Why Tennis Websites Fail

There is no free lunch. If you build it, they would not necessarily come. For those two reasons, most tennis websites would fail.

A website is not a quick, get-rich proposal. It is, to use a famous military term, a long, hard slog.

Traffic

You need traffic -- visitors, lots of them; 1,000 a day is a starting point. Consider: 1,000 visitors, gets you 100, let's say conversions, and that will get you $10 -- if you're lucky; it could be even less.

Writing Skills

You must have decent writing skills and adapt it specifically to writing for the internet. You must enjoy writing and update weekly to pique the interest of viewers, but also the new material triggers the Google search engine which finds and distributes your site.

Search Engines

You must rank high in the 'search engines', that is, when someone types something in a Google search box your site should appear on that first page.

Knowledge of HTML/Own Domain

You must have a working knowledge of the hieroglyphic language of HTML. The stand-alone build-from-scratch websites tend to perform better than the 'Blogspot' type websites.

Your website must be in a niche area. The ATP (Roger Federer, Andy Roddick) and WTA (Venus, Serena Williams) arena is saturated. There are 'white spaces' in junior tennis, Futures, Challengers, and local and state tennis.

Related:

The Role of the Internet in Tennis

Fans Get Tennis News Over Internet

Player Gives His Tournament News Over Internet

Resources:

The Spanner Report. Above story based on the views of Spanner the website publisher's expert.

Invest in Tennis Futures

When Andre Agassi was at a low point in his career and his world ranking was tanking, he said famously, "If I were a stock, you should buy me."

On the Futures tennis tour, there are a lot of buys. Take a cue from the internet business model. In the internet world, bright, young college students found companies, have an idea, but have little resources. If there company have any merit or if their idea is a good one, investors front them the money.

These investors are called angels, or venture capitalists. It is these venture capitalists who funded companies like Google and made a killing by the time Google became one of the biggest company in the world.

There are players on the Futures tour struggling with expenses. A player out there is looking for his angel, his venture capitalist. Find your Google on the Futures tour. Invest in him. Buy, buy, buy.

Related:

Andre Agassi's Career Low

Players Work as Instructors to Defray Costs

Making It On Tour

Resources:

How To Sponsor A Player

Alberto Francis: Sponsor Me

Players Can Apply for Prince Sponsorship

The Role of the Internet in Tennis

There is a role for small websites in the tennis arena. Small websites, by necessity and as a matter of survival, must be born of strategy. The small website must first spot a white space and jump into it. That is the the role of small websites -- to spot white spaces and to jump into it.

The general media is incapable or unwilling to fulfill this role. The small website must make that space productive. It must have patience -- with the luxury of time, not necessarily money -- and plant seeds for the long term and say, "If I can get this to work, it's going to be big."

The small website must base its strategy on what won't change not necessarily what will change. What won't change on the Futures tour: there will always be families of players who want news; there will always be 'serious' tennis fans who want information about obscure players; there will always be countries following their offspring like England and Jamie Baker or Portugal and Gastao Elias.

What won't change is the customer or the reader. What's important to the customer (reader)? The customer wants detail of the match; a feel of the event; how did our guy do?

The customer wants information and he wants it now; and he wants it free, like music on the radio. The small website must put energy in getting that information, getting that detail.

The world is becoming transparent; the small internet must strive for information perfection. It becomes strategically smart for the small website to align itself with the customer. Don't attempt to sell the customer anything; the small website would make money from providing the customer information, or helping the customer make a decision.

The small website should not fear his competitors. Fear its customer. The competitor would never send the small website any money; the customer will.

Related:

Meet The Players

Meet The Readers

Meet The Tennis Hacker

Resources:

Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon on Information Perfection. Above story is based on Bezo's views in this article. A fee to read article. For a free read, check your local library.

ITF on Role of Internet in Tennis

Tennis Players Love Sports Drinks, Bars

A survey of tennis players have confirmed what everybody already knew: players drink a lot of sports drinks and eat a lot of nutrition bars. Although water is excellent for hydration, sports drinks are encouraged because players have a tendency to drink more fluids if it is cold and flavored.

Both the respected Mayo Clinic and American College of Sports Medicine support the idea of drinking sports drinks like Gatorade, Powerade and Ceralyte which all have so-called electrolytes, the micro-nutrients athletes lose through sweat.

Athletes lose body fluids through urine, sweat and other means and it is recommended to drink about eight cups of water or other fluids a day and two to three cups per hour during matches; more on hot days.

Some fruits and vegetables like watermelon and cucumber are 100 per cent water by weight. Tennis players are advised to avoid beer, wine and caffeinated drinks during competition.

When choosing a nutrition bar, the Mayo Clinic recommends something like a low-fat granola bar with oats, sugar, raisins and coconut.

Related:

ACSM on Hydration

College Players Booze It Up

Dusan Vemic: Don't Forget Your Fluids

Resources:

Mayo Clinic on Proper Hydration

Healthy Snacks

Texas A&M University on Sports Drinks

ACSM Advises on Salt and Hydration

The respected American College of Sports Medicine has advised that adding sodium or salt to fluids during competition is of no help in combating exhaustion. The ACSM still advises adding a small amount of sodium to drinks because it enhances taste and prevents a rare condition hyponatrenia which is caused by drinking excessive fluids.

"There is little physiological basis for the presence of sodium in an oral rehydration solution for enhancing intestinal water absorption as long as sodium is sufficiently available in the gut from the previous meal," read an ACSM report.

"The addition of a small amount of sodium to rehydration fluids has little impact on time to exhaustion...A sodium deficit, in combination with ingestion and retention of a large volume of fluid with little or no electrolytes, has led to low plasma sodium levels in a very few marathon or ultra-marathon athletes."

Related:

Myths About Gatorade

Rik De Voest Secret Hydration Methods

Gatorade -- Is It In You?

Resources:

ACSM Findings

ITF Study on Players' Sodium Intake

College Tennis Players Booze It Up

College tennis players -- not unlike many in the student population -- booze it up. College tennis has elevated alcohol to a line item on the nutritional chart -- a full three per cent of daily calories.

College players tend to drink more than their counterparts at the Futures, Challenger and ATP level; this from a confidential survey of players.

Dubuque vs New York

The survey also found that overall, players tend to drink more in the bigger, urban cities and less in the smaller towns.

Players tend to drink less when travelling with a parent or a coach.

Alcohol can kill a tennis game. It contributes to dehydration, heat injuries, poor balance, poor timing, poor judgement and early fatigue.

Related:

Survey of Players' Eating Habits

Players Lose Salt, Micro-Nutrients

Pro Player Kevin Anderson's Favorite Food

Resources:

Complete Survey Results

Jamie Baker's Career-Threatening Injury

The fact that Jamie Baker plays professional tennis today is nothing short of a miracle. As a child he suffered what he describes as a 'disastrous knee injury'. As an adult, he is showing no ill effects of the injury having won two Futures tournaments this year.

At 13, Jamie had gone to a tennis performance school in Loughborough, England. A year later, due to overuse and a teenage growth spurt, his knee gave in.

“I was told it might not heal," Jamie said. "I was out for a year, which is a very hard thing to cope with when you’re 14. The back of my knee had started rotting away. I had to stop. But it gave me a chance to regroup..."

The down time gave Jamie a lot of time to ponder and think. He said that during that time he started to write a book about what it took to be successful. A book? The idea is not so farfetched, Jamie wrote chronicles of his career in The Times of London. The above quote and story was recorded by tennis writer Neil Harman in The Times.

Related:

Jamie Baker Writes A 'Book'

The European Tennis Revival

Jamie Meets Roger

Resources:

Neil Harman's Work, England's Premier Tennis Writer

Loughborough, Jamie's Bucolic Childhood

Jamie Baker Odd Fact: Brother, A Banker

Anderson Passes De Voest in South Africa

Kevin Anderson has surpassed Rik De Voest as the number one South African player. The team will play Finland in Helsinki at the Euro-Africa Davis Cup.

Anderson vaulted from 175 to 122 in the world, moving past Devoest at 131. Anderson, who was ranked 550 six months ago, defeated Novak Djokovic in the Sony Ericcson Open.

Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie represent South Africa in doubles

Related:

Kevin Anderson Left His Heart In Illinois

Rik De Voest, Life On Tour

Rik De Voest's Secret Energy Drink

Resources:

An Intimate Look at South African Tennis

Meet Amanda Coetzer

Competitive Tennis Devastates The Body

Successive days of hard tennis competition puts incredible stress on the body and can cause serious damage if the body is not given proper nutrition and hydration. Tennis players can face carbohydrate depletion, fluid depletion and general nutrient depletion.

It is recommended that a competitive athlete take in about 3,600 calories per day and drink a lot of fluids to counteract the potential devastation competitive tennis could do to the body.

Players Drinking Adequate Fluids

A survey of competitive tennis players -- at the college, Futures, Challenger and ATP level -- shows that the players actually take on the proper amounts and kinds of fluids. It is recommended that athletes take in non-diuretic drinks (like juices, water, milk, sports drinks) and avoid diuretic drinks like caffeine and alcohol.

Players Need To Eat More Carbs

The study showed that players were lacking in carbohydrates (like whole grain bread, nutty barley cereal, whole wheat crackers). The carbohydrates is needed for quick energy, optimal mental performance, glycogen storage replenishment and adequate recovery. (Glycogen is the carbohydrates stored in the muscle and liver.)

Players Eating Excessive Fats

Players were found to be eating too much fat, including too much cholesterol and too much saturated fat. In an act to up their salt intake, players ate a lot of potato chips which is heavy in fat. It was suggested that players substitute pretzels for potato chips.

Protein

Players' protein intake appeared to be fine. Researchers stressed that protein is important for muscle tissue synthesis, not for energy; and researchers found that players wasted a lot of money buying protein supplements which were not needed.

Vitamins

Purchasing vitamins was also deemed to be a waste of money, according to the research. Players vitamin intake appeared to be at the proper level except for Vitamin D and K. The Vitamin D -- needed for strong muscles -- could be made up by a little more sun exposure and an extra glass of milk and the K -- needed to reduce bruising and bleeding -- could be made up by eating more vegetables.

The study was done by Dr. Bonita Marks and researchers at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is collected in the book Tennis, Science and Technology 2, editor S. Miller.

Related:

The Myth About Gatorade

Jarmere Jenkins: Gatorade -- Is It In You?

Tennis Hacker Healthy Eating Guide

Resources:

Bonita Marks Player Study

Carbo-Loading For Competitive Athletes

Myths on The Futures Tour

Over the years a few myths have permeated the Futures tour. One of those myths is that Gatorade, the sports drink, when broken down in the body turns into an illegal substance. False.

Another myth is that players should avoid salt. False. It is true for the general population: avoid salt. But professional athletes lose an incredible amount of micro-nutrients, including salt, through sweating, and need additional salt.

Getting injured is 'good' because you can take steroids legally and it would improve your game. False.

These myths were uncovered by researcher Dr. Bonita Marks in a survey of college, Futures, Challenger and ATP players. The study is published in the book Tennis, Science and Technology 2, edited by S. Miller.

Related:

Futures Tour Survival Guide

Brad Gilbert Talks About The Futures Tour

Making Ends Meet On The Futures Tour

Resources:

Survey of College, Futures, Challenger, ATP Players

Bonita Marks' Pioneering Tennis Research

Tennis Science

Tennis Technology

Tennis Hacker: What's in a Name?

You may have noticed a change in the website name or URL of The Tennis Hacker. The name that shows up in the browser window is TheTennisHacker.com; whereas it used to say TennisHacker.Blogspot.com.

Nothing has changed except that The Tennis Hacker bought its own domain name (TheTennisHacker.com), making it look more professional and making the name shorter and hopefully easier to remember. (TennisHacker.Blogspot.Com still gets you to the same website.)



Related:

A Convenient Way To Read The Tennis Hacker

About The Tennis Hacker

The Tennis Hacker: 684 Served

Baker, Vemic, Anderson Popular Hackers

Over the past month the most widely read story from The Tennis Hacker was 'Jamie Baker Spars with Roger Federer.' Jamie Baker, from the United Kingdom, won two Futures tennis tournaments recently.

Dusan Vemic who has achieved folk hero status at The Tennis Hacker was closely followed by readers; 'The Idosyncrasies of Dusan Vemic' was the second most popular story.

Kevin Anderson, who defeated Novak Djokovic in the Sony Ericsson Open, was featured in third most widely read article, 'Kevin Anderson Left His Heart in Illinois.'

Related:

Tennis Hacker's Top 3:

Jamie Baker Spars with Roger Federer

The Idiosyncrasies of Dusan Vemic

Kevin Anderson Left His Heart in Illinois

Resources:

Kevin Anderson Break-Through

Jamie Baker Goes South of The Border

Tennis Hacker Free Home Delivery

Don't have time to read The Tennis Hacker daily? Subscribe and receive at your convenience reports of the Futures, Challengers and other original tennis stories. Look to the right for the Subscribe link.

As one reader noted, news about the Roger Federers and Andy Roddicks of the world are all over the place but news of obscure players ranked 200, 300 and below is hard to find.

"It can be difficult to find news of what is happening with the up and coming talent in Britain ," Jill wrote to The Tennis Hacker. "We all see the coverage of the main top ranked players but to get an insight into the conditions the lower ranked players encounter on the way up the ladder is enlightening! Thank you for providing this coverage."

Related:

The Tennis Hacker Growing Readership

British Fans Get Their Tennis News From The Tennis Hacker

Resources:

Keep Track of Your Favorite Websites Through 'Feeds'

The Tennis Hacker Serves 684 People

Six hundred and eighty-four people visited The Tennis Hacker website over the past month. An average of 23 people drop in daily to read about the Futures and other tennis news.

Fifty-seven visitors, the most of any single day this month, dropped in on March 16. It turns out that on that day a reader added The Tennis Hacker story 'The Idiosyncrasies of Dusan Vemic' to the website Stumbled Upon and that attracted more visitors.

The lowest amount of visitors for any single day this past month was 11 on March 1.

Tennis players set goals for themselves. For example, Robin Haase's goal is to be ranked in the top 50 by the end of 2008. The Tennis Hacker's goal is to have 50 visitors per day.

Related:

Unusual number of visitors read Dusan Vemic March 16.

Follow Robin Haase as he pursues his goal of Top 50.

The Tennis Hacker's Humble Beginnings

Resources:

Stumble Upon

More About The Tennis Hacker

Although I now live in the United States, I was actually born and grew up in The Bahamas. I worked for four years at a newspaper called The Nassau Guardian. I worked as a sports reporter and as fate would have it, the professional women's tour came to town. The top-ranked player was Zina Garrison.

One day one of the teaching tennis professionals at one of the resorts called me to tell me her young son was doing very well and maybe I should do a story about him. He was back home from training in Florida -- he might have been a student at the Nick Bollettieri Academy but the details escape me now.

I did a story about the little kid and watched him become the number one player in The Bahamas. Time past, over 20 years, and I began to see a name on the international tennis scene that sounded awfully familiar. That little guy went on to become one of the most accomplished doubles player in the world.

I would like to think that I wrote the first story ever about Mark Knowles.

Related:

Introducing The Tennis Hacker

The Tennis Hacker Fancies Himself A Philosopher

The Tennis Hacker At Wimbledon?!

G'Day Mate, The Tennis Hacker Visits Australia

Resources:

Mark Knowles' Website

Zina Garrison's Website

The Nassau Guardian

About The Tennis Hacker

The Tennis Hacker is written by Jerry. I have an Associate's Degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from College of The Bahamas in Nassau, Bahamas, and I worked as a sports reporter at The Nassau Guardian.

Journalism was something I wanted to do ever since my high school Literature teacher said, "You're a good writer. You should be a journalist."

I had gotten out of the journalism a long time ago after discovering that journalists work horrendous hours -- say from two in the afternoon, until two in the morning -- and for very little pay.

Related:

Show Me A Picture of The Tennis Hacker

The Tennis Hacker's Favorite Musical Artist?

The Tennis Hacker's Favorite Movie?

Resources:

The Tennis Hacker's Favorite Websites?

Take A Bite Out of The Big Apple

Throw the Bums Out

Live Well

The Problem With Junior Tennis

The problem with junior tennis as a journalist assignment is there is nothing to hold on to. The players' personalities are not fully formed. Their tendencies are not developed or set yet. They don't yet have the quirks and oddities that the writer needs to present an intriguing story.

In addition the sheer size of junior tournaments can be overwhelming. It is difficult to figure out who is the hot-shot young player. (A better question might be, Should there be a hot-shot young player? Because there skills are not yet fully developed the 'hot-shot player' might be on the basketball team or on the chess team and has not discovered tennis yet.)

There is a psycho-analytical angle to the junior tennis problem. A mother once asked a psychologist why her husband doesn't take more of an interest in their baby child. The psychologist explained that men are uncomfortable with babies when they are small and squishy. And maybe that is why two of the more popular junior tennis writers -- Colette Lewis of Zoo Tennis and Marcia Frost of College and Junior Tennis -- are women.

There are exceptions, however. Some of the little junior players have over-sized personalities. Like one Kihwan Lee whom I watched in a tournament held in my neighborhood. Kihwan Lee was such a breath of fresh air and a joy to watch. He was calling out the scores, calling 'Out!', directing the whole scene like a little general. It is people like Kihwan Lee who make a journalist assignment not a chore, but fun.

Related:

The Adventures of Kihwan Lee

How To Save For Your Junior Player's College Expenses

Eddie Herr Junior Tennis

Resources:

The Adventures of Ama

Marcia Frost on Alison Riske

Colette Lewis' Junior Tennis

Coach Dave on Court Etiquette

Rajeev Ram: Reporter's Notebook

Rajeev Ram is almost too nice a guy. He apologizes profusely to his opponents for the least offense. He has a great rapport with the other players and as such elicits compliments from the other players (Great shot, Ram).

The players tend to retreat to the solitude of the players' lounge or the hotel room, but the out-going Ram is often seen roaming the venue. Whenever a group of players are out and about, Ram is among them and it is as if he dragged them out of the players' locker-room.

Tournaments tend to be held at the same places here after here and the players would make it a point to come back to the events they particularly enjoyed. As such, they build friendships and some are hosted at the homes of the fans or organizers of the tournament.

Rajeev Ram has built up such relationships and has large cheering sections. Ram's matches can be like a country-style tail-gate with fans doing lunch while watching Ram play.

Pack a lunch when going to watch a Rajeev Ram tennis match. The smell of food from Ram's Ramblers can make your terribly hungry.

Related:

Jarmere Jenkins: Gatorade -- Is It In You?

Uladzimir Ignatik: Andy Roddick Protege

Artem Sitak's Breakout Victory

Resources:

College or Pro?

Rajeev Ram's Solid Fundamentals: A Sports Illustrated Look

Rajeev Ram: The Scouting Report

When you play against Rajeev Ram, be prepared to run. He is a precision hitter and very proficient at putting the ball exactly where his opponent is not. He comes to the net often and is very effective there with his long wingspan.

He uses a slicing backhand to set up his forehand. He covers the court well with his length. His favorite shot is a backhand volley that he angles in front of his opponents that leaves most of them paralised.

Ram is an experienced player and has a calm, relaxed temperament. The key to beating Ram is to take him out of this comfort zone: don't let him direct the action, attack him and put him on the defensive.

Related:

Rajeev Ram, Mr. Congeniality

Scouting Reports of Rik De Voest, Robert Smeets and Dusan Vemic

Scouting The Futures Tour

Resources:

Rajeev 'Ram-bles' On

Rajeev Gets An Early Mexican Vacation

Rik De Voest: Reporter's Notebook

The fact that I am an untidy housekeeper is no secret. I have written stories from memory because I was unable to find my notes. A good memory is of great benefit to a writer. But the notes can add detail.

I found my notes about Rik De Voest. Was Rik De Voest the player with the special pre-mixed drink, or did I confuse him with some other player. I was right about the drink -- except, he actually brings two special drinks. Perhaps this caught my eye because the other players are content to drink the sports drinks or water provided by the tournament.

Rik De Voest can easily be distracted by the slightest movement or noise in the stands. Unfortunately for him on this day the tournament was giving a group of school children a clinic on a nearby court.

The visiting students didn't create problems for Rik De Voest alone. Two of the boys were less interested in tennis and stole the instructor's handbag. The two boys ran -- stolen bag and all -- in full view of the audience at main court. The look on their faces as they rounded the corner was priceless.

Rik De Voest: The Scouting Report

Rik De Voest is extremely particular about which tennis ball he chooses to serve; he would throw three back to the ball boy before choosing one. It follows that Rik De Voest's opponents should choose the 'gummiest', 'rattiest' ball he could find when it is his turn to serve.

Rik De Voest covers the court well and is a good retriever. He places the ball well; he uses the full court. He likes to hit his forehand to the right and loves the backhand slice. Rik De Voest is a slow starter but once he gets warmed up he is very efficient with no wasted motion.

The one quality Rik De Voest seems to lack is the killer instinct. Some players are nice guys off the court and cut-throats on the court -- Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant to draw a basketball comparison; Rik De Voest is content to be a nice guy off and on the court.

This lack of a killer instinct allows players to hang around and allows opponents to come from behind. He doesn't put the player away; he doesn't impose his will on the other player. Even in victory, he doesn't dominate.

Jump on slow-starting Rik De Voest early. And know that there would be opportunities late in the match because Rik De Voest appears to lose concentration and drift to a point of disinterest.

Related:

Learn More About Rik De Voest

Rik De Voest Loses to Robin Haase in Sony Ericsson Open

Rik De Voest Hates His Job?!

Robin Haase!

Robin Haase is on a tear on the professional tennis circuit. He won the BMW Tennis Championship in Sunrise, Florida. He is steadily rising on the ATP rankings and has fans asking, Who is this guy?

Haase defeated Sebastien Grosjean 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 in the BMW final. He has qualified for the Sony Ericsson main draw with victories over two players who are regularly featured on The Tennis Hacker Dusan Vemic and Rik De Voest.

Haase is ranked 59th in the world and is from The Netherlands. He is 6-3, 158 pounds and previously won two Challenger tournaments in Germany 2007 and Nashville 2006; the BMW is his third Challenger victory.

He won two Futures tournaments: Jerusalem 2005 and Quebec 2006. And he won two Futures doubles championship.

At 20-years-old, he won $115,519 so far in 2008 and $318,502 in his career.

Related:

Robin Haase beat Dusan Vemic and Rik De Voest in Sony Ericsson.

Dutch fans love Robin Haase, British fans love Jamie.

Another Loveable Dutchman

Robert Smeets was born in The Netherlands but call Australia home.

Resources:

Robin Haase, The Miami Herald Feature

Robin Haase Interactive: Career Milestones Thru Fans' Daily Postings

Great Robin Haase Photo

Dusan Vemic Watch

Dusan Vemic and Janko Tipsarevic won the doubles championship in the BMW Tennis Championship in Sunrise, Florida. They defeated Kristof Vliegen and Peter Wessels.

Dusan Vemic lost to Robin Haase 6-4, 6-3 in the qualifying round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. This was a rematch of their meeting in the Pacific Open a week ago. Haas won the BMW singles tournament.

Related:

Dusan Vemic, A Reporter's Notebook

Dusan Vemic's Expanded Game

How to Pronounce Serbian Names

Resources:

Tournament Wrap-up with Dusan Pic

Dusan Vemic's Fans Call Him 'Dule'

Dusan Vemic: Reporter's Notebook

Dusan Vemic covers the court well with long, angular, athletic, smooth movements. He has a big serve and goes for it on his second serve.

He is a bit indecisive at the net. At times, after hitting a return, he has a tendency to marvel at his own handiwork and stand and watch his shot go over net.

He can be temperamental and at times succumbs to pressure. He has shown the ability to rally late in the match when it seems like it is all over.

Related:

Dusan Vemic's Grand Slam Coach

How To Beat Dusan Vemic

The Dusan Vemic Funky Dance

Resources:

Dusan Vemic, The Comeback Kid

My Coach and Me: The Value of a Coach

By 1985, I was making some scratch on the professional tour. I was ranked 18 in the world. The top 10 was within reach. I placed a call to my college coach and told him I was going to make a run for it and I needed him with me.

Without hesitation, coach decided to join me tour. We were on our way. What coach did for me had less to do with strokes and footwork. He made my life easier. He took care of the little things and allowed me to concentrate on tennis.

Coach took care of the little details: the food, the laundry, scheduled practice courts, and scouted my opponents with detailed notes. Mentally, he also helped me; his level-headedness was a counter-balance to my anxiety.

There was never an angry word between us. No matter how badly I played, he never yelled. And no matter how well I played, he never let me get carried away.

The little odd jobs he did for me, he did with dignity and was proud of his part in propelling me into pro tennis. He was delighted to help me reach my potential. It made me feel secure, and a part of a team.

In the fourteen years from the start of college to the end of my pro career, coach taught me to love the game of tennis and to pay attention to every aspect of the game and life. His humility of putting my needs ahead of his, taught me a valuable lesson.

I made it all the way to fourth in the world. I was the fourth-best player in the world. And I owed it all to Coach.

Related:

My Coach and Me: An Introduction

How To Make It On Tour Without A Coach

The Coach-Player Relationship is Like a Marriage

Resources

I've Got Your Back. Above story based on the relationship of Brad Gilbert and his coach Tom Chivington.

My Coach and Me

Bill Tilden -- who dominated tennis in the 1920s and 1930s -- said, "Never change a winning game; always change a losing a game."

My coach went further: "When do you change a losing game? When you have a better plan."

That's my coach. He tooled with Bill Tilden's quote and somehow managed to improve it. Subtlety and understatement. The hallmarks of my coach.

He tooled with my backhand and improved it. That is my coach. This is our story.

Our story begins at Foothill College in Piedmont, California. First, you should know, no one had ever accused me of being a bright student. My mother thought I would end up as a shelf stocker at the local grocery store. But I could hit a tennis ball.

I could hit a tennis ball. But my coach inspired in me a love for the game. He had an attitude that was infectious. I bought in and was eager to please him.

But I'm telling you the story of my backhand. Here's what happened.

Coach had a friend who owned a private court. On weekends we would go there and hit baskets of balls. He would feed me 500 backhands.

We were trying to turn my defensive chip into an offensive topspin without changing my continental grip. (Yeah, yeah, a lot of tennis jargon; suffice it to say it was not an easy transition.)

In his own way, my coach was helping me improve my game without changing my style.

And after two months, I got it! I figured it out. Suddenly I could hit over my backhand with confidence. The victory was all mind. My coach allowed me to find my own way. My coach, subtle, understated.

Related:

My Coach's Style

My Coach's Authority

My Coach's Advice

Hall of Fame Coach

Resources:

I've Got Your Back. Above story is the re-telling of an ecounter between Brad Gilbert and his coach Tom Chivington; from the Gilbert book.

Coach Dave

A Coach's Deftness of Touch

Brad Gilbert the player had mediocre strokes and he knew it. As a junior player, many coaches tried to help him with his stroke, but the coaches approached it with negativity. And because of this negativity all of their goodwill was of no help to him.

"You have to do it like this or you're never going to be any good," the coaches would say.

"If you don't go to a two-handed backhand, you have no hope."

"Your backhand sucks."

"Your grip is terrible."

All the negativity made him defensive and irreceptive of their advice. It took a coach with tact and deftness of touch to get through to Brad Gilbert.

"Chiv was different," Brad Gilbert said about his college coach Tom Chivington, "incredibly calm voice but he was firm at the same time."

Brad Gilbert immediately respected Tom Chivington. "I respected Chiv because he clearly knew what he was talking about, because he radiated self-respect and quiet authority, and because every day at every practice, he was pumped just to be there, excited about working with every guy on the team from the strongest to the weakest."

Brad Gilbert benefitted greatly from Tom Chivington's tutelage. Brad Gilbert went on to become a successful professional tennis player and became a respected coach in his own right.

Related:

Brad Gilbert's Handiwork. Quotes in above story appeared first in Brad Gilbert's I've Got Your Back.

Brad Gilbert's Mentor

Brad Gilbert's Advice

Resources:

Brad and Boris

Brad and McEnroe

Brad and Connors

The "Marriage" of Agassi and Brad Gilbert

By the time Andre Agassi and Brad Gilbert created a partnership, Agassi had already consolidated his reputation as one of the world's better tennis players. But Brad Gilbert still had something to offer Agassi -- and Agassi was smart enough to recognize the fact.

Agassi knew how to hit a tennis ball, but there is a mental aspect to tennis, and this is where Brad Gilbert was most helpful. "Brad made me understand that if you don't play smart you are useless."

Brad Gilbert's tutelage was so effective, he made himself obsolete and no longer necessary as a coach to Agassi. "I learned how to think for myself out there," Agassi explained.

Tennis, unlike most sports, is the one sport where it is actually forbidden to coach during a match. But during a rain delay in the 1999 French Open Brad Gilbert was able to huddle with Agassi. Agassi is convinced he would not have won that French Open but for that conversation.

"It was maybe the biggest win I ever had and I won it because of Brad," Agassi admits. "His advice during that rain delay was the difference. He knows the right thing to say at the right time."

Related:

More on Brad Gilbert and Andre Agassi

Brad Gilbert Was Influenced by The Chiv

Brad Gilbert is Put in his Place

Resources:

Brad Gilbert, The Self-Described Jewish Redneck. Quotes in above article appeared first in this story.

Andre and Steffi: The HBO Interview

A Low Point in Andre Agassi's Career

Nineteen-ninety-seven was a trying time for Andre Agassi. He had just married the actress Brooke Shields. The paparazzi was hounding them for a salacious photo. In the midst of the turmoil of a young marriage and the media intrusion, his tennis faltered.

He missed a full half-year of the tennis season, including the Grand Slams, the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon. He started playing that summer in poor tennis shape. Come September, he had an early dismssal from the U.S. Open. The great Andre Agassi had fallen to 141 in the world.

His coach Brad Gilbert told him, "...You've lost your love for tennis. The game hasn't passed you by. If you put your nose to the grindstone and work your ass off, you can get back to number one. It's all about dedicating yourself to training, playing and having a plan. You can't play tennis part time and be great."

The doctor Brad Gilbert recommended he pull the plug on his scheduled tournaments, return home to Las Vegas; run some hills, hit the weights with his trainer Gil Reyes.

Gilbert then recommended something that is done in baseball, but rarely tennis: he recommended Agassi go down to the minor leagues of tennis, the Challenger tournaments.

Agassi lost his first Challenger match to a player ranked 202 in the world, Christian Vinck. Agassi played a few more Challenger events. The humility that came with playing at the Challenger level and the conditioning was just what was needed to get him ready for the next tennis season.

Related:

The Personalities on the Challenger Circuit

The Serbian Bomber

The Lithuanian Long-Shot

The Portuguese Heart-Throb

The Cheeky Brit

Resources:

Brad-Talk. Quote in above story first appeared in Brad Gilbert's I've Got Your Back.

Brad Gilbert Learns a Timely Lesson

Brad Gilbert's relationship with his college coach Tom Chivington started off badly. Brad arrived late to practice.

"That's the last time you will ever show up late -- ever," Chivington told Brad Gilbert.

Brad Gilbert was shocked. He was a nationally-ranked junior tennis player and the top prospect at Foothill College. He was shocked because no one in the tennis world had ever called him out and demanded accountability.

"If you don't come on time, you do not respect me," Chivington continued.

The lesson was a valuable one. Brad Gilbert -- who went on to be ranked as high as number four in the world and a respected coach in his own right -- was never late again. He took it as a life lesson and throughout his life became notorious for showing up 30 minutes early.

Related:

More on Brad Gilbert's Coach. Above story told in Brad Gilbert's book I've Got Your Back.

How To Survive The Tennis Tour

Resources:

Brad Gilbert Endorses Square Hit Tennis; What's This?

Brad Gilbert's Coach

Brad Gilbert -- because of his work with Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick -- is known as one of the great tennis coaches. But Brad himself was mentored by a coach who had a tremendous influence on his life. A man named Tom Chivington.

"Brad's coach was the rarest of creatures," as Joe Kernen tells the story. "A strong but humble man. Chiv had a quiet voice, enormous positive conviction, and when he travelled with Brad on the pro tour, the simple desire to do whatever it took to make Brad comfortable and at ease with himself, to put him in the frame of mind to win.

"This meant everything from getting laundry done, to booking practice courts, to scouting opponents. Chiv worked hard and cheerfully because he loved his work. He never raised his voice. He was an inspiration, commanding respect by acting respectfully."

Related:

Another Respected Coach

Brad Gilbert on the Futures

Brad Gilbert on College vs Pros

Resources:

Excerpt from I've Got Your Back. Quotes in above story appeared in the introduction to the Brad Gilbert book.

Robert Smeets: The Scouting Report

Robert Smeets is known for his hustle. He would run down the perfect drop shot -- and return it. When you think you have hit a winner, to your surprise, the ball would come bouncing back at you.

Smeets is like a counter-puncher in boxing. He likes to lay in waiting and react to your shot. The way to defeat Smeets is to lure him into the fight and force him to make some offensive moves.

You need to have patience and realize that you may have to hit four, five, six, seven or eight more shots than you normally do. Smeets' patience and consistency is his biggest asset. You need to hit winners to beat another pro player, but Smeets is convinced that you would make more unforced errors than spectacular shots.

You need to pull Smeets off the baseline, neutralize his speed and use his strengths against him. Get him out of his comfort zone; make him hit 'tennis shots' instead of just pushing it back and getting it in play.

Get him out of his comfort zone by coming to the net and suddenly he has to think about where to hit the ball as opposed to just hitting back in the open court.

Smeets feeds off of your pace. The laws of physics state that the harder you hit the ball against the human wall of Robert Smeets the harder the ball comes back at you. Take some pace off your serve, in fact use your second serve, and force him to hit the ball back rather than just sticking out his racket.

Smeets likes to run after the ball. Take away this asset by hitting the ball at him. Instead of running to the ball, he would have to run out of the way of the ball.

Related:

More Scouting Reports

How To Scout Futures Tour Players

A Closer Look At A Tour Player

The Idiosyncrasies of Robert Smeets

Resources:

Winning Ugly. Above story based on the Brad Gilbert book.

More On Robert Smeets

Robert Smeets Journey From The Netherlands to Australia