Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

PROFESSIONAL TENNIS IS PLAYED AROUND THE WORLD AT MANY LEVELS There are thousands of players, both men and women, who are trying to make their way in the world of professional tennis. I thought it would be interesting to clarify the steps, in my opinion,  that a player must take to get all the way to the top.  No National Ranking & No ATP points Can’t always get into the qualifying draw for local futures and must rely on wild cards National Ranking but no ATP Points Possible to enter qualifying of Futures events because of his National ranking but not always accepted Enough ATP points to enter Futures qualifying Must compete in the qualifying events where physical & mental fatigue can be a major obstacle in progressing deeper in the tournament Qualifies into the main draw consistently But has trouble progressing much further because of the physical and mental demands of qualifying Enough Points to ent...

At the beginning of a match, both players think they can win. What changes? You see it more clearly when the players are young and new to competition, but it’s common to all levels of tennis.  Two players are locked in an on-court battle for some time, and then one of the players wins the mental battle of wills, and the match is essentially over. Don’t be fooled by appearances. The remainder of the match may seem competitive, and the points may be exciting, but the match was over once the mental battle of wills was decided. That early “arm wrestle” decided the outcome of the match. Think about that for a moment. Winning that mental arm wrestle can decide who wins the match. In most cases, both players start the match believing they can win. Both players can even start the match, convinced that they will win. However, in nearly every match, something changes that self-belief in one of those players. But is the importance of winning the game of wills really anyth...

Visual blocking is a technique you can use to force your opponent to hit the ball where you want them to.   The benefits are obvious.   If you can dictate where your opponent will hit the ball you can anticipate earlier and cover the court easier. It can also be used to expose weaknesses. Several years ago I was watching a player of mine in a match where his opponent was having trouble hitting forehands down the line. In the heat of the battle my player couldn’t see this pattern but sitting off-court in the shade I could! The opponent would return most balls crosscourt and when they did hit the ball down the line it was done very cautiously and without any confidence. Two things could develop from this knowledge that would help my player gain a big advantage in the match (1) we could anticipate that the vast majority of forehands would be returned crosscourt and be under no real pressure because we are essentially only guarding the crosscourt side of the cour...

 Never settle for the obvious because the real solution may just be around the corner  In whatever endeavor we tackle, if we never went beyond what is obvious or outside our comfort level, we would never develop at our chosen skill.   Think about the level you have reached in coaching.   At the present moment you think you know a lot about helping players improve their rankings right?   Hopefully in six months time you can look back and say that you are another 15% better than you are now. This should be our goal. The ability to improve your craft over time is dependent on you asking the hard questions of yourself.   Instead of using the same “fix” each time for a particular problem, try another way. In time you will have a variety of methods to solve a problem and you will be able to select which particular fix works for an individual player. Many years ago I attended a coaching seminar and an old friend, Bernard Gus...

In his lead-up to the 2013 Australian Open, Bernard Tomic has won every match he has played, including a win over Novak Djokovic during their encounter at the Hopman Cup.   Many are now picking Tomic to blaze a trail of destruction in the Australian Open, some even saying he could beat Roger Federer if they meet, as expected, in the 3rd round. While his early form has been good leading up to the Australian Open, all players have strengths and weaknesses. If his good form continues, many of his opponents will look closer at his likes and dislikes and eventually devise a strategic plan to beat him. Here is my strategy on How To Beat Bernard Tomic, Step By Step. Don’t let the flashy winners fool you, Tomic is essentially a counter-puncher. Counter-punchers need someone to attack them and preferably with pace on the ball. Tomic has been counter-attacking opponents that have played themselves out of position.   He will strike if the ball has t...

No matter how good a coach or player you think you are, you would be nothing without the help of a substance called myelin. The better you are as a coach at creating myelin in your players, the better their results will be. The more myelin your players have, the better they perform. It's as simple as that! Think what could happen if you understood how to train to create myelin and were able to even increase the production of myelin each and every practice session. Do I have your interest yet? Let’s start by explaining what myelin is first.  Myelin is a substance inside your body that coats itself around the neurological pathways and assist with any activity that you do often or repetitively . Instead of having to re-learn a tennis fore-hand every-time you went out to play, the body creates myelin to help you “remember” the process. It creates a neurological "super highway". Someone who plays tennis only on week-ends will have less myelin around the “tenni...

  It's important to understand what motivates each player, and also what demotivates them   Learning what motivates each player to train hard and compete strongly in competition is critically important to a coach. Understanding what dominates a player’s mindset allows us to “push the right buttons” when needed. I like to assess players based on their motivation for playing in the first place. I look at two forms of stimulation, Task or Ego motivation; their motivation to train and compete will be driven by either their willingness to work hard, Task, or their focus on winning and rewards, Ego. Task-motivated players are the type of players who thrive on working hard towards a goal.   They see a clear link between working hard off-court and being rewarded with improved results on-court. Coaches enjoy working with players who are Task motivated because they have a great work ethic and respond well to instructions.  Most coaches prefer coaching Task motivated ...