THE TENNIS COURT

Eventually, you learn in this game that the tennis court has a life of its own.  It sits there, day in and day out, with a net, posts, lines, colors. Waiting, waiting for you, its players to bring it to life!

"The court never changes," a coach reiterates, over and over. Remember that, and act accordingly.  

It is the player that creates the change, that adds to the depth and breadth of the court to turn dreams into reality.  Get out there, and contemplate this.  You will be relaxed, not so tense this time as you consider the court. 

Forget about your opponents; they become the chess pieces, it is the chess board that dictates how the game is played.

You too can be that chess player on a tennis court.  

Practice, know your moves, there are standard ones~

Doubles play

• Serve and volley, get to the net, take the net and stay there!
• Move laterally with your partner, you will be glad you did
• Commit to your court position, never go backwards

Singles play

•  Keep your balls deep to the corners, then get to the service line for the put away
• Serve and volley when you are ahead, at 40-15
•  While at service line for volley, stay in front of the ball, be prepared for the angle shot return

Three Important Tips for Doubles and Singles play

• Never, ever, underestimate thy opponent, stay humble!
• Re-set your mind, your court position at the beginning of each point, the past is the past, stay in the present moment only
• Split step to get to the far away ball, the split gives you that extra momentum push for that extra step that you need for your return shot

 These nine tennis tips still take into account, you guessed it, the tennis court!

The court allows you to play, to experience the above noted conditions~

• The more you know and memorize the lines of the tennis court, the more you can hit those deep balls to the baseline, to keep your opponents back, so that you can move in and forward for the put away!
• Knowing the lines of the court allows you to play instinctively, especially under pressure
• When you know the spatial relationships of the lines you can move much more freely, loosely, to alleviate tightness for that effective shot

Here is a great scenario from Dr. Brian Weiss's book Messages From the Masters, (you can find on Amazon), who has a patient hypnotized in the effort to improve his subject's golf game~

I once treated a professional golfer who was overly concerned with his scores. The more anxious he became, the more strokes he lost on the course [this applies to tennis, too!]. During a particularly deep meditation in my office, he left his ego behind and "merged" with the golf course. He began to understand golf as a metaphor for life.  The course throbbed with life; it became animate. "What did you learn?" I asked him. "That the course doesn't care what I score or how I play. It only wants me to enjoy it, to feel its beauty and its gifts. Its greatest wish is to provide pleasure and joy."

So much can be learned from this passage, whether a golf course or tennis court. The court respects the player; only the player needs to actually see to experience. To be respectful, in turn. Mindful of this passage, see what happens for yourself next time you step out on the tennis court.

And of course, the Bard, William Shakespeare, could have easily intoned in As You Like It (Act II, Scene VII), 'All the world's a [tennis court] "....

                Lacoste L!ve

Tote, anyone?