Irena Pavlovic – One Tough Tennis Player!

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What do you get when you look into star tennis player Irena Pavlovic? The total package, of course! She was born September 22nd, 1988 — and yes, that means that this star definitely has a lot of years left on the tennis courts. It’s a good thing too, because she’s definitely on fire right now.

Pavlovic is of Serbian descent and hails from Paris, France. She was moved to Paris at the age of three and definitely considers it home. To date she has won three singles and 13 doubles events under the umbrella of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). This string of victories has given her a World Ranking of 202 — not bad when you think about the other star tennis players she’s up against!

You might wonder where Irena’s star tennis power comes from, and the answer is simple: rigorous training. She trained under Monica Seles as well as Christophe Serriere and Patrick Mouratoglou.

So far, Pavlovic has earned nearly $150,000 in prize money over her career, and she turned pro in 2004. Not terrible when you realize that her star power has also led to some sponsorships and other goodies too.

Speaking of goodies, let’s go back to the victory part — you have to look at her singles career as well. In the ITF, she has three singles wins — two of them on hard courts and just one on a grass court.

She has played more doubles than singles, winning 13 of those matches. At the top of her game, she had a world ranking of 116 — still not bad at all. Even though her ranking has fallen a bit since those days, Irena is still a very powerful tennis player. Pavlovic has even played at the French open, but she lost to Akgul Amanmuradova. Still, even with these losses on her plate, you can tell that Pavlovic will have a great career — just look at her statistics. She’s definitely not perfect, but the potential for increased greatness is definitely there!

One point that makes these tennis bios so worthwhile is that they give would-be female tennis players a bit of inspiration. It can be tough to practice tennis day in and day out and to deal with the natural injuries that follow, but it’s really all worth it in the end. You never know — you really could become as great as Irena Pavlovic in the long run — just keep training hard!

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How to Keep Tennis Drills Fun for Kids

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Tennis drills are always different when thinking about children. This is due to the fact that they are going to get bored easily. Even if they enjoy the game, it can still turn into boredom. In addition, it is highly important that the tennis drills are going to be good so that skills can be developed properly. In most situations the bad moves are done by parents as they will want the child to improve really fast and this can lead to many possible problems. There is no denying in the fact that it is great to see improvements in the game of the child but you need to make sure that he/she will enjoy the tennis drill and that everything is fun.

What You Need to Do

The most important thing that has to be done is to create tennis drills that will keep the child interested and active at all times. Little downtime is the secret to success in this case. You will have to quickly move from a set to the other and movement needs to stay an important part of the practice. Tennis is definitely not a static sport and the drills have to both exercise shots and create stamina.

Every single tennis drill that you create should have a length of maximum 15 minutes. Kids will have limited attention span and patience so they are going to lose focus fast if the drill is too long or if it will be repetitive. Variety stands out as a really important factor that has to be taken into account. It is never a good idea to keep working on the same concept or stroke and on drills that have the exact same goals. This is perfect when the player is more advanced and not recommended when working with a child.

The Importance of Positive Feedback

Kids will get discouraged when they are not offered good feedback. Make sure that you offer enough positive feedback when the drill is over or when a good technique was used on a shot. Reinforcement is going to show the child that something right was done and will offer a positive environment for growth. The attitude will be stronger and this is something that is crucial in this sport.

The bottom line is that you need to keep the child motivated at all times and you need to make sure that he/she will understand why the tennis drills are done. Make sure that you use concepts that are not complicated and take into account all the advice that was mentioned above.

Modern Tennis

A Closer Look at Modern Tennis

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It can be said that modern tennis appeared in Birmingham in the late part of the nineteenth century. The game was initially named “lawn tennis” and only the upper class played it. As time passed, this game managed to gain a wide popularity all around the world. However, the big rise in popularity only happened in the past few years and it eventually ended up being loved by millions. This is mainly due to the fact that it does not need much equipment and it is accessible to everyone. You can play it outdoors and millions of people are actually watching the game on TV and looking at the 4 grand slam events that are televised in every country.

Tennis can be played by 2 people that play one against the other or by 2 teams that consist of two players. In professional tours we have the game being played for 3 sets in women competition and 5 sets for men. The first one to win 2 sets, respectively 3 sets, will win. Every single set is made out of games and a game is made out of points. The interesting thing is that tennis is currently played on many different surfaces: hard court, clay and grass. The 4 grand slam tennis events see 2 being played on hard court (US Open and Australian Open), 1 on grass (Wimbledon) and 1 on clay (French Open).

Just like in golf, tennis rules did not change for a long time now. There are rules that have been developed hundreds of years in the past but this does not mean that modern technology does not play a big part in the sport today. It can be said that tennis is one of those sports that love technology so that everything is honest and fair. Electronic review technology is nowadays utilized in order to be able to challenge a point and double check if the decisions of the umpires or line judges were correct.

Tennis equipment evolution was also positively impacted by technology advancements. Nowadays the rackets that are used are really sophisticated and use a combination of silicone and carbon graphite. Even players get involved in the development of rackets. On the whole, this is a sport that is currently evolving while also sticking to the traditional rules that made it so popular. You can see hundreds of kids playing daily in different tennis fields and there is no indication that this will change in the future.

The Jargon of Tennis, Translated

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Tennis is a sport where things can definitely get exciting, though you might have to learn a little more about the sport in order to fully appreciate it. Whether you’re just a tennis fan or someone that really wants to play tennis at an amateur or professional level, it’s definitely a good idea to learn about the jargon of tennis.

The term jargon isn’t new — it just refers to the special terms that every field in the world has. Whether you’re talking about computers, tennis, basketball, football, soccer, or anything else in between, there are special terms that you’ll need to know in order to not only grasp the game of tennis, but also be able to talk about it with other people. If you don’t understand the lingo, then it’s going to be hard to really understand what people are trying to tell you about the great game of tennis.

So let’s get specific, shall we?

Backhand — this is where the swing has the back of the hand moving towards the net rather than away from it.

Volley — Volley is a term that you’ll hear a lot in tennis commentary, as it’s where the player strikes the ball before it even bounces. This is usually the case when the play is close to the net. However, the ball is no good if it hits the net, so they have to make sure to be as careful as they can be!

Set — Again, this is one of the common terms in the world of tennis. It’s referring back to the way the matches are set up. In the world of singles, it’s actually composed of six games. However, if there’s a tie, there has to be a tie-breaker. This is where there’s another set to determine the winner of the entire match. There are six games in a set, and three to five sets in a match. Doubles works a little differently, since there are eight games in a set. This is where you really get a deeper appreciation for the game of tennis, because it really is a lot of work to get through those sets!

Love — one of our favorite terms. Love means nothing — literally. So if you hear a tennis score being love-thirty, that means 0-30.

Ace — Ace is another one of our favorite terms. It’s simply a valid serve that the opponent doesn’t get — in other words, it’s not reached by the other player. The server automatically wins the point. Professional tennis players love rackin’ up those aces big time!

Double-fault — In the world of tennis, you only get one real chance to serve the ball properly. If you fail that first one, you get to do it again. However, if you fail that second time, it’s a double-fault and your opponent wins.

These are only a handful of jargon terms used in the world of tennis. We could literally write a full book on the jargon of tennis, but this guide should definitely get you started if you’re trying to understand more about the game — what other tennis terms can you think of?

Maria Sharapova

Make Way, It’s Wimbledon 2011 Time – Check out These Women to Watch!

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It’s that time of year again: Wimbledon. Sweet, sweet, Wimbledon. We’re rooting for the women this time around, and we definitely have some top favorites that could take it all. If you’re not sure who we’re talking about, don’t worry — we definitely have some heavy hitters for you!

1. Caroline Wozniacki — This star tennis player is from Denmark, and is currently the WTA #1 ranker. When it comes to the Wimbledon 2011 Ladies’ Singles crown, we just don’t feel that Caroline is going to make it. Right now, the grass court exposes a monster Achilles heel: no offense. With both Williams sisters in the running for the crown at Wimbledon, you really can’t get away with having no offense on a grass court.

Even if the Williams sisters weren’t in the running, you still have Jarmilla Gajdosova, who has enough power to light up a subdivision. That’s going to be a problem. She’s up first against Arantxa Parra Santonja, but that’s not going to be a problem. It’s the other lady lions in the den that will give Ms. Wozniacki troubles.

2. Maria Sharapova — Say what you will about Sharapova’s ability to pull in sponsorships, the truth is that this Russian stunner is truly a fierce tennis player. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Sharapova at a grand slam, but that doesn’t mean anything at all. Quarterfinals should be smooth for her, but it’s the semifinals that we think are going to be the toughest for Sharapova in the long run.

3. Li Na — If you’ve missed this Chinese rock star tennis player’s debut, don’t worry — Li Na will dazzle you again. However, she’s got a big challenge — Alla Kudryavtseva is pretty fierce too! However, considering that Li Na snagged the French Open title just a month ago, it’s not like she can’t do great at Wimbledon.

4. Marion Bartoli – Things have been pretty tough for Bartoli — the French tennis star had some tough experiences at the French Open and she’s up against a lot of people that have strengths in the areas where she has weaknesses. Still, she’s got some very good tennis technique that could keep her through at least the quarterfinals.

5. Serena Williams — We have to cover Serena Williams. Grass is one of her best surfaces, even though the credit usually is paid to her sister Venus more often than not. There’s a lot riding on a Wimbledon win — she would become the first woman since Steffi Graf to win three Wimbles in a row — now that’s hot!

The only thing we’re worried about is that she hasn’t done a lot of tournaments since that last Wimbledon win — can she really shake off all that old rust and dirt to take home the crown?

We could go on and on about the women to watch, but we’d rather have you watching the game — what do you think? Which woman is going to walk away with the recognition of getting that sweet Ladies Singles crown? Sound off in the comments, we would love to know what you think!

What Does It Really Take To Play Tennis Well

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If there’s one sport that people don’t get, it’s got to be tennis. A lot of people think that tennis is something that is easy…until they pick up a tennis racket and try to deal with a ball speeding their way at up to 80mph or better. That can be a fast paced challenge that you might not be ready for. Maybe you’re thinking about coaching someone that wants to be a tennis rockstar or you’re a proud parent that hopes their child will develop an itch to play tennis all the way up to becoming a pro. On the other hand, you could be just trying to figure out how to tweak your tennis game so that people look at you with awe at the gym.

Either way, here’s what you need to know about playing tennis well.

First and foremost, it’s really all about practice. You want to make sure that you truly are handling your tennis game from start to finish. This means having a set practice schedule and sticking to it. If you’re playing for fitness, then you obviously will have a less demanding schedule than someone who is practicing their tennis game so that they’ll turn pro one day. It’s all a matter of figuring out what your goals in tennis are and then adapting accordingly. Of course, you don’t have to stay in cone category for the rest of your life. Some people start out just doing tennis as a hobby and they then morph into someone that wants to play more competitively. Even if you don’t want to turn pro, there are tennis championships and competitions that you can enter in. These can also sharpen your skills because you’ll be playing against a wide variety of people. It’s hard to let your tennis game get lazy when you’re up against those types of odds, right?

Right. So practice is a big deal, but would you believe it’s also the equipment that you choose? Now, this is a point that could cause some debate and we’re definitely prepared for that. However, the truth is that you will come to a point where you have to get better equipment. If you’re serious about playing tennis well, you will want a great racket that you can control. You will need to think about both price and material and realize that tennis can get expensive very quickly. Would this be advice that you give to a beginner? Definitely not — when you’re starting out you want to make sure that you play as hard of a tennis  game as you can with the most economical and affordable tennis racket that you can. Otherwise you’re going to end up sinking money into a hobby or sport that you don’t really like.

The final ingredient that it takes for you to play your best game of tennis yet is simply time. You can’t expect to be Monica Seles in her glory days just after a week of tennis practice. It can take years — which is why most professional tennis players actually went pro when they were very young. If this is your dream though, all we can tell you is good luck and keep practicing — you’ll get where you want to be eventually!

How to Choose a Woman’s Tennis Racquet

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Ladies, don’t be scared of tennis because you have to choose a racquet. This is the most important piece of equipment in the tennis world aside form the net and the ball, so it pays to make sure that you’re really picking the right racquet for your needs. One of the first things that you need to think about is your budget. If you’re serious about playing a lot of tennis, you will need to invest in a high quality racket.

This doesn’t necessarily mean getting a racket that is very heavy — that’s more for advanced players that can control the weight effortlessly and still create a powerful swing. You will most likely want a racquet that feels light enough to move around but heavy enough to still be able to propel the ball forward down the court.

Believe it or not, the material that makes up your upcoming tennis racquet is going to be absolutely critical. A lot of beginners like graphite rackets, but it’s rather expensive to move in that direction. In addition, it’s not really necessary — you don’t have to have some big powerful graphite racket when you’re still learning about tennis, let alone whether or not you even want to keep playing the sport. There’s nothing wrong with realizing that a sport isn’t for you, and if that’s the phrase that you’re in you don’t want to invest too much money into things.

If you’re new to tennis, you might not realize where the power in the racquet actually comes from. The truth is that it comes from the head size as well as how flexible the frame is. A large tennis racquet can feel clumsy in a woman’s hand, which means that you might want to train with a smaller racquet and then move your way up. The racquet size that you’ll want to look for in tennis stores is generally around 85-95 square inches. This is more than enough space on the racquet to be able to drive the ball while still having proper control and form.

Indeed, form is something that women tennis players need to pay attention to. Although we live in a society that values equality, you will still need to make sure that you really take your time to work on your tennis game with your body’s own strengths and weaknesses. If you assume that you can play just like a man, you may make mistakes in your form that could cripple your game. Men and women’s bodies are made differently, which is why the sport is divided into separate-gender arenas. That’s just the way it is, but it’s really not a bad thing — you get to see how you fare against other women.

Overall, you will need to really take the time to consider a few different tennis racquets before you make your final decision. If you have a chance to walk into a sporting goods store and feel each one that you’re interested in, that’s even better. It’s just a matter of making sure that you spend real time looking at all of your options — that’s the best way to go!

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