In my first column for the eagle back in 2004 I suggested some ideas for you to derive the greatest value from a tennis lesson. Since Wednesday will be my final weekly column in this space I thought it would ...

Do you want to be in demand as a partner? If so, here are a few things you need to know.

Beginning Wednesday at the Players Club at Lely, just a few miles from the island, you have a chance to see up close and personal all of the foot work and racket techniques that I write about every week here ...

The tactical goal in a doubles match is to gain control of the front court and to then strike the ball decisively downward or angle the ball out of the opponents reach to win the point.

The time you spend practicing your tennis can work in one of two ways, it can foster improvement or it can ingrain less than sound skills and/or tactical ideas.

The volley (which is the act of playing the ball in the air prior to the bounce) is a very specific racket skill if one intends to be accurate and consistent.

There are two simple ideas that you can use to help keep you out of trouble with your shot placement in doubles. It isn’t complicated at all — here it is!

If you are striving to become a successful doubles player it is imperative for you to understand that singles and doubles are like apples and oranges, night and day, black and white or what ever image you want to employ ...

If you compete in doubles at the 3.0 to 3.5 level of play you will run across teams that can be defeated by simply keeping the ball in play until the technical flaws inherent in the 3.0 to 3.5 players ...

If you are a somewhat experienced tennis player I’m sure you take into account the direction that the wind will move the ball from either end of the court, and then aim your shots in a manner that the wind ...

The results you achieve on the tennis court are directly related to your technical skill set, your tactical sophistication and your willingness to marry the two in a way that produces the outcome you are striving for.

Was your Christmas wish fulfilled as a tennis player this year? Did your stocking hold that nice reliable backhand all wrapped up and tied with a pretty bow?

I’ve spent the last few weeks sitting on my duff recovering from some surgery and have had the opportunity to reflect on the meaning of life, my role in the universe and more importantly to go over some notes I’ve ...

It is always interesting to me to ask a few questions of my students during the wrap up time at the end of a group lesson or team practice.

One of my standard prescriptions to complement a lesson is to put in a few sessions on a ball machine. Probably the biggest waste of your money and your coaches’ time is to take a lesson on stroking technique and ...

Each time I play social doubles I am reminded of how misunderstood the choice of shot from certain areas of the tennis court is for the majority of doubles players.

When you play against teams that don’t understand logic based doubles positioning or players that are inconsistent with their stroke production you don’t really need to do much to win.

The most feedback I get from articles that I’ve written over many years is, without fail, generated by pieces on etiquette and conduct during matches.

Tennis was originally developed as a form of exercise. One of the complaints I’ve heard most often year after year, is that of one player in a group taking the fun out of the match by stalling the action intentionally ...

A commonly understood philosophy among emergency responders (Police, Fire, and EMT personnel) is that one generally won’t rise to the occasion, but will actually fall to the level of their training.

Having watched many of the matches of the U.S. Open, and in particular the men’s and women’s finals a week ago. It’s still very apparent to me classic techniques are classic because they work!

There are four Spanish men and two Argentines in the men’s round of 16 at the U.S. Open this year. Those six players ,who are reputedly clay court specialists, are fully involved in the mix at the biggest hard court ...

The US Open began yesterday and the USA network has wall to wall coverage beginning at 11 a.m. each weekday. CBS will cover matches on the weekends.

If you were the pitcher in a baseball game and had the power to choose whether the opposing batter, assuming they were right-handed, must bat left handed, would you make them do so? My bet is yes!

Most recreational level players harbor a basic misunderstanding of the how and why of transitioning from a rallying mode of play to an attacking mode of play.

The next few weeks present a great opportunity to view the U.S. Open warm up events on TV. As you watch take note of a few behaviors common to all the world’s best. The split step is a common thread ...

The rules of tennis cover the mechanical playing of the game but don’t cover your personal behavior. There are many customs and traditions that have evolved over the history of the sport that make matches more enjoyable for all involved.

The overhead is a very dangerous shot! Most doubles players worth their salt are constantly pressing forward into a controlling position in the front court.

In last weeks article I stressed the necessity of employing body rotation to generate power on certain tennis strokes, the forehand, serve and the two handed backhand to be specific.

Body rotation, not stepping into the shot as most recreational level players think, is the most dynamic component of producing a powerful forehand or two handed backhand ground stroke in tennis.

Practice makes perfect right? Um, I don’t think so. If you are working on the ball machine or with a hitting partner to improve your skills and aren’t using the proper technique you are simply ingraining a way to fail ...

Some shots that come toward you in a tennis match are fast, some slow. Some high, some low. Some humming with spin and some floating gently like a butterfly. None should be categorized as easy!

I was talking with a fellow tennis pro last week. In the course of our conversation he had a little chuckle about the condition of his courts and his efforts to maintain them during the rainy season.

Just about a year ago, I wrote an article bemoaning the stubbornness of Kim Clisters and Roger Federer in losing their French Open finals matches.

I spent last weekend at the Florida USPTA yearly convention. It’s always nice to see old friends and actually play a little tennis rather than observing others play.

The French Open is being contested on very slow red clay in Paris for the next two weeks, then the tour moves to England for the grass court circuit. Unlike hard court tennis or indoor tennis — which most of ...

Tennis tips from a pro.

The very best in all sport make a focused effort to hone their fundamental skills to a razor’s edge and only then begin the journey of self discovery and exploration of their character as competitors.

The shots that begin every point in a tennis match are the serve and the return of serve. The server gets two chances to put the ball into play. At the lower club levels, it is very often a very ...

Danger lies ahead for all of us who play tennis! With summer approaching and temperatures and the humidity guaranteed to rise, you must be aware of the possibility of heat injury and the measures you must take to lessen the ...

Roger Federer’s quest for the grand slam is over. Barring injury, Rafael Nadal will in all likelihood go undefeated during the entire European clay court season. His utterly dominating performance in Monte Carlo last week has, in my mind, put ...

The European clay court season begins this week in Monte Carlo and continues until the French Open in late May and early June.

Once you have put in enough quality practice time on your fundamentals, and have a firm grasp of stroke production technique, your focus must then gradually change to developing decision making skills.

In last week’s article I suggested that to succeed in single’s competition the ability to sustain a crosscourt rally was of the utmost importance.

There are patterns of play in singles that, if adhered to, will present you with the best opportunity to succeed. Serving wide to a weakness is the best way to begin a point whenever possible.

Singles is pretty straightforward. If your opponent is prone to unforced errors, keep the ball in play well away from the boundaries of the court and allow them enough rope to hang themselves.

Those of you competing in the Marco Island City Tennis Championships at the city's Racket Center later this week are going to compete with the game you own right now.

Many tennis players labor under the misconception that the area around the service line is to be avoided like you would a well-marked mine field. Not so!

The most decisive shot in tennis is the serve. It begins every point for better or worse. It either puts you in an offensive position to leverage the point or allows your opponent a launching pad for their own attack.

If you want to see some of the best tennis players ever — and learn from watching them up close and personal, plan to attend the Oliver Group Champions Cup March 7-11 at The Players Club & Spa and Lely ...