Category Archives: Tennis

Serena Heats Up the WTA Finals Opener Big Time!

Serena Williams is a tennis player that definitely gets plenty of headlines. She’s a fierce competitor with plenty of titles to her credit. The highs and lows of Serena’s career have been absolutely fun to keep up with, but what about that WTA Finals opener? Williams really knocked it out of the park and made sure that everyone will be talking about her for quite a while.

There were quite a few hold ups. For starters, the venue was new. From there, multiple injuries and reports of fatigue plagued the famous tennis star. And if that wasn’t enough, there were insulting remarks from a Russian tennis official that were downright sexist and racist. It’s enough to make most want to stay at home and sleep the day away, but Williams didn’t take the easy road at all.

Serena Williams

Williams showed up to make her 16th win, beating Ana Ivanovic. The score went down a repetitive 6-4, 6-4. The tournament opened on Monday of this week, and it was a full out battle between Williams and Ivanovic. Williams had a very sluggish start, leading some to feel that Williams might be losing her tough. But she shook off whatever worries and tension that were still lurking and delivered a very impressive performance.

There’s quite a bit of speculation still in the air. Tennis fans will remember that Williams is only five wins shy of being tied with Martina Navratilova’s record of 21 back to back wins. The year is almost up, so Williams won’t have a chance to go for the record breaker in 2014, but there’s always next year!

The tournament was moved from Istanbul to Singapore, new ground for Williams. Ivanovic said after the match was over that Williams delivered a very hard volley that was nearly impossible to catch. Williams´s performance included an impressive 12 aces. She admitted to feeling her knee still bothering her, but she was focused on doing her best. Read More »

Avoid Injury in Tennis

We all know that tennis is a healthy and fun sport to practice but like in any other popular sport, we must be careful in order to avoid a major injury in tennis.

Ankles and Elbows

One common injury in tennis is the sprained ankle. The quick sideways movements can cause your ankle to twist, especially if you are playing on wet surfaces. Prevent sprained ankle by wearing stable well tied shoes or an ankle brace to reduce the risk. Tennis elbow is a well-known injury in tennis players where they develop inflammation of tendons and muscles of the forearm and upper arm bone. This injury can also be caused by too much vibration in the racket when hitting the ball.  A vibration dampener would correct this.  A tennis elbow band would also help prevent this injury providing support of the strained tendons and muscles on the outside of the elbow.

common injury in tennis

Calves and Shoulders

An injury in tennis which I have had recent experience with would be calf strain. A strain occurs when you push-off the leg, the calf muscle is stretched beyond its limits and the tissue becomes torn. You can reduce any bleeding in the muscle tissue by initiating the “PRICE” treatment:  Protection of the injured area, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. This method can be used for almost any injury in tennis. For the calf, many people find that a Neoprene Calf Support provides reassurance and heat therapy after a calf muscle injury.  Shoulder strain is another injury in tennis you can prevent if you warm up and stretch the shoulders 10 minutes before a game or practice. Also eating a diet high in carbs at least two days before a match provides a good supply of energy for working muscles. Juicing can be very beneficial for sports health, and it’s imperative to replenish fluids by drinking water, sports drinks or even low fat milk to replace electrolytes lost during extended play.

Net Defence (Part 1)

PLAYERS should constantly study the “angles” of the court. By “angles” I mean the lines of direction the ball nay take in being returned by your opponent from a given point to your court. Knowing the angles reduces the ground you have to cover. Take the center of the court for the dividing line in choosing your points of defense. The ingles of the court change according to the posi­tion of your opponent.

If a ball is driven on the return from the cen­ter of the court, the best position for your defense is also the center.

On forehand cross court shots, where your opponent is out of court on your left, your position would be more to the left side of your court.

Net Defence

On a back hand return from an opponent who is far to the right your best position is also to the right of your court. This applies when playing net against your opponent. If on a return from an opponent well to the right you volley to the left of his court from a position on the right of your own court the angle of your volley favors you and you are less likely to be passed, even if he can make a return. There­fore it is a mis­take in such a case to take a center line position instead of one to the right of the center To put it briefly, opponent to your right, go to the right for defense; opponent to your left go to the left for defense .

Of course in addition to the angles one must also know the speed, height, and drop of the ball. But those points are considered elsewhere.

By the diagrams of the court shown herewith the player can see for himself the “angles” of the shots. In these diagrams A shows the point from which your opponent is returning the ball. Divide the line of the two widest possible re­turns that will not land out of court equally and it will tell you the line on which to stand.

Buying Tennis Racquets

The popularity of Tennis is an undisputed reality. With the passage of time, the game has started to hit the peaks of fame and popularity.

Therefore, the manufacturers of its equipment have also flooded the sports market with a lot of varieties.

The major part of includes racquets, court flooring, balls, rebounding walls, etc. However, a tennis racquet is the most important part of the game.

There are tennis racquets available for almost all kinds of players with different playing styles. You will find power-enhancing racquets, controlling and precision specialist racquets, etc. However, there is a general guideline that can help you choose the better racquets for your style that will enhance your game and also keep you away from injuries like elbow pain or other wrist injuries.

The Head:

If you have just started to play tennis, a racquet with an over sized head is the right choice for you. First, it gives you that extra power and second that it improves the probability of the slazenger tennis balls connecting the sweet part of you racquet. However, once you start getting the power, precision and spin right, you should move towards a smaller head. A small head racquet provides that extra control and precision in the shot.

Tennis Racquets

The Weight:

It is a huge misconception among the novice tennis players that a lighter racquet is a better one as you will not have to lift a heavy weight item. However, this is absolutely opposite, lighter tennis racquets require a lot more power and energy to achieve the speed and power of the shot. You will have to swing the racquet two to three times with more energy than any heavier tennis racquet.

Additionally, when you try to hit the ball with all you got, the chances of compromising the control and precision of the ball will increase dramatically. Furthermore, it is quite possible that you may start feeling a pain in your elbow because of putting extra efforts in the swing. Thus, you better opt for a heavier racquet than an extra light racquet.

The Light Head:

The light head tennis racquets are better suited to avoid elbow injuries. These racquets are specially designed to keep the weight of the head light, but the overall body stays heavy. This provides a firm and shock free grip that gives you better control, maneuverability and recovery. You will observe better ball placement and the precision of the direction of your shots in your game.

However, they are suitable for only those people who have no issues in generating power and speed of the shots. On the contrary, if you are a beginner, then you are going to suffer big time as you will not be able to generate any power in your shots.

The Flexibility:

The flexibility of a tennis racquet determines the impact that your arm is going to face. If the racquet is flexible enough, it will bend a little at the time of the impact and hence gives less stress on your arm than a non-flexible racquet.

Nevertheless, heavy-head racquets can give you that extra power in your shots especially if you are a beginner.

However, if you are an intermediate or an advanced player, then you should certainly opt for light-head racquets as they will provide you much more control over your shots while running with tennis shoes and the ability to maneuver the ball and its placement.

Head-heavy racquets are mostly non-flexible racquets and thus can injure your elbow. On the other hand, a head-light racquet is much more flexible and absorbs the impact of the ball.

The bottom line is, when you are going to buy tennis racquets, you must consider your skill lever and the style of your game play. If you are a beginner, go for a cheap, head-heavy racquet. On the contrary, if you are a professional tennis player, go for the light-head racquets.

However, there are no hard and fast rules to follow in order to buy a racquet. You can try different varieties of racquets and try them and then select the one that feels good in your arms and gives you the confidence to play your game.

Tennis Shoes: By Far The Most Flexible Shoes

One thing you will notice about different type of sports apparel is that it can be used in other facets of life besides for its intended purpose on the playing field. Think about all the times you have worn basketball or soccer shorts in a casual nature. Another versatile type of sports apparel are tennis shoes. Tennis shoes can be worn and to perform many different tasks and are truly a jack of all trades when it comes to footwear in particular. Why is this? Tennis shoes are very comfortable and also very affordable. These may seem like very basic reasons, but sometimes when it comes to footwear that is all people are really looking for.

Getting shoes which are uncomfortable can be irritating and lead to not only pain, but additionally you squandering loads of cash and time. As you know by now, tennis shoes can be found in multiple places to buy and it’s largely because of this competition that you can have them at such affordable prices.

Even though you will have a website and retail outlets which are specialize in marketing tennis shoes, for many people it is not necessary to buy a top-of-the-line pair for daily use. Due to the vast popularity of such shoes you can basically find them in any shops that sell shoes. If they offer footwear they will have a section of some size devoted to tennis shoes, you may ensure that. You will find advantages to getting the shoes in person since you can try them on and see how they suit the contours of your feet. Having said that, if you are accustomed to a specific brand and how they fit and know about your size you’ll likely get the best deal through an internet source. Web stores give better costs and for a few people this is the main thing to consider.

Are you a more avid tennis player particularly? If that’s the case, there are tennis shoes that are a better level and better quality that you can buy too. This is a situation in which you will want to do your shopping at a tennis niche shop. At these websites or stores, you can easily seek tips from individuals who know the game best and they can match you with a set of tennis shoes that suits you, your body type, as well as in some instances there are shoes to suit your individual style of play too.

As we discussed, it doesn’t matter what your purpose is you will have ways for you to find a set of tennis shoes that work for you. Ensure you know how much you need to spend and which tennis shoes you desire and the chances for you will be there for you to make a choice on a pair that best suits you.