Serena Williams crosses the line–AGAIN!

I really don't like to get into the negatives of tennis. To me, there are not many bad things in this sport perhaps beyond the wear and tear your body takes over several decades of hard play. The competition and exercise is healthy, the athletes tend to respect each other's talent, and the message sent to our kids and other tennis players of all ages is usually a very positive one. 

Then enter Serena Williams. For those not aware, for the second time in her career at the U.S.Open. one of tennis' biggest stages, she verbally abused an umpire because she did not like the ruling handed down. The reality is that the umpires in both years were doing their job within the rules of tennis, and there was nothing wrong or inappropriate in their rulings. Serena lost a point, and because it was game point for her opponent Samantha Stosur, inevitably she lost a game. This was because she yelled out after hitting a shot before her opponent had a chance to play it. That is a clear violation of the hindrance rule in tennis of which a tennis professional at Serena's level should be aware. She lost her cool, and in the process, said nasty things to the umpire, Eva Asderaki, such as “You’re a hater. You’re unattractive inside." All this from a well-known role model who was just finishing up a 2-year probationary period for her threatening words to a linesperson at the 2009 U.S. Open Semi-finals.

I don't blame Serena for being upset, caught up in the moment, and even for being vocal. Lots of tennis players are vocal on the court. But there is a line one must not cross, and for the second time at a Grand Slam event, Serena crossed it, spit on it, and crushed it into the ground. Where is her professionalism? Where is her integrity? Do these things not count when you are famous and have boatloads of money?

What is far worse than the Serena incident is the reaction of the USTA who is fining her $2000 for the infraction. Game, set, match! Hello people, but just in case you hadn't noticed, she is a millionaire. Serena probably spends more than this on breakfast and lunch for a week. Someone wrote that, at her hourly rate, it was worth about 1 minute of her earnings. She walked away from this tournament, by the way, with a cool 1.4 million as a runner-up losing by the score of 6-2, 6-3.

What would you do if you were the USTA? Should she not be held accountable for her mistake? Is the chump change of $2000 a realistic fine for someone with her financial resources? How do you feel about suspension at a major event such as the next Grand Slam tournament–The Australian Open?

Let's record your feelings on this and be heard as a tennis fan, patron, parent, or even tennis professional in any capacity such as instructor, coach, or player.

FAVORITE SITES: Timeless Tennis by Gary Bala

Posted: Monday, September 12, 2011
The Greatest Year: Novak Djokovic wins the Men's Singles Championship U.S. Open 2011
"It's probably the greatest year ever in the history of tennis."
–John McEnroe, holder of 82-3 Win-Loss Record...read more

REFLECTIONS: Why Recreational players are NOT the Pros

We have got to start being realistic about our tennis games. We, the recreational tennis player, are not anywhere near the pro ranks. That is not to say that, on occasion, we do not hit a shot worthy of a professional player. Yes, it does happen and it always feels great. But how do we back it up? And from what level of opponent did we hit this wonderful shot? And can we repeat this incredible placement over and over again? 

I can watch Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic's forehand on video analysis until I turn grey and still never come close to owning such a weapon. Now I'm a huge proponent of watching the pros in order to learn more about our own games, and I have learned volumes over three decades of observation. But let's get REAL! These are highly trained, incredibly fit, and financially motivated individuals who chose tennis as a career. They don't need to sandwich their forays to the court between their 9-5 jobs, dropping the kids at soccer practice, mowing the lawn, or balancing their checkbook. 

Last night I watched an incredible match in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open between Joe-Wilfried Tsonga of France and Mardy Fish of the U.S. It began in the day session, and went on into the night with a score of 6-4, 6-7 (5), 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Tsonga took the 3 hour, 45 minute match amongst swirling winds and an understandably pro-Fish (U.S) crowd.

These players both showed incredible will, stamina, flexibility, and shot-making ability to the delight of the audience who kept the night-session crowd at bay while enjoying their view of this battle between two outstanding titans in today's tennis. But we are NOT them.  We can only dedicate limited time, effort, finances, and willpower to what most do on a recreational level. 

Swinging the racquet at a ball successfully, or hitting with a certain spin with confidence, requires a lot more than seeing how the pros hit tennis balls. The foundation required of today's professional players is well beyond the reach of most of us. That does not mean we cannot learn from watching. It simply means that all must be tasted and digested within the realm of our own reality as an individual. 

But I for one am so glad that the pros can show us the possibilities from the best-of-the-best. It is very entertaining and instructive indeed, and the lessons learned from all-court-players such as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish can only assist in the goal of being the best players WE can be!

Episode 76 (Podcast): Sometimes Bad is Good

Have a bad day on the court? That might be the best thing for your game. Tactical mistakes, errors in judgement, and poor technique can be used to your advantage as long as you insist on seeing the glass half full.

FAVORITE SITES: Timeless Tennis by Gary Bala

Monday, August 29, 2011
The Perennial Philosophy of Mental Tennis

The Perennial Philosophy (Latin: philosophia perennis "eternal philosophy") refers to universal insights and truths common to all the world's major philosophies and religions. 
The idea of Perennial Philosophy originated in…read more

The Perennial Philosophy by Huxley, Aldous

REFLECTIONS: Coaches and Instructors are perhaps siblings but not twins

An instructor is defined as someone who teaches another. A coach is also someone involved in the training of an individual or team. Looking only on the surface of the definition, both appear to be about the same. But when we look at the synonyms, we get a better handle on what I perceive to be the difference. Synonyms, just as a middle school refresher, are alternate words that mean roughly the same as the original. Thin, for example, can be a synonym for skinny.

So what about Coach? One of the prevalent synonyms for this word is Mentor. But when we look for an alternate to instructor, we get words more like Tutor or Schoolmaster. A Mentor is one who advises or inspires, while a Tutor is someone who educates. 

As the school year begins and girls tennis teams begin their season, I think it is wise to differentiate between the two and consider the role and value of each. As an instructor myself, and a certified school teacher as well, my role is to work with a tennis players on the nuts and bolts of stroke production, strategy & tactics, and court movement. A coach's role however is to focus more on teamwork, belief, encouragement, and support. Most of what I have seen in high school tennis coaches does fulfill this role. But there is a huge gap, resulting in the lack of producing more solid players, that exists in the overall landscape of a tennis season. 


This gap can be filled by certified tennis instructors, either in semi-private or private lessons, and this can make all the difference in both enjoyment on the court and wins on the scoreboard. Coaches and instructors together make for an awesome one-two punch that can knock out competitors and result in a successful season. It is simply very important that each knows the role they play. They need to support one another in their efforts so that kids will have a positive experience in this game they can play well beyond their high school years.


Remember: mindlessly hitting more tennis balls in drills during practice, or running laps and suicides for endurance, does not make a better team. These high school players need to be given a conceptual framework and specific goals if they are to achieve success. If this cannot be provided by a teacher who coaches after school, simply because he or she does not have the knowledge of a certified tennis instructor, then they should seek out opportunities for their athletes to get the training they need. Be realistic coaches! Everyone has their role to play and we each need to be proactive in our efforts if these students are to achieve their very best.

NEW CONTENT OF NOTE: Gotta Play Tennis now on Stitcher Internet Radio

Our show is now on Stitcher!

Listen to Gotta Play Tennis on your

iPhone, Android Phone,BlackBerry and WebOS phones.  

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Find it in your app store or at stitcher.com

Stitcher SmartRadio - The Smarter Way to listen to radio

Health is becoming a big issue in today's grueling game of tennis

Professional tennis is spectacular to watch. It requires an iron will, commitments to diet, fitness, unending practice, and it is a constant test of one's emotional, physical, and mental health. Travel all around the world is necessary to be a serious competitor, and the season is grueling with one tournament following the other each and every week. Now perhaps for those lesser players who fall in the early rounds, the toll may not be as draining. But for those constantly in the thick of the Quarters, Semis or Finals, week after week, month after month, the tank is bound to get depleted and the incredible machine we call the body always has the potential to break down as a  result of the constant pounding, stretching, twisting, turning, and running put upon its muscles, bones and cartilage. 

And just how bad has the pro tour gotten with its brutal schedule and overdrive power game that measures shots in miles-per-hour close to 100 and reaction time in split seconds? All we need do is take a look at recent results just in July–August of 2011. In the Rogers Cup tournament played in Montreal, Canada, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired from his semifinal match with Novak Djokovic because of an apparent right arm injury. Mardy Fish, losing to Ernest Gulbis at the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles, dropped out of the next tournament, the Washington Classic, citing a heal injury. And Tomas Berdych quit with a shoulder injury after losing the first set of his semi-final against Novak Djokovic in the Cincinnati Open. Novak then went on to retire in the final against Andy Murray  with a sore shoulder issue in the second set. All told, there have been about 500 recorded injuries on the men's tour as of August of 2011. 

These are only the obvious results that affect the playing or completion of a match. When we take into account the burnout and exhaustion seen in the eyes of these players, the game played on the tennis court today creates a very thin line between realistic and unrealistic expectations of players on the ATP tour.

What is driving this madness? Players can, to a certain extent, say "No" to a few tournaments and choose rest instead. But maybe it isn't about fame, titles, or even money. Perhaps it is about fear. Famous jazz legend Louis Armstrong once said that he feared not practicing every single day because there was always someone out there looking to "cut" him or take his place at the top. Are the players so fearful that walking away, even to rest, will make them too stale to compete at their best? Only they know for certain. What we know, the casual and not-so-casual observers, is that injuries and lackluster play continue to pile up. Let's hope we have enough top players healthy enough to compete in this years 2011 U.S. Open.


What are your thoughts? Please comment below.

Episode 75 (Podcast): Racquet face "in the hood"

When a racquet meets a ball, things happen. But what really counts is the orientation of that face upon contact. In this podcast I address how different swings and even grips may lead to the same path "in the hood."

FAVORITE SITES: Timeless Tennis by Gary Bala

Posted: Sunday, August 7, 2011
Book Review - "Tennis: Winning the Mental Match", by Allen Fox, Ph.D.

Tennis:Winning the Mental Match

"Tennis is more difficult mentally than most other sports. Because of its one on one personal nature, it feels more important than it is. Competitive matches can be highly stressful, and losing can be very painful."
-From Tennis: Winning the Mental Match, by Allen Fox, Ph.D.
Read more...

NEW CONTENT OF NOTE: How to get 10andundertennis stuff

One-stop shopping link for purchasing your very own 10 and Under Tennis equipment that utilizes the QuickStart format of smaller nets, racquets, softer tennis balls and other accessories.

NOW YOUR DRIVEWAY CAN BECOME A TENNIS COURT

WHENEVER YOU WISH!

FAVORITE SITES: Timeless Tennis by Gary Bala

Posted: Sunday, July 31, 2011

Book Review: "Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long Term Fulfillment", by George Leonard

In this short yet focused book, George Leonard outlines the roadmap common to success in any human endeavor...read more

Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment

REFLECTIONS...Wile E. Coyote or Road Runner on the court?

Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from a series of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons created in 1948 for Warner Bros. Wile E. stands for the world "wily"–an adverb which means "gaining an advantage, especially in a deceitful way. In the cartoon, the coyote is always attempting to capture this incredibly fast bird who always outsmarts or outruns the predator's elaborate plans and schemes. 

Why the trip down memory lane? Today my style of play was referred to as "wily." In other words, I was not gaining the upper hand in rallies from overpowering play but from something else. It was my shot selection, variety of spin, sneaking to the net, drop shots, and everything else that made my opponent have difficulty finding a solid rhythm. This is not to be confused with pushing the ball since my hitting partner would assure you that ripping winners on groundstrokes from midcourt is not pushing. But this is not the way I would win most of the rallies. I was, as he put it, wily. 

While growing up and watching these cartoon characters of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, it was always clear that one was nefarious while the other had enough skill and smarts to get away. I never identified with the coyote until now. And you know what? I'm now proud to be a Wile E. fanboy. You see, tennis is hard on the knees, feet, ankles and toes. I will only be able to "meep, meep" like the road runner for a finite amount of years. But I can always become a better and smarter coyote. AND SO CAN YOU!

Episode 74 (Podcast): Practicing Tennis on purpose

Did you really mean to go out on the court and practice your tennis, or does it usually happen by chance due to unexpected circumstances? Perhaps DELIBERATE PRACTICE should be in your future. (Reference: Talent Is Overrated by Geoff Colvin)


Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else
Blog post at www.timelesstennis.net by Gary Bala
Book Review: "Talent is Overrated", by Geoff Colvin

FAVORITE SITES: Timeless Tennis by Gary Bala

Posted: Sunday, July 17, 2011
Tennis and Yoga
Are tennis and yoga perfect together? Yes, say many - including world-class stars Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Andy Murray who all practice aspects of yoga.
Yoga is the ancient Eastern system of exercise...read more

Andre Agassi hits winning words on my court

There are hundreds of reasons for one to play and enjoy the game of tennis. But I don't think I've ever heard the link between tennis and life as eloquently stated as when Andre Agassi was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island on July 9th, 2011. His moving speech is the essence of what we should really be looking to gain from sports of any kind. We don't need the tattoos, bold and outrageous claims, and hour-long pre-hype television spectacles. We only need great athletes, respectful of their sport, the fans, and each other, and the courage to admit failure as much as celebrate success. The following is an excerpt from Andre Agassi's acceptance speech. Enjoy! 



"Tennis has not only given me much, it has taught me much. It is no accident that tennis uses the language of life: service, advantage, break, fault, love. The lessons of tennis are the lessons of maturity. In tennis you prepare and you prepare, and one day your preparation seems futile. Nothing is working, another guy's got your number cold. So you improvise. In tennis you learn that what I do instantly affects what you do and vice versa. Tennis makes you perceptive, proactive, reactive all at the same time. Tennis teaches you the subtlety of human interaction; the curse and blessing of cause and affect…and there is nothing quite like a tiebreak to teach you the concept of high risk, high reward. Tennis teaches you there is no such thing as perfect. You want to be perfect, you hope to be perfect, then you're out there and you're far less than perfect. And you realize I don't really have to be perfect today. I just have to be better than one person."



Words of tennis wisdom from one of the best who has ever picked up a racket.

Episode 73 (Podcast): Camp, and you, Rock around the Clock

What do a clock face, both kids and adults, a tennis court, and the use of basic principles of good stroke production all have in common? Well, for the sake of this podcast, me. Listen, and you too can Rock around the Clock!


(Note: listeners inform me that at one point in my podcast I reference 12 o'clock as a "Hit" point in error. The resting or ready position is always at 12 o'clock and the racket head points directly at the net. Hit points on the clock are 2 and 10. Sorry for the confusion.)

REFLECTIONS...is it time for double trouble?

One thing has always been a constant in most people's tennis games. The common thread? "What to do about the backhand." When growing up, the one-handed backhand was the norm. On the odd occasion, you had players like Connors or Borg burst onto the scene with a two-hander. But these again were the exception rather than the rule. Now the roles have been reversed. Four of the five players at the top of the ATP tour are two-handed backhand players. Djokovic, Nadal, Murray and Soderling wield the double-fisted weapon. Only Federer keeps the single-handed stroke alive.

As we move down the list to round out the top 10, we see Ferrer, Monfils, Fish, Berdych and Roddick all keeping a grip with two hands. Clearly this is a sign. The real question for all of us to answer now is, if we grew up with the one hander, do we consider a switch to two hands on the frame? And if so, what would be our justification?

I may want to cover this in a podcast in more depth, but it certainly is a head scratcher. My main interest relates to a key point for each of the two hands. First, when battling the high humidity we get on the east coast presumably due to our proximity to the ocean, my grip on the backhand side tends to slip creating an errant ball that misses it's mark too often. An additional hand on the wheel would more than likely eliminate that as an issue. Secondly, one can hit an effective groundstroke with an open stance using the two hander. This is extremely difficult to do with one. This stance allows for less commitment to one side and helps facilitate quicker recovery to the center or even opposite corner of the court. These are two really good reasons for considering a switch. Just don't expect me to ever lose my deadly accurate slice easily produced with one hand. It's a keeper for sure.

NEW CONTENT OF NOTE: 2011 Summer Camp 1 Pics

Take a moment and view the fun and learning that took place at the 2011 Summer Camp 1 in Gloucester Twp...See Pics

FAVORITE SITES: Timeless Tennis by Gary Bala

Sunday, July 3, 2011
Wimbledon 2011: The Joker is "King"
He pounded shots from the baseline, exchanging and winning long, powerful rallies with one of the best baseliners in memory. His defense covered the court...read more