Video: Find Their Breaking Point

In this particular match, Djokovic was down a set and the match was slipping out of his hands. However, he went on to win this point and the match.  Sometimes the strategy to win isn't obvious, but if you can keep delivering body shots (like in boxing) instead of going for the knockout (1 in 5 shot), good things can happen. Soften them up.  In this particular match, Monfils gave in to the mental superiority of Djokovic.  Notice how safe the shots were traveling inside the lines and above the net.  

Road-map for American Success in Tennis

A discussion has arisen as to what it would take for the US to, once again, achieve dominance in the tennis ranks (particularly for men). Although the factors are numerous, here as some thoughts to consider:

1.         Set Goals Early. Parents and players need to have a clear vision of where they want to end up 10-11 years down the road (assuming that the player picks up the racket at age 7-8) in terms of tennis. Are the parents simply interested in treating tennis as an after-school activity (“play it by ear”) or do they (and the player) intend to take this game seriously. This decision should be made early – although it doesn’t mean that the youngster becomes a “tennis monk” (i.e., foreclosed from other childhood activities) – in order to provide the player with the maximum chance to improve. Initially, many parents intend tennis to be merely a fun activity in order to keep the player off the streets and out of trouble; then, after 3-4 years into the process, they figure out that the child may have some innate knack for the game and a passion, and proceed to reverse course. For many players (not all), this may be simply too late; their competition (whether it’s Juan Carlos from Spain or Anna or Maria from Russia or Ukraine) will have spent many more hours on court developing their technique, eye for the ball, footwork and tactical understanding. In other words, while the American player is striving to become "well-rounded" (and there's nothing really wrong with that), their foreign peers would have played 500-600 hours more. There are, of course, stories about some athletes who played multiple sports and still achieved great success. You have to ask yourself whether they are the exception or the rule. 

2.        Understand the Odds of “Making It”. Whether you are intending to push for the “pros” or merely college tennis, you have to understand the odds of achieving your results. Tennis is open to people from all demographics or walks of life. In addition, for most of the world, tennis is a very, very popular sport (maybe 2nd or 3rd in popularity after football/soccer). The popularity adds to the pool of players and talent. When it comes to playing pro tennis, I will quote what Jose Higueras told me when I had the opportunity to train with him as an 18 year old: “you know, your chance of making it is ZERO [needless to say, I felt crushed]. But you know what?! Jim’s [Courier] and Michael’s [Chang] chances were also zero.” In other words, the reality is that tennis is, from a financial point of view, a zero-sum game for most people. However, despite the odds, some people take up that challenge and work hard towards their dreams while others get discouraged. Both Jim and Michael were tremendous work horses who spent a great deal of time improving their games and fitness levels. Not many people would be willing to put in the miles that Jim was doing in the middle of summer with truck tires behind him. 

3.         Avoid Negative Influences. Despite the odds, it is OK for the parents and players to admit that they have lofty goals (e.g. Top-200 in the world; D-1 scholarship; etc.). Many people, however, will not admit to harboring such dreams because they feel that other people will laugh at them - particularly if the goals are not attained. Screw those people! Why allow them to dictate your dreams?! If the child wanted to become a doctor, lawyer or astronaut would you pour water on her dreams too?! Set the standards high and then aim for them with all your energies and resources. Very few people finish a marathon if they’re only training for a 5-K race. The reality is that if you aim for the “top” (let’s say, for purposes of discussion, top-200ATP/WTA) and fail, you are still a helluva player. If you’re an accomplished (i.e. world-class/ranked) player, you can more easily get into a good college and have your education paid for and, thereafter, "make a decent life for yourself". But you cannot allow the negative noise to deter you from your goals. 

4.        Forget About Rankings. This will be a constant theme on CAtennis.com but it’s worth hammering the point home. When you’re young, worry about developing your game...all of your game (technical, tactical, physical and mental); get addicted to winning; play tournaments to see how your practices and training are coming along and then fine-tune your training further (don't "live" on results alone); seek to dominate all levels starting from the simplest one (your "backyard") first and working your way upwards (sectionals -> nationals -> internationals); stop trying to “buy” success. Some parents think that if their kids play “bigger” tournaments even if they are not ready (i.e., because they have not achieved worthwhile results at lower levels), the competitors' level/success will somehow rub off on their own kids as if it were mud (or something more colorful). Success must be earned; it cannot be borrowed from someone else. 

5.    Know the Difference Between Organizations. The USTA is, technically, in charge of tennis development. The ITA (NCAA) is in charge of college tennis. They are not related! They have different rules and interests. One (USTA) cares about one thing (tennis development); the other (ITA), about something entirely different (scholastic development). If we, as a country, are to succeed and have a long-lasting impact, we need to have coordination efforts between these organizations in order to allow players to transition from the auspices of one organization to those of another.

6.       Amateurism. A strong argument exists that antiquated notions of amateurism may be detrimental to the game. After all, many foreign players have no concept of college tennis (or the rules are more relaxed or not completely enforced). Thee aim of some of these players is the pro tour; for them, there is no secondary target. Thus, while our players are setting their sights relatively low, their foreign peers are setting their sights considerably higher.

Perhaps we need to devise a circuit of events where the players can at least be reimbursed for their travel expenses. For example, we could make it a requirement that "national" events reimburse the winner's and runner-up's expenses up to a point; no more scalping the parents for $120/event in exchange for a tournament T-shirt and "national points". It might be tough to monitor (for NCAA purposes), but the concept is that the players will learn how to view the sport as a professional endeavor and college as a mere stop along the way and not the final destination. For example, in France, cash prizes are sometimes awarded in junior events (even the smallest ones). This breeds a completely different mentality – “yes, we can make a living at this game.” While Johnny (USA) is playing for plastic trophies, Francois, Rafael, Jurgen, Dmitri or "-ova" are playing for something completely different. I wonder who will have a better chance of making it.

Nevertheless, this is really not a novel concept. Some ITF events actually reimburse the players' travel expenses so there's no reason - well, besides greed from the tournament organizers and short-sightedness - for not implementing this at other events (e.g. national tournaments). We're simply saying that more tournaments could follow the ITF approach and not be in violation of any EXISTING amateurism rules. 

7.         Player Assistance. We need to provide actual, tangible incentives for people to play the sport and push for the higher echelons of the game. The more players we have in the ranks, the greater the likelihood of players breaking into the top-100, top-50 and toop-10. Remember, when the US dominated the top spots in tennis, the US also dominated the entire ranks. As of Oct. 24, only 17 American men are in the top 300. While everyone focuses on what we need to do to get a player in the top 4, we need to focus on energy in getting more players into the top 200-300. This is the pool of talent from which we can make a push into the top-100, top-50, top-20 and top-10. As a nation, we can't afford to continue to gamble on one or two players making it big. We need to actually increase the odds of it happening. 

Again, foreign countries have a different approach than ours. Rather than adopting a “sink or swim” mentality, many foreign federations provide actual financial/development assistance to their players. In some countries, assistance is provided by the clubs themselves. Here, we could devise a system where the USTA could provide grants/loans to players attaining certain rankings. For example: if you’re top 500 ATP/WTA, you receive (from USTA) $15,000 per year (to assist with further travels); if you’re top 350 ATP/WTA, you receive $25,000 per year; if you’re top 200 ATP/WTA, you receive $30,000 (figures are arbitrary and for purposes of discussion only). Players participating in this program (i.e., it's not mandatory) could then either agree to pay it back (from future earnings; when they "break through" top 150ATP/WTA) or trade on-court time for grass-roots tennis events or exhibitions in order to “grow the game”. The reality is that the USTA is spending a lot of money in trying to develop players, but it’s doing so on salaries of non-players. The players are the face of American tennis – not the executives or administrators. 

8.         Put More Money Into the Lower Tiers. Although prize money has increased in the Grand Slams and top-tier events, it has more or less remained constant in the futures and challenger series. $1000 20 years ago meant a whole lot more than $1000 today. Not many Americans are willing to grind out, week-in and week-out, sleeping 6 to a room or in their cars, for little or no compensation (even if they manage to get good results). Again, we need to provide an incentive for people to stick with the game through the grind-stages. Otherwise, players will simply quit and start teaching or get “real” jobs. 

Steal This Drill: Serving With a Purpose

The purpose of this drill is to practice connecting the serve with the next shot in order to combine a deadly 1-2 punch combination. Often times, players will practice their ground strokes, then practice their serves (usually at the end of practice) and, perhaps, play a couple of points at the end. This is the only times when they have the opportunity to combine the two and figure out what they want or need to do with the shot that comes back after the serve. And, unless you're name is John Isner, the serve will usually come back. Therefore, it is important to master a combination play and take the guessing work out of the situation.

In other words, IF the serve comes back, you know exactly WHERE you place the next ball and HOW you can go about doing it. In the figures above, the blue line represents the path of the serve; the yellow lines represent the path of the returns; and the red represent the path of the server's follow-up shot.

First, set up the service box by dividing it into two halves. Tell your partner the half of the box into which you will be serving; s/he will then return it either down-the-line or cross court (agree in advance; maybe 5 minutes on each side). The server takes the return and redirects it again towards a target to the opposite side of the court (i.e., away from the returner). The players can either do a set number of serve/returns or stay in a particular role for a set number of minutes and then switch roles. This way, both players get to serve/open up the court and return. This is a drill that can be done with/without a coach so there's no excuse for not doing it. Thus, when your coaches tell you that you need to "work on serves and/or returns", please feel free to "steal this drill" and accomplish your mission. By repeating this drill a few days a week, you will become more confident at knowing how to react to a returned serve (fast feet; low center of gravity; quick back-swing; explosive follow-through) which will take more pressure off your serves to begin with (because you won't have to rely on an Ace or service winner to win the point). In addition, this is another great way for the players to get focused and repetitive practice for their returns.

Discussion About College Tennis - The Idea Behind CAtennis.com

CAtennis.com came about from several discussions with juniors, parents and other coaches regarding junior development and college tennis in particular. Too many times, we found ourselves repeating the same information over and over and thought it would be more efficient if we could create a platform for people interested in raising the level of play for those with an interest in tennis and, specifically, juniors.

We expect that our authority will be challenged but, hey, if tips from the "names" are more to your liking - even if they are completely rudimentary and useless (e.g. keep your eye on the ball; move your feet; bring water on court on a hot day; put topspin on the ball if your shots are sailing) - there's not much we can do about that.  We hope that that kind information helps you out with your game. If, however, you are already familiar with those concepts and are looking for something more substantive..something that you can sink your teeth into, then perhaps you would consider giving us a chance.

With the foregoing in mind, here are some issues to consider regarding college tennis:

1. Scholarship distribution. Division 1 schools allocate 4.5 scholarship for men and 8 for women. This is not a trade secret nor is it confidential information. It's a simple fact. With an average of 100 schools (let's just go with a round number for the sake of simplicity) that means that every given year, there are 450 scholarships available for men and 800 for women, right? Technically correct; PRACTICALLY speaking - WRONG. Not every one of those scholarships will be "freed up" every year. In other words, the number of available scholarships for any given year fluctuates with the number of seniors who are graduating and who are liberating some money for incoming freshman. In some years, that number may be 1-2 per team; in others it may be 0. Therefore, the number of available D-1 scholarships per year is probably closer to 100 for men and maybe 200 for women. Still like your odds? 

2. Scholarship odds. Even assuming that you're one of the top 100/200 (nation) graduating seniors, you still have to consider the odds of actually getting a "full ride". In other words, it's one thing to receive a letter of interest from the coach, another to be good enough to play in the line-up and, yet another for getting your education (or part thereof) covered. This is because graduating seniors are not just competing against players from US, but also players from Canada, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia, Romania, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, UK, and about 100 other countries. Even if you take 1 or 2 players from each country, that adds 200-300 players into the pool for competing against them. OOPS!!!! guess what?! You're not just competing against foreigners who have graduated in the same year as you but also with people (foreign AND domestic) who may be 1, 2 or 3 years older and have international/ATP experience (NCAA eligibility rules subject to change). Did I forget to mention the transfer students? How silly of me. Yes, some players may be OK when they graduate but will peak somewhat later. Maybe they only got decent training or more serious about the sport at a later point in their life and are just now catching up. These people may go to a junior college for a year or two and get better. So, the reality is that now you have a pool of at least 500-600+ players (for men) competing for the afore-mentioned number of scholarships. And, some of these players don't care if the school has/hasn't a good football program or if the town has a cool "college vibe" or some other nonsense that's deemed important by US players. They just want to come to the US, get their school paid for and have a chance to a better life than the one available back home. Scared yet? There's more.

3. Diminishing programs. Let's be honest here, tennis is the center of our universe but it's not exactly a revenue generating sport for colleges. Programs may be cut due to lack of funds in the annual budget, NCAA violations, Title IX issues or other reasons. We're not here to advocate one way or another but this just another thing to consider when figuring out the odds as your "dream school" might not have a program 2-4 or 6 years down the road. So maybe instead of 100 scholarships, a couple of years in the future there may only be 80-90 scholarships available/year. That has a further effect on the odds. 

4. Rankings. Chances are that if you're been around this game for a while, you've heard two sides of this issue: rankings are important v. rankings are, for the most part, meaningless. Here's one thing to remember when thinking that rankings will get you into a top program: each school, depending on its caliber and coach's level of interest, looks at rankings similar to a flight controller looking at a radar screen. Some coaches will only look at top 10 in the nation players; others may expand their horizons to top-30, top-40 or top-100. Once a player enters the coach's "field of vision" the evaluation doesn't simply stop there, however.

The coach will then determine HOW the player got there. For example, is this a top-30 player with a 30(W)-3(L) record, or is this someone who "bought" their way into the top-30 (e.g. 164(W)-130(L) record)? To a "top" school, what good is a player who's lost 130 matches?! That means that there are at least 130 players in the nation alone who can beat him (and that's only the players he's played against). The school wants to know that it can count on the player at 5-5 in the third set with the team match tied at 3-3. Someone who's lost as many matches as he's played - but simply traveled more and played more tournaments - is not a "lock" in these situations. The only points that really matter, therefore, are either ATP points or WTA points. Everything else comes down to winning ("if College X has player Y, can my recruit beat player Y so that our school will beat College X?"). Needless to say, a number of players and parents will think that they know better...that they have found just the right wool for pulling over the coaches eyes. They will find out the hard way how wrong they really are.

5. Level of tennis. Ultimately, your level of tennis is determined by who you beat (not how many close matches you lost or how matches you lost at big events). Therefore, it's important to start getting addicted to winning early. Set the standard by dominating your back-yard first, then try to be the best in you club, then in your town, then in your county, then in your section, then in your state, then in the nation. Learn how to win and focus on developing your game. Entirely too much energy and money is spent on chasing "national" points. Before signing up for a "big" tournament, have an honest discussion with yourself: am I in a position to push 4-5 rounds into the main draw or am I simply wasting everyone's resources? Am I only going there to collect a tournament T-shirt and player's badge? Have I done everything possible - physically, mentally, technically and tactically - to improve? Have I dominated my local events and playing this tournament is the next logical challenge? Am I willing to become cannon-fodder for superior players and provide them win a "W" and a confidence boost? If I don't have a good result, can I bounce back from it? Am I willing to put in additional hours on the court? Is this what I really want to do with my life or am I doing this simply as an excuse to not get "A+" in school work? Do I enjoy tennis for the purity of the game or is something that I'm doing to put on the college application? Etc. 

To summarize: tennis is hard. The reality is that if you want to be recruited, make the team AND get a college scholarship, you better be good; REAL GOOD. With the competition being spread among players from so many countries, your goal (particularly as a male) should really be closer to become a professional player. The college ranks are full of players who may have played on the tour for 1 or 2 years and simply were not good enough to break into the ranks where they could become self-sufficient from the earnings. Logic dictates that a college coach (especially one a top tier program) will, more likely, favor a world-class/accomplished player over a junior with a couple of tournament T-shirts to his name. This is particularly true if competing programs have managed to acquire one or two world-class players.

Therefore, our advice, for players with BIG dreams, approach tennis as you would mountain climbing: ATP/WTA = Himalayas; college tennis = Mt. Baldy. Who is a more accomplished climber - the one who has striven for the highest peaks or the one who is aiming for half-way?! Tennis is no different: some players who push for ATP rankings might not make it but they would have worked harder, longer and more serious than players who look at tennis as a mere after-school activity. This is the completely un-sugarcoated reality and it's not intended to scare anybody away from the game or dissuade them from following their dreams. It is, however, intended to assist some players in focusing their objectives and priorities. Cue in the Rocky Soundtrack and get to work 'cause time's awastin'.

Overcoaching: Stop Trying To Save Them

The goal of every player is to become their own coach. Tennis coaching has turned into a multi-million dollar business. How can this be? Was this always the case?

No it wasn't. Tennis coaching is a very fraudulent business. Barriers to entry are extremely low, anyone with a heartbeat, two legs, and work ethic can break into the tennis industry. Tennis coaches can be found in every city across the United States, each with their own philosophy on how to become a champion. The supply and price of tennis coaching over the years has increased, but to no fault of the coaches themselves. The blame is placed on the naive parents who drive the business, looking to gain an edge on their fellow competitors. Parents are supplying a steady income to coaches across the country, hoping to save their children at every corner.

A lot of coaches perpetuate the problem, living paycheck to paycheck, listening and agreeing with the needs and wants of each parent (not to mention giant egos and narcissism) and pushing for more private lessons. In order to stay afloat, some coaches will say or invent just about anything to sound like they can mold and predict the future. Unfortunately, a lot parents are simply too inexperienced to know any better (most are non-athletic living vicariously through their children) and hope to be proactive by Yelping the best tennis coach in town (usually a fraud if he is #1 on Yelp).

*Think of any financial crisis, bubble, hedge fund manager promising 20% return on investment year after year (same idea as tennis)*

Prior to the tennis boom of John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, coaching was not the business it is today. Players simply went to the club, competed with whoever was around (old ladies, hacks, juniors, anyone with a heartbeat - but mostly against other juniors), and rarely took lessons. Most players picked up tips from watching others compete at the local club, college matches, or good players visiting in the area.  They were hungry about learning the game and became true scholars of the sport. A certain pecking order was established within your geographic location where each and every players goal was to climb the ranks. Competition within your club was vicious (those results mattering more than a tournament); nobody was there to help you with technique or to save you (unless you asked and were hungry to win and were willing to put in the extra effort). One learned through observation and experience - which is much more meaningful (longlasting) than having a lesson paid for by your parents (short-term bandaid). The information ingrains itself much deeper when the players discovers the aspects of the game rather than being forced the concept. 

Lessons are overrated (especially more than one private lesson a week). Most players played as many sets as they could. The great players would play anyone, anytime, amounting up to 10+ sets a week (the best players didn't care with who, they would make it worthwhile). Competition breeds champions (point system in today's USTA rankings do not promote competition). Lessons do not breed champions. Parents, please stop trying to save your children (not just in tennis, but everything!). Seek to adopt a more detached attitude when it comes to practice sessions and results (not healthy).  In addition, please stop coddling them and protecting them from unwanted losses in practices. These are learning experiences and no player in the world has a 100% W/L record (most hover around .500). Let them learn to cope and adapt. Tennis does not have to be a complicated sport and the players are the ones who win championships, not coaches.

*Big apology to all tennis coaches, but we can't expect to have tough players if we are always saving them (because we need a paycheck). Tennis coaches, like players, will learn to adapt and survive. Our primary responsibility should always be on developing players and doing what's best for them while maintaining honesty and integrity towards the students and parents.