Steven White's Articles (102)

NEWPORT, R.I. — Jack Sock, one of America’s most exciting rising tennis stars, has been awarded a wild card to play in the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships, to be hosted July 9 - 15, 2012 on the grass courts of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. At just 19 years old and having competed in only four prior ATP World Tour events, Sock has already caught the attention of the tennis world, and has a major title to his name. In 2011, Sock partnered…

David Nalbandian’s disqualification from Sunday’s final of the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club in London is, without question, one of the most unusual conclusions to a tennis match – and tennis tournament – in the history of the sport. Leading Marin Cilic 7-6, 3-4, the Argentine kicks a wooden advertising base surrounding the service linesman, breaking it and causing part of the sign to jam into the linesman’s shin, causing a bloody one-inch gash in his leg. Chair umpire Fergus Murphy…

Former champions don’t always make good prognosticators, as Steffi Graf, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova proved when they predicted Serena Williams would win the French Open. The legendary trio was no doubt surprised, perhaps even embarrassed, when 13-time Grand Slam champ…

TennisOne's Joe Dinoffer says that the one-time joke on tennis pros used to be, “Racquet back, bend your knees, that’ll be twenty dollars please.” And I'm inclined to agree. At least in the old days, this was more or less the standard of teaching tennis. After all, it worked quite well for millions of players in the 1960s and '70s, didn't it?…

This former World No. 1 has failed to live up to early expectations following her 2008 French Open title. Still, Ana Ivanovic's game is a pattern of solid strokes and aggressive strategies. An offensive baseline attacker, Ivanovic also possesses a big, if unsteady serve. Inspired by Monica Seles, Ivanovic makes her living on the baseline, slugging out flat forehands similar to Maria Sharapova and her…

Seems some tennis players were pretty bored today.

And so the rather clever Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina decided to break up the tedium with a series of Tweets that are sort of his version of a Letterman Top-10 list.

Thanks to my new cyber friend Dan Martin (creator of TennisAbides.com) for so many kind words in his review -- Steven White, Author

24 Mar

This majestic creature lives near the Dutch Fork Tennis Center, Irmo, SC. And actually, he (or she) spends alot of it's time hunting in my backyard, where I took this picture. Obviously, The animal shows no fear when approached by humans, for it allowed me to get to within a few feet from it as I snapped the photo. …

The following is from my friends @ justgotserved.wordpress.com

Purely for the reason that I am so bored that I am at my wit’s end AND that due to the lucky fact I don’t live in outer Mongolia and therefore Google Images are readily available, I have selected a few of the most amusing pictures of tennis players.

It’s at this point that you begin to say   ‘ But my friend, there is nothing amusing about tennis.  It is a fine game’.  And while the latter…

Every up-and-coming tennis player, I’m sure, knows those frustrating periods when his or her game simply stagnates or falls flat. That seems to be because tennis is a sport with various plateaus of learning. After playing a year or two, your game appears to be stuck on pause. No matter how hard you try, the same players keep on beating you and you never seem to get beyond the early rounds of a tournament. That happens to professional players too.…

As your level of play increases, simply keeping the ball in play may not be enough to win matches. The amount of control you have over the ball then becomes an important factor. Your shot placements can make all the difference. Maybe your opponent has good ground strokes and is able to effectively stay in every rally with you. If you have the ability to hit the ball short to…

Some players like to camp out on the baseline and send back a steady stream of deep crosscourt shots. When you are facing such an opponent, never let him get in a groove – he’s just waiting for you to make the error that’s going to give him the point. Remember that most tennis matches are decided by who makes the least errors, not the most winners. So, instead of trying to…

Raw, young, talented players can often hit a variety of shots but have little sense when it comes to shot selection. This underestimated and under-practiced skill is so important that it alone can separate the levels in tennis.

Your mind will begin to operate much like a computer. For it to be able to work to your benefit, it must first be turned on, and then,…

This takes some practice, and you want to start gently, because sliding the wrong way can easily turn an ankle. One important tip is to keep your front foot pointed somewhat into the direction of your slide. It's the one that's likely to catch in the clay and suffer a turned ankle. The back foot can afford to be sideways, because it will skip over any catches in the clay instead of getting jammed into them. Here’s a good illustration of how to slide into a forehand on clay. Note how the…