Nadal's charity

Rafael Nadal's foundation is to open a tennis school in India, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The school will be a joint venture between the Rafael Nadal Foundation and Fundacion Vincente Ferrer, the Spanish arm of India-based non-governmental organization. Nadal also became a board member and Spanish advocate for the best buddies organization after capturing gold at the Olympics.

Real Equation to a Tennis Pro

In my opinion, to be great in tennis you cannot miss a step in the following formula. I have derived this formula from being around tennis at all its levels as well as other sports. Recently, I came accross several blogs discussing the benefit of crazy tennis parents to the probability of the kid turning pro. It is an interesting topic and I think it is an absolutely essential part of the formula.

1. Kid's ability to learn, interpret instruction, correct mistakes and maintain discipline - not without talent and a work ethic
2. Parent's 100% obsession with tennis and devotion to their kid and I mean pushing the kid to a great extent, teaching them how to work hard
3. Money for lessons, equipment and travel as it gets super expensive
4. Good coaching and good early basics because fixing bad technique takes away precious time
5. Homeschooling because its impossible to keep up a serious level in both, and I mean tennis should come first with school a close second
6. A setting with a great variety of players and a program such as a tennis academy
7. 100% parental supervision even if the kid is at an academy because that parent has to be there to connect the dots for the kids when they question their priorities
8. Thousands of hours of practice, everyday, since age 4, 5, 6
9. The earlier to start the better, sure there is a risk of burn out, but there is also the reward of developing necessary skills while kids absorb information like a sponge and the rest is just repetition and experience...10 years to be exact...so earlier you start, earlier they will break out
10. Name one top pro without a crazy, dedicated parent or uncle or someone close? Or someone who started tennis at 10 or later? Or someone who went to public school their entire life? You can't. There's your proof.

You have to read this awesome article looking closer into the role of crazy tennis parents and former/current pros!

And this really old article on burning out due to parental pressure.

Vote to end grunting

Here is an interesting article from Martina Navratilova's speech in Paris on things that should be done to improve tennis, like penalize players for a bad toss, and outlaw grunting during rallies...I think its too much, but hey, some one must agree with her. I think to stop grunting there should be an emphasis on teaching kids to breathe the right way when hitting early on. It isn't the easiest habit to break...and maybe there is a medical reason for it. We will need to look that one up. What do you think?

Wimbledon 2009 pre-preview

What is more exciting than grass court tennis? Tennis that showcases tradition, craftiness and mastery of the tennis game, British flags, tea time, all white, the Royal family and well...the mental toughness following those long rain delays. Wimbledon is it, the trophy all players want because it means history, it mean so much more than just another tournament or just one of the four grandslams. And this year, is no exception. There is a lot to look forward to following the French in terms of uncertain results and upsets and more history made, but one thing that is for certain, is that technology has allowed us to review our calls and move that retractable roof around so fans and players alike don't go crazy waiting out all the London rain delays.

As a pre-preview, we will review the events of the past week. For starters, #9 ranked teenager, Caroline Wozniacki won her 5th singles title in the final of Eastbourne (AEGON International) that pretty much all the big shots played. On top of that, designer Stella McCartney decided to drop Maria Kirilenko in favor of Wozniacki. McCartney's beautiful designs rarely made it past the first round on the beautiful Kirilenko and her patience came to an end in terms of promoting her brand, so Wozniacki, already sponsored by Adidas, has been relayed the special edition Adidas baton.

Another winner of the week is #42 Tamarine Tanasaguran. At 32, she is a tour veteran and two time champion of the Ordina Open. She defended her title, making it her 3rd career title by beating Safina in the semi's in two sets. A new champion this week is Slovakian Magdalena Rybarikova who won her first title at the AEGON Classic by beating Li Na, who beat Sharapova. Li Na was last year's Wimbledon semifinalist and Rybarikova got a straight entry into the main draw with this win. Jankovic and Ivanovic continue with poor results, both being ousted early in their tournaments.

And now.... to the men's side of things. Dmitry Tursunov, the tour prankster, even while recovering from a May ankle surgery, won Eastbourne defeating Frank Dancevic. "Whether it's winning Wimbledon, Eastbourne, a Challenger of Futures event, or beating your grandmother in checkers, winning is always better than losing - so it's great to get through the week like this," is a straight quote from the guy with the sense of humor. This was Tursunov's first title on grass. Benjamin Becker beat a wild card Raemon Sluiter, to win Ordina Open. His win made him the 1st qualifier to win a tournament this season.

As for Wimbledon, what can be more disappointing than Nadal withdrawing and giving up chance to defend his title. He played two exhibition matches and the pain was too much, so he made the decision to withdraw from Wimbledon. As a silly statistic on the side, he will be the first since Ivanisovich not to defend his title. "I’m here and I'm just not 100%. I'm better than what I was a couple of weeks ago but I don’t feel right," Nadal said in his press conference. "To not play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions of my career." Of course the media jumped on this and the Federer Nadal rivalry and asked Fed what he thought. "Well, I mean, it's a little bit similar to Paris. We played the last four years against each other in Paris. We played the last three years against each other here at Wimbledon. So we definitely won't see the same finals again. So that's disappointing for me, of course, because I'd love to play him. He's my main rival. We've had some wonderful matches over the years, and especially the one here last year was the one that obviously stands out. So that we can't potentially maybe repeat that, uhm, is obviously sad. But it gives me it just shows me how lucky I've been, you know, that I haven't been injured over all those years, you know, that I've been able to keep it up. Even though I was No. 1, the one people were going after, I was there, I was not injured very often, and I was able to keep it up. It just shows it goes so quick. So it's unfortunate. I'm sad for him, because it must have been a very difficult decision to make," is what Roger Federer gallantly told the press.

A 6th Wimbledon for Roger and Venus? Perhaps!

Coverage starts Monday June 22cnd-July 5th, but if you work and don't have DVR, there is ESPN360.com. They will be covering 9 courts through the semis, live, thats 650 hours of tennis online!!!! Yay =) WimbledonTV will be broadcasting too, but with a subscription.

CHECK OUT THE DRAWS ON THE OFFICIAL SITE

50,000 balls - a formula for tennis

ESPN chose to air an hour long documentary film on father's day about junior tennis. A special gift no doubt for tennis fathers who invest time, money, hopes and patience into the process of teaching your kid to play tennis and win. To them it may have reaffirmed that they are not alone in doing so much all the time. Reality is, as a parent you have to do that much all the time and so do your kids. The documentary focuses on 4 junior tennis boys around 12 years of age and discusses the necessary steps it takes to understand the game. Judging by the title, one of the things it discusses is the formula of hitting 50,000 balls in your lifetime to just arrive at the "I get it" stage. For some that stage is reached by 12, for some 18. It is fair to say, the earlier the better and I would have to say it is true. Check out the website in case you missed the airing.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, FATHERS!

A reunion with Grass

The tennis caravan has traveled once again and this time the battles are to be won and lost on grass, another love for some and foe for others. Maria Sharapova got through her first round at Birmingham and a lot of people are looking to this tournament to really see where she stands as she herself claims grass to be her preferred surface. Andy Murray is through to the third round of Queens and is looking tough. So are Hewitt and Roddick, who are to play each other. Meanwhile Safin and Monfils withdrew due to injury - for Safin, the back and Monfils, the wrist. Some went to Germany for their reunion with Grass, like Tommy Haas, who seems to be on fire. He took out Tsonga to get to the quarters of the event. Djokovic is also still holding on to the Gerry Weber draw. French Open champ, Federer, pulled out of Queens and Gerry Weber and is recovering before his official debut. Rafael Nadal confirmed that he is having pain in his knees but also that it would break his heart to miss Wimbledon and that he is thinking he will be playing it this year. Watch out for a lot of good tennis coming your way this summer! So exciting!

Recap Roland Garros 2009

And so it is over...

For some it ended in anguish, for others in victory...players both reached, surpassed and underachieved their goals. But in the end there was only one champion per draw standing.

On the women's side there were a lot of upsets, and a lot of people shifted around in their rankings following the conclusion of the event. For starters, the comeback kid was Maria Sharapova who by beating Nadia Petrova, the seed in her second round opened up her draw and reached the quarterfinals. It was clear she was far from playing her best tennis but as always, tough as nails she fought for every point in that Maria way. She succumbed to Dominika Cibulkova in the quarters. Dominika had the run of her life no doubt. A whole foot shorter than Maria, she proved herself to be very tough on clay by being the ultimate counter puncher. Dominika's run was then terminated by Dinara Safina in straight sets. The two Serbian stars Jankovic and defending champion Ivanovic were ousted early on, both losing a ton of points from last year. Another unlikely semifinalist was Austria Samantha Stosur seeded 30. She created this destiny by taking out Elena Dementieva earlier on in the tournament. A lot of the young girls did really well. The tournament favorite perhaps was Serena, she usually is and Serena was beaten by Kuznetsova. A lot of controversy throughout the tournament on Serena's fitness and focus, but we are all human after all and she really is the best in so many ways. In the end, it was down to two Russians. Safina vs. Kuznetsova with Kuznetsova taking the trophy and adding it to her existing Us Open trophy in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. Kuznetsova exhibited a sort of maturity and quiet confidence throughout the tournament, which was nice to see. The fact that the tournament had so many unexpected results only goes to show how tough red clay is and how it truly is survival of the fittest and perhaps the ones with the most patience, better serves and bigger spin. It is definitely exciting to see so many more competitive matches opposed to the predictable past few years in the women's slams.

To sum up the rankings. Safina remains No.1 even though she has yet to win a major. She is followed by Serena, Venus and Dementieva. Kuznetsova moved up two spots to No. 5. Jankovic is slipping down to No. 6, Zvonareva to No. 7 and last year's champion Ivanovic to No. 13. Youngsters Azarenka and Wozniacki now moved into the top 10 at No. 9 and 8. Closing off the 10 is Petrova. Cibulkova went up to No. 14 and Stosur to No. 18. Maria Sharapova also moved up to No. 78.

History was made on the men's side. There was so much anxiety going in to the tournament with whether it will be another Nadal-Federer final, whether Djockovic will pull it out or perhaps Murray get it together. Most best went to Nadal, who was going for his 6th consecutive French Open title. Few would discount Federer, seeing as his incentive was to be called the greatest player in history with a win at the only slam that has evaded him and a tie with Pete Sampras. However, the events took a turn to the more interesting side. Who would have guessed that Sweden's top player, Robin Soderling, would take out Nadal in straight sets and battle his way straight to the finals? Murray ended up losing in the Quarterfinals to Gonzales in 4 sets and looked not only off towards the end but almost expressing a lack of desire in being in that moment. Roddick, the only American left standing reached his goal of making it to the second week before losing to Frenchman Gael Monfils in straight sets. Monfils and Tsonga, made France proud by reaching the round of 16 and Quarters. Djockovic lost third round and Tommy Haas almost got a chance at Federer in the round of 16. But...in the end, it was Federer, the great, the king of tennis! Some may say his draw cleared out favorably, but Federer himself said that the French Open is not about getting lucky its really about being the best at the time of each match. This may be Federer's first French Open but it is his record-tying 14th singles Grand Slam title. When he was asked whether he would be happy if forced to retire tomorrow. He replied: "Yes, I would because I feel like I've put everything out there, you know. I fought for this moment and stayed positive and calm when things maybe weren't going so well, even though they were still going great.So yeah, I would. I always said it doesn't matter when I retire; I'll be at peace. I can walk away from this game tomorrow, but I don't choose to because I love this game too much. It hasn't appeared in my mind once yet that I want to retire. Tennis is not forever; I know that. But I'll try to definitely enjoy it as long as I can." Most critics, not just Nike, have to be convinced by now that this man is the Tiger Woods of tennis and he is only 27 years old. That means there is more to be seen and re-establishing himself as King at Wimbledon again probably means as much to him as it does to his fans and critics alike. Back to Roland Garros. Despite the finals being rather one way and lacking competitiveness, after imagining the grueling task of getting through 2 weeks of practices, 3/5 setters and emotional strains...both men should get a standing ovation.

In the men's doubles final, the duo of Lukas Dlouhy of Czech Republic and Leander Paes of India seeded three, beat Wesley Moodie of South Africa and Dick Norman of Belgium 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

In the women's doubles final, the duo of Spaniards A. Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual also seeded three defended their title and beat Victoria Azarenka (women's quarterfinalist) and Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-1. Azarenka has numerous accolades now in doubles and in mixed doubles.

Speaking of mixed doubles, Americans Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan beat American Vania King and Brazilian Marcelo Melo 5-7, 7-6, 1-0.

Equally important are the junior results of the future stars of tennis. In the boy's draw Sweden apparently shined not only with Soderling's run but also with Daniel Berta's as he took down Frenchman Gianni Mina 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. On the girl's side, Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic was victorious over yet another impressive Russian, Daria Gavrilova with the scores 6-3, 6-2.


For a detailed look at the draws, check out the offical website.

VIVE LA FRANCE!! ON TO ENGLAND!!

Old Tennis Balls Bring New Life to Tennis

What do you do with your old tennis balls? Most of the time, you discard them. Think of the savings, if you could continue to reuse these balls. We have found a company, Rebounces, that shares our ideals in bringing the game of tennis to all, recycling and staying "Green".

Rebounces is a company using cutting edge technology to recharge dead tennis balls. Using the motto, " Replay, Reuse and Recycle", this company is contributing to the game of tennis throughout the world. Balls that are in good condition are recharged at reasonable prices. (100 balls@ $45.00, 250 balls@ $100.00, 500 balls@ $185.00).

Balls that are too worn out are recycled by donating them to adult care facilities & hospitals who can then use them in rehabilitation exercises and on the legs of walkers. Balls are also cut up and donated to schools to place on the bottom of furniture to protect floors and limit noise in class.

The Oprah Magazine, O, acknowledged the fine work of Rebounces, and featured them in an article in their June 2009 magazine.

Balls are being recycled back into play, curtailing the cost of tennis for all children and adults while helping to make the world a greener place!

Tennis Racquets for Kids, shares these ideals,by recycling tennis racquets to children, supporting the concept of bringing the game of tennis to all children.

The Roger Federer Wimbledon Ad

Watch this new Nike ad for Roger Federer's equation to greatness... =)

This is what is going on...

Maria Sharapova, stylish as ever, decided to give tennis a try before the French at the Warsaw Open, but was stopped early in the 2cnd round by Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine with the scores 6-2, 6-2.

Wimbledon has a CENTRE COURT CELEBRATION of their new retractable roof and featured an exhibition of Graff vs Clijsters and Henin vs Agassi. Clijsters and Agassi won their singles and Henman and Clijsters teamed up to beat the husband-wife team in a close set. Although this roof apparently takes almost 10 minutes to open and close, seeing Graff and Agassi play must have been a treat.

Dinara Safina has won the Madrid Open, securing her No.1 ranking and beating Caroline Wozniacki, who herself just won the tournament in Rome making it her 11th title at the age of 19. Safina is a favorite this year at the French Open after losing in the finals last year and propelling to No.1 throughout the year.

Russia’s Vera Zvonareva has been named a “Promoter of Gender Equality” by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Novak Djokovic took part in the "World Stars Football Match 2009" for Amade between Nazionale Piloti and Star Team for the children at Louis II Stadium on May 19, 2009 in Monaco.

John Isner withdrew from Roland Garros due to a case of mono.

Roger Federer finally did it. He beat Nadal in the finals of the Madrid Open in straight sets. That must have been a huge mental break for him and a great way to go into the French Open. Looks like Roger has been working hard.