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Ask The Pro: Tennis Elbow

I’ve developed a bad case of tennis elbow after switching to a hybrid poly string. It doesn’t seem to matter how I strap it, it's not getting any better. What can I do to fix my tennis elbow?

There's a lot research that been written on how to treat tennis elbow. Any good treatment program starts with education and typically a picture is worth a thousand words.  Fortunately there's a YouTube video which does a good job of both educating and showing you how to treat tennis elbow.  Click here for the link.

(c) Rob Muir USPTA
June 11, 2010

 
Ask The Pro: Poaching in Doubles?

We have enjoyed watching the Shanghai Masters doubles. These guys never seem to worry about protecting their sidelines when their partner is serving whereas my partners often tell me "to watch my sideline" all the time. Should I try to poach more?

Anchoring yourself to the sideline puts absolutely no pressure on the receiver. You are unable to take advantage of a weak return of service or help your partner out from a winning position at the net. You have taken away a key advantage from your team -- you get to stand in the relative centre of the court without neither having to hit a shot nor moving to that winning position; a key difference to singles.

There are two main kinds of poaching: opportunistic and strategic. The opportunistic, almost impulsive, situation occurs when the net player spots a weak shot and crosses in front of the partner to gain the advantage. In the strategic situation, which is what you are seeing in Shanghai, the doubles team executes a pre-planned poach, complete with signals, to intercept a service return. The signals are used not only to signal a poach but more importantly to instruct the server where to serve.

If you watch the Bryan brothers, you'll notice that the server predominately serves down the middle of the court to force the returner to try to hit the ball past the net player while reducing the angles available to the receiver.

And as for hitting the ball down your sideline, most of the time that will occur because you or your partner hits a weak serve or a mid court shot which gives your opponent too many angles. Your goal should be to anchor your opponents behind the baseline as much as possible so you can angle the ball out to the side for a simple cross court winner.

Whatever grade you play, poaching should always be part of your doubles strategy if for no other reason than to try to keep the receiver guessing and off rhythm on service returns. If you're an older player, and perhaps a step slower, you'll need to communicate to your partner when you plan to poach on serve or set up some simple signals. Even if you lose the point, you'll make your opponents think -- and you know how you feel when you're on the receiving end of a doubles team who is mixing things up.

An occasional poach whatever your grade is sound doubles technique.

(c) Rob Muir USPTA
June 11, 2010

Sept 2008 issue of International Tennis Federation Coaching and Sport Science Review; reprinted with permission. One of the many articles outlines the key factors in racket technology and what players should look for in buying new rackets. Click here to read a pdf copy.

 

 

Index

March09

Reading the 'Tells'

Tennis After 50

January09

Bad Calls

Hydrating for Tennis

December

Dealing with Layoffs

Basic Tennis Recovery Menu

November

Tennis Elbow

Poaching in Doubles

ITF Coaching & Science Review Sept 08

April

Losing is demoralising

When should I attack or defend?

March

Improving your speed around court

Tennis Elbow

February

Reacting to volleys

Who should chase the lobs?

Is tennis really the sport for a lifetime?

January08

Was Djokovic cheating on his serve?

Serve out of doubles hitting zone

How should I deal with injuries?

December

Where should I throw my service toss?

Should I throw a low or high service toss?

Playing with a weaker partner

November

Playing a Lefty

Surviving in no-man's land

How do I fix my serve?

October

How can I improve my concentration in watching the ball?

How can I improve my service return?

Why is my forehand better than my backhand?

How can I improve my volley?

September

What's the best thing I can do to improve my game?

Why do different surfaces effect my game?

How do I stop feeling intimidated?

How do I play in the wind?

August

Where can I find out about US college tennis?

Why do I choke on big points?

Can balls be discarded in mid point?

Why do I make so many errors?

How do I beat a pusher?

Archives

A consistent
service toss

Keys to hitting

Returning booming serves

Where to look when at the net?

Serving in the sun

 

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Webmaster & Professional Content: Rob Muir, USPTA Pro                                R June 11, 2010

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