Coaching

Beginning this year, Queens College will begin offering a new course designed to increase the quality and quantity of professionals in the tennis industry. The course is the product of a partnership between the USTA-U and CUNY (City University of New York), who are teaming up to provide an...Read more

There are basically three ways to win a point in a tennis match. The most common, and also most difficult idea to execute, is to hit a winner. This means hitting a shot that the opponent cannot return and it requires a high level of expertise to be successful during match play. I strongly advise...Read more

I have often talked about how we tend to gravitate towards whatever is comfortable on the tennis court. Many times, this means serving, returning and then recovering to the middle of the court about a few feet behind the baseline to exchange groundstrokes. A good opponent is likely to try to take...Read more

Just like in a football game or at a timeout in a basketball game, you can plan a play before you start a point in a tennis match. Your idea needs to be simple and you must understand that, in tennis, you may not have the ability to control all of the variables required to execute it. If you have a...Read more

After playing a tennis match, it is natural to critique your play and assess how things went. Since every match is different, it is likely that your positives and negatives will change from match to match. It is a great idea to come up with exactly what you are going to do before you walk on the...Read more

Why do we sometimes feel ashamed of the way we played? I recently congratulated one of our club players for winning two tournament events. She thanked me, but immediately said that she desperately needed a lesson. I was surprised by her expression of desperation, even more so after I found out she...Read more

Many players tend to try to hit all of their shots away from the opponent during a tennis match. Try to use this idea instead: keep your shots deep and towards the middle at the beginning of a point. There are many reasons to start the point this way. Serving to the middle of the box and deep will...Read more

It can be very difficult to convince yourself that starting the point in the middle of the court is a good idea. Most of us use getting the player on the run, or hitting it far away from wherever the opponent is, to win the point. In addition, if you hit the ball down the middle and it is not hit...Read more

Almost every player has one side that is better than the other. Usually, a player's forehand is stronger but as the level of play gets higher, many players prefer their backhand. Once you have determined which side is better, try attacking the weaker side with your first shot—either the serve or...Read more

Two of the best game improvement tools you should use on a regular basis are the backboard and the ball machine. Most world-class pros have used both of these resources in their careers and both are tremendous tools for your conditioning, footwork, consistency and form. Unfortunately, both of these...Read more