Players and coaches spend a lot of time together. They practice every day to improve forehand and backhand. They perform specific fitness plans to take care of the body. They talk about mental abilities needed to outperform opponents. Additionally they … Continue reading →
Rafael Nadal is the king of clay. It will be really hard to beat his achievements on dirty surface. It is incredible how well one person can compete on one surface year after year against the best players in the … Continue reading →
I am not a huge basketball fan but like most sports fan, I do enjoy the NBA Playoffs. I remember watching one game where the star player of the team was having a terrible first half and did not score … Continue reading →
All tennis experts agree: high level of mental skills are needed to achieve great results and win important tournaments. Unfortunately even with this popular knowledge not too many players and coaches do specific drills and exercises to get stronger in … Continue reading →
For some of you who follow me on social media, you know I have a passion for golf as well as tennis. I grew up playing golf with my father at six years old and have continued to play for … Continue reading →
I remember qualifying for the U14 Orange Bowl World Championships in Miami, Florida in the mid 90’s. I had never seen so many good tennis players at one site. I felt very intimidated by the quality of the players I … Continue reading →
The role of the coach is a complex job. We have to be skilled to teach forehands and backhands so we are teachers. We have to be able to understand players and solve their problems so we are psychologists. We … Continue reading →
Post match analysis is a priority to make sure that player learns, improves and maintains high level of motivation to work. Preparation is crucial. What we do before the match has a big impact on our performance during tournaments. Players … Continue reading →
“Just work hard and the rest will take care of itself.” “All you have to do is believe in yourself and anything is possible.” “Stay positive, set goals and get a little bit better every day. Do this, and your … Continue reading →
The post by Allistair McCaw Are you following these 10 guidelines to better youth coaching? 1. Reward hard work and effort. 2. Keep it fun. 3. Implement specific skills. 4. Implement general athleticism. 5. Keep instructions easy to understand. 6. Don’t … Continue reading →
This past December I had a discussion with a young touring professional who was having trouble sustaining his level of fitness during matches on the ATP tour. He had some very good chances to win matches against good players, but … Continue reading →
Serve is important at all levels of performance. Either you start your journey with tennis or you compete on US Open courts the rules are the same. Serve starts every point. If you want to have fun on the court … Continue reading →
Unless you have a huge first serve or a blistering return of serve, your success as a tennis player is often going to be determined by the quality (pace & depth) of your neutral balls. To me, a neutral ball is … Continue reading →
Talent. We love this word. It sounds special. It means someone is superior. Parents love to hear that their kids are talented. Coach prefers to work with talented players. Is talent responsible for final success in the sport? Not exactly … Continue reading →
You wake up in the morning. Eat healthy breakfast and go to the courts. Hard practice, fitness routine, recovery, another meal and little bit of rest. Afternoon you add another practice, stretching session and you finish the day with the … Continue reading →
Match is the real test of tennis skills. You can practice many hours and put your best every time you step on the court but if you can’t use these skills while competing you will never achieve great results. There … Continue reading →
Tennis career is a long-term process. Professional tennis players have longer careers than ever before and it is not surprising to see them competing after 35th birthday. Recreational players have even bigger opportunity to stay competitive because there are many … Continue reading →
The post by Allistair McCaw More is not better. Smarter is better You see the problem is this: They cut the season shorter in order to cut down on burnout and injuries. The result: Athletes start their pre-season training earlier, not … Continue reading →
Success. There is not one proven formula to achieve your goals. When we look at great tennis champions it is clear that there are different ways to get to the top. Your body, environment, family status and many more factors … Continue reading →
The first 10-20 minutes of the practice are called warm up. Players most often start from the service line and they hit lightly to each other to get control over the ball. When they feel comfortable players move to the … Continue reading →