Chasing The Plock!

R ecreational tennis is as exciting as professional tennis I think, and I'd venture to guess it is actually more fun. There are many reasons we play this sport, at my age it is need to feel the satisfaction of self-improving in an area that is unrelated to work, career, or continuation of blood lines. When I first returned to tennis, I thought I had somewhat of a unique story of having played competitively during middle and high schools year, taking a sabbatical for 30+ years and now returning after age fifty. I am so amazed that my story is probably the most common story within the recreational circles. Nearly everyone I meet playing tennis has a very similar story. This means that many of us are probably seeking something that's been left unanswered in our lives, some nostalgia perhaps, slowing down our degrading health, or some other reason. I think they are all valid ways to enrich our lives, elevate our self-value and even gain a new place in our complex societies.

I enjoy playing doubles as much as singles. The dynamics are quite different, the shots are different with more variety, and you get to experience amazing back-and-forth plays within a single point covering the whole spectrum of fast, high, low and touch shots.  It can also get frustrating often, especially when played with by partners that have no synergy, coordination or expectations. One of the most important aspects of doubles team, in my opinion, is to match the skill and experience level of the partners close to one another. Doubles in tennis is one of those games that if one of the payers cannot perform, his/her partner cannot compensate for bad play. In this sense it is a chained game, and if one of the chain links is broken the entire chain falls apart. I am part of a team in a 3.0 league and play both singles and doubles. Although I admit my game is much more suited nowadays to 3.5 level, but the USTA NTRP ratings calculations have progressed slower than my game in the l

I read more than few times that a player needs to recognize their state of mind, state of looseness and deficiencies at a given moment to be able to correct the problem during a match. Although I have never disagreed with this approach, I don't think I quite understood it, that is until recently. For example, often I hear the phrase "s/he is very tight," or similar references about a player's game. I thought this means that the player is not playing with confidence and feels nervous. I experience the lack of confidence quite frequently, I just accept the fact that as a relatively new player that is normal and someday I will learn to manage my confidence better, particularly as my shot consistency increases. Few days ago I played two singles matches in which I could feel I was tight and I was missing some of the easiest forehands and even my feet were not moving around much. For some reason, all of my tennis playing principals were out of the window, such as p