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As coaches, we often talk about players being smart. But what does that mean? Is it that they are creative or crafty? Is it that they make disciplined decisions? Or is it that they know their game and their opponent’s? Of course, it’s all of the above. Ultimately, there are three things that can influence every decision a player makes – whether during a point, in between points, or before the match starts. They are: the player the ball the opponent Most players have a good un

The debate over which to teach first – power or control – has gone on for ages, but that’s not what this post is about. This is about understanding the balance between consistency and quality – a lens through which we can look at practices, matches, and skills to gain a better understanding of our players and the type of work we should be doing in training. Before we start, it’s important that we define the terms. We will define consistency as the rate at which someone can re

As I alluded to in my previous post, we have entered the Moneyball era in tennis. Point length, shot speed, momentum, you name it – more is being measured every day. They say “measure what matters” – but let’s remember that just because we measured it doesn’t mean it mattered. There is risk in rushing to conclusions, and I’ll outline a few considerations for making sure we don’t misinterpret the data we’re collecting. 1. Statistics are situational Let’s take, for example, som