4 Reasons To Keep Playing Tennis

Yesterday I had a lesson that went badly - really badly. For the last 10 minutes, I played out points crosscourt with my coach. I was receiving on the forehand side. I didn't even have to serve! Just play out the points.

I think I won one point out of maybe 35 serves. My returns were all over the place. I followed the wrong returns in. I couldn't hit an overhead. I couldn't hit a volley.

After this awful performance, my reaction was, of course, "I need to quit tennis."

And I woke up this morning STILL going over my poor play. But, I was finally able to get a grip on myself because I remembered - there are lots of good reasons to play tennis beyond winning points. Here are my top 4 reasons to keep playing tennis:

1. I have more and better friends because I play tennis. I started playing tennis because of the encouragement of so many of my friends. Apparently, I was the only woman in the neighborhood NOT playing tennis! And, as they promised, playing tennis has given us all something we can experience, practice, play, enjoy and, occasionally, hate together. I also have lots of new friends who I've come to know and love from my tennis teams. It is a fact - no one will sit with you and analyze each point of the match you just lost as intently as the partner with whom you just played.

2. I do more with my family because of tennis. I'm lucky. My husband is a great tennis player. He doesn't play regularly and doesn't really care to. He only plays to keep me happy. My older son is a natural tennis player - he's never taken a lesson and yet, I guess because he's a boy who plays other sports, he understands all of the nuances of spin and placement. His biggest fault is that, like many males, he's all about power. My youngest son wants to play tennis and loves to get out on the court with me. In fact, he actually LIKES to pick up balls and so it's great to have him out there. Even my daughter, who claims to be completely unathletic, can get out on the court and hit balls with her family. So tennis is something fun we can all do together that rarely degenerates into my husband and I yelling at the kids.

3. Guess what? I'm competitive! I honestly did not know this about myself because, sadly, I had not played any kind of sport since I was 12 years-old! But tennis has shown me that I like to compete and I like to win. Tennis gives me, and every woman I play with and against, a socially acceptable means of working out that competitive streak.

4. Tennis helps me stay in shape. Because I play ladies' doubles almost exclusively, I do not think I'm getting much of a workout when I play tennis. But I do make myself exercise on a very regular basis because I want every advantage I can get when I play. So I do aerobics several times a week because, while I may lack precision out on the court, I want my opponents to know I will always keep running down balls. I am also taking up yoga because I just can't get loose enough in my back, shoulders and arms to serve the way I would like. And I need to relax while I play. Maybe yoga isn't the answer, but what do I know? It can't hurt.

Simplify My Serve . . . Please!

We have all heard it - the serve is the most important stroke in tennis. It's the one time you have absolute control over the ball and you dictate exactly where it's going and what the other players will do in response. So I am the first to agree about the importance of the serve.

The problem for me is I just haven't gotten my serve to the point of being any kind of "weapon" in a match. And I think its just because there are just too many things to think about when serving. If you practice serving with an instructor, I'm guessing the litany of "service tips" sounds familiar to you: "Keep your chin up. Keep your tossing arm up longer. Get your toss out in front. Further in front. Accelerate the racquet before you hit the ball. Aim to the right of the target. Aim more to the right. Apply more spin. You're not keeping your chin up . . . " and blah, blah, blah.

The problem is I can't remember all of these things when the time comes to hit an actual serve in an actual match. Right now, I need a "simple serve" - something worked down to the most basic level that I can actually apply and feel good about in a match. So I've decided for the next few matches, I will try to think about only 3 things when I'm serving. And I'll work on these 3 things by practicing serves on my own over the next several weeks. And when these things become a part of my serve to the point where I don't have to think about them quite so much, I'll add something else. I'm not saying I won't EVER try to do EVERYTHING right. But I have enough to deal with mentally during my matches and I'm sure I would relax so much if I could just focus on a few things when serving.

Your list of 3 things might be a little different from mine. But try simplifying your serve by thinking about just 3 things. Here are my 3 simple things:

1. Toss - I get it. The whole serve depends on putting that toss in the right spot. I get impatient and just throw it up and hit every toss, no matter what. I am going to take my time and wait for a good toss (not the perfect toss, just a good toss).

2. Placement - I am going to try and put my serve in a specific spot, hoping to control what happens in the next shot or two from there. For example, if I can serve wide and draw the receiver off the court, maybe the net girl won't move quite fast enough to close up the middle giving me (or my partner) an easy winner down the middle that will have little chance of going out.

3. Spin - For me, this is the difference between my first serve and second serve. If you're my receiver, you might not see any difference in those two serves. But I am going to try and at least think about spin before I hit each serve and see if I can make your job a little more difficult.

Santa's Tennis Gift Guide

I was shopping in my favorite tennis store today because I heard they had a huge holiday sale going on. And they did! Thirty percent off all apparel - including all new Nike, which is pretty much what I wear. But looking around, I saw so many cute tennis items that I would love to give to my tennis buddies and would by happy to receive myself. So here are my top five things "Santa" could bring me this year that I would put to good use on the court:

1. Tennis Socks - You cannot have enough socks. I think my kids wear mine. Lately, I have seen really colorful, fun tennis socks that I know they wouldn't steal from me. My favorites: sassy ankle socks with the words "Tennis Snob" in rhinestones.

2. Instructional Videos & DVDs - Hasn't everything about tennis been filmed and said already? Apparently not. There are plenty of new videos and DVDs out there and, since I am a sucker for anything I think might improve my game, I would love to have some of the new releases.

3. Tennis Books - Along the same lines as #2, there are so many new books - not all instructional. I haven't even read James Blake's autobiography yet so that would be new to me. It is definitely something I'll be looking for under my tree.

4. Tennis Bag - My first one was basic black. My second was a purple (gasp!) tote. But I now have my eye on one that's a double-racquet Pucci-inspired bag, hot pink and yellow, with lots of room for balls, water bottles, sunscreen, etc. This will give exactly the right message to opponents when I arrive on the court, especially with the rhinestone socks above (Message: This girl spends way too much money on tennis!).

5. Tennis PJs and Slippers - OK, so these won't help my game out much. But they were too cute and, if I'm thinking about tennis in my sleep, it can't hurt. Right?

How to Join a Tennis Team

It's the end of the fall tennis season and all three of my teams are wrapping up. Thinking about the next season, I find myself talking with my team mates about where these teams are going - strengths of various players, weaknesses, who plays well together, who doesn't, who is staying on the team, who is leaving. But while all of this talk is interesting (at least I think it is), the truth is once you're on a team, it's almost impossible to get kicked off!

If only you could get on those really great teams . . .

So how do you join a tennis team in the first place? And how do you move up to a better team when you're ready?

Here are my tips for finding and joining a tennis team:

1. Talk to your friends - If you're interested in tennis, you must have friends who are playing tennis. And most likely, at least some of them are playing on teams. If you're already on teams, you know who is playing on the higher level teams. So find out if your friends are on teams looking for new players or if they know other captains who might need players. And, when you get those names, don't be afraid to "cold call" captains to find out if they have spots open - captains are always looking for players to join their teams.

2. Talk to your tennis coach or pro - Any good tennis pro not only teaches, he is also talking to his students to find out how their games are going. Are they winning or losing? And just how are their teams doing? Your tennis pro should know the teams that his students play on and he probably knows if they have openings. The great thing about talking to your pro about joining a team is that he knows what level you play at and can help you find a team that is appropriate for you.

3. Talk to the Tennis Director at your club - This is their job! If you're paying dues to belong to a club that has a Tennis Director, she better know what teams are playing out of her club, who is captaining each team, and hopefully, who is looking for new players. Have your Tennis Director give you names and phone numbers for these captains and, again, don't be afraid to cold call.

4. Play in mixers, tournaments, drills and clinics - In other words, play a lot of tennis! These events are always fun and attract people who are "in to" tennis, like you and me. Chat them up and you are sure to come across a team captain or someone who knows of a team looking for a player just like you.

5. Become a sub - This is absolutely the best way to get on a team. So offer to be a sub and don't consider it to be beneath you. Because today you're a sub, tomorrow you're the player filling in for the team member who got injured and the next day, you're the reliable player that the team needs. And if you're looking to move to a higher level team, becoming a sub ensures that you'll get the challenging match play you need to make that leap up.

Am I Too Old for Tennis?

Am I just too old to be taking up tennis? I've been playing for almost four years now and feel like I'm not getting better fast enough. And I don't want to wait 20 years to get better!

So do I throw in the towel now, move on, maybe take up golf (please, no!)? Do I accept this level of mediocrity and keep playing unsatisfying B level tennis for the rest of my life? Or is there some remote possibility that, if I work hard and study up on this game enough, I might reach a level of proficiency where I'm actually happy with my game?

I've decided to bet on the last one on that list. If I think back to where I started (and Lord knows I don't like thinking back on those days), I have actually come a long way. And I'm sure if I keep up all that I'm doing with my game right now, I can go further.

So here's what I've been doing in the last few months and will be doing into the indefinite future - team clinic on Monday, private lesson on Wednesday afternoon, league play on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, drop-in drills on most Saturdays, ball machine when I can fit it in. Oh yeah - somewhere in there I have to take care of my doctor husband and three kids. It sounds like a lot but, if you've seen me play then you know - I need all the help I can get. And hopefully I can cut that 20 year learning curve down by a few years!

My Tennis Fixation

I have been searching the Internet for a site about tennis - my kind of tennis. I play ladies' tennis. To be precise, I play ladies' doubles. I've only been playing a few years and I'm never going to make it to the pros. But I'm OK with that. I just want to improve my game enough to play well against most of the people I know, right here in my own neighborhood.

And I would like to have more fun when I'm playing. While I want to have proper form and apply the right strategy, I also want to enjoy myself.

And I would love to look as fashionable as possible while playing. Arriving on court in a cute tennis outfit is often the highlight of my game!

And I do love talking about tennis - whether it be discussing my own play, how my teams are doing, or what is happening on the pro tours.

Well, I can't find a site that covers all of those things. So I'm starting my own! I know there are lots of women just like me, playing tennis on a regular basis and working hard to get better. That's what I'm doing and that's what I'll be talking about. So I hope you'll check here often for tennis tips, hints, observations and rants. I also hope you'll post your own comments and questions and be a part of my "Tennis Fixation."