Tennis Quick Tips | Fun, Fast And Easy Tennis - No Lessons Required

What's one of the quickest ways to get re-energized in the middle of a tennis match?  It's simple.  Drink some water!  Being properly hydrated can keep you energetic and focused when you're playing a long match.  When you're dehydrated, you can feel weak, fuzzy-headed and even worse.  In this episode, I get some great hydration tips from physician and marathon runner, Dr. Jennifer Trotter.  We talk about how endurance athletes, like runners and tennis players, can stay properly hydrated when engaging in several consecutive hours of exercise.You can find the show notes for this episode at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips70And if you're interested in quickly and easily building up your tennis endurance and fitness, check out the details for my upcoming tennis mini-course, Simple Endurance Training for Tennis.  You can find information on the course and grab a free copy of the Quick Start Guide by visiting:http://tennisfixation.com/endurance

Did you know that as much a 80 percent of your time on the court during a tennis match is actually spent NOT hitting the tennis ball?  That's a lot of time.  How can you put all this time to good use?  In this episode, I'll tell you about the benefits of using rituals between points.  And I'll give you a quick, easy, non-quirky looking ritual that you can adopt for your own tennis game.You can find the show notes for this episode at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips69If you visit the show notes, you'll also find a link to sign-up for a free quick start guide to my upcoming Tennis Mini-Course, Simple Endurance Training for Tennis.  Just visit the show notes and follow the link.

So you've joined a tennis team, you've been a really good tennis team member, and now they've asked you to captain the team.  Should you take on that job?  And if you do, how can you make sure you're a great team captain?  In this episode of Tennis Quick Tips, I'll give you my best tips for being a great tennis team captain.You can find the show notes for this episode at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips68

Well, 2015 is here and for me, that always means coming up with a tennis goal or goals that I'd like to achieve in the new year.  I've done this for the past several years and sometimes I get there, but a lot of times I don't.  So this year, I'm approaching my tennis goals in a whole new way.  Rather that just having a goal in my mind that I'm working toward, I'm using a simple but powerful tool to help me achieve that goal.  And I think this tool can help you too.  So let's talk about tennis goals and how to achieve them in 2015.You can find the complete show notes for this episode, including an edited transcript, at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips67

This week, I'm answering the question of a college tennis player who suffers from something I think we've all experienced - spectator nerves.  The more she thinks about who's watching her play and how well she needs to play, the more she messes up and plays badly.  So we're going to talk about the mental game here and I'll give you my best tips for putting aside those spectator nerves and playing mentally strong tennis.You can find the show notes for this episode by going to:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips66

Your flexibility is an important part of your tennis game.  But as important as maintaining and even increasing your flexibility is, most of us neglect doing the stretching work that can really help our game.  Instead, we like to focus on fine-tuning our strokes, building up our strength, or working on our mental game.  Flexibility takes a back seat to almost everything else we do to become better tennis players. Well, that's about to change.  In this episode of Tennis Quick Tips, I'll give you some quick and simple stretching exercises that you can do to help maintain and even improve your flexibility.  Plus, I'll provide you with a free downloadable pdf guide with a complete stretching routine, including photos and descriptions, that you can quickly and easily perform.  You can find the show notes for this episode as well as the free pdf at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips65

If you become the least bit interested in tennis, you'll soon come across Arthur Ashe. If you watch any of the U.S. Open each year, you hear his name repeatedly since the main stadium for the U.S. Open is (you guessed it) Arthur Ashe Stadium. You may know that Arthur Ashe died in 1993 at the age of 49 from AIDS-related complications. He had an illustrious tennis career, winning 3 Grand Slam titles - the 1968 U.S. Open, the 1970 Australian Open, and Wimbledon in 1975.  And he did more to break down the race barriers in professional tennis than any player of his time.It wasn't too long after I took up tennis that I picked up Arthur Ashe's book, Arthur Ashe On Tennis: Strokes, Strategy, Traditions, Players, Psychology, and Wisdom. His book was published in 1995, after his death. So Ashe was not around to see all of the changes we see on the pro circuit today - powerful racquets, indestructible strings, open-stance strokes, exaggerated grips. But you and I aren't playing on the pro circuit (at

Here in Houston, it's cold.  And by cold, I mean we're often having to play tennis in temperatures that are below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  I know for many of you, temperatures like that sound pleasant if not downright balmy.  But look, people like me live in Houston for a reason and that reason is that we hate cold weather.  So, to us, what is balmy for Maine is absolutely freeezzzzing.  However you feel about what truly qualifies as cold weather, there's one thing we can all agree on - playing tennis when it's cold is a lot different than playing tennis when it's warm.  So in this episode, we're talking about how you can change your game to play even better tennis in the cold weather.You can find the complete show notes for this episode by going to:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips63Be sure and take the Tennis Fixation Year-End Survey to make your opinion known.  You can find it at:http://tennisfixation.com/survey

 recently got a new tennis racquet and was kind of happy with it.  Kind of.  After looking into what I might do to make it an even better racquet, however, I decided that I might be able to customize it to make it just right for me.  I did that using lead tape.  In this episode, I'll tell you how easy it is to use lead tape and how you can use it to customize your own tennis racquet.You can find the show notes for this episode at:http;//tennisfixation.com/quicktips62Also, be sure to enter the giveaway I'm having with Game Set Fab for a super cute tennis t-shirt.  You can find that at:http://tennisfixation.com/giveaway

A typical tennis match requires you to move all over the tennis court in an incredibly diverse number of ways.  You don't just run around the court, You sprint, reach, stretch, lunge, bend, leap, quickly change direction, and explosively start and stop.  You charge forward to the net.  You quickly back up when you get lobbed.  You run back and forth, diagonally, and every once in a while you jump up in hopes of stopping a lob.  In this episode, we'll talk about on-court movement and how you can improve your tennis footwork to make sure you're playing as well as you possibly can.You can find the show notes for this episode at:http;//tennisfixation.com/quicktips61

I just played a doubles match where one of my opponents stood in the doubles alley (behind the baseline of course) when hitting her serve.  She did this on both sides of the court, throughout the match and was really good at placing her serve all  over the service box.  Since this is such an exaggerated and unusual place to stand, I wanted to be sure and let you know what the rules have to say on this particular stance.  In this episode, we'll look at ITF Rules 17 and 18 which give you the answer.  You can find the show notes for this episode by going to:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips60 

I recently received some great questions from a Tennis Quick Tips podcast listener asking about the rules and the on-court etiquette involved when talking on the tennis court.  So in this episode, we're going to talk about talking on court.  You can find the show notes for this episode by going to:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips59For more great tennis tips, check out my Kindle book, Real Tennis Tips for Real Tennis Players.  You can find it at:http://tennisfixation.com/tipsbook

How do you feel about mini tennis?  Most people want to rush through this preliminary warm-up or skip it altogether.  But mini tennis can be a very helpful drill and players at all levels, including the pros, use mini tennis to improve their game.  In this episode, you'll learn exactly how to play mini tennis and how it can help you play better tennis. You can find the show notes for this episode at: http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips58 And you can get my free ebook, 10 Quick Fixes To Improve Your Serve, No Lessons Required, by going to: http://tennisfixation.com/freeservebook

Many of us travel for tennis, either to play for fun, to play in a tournament, or to attend a tennis camp or instructional event.  When you travel for tennis, you want to make sure you've prepared as well as you can so that nothing goes wrong to ruin your tennis experience.  Especially if you're going to a tournament, you want to be absolutely certain you and your gear are in top condition to play tennis.  I myself just returned from an incredible weekend packed with tennis and had an incredible time.  So, in this episode, I'm giving you my best tips for traveling for tennis. You can find the show notes for this episode at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips57 Be sure and sign up for Tennis Fixation's weekly updates AND get my free serve tips book:http://tennisfixation.com/freeservebook 

It's not enough to know all about tennis racquets.  At some point, you've actually got to select a few of them and take them out for a demo.  In this episode, I'm going to give you my best tips for demo-ing tennis racquets so you'll know exactly how to pick the racquet that's just right for you.  You can find all of the show notes for this episode, including links to the resources mentioned at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips56For even more great tennis tips and to get a free copy of my ebook full of tips to improve your serve, no lessons required, just go to:http://tennisfixation.com/freeservebook 

Once again, we're going to talk about tennis rules.  You know I trull love tennis rules.  Because just when you think you know them, something in a match happens that makes you think you don't.  In this week's episode, we're talking about the rule on doubles bounces, or when the ball is "not up."  By the end of the episode, you'll know what the rule on this is, who makes the double bounce call, and just what a "not up" ball is.  You can find all of the show notes for this episode as well as additional resources over at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips55And be sure and get free weekly updates from Tennis Fixation as well as my free ebook, "10 Quick Fixes to Improve Your Serve: No Lessons Required":http://tennisfixation.com/freeservebook

An important "retro" tennis shot that's valuable, but often forgotten and certainly underutilized, is the lob return.  In this episode, you'll learn just why this is a great shot to add to your arsenal and you'll get my best tips for hitting it exactly right so that it actually wins the point for you.You can find the show notes for this episode over at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips54To get weekly Tennis Fixation updates as well as my free ebook, 10 Quick Fixes to Improve Your Serve: No Lessons Required, just visit:http://tennisfixation.com/freeservebook

I have tons of great tennis resources that I've used over the years to help improve my game.  One of my favorites is one of the first tennis books I ever bought, The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey.  In this episode, I tell you why this is such a great book and how it can help you to play with better focus and concentration on court.  You can find the show notes for this episode as well as a link to The Inner Game of Tennis at:http://tennisfixation.com/quicktips53

What's the worst weather to play tennis in?  The blistering heat?  The bone-chilling cold?  Well, the weather condition I hate most for tennis is the wind.  So in this episode, I give you my very best tips for playing tennis in the wind.Also, to celebrate the 2014 U.S. Open, I'm running a special sale on my Kindle book, Real Tennis Tips for Real Tennis Players.  From Sept. 4 through Sept. 7, 2014, you can buy this book, jam-packed with great tennis tips, on Amazon for only $1.99.  Click on this link for more information and to go to the book's page on Amazon:http://tennisfixation.com/tipsbook

While you're not allowed to have on-court coaching during your tennis matches, the USTA's Rules of Tennis do allow you to look at notes on court.  But can you look at notes on court in the middle of a game or between points?  Can you put your notes in your pocket and then pull them out to review right before you serve?  What's the rule on this and what's the best way to make use of notes on the tennis court?  In this episode, I'll answer a listener question raising this issue, I'll go into what I think the rules of tennis have to say, and I'll give you a great way to remind yourself of the one, most important thing you need to remember in every tennis match you play, on every point.You can find the show notes for this episode as well as all of the resources at:http;//tennisfixation.com/quicktips51