Archive for the 'Tennis Resources' Category

The USTA offers an exciting new resource to help you develop your tennis game–a Digital Video Library of clips of your favorite pros. It can be tough to improve your technique without seeing a new movement executed. Now you can watch 40 of the world’s top players frame by frame and analyze every move including Venus and Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters, James Blake, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. An understanding of how the best players play the game will definitely serve you well in your own game. To access the Digital Video Library, log in to the USTA Player Development web site. This wonderful resource is free to the public.

Whether you are gearing up for the tennis season or looking for a good beach read, Wicked Backhand recommends the following books about tennis.

The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
This classic book discusses the inner game of tennis but this philosophy adapts well to any path in life. Making the connection between mind and body, learning to trust yourself, and focusing are illuminated here.

Tennis Fundamentals by Carol Matsuzaki
Study the basics of tennis with this handy primer. You have to put it into action to learn it, but this book will give you a starting place to figure out fundamental tennis shots, smashes, and serves.

Shape Your Self by Martina Navratilova
Martina exposes the details of her lifetime fitness regimen, distilling over 50 years of research into this absorbing book. Learn her secrets and strategies and change your life — fitness benefits much more than one’s tennis game.

Tennis and the Meaning of Life by Jay Jennings, editor
This collection of fiction with a focus on tennis will make you laugh and maybe even cry. Most of all, you’ll be amazed by the roles that tennis can play in life. Bud Collins describes the book as “championship stuff.”

Many professional tennis players practice yoga to help improve their game. For centuries, regular yoga practice has been proven to develop balance, flexibility, stamina, and strength.

Tennis is a mental sport as well as a physical one, and the meditation involved in yoga can help train the mind to relax and improve concentration during matches. Imagine being able to channel all of your energy into your serve. Even the breath control associated with yoga can benefit your game by helping you to relax and focus.

Typically, tennis players tend to have tight hamstrings, quads, and hips, and these specific yoga poses can help: Warrior II (virabhadrasana II), Tree (vrksasana), Triangle (trikonasana), and Spinal Twist (ardha matsyendrasana).

If you want to check out Maria Sharapova’s secret weapon, she uses Sybel’s Yoga for Sports & Fitness DVD regularly to relax and improve her flexibility.

A few people have asked the great question recently, “What’s going on when they are playing a tiebreak? It doesn’t make sense to me.” Here’s what happens: when two players are tied at 6-6, the set is usually determined by one more game called a “seven point tiebreak.” You count the points using ordinary numbering.

The set is won by the player who scores at least seven points during the tiebreak but also has two points more than the opponent. For example, if the score is 6-5 and the player with 6 points wins the following point, that player wins the tiebreak as well as the set. If the player with 5 points wins the next point, the tiebreak continues. It cannot be won on the next point because no player will be two points ahead. Since only one more game is played to win the set, the score is always 7-6 (or 6-7). Sometimes tiebreak points are also included, for example 7-6 (7-4). Another way to list the score of the tiebreak is to list only the loser’s points.

The player that would normally serve after 6-6 serves first in the tiebreak which is considered a service game for this player. The server begins service from the deuce court and serves one point. After the first point, the serve goes to the opponent. Each player then serves two consecutive points throughout the rest of the tiebreak.

Although this appears to be a “made for ads” site, meaning it’s just put up to make money, they do have many interesting Tennis Tips and a lot of great pictures. The site is called TennisTips.net.

As always the USTA is there helping you out as well. There have not been many updates as of late but there are some tried and true tennis lessons in the mix there. The lessons site is here, but you can also check out their online lessons that may help some of you get over those little bumps in the road keeping you from cleaning house in the next club tournament.

Another great resource for tennis players is the Tennis Server’s Tennis Equipment Tips. There are a ton of great tips to help you learn about the equipment you are using.

technorati tags:Tennis, Tips, Swing, Equipement, Rackets, USTA

Do you need some quick tips to help improve your backhand?

Tennis4you.com might have just what you’re looking for. I found some great backhand tips over here and improved my weak backhand.

There are tons of tips for all levels of play collected from all over the web.

It’s a good single resource for learning how to improve your backhand game.

technorati tags:Backhand, Tennis, Strokes, Tips, Learn

Are you looking for Professional Tennis’ very own player blogs? Well look no further. Wicked Backhand found a good stock of professional tennis players telling it like it is on their very own blogs at the Men’s ATP Blog site.

They have players like James Blake, Ivan Ljubicic, Marcos Baghdatis, and Jarkko Nieminen. The players give updates on their latest tennis tournaments as well as some personal behind the scenes looks into their training, travel, and life on the tour.

Marcos Baghdatis has some interesting posts from about a month ago when he played the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami. He talks about the new challenge rule, getting rackets restrung and swimming with dolphins. He is quite a character on court and as it turns out, can joke around off the court. Check him out over at his ATP blog.