Getting in the Swing of Things

Most of us really want to hit the ball hard. I mean, one reason we admire the pros is because they can hit the ball with so much pace and still control it. But when we try to hit the ball like the pros, it seems like it always goes long.

The majority of the tennis players I have seen suffer from two weaknesses when they try to hit the ball with power. Either they are afraid to hit the ball hard at all because they are afraid of missing the shot, or they swing so hard (almost popping the ball) that the ball flies over the fence. Both of these descriptions will negatively affect your tennis game. I have noticed that most players have these problems because they just don't feel comfortable swinging hard.

There is one simple drill you can practice to overcome both of these dilemmas. All you need is yourself, a basket of lots of tennis balls, and a designated thrower. The hitter stands on the baseline, and the thrower tosses tennis ball after tennis ball to the hitter. The hitter concentrates on hitting the ball hard and with good form, not even caring where the ball goes.

This benefits the hitter a lot because they start to feel comfortable with a powerful hit. After the hitter has hit as many shots as they want just swinging for the fences, they then try to control their shots while maintaining perfect form and trying to maintain pace on the ball.

Similarly, in life, we all need safe environments where we can just practice pushing ourselves and making mistakes while trying to figure out how to keep the balls in play. If we don't have these environments, we become like the tennis player--either scared to take risk, or taking unnecessary and random risk.

So grab a friend and a bucket of balls, and start to get in the swing of things.

Placement over Power

There are certain phrases that I still hear my coach teaching me every time I walk out on the court. Probably a tennis match doesn't go by where I don't think about my coach's favorite tagline--"placement over power."

Let me tell a little story that I think will help you understand the point my coach was trying to get me to see. It was this match that taught me the truth of his words.

I taught summer tennis lessons for many years when I was in high school. These lessons were through a city program, and I would use some community park's courts to teach. I went down to the park a little early one morning before my lessons and saw a group of three men playing tennis.

They were older, distinguished gentlemen all dressed in white. Each was no younger than seventy years old. As I pulled up and started walking to the court, they asked me if I would like to play with them because they were short a player. I quickly accepted, thinking that this would be a fun leisurely game of tennis.

Although they didn't hit fast, I don't think I touched one of their shots. They were the most consistent players I have ever played, and they could place the ball anywhere they wanted. In addition to being humiliated (and they were joking around with me a lot about how I was the most in shape but couldn't play tennis), I understood what my coach had been trying to teach me all along.

A lot of times a player will think if they hit fast, they will win. Although a nice fast shot is a great addition to anyone's game, placement and consistency are the more valuable tools. So next time you wind up to kill a shot, trying to overpower your opponent, realize you could probably safely angle the shot to one side or the other and win the point. Try the placement shot.

One qualification: The advice in this blog is not an excuse to sacrifice all speed for placement. If you don't put any pace on the ball, oftentimes it won't matter how well placed your hit is because your opponent will have plenty of time to get to it.

Life lesson--consistently and steadily work towards a clear destination. Avoid quick bursts of energy on goals when you don't know where you are going.

Three Best Racquets on the Market

As promised, I said I would blog about the three best tennis racquets on the market today. I have to make some disclaimers though. It was really hard to narrow the search down to three. I decided that I would choose one racquet in three different categories--power, control, all court--instead of just trying to pick at random. Although I have picked three racquets that are good for different reasons, please realize that there are lots of good racquets out there.

Babolat Pure Drive--The Power Racquet

Babolat's Pure Drive racquet is a great power racquet. It can be seen in the hands of Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal. If you feel like you can control the ball well, but you want to add a little power in your shot, this is a great potential racquet for you.

A player who is thinking about using this racquet should remember that it will be harder to keep the ball in play with the added power. Most of the reviews I read say it has a very soft feel. This is a typical feel of most power racquets.

It is a great racquet for volleying and groundstroking. It also is great at adding spins and kicks on serves, but it is a little lacking in trying to produce a flat serve.

Here is a link to one set of player reviews about the racquet--they give a nice overview. The racquet usually costs about $185. Here are two different sites where you can buy the racquet if you are interested. I'm honestly not sure if they are the absoulute cheapest, but they are competitive in their pricing. Site 1 Site 2

Wilson K Factor K Six--The Control Racquet

Wilson used to make an excellent control racquet called the ProStaff. It started to become outdated, and the K Six is the new-age version of the classic Wilson ProStaff racquet. It is great for players who are looking for added control. Don't get me wrong, you will still notice a great pop on your hits, but if this is the racquet you choose, you will sacrifice some power for added control.

This racquet has an excellent sweet spot, giving it a nice all-around feel. The sweet spot on this racquet is bigger than on the Babolat mentioned above, but it all depends on what you want. The K Six is a little lighter than its ProStaff predecessors, and so it can help you play a faster game at the net.

This racquet is the most expesive of the three, ringing in at about $200 dollars. Check them out on site 1 and site 2. The man who really has brought a lot of interest in this racquet is Roger Federer. It is the raquet he plays with. Follow this link for a review.


Prince Graphite Classic OS--The All Court Racquet

My all court racquet of choice may be a little surprising since it has been in production for over twenty years. But when it comes down to it, there just isn't a better racquet for the all-around player. You would think with the advancment in racquet tecnology that this racquet would have been surpassed long ago. But Prince made a great racquet that still has one of the best feels of any out there.

Although this racquet tends to have a little more power than control, the balance of the two is great for an all-around tennis player looking for a perfect racquet. It was the racquet of choice for Chang, Agassi, and Seles when they first entered the circuit.

Here is a link to some player reviews. It runs at about $119 and can be purchased at site 1 or site 2

The Inner Game of Tennis

Believe it or not, before I was a tennis player, I was a piano player. I would be the first to admit that I don't like playing the piano nearly as much as I like playing tennis. But I started to learn my first tennis lessons in the piano studio.

You might be asking yourself, "How can anything about the piano teach you about tennis?" Actually, tennis and piano are very similar mentally. Learning how to prepare for recitals also taught me a lot about preparing for matches. I would use the same techniques I used to sit down in a piano recital, knowing I could play the piece perfectly, as I would on the tennis court, knowing I could step out on a court and win.

To gear us up mentally for piano recitals, my piano teacher would often quote from W. Timothy Gallwey's book The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance. This book is a must read for any tennis player, and to be honest, is a great read for anyone interested in improving mental performance. Here is a link to Amazon or Barnes and Noble where you can purchase the book if interested.

So what makes this book so good? The premise of the book is that the mind is often the biggest obstacle we have to overcome when playing tennis (or doing a lot of things in life). Gallwey's first goal is to convince the reader that the mind often limits us from reaching our full potential.

After we understand that fact, as players we know what aspects of our game we need to work on. Gallwey then breaks down the many ways that we can work on using the mind as a tool for success rather than a having it be limiting. For example, he identifies that "the first skill to learn is the art of letting go the human inclination to judge ourselves and our performance as either good or bad. . . .When we unlearn how to be judgmental, it is possible to achieve spontaneous, focused play." He explains that not being judgmental doesn't mean "ignoring errors." He just teaches that observing our performance without getting caught up in positive or negative judgments can help us improve skills.

As I have coached tennis, I have noticed that the mental side of tennis is often the most debilitating and the hardest to overcome. This book is phenominal at helping players understand what is really going on in the mind, and the tactics for overcoming these mind games work.

Whether you feel like you are in control mentally on the court, or you feel like it is your biggest challenge to overcome, your time will not be wasted if you decide to pick up this book. In addition, you will find yourself pondering the principles in other aspects of your life. You stick your foot in your mouth, and all you can do is replay the incident in your mind, telling yourself how stupid you were. Gallwey would tell you that when you just keep judging the situation, you may paralyze yourself for the next conversation you have. He would advise just observing in your mind what happened and planning a different approach for the next conversation.

Gallwey says, "Take off our judgmental glasses, whether they're dark or rose-tinted." That's good advice on the court, in the office, at school, or at home.

Five Down the Line

The average tennis point lasts for three shots. Think of what that means. If I serve to you, you return it, and I hit one more shot, that is the length of the average point. This means that if you can consistently hit four shots, you will win most of the points you play.

A lot times you will hear tennis pros focus on increasing their consistency. Because of the length of the average point, you may now understand why. I want to share with you today a drill that is great for increasing consistency and placement simultaneously. It is a drill I call 5 down the line.

Players begin the drill by standing cross court from each other. See the picture below if you are unsure about what this means. One player stands where the letter "A" is, and the other where the letter "B" is.



They begin the drill by hitting back and forth to each other crosscourt. In other words, the ball would follow the path of the arrows. They hit four shots this way. On the fifth shot, instead of hitting the ball crosscourt, the player hits the ball down the line. See the picture below.

Player B must then run to the opposite side of the court, hit the ball cross court, and they begin hitting to each other cross court until the fifth shot again. I will explain this a bit further.

Look at the first picture again, and let's say that player A begins by hitting the first shot, player B hits the second, player A the third, player B the fourth. Player A then hits a shot down the line as demonstrated in the second picture. Player B runs to the opposite side of the court, hits it back cross court, and they begin again.

Don't be frustrated if you can't complete this drill the first few times. If it weren't challenging, it wouldn't be worth doing. Stick with it, and your consistency will improve, and you will win more tennis points.

This drill also teaches players to hit high percentage tennis shots. Most tennis shots a player should make on a court are either crosscourt or down the line.

This tennis drill is great for all tennis levels but is the best for intermediate players. I've included the link to the website where I found these pictures. It has many other drills that are worth looking at.

Be Quick, But Don't Be in a Hurry

Although tennis is my favorite sport, I have played a lot of other sports too. When I was in junior high, I used to go to a lot of basketball camps during the summer.

As I got older and started playing a lot more tennis, I was amazed at how many of the lessons I learned at those summer basketball camps really stuck with me and improved my tennis game.

One line that always stuck with me from a camp was "Be quick, but don't be in a hurry." This is great advice for anyone in almost any aspect of life. And I have noticed that this tip is crucial to success on the tennis court too.

I have played a lot of tennis players who are very fast and athletic players. They seem to be moving at 100 mph on the court, but they never seem to get in the "swing" of things. They are hurried players, and because they are going so fast, they make poor decisions.

There is a big difference between "quick" and "hurried." As a tennis player, you have to be quick. You have to see the ball coming, adjust, move, and hit great shots. But you should never feel panicked or hurried on the court. When you are quick, you are calm, patient, and take advantage of the right moments at the right time. When you are hurried, you are impatient, frantic, and make hasty shot selections.

When you walk out on the court, think about calming yourself down, getting in a rhythm, and reacting quickly to your opponent's game. You can try this by simply asking yourself the question, "Am I being quick today or hurried?" As you feel hurried, think about making every move you make on the tennis court as efficient as possible. This will help you feel more in control and will help you enjoy your tennis matches more.

This concept carries over into all aspects of life. In most anything you do, avoid feeling frantic, panicked, or rushed. A lot of times you will need to get many things done in a short amount of time. So act quickly and manage your time well. But don't let all of those tasks make you run so fast from point A to point B that you feel like all you are doing is playing catch-up all day. Be quick, but don't be in a hurry.

Easier said than done, but just try to make changes like you do on the tennis court. Make sure all of your moves are efficient and helping you win points. In all your activities, be efficient and make sure they are leading you to a desired end goal.

Just for fun, when I got done writing this post, I googled "Be quick, but don't be in a hurry." Surprisingly, there is a book with the title Be Quick--But Don't Hurry. I haven't read it, but it did get a 5-star rating on Amazon. If anyone reads it, let me know what you think.

Wimbledon--Final of all Finals

Incredible! What more can anyone say about the finals at Wimbledon this year? Roger gets his 15th Grand Slam title, surpassing Pete Sampras as the all-time winning player in history, and he does it in a 5th set with a final score of 16-14.

That's not all though. The scores of each set were 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14. There were only three breaks in this whole set. It had to look grim for Federer going into the 5th set, knowing he hadn't broken Roddick's serve the whole match, and there would be no tie breaker in the 5th.

But Federer's persistence paid off. Eventually Roddick faltered in just one game, giving Federer the only window he needed, a break, and a 15th career Grand Slam title.

Here is a great article by the BBC that has a lot of commentary about the match from Federer himself. And if you want to truly be a Federer fan, here is a link to Federer's hompage and another link to a fan site with lots of articles and pictures all about #1 ranked Roger Federer.

I found this YouTube video that is a Wimbledon 2009 preview ad that I think shows the build-up and triumph extremely well. Congratulations, Roger. You're the best of all time.

Just for Fun

Whether you play tennis to win a tournament, socialize with friends and family, or just for some good ol' exercise, it is important to remember that tennis should be fun. So often, as players we get so driven in our pursuit of perfect backhand form or our grip at the net that we forget we are playing the game we love--love all.

Everyone's definition of fun can be something different too. For you, fun might be being as competitive as possible. For someone else, it might be fun to joke around on the court (if so, the two of you better not play each other). This blog is supposed to bring the fun back into tennis. Just enjoy these YouTube videos and dream of the next time you will grace a tennis court.

This video is one of the best rallies I have ever seen. Federer and Hewitt go head to head in one of the most incredible points you will ever see.

After getting a little perturbed at a call from a judge, Roddick unleashes with a serve you won't believe.

Federer gets it done any way he has to whether it be hitting ground strokes or between his legs.

This is a fun compilation of some of the most amazing tennis shots.

I hope these videos have inspired you to put the bounce back in your side to side shuffle on the court because we've got to love going on that court every time.

Wimbledon is Here

Wimbledon is finally here. This blog article is intended to give you all the info you want about the most prestigious Grand Slam. Every year it is possibly the most anticipated Grand Slam because it is arguably the classiest and most prestigious of the Grnd Slam tournaments (US Open, French Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon).

In this article from the BBC, Djokovic--who is currently ranked number four in the world--agrees that Wimbledon is the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. The article quotes him as saying so, and there is also a short video interview next to the written article that is worth looking at.

Lets take a look at some of Wimbledon's facts.

Wimbledon is actually the oldest of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, starting in 1877. Wimbledon has an excellent page about their history; it is worth checking out. For example, did you know that person who was nearly a Wimbledon champion ended

up murdering a woman over gambling in Monte Carlo? It's all on Wimgledon's official site.

I found a PDF online that posts Wimbledon's prize money. Just for a few facts: The men's and women's singles champions each get 850,000 British pounds for winning. In dollars that would be close to $1.4 million. In all, Wimbledon will pay 12,550,000 in British pounds in prize money in 2009. Thats roughly $20 million.

If that dream vacation is somewhere in the near future, here is a link to maps of Wimbledon. And just in case you're taking your kids, here is the ball boy/girl application information.

Also, here is a PDF that talks all about the grass courts. Some of the most interesting facts I learned are that each court is mowed and repainted every day of the tournament, that the grass is 8 mm tall, and that the bounce of the ball is determined by the soil not the grass.

Tickets to Wimbledon are easily accessed online. Here is a link to ticket info for 2009. I noticed that a center court ticket on the day of the finals costs 100 pounds ($160). I feel like that is a pretty reasonable price for the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.

Wimbledon is also very selective about their providers. They only are affiliated with the best and choose sponsors who will boost their image. A few of their sponsors are Rolex, IBM, Slazenger, and Polo. For a complete list of their sponsors, click here.

Well, in the excitement Wimbledon has to offer, I hope these random facts add to some of the thrill of the best tennis tournament of the year. Will Roger Federer really get #15? We'll all know by July 15.

Racquet Guide

Having the right tennis racquet can make all the difference in your tennis game. But, as you've probably found out, finding the perfect racquet for yourself can be difficult. We all like something a little bit different.

The first step to raquet buying is knowing what to look for. It's easy to get overwhlemed by the millions of choices. Just type "tennis raquet" into Google, and you'll get more hits than you ever wanted, or can sort through.

Here are a few sites you might want to look at for a guide on what to look for in a racquet. If you're already familiar with racquet specs, don't take the time with these sites: Site 1, site 2, site 3. Site 1 is a great simple synopsis of what is most important to look for in a racquet. Site 2 is a more in-depth look at the balance between a control racquet and a power racquet. Finally, site 3 is a 6-step break-down for beginners buying a tennis racquet for the first time.

In addition to narrowing down a great racquet through research, smart racquet buyers will "demo" their potential racquet before buying. Demoing racquets means that you play with the racquet a bit before you actually buy it. It would be comparable to test driving a car. Here is a good link that discusses the benefits of demoing raquets, and here is another site that discusses how to properly demo a raquet.

Most tennis clubs will allow you to demo raquets for an hourly fee. Usually, if you decide to buy the racquet from the club, they will subtract any money you spent demoing the racquet from the overall price. So if you think you have found a winning racquet, demo it a few times to be completely sure you love it.

There are even some internet companies that will allow you to demo racquets via mail. This site charges $6.95 per racquet and you can demo up to three racquets at a time. This is another site that allows you to demo up to four racquets and keep the racquets for a week. Check out each site because depending on where you live, or how many racquets you want to demo, the price will be cheaper at one site or the other.

We often hear the common cliche, "The right tool makes the job easier." It's true in tennis and life. The right tool, or racquet, makes the job easier, healthier, and more fun. So spend a little time making sure you pick the right racquet. In an upcoming post I will analyze three of the top racquets on the market.

Roger or Pete?

Since Roger Federer has just tied Pete Sampras as the winningest tennis player of all time, I thought it would be fun to try and find a video that showcased both players' top plays of all time.  Here is a video that compiles 10 of Roger's top plays of all time.  Sorry it is only a link, the embedding was protected.

It was a lot harder to find videos that compiled Pete Sampras's great shots.  Maybe it's because he didn't hit as many.  But whatever style each plays, both sit with 14 grand-slam titles under their belt.  Here are two videos of Pete Sampras.  The first shows his hard slam dunk style of play.  The second is a tribute to his 14 grand-slams. 

So who is the greatest player of all time? A hard question. But one thing is for sure, one of the two is still playing and has an opportunity to lay hold of the title.  Sampras himself said it should be Federer.  Check out this article from ESPN that discusses who is #1.

It's All About Strength

As I've been posting about the French Open, a lot of articles and videos will talk about the strategies players use to win matches.  An example of this is found in my post on June 4th.  There is a YouTube video that analyzes exactly how Soderling defeated the returning champion, Nadal.

In this post, I just want to remind players of the most fundamental of these strategies-- in tennis remember to play to your strength and make the other player play to his/her weakness.  Fundamental right?  But do you do it.  I have watched more players lose a match because they forget this one strategy.

It is also important to remember that a lot of times it isn't enough to play your strengths.  You also must try and force your opponent to play to their weaknesses.  As you warm up with your opponent, start to analyze their skill level and where their strengths and weaknesses are.  

Off the tennis court this isn't bad advice either.  There are certain things that we are better at than other things.  So in life, play to your strengths.  

As a side note: the greatest tennis players after identifying weaknesses in their game will spend the majority of their practice time making their weaknesses strengths.

Federer Makes History. Greatest Ever or Not?

Robin Soderling is a player that just took the tennis world by storm. This is the 3rd time I have posted about him in the last few days. But as miraculous as his run at Rolland Garros was, he was no match for potentially the greatest player of all time, Roger Federer.

It only took Roger Federer 3 sets to put him away too. If you want to see a summary of the final match, click here. I found a nice article in The Times that does a nice job summing up what this victory meant for Federer.

I wanted to break down a few of his stats a little further. In this article, it is mentioned that only 6 players have won all 4 grand-slams. They were Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, and Roger Federer.

For a nice overview of grand-slam stats, click here.

Congratulations, Roger, we've been waiting for you to win the French Open and tie Pete Sampras for years. So who is the greatest player of all time. . . Roger or Pete? And how about Roy Emerson and Bjorn Borg? This is another small article that discusses that issue.

Soderling to Final

Soderling advances to the finals at Roland Garros, but it took an emotional and controversial match. The underdog story continues. In his article in The New York Times, Christopher Clarey does a nice job of summing up the highlights of this match between Gonzalez and Soderling.

Soderling went out "swinging" and jumped quickly to a two-set lead. But Gonzalez would pull himself together and win the next two sets--not without controversy, though, at 4-4 in the second set. Clarey commented,

"Soderling hit a backhand down the line that looked like a winner and was called good. González disagreed and asked the chair umpire Emmanuel Joseph to descend from his chair and take a closer look. Joseph did so and then asked for the linesman who had made the call to confirm which mark on the clay was the proper one.

With González growing agitated, Joseph confirmed that the call had been correct, but González was convinced they were using the wrong ball mark. He argued more and then returned to the spot in question, sat down on the clay and used his bottom to wipe out both marks."

Here is a YouTube video that shows the action. Sorry it's in French, but you'll get the idea.



All tied with two sets each, Gonzalez gained a quick lead at 4-2 up 15-30 in the 5th set. But Soderling determined to not be sent home, and he put together two great returns, making the score 4-3. Soderling would use the energy he gained from those two returns to propel himself to a semi-final victory (6-4 5th set).

Soderling has to be intimidated by Federer. But Clarey quoted Soderling as saying, “Roger, he’s going to be the favorite by far, but I think Nadal was favored against me, too.” Soderling, we all wish you good luck; it's David vs. Goliath.

Roland Garros. . .It's about Time.

So it’s finally June, and that means one thing, Roland Garros—The French Open. The biggest story this year has to be Robin Soderling’s victory over #1 seeded Raphael Nadal. Check out this Youtube video that not only briefly summarizes the victory, but describes the records that are on the line for each player.


It's easy to see how these Grand Slam tournaments become more than just another tennis match for the participating players. There are records and reputations that are being played for too.

It is refreshing to see a player like Soderling "slam" the tennis circuit and give us all a fresh breath of underdog excitement. For the past three years it's been a Nadal vs. Federer final. Finally we have some new blood to cheer for with our hearts. Check out this YouTube video for a six-minute analysis of how Soderling was able to break down Nadal.

Of course it is impossible to tell what will happen from here (click here for a live score feed), but one thing is for sure, Soderling definitely has the eyes of the tennis world. Can it be done?

Aim at What?

When you play tennis, do you ever forget that there is a net? I know what you’re thinking: “Matt, a net is a pretty integral part of the game, and it’s a good three feet tall.” But, hear me out. I’ve noticed that a lot of great tennis shots are ruined by the net. When I ask most players where they aim as they play, they tell me they aim their shots at a place on the opponent’s side of the court. The problem is that if you are hitting to a spot on the opponent's side of the court, you are aiming at a spot with a net between you and the place you want the tennis ball to go.

Instead of aiming at a spot on the opponent's court, pick a spot on the net that the ball will have to cross on its path to end up right where you want it. You will need pick this spot on the net but aim approximately 6” higher to avoid hitting the ball into the net. A strategy like this will make you a more consistent and accurate player.

Once again, a tennis strategy also applies to life.Often I get so excited to accomplish a new goal that I only set my sights on the end point of that goal--where I will land when I am finished--and forget to focus on the entire path I will follow to reach that goal. Then I can get tangled in the net of unorganized effort. My vision of what I am actually doing to reach that goal becomes unclear. If I would take a minute to identify my mid-range focus--what steps should I be taking and in what order--I would be able to continue at a quicker pace toward my goal.

Make sure you have a clear vision of where you want to go. It will give you more confidence and accuracy to actually go there.

It's All about Communicating

Singles or doubles, I love them both, but I have to say that there is something particularly fun about doubles and being on the tennis court with a teammate. It adds a bit of complexity to the game because instead of thinking about what you and your opponent are going to do, you now have to think about what you, your partner, and your two opponents are going to do.

One of the key strategies in doubles is to get to the net faster than your opponents. At the net you have a better opportunity to make aggressive shots. But what will often happen with beginning and intermediate tennis players is that instead of trying to get to the net, they view the ad and deuce sides of the tennis court as "my side" and "your side"--they cut the court in half and only play on one side from the net back to the baseline.

The most effective tennis teams don't view the tennis court in two parts; they see it as one court and communicate with their partners so they position themselves together to make the most efficient and strategic shot they can.

Here is one specific hint: when you are both at the net, you and your partner must be very active in moving around. You always want to position yourselves so that you keep the hitter on the other team in the middle of you and your partner. This will force your opponent to most likely try to hit a winning shot between you. You will be able to quickly attack a shot that is between you, and you will have a better chance to hit many winners. You will likely have to scramble to keep yourselves in position--moving up and back and even switching sides with your partner.

The other day I was working on a PowerPoint presentation for a homework assignment. I knew what the teacher wanted, but I didn’t want to do the assignment exactly the way she described it. I stayed within the boundaries she gave, but I tried something very non-traditional (in other words, I didn’t see the court as a rigid structure that had "your side" and "my side"). So I took the risk and tried something new. When I went to class the next day, the teacher raved because I didn’t follow the conventional way of doing the assignment.

Remember that limiting yourself to one way of doing something isn’t always the best. Don’t be afraid to try a new way of thinking--on the tennis court or off.

Game, Set, Match

In tennis you win points, then points win you games, games win you sets, and sets win you matches. So when you walk out on a tennis court, your end goal is to win two sets, because winning two out of three sets wins you a match. Seems pretty simple, right? But the reality of the matter is that you have a lot of little points you have to win, if you want to be the one to win two sets.

Tennis players can get so caught up in winning sets that they forget they need to win games and points to get them there. What really makes a difference is to think, "Win one point at a time." If you have this type of attitude as a player, you will win points, then you will win games, and the sets will come.

Overlooking the simple, small steps is a common mistake that I often make in life, too. I am generally pretty good about setting an overall vision for myself. I set a goal, and I know exactly where I want to go (in other words, I want to win the set). What I often fail to see is that just like in tennis, there are lots of little steps I need to focus on to lead me to my goal.

For example. I just made a goal to read a book a month--doesn't seem like it should be too difficult in theory. But what I am noticing is that I will say to myself at the beginning of the month, "You have a long time to read this book--you can start in a few days." Well, you can probably imagine that I have that attitude until about the twenty-first of the month. Then I don't want to start because the task is overwhelming. What I need to realize is that every day of every month I just have to do a little to reach the overall goal.

In tennis or in life, focus on the small steps that help you work toward your overall goal.

Love the Score

I think we can all remember learning how to score the game of tennis. Not only do I remember my mother walking me around the tennis court and explaining how tennis is scored, but also I have tried to explain scoring to hundreds of kids in tennis lessons. It’s pretty difficult at first, but once you get it, nothing seems more second nature.

Tennis definitely doesn’t seem to be scored in the most practical way—Love, 15, 30, 40. Where’d the whole scoring thing come from? Most tennis roots come from France (not surprising, since we know tennis was invented there). So why the crazy scoring? There seem to be two well-accepted theories.

Tennis, when first invented, was a game of royalty. Some say that the scoring was created to be confusing on purpose. The odd scoring system would confuse the common French population and discourage them from wanting to learn to play. Thus, tennis would remain an elite game for royalty only. I’m not so sure about this theory; I’m more inclined to agree with a second explanation.

The second theory says that old clocks were used as scoreboards. For every point scored, you would move the dial of the clock ahead a quarter turn. So, one point was fifteen, two points were thirty, and four points would have been forty-five. Over time, to simplify the terms, forty-five was shortened to only forty.

So that could be a couple of theories about the scoring, but where did “love”—meaning zero—originate? This also seems to have two origins. The word for egg in French is "l’oeuf," pronounced “loaf” as in a loaf of bread. Well, eggs to the French looked like zeros—which you can see with their oval shapes. With time “l’oeuf” transitioned to the more familiar English word “love.” So if we translated French to English, and the score was zero-zero, we would have said "egg-egg."

The second theory about using "love" for zero has to do again with the clock being used as the scoreboard. The word for hour in French is "l'heure." If a clock truly was used to keep score, it would make sense that zero was called "hour" or in French "l’heure." As the game transitioned to England, "l'heure" was changed to "love."

Join me tomorrow for the interesting conclusion about this confusing method of scoring.

What is this Blog Anyway. . .

Well, I thought to kick off my blog, I might just explain what my intentions are. I have been playing tennis since I was in fifth grade. I love the sport, and the sport loves me . . . you could say we have a "love all" relationship. In addition to playing tennis, I have also taught summer tennis lessons for five years and even been assistant coach for a high school varsity team--the one I played for, in fact. All in all, I love giving tennis tips.

But recently I was reminiscing about the good ol' high school days with one of my doubles partners, and he and I got to talking about how much we learned about life by playing tennis. I thought to myself, "Why not (1) share how tennis is the best sport in the world, (2) give tips about how to improve your tennis game, and (3) connect tennis principles to life?" And so the birth of this blog.

In some posts I will be offering tennis tips. In others, I will make a connection with tennis and life. And in still others, I might just talk about a recent grand slam match (in other words, current tennis news). So I guess the only boundaries are tennis and life, and I don't think there should be any foot faults about that. So "drop" in from time to time, and "let" me know what you think.