Top Tennis Players

Tennis Ball

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 11:32:18 +0000

A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis, approximately 6.7 cm (2.7 in.) in diameter and is normally yellow in color. In the early days of tennis, balls were often made of leather stuffed with hair or wool. Early tennis balls were made by Scottish craftsmen. These tennis balls were commonly made from a wool-wrapped stomach of a sheep or goat and tied with rope. In the 18th century, ¾” strips of wool were wound tightly around a nucleus made by rolling a number of strips into a little ball. String was then tied in many directions around the ball and a white cloth covering sewn around the ball. This type of ball, but with a rubber core, is still used for the original game of tennis, today called real tennis. With the introduction of lawn tennis in the 1870s, vulcanized rubber was first used to manufacture balls, often in tubes of four with a package, but not with the name of the brand.

Modern balls are made from rubber mixed with 14 to 18 chemicals to get the proper consistency. Approximately 85% of the ball weight is the rubber/chemical mix. The most expensive ingredient in the ball is the felt, which is adjusted in various ways to produce different properties. Steaming the felt raises its nap to make it fluffier, which increases wind resistance and control while reducing bounce and speed.

Pressure-less balls usually have a stiffer, woodier feel than pressurized balls, and except for the Tretorn brand, do not bounce as high as brand new pressurized balls. Unlike pressurized balls, though, they do not lose bounce over time. In fact, they get bouncier as they get lighter, due to fuzz loss.
Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation, and bounce criteria to be approved for regulation play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) defines the official diameter as 65.41-68.58 mm (2.575-2.700 inches). Balls must weigh between 56.0g and 59.4g (1.975-2.095 ounces). Yellow and white are the only colors approved by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and ITF, and most balls produced are fluorescent yellow (known as “optic yellow”) the color first being introduced in 1972 following research demonstrating they were more visible on television.

By using slower balls the starter players have more time and more control to make the game more fun for them at the introductory stage. The ITF Intro to Tennis Task Force recommends the red, orange, green progression for starter players. Using these slower balls will help the players to develop the most efficient technique and to be able to implement tactical situations in matches that, in most cases, could not be performed using the normal ball on a full court.

How to play Game of Tennis?

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 11:27:44 +0000

Tennis is a wonderful sport and is played on a rectangular, flat surface, usually grass, clay, or a hard court of concrete and/or asphalt. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and its width is 27 feet (8.23 m) for singles matches and 36 ft (10.97 m) for doubles matches. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (91.4 cm) high in the center. The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of the court). The short mark in the center of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the center mark.

The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines. These are the boundaries used when doubles is being played. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines and are used as boundaries in singles play. The line that runs across the center of a player’s side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. The boxes this center line creates are called the service boxes; depending on a player’s position, he will have to hit the ball into one of these when serving. A ball is out only if none of it has hit the line upon its first bounce.

The players start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server, and the opposing player, or in doubles one of the opposing players, is the receiver. Service alternates between the two halves of the court. For each point, the server starts behind his baseline, between the center mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve, although the receiver must play to the pace of the server.

A tennis match is composed of a number of sets. Typically for both men’s and women’s matches, the first player to win two sets wins the match. At certain important tennis tournaments for men, including all four Grand Slam tournaments and the final of the Olympic Games, the first man to win three sets wins the match. A set consists of games, and games, in turn, consist of points.

A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. If at least three points have been scored by each player, and the scores are equal, the score is “deuce”. If at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is “advantage” for the player in the lead.

A game point occurs in tennis whenever the player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). A break point occurs if the receiver, not the server, has a game point. Break points are of particular importance in men’s professional tennis because serving is generally advantageous.

A set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If the trailing player wins the game, a tiebreaker is played. A tiebreaker, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the winner of the set and the overall score.

Usually the best of three or best of five tournaments are being planned by the ATP, WTA and International Tennis Federation.

History of Tennis Tournaments

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 11:25:00 +0000

Tournaments are often organized by gender and number of players. Common tournament configurations include men’s singles, women’s singles, and doubles, where two players play on each side of the net. There are also tournaments for players with disabilities, such as wheelchair tennis and deaf tennis. In the four Grand Slam tournaments, the singles draws are limited to 128 people for each gender.

Grand Slam tournaments
The four Grand Slam tournaments are considered to be the most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. They are held annually and include, in chronological order, the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Tennis Australia (Australian Open), the French Tennis Federation (French Open), the United States Tennis Association (US Open), and the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and Lawn Tennis Association (Wimbledon), are delegated the responsibility to organize these events.

Masters 1000
The ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a group of nine tournaments that form the second-highest echelon in men’s tennis. Each event is held annually, and a win at one of these events is worth 500 ranking points. When the Association of Tennis Professionals, led by Hamilton Jordan, began running the men’s tour in 1990, the directors designated the top nine tournaments, outside of the Grand Slam events, as “Super Nine” events. These eventually became the Tennis Masters Series. In 2009, the Tennis Masters Series will undergo several changes. The series will be renamed again, this time as the “Masters 1,000 Series”, a reference to the number of points the champion of each event will get.

250 and 500 Series
The International Series for men is split into two categories, both run by the ATP: the 250 Series and 500 Series. Like the Masters 1000, these events offer various amounts of prize money to the professional tennis players from all over the world.

History of Tennis Game

admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:53:22 +0000

Tennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each. Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent’s court. The modern game of tennis originated in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century as “lawn tennis” and had heavy connections to the ancient game of real tennis. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all ages. The sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including people in wheelchairs. Except for the adoption of the tiebreaker in the 1970s, the rules of tennis have changed very little since the 1890s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of “instant replay” technology coupled with a point challenge system, which allows a player to challenge the official call of a point.

Tennis as the modern sport can be dated to two separate roots. Between 1859 and 1865, Major Harry Gem and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of rackets similar to the game of Badminton and the Basque ball. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world’s first tennis club in Lamington Spa. The Courier of July 23, 1884 recorded one of the first tennis tournaments, held in the grounds of Shrubland Hall.

In December 1873, Major Walter Clopton Wingfield designed a similar game for the amusement of his guests at a garden party on his estate of Nantclwyd, in Llanelidan, Wales. He based the game on the newer sport of outdoor tennis or real tennis. According to most tennis historians, modern tennis terminology also derives from this period, as Wingfield borrowed both the name and much of the French vocabulary of real tennis and applied them to his new game

The first championships at Wimbledon in London were played in 1877. On May 21, 1881, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association, USTA) was formed to standardize the rules and organize competitions. The U.S. National Men’s Singles Championship, now the US Open, was first held in 1881 at Newport, Rhode Island. Tennis was also popular in France, where the French Open dates to 1891. Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together these four events are called the Grand Slams.

The comprehensive International Lawn Tennis Federation, now known as the International Tennis Federation (ITF), rules promulgated in 1924 have remained remarkably stable in the ensuing eighty years, the one major change being the addition of the tiebreaker system designed by James Van Alen. The Davis Cup, an annual competition between national teams, dates to 1900.

In 1968, opportunity was capitalized by inaugurating the open era of tennis game, in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis. With the beginning of the open era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis’s popularity has spread worldwide. In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a non-profit museum in Newport, Rhode Island containing a large collection of tennis honoring prominent members and players from all over the world.

Tennis Tips

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:45:19 +0000

Tennis is one of the greatest sports available in the world. This game is fully enriched in professional competence, skills, tools and techniques used by the top players in the world. Besides technical aspects, the game of tennis needs one (player) to be mentally tough enough to face the real challenges of the game. High level of competitiveness demands high level of physical stamina and caliber with psychological depth of locus of control that urges one to show remarkable performance.
Here are some tips helpful to players in order to keep focused;

Self Analysis

Keep on analyzing your strengths and weaknesses on regular basis. You can take help from Videos, photos, and even friends (could be your opponents as well)
Keep on thinking ways to convert your weaknesses into strengths. In order to overcome the weakness, it is direly important to have complete understanding of it. An ongoing strategic analysis will facilitate you catalyst the conversion process.
Focus on key strength as may be the Forehands, Backhands, Drop shots or Volleys.
Always use comfortable wearing (like kits, shoes etc) supporting your game play.
It is always advisable to have a part time/full time coaching to learn the best possible techniques of game.

Competitive Advantage

Try to identify and define your key Competitive Advantage from any area of game. This Competitive Advantage can be some specific shots like a powerful Forehand or nice executed drop shot, some defensive or attaching strategy, some baseline or sideline tactics, on the net maneuvers etc
Ensure on time and at spot application of the competitive advantages to show some impressive game pushing the opponent toward making mistakes (like double faults, unforced errors etc)
Firing Aces is a key to success though needs plenty of practice and mindset. Players lile Goran Ivansivic and Ivo Karlovic (Leading Ace producers) are termed as having their competitive advantage in the form of an “ACE”

Opponent’s analysis

The opponent’s analysis will help in devising the “appropriate strategy” for the match.
Try to understand the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses and find out the tactics to counter these significantly during the match.
Never under estimate the opponent as that could be his or her best day.
Don’t let your opponent benefit out of your mistakes frequently rather push him hard to commit mistakes by hitting ball to all possible angles with full court play.
Always anticipate some miracles from the opponents to keep you focused

Selective approach

There are certain things which you can do and some things which you can’t. Always try to capitalize upon the key personal strengths.
Build your strategy as it should be compatible with your skill set.
Top players always go for BIG point scoring tournaments rather than some small wins.

Locus of Control

Start believing in yourself. If you feel you can do it, you achieve it often.
Tennis is a game of Emotional Stability and you must have complete control on your gestures and postures. It has been observed that the one common trait of all great tennis players (like Rod Laver, Stephen Edburg, Ivan Lendle, Pete Samparas, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal) in the history is the ICE-COOL stuff that they have developed and this helped them in capturing world no. 1 spot as well.
Little exercise leading toward building mental toughness can work well.

Leading aggressive behavior

Remember! Aggression is a positive stuff provided that if you manage it in a “right” direction. This provides you intrinsic energy to achieve high level of performance.
It is always recommended that attacking the opponent with powerful shots of your specialty is a very useful strategy.
Don’t try to lead your aggression toward anger. This will certainly add more to frustrations. It is considered really very ODD to through your racket at the court on losing some points or confronting with the chair umpire for some sideline or baseline errors.
Always admire and praise yourself after winning every point, producing every Ace, and winning every game. This will certainly boost the moral helping you ensuring complete control on your actions.

Avoid Distractions

Keep yourself fully devoted toward the game and never show reactions or responses to crowd.
Avoid confronting with the on court staff or side umpires, even with the spectators supporting the opponent.
While serving, concentrate your energies to hit the ball impressively as well as desirably. This will certainly help you in producing speedy and accurate service.
While returning, keep your eyes focused on the BALL rather than opponent or his/her racket.
It has been observed that changing racket un-necessarily can de-track your progress.

Match analysis

A pre-match analysis will facilitate you in devising your strategy for the coming match.
A post-match analysis will help you to identify your strength and weaknesses and will ensure learning outcomes. These learning outcomes will be helpful in the forthcoming matches against the same or different opponents.
It has been observed that watching the video of the match replays ensure high level of learning out of mistakes done at the court.

Using game intervals significantly

The rest intervals between the games and sets should be properly utilized.
Always stay relaxed during the breaks/intervals and review your performance instantly.
Use some drinks or eatables (suiting to your stomach) that certainly will help you achieving mental calmness

Focus professionally

Take your game seriously and show some responsible professional behavior during and after the match. This will help in building the career significantly.
Show respect for all on the court and in the arena. Being professionally competent, the sports man spirit should always be at its best.
Remember! Hard work can compensate the lack of talent.

Building Mental Toughness

admin — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 14:21:47 +0000

Building mental toughness, otherwise it hurts!

The Australian Open, first grand slam of the year 2009 was won by the world No.1, Rafael Nadal of Spain (d. Federer) on Sunday, February 01, 2009 at the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park. The spectators witnessed the best ever professional tennis with all possible expertise and competence by world’s two greatest tennis players and marked with professional supremacy, skill set, and determination. Perhaps no tennis players have met more often than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on all types of tennis surfaces. 2009 Australian Open final was the 19th match they’ve played and Nadal has won the last three Slam finals, five overall with career results leading to 13-6 against Roger Federer. Perhaps most impressive is Nadal has won on three surfaces—the clay of Roland Garros, Wimbledon’s grass court and now the Australian hard courts as well.

Rafa, Roger rivalry is at its peak even in 2009 and let’s see what happens next in Roland Garros. The hot discussions are going on among tennis experts as well as fans regarding the future of the tennis players in the coming event of the ATP tournaments and other grad slams of the year. The thing which is important here is that who so ever wins will be mentally and physically tough enough to play the best possible game.

The cognitive state of mind hurts when a dire attempt to have something, felt deeply deprived of, fails. The internal locus of control reveals its sense of boredom, restlessness and fatigue when things go not as per planned efforts and desires. Sometime we see a consistent relationship between the valences under observation and the consistency is so high, thus significantly predictable. Out of last 18 meetings, Roger is leading the Andy Roddick with 16-2 and at the start of the first semifinal at the Australian Open; every body was expecting Roger to win and the result was obvious.

In a game like tennis, one has to be mentally tough enough to be able to play his or her natural game at the day. One should not underestimate the opponent and keep on preparing drastically to expect something unexpected. One should also keep on innovating new strategies and tactics to review his or her performance both in game and after the game is over. Sometimes, the habit to win so dedicatedly, consistently and impressively puts you in a state of no where to escape. Soon stages are going to be set again, players are going to be warming up, the coin is ready to be tossed, and the innovative tactics will click.

Nadal captures his 6th Grad Slam title

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:17:20 +0000

Nadal captures his 6th Grad Slam title cruising Federer in the final of Australian Open
The world No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain has earned his 6th Grand Salm title by defeating the Swiss star, Roger Federer, world No. 2 after a tough match at the final of the Australian Open at Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park last Sunday. It was a close match and Nadal managed to win the title by 3 sets to 2 and improving his all time record to 13-6 against the Federer. Once again Nadal proved his supremacy over Federer by showing remarkable tennis throughout the match and there were points won by Nadal which earned the Standing aviation by the spectators at the Lod Raver Arena.

Nadal won the first set by 7-5 having a service break ever at the first game of the match. Federer managed to hold the serve in the second set with an early break and finished the set with a score of 6-3. The third set was the battle of titans and both players had shown excellent professional skill to exhibit the peak of artistic tennis. The third set went to a tie-break which was then won by Nadal with 7-3 finishing the set 7-6. Fourth set the Swiss star again showed his master class by hitting wonderful forehands, drop shots and volleys to win certain baseline points. Federer broke the Nadal’s service in the fourth game of the fourth set and consequently winning the set by 6-3 pushing the match to the fifth and final set. In the final set, Nadal kept his nerves alive and managed to get the break in serve in the fourth game of the fifth set of the match. Federer tried his level best to turn up the scenario but in vain. Nadal kept on holding his serve and managed to get another service break in the eights game of the set hence finally won the final set by 6-2 and earned his 6th grand slam of the career as he is the first Spanish player to hold the Australian Open title in the history of Open Era of tennis.

During the entire match, Federer got so many break points but could not convert them in his favor. Rafael Nadal showed excellent performance throughout the match by showing some extraordinary recovered shots in many points. He even returned some of the Federer’s forehands which were almost impossible. This was the 19 clash between the arc rivals and Nadal is leading the series by 13-6. It was their 3rd grad slam meeting (previously in the final of Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2008) which was won by the Spaniard in a comprehensive manner even confessed by the Federer as he uttered in the closing ceremony, ‘The guy (Nadal) really deserved to be the winner tonight”.

Will Roger be able to defeat the Nadal ever in the future? This question is getting hot chats around the world as experts tend to believe and mark the Nadal as the rising sun of the professional tennis world. Will Federer be able to get the world no. 1 spot again after having his performance against the players like Nadal, Murray and even Giles Simon. The time will tell us what is going to be happened next. So far all hands up to the Rafael Nadal for winning his first Australian Open title/ first grad slam of the 2009 confirming his world no. 1 status impressively.

The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific

admin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:29:13 +0000

An overview of Men’s Singles event:

The sizzling sunshine is covering the graceful landscape of Lod Raver Arena at Melbourne Park where the first grand slam of the year 2009, the Australian Open is going to be in action from January 19, 2009. The dazzling city of Melbourne is marked with the feast of this mega event as thousands of fans/spectators have started pouring into the Park to witness the “biggest Stage” of the tennis icons.

The slam is fully enriched in with all top seeded tennis professionals from all over the world including the world no. 1, Rafael Nadal, the Spanish super star, the dashing and distinctive former no. 1, the Swiss master, Roger Federer who is eager to combat to regain the no. 1 spot, the defending champion, the Serbian hawk, Novak Djokovic, seeded 3rd in the event. Novak has already shown his class by wining the Tennis Masters Cup (d. Devidenko) at Shanghai last year.

Over the last half-decade, the 27-year-old Swiss had set the bar so high as holding the World No. 1 ranking for a record 237 consecutive weeks, Federer took the concept of dominance to entirely new levels. Though 2008 was a year most players dream of – three Grand Slam finals, including his fifth straight US Open title – it was also a year of uproar and challenge. As Federer said the evening of his win in New York, “To bounce back straight away after losing the No. 1 ranking, this is the best scenario ever.”

As 2009 begins, Roger Federer has entered a new phase of his career that is potentially daunting, dangerous and distinctive. Daunting because he is trying to earn back his No. 1 ranking. Dangerous because the likes of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and a host of rising new stars are nipping at Federer’s heels, eager to step up and make their own mark on tennis history. But, yes, distinctive because the possibility is there that Federer in 2009 could join Ivan Lendl as the only former ATP World Tour Champion to finish the year ranked at the top of the ATP computer after losing that spot.
Everybody at the park is keenly watching the cruising young British, Andy Murray, seeded 4 at the slam, who is significantly promising athlete imbued in professional competence and skill. Murray outclassed the world’s top players including Nadal, Federer, and recently the Andy Roddick (in final of Qatar Exxon Mobile Tennis championship at Doha) and is considered to be the hot favorite for the open by the tennis experts.

Novak Djokovic is eager to retain his title even though he was stunned by Jarko Niemen in the semi-final of Medibank Championship, two weeks ago. Still the fans are excited to see the Serbian defending his title by showing same brilliance and acrobatic excellent that he had performed last year at Tennis Masters Cup.

Marat Safin of Russia has revealed his interventions as this might going to be his last appearance at the Melbourne Park. The Russian can prove to be very much fatal with his stunning and subtle efforts to end up with some sizzling and shocking stuff. The Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina is also showing his peak form as he has managed to win a title few weeks ago this year.
The clock is ticking, draws have been finalized, paths have been set, and the STAGE is ready to embrace the new champion at the first Grand Slam of 2009, the ultimate dream coming true!