TennisIDENTITY

Book review: Tennis Skills & Drills

Tennis Skills & Drills is a new book by 8 year ATP tour veteran Joey Rive and Scott Williams, former coach to Tommy Haas and Max Mirnyi. The book is more of a tennis manual than long read and does a nice job explaining modern day stroke techniques, shot making and game tactics for all player levels. 

This is a great have-at-home especially for for those trying to grow their game without the benefit of regular private lessons.The authors have gone into tremendous detail on just about every aspect of shotmaking.They even cover game-plan breakdowns.

It's like the tennis instruction diary I've tried to create based upon multiple lessons and always dropped. You can skip around from section to section focusing on what your game needs most or what you have coming up (big match). Doubles players there is a tactics section for you too.

At $24.95 Tennis Skills & Drills is a fraction of the cost of an hour lesson and worth it if you are willing to take the time to read and absorb.

Look for world #5, David Ferrer, on the cover. Yeah, I'd like to have HIS game. Published by Human Kinetics and available now at bookstores everywhere..

How do your tennis strokes compare to the pro's? Video analysis without the big tag.

No question, visualization is an effective method for reinforcing tennis strokes but professional video analysis can be expensive. For those who want a look but can't afford packages being offered at clubs and training centers, Ultimate Pro Compare offers VOTSA (Video Overlay Tennis and Sports Analysis), an accessible and affordable way to analyze your tennis strokes. Analysis per shot/stroke starts at $20.

Here's how it works: Peruse the strokes of a number of touring pros Ultimate Pro Compare has hosted on the site. Pick a pro and shot you want to compare with and then upload a video of you making the same shot ( f. ex. a serve or cross court forehand). VOTSA compares your strokes to the pros by placing them side by side for comparison. That's level one.

Take it a step farther and for $50 you get a complete stick figure overlay with swing path and eye contact analysis (as illustrated above in screen grab). The stick figure is your selected pro's exact position at every point during your stroke. You will see, for example,  if your racquet position before point of contact is as close to the pros as you think. Pro strokes on the site also include those of: Kevin Anderson, Jeremy Chardy, Mark Knowles, Dmitry Tursunov, Donald Young, Fernando Verdasco, Mahesh Bhupathi (cousin of VOTSA's creator), Agnes Szavay, Nadia Petrova, Alize Cornet, Sorana Cirstea and more.

Each video on the site was professionally video taped for instructional purposes. Groundstrokes, volleys, inside outs and tricks are included and shot from a number of different angles. 

Notes: You need to enter an email and create a password to access any portion of Ultimate Pro Compare's website aside from the home page. You will not be charged for anything unless you upload a video and ask to be charged.

There are no restrictions on the type of video you can upload. Have someone use your iPhone, flip camera, anything that creates a video file for you to upload from your computer. Each video should have a sequence of 4 shots of each stroke you want looked at; one separate video per stroke.

Your personal video analysis is available within your VOTSA account online within 2-4 business days.

Learn more at Ultimate Pro Compare.

Round-Up: Headbands for tennis

There are two kinds of headbands for tennis, those designed to keep sweat out of your eyes and those that keep hair out of your face.

First, the sweat managers:

Nike's swoosh bandanas are 100% cotton (stays wet while sweating), $12. If you've got the face and hair, these look darn good (case in point on left). adidas, K-Swiss and Fila, also make a tie variety (all are poly blend).

Right, by adidas, are the more traditional cotton terry variety, 75% cotton with stretch, $5.99 for two. Let's just say it's a very functional style. I see a lot of these on men. Fila, Nike, K-Swiss and Lacoste also make them.

bondiband makes a thin sweat wicking headband in multiple colors and fun/motivational prints, $8.00. All are meant to be worn across the forehead or at the hairline (as pictured here). They are attractive and very quick-drying (so you are never wearing a soaking band). Look for the one with crossed tennis racquets in the sport section. They carry quite a few men's styles as well. 

Second, the hair managers:

Women who wear these do not feel comfortable with a headband across their forehead. Problem is, comfortable, functional, hair-taming bands are hard to find because most slip unless sitting at the hairline or forehead. Many wear hard u shaped plastic bands.

What you need to look for are headbands with strips of silicone gripper tape on the side against your hair. Yoga manufacturers like Lululemon sell these. Their Slipless Headband, $12, is pictured here. I've also seen silicone lined bands at Athleta. I am not finding them yet in branded tennis apparel.

Find adidas, Nike, Fila, K-Swiss and Lacoste headbands at Tennis-Warehouse and tennis retailers worldwide.

 

THE TENNiS APP. Tennis lessons from the Bryans in your iPhone.

File this one under How did I miss this? THE TENNiS APP offers detailed tennis instruction courtesy of Bob and Mike Bryan, yeah - the number one doubles team in the world. Whatever you want to work on, slice approach, forehand volley, overhead, the basics are there (trick shots too) and in the palm of your hand (for iPhone and iPad).

The App offers a look at the strokes of a few pro players and gives succinct text commentary on what you are watching. You can replay again and again frame by frame to visually ingrain the techniques in keep-on-doin-it-the-old-way brains. 

Add news, rankings, scores for current tournaments and, bonus for lefties, the App can automatically flip instruction to help a lefty's game. You won't need to mentally transpose the videos.

Behind the App are the Bryans of course as well as a team of teaching pros and tour players.

Find it now in the App store under THE TENNiS APP. Free. Available for Android devices later in 2011.

 

Cheap Tennis Fix under $20. Flair for Your Strings.

Tennis racquet vibration dampeners are designed to reduce the shock you feel when hitting a ball. Some people use them, some don't. If you do, express yourself baby.

Unlike the movie Office Space, less is more when it comes to flair. Suit your mood or interests, or have one custom made for your team. Find them at String-a-ma-jig. $4 each for ready-mades.

Tennis-Warehouse has all the brand name logo'd ones: Babolat, Prince, Gamma, Wilson and more...

String-a-mag-jig has the "smiley" Novak Djokovic used to use. I miss it. He's got a HEAD one in at the moment. That's the contract talking. 

Cheap Tennis Fix under $20. ElastoCross by Babolat

No this is not a new product but it's first in a new series looking at cheap tennis fixes (under $20). Babolat's ElastoCross is a great fix for anyone who breaks strings a lot. Online a dispenser runs $5.99 and I know pros who say this stuff lives up to its advertised "50% more string durability" billing. That's good savings.

String protectors are an easy way to extend the life of your tennis strings. They reduce the friction that the rubbing of crosses and mains causes. Most people who use them swear by this particular brand because it's easy to use and works well.

According to Roman Prokes at RPNY in New York, the use of polyester strings has reduced the number of people using string protectors (Pete Sampras was a regular user) but, if you are a string breaker putting these on when your strings look a little worn can earn you extra games on a string job.

According to Prokes, ElastoCross will make a newly strung racquet feel tight. He suggests putting them on your racquet's sweetspot once your racquet has been used a while. If you play with natural gut you can preload with these for longevity.

$5.99 at Tennis Warehouse.