When I was a young coach coming up and wanting to eventually coach competitive players, a close friend of mine got the opportunity to coach a Davis Cup team. I thought this was the ultimate, and I desperately wanted to pick his brains and learn as much as possible about his experience. Something he told me back then stuck with me. He said, "Before you teach, you must first set up the opportunity to teach." This means not to presume that just because you're the "Coach", every player will be ready to follow your teachings without question. Far from it!  Advanced players ca ..read more

, You may have been looking at competition all wrong. Maybe competition should not only be about throwing the "kitchen sink" at your opponent to try and beat them down. Even if your strategy leans towards all-out offence: relying on a big serve and a dominating forehand, introducing some subtlety to your game might produce surprising results. After all, why would you want to play an opponent at full strength? Wouldn't it be better to neutralise their strengths first before playing them?  While that may seem overly simplistic to most, reducing your opponent's effectiveness is possib ..read more

All competitive players strive to perform at their very best. They hope for consistency of performance and believe that playing to the best of their ability should be enough to win matches. However, while trying to achieve your highest level might seem like a good goal, I feel there is a better mindset for you to adopt when you compete.  PICKING WINNERS Have you noticed how difficult it is to confidently pick who will win at tournaments? That's because players throughout the draw all play at a very similar level. Even players who seem to have all the strokes and look like world ..read more

You often hear the phrase "take the ball on the rise" in coaching. It's used to encourage the player to step in and take the ball with some weight transfer, and "taking it on the rise' seems to help the player time the ball better. But what happens when the player can't achieve "stepping in"?  I coach advanced players and relative beginners. If I told an advanced player to "step in" and take every ball "on the rise", they would see me as crazy. At an advanced level, stepping in and taking the ball on the rise every time is impossible. The speed and depth of the ball mean t ..read more

It's evident when I watch tennis, even tennis at a high level, that we are not teaching players Fundamentals; we're teaching them Form (how it looks).  "We are, in fact, teaching tennis as a closed-skill sport rather than as an open-skill sport." Fundamentals are our game's building blocks, while Form is how it looks. Whenever any new player reaches the top of the tennis rankings, Coaches look closely at that player's style and try to copy what the player is doing technically to make them so successful. They're unable to diagnose the new player's strokes mor ..read more

So much time is spent by players working on their groundstrokes, yet in my opinion the Return of Serve is a bigger factor in winning matches. If each player is dominating with their service games during a match, it's up to the Return Of Serve to create the break of serve to win the match. The Return of Serve is the key to unlocking tight matches.                                       THE GOAL WHEN RETURNING SERVE Your goal when Returning Serve is consistency. You want to get as many ..read more

If you're a player who often relies on your wrist to direct balls to the intended targets, you're probably guilty of a lack of footwork preparation. Poor footwork will significantly impact your ability to accurately hit your ground stroke targets. Your ground stroke game will never reach its full potential if poor footwork is left untouched. There were two components involved in teaching the relationship between Footwork and your Ground strokes: THE TECHNIQUE In order to achieve consistency and accuracy in your ground strokes, you must set up the ability to hit each ball with balance ..read more

Title: Beyond Comfort: The Importance of Mental Toughness in Advanced Tennis Practice Introduction: For advanced tennis players and coaches, practice sessions often revolve around perfecting strokes and gaining confidence. However, relying solely on comfortable practice conditions can hinder performance in real match play. In this article, we will explore the significance of focusing on mental toughness, decision-making, and adapting to unpredictable situations to achieve success on the court. The Illusion of Comfort: Many advanced players approach practice sessions with the goal of making t ..read more

Introduction: Tennis is a sport that demands not only physical prowess but also mental resilience. In this article, we will delve into the importance of mental strength in tennis, highlighting how it can make or break a player's performance. While stroke mechanics and fitness are crucial, they pale in comparison to the advantages of being mentally resilient, strong, and adaptable. The Mental Game of Tennis: Tennis is often described as a mental game, where the battle is fought not only against the opponent but also within one's own mind. The ability to stay focused, composed, and confident d ..read more

Introduction: Within a match, winning a point can be achieved in two ways: hitting a winner or capitalizing on your opponent's errors. While hitting winners may give you an immediate sense of satisfaction, strategically drawing errors from your opponent can have a far greater impact on the outcome of a match. In this article, we will explore the value of drawing errors and how it can mentally affect your opponent. 1. The Psychology of Errors: When your opponent makes an error, it not only adds a point to your score but also creates a sense of frustration and self-doubt in their mind. By cons ..read more