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Happy 2006! After a brief hiatus, the column resumes this week. Keep the questions- and the opinions- coming and please read the “additional thought” at the bottom, because I am very eager to read the responses it will generate.
The Australian Open draws have not been made, but my “blink” top-five picks (in order, as of January 11th) for the upcoming tournament are as follows:
Men
Ivan Ljubicic
Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer
David Nalbandian
Andy Roddick
Women
Kim Clijsters
Justine Henin-Hardenne
Martina Hingis (yes, I am serious)
Elena Dementieva
Mary Pierce
Q: I have only just started playing tennis and I’m not to sure where to begin?
Aled - Wales, UK
Keep it simple. Understand the object of the game, which is hit one more ball over the net, and inside the lines, than your opponent. As long as you do this successfully, you will never lose a point.
- Bill
Q: I just wanted to know if someone would be able to enter a ranked tournament even if they did not have a ranking. I noticed that there were unranked tournaments, but there were only unranked tournaments once every month or two. How can I get a ranking and what tournaments can I enter right now without a ranking?
Michael - Flushing, NY
One can always enter high-level tournaments, but acceptance is based on your standing, which correlates to your previous results. If you want to compete at a level where you have not attained a ranking or had positive results, then you will need to enter the qualifying for select tournaments to have this opportunity.
My advice is to not skip any steps in the development process. Enjoy success at your local club in match play or TeamTennis. After that, enter some level-appropriate tournaments. As you enjoy success at each level, then you should gradually move up. I believe that it is ideal for developing players to win about two-thirds of their matches. If you are winning fewer than that, then continue to work on the weak areas of your game while competing in more local competitions. To earn a Sectional, or eventually a National, ranking, then you must be good enough to win matches against strong competition, and this takes a commitment toward constantly improving and some patience. Be persistent and you will get there.
- Bill
Q: I am a 12 year old competitive junior player, playing national tournaments all around the country. Does eating a lot of junk food and not eating really healthy affect my tennis results? My parents are really trying to make me eat healthy and I really see no result.
Alex - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Well, kudos to your parents, because they are probably trying to help you develop a healthy lifestyle, and this will guide more than just your tennis. I tend to think that eating healthily DOES help.
Andre Agassi is in his mid-thirties. Early in his career he used to eat at McDonald’s before matches and would drive miles out of the way to find an open Taco Bell. He was able to enjoy success because he also possessed other-worldly talent. Around seven years ago, he committed himself fully to fitness and healthy food choices and he has been able to extend his career at the top-level of international tennis because of this choice.
Ultimately, you need to make your own choice, but eating properly is going to give you a greater opportunity to succeed against other fit, determined athletes.
- Bill
Q: In the third set of a women's doubles match, can you change which partner will serve first, or do you have to continue with the same serving order?
Jeanne - Tenafly, NJ
At the beginning of any set, a doubles team can alter their serving order. In indoor tennis, where the conditions are less of a factor, this makes perfect sense. The ideal is to have the stronger server serving more games.
Teams can also choose to alter the receiving formation at the beginning of every set. If one partner is struggling from the deuce court, a change of sides might inspire improved performance.
- Bill
Q: What can one do to prevent getting a sore elbow from playing tennis?
John - Oakland, CA
I wish I knew… I had a chronically injured elbow for about two years, and it was a frustrating experience. A few things that I learned through trial and error are as follows:
- Warm up slowly.
- Commit to some resistance training to assure that your body (including your legs, core muscles, and shoulder region) is strong enough to absorb the impact of hitting hundreds of tennis balls.
- Dynamic stretching before you begin and static stretching after you have finished.
- Ice after you finish playing.
- Use a heavier racquet to absorb more of the ball’s impact and experiment with looser string tensions.
- Bill
Q: I am writing this to ask about the toss on my serve. I have a regular kick serve that is pretty decent, but sometimes I have trouble tossing the ball straight up in the air. Can you help me fix this problem? I thank you for your time.
Jay - Westminster, CA
Make sure that you take your time when you toss the ball. Develop a comfortable rhythm that you can count on repeatedly. Practice the toss, with the serve, until you get it right. I wish that there was a magic formula or singular piece of advice that always works, but you will ultimately need to figure this out on your own. If your toss becomes a continuous problem, then you ought to book a private lesson with an experienced, certified teaching professional. If this is not a possibility, then try to imitate the service motion of a great player whose serve you admire.
- Bill
Additional thought of the week…
Last weekend, I attended the USTA’s annual Competitive Training Center conference in Key Biscayne, FL. As usual, there were great presentations by a strong collection of speakers. The leading topic was doubles, and how coaches across our country can do a better job of promoting/teaching/organizing this oft-neglected facet of our sport.
Wayne Bryan was one of these featured speakers. Long before he became tennis’ First Father and an on-air Tennis Channel personality, Wayne was a top coach. In many ways, Wayne’s evangelical passion for tennis set the tone for the conference, and I appreciated his strong opinions. I had a friendly disagreement with Wayne about how top singles players would do in doubles matches against the top teams. So, loyal readers, please weigh in. Who would win the following mythical match-ups?
- Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal vs. Bob & Mike Bryan (circa mid-2000’s)
- Pete Sampras & Andre Agassi vs. Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodforde (circa mid-1990’s)
- Boris Becker & Stefan Edberg vs. Ken Flach & Robert Seguso (circa late-1980’s)
- Bjorn Borg & Jimmy Connors vs. Bob Lutz & Stan Smith (circa late 1970’s)
* Note: John McEnroe was kept out of these mythical matches because he was probably even better at doubles than he was in singles and it is unlikely that Ivan Lendl would agree to play with him (even in my imagination).
I will share these results in an upcoming column.
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