Contest: Win a Free One-Year Subscription to Tennis View Magazine!
(June 17, 2013) We at Tennis Grandstand know that tennis fans can never get enough of the sport! So we have partnered up with one of the hottest tennis specialty magazines around, Tennis View Magazine, to give one of our dedicated readers a free one-year subscription to their magazine!
Entering the contest is simple. In the comment section below, describe your perfect mixed doubles partner and why you chose that individual. It could be a current or former professional player, or even someone personal in your life. Be creative!
Contest closes Monday, June 24th, 2013 at 5pm EST, and is only open to US-based individuals. Winner will be chosen at random from all entries received. Make sure to include a current email address so we may contact the winner!
Good luck and spread the word!
Lisicki fairy tale ends, Ivanovic finds new coach and Virtua Tennis 4 goodies for the win!
Sabine Lisicki’s amazing run at Wimbledon
I have to say that I was amazed by Sabine Lisicki’s performance at the 2011 edition of Wimbledon. Her serve is one of the most powerful ones on the women’s tour and she has one of the cutest smiles too. But Lisicki has been pretty impressive so far this season with the AEGON Classic win and reaching the quarters at the Porsche Grand Prix Open in Stuttgart after overcoming a longterm injury.
Ofcourse her wildcard caused some controversy after reading that you can only get four of them per calendar year. For more on the controversy read Charlie Bricker’s full article on World Tennis Magazine.
Find some great photos of Lisicki and her memorable semi finale match versus Maria Sharapova after the jump.
Ana Ivanovic finds herself a new coach
I am not at all disappointed by Ana Ivanovic’ performance at Wimbledon this year. She reached the third round and that is a lot better than I, and I am sure a lot of you readers, expected from former champion Ivanovic. I was very happy to read the announcement that her quest to find a fulltime coach has been completed. Nigel Sears, former head coach of British women’s tennis, has signed on to coach the Belgrade great.
“I couldn’t be happier,” said Ivanovic, who was runner-up at Roland Garros in 2007 and at the 2008 Australian Open. “I’ve admired Nigel for some time now and I can’t wait to start working with him on court.
“It was important that I waited for the right coach, and we are both excited about the challenges ahead.”
Ana is currently taking a well deserved break but I can’t wait to see what Nigel Sears and her will come up with in the coming months.
The past month or so has been pretty intense and now I’m going to enjoy a week off. It’s important to recharge before my training for the hard courts begins. When I return from my holiday I hope to be a lot closer to appointing a new coaching team and I’ll let you know about that soon!
Caroline Wozniacki is on the buss
And again Caroline Wozniacki didn’t win a Grand Slam tournament. Despite the absence of Kim Clijsters, the lack of match rythm of the Williams sisters, Wozniacki was ousted in the fourth round by Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 5-7. I am beginning to think that Wozniacki is letting things get to her. The pressure of having to win a Grand Slam is, I think and I am just speculating here, having a bigger effect on her than she realizes. She is only 20 years old but we have seen younger girls winning Grand Slam tournaments. Maria Sharapova (17) and Martina Hingis for instance (16). Some day I am sure she will win it. Just hoping for sooner rather than later.
And obviously she was disappointed as well.
Hi everyone, just wanted to say thank you for your support at Wimbledon. Dominika played really well yesterday. Saw this ad on a London bus which cheered me up! Now back to the practice courts!
Victoria Azarenka, so close yet so far
And that’s pretty much my analysis of Victoria Azarenka. She just needs that little push to make it to a Grand Slam finale and win it. At the moment I don’t think anyone on the tour deserves it more than she does. Ofcourse , she will have to keep working on improving and she already vowed to bounce back stronger. So that is good to read, especially when you survive a scare after reading that Azarenka pondered on retirement earlier this year. I sure hope we will get to see Azarenka for many years to come and then some.
I have to say that Azarenka looking like Blake Lively isn’t exaggareted at all.
And look at this amazing shot from. You can’t retire when you make shots like these!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTlv2ZnE0kM&w=550&h=343&rel=0]
Maria Sharapova in 3D
With the Wimbledon green and strawberry red I am sure you can imagine Avatar 2 just a little. Or is that too much of a stretch? Congratz to Sharapova for making it to her second Wimbledon final in her already impressive career.
Sony however contacted us today to let us know about the following:
From the 1st July 2011, for the first time in 125 Championships of this prestigious tournament… the best tennis action will be aired live – in 3D – at cinemas across the globe. The men’s and women’s final plus the men’s semi-final, all screened in glorious 3D. Never before has it been possible to have such an immersive tennis experience. It’s time to feel every serve, every net-cord and every near miss. It’s time to really feel part of the action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LTeVUt10Yw&w=550&h=343&rel=0]
Virtua Tennis 4 contest
And together with Sega, we at TennisGrandstand, have created a little quiz with some serious goodies. The goodies are a bag, a sweatband, an awesome Virtua Tennis 4 shirt, a cap and a bidon AND….a copy of Virtua Tennis 4 for the PS3 (not on photo). So how do you like DEM apples?
If you want to win then just answer this question:
Who did Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat to reach his first ever Wimbledon semifinals? And what was the score?
First come = first serve!
As promised!!
And now for the Sabine Lisicki photos as promised!
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A Joyful Tennis Summer With Hingis And Kournikova
If you were a tennis fan in the late 90s then you surely must have heard of Anna Kournikova and Martina Hingis. Those two were my favorite players back then. Anna , who is underrated by most tennis fans, never won a singles title but did win two Grandslam Doubles titles. Martina Hingis has won many titles including three Grandslam titles (the US Open 1x, Wimbledon 1x, Australian Open 3x) and nine Grandslam Doubles titles. And she was the number one of the world for 209 consective weeks.
So when I read that the two of them were returning to play the WTT tournaments this summer I was more than happy. Why? Because it meant I’d get to see photos of them playing. Things were even better when they entered the Wimbledon Legends doubles tournament. It was the return of the Spice Girls all over.
Fans and pundits from all over the world were elated to see Hingis and Kournikova team up again for doubles and play singles. Ofcourse this also ignited rumors that Hingis may make a return to the WTA Tour. She told the press that she may play a few doubles games with Lindsay Davenport. But we haven’t heard much of that ever since. As a fan I keep hoping that Hingis will return for at least more doubles tournaments.
I even dug up some videos of the two of them interviewed by Harry Cicma for World Tennis Magazine.
Enjoy the photos and videos. The photos are Anna Kournikova at the St. Louis Aces Vs Newport Beach Breakers match and Martina Hingis at the World Team Tennis tournament at Villanova University. Check the guy Martina Hingis is talking to. Rumor has it that he is her new beau.
I have also added extra bonus pics of Anna Kournikova At The Laureus Charity Gala At The MBB In Stuttgart.
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The Journeyman’s Weekly Column
Director/producer of the tennis documentary “The Journeymen” Mark Keil’s weekly column takes a new angle this week. The former professional tennis player is now a tennis coach, and he enlightens you on his tennis philosophy with his coach’s corner article.
Being a tennis coach is a rewarding and fun way to pass on some ideas that I have acquired over the years playing this game. I have had some great coaches and have learned a lot from all of them. My philosophy with my students is to try and get on the same page with them in five categories, even if we have to agree to disagree sometimes. I try and get them to carry a loose leaf binder with them in their tennis bag and have them divide it into sections for the five categories: Mental, Physical, Strategic, Technical, and Goals. I have them write and put in various articles that pertain to each section.
Mental: this deals with all items that can be related to the cerebral part of the game, and should include articles on the game and various book titles that should be purchased and read. Tim Galway’s “The Inner Game of Tennis” is a must, as is Brad Gilbert’s “Winning Ugly.” The easiest way to get mentally tough is to compete as much as possible; competitive juniors should play at least two tournaments, while female players for whom tennis is a hobby should play a league match a week. Also, writing a daily journal in this section can really keep the player get in tune with his or her game, much like a daily diary does for life.
Physical: this section includes all of the footwork and exercises done off the court. Information about a lot of drills using cones and a medicine ball, as well as a weight-lifting regimen, should be listed here. A player must do these exercises at least three times a week to become a complete player.
Strategy: this is where the player writes down the main strengths and weaknesses of his or her game and deciphers what type of player to be. Serve and volleyer? Aggressive baseliner? Counterpuncher? Or an all court player? The player can also put in tennis magazine and notes from coaches on certain shot selections.
Technique: a player and his or her coach must try and be on the same page for technique on every stroke, from the forehand volley to the backhand overhead. The player should write in this section about how to hit every stroke, which will make it easier for the player to understand how to do it.
Goals: finally, the player needs to write down three month, six month, one year, and five year goals that he or she wants to achieve through playing this game. Does the player want to achieve a particular ranking, make a certain team, or a particular NTRP rating? We all know what the advantages of writing down our goals can do for us by reading them periodically. They become easier to attain!
I hope this bit of tennis information will help the players out there organize their thoughts and have some sort of game plan in improving in this great game of tennis.
Until next week, have fun and hit the courts.
Mark Keil
My fantasy Tennis closet + Shipley & Halmos’ Fall 2008 RTW
Tennis magazine’s Spring Fashion editorial reads like the storeroom of a Barney’s CO-OP: Shipley & Halmos. Trovata. Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Band of Outsiders.
The shoot’s stylist, Jessica de Ruiter, threw in some Y-3, American Apparel, and Superga shoes for good measure.
(photos by Williams + Hirakawa)
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Fall 2008: Above are the pieces from S&H’s Fall 2008 RTW collection. Refinery29 checked in with Sam and Jeff some days before their show. (Definitely worth watching, if only to see their decoder ring invitations.)
Browse: See all the Alfred Hitchcock-inspired pieces here. But if you’re just ready to buy, then know that their much-anticipated Spring 2008 goods are now available for consumption.
(photos via style.com)