Gearing Up - Preparing for a Summer of Training

     As the school year comes to an end, I find myself eager to begin a summer of intense training to prepare myself for my fall tennis season. Some of you may relate to the occasional lack of motivation when it comes to daily practice, so I have begun to brainstorm some methods to keep me motivated to practice throughout the summer. To start, I decided to watch some inspiring matches of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games. As both a tennis and Olympics fanatic, this was the perfect mixture to help my attitude towards practice. Below, is Serena Williams talking about her London experience.

  

   For Women's singles, Serena Williams took the gold, leaving Maria Sharapova with the silver, and Victoria Azarenka with the bronze. As for Men's singles, Andy Murray won the gold, Roger Federer, the silver, and Juan Martín del Potro, the bronze. All of these matches proved to be brutal, but each athlete showed phenomenal effort in playing to the best of their ability. The fact that they were playing in the Olympics helped me to see that hard work definitely pays off, and what you give, is what you get. 

     Another method to improve my motivation for summer training, is creating multiple playlists of music that can help me 'get in the zone' to work hard. Since music has such a massive influence on my life, I find it a very beneficial tool when I am in need of inspiration. I am including artists such as The Killers, Marina and the Diamonds, Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend, and many more. 

     Last, but not least, I will be eating healthier, to make it easier on my body to endure lengthy training sessions every day. I will focus more on proteins, fruits, and vegetables, and keep my meals more balanced.

     From these three ideas, I hope to gain a heightened sense of motivation when it comes to tennis. I look forward to a summer of achievement and improvement, and a successful season ahead. 

Works Cited:

WTA. "Serena Williams - USA | Tennis Player | London 2012 Olympics." YouTube. YouTube, 24 July     
               2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.

Life on the Court - What Tennis Means to Me

     Tennis has been, is, and always will be my deepest passion. Every time I unzip my tennis bag and see my racket, I am reminded of the many years I spent playing the sport I have come to love. When I hold the racket on the court, waiting for my opponent to serve, feelings of nostalgia surface immediately, of the early start to my tennis journey. I recall the player I used to be, determined, and willing, to practice until I got better. 
     To me, tennis is not just a sport, but a lifestyle. It requires commitment and self-motivation, but most of all, passion. The feeling I experience when I am playing on the court, focusing intently on my strokes, is like no other. The world stops around me, and I am alone, in that moment, playing my heart out. 
     My racket reminds me of the sacrifices I have made--of all the strokes that led me to where I am today. The satisfaction I feel, is extremely rewarding. 
     Throughout my journey, I have cherished many moments and made many memories that I will forever hold in my heart. Tennis has led me to a new perspective of life, that I am capable of reaching any dream, and achieving any goal that I set my mind to. It has given me a confidence that I am able to use both on, and off the court. 
     Without tennis in my life, I would feel empty, in that I would not have something to work for, or something to look forward to every day. Tennis is my escape from the plethora of stresses in life, and for that, I am grateful. 
     After years of playing, I am finally able to realize that tennis truly is, my everything. 

Another Blog About Tennis!

     I recently found a blog that I took much interest to, called "Heavy Topspin: A Tennis Blog." Run by Jeff Sackmann, this blog provided insight into topics about tennis that I had never explored. 
     I found myself intrigued by the deep analysis that each post contained, especially the posts about individual players. Instead of sticking to the usual shallow descriptions of the tennis world, Sackmann was able to "dig deeper" into the details of the game itself. 
     Personally, my favorite post of his, was titled, "A Quarterfinal on Federer's Racquet." In this particular post, Sackmann provides data pertaining to the match ups between Andy Murray (Great Britain), and Roger Federer (Switzerland). He included examples of their DR, or Dominance Ratios, in particular matches, as well as an in-depth analysis of their strategies when playing both each other, and other players. While reading this post, I learned that Federer was even more skilled of a player than I had previously thought, in that his game is  strong for both his forehand and his backhand, no matter what challenges his opponent presents him. 
     Another of my favorite entries, was a post called, "Novak Djokovic and a First-Serve Key to the Match." The first piece of information that truly intrigued me, was the statistical data about first-serve percentages that presented the conclusion that a player that has a higher first-serve percentage rate, is more likely to win their match. On the contrary, I read that Djokovic had a higher winning rate when he missed his first serve. Sackmann did not stop there, but continued to analyze the reasons why this pattern occurred in Djokovic's game, saying that, " But it does seem that different players face different risks. The typical pro could stand to make more first serves. But a few guys find that their results improve when they make fewer–presumably because they’re take more risks in an attempt to hit better ones" (Sackmann).

     Overall, this blog was an intriguing read; I would highly recommend checking it out, and/or subscribing! (Link Below)

http://heavytopspin.com

Welcome 2014

As we welcome the new year, we reflect on the events and memories of 2013. The past year held many historical moments in Grand Slam history. In the US Open, Serena Williams defeated Victoria Azarenka in women's singles, (7-5, 6-7, 6-1), winning the title for the second year in a row. 

Rafael Nadal was able to outlast his rival, Novak Djokovic, winning the final, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. As for the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic took the win in his thrilling four-set match against the world-renowned Andy Murray, (6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2).

In the women's singles final, Victoria Azarenka defeated Li Na of China, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. The French Open constituted of some intriguing match ups. Rafael Nadal defeated long-time champion, David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3, while Serena Williams was able to take another win in her match against Maria Sharapova, (6-4, 6-4).

At Wimbledon, Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, and Marion Bartoli beat Sabine Lisicki, 6-1, 6-4. From these thrilling matches, it is apparent that Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka, and Novak Djokovic were able to remain on the top of the leaderboards.

As for my personal resolutions for this new year, I have many pertaining to tennis. I am trying to strive for a better attitude during my countless practices, so that I will be able to learn and improve from my mistakes. Another resolution, is that I am aiming to practice at least three times a week. So far, I have been able to fulfill this goal, and I can only hope that it will prevail in the future. As the new year is before me, I greet it with an open mind and heart. I cannot wait to see what the future holds.



Photos:

Murray and Nadal. Photograph. NDTV Sports. NDTV Convergence Limited, 25 Aug. 2013. Web. 21    
               Jan. 2014.

Cummings, Daron. Serena's win. Photograph. Concord Monitor. Concord Monitor, 8 Sept. 2013. 
               Web. 21 Jan. 2014.

AFP Photography. Azarenka. Photograph. The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, 26 Jan. 
               2013. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.

Andy Murray Defeats Ferrer. Photograph. AceShowBiz. AceShowBiz, 08 Jul. 2013. Web. 21 Jan. 
               2014.