The 5 Best Tennis Rackets For Doubles

The 5 Best Tennis Rackets For Doubles

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Best Babolat Rackets: Full Reviews

Written by Austin Rapp in Babolat,Rackets

There are a lot of rackets out there, and choosing a racket that suits your game is important. If you are considering switching to a Babolat racket, you’ve come to the right place. You should be doing your research before testing the rackets on the court to narrow down your possibilities. This will make the process simpler because there are so many options out there.

Babolat is one of the most popular tennis racket brands in the world. We have tried all Babolat and wanted to review each of their most popular frames – the Pure Strike, Pure Aero, and Pure Drive. Each of these lines has multiple variations of these rackets, but these are the best 3 kinds of Babolat rackets on the market. 

Pure Strike

Most popular in this line: Pure Strike 3rd Gen, Pure Strike VS

Recommended Game Style: Aggressive Baseliners, All Court Players 

Pure Strike 3rd Gen

Basic Specs:

  • Strung Weight: 11.4 oz (323g)
  • Head Size: 98 sq. inches
  • Balance: 4 pts HL
  • Swing Weight: 327
  • Stiffness: 66

Click picture above to shop.

Review: Great racket for players who have no problem generating their own pace. Ball stays on the strings a bit longer and offers more control than other rackets, but lacks a bit of pop compared to the other Babolat rackets.

Advantages: Playability, control.

Disadvantages: Easy power, especially on serve.

Pure Strike VS Tour

Basic Specs:

  • Strung Weight: 11.9 oz (337g)
  • Head Size: 98 sq. inches
  • Balance: 7 pts HL
  • Swing Weight: 323
  • Stiffness: 65

Click picture above to shop.

Review: This is definitely a racket for high level players as it is heavy. It has a larger sweet spot than the Strike 3rd Gen, causing it to have a little more power off the strings and a bit less control. It has good feel around the net as well, but compared to the 3rd Gen it is a bit less consistent on the groundstrokes. This racket doesn’t do anything game-changing one way or the other, but it does everything pretty well.

Advantages: Feel on volleys, control and power on baseline. 

Disadvantages: No glaring disadvantages.

Pure Aero

Most popular in this line: Pure Aero, Pure Aero VS

Recommended Game Style: Counter Punchers/Grinders, Aggressive Baseliners

Pure Aero

Basic Specs:

  • Strung Weight: 11.2 oz (318g)
  • Head Size: 100 sq. inches
  • Balance: 4 pts HL
  • Swing Weight: 324
  • Stiffness: 67

Click picture above to shop.

Review: This racket has a lot of power and a huge sweet spot. The Aero technology allows for extra racket head speed, so spin comes easily as well. Additionally, the serve comes off huge. I notice a lot of easy power automatically added overall, but the serve has the biggest addition.

Advantages: Serve, spin, and power.

Disadvantages: Control, variance between shots.

Pure Aero VS

Basic Specs:

  • Strung Weight: 10.9 oz (309g)
  • Head Size: 98 sq. inches
  • Balance: 7 pts HL
  • Swing Weight: 318
  • Stiffness: 65

Click picture above to shop.

Review: This is more of a “player’s racket” than the Pure Aero. The racket offers more control and a little less pop with a smaller sweet spot. However, hitting the ball in the sweet spot warrants a much better ball coming off the strings than the others. Additionally, the Aero technology allows easier racket head speed through the air.

Advantages: Control, easy racket head speed.

Disadvantages: Serve, small sweet spot.

Pure Drive

Most popular in this line: Pure Drive, Pure Drive VS

Recommended Game Style: Counter Punchers/Grinders, Aggressive Baseliners

Pure Drive

Basic Specs:

  • Strung Weight: 11.2 oz (318g)
  • Head Size: 100 sq. inches
  • Balance: 4 pts HL
  • Swing Weight: 321
  • Stiffness: 71

Click picture above to shop.

Review: This racket is a classic all around stick. I think alongside the Pure Aero, it is one of the more powerful rackets that you will be able to find on the market. That said, I think that it has a bit more control that the Aero. The ball really comes off the strings with serious pace, so be ready for that. The serve comes off huge as well. I think that this racket is fairly similar to the Aero in the way that it plays with subtle differences.

Advantages: Serve speed, spin and power on groundstrokes.

Disadvantages: Control

Pure Drive VS (New)

Basic Specs:

  • Strung Weight: 11.2 oz (318g)
  • Head Size: 98 sq. inches
  • Balance: 4 pts HL
  • Swing Weight: 317
  • Stiffness: 68

Click picture above to shop.

Review: This is Babolat’s latest release. I was able to try it recently and liked it more than the regular Pure Drive, but that was my personal preference. The VS head size is slightly smaller than the regular one and the beam is a bit thinner, giving it more control. I thought that the serve came off pretty similarly to the regular Pure Drive. The volleys had a tad more feel with the VS version, but it was a minuscule difference at most.

Advantages: Combination of control and power. Fairly all-around racket.

Disadvantages: No huge disadvantage, but could’ve used a tad more feel on the volleys.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the racket that best suits your game can be overwhelming, but hopefully this review made your decision a bit easier. Babolat has some great rackets and each model is different, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding one that you like.

Let us know In the comments below if you have any questions about which racket may be best for you. As always, feel free to reach out by our instagram @mytennishq. We are always willing to help!

Additional Resources

Why Do Tennis Players Check The Balls Before Serving?

Written by Karue Sell in Balls,General Info,Recommended Gear

If you watch tennis, I am sure you noticed how most tennis players check the tennis balls before serving. They often ask the ball person for three or four balls in order to pick the balls where they wish to play the point with. This is a common practice in professional tennis and it has been around for a long time. Is there an advantage to be gained by picking the right tennis ball or is it just player’s superstition? Let’s find out.

The main reason why players check balls before they serve is to pick the smoothest balls – to maximize serve speed. As the match goes on, tennis balls get fluffier and slower. Another reason is to use the time between points to concentrate. Tennis players are usually very superstitious, and picking the “right ball” can help players get in the zone. 

If you want to learn more, keep scrolling down, we have more information to share with you.

Ball Changes in Professional Tennis

First we need to understand the ball changing rules in professional tennis. In the ATP and WTA level, the first ball change occurs after 7 games are played. After the first ball change, balls will be changed after 9 games for the rest of the match. The first change happens at only 7 games because of the 5 minute warm up. Keep in mind that 6 balls are always in play during the match. 

Physics Element

Choosing one tennis ball over another boils down to the hair. Newer tennis balls have smoothed hair which provides increased speed. Players want more speed on their serves in order to increase their chances of hitting an unreturned serve. After a few games are played, the balls tend to get fluffier and slower. However, this process doesn’t happen uniformly across all tennis balls in play. Points played with each ball are unique and the balls will age accordingly. For example, out of the six balls being used, two of them might be used during points where the rally was long. On the other hand, the other four balls might only be used in quicker points (aces, unreturned serves, winners or errors early in the point). This process is completely random, which makes the balls age unevenly during the course of the seven or nine games played. Because of that, players typically check for newer, smoother balls in order to gain an edge on their serve. 

Notice how the ball on the right is much fluffier than the one on the left.

Players like Federer and Roddick have stated that they prefer serving with smoother balls on first serves in order to maximize serving speeds. 

Rituals and Superstition

While picking a smoother ball provides a small advantage for the server, ultimately it is not the only reason why players check the balls before serving. Some are superstitious about their choice. A common practice is to choose to play with the ball they won the previous point with. In this case, some players believe that they are more likely to win the next point if they keep playing with the same ball. Once the streak is broken, they will pick a new ball. 

Another reason for players to check the balls before serving is simply as a concentration ritual in between points. Playing a tennis match is not only physically, but also mentally demanding and having rituals is a common practice among tennis players (like Nadal and his water bottles). The few seconds used to check the balls are a good time to breathe and think about the next point’s strategy. At the end, the reasoning behind checking the balls is unique to each player but it is not a crucial practice. Once asked about the subject, Andy Murray said “I just do it because everyone else does it” and added that he doesn’t see any difference between the balls. 

What The Pros Have To Say

To illustrate that the reasoning for checking the balls is completely arbitrary, we looked into some players opinions on this topic:

  • Roger Federer, arguably one of the best players ever, is not that picky when choosing a ball during his serve. However, he explains that he prefers the fastest ball for his first serve.
  • For Novak Djokovic, the process of selecting the right balls makes a difference on the upcoming point. When asked about the topic, he said “… I’m convinced in my head that it does”.
  • Caroline Wozniacki, former world No.1, it depends on her strategy. If her opponent has a strong return, she’ll choose the fluffiest ball to take the pace away from the ball. Besides, she says that it also depends on how she’s feeling at that moment.
  • Andy Murray is more about going with the flow. He explains that he spends some time selecting the right ball because everyone else does it as well. However, he agrees that there is actually no difference between balls.
  • Goran Ivanisevic, Croatian 2001 Wimbledon Champion, would also be somewhat superstitious when it came down to serving. He’ll usually ask for the same ball after making an ace.
  • Former player, Andy Roddick, who was known for his fast serve, said that he likes to select the ball that will travel the fastest, thus enhancing the speed of his already super fast serve.
  • The French player, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, describe the process of selecting balls as an “obsessive-compulsive behavior” that many on the professional tour have. He suggests that even though he spends some time choosing the balls, it really does not make a difference.

How Do College Tennis Matches Work?

Written by Gui Hadlich in General Info,Rules

How Do College Tennis Matches Work?

All of us at My Tennis HQ are big advocates for college tennis. We have all had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of playing tennis as a team, while still pursuing a degree at the same time – and we think that everyone who has the opportunity to do the same should go for it. Not only is it a much safer bet than attempting to go pro straight out of high school, but you will actually have a lot more fun along the way.

While college tennis is not as popular as other college sports like football or basketball, it can still draw some pretty large crowds. And if you ever watched a close college tennis match, you know how exhilarating it can be. Yet, we find that college tennis rules can be quite confusing for a lot of people, even for those who are familiar with normal tennis rules. 

So how do the matches in college tennis work? In essence, coaches select a line-up (ranking) for the team’s singles and doubles. The match begins with 3 simultaneous doubles matches (up to 6 games), and the first team to win 2 out of the 3 takes the doubles point. Then, 6 singles matches are played – each one counting as 1 point. The first team to win 4 points wins the overall match.

While the answer above gives you a general idea, there are a lot more details that you should know about college tennis, and we’ll cover all of them below.

Before The Match

There’s a good amount of preparation that goes into college tennis matches. After all, tennis players usually have very specific pre-match routines, and in college tennis you need to get everyone ready to start at the same time. Below are some of the common steps involved in the preparation for a college tennis match.

Home vs Away

In the majority of tennis matches, one team will be playing at home while the other will be playing away (some matches are played at a neutral venue). And the preparation for the match differs a lot depending on which side you’re on. 

First of all, if you’re playing away, your day will be much more focused on the game itself. Players usually stay at a hotel, and they will usually go to the venue a few hours before the match starts. Once they get there, they’ll start prepping their gear (changing grips, picking up restrung rackets) and taking care of their bodies (usually some physiotherapy sessions). About an hour or so before the match, they will start the official warm-up.

If you’re playing at home, on the other hand, your preparation will look quite different. If your game is not early in the morning, you might even need to attend classes before it. You’ll go on with your day as you normally would, but a few hours before the match you head to the tennis center. Once there, you’ll hang out in the locker room for a while, also prepping up your gear and maybe talking to your coaches. About an hour or so before the match, players will start their warm-up.

Warming Up

College tennis venues usually have more than 6 courts, so the home team usually takes the 3 main courts while the away team takes the 3 “bottom” courts. In some cases, venues only have 3 or 4 courts, and if that’s the case then the teams need to take turns. Usually, one team will start warming up 2 hours before the match and stop with about 1 hour and 15 till the start. The other team will then warm-up for 45 minutes. About 30 minutes before the match starts, both teams will split up the courts for a final warm-up.

A good warm-up is incredibly important for college tennis matches. Since you are not allowed to warm-up with your opponent, a slow start can cost you the match. All of a team’s players usually warm up together, so it’s common to see a traditional tennis warm-up followed by some doubles drills as a team.

Define & Exchange Line-Ups

While the players are warming for the match, the coaches for both teams are usually busy defining and exchanging the line-ups. A line-up is essentially a rankling if the team’s players, and the coach will number his players from 1 through 8 in singles, and will rank the doubles teams from 1 through 4. Only 6 of the players play singles and only 3 pairs play doubles, so the 7th and 8th singles players are reserves and the 4th double team is a reserve as well.

Once a coach presents the proposed line-up, the opposing coach can either accept it or contest it. A coach will contest a line-up if he or she believes there is “stacking” going on. Stacking is the act of putting a player in a position he or she is clearly not fit for (for instance, putting your worst player in the #1 position). So while coaches need to be strategic with their line-ups, they need to keep in mind that it might be rejected.

If the line-up is contested, the coach may rearrange it or try to explain to the opposing coach why he arranged the line-up in that order. Once both coaches agree with the line-ups, the matchups are set. Finally, if a player gets injured either during the warm-up or the doubles match, the coach needs to move every player up (and cannot rearrange the whole line-up).

During The Match

College tennis matches have a very unique format, designed to not exhaust players too much and to keep it entertaining for fans. One of the most interesting things about college tennis is that both on-court coaching and loud cheering are allowed – very different from professional tennis. We will cover some other specifics about college tennis below.

No Warm-Up

In college tennis, the only opportunity players have to warm up is with their team. Once the actual match starts, there is no warm-up. Usually you will walk into the court, and an umpire will do a coin toss to decide which player will start serving. After that, players go straight to play the first point.

Doubles First

In the majority of cases, college tennis matches start with doubles. All 3 doubles matches happen simultaneously, and the first team to win 2 out of the 3 matches takes the doubles point. If the third match is still going on after a team wins the doubles point, that match is usually stopped. 

College doubles matches are played in a single-set format up to 6 games. If the pairs tie at 5-5, the first team to get 7 games wins. If they tie at 6-6, the teams will play a tiebreak to 7 points and the winner takes the match. 

In addition, the matches are played in a no-ad format – which means that when the game score reaches 40-40, the receiving team decides which player will return the serve. The winner of the point at 40-40 wins the whole game. There are also no “lets”, which means that if a serve hits the net and lands on the service box, the point will continue on. 

Singles Second

After the doubles point is over, one of the teams will be leading the overall score by 1×0. After a short break (usually 5-10 minutes), the 6 singles matches will happen at the same time. Each singles match counts as one point for the overall score, and the first team to reach 4 points wins the overall match. So in order to win a college match, a team needs to win either 2 doubles and 3 singles matches or 4 singles matches.

Singles are also played using a no-ad and no-let format, but they are played in a 2-out-of-3 format. The first player to win 2 sets wins the match, and the players normally play 3 sets to 6 with a tiebreak at 6×6. However, on some occasions, the 3rd set may be a 10-point tiebreaker.

How Long Does A College Tennis Match Last?

While the actual number may vary, a standard college tennis match will last between 2 and 3 hours. The doubles point usually lasts about 30 to 45 minutes, while singles matches usually last between 1:30 and 2 hours. However, if a venue only has 3 or 4 courts, college tennis matches might last up to 5 or 6 hours.

After The Match

Play Out vs. Clinch

If a team reaches 4 points and wins the match, the coaches may choose to either continue or stop the remaining matches. Sometimes they choose to continue them so the players can get more rhythm, but other times they just want to go home as soon as possible.

Recover

Normally after a match, the players will recover as a team. When I was in college, we always did some stretching and recovering as a team, in order to avoid injuries. Players will normally sit down and talk with coaches to get some feedback as well. After that’s done, players will focus on some more individual recovery methods, like taking an ice bath, doing physiotherapy, or getting a big meal.

Rankings

Lastly, it’s important to mention how the college tennis rankings work. While no one really knows the exact formula, teams are ranked based on the quantity and quality of their wins and losses. Only a certain amount of teams show up in the rankings (usually top 50 or 75), but each team does, in fact, have a ranking. When a team defeats a team ranked higher than them, they will move up in the rankings. Similarly, if they lose to a low-ranked team, they will move down.

So at the end of the day, a team can go a whole season undefeated and still finish unranked – if they only play unranked teams. For that reason, coaches need to plan their team’s calendar well. 

In addition to the team ranking, there is also a singles ranking and a doubles ranking, and they both work the same way – you get more points the better your win is. Normally only the top 2 or 3 players of each team have opportunities to become ranked.

Final Thoughts

Playing college tennis is an unforgettable experience, and we always recommend that players should pursue this experience if they have the chance to do so. While we have covered the basics of how a college tennis match works, you might still be left with a bunch of other questions about college tennis. If that’s the case, we wrote a very detailed guide about college tennis that will answer every question you might have. Worth checking it out.

Serve Toss Consistency

Written by Austin Rapp in General Info,Technique

One of the most important elements of the serve is the ball toss. The toss is the foundation of the serve and even though it seems like an elementary step, it could very well be the difference between your serve being a strength or a liability.

The 3 keys to a good serve toss are placement, height, and consistency. When you master these three elements of the toss, you will be able to create a repeatable service motion around it.

In order to practice your ball toss, I recommend using film of your service motion. You may feel that the toss is in a similar spot every time, but looking at the film of your serve may tell you otherwise. 

Placement

If your toss is in the wrong spot, it will be difficult to find any consistency on the serve. There are two elements of placement that you should be focusing on: left to right, and front and back.  

Left to Right

When judging if the toss is in the correct spot right to left, I look at a player from the back. I generally look for one thing from this view: if the toss looks like it would land on the player’s head if he let it drop, the toss is in the correct spot. Watch below as I hit a kick second serve, but the toss would be landing on my head if I didn’t hit the ball.

Kick Serve

Generally, if your toss is too far to the left or right you will have a hard time getting that “pop” on your serve. I find that when players toss the ball directly over their head, they can hit any type of serve with good speed. 

Front and Back

When judging if a toss is too far in front or too far behind a player, look at film facing the player along the baseline. The toss may vary slightly for this depending on what kind of serve you are hitting, and that is fine because it is harder for an opponent to read the variation from front to back.

The toss should always be in front of the baseline whether it is a first serve or second serve. For second serves, I like to bring it back a touch closer to the baseline so that I am able to get under the ball more. For first serves, your toss should be about 6-18 inches inside the court depending on your height, motion, etc. Here is a video for reference. 

Height

The height of your toss is another important aspect of the serve that is fairly easy to master. Tossing the ball too low will result in lack of power, while tossing the ball too high will make it harder to time the contact.

Height Variation for Different Serves

The height of the contact point varies slightly based on what kind of serve you are hitting. If you are hitting a kick serve, you want to let the toss drop a split second so that you can get up the back of the ball. 

For a first serve, you want to get the height of your contact point almost as high as your arm and body will allow. Hitting the ball from the highest point possible will give you more pop in the long run. More leverage means you will be able to hit the serve bigger as the net becomes less of a factor.

Getting the Height Right: Not too High, Not too Low

As you can see in the videos, the toss isn’t too high or too low. When the ball is hit my arm is almost fully extended. This tells you I have the toss high enough. 

While a high toss is very important, having your toss too high can lead to mistiming. As the ball is coming down, gravity is causing the ball to speed up. Obviously if the ball is speeding up as it is coming down, it will be harder to time. 

A good visual I use to get the best height on your toss is to get the toss to rest on a shelf. Imagine that there is a shelf resting right where you are going to make contact. Your goal is to get your toss to land on the shelf without bouncing on it. In theory, this should get you to toss the ball without dropping too much before contact, but high enough so that it gets up to the shelf. 

Watch below as Martin Redlicki of UCLA tosses the ball in a perfect spot. You can see that the ball drops only a few inches before contact is made.

Martin Redlicki first serve at 2018 NCAA individuals.

Consistency

A consistent toss is essential to a good serve. If you watch the top players in the world, their toss only varies slightly. Consistency of the toss is important for players at all levels because it leads to repeatability. The serve is the most repeatable shot in tennis because it is fully in the player’s control. 

Don’t overthink this: it is very simple to create a repeatable toss. The three keys to this are fluidity, light fingers and practice.

First, fluidity with your arm avoids a “jerky” motion. Stay relaxed and get good extension upwards with your tossing arm.

Secondly, toss with your fingertips rather than the palm of your hand. A lot of people try to toss the ball like they would throw it. Remember, you don’t need to create power with the toss, only control. Using your fingertips will lead to more control.

Tossing lightly with your fingertips leads to control.

Finally, practice makes perfect. Your toss isn’t going to magically get better. Watch your toss on film so that you can get it perfect enough to feel confident in a match. 

Remember: Achieving consistency takes time. There is no penalty in tennis for catching your toss and starting your motion over again. It is important to recognize when your toss is wrong so that you can correct it, so don’t be afraid to catch your toss.

Final Thoughts

The toss is what starts the service motion, so a poor toss will lead to a poor serve. Honing in on getting the proper height, placement, and consistency in your toss will allow you to build a powerful serve around it. 

Everyone’s toss will vary a bit, so use the information in this article as a guideline. If your toss is a couple of inches left or right of where mine is, that’s ok. Everyone’s motion is different, and it’s most important to keep the motion fluid. That being said, hopefully you were able to find some good information here to improve your serve!

Questions? Let us know how we can help! Leave a comment and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.

Why Do Tennis Players Live In Monte Carlo?

Written by Karue Sell in General Info

If you are an avid tennis watcher, you might have noticed that many tennis players have set their residency in Monte Carlo. There is one simple explanation for that. 

The reason why tennis players like Novak Djokovic live in Monte Carlo is that it is considered a tax haven. The Principality of Monaco does not collect personal income taxes and does not levy net wealth taxes. The highest-ranked players in the world earn millions of dollars a year in prize money and sponsorship deals, so choosing to live in a tax haven is a lucrative decision.

While taxes are undoubtedly a tedious subject, taxation in professional tennis is incredibly unique because players earn their living in a different country every week and tax laws change from country to country. Below we covered the topic more in-depth.

Tennis Players and Tax Havens

Monaco is one of the few tax haven’s used by tennis players in order to avoid paying income taxes. Some players have chosen Dubai, Switzerland and The Bahamas for the same economic reasons. Here is a list with some ATP Players who reside in tax havens.

  • Novak Djokovic – Monte Carlo, Monaco
  • Stefanos Tsisipas – Monte Carlo, Monaco
  • Daniil Medvedev: Monte Carlo, Monaco
  • Alexander Zverev – Monte Carlo Monaco,
  • Matteo Berretini – Monte Carlo, Monaco
  • Gael Monfils – Switzerland
  • David Goffin – Monte Carlo, Monaco
  • Stan Wawrinka – Monte Carlo, Monaco, 
  • Karen Kachanov – Dubai, UAE
  • Alex de Minaur – New Providence, Bahamas
  • Grigor Dimitrov – Monte Carlo, Monaco
  • Feliz Auger Aliassime – Monte Carlo, Monaco
  • Denis Shapovalov – Nassau, Bahamas
  • Lucas Pouille – Dubai, UAE
  • Benoit Paire – Geneva, Switzerland
  • Borna Coric – Dubai, UAE
  • Nick Kyrgios – Nassau, Bahamas
  • Jo-Wilfred Tsonga – Gingis, Switzerland
  • Milos Raonic – Monte Carlo, Monaco. 
Grigor Dimitrov enjoying his time off in Monte Carlo
Source: Instagram

As we can see, this is quite the extensive list and it is not exclusive to men. A number of WTA stars also have residency in tax havens, including petra kvitova (Monte Carlo), Caroline wozniacki (monte Carlo), garbine muguruza (switzerland). Living in countries free of income taxes has been long practiced by professional tennis players, dating back to legends like Bjorn Borg and Goran Ivanisevic. 

Tennis Earnings and Taxes

In order to understand why so many players go through the trouble of relocating in order to avoid income taxes, first we need to understand how taxation works in professional tennis. This, however, is a very complicated subject because tennis players compete across the entire world and each country has specific tax laws for foreign earnings. Because of that, players are taxed where they earn their money, which automatically cuts their prize money earnings significantly. For example, foreigner players pay a flat 30% tax on their earnings while competing in the United States. On top of that, the same earnings can be subject to taxation in their home countries, albeit dependable on the tax relationship between both countries. Therefore, it is economically smart for players to live in tax havens in order to avoid double taxation. 

Another thing we need to keep in mind is that tennis players have diverse income streams. While prize money figures can be astronomical for top players, the bulk of their earnings comes from sponsorship deals, appearance fees and exhibitions. For example, Roger Federer earned $93 million dollars in 2019, but “only” $7.4 million came from prize money. While the majority of the players earn significantly less than Federer in endorsements, they still want to protect their earnings and maximize their profits. Tennis is costly and top pros have many expenses including travel, coaches, trainers and so on so saving money by living in tax havens like Monaco is beneficial in the long run. 

Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo

Circling back to Monte Carlo, it is undeniable that the city is breathtaking. For those who can afford residing there, the city provides a luxurious lifestyle and a stunning landscape. On top of that, the geographical location of the region is appealing for two reasons. First, the Mediterranean weather makes Monte Carlo a great place for training outdoors year around; the city gets over 300 sunny days a year. Winters in the country are typically shorter and warmer than the average European winters which is great for off season training. Second, Monte Carlo’s location is ideal for traveling. The region’s proximity to all European tournaments translates into a convenient base for tennis players.

In conclusion, it is clear that players who reside in Monte Carlo do so for financial reasons. While people may argue that players end up not paying millions of dollars in taxes to their home countries, it is hard to blame them for protecting their finances. Rafael Nadal, one of the few top pros who chooses to be based in his hometown of Mallorca, pays over 50% taxes on his yearly income. In an interview, he stated that “if I lived in another part of the world, I would have earned double, but in Mallorca I have my friends and family. So I would have twice the money but be half as happy”. Given that the Spaniard makes close to $30 million dollars a year, it is hard to fathom giving half of it away. Now tell us, if you were in the same position as the top pros, would you try to live in a tax haven or would you continue to live in your home country?

How To Play Tennis Like You Practice

Written by Gui Hadlich in Mental,Tactics

How To Play Tennis Like You Practice

In tennis, just like in pretty much every other area of our lives, practice makes perfect. In order to dominate such an amazingly complex sport, you need to practice a lot. It is estimated that, in order to fully master the sport (at the top pro level), you need to complete at least 10,000 hours of practice. So if you’re trying to get better, nothing will be better than spending time on the tennis court.

One frequent problem we see with tennis players is that they can feel their improvement when they are practicing, but when it comes time to play matches, they feel like all their hard work went down the drain. Trust me, I can definitely relate to that – I suffered from the same issue until I was 14 years old. I had such a good work ethic for being young, and my coaches could see that I was on the right path. And yet, when it came to matches, I would always underperform. 

I remember it vividly one time when I was 12 years old and I had just lost by 6×1 6×1 in the first round of a tournament and my mom told me – in an attempt to be supportive – “I think you did good son! It was not an easy match, I actually saw the other kid getting angry at one point!” So yes, I was pretty bad. But eventually, I got better and better at playing matches, and I ended up loving the thrill of playing a tough match.

If you want to play like you practice, you need to practice like you play. It all comes down to how much and how you practice. During a match, you are exposed to factors you are not used to, like nerves, strategy, and different weather conditions. You need to practice the feeling of playing a match and the tactical aspects of the game.

Below we will cover this topic a little more in-depth, which should help you identify the reasons why you underperform during matches and help you fix whatever is going on.

Identify Why You Underperform In Matches

The first step to getting better at playing like you practice is identifying the reason why you underperform when you play. There are several different reasons why that could be happening, including nerves, bad footwork, too many mistakes, or a lack of tactics. Identifying the reason will help you come up with a good game plan to get better.

Nerves

One of the main reasons why people cannot play tennis as well as they practice is because they get too nervous. Sometimes we build up too many expectations, especially if we have been practicing a lot and we want to show how much we have improved. The problem is that when that happens, your muscles inevitably get tense and your feet stop moving. And as you must know, you need to move your feet well and feel relaxed in order to play your best tennis. 

I’ve struggled with nerves for a good part of my tennis career, and I know how frustrating it can be. You may even be telling your body and your brain that everything is going to be ok, but your stubborn brain still does not believe you. Even though this can be quite annoying, it can definitely be fixed pretty easily if you follow some of the tips we will go over below.

Bad Footwork

The second reason why you may not be playing as well as you would like is that you don’t have a great footwork. If you are not used to playing a lot of matches, your footwork will be based on how you practice – which is very different from a real match. During a match, you are usually under different conditions, and your footwork needs to match them. The problem is that when things aren’t working well, we tend to focus too much on our upper body and on where the ball is going – even though the majority of errors are caused because of poor footwork. So if your footwork is not working well, you may be missing more shots than you are used to.

Too Many Mistakes

Sometimes you may feel like you make a lot more mistakes when you play than when you practice. And chances are you are right. This issue can happen because of several reasons, including you being too nervous, your footwork not working great, or your opponent hitting shots that you are just not used to. Regardless of the initial reason why we are missing more than usual, the main problem is that we tend to get too caught up on our errors. And the more we focus on our past errors, the more negative we become and the more future errors we are bound to make.

Don’t Know Where To Hit Shots

One of the big challenges when you’re playing (especially for beginners) is knowing where to hit shots. Usually when you are practicing you know exactly what you are supposed to do and where you’re supposed to hit shots, but when you’re playing a match you have a lot more freedom. And along with the freedom comes the necessity of making quick decisions. If you’re not used to playing that much, you like don’t have tactical patterns ingrained in your brain – and that can make it hard to know where to hit shots. And at the end of the day, if you’re hitting shots in the wrong places, you’ll feel like you are not performing as well as you should be.

What To Do To Play Like You Practice

The reasons we mentioned above are by no means the only ones why you’re not playing like you practice – they are just the ones we see very often. So we suggest that if you haven’t yet identified the reason behind your struggle, you do some reflecting in order to find the underlying issue. Once you have identified what’s really going on, you can move on to the practical steps below and get to work.

Practice Like You Play

If you want to play like you practice, you need to practice like you play. You can’t just do hand-fed drills and expect that you will be ready to play matches. You need to get used to match situations, different shot variations, and to the footwork you need to use when playing an actual match. So one important step in order to optimize your game is to incorporate game-situations into your practice. Ask your coach (or work on your own time) to add points, baseline games, and match situations to your practice. By getting used to situations like playing a 30-40 or playing with the wind will help you get much better at playing matches.

Think And Visualize

Great news – you can actually work on your game without being on a tennis court. We are big believers in the importance of the mental side of tennis, and therefore we think you can benefit greatly from practicing that. Even working on it for 10 minutes a few times a week can bring a lot of benefits. When you’re working on it, you should find a quiet place, close your eyes and try to visualize yourself playing a match. When you do that, try to identify how your body and mind feel and try to imagine how you would win points. This may seem strange if you haven’t done it before, but I’m telling you that this automatically transfers to your on-court game. I’ve done it and I recommend it.

Play, Play, Play!

Finally, there’s nothing – I repeat, NOTHING – that will help you play at a high level like actually playing matches. Even though you may get frustrated or discouraged at first, you need to push through and continue playing matches and tournaments. You will eventually learn a lot about your own game and start feeling more comfortable on the court – and your game will skyrocket.

I went through this process during my last year of juniors, when I was 18. I knew it would be my last opportunity to play a Grand Slam, so I decided to go all-in. I went to Europe and I decided to play tournaments for 12 weeks in a row, with no breaks. Even though I – by a miracle – was able to play the qualifying of the Junior French Open, the trip was an absolute disaster. In 12 weeks, I won a total of 5 matches. Out of those 5, only 1 was in the main draw. And even though it was an incredibly tough experience, I learned a lot from it and as soon as I came back I reached the semi-finals of a professional tournament. So if you take one thing out of this article, is that you have to play, play, and play!

Final Thoughts

There are several reasons why you may not be able to play as well as you practice, but the good news is that you can actually overcome any of those reasons. Whether you feel like you get too nervous, like you make too many mistakes, or like you just don’t know where to hit your shots, you will eventually get better at it. By following the tips we mentioned above, you will one day feel like you were born to play tennis matches!