Developing your game takes a great deal of practice.  Unfortunately, many players mistake practice with time on the court.  Here is what true practice looks like: Have a clear goal for each session. Ideally you want to pick two main objectives for your practice sessions.  Having too many things to focus on is counterproductive. Having nothing specific to work on will lead you to achieve the same thing – nothing. Warm up before you start. A short off-court warm up should not only get you ready physically but also mentally.  Take ten minutes to loosen up and stretch but more ..read more

There is one thing for certain, the game will continue to evolve and the tools used by the top players ten years from now will be different than the ones used today. Successful player development coaches have to coach for the future, and that requires a thorough understanding of the development of tennis. Since I have been involved in tennis for 50 years, I will start my analysis there: The 70’s Equipment: Wooden racquets, gut strings, cloth shoes, white balls Technique:  Landing on the back leg when serving, Eastern and Continental grips, closed stances, flat or sliced shots, many ..read more

Parents play a critical role in player development. Quite often, early on-court interactions between parents and young children ultimately determine whether tennis becomes a passion, a hobby or … sometimes a nightmare. Here are some ideas to help you nudge your young, future tennis player in the right direction. Understand your Role If you are not the coach, your role is to provide extra enjoyment and practice for your child. You may give some instruction, but try to be more of a practice partner than a coach.. Do not make hitting sessions mandatory Let your child be part of the decision. No p ..read more

Any competitive tennis player or coach knows that the mental game plays a huge role in tennis and is certainly familiar with the basic principles of sport psychology. There is a great deal of information on how to improve on-court performance by applying such concepts as: visualization, relaxation, breath-control, rituals, goal setting, routines, etc. However, little is ever mentioned about one essential underlying factor, without which none of these skills can truly work, and that is: “Understanding your game.” Unless you are absolutely sure about how to build points and what you can and cann ..read more

Roger Federer is arguably one of the best player of all times and his legacy to the game is invaluable.  Roger retired in 2022 at the Laver Cup after winning 103 titles and spending 310 weeks as the top-ranked player in the world. These are some of the most important lessons that any competitive tennis player should learn from him: 1 – Play for the Love of the Game Many players in the shoes of Roger Federer would have retired much earlier than he did. He has more money than he will ever need, and he has accomplished everything that one could aspire to as a professional player. At the same ..read more

The player development process has changed dramatically over the years. A few decades ago, competitive players learned to play mainly by joining the junior programs at their clubs. These programs offered group or individual instruction a few hours a week, and players had to search for additional practice possibilities on their own, which mainly meant finding opponents to play sets or matches. As prize money increased and top players were elevated to superstars, the demand for more intense and specialized programs increased, giving rise to a great number of academies and dedicated tennis progra ..read more

It is said that he who controls the big data will control the future, and the race to collect and analyze massive volumes of data is on – and tennis is no exception.  Technological advances provide us with all sort of statistical information unavailable in the past, and it is our job as coaches to use this data to make our practices more effective.  However, this is not always as straightforward as it seems. Let’s look at a couple of theoretical and not so theoretical examples of data and try to interpret it: Example 1. One of the most talked about statistics now days is th ..read more

A common coaching mistake is to confuse technical training with coaching tennis. Technical training focuses on improving the form of the swing (Close the racket, shorten the backswing, wrist back, etc.) while coaching tennis is a much more holistic approach that focuses on helping players win more matches. There are many reasons players take tennis lessons. Some want to improve, some want to exercise, some want to play points, and some are looking to socialize. However, as coaches, it is important to keep in mind that most people prefer winning over losing and that players who realize they are ..read more

Consistent performance is a hallmark of top players. They consistently play near their full potential while others experience significant fluctuations in their performance. What causes these fluctuations? If you can achieve it once, why can’t you replicate the same success next time? The crucial factors are awareness and control. Consistent performers are just better at monitoring and adjusting their thoughts and emotions. When facing challenges, it is important to assess your thoughts and emotions. Any negativity can hinder your performance, even the slightest hint of anxiety, fear, anger ..read more