Tourna Grip or the various clones of it are used by players of nearly level. It was the first really good overwrap as far as I can tell. When my school was cleaning out some racquets from its intramural program, I saw this. The years were not kind to that grip. I don’t think all…
Category: Tennis
Rafter Inspired Renaissance
Tennis racquets and strings have made hitting the ball easier for me. As a junior, I was at times too weak to hit a topspin one-handed backhand terribly often during a match. Even with a reasonably good underspin backhand, players quickly zeroed in on my backhand to get a predictable reply. Movement and conditioning seem…
Poll Inspired by The Last Dance
ESPN’s The Last Dance may have caused me to technically violate my NO GOAT POSTS Pledge, but this is across sports and I don’t think many currently view Pete Sampras as the Men’s Tennis GOAT. He did finish 6 Years at #1, win 12 majors, win the ATP World Championships 5 times, and was part…
Memories of the 1988 Women’s US Open – Steffi Graf Slams the Competition
Okay, I need to shave. I have a lot of gray coming in that makes it look like my COVID-19 stubble is in some weird pattern.
Memories of the 1988 Men’s US Open
A new emphasis on videos for Tennis Abides. We all miss tennis, but maybe some memories will make tennis seem not as far away. This court and color scheme were not in existence in 1988, but it is a US Open photo.
Does Tennis Need Inspirational Speeches?
Originally posted on Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life:
Does Tennis Need Inspirational Speeches? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rFx6OFooCs Autobiographical Note Growing up in Kentucky, I have had the chance to see two quite demonstrative and intense coaches in John Calipari and Rick Pitino. Each man can sell snake oil quite well. Pitino was even called “the…
Wimbledon Shutting Down: Not Unexpected
I know tennis fans love Wimbledon. Still, I think the event made the wisest decision it could make today. This pandemic has changed many things. It will continue to do so. Some day, and hopefully that day is in 2021, Wimbledon will be back, but for now, Wimbledon and other non-essential public events need to…
Martina Navratilova Abides!
I was not going to post this until I had a column to go with it. With all of the talks about most this or greatest that, if doubles and mixed doubles are considered Martina Navratilova is the most decorated tennis player ever.* Getting a tweet from her was a thrill. Not at all…and with…
5 Songs to Listen to and 3 to Avoid during Social Distancing and Covid-19
Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees is an obvious way to make days of boredom feel more heroic. Avoid – Eve of Destruction by Barry McGuire – It is a good song and not about pandemics, but the chorus is not going to leave you in a good place. Instead, listen to I…
Yevgeny Kafelnikov Abides
Yevgeny Kafelnikov responded to a non-sensical, social distancing induced question I asked him on Twitter. YK, the 1996 French Open, 1999 Australian Open, 2000 Olympic gold medalist in singles, and former world #1, has not seen the Soviet produced version of The Hobbit (1985). I didn’t 🤷♂️ — Kafelnikov Yevgeny (@KYevgeni) March 26, 2020
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 