Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

Is there a resurgence in the use of underspin in tennis today? Having witnessed years of topspin domination (and underspin neglect), are we finally seeing underspin getting the recognition it deserves? I think we are. For too many years, players have relied almost totally on topspin to attack and defend in points.    This new trend from the top male and female players in tennis may be signalling a new and exciting era for the once-maligned underspin. During this year's French Open, players were mixing in underspin groundstrokes during the rally to keep the ball low and using underpin to help defend the point whenever needed. Underspin is also a key element when playing the drop shot, which we see much more now in rallies, particularly by Novak Djokovic.   "...players today must understand how to technically incorporate under-spin into their game, and just as important when to execute under-spin during the point."    As tennis gets increasingly diverse in its...

The Korean guy in the front row was losing control.  It was 1991 and Beijing was the venue for the Asian Games.  We were playing for at least a Mixed Doubles bronze medal and Thailand hadn’t won an Asian Games medal in tennis for almost 40 years! Personally, this was the biggest match of my tenure as Thai National Tennis Coach.   The Thai team of Wittaya Samret and Orawan Thampensri were in a match with a typically tough Korean team.  You can always count on Koreans to make it a battle.  They are always in great shape physically, mentally very strong, and always 100% committed.   I had encountered the Korean attitude in many events prior to this. Players from Korea could sometimes overstep the boundary of what was considered good sportsmanship.  This didn’t make them any friends on the tennis circuit and I had even witnessed Korean coaches physically abusing players several times. I’m not sure whether or not the guy in t...

A player involved in a match and trying to play smart tennis is constantly assessing a variety of factors when trying to maintain their good momentum or make significant changes in the match because they are behind on the scoreboard. If a player feels they are losing the battle either technically, tactically, physically or mentally, there needs to be a process each player can go through to make those necessary changes. As a Davis Cup and Federation Cup captain I often had to go through this mental process myself in order to turn a match around by adjusting the way my player was competing. Those adjustments came about after a process that involved accurately reading the situation and deciding what needed to change (or in some cases to not change at all) and putting those changes to the test during the match. Here is that process in detail: 1.      EXPLORE (Analyse) This is the stage where, if there is a change of strategy needed, the player explor...

Everyone talks about fundamentals and how important they are.   Anyone playing well is said to have “great fundamentals”, while anyone playing poorly is  accused  of having “poor fundamentals”. But have you ever tried to find a list of these fundamentals? If such a list existed, surely this would immensely help players and coaches. The truth is that you will never find a definitive list of the “Tennis Fundamentals”. Although players are continually admired or criticised for their fundamentals and training programs worldwide attempt to install “fundamentals” in their players, no definitive list is available. So, let’s start defining what exactly a fundamental is or should be. I believe a fundamental cannot be taken out; in other words, you cannot play without it. Think about that for a moment. What elements cannot be taken out of our game? Is the backswing fundamental? No, because some volleys, service returns and half volleys don’t require a backswing. ...

At any given time, you are in one of three conditions: Defence, Neutral or Offence. You need to clearly define which condition you are in to compete successfully. If you attack the point at the wrong time or have an opportunity to attack but fail to take that opportunity, it doesn’t matter how well you stroke the ball your overall game will lack cohesion and meaning. So, how do we define when we are in a Defensive, Neutral, or Offensive situation?  What exactly are the factors which put you in a defensive mode? When can you attack the point with a high degree of confidence that you will be successful? How do you know you are in a Neutral situation? Whether you are in Defence, Neutral, or Offence depends on two criteria, and you must constantly be aware of these criteria as you play.  Those criteria are: THE POSITION OF YOUR FEET WHEN YOU HIT THE BALL If your feet are behind the baseline when you contact the ball, you are on Defence. If your feet are inside the...

Many players reach a very high ranking with huge deficiencies in their games.  It seems that it comes down to whether you opt for doing "A few things really well" or "Many things OK". But it doesn't have to be that way. Women's tennis is full of players who have solid, dependable  groundstrokes, no serve, no net game, but have still reached the top 100 on the WTA ranking list. In the men's game its less obvious but there are still players with a limited range of strokes and who depend on a very conservative game plan to win matches. This limited range of strokes and conservative approach to points often comes from a players time in the juniors, especially if the player was successful. often players, coaches and parents are not willing to expand the game and take on new initiatives. Pete Sampras is famous for deciding to change from a two-handed backhand to a one-handed backhand as a junior, only to lose early in tournaments for the next t...