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When I was a fairly young boy of about ten years of age, my mother wanted me to learn tennis, so she got me a tennis racquet for Christmas so that I might take up the hobby. There had been many options in terms of choosing a tennis racquet. My mother told me later and it had been fairlyconfusing.

My mother had gone to a sports shop and chosen one racquet out of the three that I suppose were in her price range at that time. But today, choosing a racquet can be quite a hard job. Brands, materials, technologies – they all add to the difficulty of making a choice.

The numerous options one has today in a sports store can often be disconcerting. So which elements should be taken into account when picking a tennis racket?

To begin with, look at the grip size. Kids would most likely find that up to size four would suit them best while adults may go up to 4 and five-eighths of an inch in order to get a good grip of the tennis racquet.

The head size is also very important when selecting your racquet. Probably women and children would prefer the head size to be smaller and offer more precision and would reject the larger head size tennis racquet which requires more strength although it offers more precision when hitting the ball.

The middle size is somewhere between 85 and 95 square inches and this is the one that suits most players, whether amateurs or professionals. Novices are recommended to buy a larger-head tennis racket as they would not focus so much on precision but rather on the power that the racquet will supply to their hit.

Another element to bear in mind is the flexibility of the tennis racquet. If the racquet is stiff you will most likely have more power when hitting the ball because the energy is not lost in the bending.

The more flexible racquet would not preserve the amount of energy the ball initially had before you hit it, but it would definitely offer greater control over the direction of the ball.

Professional and good amateur players prefer flexible racquets because they do not need to preserve the ball’s energy as they can hit the ball as hard as they require anyway. They would always be more interested in controlling the ball.

Of course, another element related to this would be the material that the racquet is made from and the technology that has been used in its manufacture. These two elements should inform the buyer on how flexible or stiff the tennis racquet really is.

If you are a beginner tennis player or are interested in the general psychology of tennis, just go to our website called Tennis Tips for Beginners

Tennis psychology is nothing more than understanding the workings of your opponent’s mind, and assessing the effect of your own game on his/her mental viewpoint and also understanding the mental effects resulting from the different external causes on your own mind.

However, it is also true that you no one can be a successful psychologist of others without first understanding his own mental processes. Therefore, you must study the effect on yourself of the same thing occurring under various circumstances. This is because you react differently in different moods and under different conditions.

You must understand the effect on your game of the resulting irritation, pleasure, confusion, or whatever other form your reaction is. Does it increase your efficiency? If so, go for it, but never give it to your opponent. Does it deprive you of concentration? If so, either remove the cause, or if that is not possible, strive to ignore it.

Once you have correctly assessed your own reaction to circumstances, observe your opponents in order to determine their temperaments. Similar characters react similarly, and you may judge men of your own sort by yourself. Other temperaments you must try to compare with those whose reactions you already know.

A person who can control his/her own mental processes stands an excellent chance of reading those of another for the mind works along certain lines of thought and can be examined. One can only control one’s own mental processes after carefully examining them.

A steady, phlegmatic baseline player is seldom a keen thinker. If he were he would not stay on the baseline. The physical appearance of a player is usually a pretty clear indicator of his/her kind of mind. The stolid, easy-going player, who usually advocates the baseline game, does so because he hates to stir up his/her torpid mind to work out a safe method of getting to the net.

Then there is the other type of baseline player, who would rather remain on the back of the court while directing an attack intended to break up your game. He is a much more dangerous player, and a deep, keen thinking antagonist. He achieves his/her results by mixing up his/her length and direction and worrying you with the variety of his/her game. He is a good psychologist.

The first type of player mentioned above just hits the ball with little thought about what he is actually doing, while the latter always has a definite strategy and adheres to it.

If you are fascinated by the psychology of tennis, you should visit our website entitled Tennis Tips for Beginners

The fast, erratic, net-rushing tennis-player is a creature of impulse. There is no real strategy to his/her attack, no comprehension of your game. He will make brilliant coups on the spur of the moment, largely by instinct; but there is no, mental power of consistent thinking. It is an interesting type of character.

The most unnerving player is the one who mixes his/her strategy from back to fore court at the direction of an ever-active mind. This/her is the player to study and learn from. He is a player with a definite intention. A player who has an answer to every query you present him in your game. He is the most subtle opponent in the world of tennis. He is from the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of slavish determination that sets his/her mind on one strategy and adheres to it, bitterly, fiercely battling to the end, with no thought of changing.

He is the player whose psychology is rather simple to understand, but whose mental viewpoint is difficult to upset, because he never permits himself to think of anything but his game. This/her player is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the intelligence of Brookes more, but I admire the determination of Johnston.

Choose your kind from your own mental pattern, and then plan your game along the lines most suited to you. When two men are in the same class as regards stroke, strength and equipment, the deciding factor in any match is the mental standpoint. Luck, as it is called, is often no more than grasping the psychological value of a break in the game, and turning it to your own account. People talk a great deal about the “shots we have made.” But few people realize the importance of the “shots we have missed.”

The science of missing shots is just as important as that of making them, and at times a miss by an inch is of more value than a return that is killed by your opponent. Let me explain. A player drives you far out of court with an angle-shot. You run hard to it, and having reached it, you smash it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is surprised and shaken, knowing that your shot could just as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to try it again and he will not take the risk next time. He will try to play the ball, and may fall into error. You have thus stolen some of your opponent’s confidence, and increased his/her chance of error, just because of a miss.

However, if you had merely tapped back that ball, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt increasingly confident of your inability to get the ball out of his/her reach, while you would only have been out of breath for no reason.

Let’s suppose that you had made that shot down the sideline. It was a seemingly impossible get. First it amounts to TWO points, in that it stole one away from your opponent that should have been his/her and gave you one that you should never have had. Second it also upsets your opponent, as he feels that he has lost a big opportunity.

The psychology involved in a game of tennis is very interesting, but easily understandable. Both player start with equal opportunities. However, once one player has gained a real advantage, his/her confidence rises, while his/her opponent worries, and his/her mental viewpoint becomes weaker. The only objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thereby holding his/her confidence.

If the second player pulls even or draws ahead, the inevitable reaction is an even more drastic contrast in psychology. There is the natural confidence of the leader, but coupled with the great stimulus of having turned a seemingly sure-fire defeat into a probable victory. The case of the other player is the reverse. He is likely to lose confidence and play worse. The collapse of his game plan will be the result.

If you are fascinated by the psychology of tennis, you should visit our website called Tennis Tips for Beginners

I trust that this, my first literary work will be found useful by both novices and experts alike in the tennis world. I am striving to arouse interest in the student of the game of tennis by a somewhat prolonged discussion of match play, which I hope will shed a new light on the sport of tennis.

I will turn to the novice in my opening and speak of certain matters which are second nature to the skilled player. The best tennis equipment is not a lot of good for the beginner even if he really is trying to succeed. However, one has to buy good quality; it is a saving in the end, as good quality material far outlasts poor quality gear.

It is vital always to wear tennis apparel when playing tennis. The question of selecting a tennis racquet is a much more serious decision. I do not like to force a certain brand of racquet upon any player, since all the famous makes are of excellent quality. However, the weight, balance, and size of the handle are the really important considerations when choosing a racquet frame, while good stringing is essential to get optimum results.

After having acquired your racquet, make a firm decision to buy only quality tennis balls, as a regular bounce is a great aid to advancement, while a “dead” ball is of no use at all. If you really want to succeed at tennis and progress rapidly, I strongly advise you to watch all the good tennis you can. Observe the play of the best players and try to copy their strokes. Read all the tennis instruction manuals you can get your hands on. They are a great help.

More tennis can be picked up off the court, in the study of theory, and in watching the best players in action, than can ever be learned in actual play. I do not mean miss opportunities to play tennis. Far from it. Play whenever possible, but try when playing to put in practice the theories you have read or the strokes you have watched.

Do not allow yourself to become discouraged by lack of progress. The method of playing some stroke you have worked on for weeks in vain, will suddenly come to you when least expected. Good tennis players are the result of hard work. Very few players are born geniuses at the game. Tennis is a game that pays you dividends all your life. A tennis racquet is a letter of introduction in any town.

The fellowship of tennis is universal, since none but an athletic sportsman can succeed in the game for any lengthy period of time. Tennis provides relaxation, excitement, exercise, and pure enjoyment to the person who is tied hard to his business until late afternoon.

The order of development that produces the quickest and most lasting results is: a. Concentration on the game. b. Keep the eye on the ball. c. Foot-work and weight-control. d. Strokes. e. Court position. f. Court generalship or match play. g. Tennis psychology.

Concentration. Tennis is played first with the mind. The most perfect racquet technique invented will not suffice if the directing mind is wandering. There are many causes of a wandering mind in a tennis match. The chief one is loss of interest in the game. No one should play tennis with any hope of real success unless he cares sufficiently about the game to be willing to do the drudgery necessary to learn the game properly.

Jack it in right now if you are not willing to work very hard. The weather, conditions of play or the murmurs in the gallery often bewilder even very experienced match-players playing in new surroundings. Complete and utter concentration on the game is the only cure for an erring mind, and the sooner that lesson is learned the more rapid the improvement of the player.

The best way to keep a game in mind is to play for every set, every game in the set, every point in the game and, finally, every shot in the point. A set is merely a collection of made and missed shots, and the man who misses the least is the ultimate victor.

If you are a beginner tennis player or are interested in tennis psychology, just visit our website entitled Tennis Tips for Beginners

If you already take part in tennis, then I imagine that you already know what tennis players wear, so this article is aimed at those individuals who would like to buy tennis kit for a loved one for a special occasion. After all, it is not as straightforward as it seems to obtain sports wear for the participant of a sport you understand nothing about.

There is a certain image we are inclined to associate with a tennis player: white Polo shirt with shorts or skirt and similar shoes. They are fashionable and stylish, comfortable and classic at the same time. Items of tennis kit often signify a great deal to people who are not just sports fans. If the person you shop for is a tennis aficionado, tennis clothing becomes a fantastic gift that could also prove pretty affordable in spite of the rumors that it costs a fortune.

In case tennis kit is something unknown to you, Google it over the Internet and you will be surprised to see how much information there is available. Very many forums will obliquely inform you about prices and discounts going on at an assortment of retail shops and online merchants.

They will also provide you with information as to which brands are thought the best, which are thought the least hard-wearing and reliable, which are reasonably priced and which excessively dear .

What many tennis clothes users advise is that you buy the type of top or shirt that would make you feel most comfortable and that will permit the very wide angled activities that are peculiar to the performance of this sport. For instance, the shorter the sleeves of your tennis attire, the freer the swing during the game. Some buy tennis attire also according to the season in which they mean to play. Still others go for the materials that can be worn in both warm and cold seasons.

They ardently believe that the tennis kit should keep them both warm and cool at the same time. As far as the t-shirts for men are concerned, you should know that most players speak of Polo shirts in very high terms, as the collar offers you some neck protection from the sun’s rays.

Advice about tennis attire like that above are to be had on very many web sites. If you are not quite sure what to go for when purchasing your friend a gift, then you can always inveigle him or her to have a discussion about his or her favourite sport. Using a little guile, you will surely be able to direct the discussion to a related topic that interests you, that is tennis clothes. Making it all look like casual chit-chat would not make him or her guess what you have in mind for the special occasion.

It is highly unimaginable that people will not have heard of the French Open tennis championship, because it is a competition which is a regular topic of conversation. In French the name of the competition is ‘Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros’ or ‘Tournoi de Roland Garros’. This tournament, which lasts for about a fortnight is held in Paris at the Roland Garros Stadium, from which it got its name.

The French Open is one of the most advertised and broadcast sports events in the entire world of sport and many VIPs attend it. The attendees are fanatics who wait with baited breath on every stroke, especially when there is a close struggle between the two players, doing|trying| their best to win. Even TV viewers actually get a feeling of being there live.

The French Open tennis championship comes in second on the annual round of the Grand Slam tournaments and its history stretches back to the year of 1891 when it became an international competition. At that time it was named the ‘International Championship of Tennis of France’ or ‘Championat de France International de Tennis’ in French.

Initially, only players that were registered or licensed in France were allowed to join in this competition, but things took a different turn in 1925, when the French open tennis tournament finally was accessible to international players. Until 1912, the ground the participants used was made of crushed red brick dust. Actually the crushed brick was formed into a sort of red clay that was spread over the ground, which, until then, would have been a grass lawn.

The public’s enthusiasm for the French Open tennis tournament held at the Roland Garros stadium, dates back to a competition fought between the Philadelphia Four (Rene Lacoste, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Jacques Brugnon) who won the Davis Cup in 1927. It was the trigger of the desire in the French to defend their cup in future competitions. This new tournament was meant to return home the cup and was held at a stadium named after the World War I ace Roland Garros. The name has stuck since then.

The term ‘open’ was has been used from 1968, when the tournament allowed|was open to| both amateurs and professionals alike who wanted to test their skills at tennis. Since then the French Open tennis tournament has also brought some novelties in terms of prizes.

Beside the usual winners’ prizes, they also award a ‘Prix Orange’ for the most correct and press friendly player, a ‘Prix Citron’ for the player with the strongest personality and a ‘Prix Burgeon’ for the one that turns out to be the revelation of the tennis year.

The hard-hitting, erratic, net-rushing tennis-player is a creature of impulse. There is no real system to his/her game, no comprehension of your game. He will make brilliant coups at the drop of a hat, mostly by instinct; but there is no, mental power of consistent thinking. It is an interesting sort of character.

The really dangerous player is the one who mixes his/her style from back to fore court at the direction of an ever-active mind. This/her is the player to study and learn from. He is a player with a definite purpose. A player who has an answer to every problem you present him in your game. He is the most subtle opponent in the world of tennis. He is from the school of Brookes. Second only to him is the player of dogged determination that sets his/her mind on one plan and adheres to it, bitterly, fiercely fighting to the end, with never a thought of change.

This is the player whose psychology is fairly easy to work out, but whose mental viewpoint is difficult to derail, for he never allows himself to think of anything except his game. This/her player is your Johnston or your Wilding. I respect the intelligence of Brookes more, but I admire the tenacity of purpose of Johnston.

Pick out your kind from your own mental processes, and then plan your game along the lines most suited to you. When two men are in the same class as regards stroke and equipment, the determining factor in any given match is the mental standpoint. Luck, so-called, is often grasping the psychological value of a change of flow in the game, and turning it to your own advantage. We hear a lot about the “shots players have made.” Few realize the importance of the “shots players have missed.”

The science of missing shots is just as vital as that of making them, and at times a miss by an inch is of more value than a return that is killed by your opponent. Allow me to tell you why. A player drives you far out of court with an angle-shot. You run hard to it, and having reached it, you drive it hard and fast down the side-line, missing it by an inch. Your opponent is surprised and put off his stride, knowing that your shot might just as well have gone in as out. He will expect you to try it again and he will not take the risk next time. He will strive to play the ball, and may fall into error. You have thus stolen some of your opponent’s confidence, and increased his/her chance of error, all because of a miss.

If you had merely tapped back that ball, and it had been killed, your opponent would have felt increasingly confident of your inability to get the ball out of his/her reach, while you would merely have been winded for no reason.

Let’s suppose that you made the shot down the sideline. It was an apparently impossible get. First it amounts to TWO points in that it took one away from your opponent that should have been his/her and gave you one you ought never to have had. Second it also upsets your opponent, because he thinks that he has thrown away a big chance.

The psychology of a tennis match is very interesting, but easily understood. Both men begin with equal chances. Once one player establishes a real lead, his/her confidence goes up, while his/her opponent worries, and his/her mental viewpoint becomes weaker. The sole objective of the first player is to hold his/her lead, thus holding his/her confidence.

If the second player draws even or pulls ahead, the inevitable reaction is an even greater contrast in psychology. There is the natural confidence of the leader, but boosted by the great stimulus of having turned a seemingly inevitable defeat into a probable victory. The case of the other player is the reverse. He is likely to lose confidence and play worse. The collapse of his game plan soon follows.

Tennis psychology is the same as understanding the workings of your opponent’s mind, and assessing the effect of your own game on his/her mental viewpoint and also understanding the psychological effects resulting from the different external causes on your own mind.

However, it is also true that you no one can be a successful psychologist of others without first understanding his own mental processes. Therefore, you must study the effect on yourself of the same thing occurring under various circumstances. This is because people react differently in different moods and under different conditions.

You have to realize the effect on your game of the ensuing annoyance, joy, bewilderment, or whatever other form your reaction is. Does it increase your prowess? If so, go for it, but never offer it to your opponent. Does it deprive you of concentration? If so, either remove the cause, but if that isn’t possible, try to ignore it.

Once you have accurately assessed your own reaction to circumstances, observe your opponents in order to determine their characters. Like characters react similarly, and you can judge men of your own sort by yourself. Opposite temperaments you must seek to compare with people whose reactions you know.

Someone who can control his/her own mental processes runs an excellent chance of reading those of another for the mind works along certain lines of thought and can be examined. One can only control one’s own mental processes after carefully studying them.

The regular, unemotional baseline player is seldom a quick thinker. If he was, he would not stay on the baseline. The physical appearance of a player is usually a pretty clear indicator of his/her kind of mind. The stolid, easy-going player, who usually displays the baseline game, does so because he hates to activate up his/her torpid mind to work out a safe strategy of reaching the net.

Then there is the other sort of baseline player, who would rather stay at the back of the court while directing an attack intended to disrupt up your game. He is a very dangerous player and a deep, quick thinking antagonist. He obtains his/her results by changing his/her length and direction and worrying you with the variety of his/her game. This player is a good psychologist.

The first type of player mentioned above merely strikes the ball with little thought about what he is actually doing, while the latter always has a definite plan and sticks to it.