Chasing The Plock!

Strings Of The Past, Getting On With The " Hybrids " Technology has changed certainly over last three decades. The new rackets and strings are such a huge improvement from the days I played seriously, I feel I am relearning tennis. Without understanding the best ways to use the technology available, it is no longer possible to be effective on court it seems. One of the changes that has caught me by surprise is the much closer link between racket type, composition, weight/balance to strings utilized. The sheer number of different rackets on the market is not possible for me to follow, and equally vast number of type of strings available. So, when you look at the possible permutations, it is mind boggling for me. So, I making it easy on myself: When I first picked my racket (Wilson ProStaff RF97A), I just went with the recommended string imprinted on the racket, Wilson Championship Duo string set with 59 lbs main string tension and 56 on the crosses. Incidentally, I had nev...

Out of Coma, Relearning ATP and WTP Getting back into tennis I feel like I woke up from a coma after twenty-four years. All the professional players have of course changed, the game has advanced in so many different ways I am having difficulty absorbing all of it.  One player I had heard even when I wasn't interested in tennis was Serena Williams and of course I cannot discount Venus. I am surprised to find out that they both still play, and play at a very high level, not seniors tour. The level of power Serena seems to posses is quite astonishing and I haven't seen anyone that can really match it yet, but it only has been a short time I have been awake from the coma, I am sure there are many other players to see. Rafael Nadal seems to have some furious top sin forehands, I am at a loss at how he can maintain his energy through the match while hitting with such top sin at all times and with pace, mind you.  Although equally amazingly his opponents seem to have answe...

50-Year Old Body Gives Up In the last two months with on and off practices and clinics, my strokes are coming back, consistency is increasing noticeably and my legs have been getting much stronger thanks to few hours in the gym and weights. Unfortunately, during the last two practices, the rupture in my meniscus has gotten worse and my knee swells up like a balloon.  An MRI confirms the rupture, and the only option at this time left is surgery it seems.  This means that just as I was getting started back into tennis and enjoying every minute of it, I have to stop for about 2-3 months.  Very disappointed!

24 Years Later Back With A Tennis Racket In My Hands A late May 2015 Friday afternoon I am taking a nap on the couch, I wake up with a this uncontrollable feeling and need to play tennis. How is this possible since I never took up a racket or watched a tennis match of any kind since 1991?  I don't know, but I was on court for a beginner's clinic at a near by tennis facility on Saturday morning. I was amazed I could still hit the ball, not that they landed back on court again, but I still had the  plock!  for sure. After seeing that I had the basic techniques already, the instructor moved me into the intermediate group (3.0 group they called it, whatever that means). I am addicted again, love hitting the balls, slicing, spinning, smashing, just pocking around.

My Way Back Into Tennis 1974, Paris, I wonder through cobble stone streets trying to make sense of the place. I am 9 years old, we just got there due to my parents new work assignment. No French, I am looking with blank eyes to people that are trying to talk to me, in my own way I am telling them I have no clue why I am there, and I don't want to be there, I want to be back home with my friends. That ain't happening of course. Quite reserved I am, scared and mute. I hate the place, and I do mean hate. After few months of unapproachable attitude, while my parents do their best to help me acclimate into the environment by trying to entertain me with various activities, they take me to a tennis complex. The place is full of red dirt, crowded, I have some silly hard and uncomfortable shoes on that hurt my feet with each step. People are playing tennis, which I don't quite understand the attractiveness, but I admit to myself that they are pretty cool looking people; whi...