So you have decided to take up tennis? Or maybe you are content to be a spectator but you would like to expand your knowledge of the game. There are a lot of variables to tennis, from the proper clothes to the equipment, from the rules to the players, but there are some constants in the game too.
At seventy-eight feet long from baseline to baseline, and twenty-seven feet wide – thirty-six feet for doubles matches – the size of the tennis court is one of those constants, and one can learn a lot about the game simply by understanding this field of play.
While the size of a tennis court never changes, the surface of the court can vary from location to location. There are three basic types of surfaces on which tennis is played, and each surface dictates a particular style of play.
Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, or shale, and are usually reddish orange in color, although they can be green as well. Clay courts are considered slow courts where balls tend to bounce higher and more slowly than on other surfaces. Consequently, points often last longer on clay courts as players tend to stay near the baseline – the line farthest from the net – and play defensively because it is so difficult to simply blast one by their opponent.
Clay courts are more prevalent in Europe and South America than they are in the United States. Of the professional Grand Slam tournaments only the French Open – or the Tournoi de Roland-Garros as it is officially known – is played on a clay surface.
The second kind of playing surface that one would find on a tennis court is grass. Rarely seen because of their high maintenance costs, grass courts are grown on firmly packed soil, much like a golf green. Of all the playing surfaces, grass presents the most variables to players.
Wear and tear, moisture, firmness of soil, and the length of time the grass has grown since being mowed all play a role in the playing characteristics of a grass court. Despite these variables, grass court players can usually expect the ball to bounce low forcing the players to get to the ball faster if they are to have a chance at a return; hence, grass courts are fast courts.
Successful grass court players typically play a serve and volley style of game where they quickly rush to the net after serving in hopes of forcing their opponent to hit a fast and perfect return; not easy on a fast, grass court. The most famous grass court is most certainly Centre Court at Wimbledon, home of The Championships, Wimbledon, a Grand Slam event and the oldest event in championship tennis.
Faster than clay courts yet slower than grass courts, hard courts are the most common type of tennis court. Constructed of cement or synthetic materials, hard courts vary in speed and bounce, but generally fall in the middle of the spectrum on both fronts. Hard courts are also the most conducive to all styles of play and, unlike grass or clay, they do not provide significant advantage or disadvantage to players with different styles.
Consequently, hard courts are often considered to provide the fairest test of all around skill. The United States Open and Australian Open are both played on hard courts, although the US Open uses an acrylic surface while the Australian Open utilizes a synthetic surface. Indoor courts are a variable of hard courts that are usually made of cement, wood, or even artificial turf. They typically have similar playing characteristics that are similar to other variations of hard courts.
Now that you understand the different surfaces that can be found in tennis you can use that knowledge to enhance your strategies on the court, or your appreciation for the game as a spectator. Either way, you must understand the tennis court in order to fully understand tennis.
By: J. Lloyd
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Tennis Mental Training is Just Like Tennis Fitness Training
Why tennis mental training?
You've got great looking shots and you can run all day!
You are now all set to win lots of tennis matches right?
Wrong!
It’s always too difficult to concentrate, you never play the way you practice and your opponents always control the match.
Things just don’t work out and getting angry makes things worse.
You know that this is a mental problem but……..
You understand the basics of how and why physical training can aid performance, but you are nowhere near as sure about what to do in terms of your tennis mental training.
You know it’s important but don’t know where to start with putting tennis psychology into your game without complicating it.
Well, tennis mental training is just like tennis fitness training. It has many areas that are important but there are four that stand out as being more important than the others.
Let’s look at them!
Tennis Mental Training vs Tennis Fitness Training
Just like your physical fitness, your tennis mental fitness has four critical components - strength, flexibility, speed and agility.
Strength:
Just as physical fitness is about your ability to provide a strong resistance to outside forces (i.e. the weight you are trying to lift), tennis mental strength is about you being able to provide strong resistance under sometimes high levels of emotional pressure.
Flexibility:
Good physical flexibility allows you to get into many different positions (quickly) to react to what your opponent throws at you, the more mentally flexible you can get will allow you to do the same in a mental sense.
Physical flexibility is all about increasing your range of motion around a joint and mental flexibility is all about increasing your control over a range of emotions around your game.
Speed:
Speed on the court is essential if you want to a) get to lots of balls and b) recover in order to get to the following balls.
Mental speed is needed to mentally move along at pace with the game.
If you are mentally slow then you can never react in time to what is needed on the court at any given time, never mind react and respond to a chain of events.
Agility:
Physical agility is the ability to move, stop & change direction at speed without losing control.
Often this requires recovering from "negative" situations such as when you lose balance.
The same can be said of your mental agility.
The game of tennis requires you to negotiate a wide range of emotional barriers not all of which are easy. In fact it is often the ability to stay "mentally balanced" in times of relative disappointment that separates the champions from the “others” and is therefore a vital part of the “Champions mentality” I often speak about.
There was no greater example of these skills in action than in the “Greatest Tennis Match Ever” - this years’ Wimbledon Men’s final where both Federer and Nadal showed their ability to bounce back from many disappointments and mistakes whilst still keeping themselves highly focused, aggressive and ultimately highly competitive.
In fact the greatest match ever showed possibly the greatest array of mental skills ever – a coincidence??
I think not!!
By: Paul Gold
You've got great looking shots and you can run all day!
You are now all set to win lots of tennis matches right?
Wrong!
It’s always too difficult to concentrate, you never play the way you practice and your opponents always control the match.
Things just don’t work out and getting angry makes things worse.
You know that this is a mental problem but……..
You understand the basics of how and why physical training can aid performance, but you are nowhere near as sure about what to do in terms of your tennis mental training.
You know it’s important but don’t know where to start with putting tennis psychology into your game without complicating it.
Well, tennis mental training is just like tennis fitness training. It has many areas that are important but there are four that stand out as being more important than the others.
Let’s look at them!
Tennis Mental Training vs Tennis Fitness Training
Just like your physical fitness, your tennis mental fitness has four critical components - strength, flexibility, speed and agility.
Strength:
Just as physical fitness is about your ability to provide a strong resistance to outside forces (i.e. the weight you are trying to lift), tennis mental strength is about you being able to provide strong resistance under sometimes high levels of emotional pressure.
Flexibility:
Good physical flexibility allows you to get into many different positions (quickly) to react to what your opponent throws at you, the more mentally flexible you can get will allow you to do the same in a mental sense.
Physical flexibility is all about increasing your range of motion around a joint and mental flexibility is all about increasing your control over a range of emotions around your game.
Speed:
Speed on the court is essential if you want to a) get to lots of balls and b) recover in order to get to the following balls.
Mental speed is needed to mentally move along at pace with the game.
If you are mentally slow then you can never react in time to what is needed on the court at any given time, never mind react and respond to a chain of events.
Agility:
Physical agility is the ability to move, stop & change direction at speed without losing control.
Often this requires recovering from "negative" situations such as when you lose balance.
The same can be said of your mental agility.
The game of tennis requires you to negotiate a wide range of emotional barriers not all of which are easy. In fact it is often the ability to stay "mentally balanced" in times of relative disappointment that separates the champions from the “others” and is therefore a vital part of the “Champions mentality” I often speak about.
There was no greater example of these skills in action than in the “Greatest Tennis Match Ever” - this years’ Wimbledon Men’s final where both Federer and Nadal showed their ability to bounce back from many disappointments and mistakes whilst still keeping themselves highly focused, aggressive and ultimately highly competitive.
In fact the greatest match ever showed possibly the greatest array of mental skills ever – a coincidence??
I think not!!
By: Paul Gold
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Understand The Tennis Court In Order To Understand Tennis
Do you have decided to take up tennis? Or maybe you are content to be a spectator but you would like to expand your knowledge of the game. There are a lot of variables to tennis, from the proper clothes to the equipment, from the rules to the players, but there are some constants in the game too.
At seventy-eight feet long from baseline to baseline, and twenty-seven feet wide – thirty-six feet for doubles matches – the size of the tennis court is one of those constants, and one can learn a lot about the game simply by understanding this field of play.
While the size of a tennis court never changes, the surface of the court can vary from location to location. There are three basic types of surfaces on which tennis is played, and each surface dictates a particular style of play.
Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, or shale, and are usually reddish orange in color, although they can be green as well. Clay courts are considered slow courts where balls tend to bounce higher and more slowly than on other surfaces. Consequently, points often last longer on clay courts as players tend to stay near the baseline – the line farthest from the net – and play defensively because it is so difficult to simply blast one by their opponent.
Clay courts are more prevalent in Europe and South America than they are in the United States. Of the professional Grand Slam tournaments only the French Open – or the Tournoi de Roland-Garros as it is officially known – is played on a clay surface.
The second kind of playing surface that one would find on a tennis court is grass. Rarely seen because of their high maintenance costs, grass courts are grown on firmly packed soil, much like a golf green. Of all the playing surfaces, grass presents the most variables to players.
Wear and tear, moisture, firmness of soil, and the length of time the grass has grown since being mowed all play a role in the playing characteristics of a grass court. Despite these variables, grass court players can usually expect the ball to bounce low forcing the players to get to the ball faster if they are to have a chance at a return; hence, grass courts are fast courts.
Successful grass court players typically play a serve and volley style of game where they quickly rush to the net after serving in hopes of forcing their opponent to hit a fast and perfect return; not easy on a fast, grass court. The most famous grass court is most certainly Centre Court at Wimbledon, home of The Championships, Wimbledon, a Grand Slam event and the oldest event in championship tennis.
Faster than clay courts yet slower than grass courts, hard courts are the most common type of tennis court. Constructed of cement or synthetic materials, hard courts vary in speed and bounce, but generally fall in the middle of the spectrum on both fronts. Hard courts are also the most conducive to all styles of play and, unlike grass or clay, they do not provide significant advantage or disadvantage to players with different styles.
Consequently, hard courts are often considered to provide the fairest test of all around skill. The United States Open and Australian Open are both played on hard courts, although the US Open uses an acrylic surface while the Australian Open utilizes a synthetic surface. Indoor courts are a variable of hard courts that are usually made of cement, wood, or even artificial turf. They typically have similar playing characteristics that are similar to other variations of hard courts.
Now that you understand the different surfaces that can be found in tennis you can use that knowledge to enhance your strategies on the court, or your appreciation for the game as a spectator. Either way, you must understand the tennis court in order to fully understand tennis.
By: J. Lloyd
At seventy-eight feet long from baseline to baseline, and twenty-seven feet wide – thirty-six feet for doubles matches – the size of the tennis court is one of those constants, and one can learn a lot about the game simply by understanding this field of play.
While the size of a tennis court never changes, the surface of the court can vary from location to location. There are three basic types of surfaces on which tennis is played, and each surface dictates a particular style of play.
Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, or shale, and are usually reddish orange in color, although they can be green as well. Clay courts are considered slow courts where balls tend to bounce higher and more slowly than on other surfaces. Consequently, points often last longer on clay courts as players tend to stay near the baseline – the line farthest from the net – and play defensively because it is so difficult to simply blast one by their opponent.
Clay courts are more prevalent in Europe and South America than they are in the United States. Of the professional Grand Slam tournaments only the French Open – or the Tournoi de Roland-Garros as it is officially known – is played on a clay surface.
The second kind of playing surface that one would find on a tennis court is grass. Rarely seen because of their high maintenance costs, grass courts are grown on firmly packed soil, much like a golf green. Of all the playing surfaces, grass presents the most variables to players.
Wear and tear, moisture, firmness of soil, and the length of time the grass has grown since being mowed all play a role in the playing characteristics of a grass court. Despite these variables, grass court players can usually expect the ball to bounce low forcing the players to get to the ball faster if they are to have a chance at a return; hence, grass courts are fast courts.
Successful grass court players typically play a serve and volley style of game where they quickly rush to the net after serving in hopes of forcing their opponent to hit a fast and perfect return; not easy on a fast, grass court. The most famous grass court is most certainly Centre Court at Wimbledon, home of The Championships, Wimbledon, a Grand Slam event and the oldest event in championship tennis.
Faster than clay courts yet slower than grass courts, hard courts are the most common type of tennis court. Constructed of cement or synthetic materials, hard courts vary in speed and bounce, but generally fall in the middle of the spectrum on both fronts. Hard courts are also the most conducive to all styles of play and, unlike grass or clay, they do not provide significant advantage or disadvantage to players with different styles.
Consequently, hard courts are often considered to provide the fairest test of all around skill. The United States Open and Australian Open are both played on hard courts, although the US Open uses an acrylic surface while the Australian Open utilizes a synthetic surface. Indoor courts are a variable of hard courts that are usually made of cement, wood, or even artificial turf. They typically have similar playing characteristics that are similar to other variations of hard courts.
Now that you understand the different surfaces that can be found in tennis you can use that knowledge to enhance your strategies on the court, or your appreciation for the game as a spectator. Either way, you must understand the tennis court in order to fully understand tennis.
By: J. Lloyd
Table Tennis
Table Tennis originated in the 1880s in England.
At the time it was an amusement for upperclass Victorians rather than the sport that it is turned into in current times.
Surprisingly enough, table tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world, with more people playing it than most other sports.
It is particularly popular in China, Japan and Korea.
As the popularity of table tennis grew, more more manufacturers started making equipment that became increasingly sophisticated.
Many people know table tennis by the name of ping-pong which was a phrase coined from the sound of the original paddles as they hit the ball.
The name ping-pong was later trade marked by an English manufacturer and the game of ping-pong was specifically for people who used that manufacturers equipment.
All other games were still called table tennis.
While the original paddles were made from parchment stretched over a frame, they were later developed into wooden blades with stippled rubber glued to them.
Another major development is the change to lightweight celluloid balls that were discovered in the United States.
The other major change that occurred was in the 1950s, when rackets gained an underlying sheet of sponge which dramatically changed the way the game was played.
This allowed for a much faster game and the ability to spin the ball.
In 1988, table tennis was introduced as a sport into the Olympics.
With the increasing popularity the International Table Tennis Federation decided to slow the sport down to make it more spectator friendly.
This was achieved by increasing the size of the balls from 30mm to 40 mm.
There are ongoing developments in the sport, and in some instances people are using a 44 mm ball to slow the game down yet again.
There's also a push by some people to return to the origins of the sport by using hardbat table tennis rackets.
Whether this gains in popularity is yet to be seen, but many people are finding it difficult to keep up the speed of the sport both as spectators and as participants.
By: Graeme Ramsey
At the time it was an amusement for upperclass Victorians rather than the sport that it is turned into in current times.
Surprisingly enough, table tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world, with more people playing it than most other sports.
It is particularly popular in China, Japan and Korea.
As the popularity of table tennis grew, more more manufacturers started making equipment that became increasingly sophisticated.
Many people know table tennis by the name of ping-pong which was a phrase coined from the sound of the original paddles as they hit the ball.
The name ping-pong was later trade marked by an English manufacturer and the game of ping-pong was specifically for people who used that manufacturers equipment.
All other games were still called table tennis.
While the original paddles were made from parchment stretched over a frame, they were later developed into wooden blades with stippled rubber glued to them.
Another major development is the change to lightweight celluloid balls that were discovered in the United States.
The other major change that occurred was in the 1950s, when rackets gained an underlying sheet of sponge which dramatically changed the way the game was played.
This allowed for a much faster game and the ability to spin the ball.
In 1988, table tennis was introduced as a sport into the Olympics.
With the increasing popularity the International Table Tennis Federation decided to slow the sport down to make it more spectator friendly.
This was achieved by increasing the size of the balls from 30mm to 40 mm.
There are ongoing developments in the sport, and in some instances people are using a 44 mm ball to slow the game down yet again.
There's also a push by some people to return to the origins of the sport by using hardbat table tennis rackets.
Whether this gains in popularity is yet to be seen, but many people are finding it difficult to keep up the speed of the sport both as spectators and as participants.
By: Graeme Ramsey
Know More About Tennis
If you are an outdoor game lover, you simply cannot miss the fun that is offered by a game of tennis. Tennis is an outdoor game that is played among two players or two sets of players (known as doubles) where a stringed racquet is used to strike a rubber ball so that it clears the net and falls in other person’s court. If we trace the history of tennis, it originated in the 19th century.
During those times, it was a royal game played by the members of aristocrats. However, with the process of time, such was the popularity of tennis that it soon became the part of Olympic game and is played at various levels of society. The huge popularity of tennis made it a profitable game that was the initiation of famous tournaments such as Grand Slam tours: French Open, Australian Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon.
Tennis is basically played on a flat and rectangular surface that can range from hard court and clay court or grass court. The length of the court is 78feet and its width is 27feet. Incase of double matches, the width of the court is 36feet. The net stands at the centre of the base line so that the court is divided in two equal halves.
The height of the net is 3feet and 6inches and its height is 3feet. In terms of the surface, as stated above that tennis court is divided in three surfaces, clay court (red or green clay), grass court (as in Wimbeldon) and hard court that is made of concrete, basically it is made of Plexicusion and coated with asphalt.
Usually, clay courts are considered slow as there is more friction. This makes the ball slower and the player finds more difficulty in playing volley of shots. However, hard court is faster in comparison to clay courts. However, each hard varies from other depending upon the construction of the court such as low bounces, hard hitting and fast serving courts.
The game of tennis is based on the sets of rules where each win earns a single point. In this game, one player is server and the other player is receiver. However, for a clear service, the ball has to travel over the net and land in a diagonal service box of the opponent.
The game of tennis is based on point system that decides a set. In the game of tennis, first three points are described as love and the concluding points are known as 15, 30 and 40. When both the players gain three points, then the score card is deuce. In this case, any player who makes a winning shot has an advantage over his/her opponent.
However, apart from the basic rules of tennis game, there are various kinds of tennis match such as no-ad, pro set and match tie break. Tennis is a game that requires highest energy levels and amazing stamina so as to play some powerful tennis shots. Therefore, if you are looking forward to play the game of tennis, make sure you work on your physical fitness as well as improve upon your game so as to become a good player of tennis.
By: Bonun
During those times, it was a royal game played by the members of aristocrats. However, with the process of time, such was the popularity of tennis that it soon became the part of Olympic game and is played at various levels of society. The huge popularity of tennis made it a profitable game that was the initiation of famous tournaments such as Grand Slam tours: French Open, Australian Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon.
Tennis is basically played on a flat and rectangular surface that can range from hard court and clay court or grass court. The length of the court is 78feet and its width is 27feet. Incase of double matches, the width of the court is 36feet. The net stands at the centre of the base line so that the court is divided in two equal halves.
The height of the net is 3feet and 6inches and its height is 3feet. In terms of the surface, as stated above that tennis court is divided in three surfaces, clay court (red or green clay), grass court (as in Wimbeldon) and hard court that is made of concrete, basically it is made of Plexicusion and coated with asphalt.
Usually, clay courts are considered slow as there is more friction. This makes the ball slower and the player finds more difficulty in playing volley of shots. However, hard court is faster in comparison to clay courts. However, each hard varies from other depending upon the construction of the court such as low bounces, hard hitting and fast serving courts.
The game of tennis is based on the sets of rules where each win earns a single point. In this game, one player is server and the other player is receiver. However, for a clear service, the ball has to travel over the net and land in a diagonal service box of the opponent.
The game of tennis is based on point system that decides a set. In the game of tennis, first three points are described as love and the concluding points are known as 15, 30 and 40. When both the players gain three points, then the score card is deuce. In this case, any player who makes a winning shot has an advantage over his/her opponent.
However, apart from the basic rules of tennis game, there are various kinds of tennis match such as no-ad, pro set and match tie break. Tennis is a game that requires highest energy levels and amazing stamina so as to play some powerful tennis shots. Therefore, if you are looking forward to play the game of tennis, make sure you work on your physical fitness as well as improve upon your game so as to become a good player of tennis.
By: Bonun
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