Tennis Coaching: Nerves and Upsets Part 1

Prelude: A few years ago I played chess with my brother, I lost the match when his sole surviving pawn and king marched down the board to doom my lonely king. On multiple occasions, I was one move from winning if he overlooked a trap. After the match, I noted, “That was a close match.”…

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Infinite Jest: Hal Incandenza and Masking

As Tennis Abides heads into 2025, I expect to write a great deal more about tennis and tennis coaching that lies outside of tennis played on professional tours. I am ducking into Infinite Jest again as part of this shift. Warning Spoilers Infinite Jest opens with Hal Incandenza’s interrogation by university officials regarding discrepancies between…

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Tennis Coaching: Mike Agassi’s Plan & Making the Tennis Ball Behave

Mike Agassi wanted Andre to hit 1000000 tennis balls annually to train a future world #1. Andre Agassi spent 101 weeks ranked #1. Being able to control the ball and put it where your opponent does not want it has always been a good strategy for success in tennis. Today’s elite tennis training rightly focuses…

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Wimbledon 2024: Paolini vs. Krejcikova Prediction

7 Jasmine Paolini vs. 31 Barbora Krejcikova The BIG Question How much does Wimbledon 2024 grass play like grass from 2002 and earlier? If the grass is generally low bouncing, I think the match is largely on Barbora Krejcikova’s racquet despite having a worse seed than Jasmine Paolini. If the grass is amenable to grinding…

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Tennis Abides on Jerry Eaves Sports Radio

I talked tennis with a Louisville Legend on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. The whole show is worth a listen. Tennis and I are on with Jerry Eaves from 14:55-24:10. Give Jerry Eaves a follow on the platform formerly known as Twitter: @JerryEaves5 Jerry Eaves grew up in Louisville and played basketball for the great Denny…

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Roland Garros 2024: All Hail Queen Iga IV and King Carlos I

History Made by Both Champions Iga Swiatek won her 5th major title, capped off a great clay court season*, demonstrated why she is ranked #1, and won her 4th French Open title in 5 years by claiming the title in pretty routine fashion during the final 5 rounds of the tournament. Her 2nd round win…

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Roland Garros 2024: Andy Roddick’s Insights on the Men’s Final

Not that Andy Roddick needs my support or publicity, but his insights on the match give any tennis player and any tennis fan an idea of all that is happening on the court. His granular analysis is an education. My retrospective on the women’s and men’s finals will be up later tonight.