Submit your questions to Bill Mountford here
Q: I've been playing for three years and I've gotten to the point of frustration with my game that I want to take a break from tennis or maybe just quit altogether. Is this normal?
Renitha - Newport News, VA
Frustration is pretty normal. Playing perfect tennis is an elusive quest. Arthur Ashe always said that in tennis, you are competing against yourself more than an opponent.
If you become so agitated that you feel like you need to take some time away from the sport, then that is unfortunate. Try to maintain perspective. Have some fun and enjoy the exercise. Not being able to play is worse than occasionally losing.
- Bill
Q: Please help me get a complete copy of 'The Code.'
Bob - Annapolix, MD
Click here for The Code.
Enjoy.
- Bill
Q: What's the likelihood an ambidextrous person, who uses a left and right hand forehand, could play just as well as a person with a normal backhand, such as a one handed or two handed backhand and a normal forehand? I understand there is an issue of transition from left and right hand forehand, so I was not sure if ambidextrous players could be as successful, and also considering the rare amount of ambidextrous talent on the tour.
Anonymous - PA
There have been some rare examples of this exact scenario. In fact, Maria Sharapova (a natural lefty) often plays a left-handed forehand when she is stretched wide on her two-handed backhand. I would not be surprised to see this “style” occur more frequently in the future.
An old buddy of mine, Marty Devlin of West Trenton, NJ, plays with two forehands. The running joke on how to beat him is to hit to his backhand, a stroke which does not exist for him. Marty has won USTA National titles on every surface (hard, clay and indoors) but grass. He has proven that ambidextrous tennis can be played at the championship level.
- Bill
Q: I live way down here in Mobile, AL and we have a good bit of the green clay courts here. My question is can you slide on the green clay or is it not meant for this? I have tried to no avail, nor have ever seen anyone slide on green clay. Though I have been told by a couple people that they can slide on these courts! What say you?
Jason - Mobile, AL
I presume that you are referring to Har-Tru or Fast Dry courts. If so, then you can definitely slide on this surface.
It is harder to slide into your shots, naturally, when the clay is damp. This is because your feet tend to “stick” more when the surface is a darker green (meaning that it is damp). To slide effectively, you need to build up a head of steam first. Stay low to the ground and use the toe of your “trail” leg to drag as your anchor. This will control how long your slide will become.
- Bill
Q: I am fourteen years old and want to become a professional tennis player. I've been playing tennis since I was eight but only seriously for the last year. I am very athletic and have plenty of talent (my coaches have said), so I am improving extremely quickly. I know I still have a few years, but I am worried that it is too late to go pro. Do I have a chance, or should I just shoot for college tennis?
John - New York
It is not too late to achieve your career aspirations in tennis. Keep plugging away by competing in tournaments and enjoy the process.
Becoming good enough to compete at the collegiate level should not be viewed merely as a consolation prize. Andy Roddick is the best American player of his generation. Through his formative years, a long-term goal for him was to become good enough to earn a college scholarship (as his older brother, John, did). Ultimately he became better than he expected. When he became the ITF’s top-ranked junior player in the world in 2000, turning professional was the next logical step.
Unless you are a “can’t-miss” prospect, then you ought to go to college for four years. You can earn your degree while working to improve your tennis game, fitness level, and perspective. Two other exceptional players, Todd Martin and James Blake, would likely NOT have enjoyed such professional success without their respective experiences- on and off-court- in college.
- Bill
Q: When performing a service toss, I decided that I didn't like it and ended up catching the ball with my racquet by turning it horizontally and bouncing the ball on the racquet before catching it with my hand. My opponent proceeded to call that a fault. I know that the service is considered "completed" once the ball makes contact with the racquet, but in this case would that have been considered a fault?
Analisa - Clermont, FL
It only counts as a “serve” if you attempted a swing at the ball. Catching an errant toss with your racquet is not a swing. By the way, if you see a player swing and miss at a toss (perhaps if the blinding sun obscured his/her vision or a gust of wind causes him/her to whiff at the ball), then THAT is considered a fault.
- Bill
Additional thoughts for the week...
Entries close at 5 PM on June 5th for the 80th annual National Public Parks Tennis Championships, to be played at the USTA National Tennis Center from June 19th-25th. Play on the courts of the US Open! Every age division from 10 & under juniors through (and including) 90 & over seniors is included.
Adults/Seniors Registration
Junior Registration Last Friday morning, tennis lost a great champion from a bygone era. Ted Schroeder, who won Forest Hills in 1942 (after winning the NCAA singles title for Stanford that spring), served in WWII, and then won Wimbledon in 1949 (in the one and only time that he played The Championships) lost his battle with colon cancer. The US National final against Pancho Gonzalez must be considered one of the ten greatest matches of all-time. In 1969, writers voted it as THE greatest final in US Nationals history. Schroeder played in six Davis Cup Challenge Rounds, and the US team won four of those titles. Schroeder was a highly opinionated advocate for tennis, and his forthright style and direct approach will be missed by our sport.
And, of course, only 11 more days until the Rafa Nadal- Roger Federer final at Roland Garros.