New York Tennis Magazine May / June 2024

Professional Children’s School Combining Education with Tennis Dreams

Youdon’t have to choose between your tennis dreams and a great education

Juggling the demands of training & competitions with traditional school can be a challenge for any young scholar-athlete however committed they and their families are to an academic education. Professional Children’s School has been helping young people and their families navigate those challenges for over 100 years.

Professional Children’s School is a “real” school with a full-time schedule of classroom learning, while offering the opportunities for distance/remote learning when it’s necessary for students to travel, train or compete. The school offers a college prep curriculum in grades 6-12 that is both challenging and engaging and tailored to each individual student’s needs. The schedule is designed to be flexible, allowing students to balance time in school with professional demands outside, and the PCS community of master educators and devoted peers provides the social and emotional support children need to excel.

includes actors and singers, tennis players and ice skaters, entrepreneurs, dancers and equestrians who share a common passion—they know what it’s like not to have time for after school activities, what it’s like to balance homework and practice, and what it is to find fulfillment from reaching the highest levels of their craft.

A healthy teacher/student ratio ensures that students are known and cared for by many adults. Students meet regularly with advisors, who serve as their primary advocates and help balance their academic goals with their professional commitments.

Understanding that each student is unique not only in their pursuits but in their abilities, the school offers the support of a full-time learning specialist. Whether a student needs help transitioning from another school, developing study skills, or working with mild learning differences, the school ensures that students have the tools to succeed.

Professional Children’s School graduates are regularly accepted in the most competitive colleges and universities in the country.

PCS is a dynamic community— students come from all over the world, from public schools and private schools, and from a host of different economic and ethnic backgrounds. The student body

At many schools, the myriad demands placed on professional and preprofessional students are in competition with each other: class work and career, practice and study, mind and body, flexibility and routine. PCS ensures that homework levels are reasonable and grade level-appropriate and that the school allows the flexibility students often need, while maintaining the integrity of its curriculum. At Professional Children’s School, students’ aspirations for excellence are recognized as integral to who they are, and the school community is dedicated to helping students achieve their academic goals in partnership with their professional goals.

Located in Manhattan’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, a block from Columbus Circle, the school’s modern facilities include science labs, drama & art rooms, cafeteria, auditorium and gymnasium. At Professional Children’s School, students don’t need to choose between a great education and their dreams.

WTA Tour professional Kristie Ahn is a 2010 graduate of Professional Children’s School

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Highlights

Table Of Contents

Swiatek’s Dominance

After reaching the century mark of weeks on top, Swiatek ready to add to resume See page 13

8A Decade In, MatchPoint Continues To Serve Its Community’s Needs

16Tennis In The Hamptons 2024

22Junior Player Spotlight: Pearlie Zhang, Dwight Global Online School By Brian Coleman

322024 French Open Preview

38Beyond the Baseline: Adi Govila and Conrad Singh, Centercourt Tennis Academy By Brian Coleman

44Coaching Spotlight: Whitney Kraft, The Hoosac School By Brian Coleman

522024 Guide to the Top Apparel Providers

Features

Nadia Buffa

Remy Buffa

Connor Butler

Aryn Feldman

Nyla Gershfeld

Abby Kleiman Raina Shah

Victoria Wroblewskii

Chloe Zigman

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Statements of fact and opinion in New York Tennis Magazine are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of United Sports Publications Ltd. New York Tennis Magazine reserves the right to edit, reject and/or postpone the publication of any articles, information or data.

1Professional Children’s School: Combining Tennis Education With Tennis Dreams

4Across Metro New York

6Creating A Healthy Competitive Environment For Your Child By Jay Pinho

10Could Tennis Really Be The Secret To A Long, Happy Life? By Teddy Angelus

24USTA Eastern Metro Region Update

28The Hidden Secret in Tennis…Developing Momentum By Conrad Singh

30Metro Adult League Recap By Ainslie Ellis

42USA Delegation Ready to Compete in Maccabi Games

46Preparation For a Tournament By Gilad Bloom

485 Ways to Improve Ball Anticipation in Adult Tennis By Griffin Samuels

50Mastering the Mind: Mindfulness at 125 MPH By Rob Polishook

55Why Do We Need To Train “Slot” Entry? By Steve Kaplan

56Keys to The Kick Serve: An Excerpt from Chris Lewit’s New Technique Book, ‘Winning Pretty’ By Chris Lewit

58Tennis Is THE Sport For A Lifetime By Steve Annacone

59The Importance of Self-Discipline By Michael Nortey

60Gallwey’s ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’ By Dr. Tom Ferraro

62SPORTIME/JMTA To Host Eighth Annual College Combine

Photo credit: Brad Penner/USTA

PG 8

PG 22

PG 38

Event Team

PG 44

USTA Eastern Hosts Inaugural Tennis Innovation Summit

The first ever USTA Eastern Tennis Innovation Summit was held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The event brought together all aspects of the tennis industry for a day of on-court demonstrations, informative speaker sessions and networking opportunities. The event was highlighted by four-time major winner Kim Clijsters giving on-court instruction and speaking with attendees.

CLTA Student Wins Green Ball Event

Across Metro N

Across Metro N

Rafay Rana captured the title at the Green Ball Crosscourt Event. Rana, who trains with the Chris Lewit Tennis Academy, is now prepared to move up to competing in Yellow Ball events.

New York

New York

Bounds Takes Title in New Hampshire

New York City native Wyatt Bounds traveled up to New Hampshire and brought back the title from the L6 event in Longfellow. Bounds, who trains at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, did not drop a set en route to his title in the Boys 16s singles division.

Papadopoulos Wins First ITF Title

Centercourt Tennis Academy Full-Time Athlete Jordan Papadopoulos paired with Chen Xingyu of China to win the J60 Doubles event in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. The pairing won the title without losing a set, including a 7-5, 6-3 triumph in the finals to secure the first ITF title for Papadopoulos.

JMTP’s 6th Annual Comedy Night Raises More Than $300,000

Some of New York City’s top comedians joined tennis superstar John McEnroe and his brother Patrick McEnroe for a night of laughs for a good cause at Sony Hall in midtown Manhattan. Guests joined JMTP board members, celebrities, and friends for a night of laughter in support of a great cause.

MCs Seth Herzog and Alex Moffat hosted Matt Friend, Punkie Johnson, David Cross, Judah Friedlander, and Sal Vulcano for a sold-out night of laughs at Sony Hall in midtown Manhattan while raising more than $300,000 to support JMTP’s youth tennis programming in New York City.

… News and notes from across the N.Y. Metro tennis community

… News and notes from across the N.Y. Metro tennis community

Markov Takes Home L6 Title

Milana Markov was victorious at the L6 Megalodon Classic on Long Island, earning the title in the Girls 18s singles division. Markov, a player within the MatchPoint NYC program, did not lose more than three games in any of the sets she played, and her run culminated with a 6-3, 6-3 win.

CourtSense’s Yim Leads Team to USTA Team Title

Andrew Yim helped lead his team to the win at the USTA Jr. NL3 Gold Team Challenge in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. Yim, who trains at CourtSense, was part of a team with five other players that captured the 18U Mixed title, and contributed two doubles wins to help his team come away victorious.

Reyniak Wins Another National Title

Matias Reyniak won his second straight National Title as he claimed the L3 event in the Boys 14s division at the USTA National Tennis Campus in Orlando this past weekend. Reyniak is pictured here with his coach Gilad Bloom.

Creating an Healthy Competitive Environment for Your Child

By Jay Pinho

Asa player develops and becomes more passionate about the sport, a common next step for many is to participate in local competition. While this is an important piece of the puzzle for those who have higher aspirations with their tennis, it can also backfire and reduce the player’s enthusiasm if done improperly. In order to create a healthy competitive environment for your child, a few things are essential, these include the following:

Ensure that the child has the interest in participating in outside competition, in addition to his/her group training sessions, and internal competitive options (such as a match play). When parents push children to compete too early or too frequently, it can, over time, impact the player’s passion for the sport and lead to burnout.

Select the appropriate levels so that the player can obtain a “healthy” win/loss percentage. Playing tournaments that are too advanced for

the player’s current developmental stage can impact their confidence, interest in participating in additional tournaments, and limits the player’s ability to learning how to win. If your child is young and needs to go through the orange and/or green ball tournaments, then please allow them to do so. Conquering each stage is an important part of their longterm development.

Know your role as a tennis parent. Unless you are also your child’s primary Coach, leave the coaching for those are experienced in that and understand the bigger picture. While parents also play a significant role in the player’s journey, it is often better not to mix the parent & coach roles.

Make the ride to and from tournaments judgment free. Often the least favorite memory of juniors is related to the ride to and from tournaments; while parents (despite their good intentions) lectured the player on all the things they should or should have done differently. Instead, just ask your

child what their goals are for this match beforehand and how they did on those goals at the end of the match. Less is often more.

Have consistent responses after matches. While some matches can be quite emotional and intense, parents need to be a source of stability in tournaments, instead of an additional source of stress. That means watch your body language after your child misses a shot, and significant changes in responses based on the outcome of the match. A suggestion could be to always allow the player 5-10 minutes after the match to decompress on their own, and then you can ask him/her about how they did on their predetermined goals.

Focus on the positive things first. While players can and should learn from their mistakes they should also learn from the good things they are doing. So pointing them out is a must for that. Start with the positive and then you may mention few areas that could have been better; an overload of suggestions is also not as helpful.

In all, navigating the tournament scene can be a rich experience for both parents and players. While the above list does not include everything, it does provide some important guidelines that can smooth out the process and increase the chances that players will enjoy their competition and stick to it for many years, potentially their lifetime.

Joao "Jay" Pinho is the Head Professional of 10U and HighPerformance at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. He is a USPTA Elite Professional, a former NCAA DI coach and player, and has specialized in developing competitive junior players over the past decade. Currently, he is the private coach of three national champions and a WTA touring pro. He can be reached at joao.pinho@usta.com.

A Decade In, MatchPoint Continues To Serve Its Community’s Needs

By Brian Coleman

Thissummer, parents all across New York City and the greater Metropolitan area are looking for the ideal place to send their kids for camp and summer programming. There are a myriad of options available to them across the city and beyond, but for many in Brooklyn, they will choose MatchPoint NYC as their child’s destination.

For the last decade, MatchPoint NYC has been one of the premier tennis and sport facilities in Brooklyn, and attracts players and families from all five boroughs.

“Sports and fitness for the whole family.”

That is the mantra and mission statement of MatchPoint NYC, and was at the heart of the motivation for

its inception 10 years ago, when friends and business partners Nino Muhatasov and Dmitry Druzhinsky put together the plan to open up their own facility in New York City.

Muhatasov was a former top collegiate player himself before

entering the coaching field. He combined his knowledge of the tennis industry with Druzhinsky’s business acumen and they purchased the land where the former Brooklyn Racquet Club was, the first place Muhatasov played tennis when he came to the United States in the 1990s.

“After coaching highperformance juniors, and then on the WTA Pro Tour, I decided it was time to build a club and run it the right way, while implementing my vision of a community destination,” said Muhatasov. “And that’s how the idea of starting a club came about. Once I understood that tennis is my passion, I set a goal for myself to coach at the highest level and then move into a different part of the tennis business. I always had that

goal. I just couldn’t imagine building a brand-new club where everything started for me in America.”

Muhatasov’s American Dream has come to fruition, and now 10 years in, the MatchPoint NYC brand is going strong and continues to grow. The original location was in Coney Island, and in the time since, has expanded to locations in Mill Basin and Bensonhurst, establishing itself as the premier sports fitness brand throughout Brooklyn.

Despite growing to multiple facilities, Muhatasov has ensured that each club maintains that welcoming and family-like atmosphere he envisioned when they opened the first location.

“While the goals of all parents and kids are different, I believe there is a common denominator among all of them, and that is for all kids to reach their full potential,” he said. “Some parents and kids want to play at a high level and go to college, or even turn professional. Others want to play just to have fun and learn a new sport. Our goals when creating these facilities were to provide individual attention to each participating child to help them become their best self. We want to be sure kids are communicating with each other, and sports are a great way for them to be able to meet new people and make new friends.”

While each location has a strong tennis program, ranging from high performance to recreational, they also offer more than simply tennis. It features Crossfit and a top-of-the-line fitness center to complement the tennis programming, but also Rhythmic Gymnastics and Swimming, two sports that you don’t often see featured at a tennis club.

The Bensonhurst location offers Dance in addition to tennis, rhythmic gymnastics and swimming, helping to create a location that has something for the entire family.

Valeriya Curinnaia, the Director of

the Learn to Swim Program at MatchPoint, talked about the benefits of combining these sports in their programming, and how everyone involved reaps those rewards.

“Bringing together world-class swimmers, rhythmic gymnasts, and tennis players, we carefully select and integrate them as coaches, providing the required training to align with the MatchPoint Philosophy, where collective growth and collaboration are paramount,” she said. “This synergy enables us to offer a comprehensive approach to athletic training and development, incorporating varied methods and cross-disciplinary techniques. As an example professional tennis players often take part in our swimming programs to enhance their breathing and endurance capabilities on court and during tournaments, or swimmers could also take up gymnastics programming to enhance their core strength and flexibility. Not only does this enrich the overall experience for our customers, but it also creates collaboration and mutual support among our staff, fostering a profound sense of community and shared purpose.”

That family atmosphere is at the heart of what MatchPoint is all about, and is a sentiment felt by its customers as well as its staff.

“There is a sense of community here,” said Pavlo Bednarzh, a HighPerformance Coach at the Coney Island location. “Everyone is friendly,

and you can come in and feel happy when here. We have the lounge and restaurant upstairs, which is a great place for the parents to relax while their kid is taking a lesson. It’s just a great facility to be in and be a part of.”

Danny Ostresmsky, the Director of MatchPoint’s U10 tennis program, added:

“At the Matchpoint Bensonhurst facility, we’re a relatively new operation, and it’s validating to see the fruits of our labor starting to blossom. We’ve got a great core of athletes, supportive and committed parents, and a great group of coaches all coalescing into a thriving tennis community. We’re very much looking forward to our summer camp this year. Our camp is a great way for our tournament players to make important strides in their development. Since we’re an outdoor facility, players have a great opportunity to learn how to play in the sun, deal with the heat and humidity, and manage windy conditions. All of these elements will affect serious tournament players at some point in their careers and as a coaching staff, we feel this helps develop tough athletes as well.”

For top junior player Agnia Vuststina, moving to the United States when she was younger was a difficult transition, but the community she found at MatchPoint made all the difference.

“When I first came here, the staff at MatchPoint did everything they could to help me. I really found a home.”

The team at MatchPoint is excited for the summer that lies ahead. It takes pride in challenging the traditional approach towards sports and fitness by incorporating several sports under one umbrella.

MatchPoint NYC is the fulfillment of the dream that Muhatasov envisioned when the begin this process a decade ago. MatchPoint is looking forward to celebrating its 10th anniversary, and maintaining its reputation as a top sports and fitness destination in New York City.

Could Tennis Really Be The Secret To A Long, Happy Life?

By Teddy Angelus

Nexttime someone asks “Tennis, anyone?” you might want to grab your racquet and join them. The benefits of playing America’s favorite racquet sport are not limited to the obvious ones: exercise and the joy of winning (assuming you do win, of course). My observations as a life-long tennis player and a staff member at one of the best tennis facilities in New York City clearly indicate that tennis is good for the soul.

Every single day I see people come into Roosevelt Island Racquet club to play some tennis, talk some tennis talk, and, without question, leave the

club feeling better than they did when they arrived. Doctors, lawyers, highpowered executives, stay-at-home parents, whether you are blue collar or white collar, the demographic doesn’t matter, the results are the same. Something happens when people get together on a court to hit a tennis ball that makes them feel good all over.

It must feel good. Today, nearly 24 million Americans play tennis, and another 60 million people play worldwide. As it continues to grow in popularity so does the speculation as to why everyone is picking up a racket these days. Obviously there’s

the physical benefits: improvement in overall health, cardiovascular fitness, weight management, flexibility, muscle tone, and mobility. One club regular believes that tennis helps him subconsciously make better food choices. He plays at least three times a week and wants to be in the best possible shape for his game.

Tennis is much more than a game of running around the court hitting the ball. It requires strategy, hand-eye coordination, decision making on the fly, mastery of a variety of strokes, visual acuity, problem solving, and the ability to pivot both physically and mentally.

Researchers contend that tennis is a great exercise for the entire brain. When you strategize, as most players do, you are working out your cerebellum. The parietal lobes in the back of your brain help you see the ball when it is in motion, and your frontal lobes are also helping you to create strategies, especially on the fly.

So everyone agrees that tennis is good for the body and for the mind. But there’s still more to it. Maybe it’s the social component that you don’t always get with other sports. Having just played two hours of doubles I see this more clearly than ever. We talked before the game, between sets about the game and our strategies, and after the game we walked out of the club together talking about the highs

and lows of our game, and even a little bit about life itself. I felt connected to these people, my people, my friends, my competitors, my tribe. That’s it!

We are a group of people that numbers in the millions. We have this game we love to play. We win, we lose and we get challenged along the way. Sometimes we arrive with the weight of the world on our shoulders, but it always feels better once we’ve spent some time with “our people”.

We leave lighter, happier, feeling healthy, feeling better, and (sometimes) feeling victorious. Tennis is in our blood. It’s part of our sustenance. And if that’s not enough, there’s new evidence that suggests that playing tennis helps us live longer.

The Copenhagen City Heart Study (CCHS) out of Denmark demonstrated that playing tennis may actually extend your lifespan by 9.7 years. The study’s authors looked at sports and activities, other than running, that increase your lifespan when compared

to those with a sedentary lifestyle.

They began with a group of 20,000 healthy people in the early 1990s. In 2017, there were 8,577 subjects who were still in the study. This gave them sufficient data (25 years) to address their question of how participation in sports affects life expectancy.

The conclusion: playing tennis extends one’s life expectancy by 9.7 years when compared to a sedentary lifestyle. The other sports also provided benefits, but the most beneficial sport was tennis. Below is a summary of the results ranked by number of years of gain in life expectancy:

•Tennis: 9.7 years

•Badminton: 6.2 years

•Soccer: 4.7 years

•Cycling: 3.7 years

•Swimming: 3.4 years

•Jogging: 3.2 years

•Calisthenics: 3.1 years

•Health club: 1.5 years

The researchers were surprised to find that tennis was the sport with the largest increase in life expectancy, and the one that had the least increase (health club) is the one where people spent the most time exercising. They also hypothesized that “belonging to a group that meets regularly promotes a sense of support, trust, and commonality, which has been shown to contribute to a sense of well-being and improved long-term health.”

On some level, tennis players already knew this.

We were right all along - everyone needs a racket sport in their life. What are you waiting for? Grab a racquet and live a lot – and hopefully a lot longer.

Teddy Angelus is a Father, Writer, Avid Tennis Player and a staff member at Roosevelt Island Racquet Club. He is a long-time tennis player from New York City, who was the captain of his varsity high school team at Avon Old Farms. Angelus plays in many RIRC leagues and programs and the father of his son, Oliver, who participates in the Junior Development Program. He can be reached at tangelus@yahoo.com.

- It’s time to play, on CaliClay -

Conversion from hard court to Caliclay East Hampton, New York.

Swiatek’s Dominance

After reaching the century mark of weeks on top, Swiatek ready to add to resume

By Brian Coleman

For more than 100 weeks, the title of the top-ranked women’s tennis player in the world has belonged to Iga Swiatek. The Polish star has become synonymous with tennis elite, and is prepared to extend her time at the top of the rankings, and add more trophies to her resume.

In 2023, Swiatek captured her second straight and the third French Open title of her career. That brought her total major title count to four. It was an important title for her, as she dealt with “struggles” in the early part of the season which included some tough losses as well as overcoming injuries.

“This one, for sure, was a little bit tougher in terms of injuries and the pressure, and also coming back to this tournament as a defending champion, I feel like it’s a little bit different,” said Swiatek. “I needed to really handle that. I’m super happy that I managed to do that, and that [sports psychologist] [Daria Abramowicz] helped me, as well, because for sure these past three weeks weren’t easy. You know, it was a whole team effort also, with [coach] Maciej [Ryszczuk] taking care of my health and actually managing these little injuries that happened.”

Despite being just 22-yearsold, Swiatek has gone from an up-and-coming talent to the most hunted player on tour. That shift in perception has forced Swiatek to change up her mentality and be able to handle those sorts of pressures, which she has been able to do so almost flawlessly.

For that, Swiatek gives a lot of credit to the aforementioned Daria Abramowicz, a sports psychologist she began to work with back in 2019.

Abramowicz has helped Swiatek navigate the pressure and expectations that come with being the best player in the world, which includes not only her performance on the court but how she handles it off the court.

“When I started to work with Daria [Abramowicz] in 2019, my main goal was to improve things on court, being more focused and in control of my emotions,” said Swiatek. “But then it switched to talking more about my personal life, working on my confidence as a person, and growing up, dealing with popularity, or the business side of the sport. I feel we’ve been working on

continued on page 14

swiatek’s dominance

from page 13

everything.”

That work went a long way to helping Swiatek after her maiden Grand Slam title, and that work continues now that she is wellestablished atop the WTA rankings.

“I felt like I always needed to chase something, prepare for the next season and those big expectations,” she said. “And now that I’m No.1, it only doubles. So it feels like we had a lot of work with Daria. She’s really helpful. It’s necessary for my team to take care of me. My coach takes care of my tennis, my physio takes care of my body, but I also need someone to be there for me when I want and need to talk. I want to have fun, play good and do the best I can. But I don’t want to lose myself. I want to enjoy my life on tour, so I’m trying to keep it cool.”

That all-encompassing team helped guide Swiatek through her early successes, and helped her get back on track during the light rough patch she had in the middle of 2023. After winning the French Open, Swiatek fell in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, before bowing out in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. She soon rebounded though,

losing just one match the rest of the year, and she capped off her season with a triumph at the WTA Finals. That run catapulted her back into the top spot in the world rankings, a position she doesn’t look to be relinquishing anytime soon as she sits 3,000 ranking points ahead of second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka.

In a recent interview during the Madrid Open, Swiatek discussed the positives but also the challenges of holding the mantle as the world’s best female tennis player.

“For sure I think my consistency put me in that position. I would say it’s a nice role to have, because I always wanted to kind of inspire. Also, it’s easier to find motivation when you feel like kids are watching you,” she said. “But on the other hand, for sure, it’s also some baggage on your shoulders. It’s not easy to balance it and to kind of save yourself of that, because everybody treats you like I should play for them, not for me.

“So, I’m kind of learning sometimes how to deal with that and how to not let that affect my mentality or my attitude. I think all the mental

stuff, I’m always kind of trying to stay present and do the same work no matter what stage of the match I’m in.”

And with that mentality and focused approach, Swiatek has had a great 2024 up to this point. She has won titles in Doha and Indian Wells, and she is ready to do more as she moves through the clay court season and into the grass season.

Swiatek has won three of the last four French Opens, and is the clear favorite to leave Paris with the top prize once again.

According to sports books, Swiatek is a -115 favorite to win another French Open, remarkable odds for an event that begins with 128 players in the draw.

A bigger test and more important question will be answered in July when she arrives in London for the Wimbledon Championships. Wimbledon is the event that has befuddled Swiatek, with her best result being a quarterfinal run last year.

Swiatek has been open in the past about her desire to play well on grass and be an all-around player capable of winning

anywhere, and she will have the opportunity to put that to the test this summer.

“Grass court season is so short, it only becomes a priority kind of before the grass court season. Throughout the whole year, I’m not really thinking about that,” she said. “I believe the best players can play on all surfaces. I want to become that kind of player who can play well on grass as well and feel comfortable there. I’m doing my best to just work on my skills… getting used to the grass was always a tricky part because when you play well on Roland Garros, then you have less time to prepare for Wimbledon. If I would have more time to play on grass, I’m pretty sure that I would be able to play better and better.”

A potentially big summer lies ahead for Swiatek, and all eyes will be on her at the year’s middle two majors, before she pulls up to our backyard for the U.S. Open at the end of August.

Get Your Game On

ROSS SCHOOL TENNIS CENTER

EAST HAMPTON, NY

• Private lessons and court rentals

• Adult programs for all levels

• Year-round programs for all ages

• Summer Tennis and Multi-sport Programs

TENNIS IN THE HAMPTO 2

In the summer, people from across Long Island and New York City floc enjoy the sun, while sitting by the pool or ocean, and taking part in an activities. One of those activities, and perhaps its most popular, is tenn favorite activity for Hamptons-goers, and there is no shortage of tennis opportunities to play out on the East End, from hitting around at local p up and playing on a private court in a luxurious Hamptons home. In this feature are just some of the places you can find your game out

2024

k to the Hamptons, to n array of outdoor is. It may be the courts or parks or lacing them east this summer!

Places to Play

Annacone Tennis Management

AnnaconeTennis.com

info@annaconetennis.com

865-300-7323

Annacone Tennis Management provides an array of services in the Hamptons, and can help produce programming and consulting for your neighborhood courts, country clubs, tennis clubs, resorts and more. One of the programs offered is MyHamptonsPro, which is a concierge tennis company specializing in providing the highest quality offsite tennis services in the Hamptons. This service is available on your private court, at one of our private courts, or at your tennis facility. Focused specifically on creating the utmost in customer satisfaction, MHP provides comprehensive tennis services from world-class tennis professionals to fit all of your needs. MHP tennis pros specialize in private tennis lessons that are customized to your specific tennis goals, with flexible times and days available to meet your needs. Steve Annacone, Director of MyHamptonsPro, has been a tennis professional and coach for over 45 years. Originally from Sag Harbor, NY and a graduate of East Hampton High School, Steve has been very involved in the tennis community in the Hamptons.

By understanding that each player has specific needs and creating a customized tennis experience to accommodate these needs, Steve and the MHP staff will help you get the most out of your time on the court.

Future Stars Southampton

1370A Majors Path Southampton, N.Y. (631) 287-6707

FutureStarsSouthampton.com

In the summer, people from across Long Island and New York City flock to the Hamptons, to enjoy the sun, while sitting by the pool or ocean, and taking part in an array of outdoor activities. Each town in the Hamptons has its own unique feel, with a variety of activities available from simply going to the beach, to kayaking, biking, trips to the wineries or taking in the East End nightlife.

TENNIS IN THE HAMPTONS 2024

Tennis may be the favorite activity of Hamptons-goers and there is no shortage of the sport in Eastern Long Island. There is no better way to spend a sunny morning or afternoon than getting some exercise on the court with friends. Below is a list of some of the locations to play tennis, as well as where to shop for the latest equipment and apparel, and where to stay.

Whether you are in Westhampton Beach, Amagansett or anywhere in-between, we look forward to seeing you on the courts and in the shops of the Hamptons this summer!

Future Stars Westhampton Beach

36 Aspatuck Road

Westhampton Beach, N.Y. (631) 287-6707 FSCamps.com

Future Stars Tennis Camp at Aspatuck Tennis Club will offer a premier tennis program that is individually-

designed to methodically challenge players of all levels, ages six through 16. Throughout the week campers are encouraged to enhance their strokes and strategies via group lessons, skill building drills, organized play, individual attention, video sessions, target training and fitness routines. Campers will receive three to four hours of top flight tennis instruction, including fundamentals, stroke production, point play with strategy emphasis, and match play competition. All campers are carefully grouped based on age and skill level.

Ross School Tennis Center

18 Goodfriend Drive

East Hampton, N.Y. (631) 907-5162

Ross.org/Tennis tenniscenter@ross.org

Ross School Tennis Center (RSTC) is the premiere training center in the Hamptons, boasting a beautiful tennis facility that is open to the public and located on the Ross Upper School Campus in East Hampton, N.Y. The Tennis Center features six HarTru courts that are enclosed by a bubble from mid-fall through mid-spring, allowing for yearround play. The Tennis Center features state-of-the-art amenities such as spacious locker rooms, lower level lounge, convenient snack bar, and ping-pong tables, and the staff provides a fun and supportive atmosphere that allows for the greatest amount of success.

After-school programming, a dynamic program for junior players, and specialized summer programs are offered to make Ross Tennis Center the place to play tennis in the Hamptons. continued from page 17

TENNIS IN THE HAMPTONS 2024

After-school Programs (Pre-K–Grade 12)

• Nursery–Grade 4: Specialized one-hour training program where players build a strong foundation through a variety of game-based and cooperative activities using 10U age-appropriate (Red, Orange, or Green) balls and nets that will prepare them for eventual full-court play.

• Grade 5–Grade 12: Players build off their 10U foundation to further develop fundamental skills and techniques as they transition into yellow balls and prepare for full-court tournament competition. Ball control, strategy, and work ethic are all emphasized in this 90-minute session of drills and point play.

Players in kindergarten and higher are required to play twice per week in this program.

• RSTA Yellow+ is for players over 12 years old who play either on a JV or Varsity school team. There will be practice every day for two hours after school. Tryouts can also be evaluated by an RSTA coach if you are not yet a team member. Participation at both UTR and USTA tournaments is encouraged but not a requirement.

• Lessons and Court Rentals: Ross School Tennis Center also offers adult clinics, court rentals, and private and group instruction for all ages and levels. The Tennis Center is also used for a variety of special events and is available for private parties.

Sportime Amagansett/JMTA

Hamptons

320 Abrahams Path Amagansett, N.Y. (631) 267-3460 SportimeNY.com/Amagansett

Located in the Town of East Hampton, SPORTIME Amagansett’s 23 acre campus features 33 pristine outdoor Har-Tru tennis courts, one hard-surface tennis and pickleball court, a heated outdoor pool and so much more for members, students and campers to enjoy. The Hamptons’ summer home to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, SPORTIME Amagansett welcomes aspiring young players to

train at one of the world’s best academies when on the East End. The club is also home to East Hampton Sports Camp @ SPORTIME, which offers preschool and multi-sport full-day, full-summer fun for kids ages 3-13.

The SPORTIME Amagansett Sports Arena, open yearround, features a climate-controlled, regulation size rink that subdivides into three smaller courts that allow for multiple sports activities and small group training. Sports offered include hockey, soccer, basketball, volleyball and pickleball.

SPORTIME Amagansett offers both residents and Hampton visitors of all ages world-class tennis, pickleball and sports programming, camps, events, tournaments and more.

Sportime Quogue

2571 Quogue Riverhead Road East Quogue, N.Y. (631) 653-6767

SportimeNY.com/Quogue

Named the best tennis club on the South Fork by Dan’s Papers each year from 2020-2023, SPORTIME Quogue is a yearround, full-service tennis, fitness, summer camp and sports facility located in East Quogue, catering to the surrounding communities of Westhampton, Remsemberg, Quogue, Southampton, Hampton Bays, Eastport, Riverhead, the Moriches and the North Fork, serving both locals and visitors alike..

SPORTIME Quogue features four indoor Har-Tru soft-surface tennis courts and 22 outdoor Har-Tru courts, in addition to a heated outdoor pool, a full-service health and fitness club, a multi-sport court, and locker rooms with saunas. SPORTIME Quogue serves tennis players starting at the age of three, including junior pathway programs, as well as dynamic instructional programs for adults of all levels.

While SPORTIME Quogue thrives year-round, the summer season is alive with a large outdoor tennis community, including Hampton vacationers and snowbirds returning for summer season. SPORTIME Quogue’s full-day summer camp, including preschool, multi-sport and tennis offerings, is recognized as one of the top summer camps in Westhampton.

continued from page 19

Places to Shop

Tennis East

73 Main Street Southampton, N.Y. (631) 283-9535

TennisEast.com

For more than 50 years, Tennis East has been a staple of the tennis community on Long Island’s East End. Tennis East offers an extensive selection of men’s, women’s and junior’s rackets, apparel, sneakers, strings and accessories.

Tennis East keeps up to date with the latest and most popular products to make sure its customers are always up to date with the newest gear, and it even features a

complete line of 10 & Under Tennis equipment, as well as a line of other racket sports, such as paddleball or pickleball. Stringing services and demo rackets are also available.

Places to Stay

Cove

TENNIS IN THE HAMPTONS 2024

preeminent All-American resort destination. With 67 charming village and harbor-facing guestrooms, gorgeous lofted suites boasting sweeping harbor views, village rooms featuring intimate private gardens, and cozy dog-friendly accommodations, Baron’s Cove caters to every discerning traveler seeking a relaxing getaway on the East End.

Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa

290 Old Montauk Highway Montauk, N.Y. (631) 668-2345

GurneysResorts.com/Montauk

Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa is a Hamptons icon and the only year- round resort in Montauk. Providing guests with direct access to a 2,000-foot private sand beach, Gurney’s features 146 rooms, suites, and beachfront cottages, all delivering dramatic ocean views. With five unique dining and drinking venues, Gurney’s presents an array of food and beverage options, from elegant seasonal cuisine to casual fare to craft cocktails. Gurney’s also offers over 25,000-square-feet of meeting and banquet space, for hosting a wide range of business and social events. Its acclaimed spa is renowned for its healing treatments and ocean-fed seawater pool, the only pool of its kind in North America.

Upcoming Hamptons Tournaments

Long Island Tennis Magazine will once again be hosting part of its summer series in The Hamptons, and are excited to be offering two Long Island Tennis Magazine Challenge events to bookend this summer on the east end.

The first tournament will be held on Saturday, June 8 at Sportime Quogue, featuring eight different divisions of play, four Men’s Doubles categories and four Women’s Doubles categories.

The event will feature all of the amenities players have become accustomed to at our events, including competitive and well-organized doubles play, catered lunch, complimentary happy hour, prizes for winners and features in Long Island Tennis Magazine.

You can visit www.LITennisMag.com/Events/LITMJuneChallenge.

“We are excited to host the LITM Challenges this summer in the Hamptons for the fifth year in a row,” said David Sickmen, Publisher of Long Island Tennis Magazine. “Sportime Quogue has proven to be the perfect host site as they accommodate our large draws on their outdoor courts, and we are able to bring people the amenities they have become used to on the large pool deck. We look forward to seeing everyone back on the courts for fun in the sun this summer.”

At the end of this summer, the Long Island Tennis Challenge series will return with a tennis event on Saturday, September 7. More information to come on these events, and be sure to visit LITennisMag.com for the latest information.

By Brian Coleman

spotlight Junior Player

Pearlie Zhang Dwight Global Online School

Duringher freshman year of high school, Pearlie Zhang made the decision to switch from attending public school, and instead enroll at Dwight Global Online School.

As a top junior tennis player, Zhang was looking to put more focus into her tennis training, which included accommodating an ever increasing travel and tournament schedule while not sacrificing academic standards, and Dwight Global was the perfect fit for those needs.

“I was very fortunate to discover Dwight Global and now I’m in my fourth and final year there. The flexibility, engagement and support is truly unmatched alongside their academic rigor. Between transitioning from a different school program to working around tennis training to traveling for tournaments, Dwight Global has been so incredibly supportive and that is definitely something I want to emphasize!”

Zhang specified:

fosters a supportive academic environment that allows me to dedicate more time and effort into tennis while maintaining and thriving through rigorous courses, an incredible aspect that Dwight Global has greatly contributed to my experience as a studentathlete.”

And so for the last four years, Zhang has used that flexibility to become one of the best players in the country, continuing a tennis journey that began when she was six-years-old. Zhang played tennis growing up in addition to other sports like gymnastics, swimming, basketball, soccer and ice hockey, as well as singing, acting and modeling. It wasn’t until she was 12years-old that she began truly focusing on her tennis, and Zhang is grateful for being a part of so many different activities as a youngster.

“Teachers and academic advisors are very hands on and their approachability is really helpful in enabling me to easily discuss absences, request extensions, seek assistance with assignments, and arrange meetings with them. It

“I greatly appreciate growing up with a multitude of options because I believe it contributed a lot to my personal development and provided me with a wide range of skills and perspectives,” she explained. “There wasn’t a specific moment where I decided that tennis was the sport for me, but as I put more time and focus into it, I truly came to appreciate the many factors that make this sport so special

to me. People I’ve met through tennis have become some of my closest friends and I appreciate the many coaches that I’ve learned from throughout the years.”

For most top players, the college recruitment process can be a difficult one, and the pressure of making the right decision for yourself can create additional stress. When she was going through her recruitment, Zhang was fielding all sorts of offers from schools, and was torn about where she wanted to go, at first.

“It was simultaneously a stressful but exciting period of time,” she confessed. “In all truthfulness, I didn’t really know where I wanted to go, but talking to Jamea Jackson, the Princeton Head Coach, really sealed my decision. Not only is she an incredible coach who I am excited to work with, but she is also an incredible person. I visited Princeton during my junior year and it made me fall in love with the campus, in addition

to the many great attributes of Princeton, including their exceptional academic program, inclusive culture and their amazing team who I will be spending my next few years with.”

Zhang is a very physical player who takes a lot of pride in her aggressiveness and willingness to outhustle her opponent on court. The last several months she has been working her way back from an injury and has seen her physical conditioning get back to where it was.

Zhang is an extremely well-liked player as evidenced by her winning the Sportsmanship Award at multiple events, including the Girls 14s National Championships in 2019, the Girls 18s Winter Nationals in 2023, and most recently, the 2023 Sportsmanship Award for Girls 18s in the Eastern Section.

She is looking forward to this next chapter, and continuing her personal development, but before she does so,

she has things she wants to accomplish.

“A goal I have for myself is to compete and do well in a few national tournaments before the start of the school year,” said Zhang. “In terms of school, I’m really excited to graduate and begin looking into potential subjects for study in college.”

Starting this fall, Zhang will be a part of the Princeton University women’s tennis team. Zhang committed to the Tigers last year and will play her college tennis locally in New Jersey. She aims to make an immediate impact for the Tigers when she arrives on campus. Her tennis growth has been aided by the flexibility and support she received during her four years at Dwight Global, and she will carry those values with her when she arrives on the Princeton campus this fall.

Brian Coleman is the Senior Editor for New York Tennis Magazine. He may be reached at brianc@usptennis.com.

USTA Eastern Metro Region

Brooklyn player claims title at the 2024 NTRP National Championships

Eastern players captured titles in multiple divisions at the 2024 NTRP Championships, held April 5-7 (singles), April 19-21 (doubles) and April 26-28 (mixed doubles) in multiple locations across the country: the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida, the Cooper Creek Tennis Center in Columbus, Georgia, the Pelham Racquet Club in Pelham, Alabama, the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, California, and the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex in Surprise, Arizona.

Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Leanh Nguyen claimed one of those wins, lifting the championship hardware in the 55 & Over 3.5 Women’s singles event after defeating Lori Bieniek of USTA Midwest in the final, 4-2, 4-2.

“I do believe that all of us who qualify for Nationals should have the game to win, in theory!” Nguyen said after capturing the championship at the Orlando location. “The key is to be able to pull out that game when the score-keeping starts. So my goal was to test my mental toughness. I wanted to know that I could keep my nerves steady, be adaptable and stay laser-

focused on what I had to do. I wanted to know that I could rely on my game.”

Turns out—especially in the early stages—she could. Nguyen claimed all three of her early round robin matches in straight sets to advance to the semifinal round; she never lost more than three games in a match and won three sets by a scoreline of 4-0.

“Focus was the goal, the cornerstone,” she said of the impressive results. “Focus on what the trip was about, focus on my game, focus on what I wanted to do, which was staying steady with my nerves.”

In the final, Nguyen admitted that the focus that helped propel her forward in the tournament was put to the ultimate test, as Bieniek employed a somewhat unorthodox tactic to upset the rhythm of the contest.

“I have a hard-hitting game and play best when under pressure of pace and attack,” Nguyen explained. “She figured it out quickly and gave me these moonballs that would bounce to what felt like the penthouse of my building!”

Forced to generate her own pace, Nguyen began to

Nguyen (pictured) claimed the title in her division without dropping a set

USTA Eastern Metro Region

commit uncharacteristic errors.

“I'd watch the ball go into orbit and land back on earth in slow motion,” Nguyen said. “And when it was time to make contact with the ball with my racquet, it was like I had been hypnotized and had forgotten everything about grip, position, swing, the whole tennis deal!”

Nguyen was still able to pull through in straight sets, though she felt that the scoreline was deceptive—she could have very easily lost more games due to the amount of missed shots she hit.

“When the last ball spun out of my opponent's reach, I was just relieved,” she said after clinching the title. “I was also relieved that the point that brought me victory was not her error but was my winning shot. That was important, because I felt that the whole match was such a mess.”

Despite the frustration in her own game, Nguyen

couldn’t speak more highly of the experience overall. In particular, she appreciated the competitive and congenial atmosphere that swirled around her throughout the weekend. She had kind words for all her opponents, including Bieniek, who she cited as “gracious and formidable.”

“I really enjoyed getting to see the dedication and love of the game,” Nguyen said. “I feel so grateful that I can play, and when I look across the net, I feel so inspired to see another woman who is tough, fit and clearly passionate. At the end of each match, no matter who wins, when we shake hands, it is very very clear that we would both get back on the court and chase after that yellow ball again the very next day. It's so life-affirming.”

You can play at Nationals too! Compete in an NTRP Qualifier this summer to earn your spot at the 2025 event. Learn more at USTA.com/EasternQualifiers.

NewYork-Presbyterian doctor shares insights about overuse injuries

Women are potentially more susceptible to overuse injuries since research has shown that their tendons have what doctors call a greater laxity—or stretchiness— than men’s tendons do

Tennis is known for its complexity: One minute, you might feel the joy of victory; the next, you might feel the agony of an overuse injury.

Overuse injuries occur when a person repeatedly uses the same part of the body—such as during drills or while playing—which can result in strains and pain.

USTA Eastern Metro Region

continued from page 25

They are one of the most common ailments a person can pick up while playing tennis, says Dr. Morgan Busko, a sports medicine physician with NewYorkPresbyterian/Columbia.

Below, Dr. Busko shares insights on why overuse injuries form, how they can be treated and what preventative measures players can take to reduce their risk prior to hitting the court.

Overuse injuries result when you don’t give the body enough time to recover.

“In the first 24-36 hours after activity, the tendons in your body lose collagen,” Dr. Busko explains. “That makes those tendons weaker and less flexible. It then takes about 2-4 days to [regain] that collagen.”

If someone plays tennis again within those 2-4 days, the tendons may not yet be back to full strength to accept the stress a person’s body incurs when chasing down a drop shot or serving repeatedly at a high MPH.

“Let’s say you play an hour a day, six days a week,” she says. “If you do too much, too soon, your body might not be ready. And if you play too many times [without proper recovery], tendons start to undergo changes at a cellular level. Tendon fibers could stop aligning perfectly and healing in between each bout of exercise.”

Overuse injuries can affect many different areas of the body.

Tennis elbow—or as it is more formally known, lateral epicondylitis—is somewhat synonymous with the sport, thanks to its moniker. But tennis players can develop many different overuse injuries because the game involves so much multidirectional and explosive movement. Patients with a penchant for tennis most frequently visit Dr. Busko with elbow, shoulder (rotator cuff tendonitis) or Achilles tendon pain, she says. She also notes that it’s not uncommon for those who frequently pick up a racquet to stop by her office with groin, quad or thigh strains.

Interestingly, tennis players are often diagnosed with golfer’s elbow, Dr. Busko says. While that may seem slightly paradoxical, medial epicondylitis—as it is known in medicine—affects the tendons that connect forearm muscles to the inside of the elbow. Golfers use that part of the body whenever they swing a golf

club—hence the colloquial term.

Beginner players are at more risk.

Muscles and tendons will adjust over time. They will accept more stress on the body as you gradually build a routine tennis regimen.

The key word there is gradually.

“Somebody who is a beginner or has taken a long period off needs to allow their body time to adapt,” Dr. Busko says. “Often with [overuse injuries] what we see is that people don’t want to allow that process [to play out].”

Rehab exercises are an effective treatment.

A common misconception is that rest alone can alleviate the issue.

“I'll frequently see someone come in and they’ll say, ‘Well, I took a month off tennis, I've done nothing and my pain's actually worse or no better,’” Dr. Busko says. “And that doesn't surprise me because the tendon wants to be exercised. It wants to be loaded, just in a very gradual fashion. And stressors from rehab exercises are actually what will produce the stimulus for healing. Tendons don't get very good blood flow, so they need exercise to start to promote blood flow to the area.”

Similarly, strength training is a fantastic preventative measure players can take to reduce the risk of an overuse injury diagnosis in the first place. Dr. Busko says that core exercises, along with something as simple as working with exercise bands for 20-30 minutes on both the upper and lower parts of the body, can help muscle groups adjust and prepare for more frequent tennis outings.

Still, tennis remains one of the best sports for the body.

“Tennis involves multidirectional movement, and that's really important when we're talking about loading the skeletal system,” Dr. Busko says. “Running is great for bone density, but it's only loading the body in one direction. The great thing about tennis is that you're loading in multiple directions. Tennis also involves a lot of start-and-stop movements, it uses both upper and lower body strength and it can improve your hand-eye coordination. And then there are lots of other things it can help you strengthen, like agility, flexibility, balance, footwork.”

The Hidden Secret in Tennis … Developing Momentum

By Conrad Singh

Atthe highest levels of competitive tennis, it can be very hard to know who is winning or losing at first glance. One of the key concepts of understanding the inner game of tennis is that of momentum development. The key questions are:

1. How do you start building momentum … what do you do to get the best possible start in each set?

2. How can I stop my opponent from creating momentum and running away?

3. What is the best way of steering your own momentum the right way when the flow is with you?

4. How do you find the “Flow State” and remaining within this … the optimal mental and emotional state?

Competitive tennis matches all vary in how they take shape. As we know, players experience ups and downs throughout games, sets, matches and tournaments. We need to educate our players that each match is a journey or pathway, with different twists and turns each time we step on the court. When we are discussing the concept of “momentum,” we are really talking about the “fight” within the match; dealing primary with the sports psychology plus emotional control skills of the why and when in sport.

•Momentum control is critical to players knowing how to stop the flow when it is against you. This is often related to strategy usage and thinking.

•Commentators will usually refer to momentum as the “flow” or “balance” of a match—having the upper hand. The ATP and WTA now actually even chart momentum!

•Momentum is usually the result of pressure having been placed onto one player over time, causing a reaction whereby one player ends up with a positive outcome. It’s important to teach players to continue to apply pressure.

•Momentum is hard to quantify and very difficult to measure other than with a score but very obvious to visually see it in the body language of a player.

•Flow state often occurs when the momentum is with one player.

•The feeling of seeing everything early.

When momentum is against you, how do you feel? Some comments I’ve heard from players are that they are unsettled and nothing is working … they have no rhythm or timing, are feeling unlucky, spinning out of control, feel very frustrated, etc.

We know that within a match, momentum changes often, but why?

Some of the reasons include a change in tactic, a missed chance, coaching, or even a toilet break or medical timeout.

It’s important that we understand how to control momentum. Being prepared to start well is a very important and trainable skill, and knowing what to do when momentum is for you or against you and how to respond, needs to be practiced and rehearsed. Generally speaking, when momentum is against a player, take the time to slow down. And when the momentum is positive and with the player, they should be encouraged to “keep it going” and maintain that tempo.

Players often try to speed up too fast when momentum is for them and then lose as a result. You must know how to correctly advise your player on how to use momentum as all player personalities, strengths and weakness and game styles are different. For example, when momentum is against Rafael Nadal, he seems to slow down, whereas Roger Federer speeds up.

We also need to remember that the scoring system is a very frustrating one which seems as though it was designed to test players and their mental capacity. Very few, if any, sports allow a player to go back to even. Tennis features best of three or five set matches, and at each new set, we return back to 0-0 which cleans

the slate.

What does this mean? Players have the opportunity to restart and create a new turning point to change the momentum. It’s all about attitude and perspective. Coaches need to train players to see this chance and delete the past either positive or negative. How many of your players lose the second set easily after losing the first? How many win the first and then lose in the third set? These results are all tangible ways for us to test our players’ ability to be able to use or understand momentum.

The concept of match point can be really strange as there is no defined timeline. You can be up a set and 5/3 or 40/0, play two bad games, and then be facing a mountain in front of you just minutes later. All these score variables really mean a player must be mentally stable! You can be winning for two hours, have a poor 10 minutes and be facing a loss! This is a major moment for character testing! Players must always treat each set as a

TENNIS A FUL L CENTE R

chance to have a new start. Thus learn the skill of starting well. Train your players to always keep fighting on match point, whether up or down.

To play a perfect match is impossible, but to face the testing moments with a plan or strategy is entirely doable. Players that go to competition without working through these testing moments are not ready to confront the heat of battle. Much like a marathon runner who has yet to run a practice marathon prior to race day isn’t able to get over the proverbial “wall” in the race.

We MUST teach players to remain optimistic and positive, and allow them to perceive “testing moments” as new chances. Teach players that the matches rarely start as planned, and

there will always be twists and turns, thus requiring adaption at various times.

Players really need to know their own personalities and train the “Potential Timing Points” or testing moments. Tennis becomes far more interesting for players when they reach a competitive maturity that allows for a balance perspective on each moment. It is normal for players to be nervous, panic, race and/or implode. When preparing your players to compete, remember to ensure they go through some pressure-type situations, and have set plans in place to counter these testing moments. All of this can be trained through off-the-court work, mental conditioning programs and through rehearsal.

Conrad Singh is the CEO at Centercourt Tennis Academy in New Jersey. He has recruited and developed team of coaches who have produced two junior Wimbledon finalists and one champion, as well as countless athletes competing at the highest college levels. Singh is a renowned Biomechanist with degrees in Sports Science and Education. As a Grand Slam Master Coach at over 50 Grand Slams, he has a passion for Elite Player Development. He is a regular Keynote Speaker at Global Coaches Conferences and currently has multiple Touring Professionals which he is Specialist Coach and Advisor to.

adult league wrap-up

By Ainslie Ellis

WithMay being National Tennis Month, the Adult League season in the Metro Region is heating up. As the winter leagues come to an end and our Spring/Summer leagues kicking off, our players are fully engaged in league play.

The winners below will compete at the Sectional tournament in Greenburgh, N.Y. from May 31st through June 2nd.

l 18+ 6.0: Manhattan captained by Erica Korngut and Jessica Sasaki

l 18+ 7.0: Queen’s captained by Alina Lekser and Jessica Sasaki

l 18+ 8.0: Manhattan captained by Clara Ceccaldi and Justin Urbi

The 3.0/4.0/4.5 and 5.0/4.5/4.0 tri-level regular seasons are also wrapping up. As the winning teams emerge, we wish them best of luck in their post season endeavors.

The busy Spring/Summer is underway and the Metro

participation numbers remain strong. In addition to the perennial leagues, we are pleased to bring back our 55 & Over 8.0 Mixed, 55 & Over 9.0 Men and 18 & Over 10.0 Mixed Doubles leagues. Thanks to those captains for helping us to get these leagues off the ground!

If anyone is interested in league play, our captains are always eager to welcome new players. Please contact Metro Adult League coordinator Ainslie Ellis at ellis@eastern.usta.com.

The 18+ 7.0 Mixed Doubles Champions: Queens captained by Alina Lekser & Jessica Sasaki

The 18+ 8.0 Mixed Doubles Champions: Manhattan captained by Clara Ceccaldi and Justin Urbi

Ainslie Ellis is the Metro Region Adult League Coordinator for USTA Eastern. She may be reached at ellis@eastern.usta.com.

The 18+ 6.0 Mixed Doubles Champions: Manhattan captained by Erica Korngut and Jessica Sasaki

2024 French Open Preview 202

Withspring, it’s time for the clay court season on the ATP and WTA Tours, which is highlighted by the signature red clay of Roland Garros and the year’s second major: the French Open.

A year ago, Novak Djokovic was the men’s singles champion and hoisted the fourth French Open title of his career to add to his long list of major championships, while Iga Swiatek won the women’s singles event for a second straight time and third overall. The primary theme of this year’s event will be the coronation of Rafael Nadal, who is set to compete there for the final time.

Will we see new champions, or will Djokovic and Swiatek continue their dominance at Roland Garros? Long Island Tennis Magazine breaks down some of the players to watch out for in Paris in 2024, including Contenders, Pretenders and Sleepers.

Contenders, Pretenders, Sleepers

Contenders - Men’s Singles

Rafael Nadal

While the mileage on his body and sustained injuries have hampered the back-end of Rafael Nadal’s career, it’d be

impossible to write a preview of the French Open and not include Nadal. Across all of sports, there is perhaps no one who has been more dominant at a single event than the 37year-old Spaniard has been at the French Open, as he has racked up 14 titles in Paris during his career. He did announce towards the end of 2023 that this season would most likely be his last, and he wants to make sure to play at the calendar’s biggest events so he can have a proper send off. Nadal played Brisbane to begin the year before

Photo credit: Seth Sarelson

24 French Open Preview 2024 French Open P

injuries forced him out of the subsequent events, but he has been working and training towards returning for the clay swing, and wouldn’t it be a storybook ending to his career if he can hoist one more French Open title?

Novak Djokovic

Nadal’s peer and longtime rival Novak Djokovic continues to be a dominant force on tour despite being deep into his 30s. Djokovic is the greatest player of all-time, owner of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, and will be motivated to win his fourth French Open title, and second straight one. After failing to win his 11th Australian Open title earlier this year, Djokovic will look to claim his first major of 2024 and defend his title in Paris.

Jannik Sinner

Fresh off of the first Grand Slam of his career, Italy’s Jannik Sinner will be out to bring home his second when he arrives in Paris. Sinner seems to be on his way to having a dominant season, as he won 22 of his first 23 matches, a run that has included three titles. His only loss in that time frame was a thrilling three-set contest against Carlos

Alcaraz at Indian Wells, but Sinner has very much looked like the best player in the world through the first four months of the year. Sinner’s best showing at the French Open was a quarterfinal run back in 2020, but with him playing the best tennis of his career, look for Sinner to make a deep run.

Contenders - Women’s Singles

Iga Swiatek

The top-ranked woman in the world will be in search of her third consecutive title when she arrives on the Parisian clay. Iga Swiatek has been the most dominant player in women’s tennis over the last several years, and it was at the French Open where that dominance began. She surprised everyone to win the event back in 2020 and has not looked back, winning again in 2022 and 2023. Swiatek dropped only one set en route to her title last year, which came in the finals against Karolina Muchova, and we can expect to see a similar performance from her at the 2024 French Open.

continued on page 34

Coco Gauff

2024 French Open Preview 2023 Fren

It’s crazy to think that Coco Gauff is still only 20-years-old. It seems as if she has been on the tour for years, but the young American is still the future of women’s tennis. She is also the present though, as she is one of the top players in the world, and a threat to win any major. Gauff won the

U.S. Open last year so she has proven she has the pedigree to handle the two-week challenge of winning a major, and she has a track record of success at the French Open, evidenced by her run to the finals back in 2022. Gauff will make a strong push for the second major title of her career.

Ons Jabeur

It can be a demoralizing thing to reach the finals of a major only to lose. It’s even more crushing when it happens three different times, which is the case for Ons Jabeur, who has lost in the Wimbledon final twice and the U.S. Open once. But while those losses are difficult to overcome, Jabeur has shown that she is capable of making deep runs at the majors, and she should be in line for another one at the French Open. Jabeur has one of the most unique game styles on tour with the athleticism, craftiness and variety of shots that thrive on the clay courts. She had her best showing in Paris last year when she made it to the quarterfinals, and she will look to take the next steps in 2024.

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Pretenders - Men’s Singles

Stefanos

Tsitsipas

He has been a mainstay atop the ATP World Tour rankings for several years now, and there is no doubting that Stefanos Tsitsipas is one of the toughest players on tour. However, that has yet to result in a major title. The highest-

ranked Greek player of all-time has reached two major finals, the French Open in 2021 and the Australian Open in 2023, with the former being a devastating fiveset defeat to Novak Djokovic after leading him two-sets-to-love. Tsitsipas has a very aesthetically-pleasing game, with the picturesque one-handed backhand and a whipping forehand, yet he seems to play his worst tennis in the biggest moments, and that could be a trend that continues at this year’s French Open.

Taylor Fritz

The highest-ranked American in the world has never taken too kindly to the clay. He has never reached a final on the ATP tour on tournaments played on clay, and dating back to his junior days, the only clay court final he reached was at the 2015 French Open junior event where he lost to compatriot Tommy Paul. As a pro, Fritz has never made it past the third round at Roland Garros, something that should worry Fritz fans as he prepares for the year’s second major.

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Andrey Rublev

Despite being a mainstay in the Top 10 of the rankings, the quarterfinals is as far as Andrey Rublev has advanced at the Grand Slams. He has reached that stage 10 different times in his career and is 0-10 in those matches. It seems to be a massive hurdle for the Russian as he attempts to win his first ever major, and one has to think there is something mental associated with that. He reached the quarterfinals at the French Open in 2020 and 2022, and we shouldn’t expect a deeper run that that this time around.

Pretenders - Women’s Singles

Aryna Sabalenka

Earlier this year, Aryna Sabalenka defended her title at the Australian Open to secure her second career major as she avoided the dreaded “one-and-done” title. But as she heads into the spring and summer months, she will be competing in clay and grass court events, the two surfaces she is not as comfortable on. Sabalenka is a huge hitter who can power through her opponents on the hard courts, but at times lacks the variety and movement needed on clay. While she did reach the semifinals at the French Open in 2023, before that she had never been out of the third round. She is one of the best players in the world, but Sabalenka could be in for another early exit from Paris.

Jelena Ostapenko

Seven years ago, a young Latvian named Jelena Ostapenko used her massive forehand and power to win the French Open. She was ranked just 47th at the time, and became the first player since 1933 to win the French Open as an unseeded player. Ostapenko’s career has had some ebbs and flows in the time since, but she now finds herself back into the Top 10 of the WTA Rankings and playing solid tennis. But Ostapenko is a tough player to

read, and at times it seems she lets her emotions get the best of her. She plays risky and aggressive tennis which helps her outhit opponents, but also leads unforced errors of her own. If she has one of those matches where the errors are flying off her racquet, she won’t advance far at this year’s French Open.

Jasmine Paolini

Up to 14th in the WTA Rankings, Italy’s Jasmine Paolini is enjoying the best stretch of tennis in her career. That includes a victory at the Duty Free Tennis Championships in Dubai, her biggest title to date, and a career-high ranking. But it remains to be seen if Paolini can find success at the majors, something she has yet to do. She reached the fourth round at the Australian Open at the beginning of the season which is her best result. At the French Open specifically, she has never made it out of the second round. While Paolini is playing her best tennis, don’t expect a deep run from her at Roland Garros.

Sleepers - Men’s Singles

Arthur Fils

Arthur Fils is a name that a lot of tennis fans may not know, but it’s one they should get to know. The French teenager has been steadily climbing the rankings since he broke onto the scene towards the beginning of 2023, and has the game style to potentially make

a surprising run at this year’s French Open. He reached the 2023 Next Generation ATP Finals a year ago, an event at which he made it to the championship match before falling in five sets. As a result of his 2023 success, he was named the ATP Tour’s Newcomer of the Year, and has carried that momentum into 2024. He will have the crowd on his side during any of his matches during the French Open (save for a couple of opponents), and will try to use that energy to make a run into the event’s second week.

nch Open Preview 2024 French Open Preview

Lorenzo Musetti

In his young career, Lorenzo Musetti has already proven he is capable of beating the best players in the world, something that is inevitably needed when trying to make a run to the late stages of a Grand Slam. Musetti has defeated the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Frances Tiafoe, Casper Ruud, amongst others, and the wins over Alcaraz and Djokovic both came on clay. He won four titles at the lower levels on clay and has shown that he is comfortable and indeed prefers to play on clay. Musetti may be overshadowed by his compatriot Jannik Sinner, but he is a promising young Italian player who hopes to showcase his potential by making a run at Roland Garros.

Nicolas Jarry

The 28-year-old from Chile is ranked inside the Top 25 and has the talent to be able to string together matches at the French Open. He reached the fourth-round a year ago which is his best showing at any of the four majors. Jarry is a player that thrives on the clay. He has reached six ATP Tour level finals in his career, winning three of them, all of which came on clay. Jarry has shown he can beat the biggest names in the sport, in 2024 alone he has wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud and is playing some of the best tennis in his career. Jarry is a player that the top seeds will not want to see on their side of the draw.

Sleepers - Women’s Singles

Danielle Collins

The former University of Virginia standout has been playing great tennis thus far in 2024, and it is ironic because it comes on the heels of her announcing that this will be her last year competing professionally. Thus, she is seemingly playing with

nothing to lose and seems to be playing tennis with a freer mindset. Collins made it all the way to the finals at the Miami Open and proceeded to handily defeat fourth-ranked Elena Rybakina in straight sets to secure the title, the biggest of her career. Collins is a former French Open quarterfinalist and is set to try to return to that stage of the event, and possibly go further.

Beatriz Haddad Maia

A year ago, Beatriz Haddad Maia powered her way into the French Open semifinals, one victory away from competing for a major title, and becoming the first Brazilian woman to advance that far since 1966. Haddad Maia comes from a family with a rich tennis history who plays an aggressive style of play, enjoying coming to the net to finish off points and using her lefty craftiness in order to disrupt her opponents. She has demonstrated she is capable of making a run at Roland Garros, and could be due for a repeat performance this year.

Emma Navarro

The New York City-born Emma Navarro has burst onto the scene over the last year, and is set up for Grand Slam success. She has broken into the Top 20 and is playing the best tennis of her young career, which includes her first career title at the Hobart International back in January. She is a big-hitter who likes to play aggressive and can give the best players in the world trouble. She did win a match at the French Open a year ago, which was her first career victory at a major, and previously had made it to the finals of the French Open Juniors back in 2019. Navarro is a young player on the rise who will be out to make the second week when she arrives in Paris.

beyondthebaseline

Adi Govila and Conrad Singh Centercourt Tennis Academy

By Brian Coleman

Atthe Australian Open earlier this year, Adi Govila was prepared and ready to make a deep run at the event’s Junior Championships. However, a back injury flared up during the early rounds and while not at 100 percent physically he was not able to compete at his top level which turned what could have been a deep run into an early exit.

At the time, Conrad Singh, CEO of Centercourt Tennis Academy in New Jersey, which is where Govila trains, recommended that Govila stay out in Australia, enjoy the week and embrace

being in that sort of professional atmosphere.

“I wanted him to stay there and watch the Australian Open and stay in that environment,” Singh recalls. “But he wanted to fly back here as soon as he could and start his rehab to come back from the injury. To me, that was phenomenal. He flew from Melbourne to New York on his own and started on his rehab. That’s not a normal decision from someone his age, and it highlights what makes Adi special, how he thinks and how he prioritizes.”

That decision is one of many that

Govila has made in regards to his tennis that demonstrates both his maturity and commitment level, something that Singh has known for years. The relationship between the two dates back prior to Centercourt, and began when Govila was a young junior player in Singapore while Singh was the Director of the Chinese Tennis Academy in Shanghai.

Govila began playing tennis when he was young and would hit balls against the wall in his house, so much so that his mother eventually got fed up with her son playing in the house. When a tennis coach began giving lessons in his town, Govila’s

mother happily signed him up.

“It was really just my mom’s way of telling me to stop hitting against the wall,” Govila joked.

As he continued to get better, Govila would eventually plateau in terms of the competition he had in Singapore, and he started looking to travel to other countries to further his training. That’s when his father reached out to Singh and actually traveled to the Shanghai Rolex Masters event where Singh was.

“We exchanged numbers, and he came down to my club the next day, and we talked about Adi,” recalls Singh. “We built a personal program, from a distance. I was doing video analysis for him, and he would come to China about every two months to train with us. You could tell how committed they were to Adi, and how dedicated he was to his tennis.”

That relationship continued even after Singh moved on from his position there and began a new one at Centercourt. When the COVID outbreak hit, Singapore was one of the strictest countries which halted Govila’s progress as he wasn’t able to travel for tournaments. That effected his ranking as well as his development, which is when his parents once again reached out to Singh.

They visited the Centercourt campus in New Jersey, and towards the end of 2022, Govila officially moved to the States. They designed a personal program for him that included travel coaches and one-on-one fitness trainers, and he has taken to it.

It was a difficult transition at first, with Govila being a teenager uprooted and moving to the other side of the world away from his family. But the Centercourt team has fostered a comfortable environment which has allowed him to thrive, and he lives at the home of a Centercourt member, all of which has helped create a second family for him.

“It was difficult moving, I was with my parents all the time but now I’m in New Jersey all alone, by myself,” said Govila. “But it’s been a good change of environment. I was open to it and I was ready for it. And it’s been the right decision. I’ve gotten a lot better, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of great

people, plus getting exposure to college. It helps when you have a really good team surrounding you. The coaches around me aren’t just my coaches, I’m treated like a friend or even like a son. It’s not just a coach-student relationship, it’s more than that. I can talk to them about anything.”

Govila’s parents have been incredibly supportive of him and his tennis, and allow him to be on his own and make his own decisions. They spend a lot of time researching things to make sure that

Centercourt was the right fit, but defer to Adi in terms of deciding what tournaments to play and how to plan his schedule.

“My parents are so supportive, they obviously help me out a lot but they know that I’m the one who is competing and playing, and they let me make the decisions related to tennis,” he said. “It’s not like they don’t know anything about the sport, but they are supportive in the sense that they understand that I know what’s best for me, and they don’t try to force me to make a decision I don’t want to make. And I really appreciate that. They’re there for me if I am stuck at a tournament all day and need them to book a hotel for me, or help me secure a flight, anything like that. They will never blink an eye to help me out.”

Part of what went into the decisionmaking process to make the move to New Jersey was about immersing himself into appealing to colleges. As an international player, he didn’t know much about the college tennis scene prior to coming here, but using tennis as a vehicle to get to college was always a goal of his parents.

“When I first got here, I had no clue about college tennis,” said Govila. “I didn’t know anything about the recruitment process, how it worked, etc. But after being in North America for awhile I got exposed to it, and I realized

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beyond the baseline

continued from page 39

that I needed to reach out to coaches because as an international player, sometimes college coaches aren’t too keen on reaching out to you, so I did my part in contacting coaches and establishing those connections.”

Being at Centercourt, Govila got to hit and train with a lot of the members of Columbia’s Men’s Tennis Team, including Michael Zheng, Nick Kotzen and Alex Kotzen, all Centercourt alum who have helped elevate Columbia into a Top 10 program in the country. When Zheng visited Centercourt, he saw Govila’s potential, and put him in touch with the Columbia head coach, Howie Endelman.

“When I spoke to the coaches, they talked me through the process and were excited about my development and how I was getting better, and that really meant something to me,” explained Govila. “They had faith and believed in me, and

that really stood out to me. I had a lot of offers on the table and it came down to which one I felt more connected to. Columbia felt like home, it’s just a train ride away from Centercourt, and I already know a lot of players there. It made my decision a lot easier.”

So Govila will join Columbia in the Fall of 2025, and is excited for that next chapter of his life. He still has a lot he wants to accomplish before he begins his collegiate career.

Singh has set high expectations for his pupil, and believes that Govila can make some noise at the Junior Grand Slam events this year, starting in May at the French Open.

“I have a really good feeling about his year coming up,” said Singh. “He is going to go to Europe this summer and we think he can make deep runs at the French and at Wimbledon, and then right

here in our backyard at the U.S. Open. He’s an extremely gifted and smooth player, and has that x-factor that you can’t teach.”

Govila and Singh share a connection that began in Asia and has blossomed here in the United States. Govila possesses a maturity level and perspective that kids his age don’t often have, which is a result of the way his parents raised him, as well Singh’s mentoring, and the future is bright.

“Adi is a smart kid and isn’t taking anything for granted. From his discipline and being the kid that he is, it’s leading to a lot of good things for him. Not only is he committed to a great school, but he has a team around him that’s 100 percent committed to him. Adi came here, grabbed the ball and is now running with it, and we’re excited for what lies ahead.”

USA Delegation Ready To Compete in Maccabi Games

Later this year, Jewish athletes from around the world will head to London to compete in the 2024 European Maccabi Youth Games. The Games run from July 28 through August 6, where players from the United States compete alongside Jewish athletes from North America, Central America, South America, Israel and other countries throughout the Diaspora.

That sets the stage for 2025, when the Maccabiah 25 in Israel will be held from July 1 through July 22, the world’s largest Jewish athletic competition in the tradition and values of Maccabi, emphasizing the centrality of the State of Israel in the life of the Jewish people.

First held in 1932, the Maccabiah Games were formed by Maccabi World Union, a Jewish, non-political organization that was dedicated to the furthering of Jewish education and sports, as well as promote Jewish identity and traditions through cultural, social and educational activities for all ages. The tennis portion is just one of the

many sports played. In the past, the participants have been broken into U16, U18, Open (18+), and Masters 35+, 40+, 45+, 50+, 55+, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+, 80+ for both male and female players.

Ahead of this year’s European Games, Long Island Tennis Magazine spoke with Sivan Krems, a veteran of the Games who now serves as the Volunteer Chair for the Open Team. Krems was a standout at Princeton University, and represented the United States on the U18 Tennis Team in 2013 and the Open Tennis Team in 2017.

LITM: Talk about your experience competing in the Maccabi Games? How much did you enjoy competing in it, and what are some of your best memories?

Krems: I competed in the U18 Maccabiah Games in Israel in 2013 (where I was a triple bronze medalist for singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) and then in the Open Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem in 2017 (where I was a

silver medalist in both singles and doubles).

There were several things that left a lasting mark on me:

The first was the opening ceremony. It was moving, memorable, and uplifting to see Jewish athletes from all over the world united in one place proudly representing their respective countries with flags and team attire. I know it will be even more profoundly meaningful in 2025.

The first week – called Israel Connect – was well-thought out. We all learned a great deal first-hand of our tradition, history, and culture. I recall it being a meaningful week that reinforced my pride in being Jewish and having a Hebrew name. I vividly remember touring Yad Vashem. After we exited the museum, there was an extended period of silence before anyone could share the kind of impact the visit made. We then as a group engaged in reflective discussion, which inevitably brought on tears and emotions.

My best memory from the

Sivan Krems & Mia Rabinowitz celebrate a point while competing for the Open Team in 2017

competition itself:

My Israeli family – aunts and uncle, cousins and my Savta (grandmother in Hebrew) Ahuvah (Z”L) attended my matches and cheered me on. I made friends with many of the competitors, including the players on the Israeli teams who were warm and welcoming. That is the essence of Maccabiah – it’s about athletes from around the world united by the same religion and a passion for sports.

LITM: What is your role now as Volunteer Chair for the Open Team? What does that entail?

Krems: My role as Volunteer Chair for the Open Team is to hire a coach for Team USA and to help ensure that Team USA’s tennis roster for the 2025 Games is a strong one. I help oversee strategy towards the goal of ensuring that the 2025 Open Tennis Games are successful.

LITM: What makes the Maccabi Games special? You have competed at extremely high levels of tennis so I’m intrigued to hear how these games stack up against those other competitions.

Krems: As you know, tennis is a very individual-oriented sport. From

a team standpoint, I’ve competed in Sectionals, which is where the topranked juniors from each region are teamed up and compete against one another. I also spent 4 years playing collegiate tennis at Princeton University. When I informed my college coach (Laura) that I’d be playing, she was already aware of the magnitude and importance of the Maccabiah Games.

What struck me as being different from other competitions (both junior and collegiate) is the camaraderie formed not just intra Team USA but with tennis athletes from different countries. Many of my most grueling matches at Maccabiah were against the Israeli players, yet I felt we had such a mutual respect and really enjoyed connecting in between matches and after the Games officially concluded.

LITM: As someone who has competed in past Games, what advice or tips would you give the players traveling to London this summer?

Krems: My advice is to immerse yourself in and enjoy the togetherness of Jewish athletes from all over the world. Prepare to have goosebumps and to feel uplifted as thousands of people from different

countries sing the Hatikvah together at the opening ceremony. Wherever you are – whether it’s at the opening ceremony, at the hotel pool or gym, at other athletic competitions, at breakfast, and so on, you’ll have endless opportunities to connect with other athletes. Just as you’ll enjoy competing, enjoy this journey meeting new people and forming new friendships.

LITM: Do you still find time to play tennis nowadays?

Krems: I try to play twice a week at The California Tennis Club in San Francisco. Though I’m not training like I used to, I still have a strong desire to compete – most of the time that I’m out on the court, I am eager to play sets (whether that’s singles or doubles).

I’m incredibly grateful for the sport of tennis and for the unique experiences and friendships I’ve formed through it. Tennis has been a deeply ingrained passion of mine throughout different chapters of my life. I aspire to be able to play regularly and remain connected to the sport for years to come.

Registration for the Games is now open. Visit MaccabiUSA.com to learn more information.

By Brian Coleman

Coaching Spotlight

Whitney Kraft The Hoosac School

Sincehe was a teenager, Whitney Kraft has embraced the benefits of being around people from all different backgrounds and nationalities. In college, he majored in international business, and prior to that, he spent the summer after he graduated high school traveling around South America which included stops in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela.

A longtime fixture in the tennis industry which has included various stops along the way, including a 15year stint as the Director of Tennis at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, Kraft now serves as the Director of Racquet Sports at The Hoosac School in Hoosick, New York, where he once again finds himself immersed in that international culture.

Founded in 1889, The Hoosac School is a coeducational, college preparatory school that celebrates each student's individuality in all aspects of their educational life. The school is home to nearly 250 students representing 40 different countries, featuring a collegeesque feel in its classrooms with a low teacher-tostudent ratio. The school is home to an array of athletic teams, including boys and girls tennis.

Kraft began working at The Hoosac School last year. He was the head coach of the Men’s and Women’s tennis teams at SUNY Oneonta, and while he was commuting back-and-forth from the college to his Vermont

home, he would pass by Hoosac and was intrigued.

“I would drive past it every day. I didn’t know much about the school, but it was this paradisiacal campus nestled in the green mountains upstate. It was just a beautiful spot,” Kraft recalls of his first impressions of the school.

Kraft then talked with Eric Rebuhn, the former head coach at St. John’s, who had been involved in the reconstruction of the tennis courts at Hoosac, and put him in touch with one of the coaches at the school. After meeting the Hoosac head coach Virginia Gilroy at a UTR tournament in Vermont, Gilroy asked Kraft if he knew someone who could help out as an assistant coach.

“I helped out early last year, and I became super enamored with the school, the culture and the brand,” said Kraft. “There is such a benefit to being around kids from different countries. Our world needs nation building, and what better ways to forge these relationships than in high school with young people representing different countries. Our student body is made up heavily of kids from Brazil, China and Spain, but we also have students from Italy, Canada, Slovakia, South Korea, Japan, Guyana, Guatemala, Dominican Republic and Russia, so basically from all over the place. These kids are very sophisticated and cultured. They are independent and motivated, being so far from your home and family, it’s quite incredible.”

Under Kraft’s tutelage, the boys’ team captured the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) title last spring, the first time the program has accomplished that feat. Now Kraft is a full-time faculty member at the school, where he not only is the Director of Racquet Sports but also a substitute teacher. Additionally, he has ushered in a Racquet Sports Program which includes students who don’t compete on the junior varsity and varsity teams, and helps teach them the basics of not only tennis, but other racquet sports such as badminton, pickleball and beach tennis.

“All of the students here have to choose a physical fitness activity or sport team to be a part of, so if you are not on one of

the junior varsity or varsity teams, you can join our Racquet Sports Program,” explained Kraft. “Our courts are duallined with four world-class pickleball courts within our hard-court tennis courts, and we have a large grass area next to the courts where badminton and beach tennis are played. We’re able to utilize the gymnasium on bad weather days. Being able to teach pickleball has been great because its an easier entry point to learning racquet or paddle skills, as opposed to tennis which can be frustrating and take years to develop. We develop the basic skills for these players, and the goal is to next year start up a club team that can compete with other local area schools, which would be a cool thing for these students to experience.”

Kraft has brought his wealth of tennis knowledge and teaching experience to Hoosac and is having a great time in doing so. The school rests in an idyllic location and features top-level academics, while also placing an emphasis on its athletic programs, bringing in international players from all across the globe. Kraft has embraced working with this international roster, and is excited for a chance to defend its NEPSAC championship later this spring.

“We hope to defend our title with honor and dignity,” said Kraft. “We have shown we can compete with some of the top teams in our area, including schools from New York City and Long Island. Our doubles play has improved significantly from last year which gives us a lot of confidence as we begin the playoffs. We are a team that trains yearround, and we supplement our dual matches with UTR tournaments, so they get the experience of competing as a team but also playing in high-level tournaments as individuals. Between myself and Virginia, we have a strong tennis background and a lot of experience coaching tennis, so we have high expectations for both programs.”

Kraft has worn a number of different hats in his decades-long time working in the tennis industry, and the players and students at The Hoosac School are reaping the benefits of that. The place he finds himself at now seems right and fits him perfectly, and he’s excited for what lies ahead in the future.

“I want to give a shout out to Headmaster Dean Foster, Athletic Director Mike Ryan and head coach Virginia Gilroy, who all gave me the opportunity to join this amazing institution,” said Kraft.

Preparation for a Tournament

By Gilad Bloom

One of the biggest challenges of a tennis player is to compete at a high level in an official tournament match. Often there is a big drop, and the things that looked simple in practice at the local club all-week become harder. It seems to be more difficult when you play a Friday night match on court 23 in a remote bubbled facility, after a full-day of school, and against a solid opponent who is out to get you and fist pumping after every point that he wins.

Coaching isn’t allowed during the match and having a coach at a tournament is a luxury for most junior players. Once the match starts, players are basically on their own. Clearly nerves are a huge part of the level drop, after all the ability to bring out the best version of your tennis to each match is the secret of this game, the great champions have a natural gift for being calm during tight situations and have the ability to close out matches in a clinical way; essentially, they play the match the same way they do in practice.

Once a tennis match starts there is no telling how it will end, a player can’t control the court conditions or the opponent’s style, bad calls or bad weather. Junior matches are often filled with rollercoaster lead swings and

drama, often there is more than one match a day and many factors come into the picture. The most a player can do is to try to control only the things you can control.

The preparation starts, of course, the week before the event, playing a lot of practice sets and creating tight match situations in practice (start games at 15- 30 or break point down). It is also important to take it easy on the fitness sessions on the days prior to the tournament, you are not going to get in shape in three days, it is more beneficial to let the body arrive to the matches fresh and ready to go deep in the tournament.

On the night before the tournament it is time to start getting specific. Find out your match time, book a practice court, find a good hitting partner in advance, book an early dinner with good healthy food and, most importantly, get a good night’s sleep.

It is highly recommended to prepare the bag the night before and double check that you have all the things that you’ll need ready and packed in the bag, the idea is to get to the day of the match with as few distractions as possible. That means you should have your favorite racquet freshly strung and gripped, make sure you have spare grips and strings, sweatbands,

towels, extra shirts and shorts and energy drinks and bars, the night before!

On the day of the match, a nutritious breakfast is a must and a proper physical warm up close to the time of the match is required. Often players warm up hours before the match then sit for a few hours, but there must be a good warm up right before the match. You need to go to the match already sweating a bit. Remember, 75 percent of the time, the winner of the match is the one who wins the first set, so you can’t afford a slow start if you are going to go deep in the tournament. If you’re going to win the tournament, every point counts.

Scouting is obviously important. Knowing some basic information about your opponent can help, however if it’s a new unknown opponent you should use the warm up to check out tendencies such as if the player runs around the backhand or if they are using the wrong grip for the volley. Also, try to sneak in a few returns on their serve during the warmup, you can learn a lot from those small things. As far as the strategy going into the match, it is of course specific to each player and their style, but going into the match a player should have a certain game plan

that worked in the past and set basic simple goals. The main goal should be to simply execute the game plan.

The goals for each match should be based on the history of previous matches, remembering things that held you back in the past and setting simple goals which can help get a better outcome. It can be technical things such as trying to get more first serves in or cutting down on errors on a certain shot or a personal goal to try to hit a forehand after each serve to start the point with a purpose.

It can be a strategic goal such as trying to be more aggressive and daring on big points, or deciding to put more pressure on the opponent’s second serve. It can be a mental goal to try and stay calm and tantrum free, or to prevent mental letdowns at the beginning of each set. Having specific goals going into a match can help calm down the nerves and get you to perform close to your potential. Knowing that there are going to be ups and down during a match is key. That awareness during the match will help you get through the bad patches with minimal damage, and can hopefully help turn the match around and shift the momentum your way.

Another key is to have a Plan B, in case your game plan is not working and you are getting beaten badly in the first set. In that case don’t keep playing the same way, try to change the losing game even if it means playing against your own style, if you are going to go down the least you can do is give the opponent a different look. Often a tactical switch can change the course of a match and, remember, this is junior tennis. I’ve seen some crazy comebacks when players don’t give up and use their imagination.

The main thing to do while playing a tournament match is to not show any emotions, as hard as that may be. Tennis is like chess or poker; the opponent can use any piece of information to their advantage. It is hard enough to win to begin with, so you shouldn’t reveal any information about

yourself or your state of mind, and certainly don’t show any frustration. The only way to have a chance of a comeback is if you act like you are about to make a comeback, that takes mental work and maybe a bit of acting. Remember, as tired as you are, the opponent doesn’t have to know about it. Maybe he or she is more tired than you and is about to cramp any minute. This last one is the toughest thing about tennis. Think about it: how hard is it to play someone who doesn’t show any negative emotions even when playing badly?

I would say that the most important trait is to have guts; the guts to put your butt on the line every point, and to keep a positive attitude especially when things are not going your way. The guts to not make excuses and to stick to the game plan, that’s what being a good tennis player is all about.

Gilad Bloom, former Israeli Davis Cup player and two-time Olympian, played on the ATP Tour 1983-1995, reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open in 1990, reached a highest ranking of 61 in singles, was Israel Singles Champion three times. Bloom has been running his own tennis program since 2000 and also was director of tennis at John McEnroe Tennis Academy for two years. He can be reached by e-mail at Bloom.Gilad@Gmail.com.

5 Ways to Improve Ball Anticipation in Adult Tennis

By Griffin Samuels

Tennis

is a game of speed, agility, and most importantly, anticipation. The ability to predict where the ball will land on your side of the court is crucial to positioning yourself correctly and making a successful return. Here are five strategies to enhance your ball anticipation skills in tennis.

1. Watch Your Opponent

Observing your opponent is the first step to anticipating the ball’s direction. Pay attention to their body language, the angle of their racket, and their position on the court. These cues can give you a hint about the likely trajectory and speed of the ball.

2. Practice Pattern Recognition

Tennis is a game of patterns. The more you play and watch tennis, the more you’ll start to recognize these patterns. Practice pattern recognition by playing against different opponents and noting the common sequences of shots. This will help you predict where the next shot might come.

3. Improve Your Footwork

Good footwork is essential for getting

to the ball quickly. Work on agility drills to improve your speed and coordination. The faster you can get to the right spot, the more time you’ll have to prepare for your shot.

4. Train Your Peripheral Vision

Peripheral vision is crucial in tennis as it allows you to see the whole court while keeping your eye on the ball. Vision training exercises can help improve your peripheral awareness, enabling you to better anticipate the ball’s direction. We utilize an app scientifically proven to improve your usable peripheral vision right from your phone.

5. Stay Mentally Alert

Tennis is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. Staying mentally alert allows you to pick up on subtle cues from your opponent and the ball. Regular mindfulness and concentration

exercises can help keep your mind sharp during a match. Often we check your energy level, emotions, and overall state of mind with AIR: Awareness, Inhale, and Reset. This way you can take a mental inventory of where you are at after a point or bad call, and get back in the game.

Remember, improving your anticipation skills takes time and practice. But with patience and persistence, you’ll find yourself making those incredible shots that seemed impossible before. We started a new program InsideOut Tennis Fitness just to improve footwork to get to and from each shot. We have found improvements with anticipation really start from understanding your physical capacities. We evaluate your capacities and build your holistic program from your visual processing, footwork to the ball, and repositioning footwork after each shot.

Griffin Samuels is a Level 2 Trainer with Magnus Sports Performance at CourtSense in Tenafly, N.J. He holds both National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer and is a Corrective Exercise Specialist. Griffin graduated with an English Degree from Dominican College. Visit www.magnussp.com to learn more.

Mastering the Mind Mindfulness at 125 MPH How to Meditate

Yesterday, my client, Susan, said to me, “I want to learn how to meditate.”

She went on to say: “I know it will help me relax, I’m a stress-ball, but I’ve tried and I’m just not good at it!”

I shared with her a meditation practice that I learned in a Mindfulness Teacher Training Certification Class from my teacher David Nichtern. The practice has been around for 2,500 years and can help you relax, refocus, and recenter; certainly something we could all use during these challenging times. The practice has been helpful for me personally and many of my clients during competition and even test taking.

It’s important to note that there are many types of meditation (guided, unguided, kindness, etc.) and many places and teachers to learn it. As with

By Rob Polishook

learning anything new, consistency is important. I recommend beginning your practice three or four days a week, setting aside five to10 minutes a day. As you progress, you will increase the days and the duration. However, in the beginning, ensure you can meditate to the days and time you have committed to. This in itself will be a great success! Also, try to establish a routine by meditating the same time each day, mornings are great as there are usually less distractions and you can start your day with a calming success. There are three steps to the meditation practice I will share with you:

• Step 1: Find your spot: I think of this step as setting the proper conditions to meditate. Finding your spot means where and on what are you going to meditate today? A chair, couch, or

the ground? You will want to find a location that’s quiet, comfortable and relaxing. In the beginning stages of your practice, try to keep your spot the same when possible. There are three smaller steps to finding your spot:

First, sit down and feel your feet touching the ground. Try to be aware of the connection to the ground, then slowly scan up through your body and notice how the floor, chair or couch supports you, feeling your sitz bone. Then, continue up your body to your back, creating a straight back, and upright shoulders, neck and head. Take a moment and check in how your body is feeling today. Allow your hands to rest easy on your thighs with your palms down. During the meditation, certainly move and/or reset to be comfortable.

Secondly, allow your eyes to slowly wander. Slowly turn your head, look forward, back, and sideways, simply being curious, almost like a puppy would do when it first enters a room. Do this with curiosity; just noticing things as if it’s the first time you are seeing them. No judgment, no attachment.

And thirdly, lightly gaze forward about six to eight feet ahead with your eyes half open. It’s important to note that in this meditation practice we are not closing our eyes to block out what we might see; rather we are allowing what we see, and think, but not attaching to it.

• Step 2: Bring attention to your breath: Notice the feeling of your breath as you inhale and exhale. You also might notice the feeling of your diaphragm expanding and contracting, or noticing

the rhythm of your breath. No matter the focus, you’re simply allowing. The good news is that you already know how to breathe; you’ve been doing it your entire life! The difference now is that you are bringing attention to your breath. Your mind will wander, thoughts will appear seemingly out of nowhere, and you will lose focus.

• Step 3: As your mind wanders, bring your attention back to your breath: Notice I didn’t say “if” your mind wanders, rather “as” your mind wanders. This is what our minds do! Our minds are in the past and future while our awareness is in the present. Our job is to allow the flow of thoughts, emotions or feeling, and notice them. Then, calmly, patiently and without judgment, label the distraction as “thinking” and gently bring your attention back to your breath. When we do this, we don’t identify with the thought, rather notice it and move on.

For example, when you think of someone’s expectations of you, or when you’re dealing with a bad call. Rather than getting caught up in the moment and excessively stressing, you are able to notice the thought, take a step back, bounce the ball and re-focus on what you can control at that moment. Maybe that is your strategy, your attitude, and your effort

Remember, meditation practice is not about becoming good at it or being goal-oriented. Rather, it’s about taking a step back, finding yourself in the moment and noticing your thoughts, while not attaching to them. Each thought or distraction is a golden opportunity to refocus. Think of it as a

chance to be patient, kind and nonjudgmental with yourself. Second, each time you meditate you will have different ideas, thoughts and distractions; allow them to happen with an attitude of curiosity. Every day is a new day, so be in the now (today), not yesterday. Lastly, the meditation practice may seem simple, but it’s not easy.

Some clients say, “How can it be hard? I’m not doing anything!”

You actually are doing something. It may be the first time you are setting aside time to be with yourself in a non-judgment and non comparison mode, and the objective is to just “be” where you are without trying to force an outcome or pushing to go somewhere. Just settling in and taking a pause.

Rob Polishook, MA, CPC is the founder of Inside the Zone Sports Performance Group. As a mental training coach, he works with the whole human athlete helping them to unleash their mental edge (heart.energy.spirit) through mindfulness, somatic psychology, animal wisdom and mental training skills. Rob is author of 2 best-selling books: Tennis Inside the Zone and Baseball Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions. He can be reached by phone at (973) 723-0314, by e-mail rob@insidethezone.com, by visiting insidethezone.com, following on Instagram @insidethezone

Tennis Apparel Providers

40 Love Lifestyle started with a vision to create a local store with an international presence, starting community of local tennis players who could find each other in order to play new, fun and interesting people that have similar mindsets. With that thought, 40 Love opened a local store in Manhasset that could serve as a meeting ground.

A boutique that offered the best collections of clothing for an active lifestyle as well as a sporting goods store with equipment and a beautiful stringing machine that restrings any kind of racquet. A "Sportique” was the solution.

40 Love Lifestyle wants to be your main resource for all of your tennis & racquet sport needs, as well as being your "go-to" store for all the best Golf apparel and accessories, giving you a collection of equipment and apparel that inspires you to feel your best while being active and living your best life. 40 Love carries tennis, badminton, pickleball, and golf equipment, with plans to expand on that in the future. Visit 40LoveLifestyle.com to learn more about the sportique, and shop the wide variety of products, as well as the community 40 Love is creating on the North Shore of Long Island.

inPhormNYC.com l support@inphormnyc.com l (214) 749-0300

our online store ... New Kids Style Line!

inPhorm has launched a Kids tennis collection for the first time on its website. It’s elegant and functional, and the designs are inspired by the silhouettes of the adult line. Construction details and comfortable fabrics match the women’s and the men’s collections, and are equal in quality and reasonable prices.

inPhorm has been offering the Kids Collection to its wholesale accounts, but now makes it available to our online customers. The current girls’ collection is a capsule of the women’s Plumeria Collection, making it easy for a customer to choose a mother and daughter look. The boys’ collection has styles that are taken from the men’s collection that is launching soon on inPhorm’s website. Men, too, can have their father and son look.

Top Tennis Apparel Providers

High Country Ski & Tennis

465 West Mount Pleasant Avenue l Livingston, N.J. l (973) 994-3630 HighCountr ySkiAndTennis.com

High Country Ski & Tennis is one of New Jersey’s premier tennis specialty shops. In existence for more than 30 years, High Country has New Jersey’s largest tennis showroom from March through September, and it is shrunk down in the winter months to focus on skiing and snowboarding.

High Country prides itself on providing the best in clothing, equipment and customer service. As Owner Bill Silverman says, “Our philosophy is to promote the game of tennis as much as our own company.”

High Country carries the top manufactures and clothing providers in tennis, including Wilson, Babolat, Head, Nike, Adidas and many more. High Country offers 24-hour racket stringing, grommet installs, re-gripping and free demos. With great customer service and competitive prices, High Country continues to grow each year. For more information, call (973) 994-3630 or visit HighCountrySkiAndTennis.com.

l Lili@sassyli.com l SassyLI.com

the per fect tennis bag

High Country Ski & Tennis is one of New Jersey’s premier tennis specialty shops. In existence for more than 30 years, High Country has New Jersey’s largest tennis showroom from March through September, and it is shrunk down in the winter months to focus on skiing and snowboarding.

High Country prides itself on providing the best in clothing, equipment and customer service. As Owner Bill Silverman says, “Our philosophy is to promote the game of tennis as much as our own company.”

High Country carries the top manufactures and clothing providers in tennis, including Wilson, Babolat, Head, Nike, Adidas and many more. High Country offers 24-hour racket stringing, grommet installs, re-gripping and free demos. With great customer service and competitive prices, High Country continues to grow each year. For more information, call (973) 994-3630 or visit HighCountrySkiAndTennis.com.

Guide to the Top Tennis Apparel Providers

SPORTIME Pro Shops

Locations across Long Island and New York City l (888) NY-TENNIS

Spor timeNY.com

With locations in Randall’s Island, Amagansett, Roslyn, Lynbrook, Syosset, Bethpage, Quogue, Kings Park, and our newest location in Port Washington, many of SPORTIME’s Long Island locations feature full service Pro Shops. Let our dedicated racket sports experts help you find all the gear and clothing you need for tennis, pickleball, and more, on and off the court!

While each shop is unique, geared towards the offerings at each club and the tastes of each club’s players, Sportime Pro Shops offer a great selection of rackets, strings, apparel, bags, footwear and accessories, from top brands like Head, Wilson, Babolat, Yonex, Solinco, Luxilon, Tecnifibre, Nike, K-Swiss, Lucky-in-Love, Sofibella, Lija and others.

Five-star service is always our goal, and SPORTIME provides 24-hour stringing, grommet replacement, racket regripping and customization. If you are looking for a new racket, demos are available for free, or for a small fee. And our network of pro shops can source hard-to-find or out-of-stock items for fast delivery to your nearest SPORTIME location.

SPORTIME’s experienced and knowledgeable staff are standing by to help you with all your equipment or apparel needs, maximizing your enjoyment and comfort on and off the court. For more information about SPORTIME’s Pro Shops, or to inquire about programs, lessons and court times, call (888) 698-3664.

Tennis East

73 Main Street l Southampton, N.Y. l (631) 283-9535

TennisEastSH@optonline.com l TennisEast.com

For more than 50 years, Tennis East has been the year-round, full-service tennis store of choice for East End racket sport enthusiasts. Tennis East offers an extensive selection of men’s, women’s and junior’s rackets, apparel, sneakers, strings and accessories for players of all ages and skill levels. More so, Tennis East carries a complete line of 10 & Under Tennis equipment, so that kids will have more fun playing tennis.

Tennis East carries the most popular and latest product arrivals, so that its customers can use the same gear that the top tennis pros are using. The store stocks a full line of Nike, Adidas, FILA, Babolat, Wilson and Head products. In addition, Tennis East has expanded its women’s apparel offering to include several new fashion designers.

Allow Tennis East’s knowledgeable and friendly team members to assist you choose the proper new tennis, paddle or pickleball racket to elevate your game. Tennis East has an extensive selection of rackets to demo and all daily fee charges will be credited towards your new adult racket purchase.

Tennis East is the conveniently located, one-stop shop for all your racquet sport needs, and is committed to providing personalized service, professional advice, competitive pricing and a unique shopping experience. Please look for special offers on Tennis East’s social network sites. For more information, contact Tennis East by phone at (631) 283-9535 or e-mail TennisEast@optonline.net.

Why Do We Need to Train "Slot" Entry?

By Steve Kaplan

Onceupon a time there was a simple message in tennis performance skill. We were told that if we create, learn and reinforce the same exact movements, we produce the same result every time Tennis shot consistency was believed to be the result of the precise consistency of our swing movements or, as Vic Braden put it, "Losers have a ton of variety. Champions just take pride in learning to hit the same old boring winning shots."

Today, the message has evolved as a result of the study of sports science and human performance biomechanics. Movement variability is now understood to be a central foundation of motor behavior providing the adaptability and versatility needed in modern tennis.

In a major landmark study of movement variability in the forehand stroke of ATP and WTA Professionals, wrist and elbow velocities and accelerations were varied on each forehand hit by the same players, while racket orientation at impact and

shoulder angular movements were consistent. So how we get to the hit can vary and is the result of style, while where we are oriented at impact is consistent and a key fundamental for success.

The position of the racket as it is set to move forward to the ball is called the "slot entry." This term is perhaps borrowed from the field of aviation as the term is used by pilots to refer to an angle that a plane is set at to create its takeoff and landing. Once positioned into the Slot, the racket position should be set and should remain unchanged with shoulder angular movements. These are usually internal rotation of the racket hand, shoulder joint, which help accelerate a statically-oriented racket. It can be

further noted that the movement after slot entry to approach and contact the ball is not directly vertical or "brushing up on the ball" as is commonly believed and widely thought. Rather, almost all high-level ground strokes are hit on a diagonal, close to 5 to 11 o'clock on lower than waist contact point, or 7 to 1 o'clock across the ball on higher than waist contact point. High speed video studies and analysis confirm these facts.

So choose a style that's the best way for you to get to the slot position every time. How you get there is a choice that should rely on sound fundamentals, and where you get to is fundamental, to hit the same old boring winning shots.

Steve Kaplan is the owner and managing director of Bethpage Park Tennis Center, as well as director emeritus of Lacoste Academy for New York City Parks Foundation, executive director and founder of Serve & Return Inc. and co-director of The City Classic Junior Tennis Academy. Steve has coached more than 1,100 nationally- ranked junior players, 16 New York State high school champions, two NCAA Division 1 Singles Champions, and numerous highly-ranked touring professionals. Many of the students Steve has closely mentored have gone on to achieve great success as prominent members of the New York financial community, and in other prestigious professions. He may be reached by e-mail at StevenJKaplan@aol.com.

Keys To The Kick Serve: An Excerpt From Chris Lewit’s New Technique Book, Winning Pretty

Winning Pretty is currently available exclusively in digital format with lavish video illustrations at Tennisplayer.net magazine. The book will be published in paperback by New Chapter Press in 2025

By Chris Lewit

The Three Kicks

In this chapter, "topspin" and "kick" are used interchangeably to describe any high bouncing serve with forward rotation on the ball. In reality, however, there are three variations of the kick serve. These three variations are what I call true topspin, slice topspin, and twist. The differences are in the path of the ball through the air, the path of the ball after the bounce—and most importantly—to understand how the racket moves to the contact to produce these differences. Let me define what I mean by each of these three serves.

True topspin bounces high and straight ahead. This serve is the most basic kick serve and most players will use it for the second serve a large percentage of the time. When well executed this serve is heavy and difficult to deal with because it can bounce well above the returner's preferred contact height. Slice topspin bounces high but (from the server's perspective) also has a rightto-left movement after the bounce. Players will use this serve less frequently than the true topspin, typically when hitting second serves down the T in the ad court, or into the body or out wide in the deuce court. The advantage here compared to the true topspin, is that the ball fades or curves away from the returner (or in the case of a body serve, jams the returner). This serve is a must to hit effective second serves against left handers. The third topspin variation is the twist. The

twist serve bounces high but actually moves from the server's left to his right. Typically it is hit to the returner's backhand, especially in the ad court, where it kicks high away from the player after the bounce. This serve is used to pull the returner out of position, force him to take additional steps to the ball, and play a contact point at shoulder level or even higher. It is used most often on clay, but can also be extremely effective on hard courts–especially gritty or high-rebound hard courts–when hit with the right combination of speed and spin.

The Technical Components

There are multiple technical components in the kick serve, and this complexity makes the serve difficult to master. Even though there is a lot of information, it is important to understand each of the components clearly, and then how to put them together in the complete motion. Let's go over the components from start to finish starting with the grip.

Grip

The grip is critical to learning an

effective topspin serve. Most players who come to me do not demonstrate a strong enough grip to effectively hit heavy spin. I call this grip a strong continental. The problem is that most players try to hit the serve with a milder version of the continental, or even with a grip rotated toward an eastern forehand. The frustrating thing about defining the right grip is that coaches, and especially coaches from different countries–use different terminology and also tend to have different opinions about the position of the index knuckle. Whatever you want to call it, I believe in this strong continental, with the index knuckle very near bevel 1 (top bevel). This grip promotes heavy spin without slowing down the ball too much, as a more extreme backhand serve grip can do. I also believe players can hit the first serve with this grip, rather than making a dramatic grip change between first and second serves, which can hurt disguise. Players can also have a subtle change between first and second serve grips. Of course, some players are extremely talented with their wrists and hands, and they can get away with a less extreme grip. There is also an alternate option to using one grip. Rather than using the exact same grip for both serves, some players choose to make a subtle shift of the palm position--or even of the knuckle position-between the first and second serve. I would estimate that this includes a

quarter of the top players or slightly more, based on my first hand observations. Many players can use the strong continental for the kick–and the other serves.

Whether a player shifts grips for the second serve usually depends on personal preference and the philosophy his developmental coaches had when building his game as a junior. Some players don't even realize that they make a shift. They naturally adjust the heel of the palm slightly more toward the top of the frame--to maximize the brushing action upward to the ball. I believe that this is acceptable. However, the grip shift should not be extreme and the shift should not be noticeable by the opponent.

When building a world-class serve, disguise with all the serves–flat, slice, and kick–should be an important priority. Many elite coaches insist on the single grip, but I allow for a subtle change if it helps the player

and does not hinder disguise. From a developmental standpoint, encouraging this grip shift can help a player break through a learning roadblock. As a player develops, the placement of the hand can be moved toward one universal grip and most players should be able to use one grip for all serves.

The Mid-Swing Switch

When a player is learning this strong grip, the coach, or the player himself, must watch the student very carefully in mid-swing. Many kids show me the right grip before the kick serve and then, somewhere in the backswing, whether consciously or unconsciously, they slip back to a

weaker grip (closer to the eastern forehand) before they hit the ball. Coaches and players must watch that hand like a hawk. The way to make sure the grip is remaining the same is to check the grip at the end of the swing, not at the beginning. Using video analysis is also an excellent way to monitor the grip. The hand can often shift midswing, so you have to be strict if you are coaching and honest with yourself, if you are a player.

You can read more of this chapter now digitally online at Tennisplayer.net or when it is published in paperback format in 2025.

Chris Lewit is a leading high-performance coach, educator and author of the best-selling book, The Secrets of Spanish Tennis, and a new technique book, Winning Pretty, which will be published in 2025. Secrets of Spanish Tennis, Second Edition will be published in September 2024. As a coach, he has trained hundreds of nationally ranked juniors. He directs a full-time academy for homeschool/online players and a high performance summer camp program, as well as bespoke high performance training for all ages and levels, all at his club in the beautiful green mountains of Vermont. Contact Chris directly by phone/WhatsApp 914-462-2912 or chris@chrislewit.com.

Tennis is THE Sport for a Lifetime

By Steve Annacone

Ijustboarded my flight from Fort Myers, Florida back to my home in Tucson, Arizona. My mom lives in Naples and we try to get together every two or three months. My stay was short (only four days) but we were able to fit in three sessions of tennis. At 88, she is truly amazing— more about that later. My visit inspired me to share a little Annacone family story.

Tennis has been a huge part of my life since the age of ten. My brother Paul and I were dragged along (it felt like that at first) with my mom and dad to Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor. At first we would play on the swings, slide, and some of the other equipment in the park. Eventually, we decided to get a couple of racquets from my mom and dad, borrow a few balls, and go hit on the backboard (which is still there) for a while. Not long after, we were hitting with each other on any open court we could find at the park.

I started teaching tennis at the age of 14, helping my dad at the free clinic he provided for kids in at that park. He was a school teacher and part time tennis pro/manager there in the summer. It was pretty evident to me, even at that young age, that teaching and coaching tennis would be a major force in my life. Meanwhile, Paul was becoming a very good junior player. By the time he was ten he achieved the #2 ranking in the 12s age group in New England. He spent most of the summer at our family friend Whitey Joslyn’s house and learned the ropes from him. Each time he came back to Sag Harbor, I had more and more difficulty beating him. By the time he was 14 it was pretty hopeless and I was just happy to

win a set here and there.

To make a long story short, Paul went on to become a three-time All American at the University of Tennessee, a top ranked ATP tour player (#12 in singles, #3 in doubles), and eventually a coach for Pete Sampras, Tim Henman, Roger Federer, Sloane Stephens, and Taylor Fritz (to name a few), and a commentator for The Tennis Channel.

I was the Head Tennis Professional/Manager at the Park at the age of 17, traveling coach for Paul for seven years on the ATP Tour, Managing Owner and Director of Smoky Mountain Tennis Academy in Knoxville, TN, and President and Director of Annacone Tennis Management LLC.

My dad (Dominic) passed away on September 12, 2022. He played tennis until he was 77 when he broke his ankle (playing tennis). I tried to get him back on the court numerous times but his injury and fear of a reoccurrence did not allow it to happen. He was the driving force in our family’s lifetime involvement in tennis. He was so competitive it made all of us want to beat him. My dad definitely took the wheel and guided us towards each of our obsessions with the sport of tennis.

This brings me to my mom. Cathy Annacone has the record in our

family for most years playing tennis, which will be difficult to beat. Over the years she has had many reasons to stop playing. She had many kidney issues dating back to our early childhood and eventually had one of her kidneys removed. She had both hips replaced, a double mastectomy, both shoulders replaced, a broken femur during her hospitalization for her second shoulder replacement, another shoulder surgery to repair an injury from a fall out of bed, and is now struggling with memory loss and dementia.

During this most recent trip, my mom and I had several rallies (that’s right, not feeding her the ball but hitting back and forth) of more than 10 hits. She consistently made 2-4 shots in a row, and like we all do, missed sometimes on the first or second shot. She is determined to keep playing and I am determined to make it happen.

After her broken femur and shoulder replacement quite a few years back, she asked me if I thought she would ever be able to play tennis again. I replied that we would play again when she came to New York that summer (three months from her hospital bed in Naples). We played at the Park in Sag Harbor that July. Tennis is THE “sport for a lifetime” and Cathy Annacone is still amazing.

Steve Annacone, USPTA Elite Pro, is the Director of Annacone Tennis, www.annaconetennis.com and MyHamptonsPro, throughout the Hamptons, NY. In addition, Steve, Phil Lepisto, and Gill Gross run the ACT (Advanced Competition Team) program at the Tucson Jewish Community Center (Tucson, AZ) for high level players ages 8-18. Please contact Steve at sannacone@tucsonjcc.org or 865-300-7323

The Importance of Self-Discipline

By Michael Nortey

IfI were to ask, “What is the most important trait a tennis player could have,” what would you say? If “discipline” is your response, then you are an astute tennis player! More important than the answer itself is the understanding of why self-discipline is held with such esteem.

If you research player qualities that top college coaches in the country look for when recruiting, you will find a recurring pattern of answers along the lines of “hardworking” and “competitive.” Everyone always shrugs at the slouch who hardly makes an effort and no one wants a quitter on their team, so it makes sense why coaches are always looking for the opposing qualities. That being said, the underlying driving force behind being both hardworking and competitive is, you guessed it … discipline.

It’s a no-brainer that a hardworking player will always be favorable to an indifferent individual who needs to be coaxed and dragged on to court. But it is the discipline of the individual that tells a player to do the hard work even when they don’t want to. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers, he states the famous “10,000 Hour Rule.” It takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in that particular field. Most people look at that daunting number and give up, meanwhile, there are those disciplined individuals marking

down the hours and putting in the work, day-in, day-out.

Some people love “the grind,” the repetitive drills, early morning runs and conditioning, but for everyone else, discipline gets you through the times when you’d rather lay in bed.

It’s a matter of telling yourself that this is what I must do if this is what I want. This is not what you want to do to have it, but what you need to do. Discipline is being able to make that choice.

As for being competitive, what comes to mind is mental toughness. The competitive player is one who never gives up, fights for every point and simply refuses to lose. Players have heard this at least once in their tennis career. In other words, mental toughness is perseverance and the ability to remain resilient, despite setback. This is the category that the on-court stoicism of Roger Federer or the legendary composure of The Ice Man, Bjorn Borg, both fall into. Both champions let nothing get in their way. Players with less discipline may get ruffled with bad line calls or distractions, but these champions are consistently able to control themselves

and remain calm, cool and collected when facing match points.

Every tennis player is inevitably going to experience setbacks and failures, but the important lesson to learn is to never give up. That includes no throwing balls, rackets, tantrums or matches. Think of the player you want to be, as well as their behavior when they are not playing points. How do they practice? How do they treat their coaches? How do they act when no one is looking? Making a commitment to yourself that you will emulate a certain player’s good behavior patterns is the first step on your path to success. Making a decision and acting upon it are the first steps to creating habit cues, and habits are what governs how disciplined you become.

Jim Rohn said “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments,” and the idea is not new. Most success stories are ignited by the one action that started the process. They are fueled by the discipline that keeps it going. So, ask yourself who you want to be, and take the first step.

Michael Nortey is a High Performance and Junior Development Coach at

for

&

He was a world ranked ATP tour player for Ghana and represented his home country in the 2007 Davis Cup. As a professional coach at the Cary Leeds Center, he works at developing the skills and techniques of high-performance green dot players. Michael also sends money and tennis equipment back to the young players of Ghana in order to encourage the same passion for the game that brought him to achieve world-wide success.

Cary Leeds Center

Tennis

Learning.

Gallwey’s “The Inner Game of Tennis”: Is it Fact or a Fallacy?

By Dr. Tom Ferraro

Withover 1 million copies

sold, Timothy Gallwey’s classic “The Inner Game of Tennis” is one of the classic texts in sport psychology. Gallwey was a good tennis player who captained his Harvard University team but more than that, he was an imaginative, bright and articulate teacher who created a new way of learning by blending Eastern philosophy, learning theory and psychology in a simple and easy to understand way.

acceptance, and self-observation rather than self-criticism.

His books on the inner game have had a wide impact on sport psychology, business, and coaching and has been used by superstars like Tom Brady and Billie Jean King who learned to quiet their minds by using inner game techniques.

His theory of the inner game is quite simple by pointing out that harsh critical judgmental thinking or what he refers to as Self-1 does nothing more than tighten the muscles and interferes with the body’s natural ability to learn things. Gallwey feels that Self-1 is judgmental, controlling and overly verbal and this produces confusion, tension and fatigue. His Self-1 is really synonymous with what psychoanalysts call the harsh super ego which produces an obsessive intellectual defensive style, anxiety and neurosis. Gallwey suggests that real learning ought to be childlike and non-verbal and should be handed over to what he calls Self-2 which functions with images and feelings. His Self-2 is an example of mental health with a reliance on

The rub with all of this is that it’s obvious that less thinking, less judgment, less worry is the way to perform well on the court but exactly how does one go about this? Gallwey suggests that to get into Self-2 learning, you look carefully at the ball itself, listen to the sound of the ball hitting the racket, feel the weight of the racket or visualize proper ball flight. His methods have had a major influence on standard sport psychology which has not gotten much further than Gallwey. The current state of sport psychology is best described as an overuse of these same coping skills but they use terms like visualization, target awareness, meditative techniques and hypnosis.

It certainly is wise to be less judgmental in anything one does and its right to quiet the mind and to be more visually aware when playing tennis. Sport is a visual motor experience and the athlete needs to be at peace and to use the right cortex to

perform well. Verbal overthinking is common in athletes, especially intelligent athletes who play tennis or golf. These athletes frequently use their left cortex more often and try to control their bodies with words. But the body does not speak English. It speaks in images and in feelings. Many highly educated and intelligent tennis players have fallen deeply into the rabbit hole of overthinking and harsh self-attack and this causes tension, slumps and despair.

It may be that The Inner Game of Tennis is simplistic but there is much to be said for what Gallwey advises. The Inner Game of Tennis asks one to practice forgiveness, and selfobservation rather than self-criticism. This may be very difficult for elite tennis players that are perfectionistic, demanding and intelligent but it’s the way to go. If you can get just that out of Timothy Gallwey’s book you have gotten your money’s worth and then some. When mistakes occur, do not criticize yourself but try to evaluate and observe what you did incorrectly. And try using more images, visual cues, sounds and feels rather than words. Words are for conversations, whereas images, sounds and feels are for the tennis courts. For consultations, treatment or on-site visits, contact Dr. Tom Ferraro Ph.D., Sport Psychologist, by phone at (516) 248-7189, e-mail DrTFerraro@aol.com or visit DrTomFerraro.com.

SPORTIME/JMTA To Host the Eighth Annual College Combine

Rising High School Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors are Invited To Participate In A Recruiting Combine At SPORTIME Port Washington, the newest SPORTIME and JMTA location. College Coaches From Brown, Baylor, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn State, William & Mary, Wake Forest, Bentley, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Stony Brook, Bryant, St. John’s, Hofstra, Union and Colgate Committed To Attend With Many Others Expected.

Helping young athletes attend the colleges of their choice, on full tennis scholarships when possible, is a foundational goal of SPORTIME and JMTA. With dozens of JMTA students currently competing at top

colleges across the country, today the Academy announced the Eighth Annual John McEnroe Tennis Academy College Combine, scheduled for the weekend of June 22nd and June 23rd, 2024, to be held at the newest SPORTIME and JMTA location, SPORTIME Port Washington.

The Combine, a substantial success in its first seven years, will again give select rising high school sophomores, juniors and seniors, from around the country and beyond, both JMTA and nonJMTA students, the opportunity to showcase their technical and tactical tennis skills, and their athletic abilities, in front of coaches from top colleges and universities. The Combine also features a live-streaming platform, which gives players the opportunity to perform for a wider group of coaches; last year, over 100 coaches from across the country “attended” the event, virtually,

joining those who attended inperson.“JMTA is committed to preparing our players for college tennis, and to working with them to identify and to help them to attend the colleges and universities that best suit them,” said John McEnroe. “The Combine has been a big hit in its first seven years, and with the 2024 event being hosted at SPORTIME Port Washington, where my brother and I, among others, trained as juniors, it promises to be extra special for me and Patrick.”

The Port Washington Tennis Academy, now SPORTIME Port Washington, and one of two JMTA satellite locations on Long Island, was where legends John McEnroe, Patrick McEnroe, Vitas Gerulaitis, Mary Carillo and Tracy Austin, among others, trained as juniors. An $8 million plus facility renovation is nearing completion, and the facility features 7 oversized, sub-irrigated, softsurface, Har-Tru tennis courts, 6 new hard-surface tennis courts and 12 new dedicated pickleball courts, as well as many other upgrades and amenities.

The Combine will welcome 50 boys and 50 girls. Coaches representing all three NCAA Divisions are expected to attend. Representatives from prestigious leagues, including the Ivy League, ACC, Big East, SEC, Big 10, Patriot League and NESCAC attended in previous years and are expected again this year.

Interested players can get more information, and apply to participate in the Combine, at www.Sportime.com/JMTACombine. Combine applications will be accepted from through May 31 for the 100 Combine spots available. The Combine Selection Committee will evaluate each application based upon objective criteria, and applicants will be informed of their status as “admitted” or “waitlisted”. Those who are wait-listed will be contacted if they are,

subsequently, admitted.

Check-in will begin at 8:00 a.m. for all players on both Combine days. Participants will compete in singles and doubles match play with tracked results that count toward their UTRs. Players will also receive athletic performance assessments and will be invited to participate in Sports Vision Testing and in a College Coaches’ Panel Discussion. Combine partner,

Tennis Analytics, will be videorecording all matches and will offer participant packages, including match videos with detailed analytics. Included for each Combine participant is an integrated recruiting package, including the match videos, which are made available, digitally, to both participants and coaches, at the touch of a button on their personal Player Portals.

For further details, visit www.SPORTIMENY.com/JMTACombine or email jmtacombine@sportimeny.com.

Distribution scheduled for 07/01/24

This edition will feature:

• Look Ahead to the 2024 U.S. Open

• Boys’ High School Tennis Recap

• Hampton Summer Events

• And Much More!

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