Tennis Fitness: Increase Your Quickness By Increasing the Power of Your First Step
Posted on January 10, 2008
Filed Under tennis-sport
Sometimes referred to as ?Rafa,? Rafael Nadal is a native of Spain who has made a large impact in the world of tennis. Born June 3, 1986 in Manacor, Mallorca, Rafael Nadal is the son of Sebastian and Ana Maria Nadal. His sister, Maria Isabel, is five years younger than Rafael and is his only sibling. Standing 6′1″ and weighing 178 lbs, Rafael Nadal became a professional tennis player in 2001 after having played since 4 years of age. Fans should not let this young age fool them as Rafael Nadal nabbed his first championship at only 8 years of age.
Under the guidance and teaching of Toni Nadal, his uncle, Rafael Nadal began learning to play tennis very early in life as is evident from his early championship. Toni, who remains Rafael?s coach, is a very important part of this youngster?s success. In 2003, Rafael Nadal earned the ATP Newcomer of the Year award. In 2005, he won 11 titles and also captured recognition as the ?Most Improved Player? for 2005 as named by the ATP.
In June 2006, Rafael Nadal won his second Roland Garros crown and also scored his 100th claycourt career victory. That same month, Rafael Nadal turned 20 and ended his teenage years with great success. It was during these years that Rafael Nadal won 16 career titles, which tied the record for the most titles won by a teenager.
Even though Rafael Nadal is right-handed, he plays left-handed and produces a backhand using both. As with most top athletes in their sport, Rafael Nadal is managed by IMG and is frequently found in Nike attire.
Fans who would like to request a signed photo or simply send Rafael Nadal their best wishes are urged to do so in care of his professional affiliation. If you are requesting an autograph, be sure to include a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) along with your request. Popular items to have signed include blank index cards and photographs. It is recommended that fans not send any item that they cannot afford to lose, such as prized possessions and/or limited edition collectibles. As with all mailed autograph requests, there is no guarantee of a reply. For this reason, many fans simply prefer to request a signed photo. Depending on the athlete?s schedule, autographs may be authentic, secretarial, pre-printed or even impossible to provide. Patience is the key to requesting autographs by mail, especially when you are talking about an athlete as popular as Rafael Nadal. Letters and requests should be mailed to:
Rafael Nadal
ATP Tennis
201 ATP Blvd.
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
|
Visit Rafael Nadal fan site to find anything related to Rafael Nadal, including Rafael Nadal pictures and bibliography http://www.rafael-nadal.us/biography.html |
Every tennis players wants to improve his or her game, and over time most players get better. However, all too many players are willing to dedicate the time and energy it requires in order to take their skills to the next level of excellence; but find that limited access to a court is keeping them from achieving their goals. If this sounds all too familiar, try some of these off court drills. By learning how to practice your tennis technique without needing a court or a net you can turn a backyard, or even a garage, into your personal tennis training gym.
The most effective thing you can do to improve your game when you don?t have access to a court or a partner is to build your endurance and do footwork drills. Making a regular practice of following increasingly challenging jogging routes will help you build the kind of endurance that will help you keep your energy levels high throughout even the most challenging games. To keep from injuring yourself during a jog, be sure to do a full set of warm-up and cool down stretches.
In addition to covering some ground as a jogger, it is a good idea to make up your own personal footwork drills so that you will be able to put your newfound endurance on the courts to full use by exploring your full range of lower body movement. Going through even a short daily regimen of slides, backwards jogs, side steps, kicks, jumps, and other low-impact aerobic moves will help you become more agile. Being light on your feet can give you a huge advantage when you are running for the ball. The more effortlessly you can slide, skip, run, and bounce on the court, the more graceful and efficient your play will become. If you have access to a lot of open air space like a large field or park, try playing a bit of tennis golf as a break from your regular drills.
The game of tennis golf may sound strange, but it is actually a great way to have a lot of fun while improving your tennis skills. You can play alone or with a group of friends. If you play in a group, make sure that everyone has a way to distinguish his or her unique ball. A round or two of tennis golf can help you increase your serving power and accuracy while having a great time. Like regular golf, the objective of tennis golf is to get your ball to a set spot in as few serves as possible. A landmark like a specific tree in an open field is a great place to aim for. Serve the ball as powerfully as you can and try to hit your target. Wherever your ball lands, go to it and serve it again from there. By playing in different kinds of terrain, you will be able to develop your serving skills in a variety of situations that call for different levels of power and precision. The confidence and accuracy you gain from playing tennis golf can translate to a better performance on the court.
About the Author:
Gray Rollins is a featured writer for BestTennisTips.com. For more tennis tips and information about tennis equipment visit us.
Tennis Fitness: Increase Your Quickness By Increasing the Power of Your First Step
Many tennis players ranging from the weekend warrior to the competitive athlete sometimes find themselves down in the dirt late in a match - Kicked out wide and unable to recover to the ball.
Did you need to work on your footwork?
Endurance?
Strength?
The answer may shock you.
————————————————————-
Training to Recover From Wide, Crosscourt Shots
————————————————————-
The logical assumption in this instance is that you may have footwork problems.
That may be the case, but what if your footwork is sound, your endurance is great, your strength is there, yet you’re still getting pushed out of the point from across the net?
Well, frankly, sometimes it will happen. You won’t be able to recover. I’m not going
to sugar coat that for one second.
But sometimes, a lot of times, you’re able to *almost* recover, bringing your racquet
to within inches of the ball, but it’s still not enough.
A fraction of a second determines whether the ball zips by you or whether you smack
It back across the net - maybe for a winner.
So what gives?
It could be your first step back towards the ball - lack of power output.
———————————-
Measuring Power Output
———————————-
Power Output =
Total Weight X Total Reps
{divided by}
Total Working Time
————————–
Take 2 players, Player A and Player B.
Each can squat 135 pounds for 8 reps.
It takes player A approximately 30 seconds to Perform 8 reps and Player B it only takes 27 Seconds to perform 8 reps.
Power Output for Player A:
1080 (135×8)/ 30 seconds = 36lbs/second
Power Output for Player B:
1080 (135×8)/27 seconds = 40lbs/second
Player B has greater power output moving 40 lbs per second and will be able to recover
alot quicker than player A if he’s kicked out wide by his opponent.
Increasing your power output on your first step will greatly increase the chances of you
fully recovering from a wide shot from your opponent. Increasing your total power output
doesn’t necessarily mean increasing the amount of weight lifted. Here are a few ways to
increase your total power output.
-1-> Total reps increase, while total working time remains the same
-2-> Total working time decrease, while the total weight and total reps remain the same
-3-> Total weight increase, while the working time and total reps remain the same
-4-> All of the above occur at the same time. Total weight increases - total reps increases - total working time decreases.
Shave a fraction of a second off your recovery time in tennis by increasing your power output and your opponent may have unknowingly just set you up to smash a winner.
Todd Scott is the owner and creator of Tennis Fitness Tips , the first tennis specific exercise guide for tennis competitors. Todd consults with tennis players around the world ranging from beginners to competitors at the ITF level. He contributes regularly to national and international publications and currently serves as a training advisor to Men’s Fitness and Muscle & Fitness Hers magazines. To download his Free eBook Click Here
About the Author
Todd Scott is the owner and creator of Tennis Fitness Tips, the first tennis specific exercise guide for tennis competitors.
The radar early warning systems in computer games, calls your attention to an incoming missile or enemy attack.and you take evasive, defensive or aggressive action. Boy, would this be useful in tennis!
Some players seem to have that kind of radar; Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Martina Hings to name a few. In lay terms it is called “anticipation”, in the players above it is almost an inborn factor that they naturally just use. For us regular humans it is something that one can learn and train.
How does it function? There are several other factors that influence “anticipation” but I am going to focus on just one; ball tracking.
Teachers often keep on telling pupils to “watch the ball”, I say, “track the ball”. Professional players track the ball from the moment it leaves their rackets to the moment the opponent strikes it and so on. Why tracking and not watching? Because when you track the ball your minds eye automatically produces a directional vector of the ball’s trajectory from the point of impact to the point of landing, therefore, giving your brain the exact coordinates where to go next.
There are different levels of tracking reactions, beginner, amateur and professional.
- Beginner; the ball is struck by your opponent, travels past the net, bounces off of the ground and at that moment you start reacting.
- Amateur, the ball is struck by your opponent, travels a few feet past the net and then you start reacting.
- Professional, the moment the ball is struck by your opponent, you react and move immediately in the direction the ball is going to bounce.
So when practicing, get used to activating your “early warning systems”, track the ball from your racket and the moment your opponent strikes it, react immediately. Once you start using this new weapon in your game, you will notice that you will have plenty more time to get to the ball and you will eventually begin to beat opponents you thought were out of your reach!
Hope you will enjoy becoming a “faster” player. Have fun with “The Game”.
For comments or ideas about this article please email the author
Copyright ? 1999-2005 Tenniscruz.com?. All rights reserved.
About the Author
S?rgio Cruz is ex # 1 National Champion, Davis Cup Player from Portugal and former Coach Jim
Courier ATP World Ranking # 1
Contact: cruz@tenniscruz.com or http://www.forum.tenniscruz.com http://www.tenniscruz.com
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