Tournaments are part of the tennis journey. It doesn’t matter if you have just started playing tennis or you play tennis for several years, at one point you will start competing. Firstly you will play in domestic tournaments but later on you will want to feel like top stars. And compete in international tournaments.
The market of tennis equipment is huge. Players can choose any racket they want. From light-weight and oversize heads to stable frames going over 320g and with smaller heads that guarantee more power. But to play tennis you need more than racket. Grips, balls, shoes also count and can have a big impact on on-court performance. That is why it is crucial to take care of basic equipment to play up to your level.
In tennis we can choose only 2 directions to hit. Either we can hit the ball cross-court or down the line. The lower the level the more shots should go diagonally because it is safe direction that guarantees good consistency. What about the down the line direction? Should it be restricted just to players who we can watch on TV? Not really.
Tennis tournament provides a great opportunity for tennis players to check own level of performance as also to try to beat other rivals in the quest of winning the trophy. In tennis you have to wait until the schedule is done to discover the time you will be playing the match but only first matches’ time is guaranteed because the next rounds’ starting time depends on the course of the previous matches. If you play morning match you have to make sure that your body and mind are ready for this challenge.
Many people, including tennis community, are looking forward to the end of 2020. Many industries have been severely affected by the pandemic. The same has happened to tennis competition, which resulted in the season being turned completely upside down. Event organisers as well as tennis players struggled a lot to make things go according to plan. Certainly, some of the players cannot be satisfied with their performance this year and it just confirms how unfortunate this past season was. Read their stories that concern both aspects of sport and other life areas.
After we summarised the crucial moments of 2020 in female tennis, it’s time to discuss the events of the male competition. Although, as expected, the highest-ranked players dominated the most important tournaments of the season, some new names made their appearance and challenged the favourites.
Andrey Rublev
Tennis is a game where players can choose different ways to win the point. They can play on the baseline or come to the net. They can use sheer power or focus totally on control. They can try to finish the point as soon as possible or they can be patient and keep the ball in play over and over again. Knowing that it is important to work on variety of skills because it will allow players to choose the most effective strategy against particular opponent.
For many years, with just a few exceptions, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have shown undisputed domination in the major tennis tournaments. One can say, they all get an equal slice of the cake. As long as they are on top, this will come down to endless discussion, who is capable of taking over the reins and if a new male tennis star is still yet to arise.
The ATP Finals currently played in London are the last chapter of the professional tennis circuit in 2020. Fans are excited about a new season and another Grand Slam tournament, which is going to take place on the courts of sunny Australia. However, it’s become uncertain whether they’ll get a chance to see the world’s best male and female tennis players at all as the organisation of the event has been called into question.
Recreational players is the biggest group of tennis participants in the world. All the courts are full of players who want to spend free time after work or school on playing this beautiful sport. Recreational game with partner is a great way to have fun, stay active and play sport without additional costs. However should you consider hiring the private coach? Let’s see.
Every year, after the tour is over, we summarise the events of the past season. 2020 welcomed us with exceptionally unusual circumstances, compared to the previous years. Obviously, the main reason for that is the pandemic, which caused lots of tournaments to have been cancelled. Nevertheless, we have managed to pick the male and female tennis players, who can surely admit that 2020 “was their time to shine”, regardless of the global situation. Let’s start with the women’s tennis and the WTA circuit.
Victoria Azarenka
Every point in tennis has the same value. We can only win 1 point or lose 1 point. For example In basketball players don’t lose points but they can score 1, 2 or 3 points. This specific characteristics of tennis should bring the same attention to every point but because scoring system is based on points, games and sets, we know that some points create more pressure than others. Especially the break points.
Only a few days ago the Spaniards celebrated the 13th Grand Slam triumph of Rafael Nadal in Roland Garros. Although the tennis player from Manacor is getting older, nobody else seems to be able to challenge him on the courts in Paris. However, he is not the only reason for the Spanish fans to be hopeful about what the future holds for them, as among other solid players there is one who can become a Nadal’s successor. Carlos Alcaraz has everything to reach this level soon and to be an equal rival to Nadal himself.
In some countries tennis is played outside all year long. In other countries season is divided into indoor season and outdoor season. It doesn’t matter where we live because we will always have an opportunity to play some balls with no roof over our heads. It means that opponent won’t be the only challenge we will have to deal with. Weather will be too.
What happened over the past few days during Roland Garros was something the Polish tennis fans could only dream of for many years. Although Agnieszka Radwańska and Jerzy Janowicz used to perform outstandingly on the international courts, along with Łukasz Kubot, who is still brilliant in doubles, up until now, we had lacked the icing on the cake – a Grand Slam championship in singles. Even though Iga Świątek has always been considered a great hope for this discipline in Poland, just two weeks ago barely anybody would have thought she would make the fans’ dreams come true in Paris.
These days many tennis fans have faced a completely unusual situation. Nobody could expect tennis tournaments to have been suspended in April and be back only after several months, in August. Who would’ve thought that the US Open would take place in such circumstances – without cheering fans, under a strict sanitary regime. Although some people may have already come to terms with the suspension of any tennis matches, the organisers of the exhibition tournaments cheered the fans up.
Practice sessions provide big opportunities to become better tennis player. Drills, intensity, and volume of single training sessions have big influence on the quality of player’s work and future progress. Players spend time on improving baseline skills, net game skills as also serve and return abilities. In this article we will focus on the most common mistakes that players make while working on volleys.
Achieving success requires hard work. Without maximum effort, it is impossible to beat other competitors and get to the top. However, the quantity doesn’t always equal quality, so the players have to be careful with the amount of work they do every day. As we said, the more is not always the better. Sometimes, too much work can lead to negative consequences. Without any doubt, one of those negative consequences is overtraining. The players have to run to every ball, bend knees, and accelerate the racket to take the most of every shot. Who gives up on the court, stays behind the rest.
Tennis players have just gone through their first tournament starts after the break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have spoken with Karol Drzewiecki, currently the 159th doubles player in the world. After the resumption of the competition, Karol has already played in several ATP Challenger Tour tournaments, and shared his feelings regarding the events with Top Level Tennis.
One of the aspects that are always mentioned while talking about champions is confidence. This mental ability has a big influence on physical performance and the level of confidence is responsible for the good or bad quality of their own game. However, is it possible to build self-confidence, or is it a skill that only a few people were born with?
It has long been known that tennis players, when preparing for the season, set a goal for themselves to have the best form in four particular periods. These are the times when the Grand Slam tournaments are played - the events where the players can get the most, whether it is about the ATP and WTA ranking points, or the big money that lies on the court. The situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic caused the current season to be turned upside down. In the end, however, the US Open is to be played, which in many aspects will not resemble the event we used to watch before.
For every tennis player, the upcoming tournament is a big event. Athletes train hard, invest a lot of money and sacrifice many things to fight for the win to proceed to the next round. To increase your chances of a brilliant performance, you should prepare thoroughly for this special event. But when should you start preparing for the competition?
Looking at the tennis match, we can easily notice which areas of the performance are most apparent. Powerful strokes, quick movement, or balanced position are the factors that top players possess at the highest level, but these are not the only skills that decide about their ability to play effectively against the more advanced opponents. The whole process starts with a little jump, which is a split step.
The last tournaments of ATP Challenger Tour rank, which have successfully started, took place at the beginning of March, more precisely in its second week, and were played in the Potchefststroom and Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, in both cases, the event was not finalized, and the competition was finished in the second round. The organizers of the event had no other option as the coronavirus pandemic was taking its toll all around the world, and nobody wanted the tennis players to get stuck in one of the countries for several days.
Tennis consists of many single points. To win the game, we have to win at least four points. To win the set, we have to win at least six games. To win the match, we have to win at least two sets. It all looks simple, but the more we play tennis, the more we understand that during some points, we feel different than during the other points. So, does every point count the same?
Without any doubt, all of us tennis fans regret the fact that tennis games to which we have been used to for over a decade are now suspended. The tournaments that all tennis enthusiasts grieve the most is, of course, the Grand Slam. In the end, it is no secret that the tournament that gathers the largest number of supporters is Wimbledon - an event which, due to its environment and attachment to tradition, is extremely awaited by everyone. This year, as we already know, the championship in London will not take place.
Top players use their unique weapons all the time. Roger Federer uses his forehand to dominate rivals, while Serena Williams is the champion of the baseline, and she feels the best in this area of the court. Rafa Nadal is known as the king of clay, and his consistency is marvelous. What about you? Are you aware of your weapons? No matter the answer, you should consider the powerful potential of the weapon called topspin.
At the time of the pandemic, many athletes found themselves in a difficult situation. However, most of them have signed contracts, so in the end, some (although less than in the usual circumstances) money goes to their bank accounts. This allows them to survive the times when they can't do their regular job. On the other hand, there are tennis players who make their money only when they go out on the court. At this point, not counting the individual sparring tournaments, it is simply impossible to work for them.
Tennis players can use any strokes they want to increase own chance for winning the battle. There are no limitations according to technical and tactical executions. It simply creates a possibility for everyone to put pressure on the rival and force opponent to make more mistakes. One of the aspects that especially female competitors struggle with is responding to slice.
It’s been another week… another week when our life is totally different and lacks daily routine. Tennis players are also strongly affected by the lockdown. Those who competed on different tournament levels, starting from the highest ranked ATP tournaments, ending with ITF events, cannot practice as they used to anymore. How has the life of tennis players changed since the pandemic broke out?
