feel all the things that you do well. Keep them in your minds store so that when you play another game of tennis they will be there for you. The benefits of having tennis lessons are:

· you will acquire better all round knowledge of how to play tennis

· your coach can give you many ideas on how to progress and develop your tennis

· Watch a lot of tennis this is the best way to learn about how people play a tennis game; it will also let you know what type of standard you have to reach.

· Pick someone that you respect for their tennis abilities and watch how they play tennis; your tennis star will usually play with a definite plan on how to beat their opponent. Can you work out how they do it?

· Play many different tennis opponents, this will help you learn from your mistakes and your successful shots.

· And many more!!

Remember the next time you make a mistake on the tennis court, check your feedback and act upon it. Feel the good shots every time!!

MORE WITH NOVAK: bit.ly Novak Djokovic actually gives 7 lessons in this video on the fundamentals of tennis (and one wicked John McEnroe impression)

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Lessons In Zen From My Dog

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As he goes about his day, his habits and routine remain virtually the same, yet he is rarely bored. He isn’t concerned about what should have happened in the past or worrying about what might happen in the future. Instead he is intently focused on whatever he is doing from moment to moment and not expelling precious energy on futile attempts to control his destiny. Chester is completely satisfied with simple pleasures like going for a walk or playing with the cat. Also he isn’t losing any sleep over what people may think about him or any other mindless details. Instead he simply lives in the moment and in a strange way is the ultimate example of a true zen master.

I think there is much to be learned from our pets when it comes to living a happy and contented life. We may supercede them in our intelligence, but I would have to say that they definitely have us beat when it comes to wisdom.

How much energy do we waste focusing on made up problems that won’t even come to fruition when we could be investing our attention on what is happening right now? If you think about it “right now” is the only time we will ever really have. So lets take a page from our pets and try to be more like them. I propose that we all stop creating theoretical dilemmas and put all of our efforts in the now. Let us enjoy the journey and be less concerned about the destination.

Written by nrmann
Jack of all trades

EDIT: Here are instructions for finding the right grip. Use the diagram! www.ushsta.org This is a demonstration of how to practice the basic steps of the serve. The little girl in the video is one of my students, a 9 year old girl. I made this for all of my tennis students. Learn well from this, students!! This is my first video. I hope you enjoy it. :) (1) Ball toss (2) Knee bend (3) Arm swing (4) Weight transfer GRIP: I am using a continental grip. I use a continental grip on every serve, since it is the standard grip for good power + topspin. RACQUET: I am using a Babolat Pure Control Plus. It’s an old model, and my racquets are about 8-9 years old because I’m too poor to afford new ones. ^^ My name is Joseph Lee and I have been teaching privately for 3 years. I was a USTA ranked junior in 2003-2004. I played in several Futures tournaments in those years as well. Now I teach as a part-time job while I am attending college. Two of my students have gone on to become USTA junior champions.

Filed Under: Tennis Lessons Tagged With: ,

Tennis Courts and Tennis Court Nets

October 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If you are someone who enjoys tennis and you want to build your own tennis court at home there are some things you need to consider such as the surface and even the tennis court nets.  When it comes to finding all the essential components to be able to do this at the best prices available you should definitely consider beginning your search using the internet.  You will find sites that will have everything you could possibly need including the tennis net and you have the assurance that the products and the reviews of the products are up to date and reliable.  You will be able to view the product descriptions and images and the ordering process could not be simpler.

When you determine to construct your own tennis court you will need to make sure that you do not enter into the enterprise without first taking time to consider all the various components.  First of all you should have a clear understanding of what you want, including the number of courts you want to build.  You also need to determine the surface of the court that you want, which means that you need to choose between a cushioned, hard or soft court.  You also need to decide if you intend the court or courts to be used all year round or only when the weather permits.  Once you have decided these crucial things you can then move onto the next stage of building your own tennis court.

You will also need to consider where you intend the court to be built as well as the actual measurements and the direction that the court faces.  The direction will be especially important when people are using the court in the winter months because if the direction is off they are likely to be blinded by the lower sunlight.  You need to consider the number of trees that are near the court as well as neighbors that could object to you getting the planning permission that you will need.

Without a doubt building a tennis court is possible and you can do it if you cover all your bases.  There is much to consider before you even begin the undertaking and if you want the process to go off smoothly with as little difficulty as possible you need to determine to make the time in order to conduct all the necessary research beforehand.  Failing to do so will more than likely result in the whole undertaking being a disaster.

When it comes to the tennis court nets you will find that there are many choices available to you. 

Welcome to Tennis Racquet Plus, inside you will discover an amazing selection of low priced and excellent quality tennis court nets.

Filed Under: Tennis Tagged With: , , ,
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