Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

Back in the 80s, players like Ivan Lendl and Martina Navratilova embarked on nutritional regimes that were considered extreme but would later become the norm. A little later, players began adopting more scientific fitness programs that would take us to where we are today, with players now able to sustain a high work rate in matches for long periods of time. In my opinion, “the next frontier” for coaches and players to conquer in tennis is strategy. I’m not talking about the current levels of strategy seen at the top of our game. I’m talking about a systematic approach to strategy that includes analyzing an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses and designing a systematic strategy to exploit this knowledge in the match. The Analysis: Over the years, I have used a system of spotting strengths and weaknesses that has worked well for me.  I look at an opponent in terms of 8 opposites… 1.      Fast v Slow (Speed of the ball) 2.      High v Low (Height of ball) 3.      Tight v Wide (Ball in

   " The most important line in tennis is the  imaginary L ine from your head to  your contact foot."   This line creates the smooth effortless power, timing and consistency that the pros possess and that we all envy. Let’s look at the Head & the Contact Foot separately… YOUR HEAD Your Head is a centre point for balance. If the head is inside your two feet, you are balanced. If your head is outside either the left or right foot you are off balance.  Therefore controlling the head position is important, especially in a dynamic sport like tennis where we are faced with a series of complex movements quickly.  At the moment of contact the head is positioned between two feet Disciplining the head leads to consistency of timing THE CONTACT FOOT The Contact Foot is the foot you use to interact with the ground and create inertia. Nature doesn’t care which foot you use, it can be the “back” foot or the “front” foot, nature just wants that link to be established

In talking about a scientist who was born in 1643 I run the risk of losing my audience very early in this article. However Sir Isaac Newton’s theories are important and help clarify for us the essential laws governing tennis.  The most important of Newton’s theories related to tennis is his 3 Laws of Motion . Here are Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion, explained in a way that both coaches and players can immediately incorporate into practice sessions… 1. The Law of Inertia “ An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force ” . This highlights the fact that in tennis, the ball (object) doesn’t have to be stroked in order to achieve your goals.  Strokes such as the return of serve and the volley can be directed to the target with minimal swing and by merely using the already existing inherent energy present in the ball. The ability to u

Paul Dale: BIGGER BETTER TENNIS: MEETING THE NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: 1986 : The phone went in my hotel room and the receptionist at the Tennis Centre informed me that there was a man wanting to speak with me.

Many coaches are involved in the daily task of developing junior tennis players with the goal of them reaching the top of our game.  A very important question for those involved in junior development is “When we develop junior players for the future, what in essence are we trying to develop”? What is the goal? A simple question with profound implications to the way we approach each on-court session. For years my goal or mission statement when training junior players was to create a player with “Perfect Defense on Wood, and Perfect Offense on Clay”.  Think about that, defense on the fastest surface and offense on the slowest surface. Probably the fastest surface you can play on is a wooden floor indoors. Think of the problems you are faced with on fast wood.  · Returning serve: requires exceptionally fast reflexes and compact strokes · Teaches a player the skills of staying relaxed enough in the hands to adapt quickly, but firm enough on contact to stabilize the racquet ·   Fast

When Ana Ivanovic loses matches you can almost hear a collective groan from tennis fans around the world.  Many people want to see her get back to the form that won her a Grand Slam title (French Open) and the #1 ranking in the world. She is simply one of the nicest players competing on the WTA Tour. Getting back to her past form will not happen unless Ana works on several key areas of her game.  Here is a breakdown of those areas:                                           1.       The Serve: Ana’s problem with the serve is well known.  Many coaches have tried to find the solution by working on her toss, which tends to become wayward at the worst times. Isolating the toss will not solve the problem.  Here is the solution... a.       Work on the coordination of the left (toss) and right (racquet) arms together.  Do this by having Ana close her eyes and serve.  Initially she will miss-hit or miss the ball completely, but in time she will begin to coordinate the left and right arm

Many years ago I was watching a boxing bout on TV. During the fight, the commentator made the statement “In boxing the jab is everything, from the jab comes everything”. It seems that in boxing the jab does many things and the fighter who can dominate with the jab has an enormous advantage.  The jab establishes distance, allowing one fighter to control the space between himself and his opponent.  The boxing jab is also used as a first step from which other punches follow.  A jab can be followed by a hook, an upper cut or another jab. What the commentator also said that day was that the fighter who dominates with the jab will control the fight. The boxing jab is a "stepping stone" to other combinations I began to wonder what the tennis equivalent was to the boxing jab.  I believe the cross-court is the tennis “Jab”.  The cross-court is used as a way to set up the point.  Whenever the cross-court is strong enough it will create the first step to attack.  A wide cross