Featured Articles (586)

Paralysis by Analysis

I'm a bit of a literary person, but have been surprised to learn that quite a few of this type have been or are very good tennis players. Richard Wilbur, e.g., the former poet laureate of the U.S. is quick to describe the old image of the centipede getting his legs all twisted up from self-consciousness. Thousands of people always want to ask him how to write a sonnet. In his prose pieces he compared this to the drop-shot. Yes there are a bunch of parts to both, but if you just focus on the… Continue

Added by John Escher on April 19, 2009 at 7:17pm — 2 Comments

The AGONY and ECSTASY of Roger Federer

The future champion's rise is talked as much as is discussed the current champion's downfall. Roger Federer's string of losses to in-form youngsters is the talk of the town. From bursting into tears in Melbourne Park to racquet slamming in Miami, the man is in serious need of a rejuvenation....!

Napoleon Bonaparte once quoted - "My downfall raises me to infinite heights". Perhaps he wanted someone in the modern tennis world to draw inspiration from that thought. And… Continue

Added by Rohit Sharma on April 17, 2009 at 1:24am — 1 Comment

Roddick to marry swimsuit model fiancée this weekend

People Magazine confirmed through a reliable source that 26-year old American tennis superstar Andy Roddick and 21-year old Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker will tie the knot this weekend in Austin, Texas - where the world no. 6 is based.

The source also revealed that prenuptial festivities have already taken place, including a bachelorette party for Decker and her bridesmaids which took place last weekend in the model’s native North Carolina.

Roddick, on… Continue

Added by Tennis Viewer on April 15, 2009 at 12:13am — 1 Comment

Novak Djokovic has “Hawk Eyes”

Among ATP World Tour players, world number three Serbian Novak Djokovic has the best percentage when it comes to challenging calls which require the Hawkeye video replay system. Not sure if this distinction is something to be proud of, Djokovic humbly said during the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami that it doesn’t necessarily mean that he has the eye of a “falcon or something.”

ATP also revealed that women players have more sucesses in video challenges than men (36 % versus 35… Continue

Added by Tennis Viewer on April 14, 2009 at 9:54am — No Comments

INSTANT REPLAY: A look back at the week's top tennis plays

Andy Murray, Prince Albert II, Rafael Nadal

Miami memories

VANtage…

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Added by tennis baller on April 12, 2009 at 10:19am — No Comments

Clay Achin'

What can I say? I've really been into "American Idol" this season!

Anyway, the clay-court season—the real one, not the teaser Latin American one earlier this year—kicked off this week and already there's been some pretty interesting happenings.

I guess the biggest thing is Serena Williams losing today to Klara Zakopalova (huh? who?) in the first round in Marbella, Spain. And not only did she lose the match, she also lost the number-one ranking to Dinara Safina, who'll take… Continue

Added by Van Sias on April 8, 2009 at 9:30pm — No Comments

OutBack Senior Tour

Did anyone get a chance to see the Dubai tournament this weekend? I hope I'm not alone in saying that I
enjoy watching these guys play, just as much as the regular tour. To see Stefan Edberg, one of my all
time favorites, was so cool. I really hope he continues to play, so we can see Mcenroe vs Edberg again!

Added by Erich on April 6, 2009 at 10:03am — No Comments

VIDEO VAULT: What did Wilson ever do to you Fed?

Roger Federer may want to retire his denial dance once and for all this season.

The 13-time Grand Slammer was all out of sorts (to say the least) and was bounced from the Sony Ericsson Open today by Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. The Serb will… Continue

Added by tennis baller on April 3, 2009 at 3:46pm — 5 Comments

Tennis League Season 2, Match 2

This season is definitely starting off on a roll. Last night, I won my second match at 6-2, 6-0. I still missed a lot more than I should have with unforced errors, but I got it under control a lot sooner this time than last. And only two double faults, which is a miracle in itself, considering I just changed my grip on my serve this past weekend. Now I'm serving with the appropriate grip, doing a bit more pronation, and hitting the ball above my head instead of low and out in front of me. All… Continue

Added by Kristi Hines on April 1, 2009 at 8:00pm — 1 Comment

An Elite Eight's Path to the Final Four

The men's quarterfinal lineup is set at the Sony Ericsson Open and it's about as good as it gets. Seven of the top eight seeds made it through, with the exception being Gilles Simon (it's hard to see him ranked ahead of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga).

I figured five of them would get through over at Tennis Talk, Anyone? and was looking at Tsonga, Radek Stepanek and David Ferrer as my Cinderella stories. (Elite… Continue

Added by Van Sias on March 31, 2009 at 10:30pm — 1 Comment

Four on the Floor

Wow, the women's draw took some hits yesterday in Miami, didn't it?

Four top 10 players got knocked out today with Dinara Safina, Vera Zvonareva, Ana Ivanovic and Nadia Petrova falling to Sam Stosur, Li Na, Agnes Szavay and Ekaterina Makarova, respectively. I wasn't expecting any of those top players to win—I still think it's Serena's to lose—but my personal picks took a hit with Zvonareva and Ivanovic falling. Safina's been in a bad way lately (like Jelena Jankovic, who lost… Continue

Added by Van Sias on March 29, 2009 at 11:00pm — 2 Comments

NTRP: What's in a Number?

Ask any serious triathlete what his resting heart rate is, chances are you won't have to wait long for an answer. Likewise, ask a marathoner about her average mile time and the answer will generally come forthwith, and accurate to the hundredth of a second.

And if you're talking tennis, it's all about the NTRP rating.

The USTA's National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP) is the official system for determining the levels of competition for all players. At first, a… Continue

Added by Active Tennis on March 27, 2009 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Tennis League Season 2, Match 1

Last night was the first match of my second league. I came off to a great start, winning 6-4, 6-0.

The simplest analysis of the match was that in the first set, unforced errors were killing me - especially on the shots that I had the most time to prepare for. It's like the longer I think about it, the better the chance I'm going to overkill it, or plot it right into the net. During the second set, I toned it down more, and my shots became more planned and consistent, which made a big… Continue

Added by Kristi Hines on March 25, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Just played on clay (har-tru) for the first time...

I'm down in Florida for vacation and just played on clay for the first time (or Har-Tru, as it were).

Anyway, the ball definitely bites and jumps up, but I haven't noticed it to be tremendously "slower". Perhaps I don't play with enough pace.

Also, I got used to the sliding pretty quickly. Except when I get completely engrossed in a point and stop thinking about needing to slide. Then I almost end up on my rear. :-)

Added by Doug Van Horn on March 17, 2009 at 7:45am — No Comments

Babolat Y Series - Interesting

The Babolat Y Oversize Series has been pushed as an obsession.

Racquet companies love to use gimmicks to promote their racquets, but in the end, the quality of the racquet often does not come close to all the promises.

With the Babolat Y series though, it's clear these racquets have been carefully… Continue

Added by Tough Love Tennis on March 17, 2009 at 10:04am — No Comments

An Engineer's Perspective

Many individuals and organizations have contributed to today's state-of-the-tennis-art. From racket materials and geometry to court surfaces and strings, artists, craftsmen and engineers combine skills and knowledge to deliver recreational, professional and entertainment experience enjoyable by all.

This blog will discuss tennis from a technical perspective. What do racket ratings mean? How can a player seperate substance from advertising fluff? Why do different rackets produce… Continue

Added by Marty on March 17, 2009 at 11:46am — 10 Comments

I Like Davis Cup. Why Doesn't Roger Federer?

I'm sure we've all heard the news by now: Roger Federer's fitness coach Pierre Paganini says he's not injured in the regular sense, but rather taking the time to train after bailing on Dubai and Davis Cup citing a back injury.

First, I'm a little surprised at Federer letting someone in his camp contradict what he said. But maybe Paganini just didn't know any better.

More importantly, though, I think this makes it official: Davis Cup doesn't mean much to Roger Federer at… Continue

Added by Van Sias on February 26, 2009 at 12:52pm — 2 Comments

hi

Hi my name is Hether I am a Fedal fan if you don't know what that is I support both Federer and Nadal. I think they both carry themselves well off court. I don't like athlets who get big heads. I live in wiscons where it will be about anothre sixweeks before the local courts get unlocked. they lock them up in the winter so no one will hurt themselfs trying to play tennis with all the ice.

Added by heather on February 25, 2009 at 8:37am — No Comments

INSTANT REPLAY: A look back at the week's top tennis plays

(Caroline Wozniacki + Victoria Azarenka, Memphis)

Dubai denies Shahar,…

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Added by tennis baller on February 22, 2009 at 2:07pm — No Comments

Racket stringing tips for beginners to PRO's

The first of what I hopes to be many racket stringing posts. I have been stringing for over twenty years and the last eight or so years have been stringing on the professional tour at such tournaments as miami, us open, australian open, and many other smaller venues as well. I have seen a lot of rackets and various string combination, strung a lot of rackets and strung on various professional stringing machines, learned from some of the best in the industry and now ready to share some tips for… Continue

Added by patrick m on February 20, 2009 at 10:07am — 9 Comments