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Last call for the gotta play tennis podcast

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

FAVORITE SITES: Timeless Tennis by Gary Bala

Posted: Sunday, March 27, 2011
A brief look at the Player Party: 2011 Sony-Ericsson Open

The 2011 Sony-Ericsson Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center in Miami, FL USA is now underway. Each year, this electrifying tournament draws all the top men and women players in the world...read more

Monday, March 21, 2011

REFLECTIONS...there's hope yet!

This past weekend I finally got to hit tennis balls on the court with my hitting partner. We hung up our rackets in about mid-December of 2010 and had our trepidations about how the long, cold, and snowy winter would affect our games. Neither one of us play tennis in the winter here on the east coast in New Jersey.

So Saturday at two o'clock was the moment of truth. Could we attain some of what we had at the end of last year? We were both feeling pretty good at the time about what the Spring, Summer and Fall had provided for our games. Our rallies were crisp, our court smarts were focused, and we both were saddened with the prospect of letting all we accomplished go to waste while shoveling snow.

But there is hope yet! We did hit, and the result was better than expected. Yes, the cobwebs did show in some cases, and bread-and-butter shots that were a given last year did miss their mark a bit too often. However, our movement was not sluggish, balls did not spray all over town, and winners (and unforced errors) were both present.

Mainly impressive though was the thinking in our games. We were hitting with purpose. We know the court, we know where to hit and when, and we executed the mental minefield of a tennis court with relative ease. Our bodies and muscles may have atrophied a bit, and our wind or endurance may not quite be back to its fullest, but our brains were firing on all cylinders.

So remember when you return to the court that your ground strokes and serve are only a part of the big picture. Give yourself credit for THINKING like a tennis player. You will be much happier when you miss that running forehand.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Episode 66: How important is the serve in tennis?

We all know it starts the point, but is the ability to hit a thunderous serve all that important? What principles need we pay attention to when developing this part of our game?

Thursday, March 10, 2011

FAVORITE SITES: Timeless Tennis by Gary Bala

Posted: Friday, March 4, 2011
Playing tennis like the "wild thing" in D.H. Lawrence's poem

An interesting thing happened recently at a practice clinic. One of the players was definitely not playing very well. It was not her best tennis...read more

Friday, March 4, 2011

Episode 65: Portal into past greatness

I'll review Tennis Night in America at the BNP Paribas Showdown, glimpse at past greatness, and consider the future of kids tennis.


Thursday, March 3, 2011

FAVORITE SITES: Timeless Tennis by Gary Bala

Posted: Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Is Jimmy Connors the greatest tennis player of all time?

Based on this study's "prestige scoring" ranking, Northwestern University statistical researcher Filippo Radicchi argued that Jimmy Connors might be considered the "greatest tennis player of all time"...read more