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- 07-19-04 -- I am relaxed and focused. A positive affirmation to use to help these desired conditions prevail in your match. Compose your own and repeat them to yourself to help you achieve your goals.
- 07-18-04 -- Finish HITTING the ball before LOOKING to see if you hit it in!
- 07-17-04 -- Shadow the correct form of the shot you just missed, to help you let your error go.
- 07-16-04 -- When at the net in doubles imagine every ball is coming to you, plan which gap to aim for, so you are prepared when you are able to hit the ball.
- 07-15-04 -- "Do not strive for terrific speed at first. The most essential thing about a drive is to put the ball in play. Accuracy first, and then put on your speed." Bill Tilden - The Art of Tennis
- 07-14-04 -- Keep your racket in your non-dominant hand between points.
- 07-13-04 -- The next time you encounter the impossible craziness, clench your fists, get a determined smile on your face and, with all the feeling and emotion you can muster, say to yourself - I LOVE IT!" Jim Loehr
- 07-12-04 -- "Foot-faulting is cheating." The Code
- 07-11-04 -- Shift your weight towards your target just before hitting the ball so your momentum is transferred into the shot.
- 07-10-04 -- Some things in your match will not be to your liking. Most of these are beyond your control but you can control the way you react.
- 07-09-04 -- Prepare your racket promptly.
- 07-08-04 -- Try to use your whole body to hit the ball - it's a joint effort!
- 07-07-04 -- Rotate your upper body until your belly button faces the target on serves, overheads, forehands and two handed backhands.
- 07-06-04 -- Number one, have fun.
- 07-05-04 -- Matches are won, not with great shots, but with many, many, non-flashy, common and garden, bread and butter, boring shots.
- 07-04-04 -- When aiming a ball, have a very clear picture in your head of the direction, depth, speed and spin you want.
- 07-03-04 -- During the warm-up get yourself physically relaxed, mentally alert and emotionally sound!
- 07-02-04 -- Have a simple, specific, attainable game plan written down before each match.
- 07-01-04 -- Establish a match preparation routine you follow religiously each time you play.
- 06-30-04 -- Use the highest percentage shot available to win the point.
- 06-29-04 -- Early in a match aim further inside the lines and higher over the net.
- 06-28-04 -- Half volleys should be hit at half pace.
- 06-27-04 -- A variety of well-placed serves will cause havoc for your opponent.
- 06-26-04 -- "Learn to play your own best game." Harry Hopman
- 06-25-04 -- Appear imperturbable during your matches.
- 06-24-04 -- Find the amount of muscle tension that produces your best results, and plan way to attain and maintain that in a match.
- 06-23-04 -- "Statistics prove that many more points are won when first serves are hit in. It also helps to keep the pressure on your opponents." Skip Singleton
- 06-22-04 -- Strive for consistent returns of serve. Treat them with the same care as you d your second serve.
- 06-21-04 -- The player with the fewest errors wins.
- 06-20-04 -- Prepare on court cures for problems you may encounter during a match.
- 06-19-04 -- If you are hitting a ball on a groundstroke around shoulder height your follow-through should still finish at least as high as you made contact with the ball. Gravity will bring it down!
- 06-18-04 -- Try to be at least three feet BEHIND the baseline after you serve if you have elected to stay back.
- 06-17-04 -- Even if you do not feel confident, ACT CONFIDENT!
- 06-16-04 -- To improve your match performance concentrate on what you want to happen.
- 06-15-04 -- Exhale on contact when serving.
- 06-14-04 -- "Take at least one deep breath from your lower stomach before starting a point whenever you are feeling angry, frustrated, or feeling the pressure of play. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth." Jim Loehr
- 06-13-04 -- "Play happy and you'll love the game, you'll love your enthusiasm, and you'll improve because of it. Just your own sheer enjoyment of the game can catapult you over the player who fights themselves on every point." Peter Burwash
- 06-12-04 -- "Keep your eye on the ball and keep your mind on the game." Bill Tilden
- 06-11-04 -- Go up and meet the ball as high as you can on the serve and overhead.
- 06-10-04 -- On the high volley, decide early on your target, so you have time to turn your strings in that direction.
- 06-09-04 -- Always start with a game plan.
- 06-08-04 -- Make your opponent look good in the warm-up. I repeat - in the warm-up!
- 06-07-04 -- Keep your self-talk positive.
- 06-06-04 -- Move two steps forward or two steps back immediately after you serve.
- 06-05-04 -- Recover in a well-balanced ready position by the time your ball bounces or is about to be volleyed.
- 06-04-04 -- Take your time between points, start the next point only after you have recovered from the last point, relaxed and planned that next point.
- 06-03-04 -- During the point be sure to Watch and Aim the ball and return to an appropriate Ready position.
- 06-02-04 -- Keep your hand level with the ball on low volleys and half volleys.
- 06-01-04 -- Keep your eyes level with the ball on high volleys.
- 05-31-04 -- Use different shaped swings to handle balls of different heights when you are hitting groundstrokes.
- 05-30-04 -- It is easier to hit the ball back the way it came.
- 05-29-04 -- Watching the ball longer on each hit will dramatically increase a player's consistency.
- 05-28-04 -- Players have control over their thoughts, their reactions, their strategy, their fitness, and their preparation.
- 05-27-04 -- "Let go of self doubt and embrace self-assurance." The Feel Good Book
- 05-26-04 -- "A tennis player should be able to lose and win without revealing in their attitude the value to which they may attach the result. This is the most essential law of sport: one should never play tennis in order to win, one should try to play as well as possible and be content to have done one's best." Rene Lacoste
- 05-25-04 -- "Never lose sight of the fact that the overall objective is to communicate with your partner in such a way as to make him/her play their best." Allan Fox
- 05-24-04 -- If pulled wide on the baseline - a lob will give you time to recover. When at the net, angle high balls down into the open court.
- 05-23-04 -- "Tennis is a game played one point at a time no matter what the score is or who your opponent is." Dr. Jack Groppel
- 05-22-04 -- "Be in sound physical shape. You give your opponent a great psychological lift when you are breathing heavily after the first set." Vic Braden
- 05-21-04 -- Keep your mind on the moment. Every point deserves your undivided attention.
- 05-20-04 -- Keep your eyes on the court, ball or strings between points.
- 05-19-04 -- "Never let your weight move back on any tennis stroke. If your weight is not transferred forward, the ball is moving you rather than you moving the ball." Pancho Gonzales
- 05-18-04 -- "Tennis is played primarily with the mind." Bill Tilden
- 05-17-04 -- "Resist the temptation to hit hard and win quick." Brad Gilbert
- 05-16-04 -- "Depth is more important than power." Allen Fox
- 05-15-04 -- "Use the middle on any ball that you cannot end the point on." Chuck Kriese (On doubles)
- 05-14-04 -- "Concentration is essential in tennis, far more than most people think. It is a great help to the player who does not let 'unjust' line decisions upset him. More than once this ability has made the difference between losing and winning." Budge Patty
- 05-13-04 -- "Success is never final. Failure never fatal. It is courage that counts" Winston Churchill
- 05-12-04 -- "Nothing can disrupt a match, change its flow, or alter opponents' strategies more than a lob can." Skip Singleton
- 05-11-04 -- "It is not really my opinion, but also is that of Lacoste, that the points gained in tennis are less often the result of an opponent's victorious attack than the result of an error. Eight times out of ten the cause of such error is the lack of attention paid to the ball." Henri Cochet
- 05-10-04 -- Set several, simple, specific, attainable goals before you step on a court.
- 05-09-04 -- "No where is it clearer than in competitive sport that you have to love it. Love the grinding, the searching, the pushing, the pulling, the victories, the lessons, the battle itself. Becoming the best competitor you can be means loving to compete more than winning. Becoming the best you can be at anything means loving the journey - from beginning to end." Jim Loehr
- 05-08-04 -- "The worse the conditions are, bright sun, high winds, the better for you - if you have the right outlook - because they are driving the other player nuts." Arthur Ashe
- 05-07-04 -- Turn your knuckles to the target on the backhand volley.
- 05-06-04 -- "A smile wins a lot of points because it gives the impression of confidence on your part that shakes that of the other man." Bill Tilden
- 05-05-04 -- "The most important thing to remember when serving in doubles is to get your first serve into play, even if it means toning it down and passing up attempts at aces." Harry Hopman
- 05-04-04 -- No need to hit a ten dollar shot, when a dime shot will win the point.
- 05-03-04 -- Don't be amazing, just be effective.
- 05-02-04 -- Your doubles partner is your greatest asset.
- 05-01-04 -- The past and the future are your enemies in a tennis match.
- 04-30-04 -- Breathe to relieve tension on the court.
- 04-29-04 -- Life is not fair.
- 04-28-04 -- Learn to love the chaos of competition.
- 04-27-04 -- Develop rituals to repeat before you serve and return.
- 04-26-04 -- Consistency is the ultimate weapon.
- 04-25-04 -- Your best serve is the one your opponent likes the least.
- 04-24-04 -- Hit only shots you own.
- 04-23-04 -- Lobs are passing shots.
- 04-22-04 -- Aim your winners to the gaps.
- 04-21-04 -- Keep your head still as you hit the ball.
- 04-20-04 -- Recover, Relax and Plan between points.
- 04-19-04 -- Be like a tea bag, show your strength when you are put in hot water.
- 04-18-04 -- You cannot control the wind, but you can set the sails.
- 04-17-04 -- "...three things that will make the game better for anybody: 1. Watch the ball - nothing else 2. Bend your knees as you hit 3. Get your first serve in. " Rod Laver
- 04-16-04 -- "Prepare for each point with a game plan. Before you step up to the line to serve or receive you should know what you'd like to do." Jack Groppel
- 04-15-04 -- Keep your head up until well after you have hit the ball on your serve and overhead.
- 04-14-04 -- "Strive for progress, not perfection." Anon
- 04-13-04 -- "Winners see what they want to happen while losers fear what might happen." Skip Singleton
- 04-12-04 -- "Tennis matches are not won with great shots. They are won with many, many, pretty good shots." Allen Fox
- 04-11-04 -- Never change a winning game.
- 04-10-04 -- Watch the ball until you have hit the ball.
- 04-09-04 -- Life is like a cup of tea, it is how you make it.
- 04-08-04 -- You are only as strong as your second serve.
- 04-07-04 -- Keep your head up, on the serve and overhead, until after you have hit the ball.
- 04-06-04 -- Placement is powerful.
- 04-05-04 -- Good offense will beat good defense but very good defense will beat good offense.
- 04-04-04 -- "... there is no better way to slow down a hitter than by reducing the pace of your shots with slow, deep slices and chops, forcing him to manufacture his own power." Budge Patty 1951
- 04-03-04 -- Do your very best on every point. That is success in a tennis match.
- 04-02-04 -- How do you react when fear rears its ugly head in a match? Develop the courage to recognize you are scared and find routines that will help you focus on what you need to do at this moment to maximize your chances of winning the next point.
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