Watching tennis with less noise and no real fan presence is not ideal, but it does make a few things more obvious. Sliding on hard courts used to seem insane. More and more players can do it. Roger Federer’s squash shots of 2004 are not uncommon to see when a player is streched today. I…
Tag: Tennis Technique
Pickleball is an Opportunity Tennis Needs to Take
Before Church today, I went to hit some tennis balls with my dad. The two tennis courts at this park had two people on them. The 3 pickleball courts had 12 people playing at all times and people sitting, watching, and waiting with camping chairs, coolers, and light snacks. A group of people hitting a…
Reviewing the Bryan Brothers 4-Part Doubles Series
In the coming months, I am going to review the Bryan Brothers 4-Part Doubles Series. I am doing this in part because as a Kentucky High School tennis coach 2 of the 5 matches in a dual are doubles matches. Therefore, 2/3rds of a team victory can come from sweeping doubles. I will also note…
A Tennis Lesson from Homer Hickam or What Makes a Great Shot in Tennis
Homer Hickam’s 1998 memoir Rocket Boys was the basis of the 1999 film October Sky. I enjoyed both immensely, but as usually happens films leave out key events in the interests of runtime. One such exchange between Homer Hickam and Quentin Wilson was left out of the film, but it made an impression on me…
What I Advise a Junior Player to Aim Toward
Getting my team ready for our first junior tennis camp at The Campus in Quinta do Lago 28 Oct-Nov 2. “Developing skills while having fun”. #MurrayMethod 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/D2K6WkLOO8 — judy murray (@JudyMurray) October 6, 2018 Judy Murray has juniors working on balance and touch! Tennis is a complex sport. There are at least 6 basic…
Another Conversation with Tim Mayotte: The Kinetic Chain
This past June I was fortunate enough to have a second interview with Tim Mayotte. Mayotte is an incredibly nice person with a lot of well-rounded interests. In that conversation, we discussed multiple things, but when it came to tennis Mayotte explained that the Big 3 in men’s tennis all share certain commonalities in how…
On the Origin of Contemporary Tennis – Part 2: The Inside-Out Forehand
The inside-out forehand is one of tennis’ biggest weapons. Many players use the shot to end a point out right or to take control of a point that will end shortly. This shot did not emerge out of thin air. Nick Bollettieri products who emerged in the 1980s tended to have big forehands that included…
On The Origin of Contemporary Tennis – Part 1
First, my post-US Open sabbatical is over, and I am glad to be writing about tennis once more. Second, I am not departing on the HMS Beagle, but tennis has its own historical record nicely preserved on sites such as youtube. In my Tim Mayotte interview, I posted a video in which Mayotte described…
Tennis Instruction: Tennis Abides Partnering with PlayYourCourt!
One of my goals for tennis since I started formally coaching in 2002, was to help people interested in tennis have a chance to learn tennis. The sport we love is wonderful, but until a certain tipping point of skills are acquired and a player can keep the ball in play, tennis can be difficult…
Drills for Hitting Against a Wall/Backboard
We all probably prefer hitting with a human being, but I know even though tennis only requires 2 people it can sometimes be hard to find a second. In a busy world, knowing how to work a wall can improve technique, fitness, and reactions for when we do get to play with another person. Knowing…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 