Growing up I often heard my coach yelling from the side-lines: “Focus,” “Concentrate,” and although I was not quite sure what he wanted me to do, I sort of interpreted it as: “Do not get distracted.” Later as a coach, I yelled the same words at my players: “Focus,” “Concentrate.” But looking back, I never really explained to my players what I meant when I told them that. As a matter of fact, I am still not exactly sure what I wanted them to do, so I decide put down in words precisely what I am trying to tell my players when I tell them to “Focus.” 1. Be self-aware. Be aware of your thoughts ..read more

If you are like most tennis players, you think you are competing well because you are trying hard to win. In reality, competing and trying hard to win are not the same. Here is a little test for you to determine if you are a true gladiator or just trying hard: Do you: 1) Truly prepare for competition? For most players preparation for a match means getting enough sleep, eating well and having a great warm-up, but a gladiator takes another approach. Gladiators do not just prepare for a specific match, they are constantly and diligently preparing day in and day out by working to optimize everyth ..read more

As we digest the epic Wimbledon final and look at the statistics, one has to wonder: how did Roger lose with those numbers? Federer Djokovic Points won 218 203 Aces 25 10 Winners 94 54 Break Points 3 7 Net Points Won 51 24 Unforced Errors 61 52 Can the 9 point difference in unforced errors really explain the outcome? Probably not! It seems like the only way to explain Djopkovic’s win is by talking about “Key Points”. In other words, in order for Djokovic to win with those stats, he must have won more of the points that really make a difference in the match. For example: the game points, the s ..read more

Time is one of the most valuable commodities on the court. In essence a tennis match is nothing more than a battle for time, with both players trying to gain time and take time away from the opponent. Even a fraction of a second can make a difference between hitting a ball in balance and aggressively, and hitting off balance and defensively. Therefore, it is very important to be stingy with time. A great way to do this is by hiding the intended direction of your shot until it leaves your racquet. Camouflage is important in every shot, but on certain particular shots such as serves, passing sh ..read more

There is no doubt that power plays a determinant role in today’s game. Professional players are bigger, stronger and able to generate massive racquet acceleration. So, how do they get there? The original coaching advice was quite straightforward and logical: first you develop solid technique and control, then, you work on power. But as power became more conspicuous, a different coaching theory seemed to emerge: emphasize racquet head speed early even if it means loss of control. In time control will develop. Both approaches have their problems. Players who grow up overemphasizing control have ..read more

A browsing through the Internet will show many players and coaches who believe that playing tennis well is about perfecting your swing; if you could only learn to swing like the pros, you could play like them. But there is much more to it all. If a pro swing could guarantee success, tennis would be quite easy. Most average athletes could learn to imitate a perfect swing, like dancers learning a new step, in a couple of months – watch the video, stand in front of the mirror, work on different parts of the swing until you can swing identically and voila – Nadal, Djokovic and Sharapova here we c ..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 that most points in ten ..read more

Most tennis players strongly believe that in order to improve they have to practice with better players. Ironically, these same players tend to forget that in order for them to practice with better players, the stronger players have to practice with a weaker player. In reality, if you cannot have a great practice with a weaker player, you are probably not much better. If you were, you would be able to guarantee a positive and productive experience for both. Here are some ideas that will help you turbocharge your practices with a weaker partner: 1) Practice your weakness If your “A” game is to ..read more

Roger Federer is arguably the best player of all times and his legacy to the game is invaluable. 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 a long time ago. 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 time, he is starting to lose his dominance and it is getting harder and harder to maintain his performance level. So, why is Roger still working a ..read more

La instrucción de tenis tradicional tiende a enfocarse en cuatro aspectos del juego: técnico, táctico, físico y mental. Pero un enfoque basado en los factores que determinan el rendimiento es mucho más poderoso. Los factores determinantes del rendimiento en el tenis son habilidades únicas que en última instancia definen tu nivel como un jugador. Cada factor define un área específica del juego que debes mejorar para progresar: 1. Consistencia: La habilidad de golpear la pelota una y otra vez con resultados similares. 2. Precisión: la capacidad de dirigir la pelota exactamente donde lo desees y ..read more