November/December eTennisTeam Magazine
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Besides all the web-based utilities for managing and communicating with your teammates, eTennisTeam provides team-oriented tennis instruction each month. Here are the new articles for November/December:
Click photo to view Ken DeHart's video tip, Game Planning for Doubles. |
- "Game Planning for Doubles," Ken DeHart explains how to develop a game plan to help you win and what to do if the plan isn't working.
- "Dingles," Ken DeHart - The purpose of this drill is to develop a player's ability to come to the net in doubles. This drill also develops concentration and relaxation.
- "Seven Doubles Principles - Low you go on the Secondary Poach," David Brouwer. Brouwer outlines the principles of high-percentage play which is the foundation for success.
If you're looking to expose your teammates to ideas for improving their practices and tactics, check out our Free Trial of eTennisTeam:
Reflections on 2005: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Joel Drucker
The Good
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Kim Clijsters at last winning a Grand Slam singles title. Starting the year with a triple digit ranking, the likeable Belgian played superbly on hard courts, fought through tough losses in Paris and Wimbledon, and then reached the heights in New York with a career-making win over Venus Williams from a set and 4-2 down. Only a hiccup at the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles kept her from finishing the year at number one.
- A year ago Rafael Nadal had just cracked the top 50. But tennis history shows that for the very best players a ranking in the top 50 – or even 20 – is about as enduring as a job in the House of Representatives is for an ambitious politician. Not only did Nadal rocket his way to number two, not only did he win eleven titles (including Masters events on clay, hard and indoor), not only did he win the French Open on his first shot, but he did so by playing enthused, engaging tennis.
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The Good: Starting the year with a triple digit ranking, Kim Clijsters clawed her way to number 2 and a US Open title. Rafael Nadal came from nowhere to number 2, winning eleven titles along the way. |
This guy Roger from Switzerland has now won five Slams over the last two years. No man’s done that since Rod Laver in ’68-’69. Two more such years like this and Federer’s right in the thick with the best ever. And like Nadal, he’s fun to watch.
- Americans James Blake and Robby Ginepri stepped up, playing smart, patient tennis throughout the summer and posting superb results at the U.S. Open. Blake’s third-round win over Nadal showed a keen mix of aggression and wisdom. Ginepri became the first-ever player in Open history to win three straight five-setters. Let’s see if these two can do more in ’06.
- Venus Williams’ gutsy effort to win Wimbledon, 9-7 in the third over Lindsay Davenport. It’s been 70 years since a player fought off match point in the Wimbledon final and ended up the winner.
- Justine Henin-Hardenne’s return to glory at the French Open. Now if this sharp shotmaker can just stay healthy for more than a month.
- The emergence of Andrew Murray as Great Britain’s next great hope. Scrappy and deceptive, I hope the bright lights of fame don’t deter him from moving forward.
The Bad: Out of shape and seemingly indifferent, some question whether Serena really cares about tennis
any more. |
The Bad
- Serena Williams. Ditto with the keen Aussie Open start, and then a year of injuries, indifference, and future uncertainty. Does she really care about tennis?
- Likeable Russians Anastasia Myskina and Svetlana Kuznetsova each won Slams in ’04. This year neither showed much tenacity, focus or improvement.
- Women’s withdrawals. It’s a joke to see so many women’s fields decimated by last-minute pullouts of top names.Let's hope Sony Ericsson honcho Larry Scott’s RoadMap 2010 plan will streamline the calendar and create a clearer sense of order and expectation.
The Ugly
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The Ugly: Mary Pierce’s stretched the injury time-out rules during her U.S. Open semi versus Elena Dementieva. |
Mary Pierce’s manipulation of the injury time-out rules during her U.S. Open semi versus Elena Dementieva.
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ATP doubles silliness. I’ll write more on this in a future column, but for now the whole effort to slowly strangle doubles reveals a horrific inability to understand and diagnose a problem. That said, I wish the many doubles players who knew this kind of stuff was in the air had made their grand proposals prior to the stuff hitting the fan.
- Lack of leadership. A chronic problem. Everyone in tennis agrees things need to be changed – from scheduling to player access to a wide range of issues related to Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympics and more – but no one dares yield an inch of their fiefdom. The sport succeeds in spite of itself.
As always, we would love to hear from you! Questions, comments, personal experiences all create helpful dialogue for everyone! Please click here to send us your email.
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Current Features
T1 Super Slow-Mo™ Video - Sania Mirza
 This rising star turned pro in 2003 and has become the first Indian woman to win a WTA title, the Hyderabad Open. Only 18 years old, Sania Mirza seems to play with uncanny precision, but without a trace of effort. ”Presently ranked 31 in the world, she appears poised to reach the highest echelons of the game. Check out her strokes in T1 Super Slow-Mo™ Video now in your My TennisOne Bonus video account.
Elena Dementieva and the Side-Spin Serve
 Elena Dementieva served up a slew of double faults in losing the French Open last year. Commentators had a field day with Elena’s service motion, errant toss, and hesitant delivery. But, in her quarterfinal victory over Lindsay Davenport in the 2005 US Open, and her close loss to Mary Pierce, Jim McLennan thinks this ugly duckling side spin serve may have been deceptively strong.
Crosscourt or Down the Line?
 90% of all points begin with a groundstroke rally, and many times, end the same way. The right shot selection can lead to opportunities to approach the net, create an unforced error, force an error, or hit an outright winner. Choosing unwisely can have dire consequences. So, when should you hit crosscourt and when should you hit down the line? Alan Chandronnait explains the options.
Virtual Tennis Academy
Current professional tour coach, Heath Waters and wife, top 100 and former no. 33 in the world ranked tour player, Lindsay Lee-Waters, are proud to release the first predominantly all streaming video based e-learning tennis instructional website at www.virtualtennisacademy.com.
 Subscribers will receive personal video tennis instruction directly from Heath and Lindsay as well as mental coaching, sports performance training, and much, more from a hand chosen team of experts currently working with professional tennis players on tour. Now anyone in the world, no matter what level, can receive the same world class training the world's best tennis players receive right from the convenience of their own home.
The Etcheberry Experience DVD
 For more than twenty years Pat Etcheberry has been providing athletes from around the world with the winning edge. We call this the Etcheberry Experience, and players with an Etcheberry experience have hoisted Championship Trophies at over one hundred major championships, including 28 Australian Opens, 18 Wimbledons, 22 UP Opens, 22 French Opens and 15 Olympic medals.
And now it's your turn! This is your chance to experience the same drills, exercises and words of tennis wisdom that Pat gave to Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jennifer Capriati, Martina Hingis, Jim Courier, Justine Henin-Hardenne, and others, that helped launch them on their incredible careers. For the first time, Pat Etcheberry shares his training secrets in a series of DVDs for players of all ages, their coaches, and trainers.
Jeff Greenwald - Fearless Tennis
 Feel you're playing tentatively and know that you have greater potential than you're demonstrating in tournaments? This one of a kind, double- CD audio program, FearlessTennnis: The 5 Mental Keys To Unlocking Your Potential, will help you compete with confidence, close out matches and is a great way to get the mental edge en route to a tournament.
Schedule Jeff Greenwald to Speak |
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November
15, 2005
