September 2009 Articles (47)

The Best of the Rest

Meanwhile, over on the ATP tour …

The two tournaments going on this week, one in Thailand and the other in Kuala Lumpur (which HCFoo has been covering religiously!) feature pretty strong fields, and I just noticed something interesting—at least to me, tennis dork that I am: Between the two, none of the top six players are competing.

Usually, I'm all like, "The big guns should be out there," but with each event having a… Continue

Added by Van Sias on September 30, 2009 at 10:30pm — 1 Comment

Terrible Tennis Player Looking For Same

Beginner looking to play with other beginners or someone who doesn't mind that I am new to this sport.
Active gal, bored of jogging and the gym but love tennis. Kidding about being terrible, just new to it. Wanna play, bring it.

Added by Darcy K on September 30, 2009 at 7:03pm — 1 Comment

6 Between the Legs Shots done live. TWEENERS

and how do do… Continue

Added by Gary Sakuma on September 30, 2009 at 2:01pm — No Comments

Tennis Lesson: When to Approach the Net and How

Added by Gary Sakuma on September 29, 2009 at 8:51pm — No Comments

Tokyo Drifting

"I don't know about the other players, but I feel like I didn't have enough time to recover after the U.S. Open. It's hard to get ready for such a big event like this and I just wish we had more time." — Elena Dementieva, after falling in the second round of this week's Pan Pacific Open.

Dementieva, if you recall, lost in the second round at the U.S. Open to Melanie Oudin.

If you've been following the results of this Tier I event featuring nine of the world's top 10… Continue

Added by Van Sias on September 29, 2009 at 3:00pm — 3 Comments

Indoor Tennis!

I am looking for a study partner/partners to play indoor tennis with. The weather is getting progressively worse so might as well start now. The ideal person should be consistent and be able to play at least a couple of times a week...schedule can be arranged to meet both our needs. I'm around a 4.0 and I play at Tennis Longueuil. This is by far the cheapest indoor tennis club to join since membership is only $10/yr. All we have to do is split the court fees each time we play. Please contact me… Continue

Added by Chun on September 29, 2009 at 4:12am — No Comments

Back (AT LAST) in the Winner's Circle

Funny thing about the week that just passed:

When I was scouring the ATP and WTA sites at the beginning of it, two tournaments really intrigued me: the ATP stop in France and the WTA event in Korea. Despite the lack of top tenners in either draw, I thought they both had interesting potential, particularly in regard to the top seeds.

First, let me talk about the men's event in Metz, where the top seed was Gael Monfils. Now, I don't know how you feel about his game but it… Continue

Added by Van Sias on September 28, 2009 at 9:30am — No Comments

Tennis League Season 4, Week One

Last week was the first week I played three league matches, and I must say it was a BLAST!

The first night was women's round robin doubles, and definitely the longest night of tennis, as it is a guaranteed three matches. I found that my net game had suffered some loss of confidence, as I just didn't feel good about my volleys. My serves were pretty good during the first set, including getting an ace based on deliberately placing it away from the receiver. Unfortunately, my arm got a… Continue

Added by Kristi Hines on September 28, 2009 at 9:28am — No Comments

SloMo: Topspin Forehand of a Professional

Added by Gary Sakuma on September 28, 2009 at 1:10am — No Comments

Creating the ideal mental conditions

More and more, coaches seem to be buying into the idea that success in any sport involves far more than physical fitness and technical mastery. This is not to say that both of these aspects of preparation are not important. On the contrary, it is only by being superbly fit that you can have a chance of hanging with the top players. And physical fitness is certainly one… Continue

Added by tennischick on September 27, 2009 at 6:00am — No Comments

Singles School: Groundstrokes go WHERE? Zones explained

Added by Gary Sakuma on September 25, 2009 at 6:19pm — No Comments

Beyond the Barriers (Part 2 of 3)

Psychological Skills Training (PST) is the process by which the conditions that produce optimal performance are broken down into requisite skills. These can be taught to players like Vera Zvonareva and Dinara Safina who have the potential to succeed but whose heads keep getting in the way.

But in order for PST to work, players have to first be able to… Continue

Added by tennischick on September 24, 2009 at 8:10pm — No Comments

Semifinals Pattaya-Tennis.com #2 vs #3

Added by Gary Sakuma on September 24, 2009 at 7:15am — No Comments

Tennis in Pattaya--www.pattaya-tennis.com Master's Cup

The Quarterfinals match of Ricky vs… Continue

Added by Gary Sakuma on September 23, 2009 at 11:27pm — No Comments

How PST could help Vera and Dinara

I sat next to a crying woman in church last Sunday. She was unkempt, her face blotchy and pimpled, her eyes blindly staring. Huge tears rolled down her cheeks. She seemed lost in her own world, her sadness painful and acute. It was all a bit unseemly. There was about her a sense of not caring that she was on display, gripped as she was by the kind of unmuted grieving that makes people uncomfortable, that makes them want to hug and shake you at… Continue

Added by tennischick on September 23, 2009 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Tennis

I would love to hit. With someone competitive or a female who would like to learn. Jamfishe@indiana.edu.

Added by Jason on September 22, 2009 at 2:22pm — No Comments

Strength and Weaknesses of Two-Handed Groundstrokes

Discussion about the strength and weaknesses of two handed… Continue

Added by Gary Sakuma on September 22, 2009 at 3:47am — No Comments

Add Height to your Serve

Jumping into your serve is a… Continue

Added by Gary Sakuma on September 21, 2009 at 12:20am — No Comments

USTA is having a terrible, horrible, very bad day

I almost feel badly for the USTA. Yes I know that that sounds unbelievable given my own relatively frequent tirades against their incompetence. But the last thing I would have wanted the organization that represents tennis to face was an allegation of racism. That is an ugly accusation. It’s the kind of accusation that even when you win, as Zina Garrison apparently has,… Continue

Added by tennischick on September 20, 2009 at 8:00pm — 1 Comment