All posts in Tennis

Babolat Tennisbabolat Racquets

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Babolat tennis racquets offer you power, control, and everything in between! With such a wide selection to choose from, this allows you to find a tennis racquet with the right feel. Babolat racquets are created for optimal performance, as evident by their use by many renowned ATP and WTA players such as Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Dinara Safina, Caroline Woznicaki, Na Li, Yanina Wickmayer, Fernando Gonzalez, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and many more. This series is divided into Babolat Pure Drive, Babolat AeroPro, Babolat Pure Storm, and Babolat Drive Z lines. Not only are Babolat tennis racquets engineered for the professional play, but they also appeal to recreational and competitive players of all levels. The GT Family of racquets take the place of the prior models of the AeroPro Drive and Pure Drives. These Babolat tennis racquets feature Woofer, AeroModular, Zylon and many other Babolat racquet technologies to best suit your game.
Babolat tennis is headquartered in France where tennis has had a long history dating back to the early Middle Ages. The company”s logo has changed over the years, but one thing has always remained constant, the “double line”. Anytime you see those two lines you can rest assured you”re getting a superior product that will outperform others on court. This company is known for making high quality tennis strings, racquets, shoes, and accessories.

Originally started by Pierre Babolat, ownership of the company has been kept in the family all the way down to its current CEO, Eric Babolat. The company invented natural gut tennis strings in 1875 and continued to focus solely on strings until 1994, when it became a “total tennis” company. Albert Babolat, Eric”s Great Grandfather, was a pioneer in string development and his vision helped create one of the biggest tennis companies in the world. The organization”s string collection consists of synthetic, hybrids, and natural gut. Even though there are various types of string in the product line, quality has not been sacrificed. Each category of string has unique properties suitable for different player types.

This brand”s success can also be attributed to its exceptional tennis racquets. Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick both play with Babolat tennis racquets exclusively. There have been several series of racquets under this brand including the aeropro, pure drive, and pure storm lines as of most recent. The technology that goes into each racquet is heavily researched and has led to some of the most innovative equipment in the game.

The shoe division was launched in 2003. Babolat banded together with Michelin to create competitive footwear that was made to last. This is still true today with the Propulse 2 model, which has given new meaning to the word durable. Roddick has been wearing this organization”s shoes since 2005 and has played an integral part in sculpting the perfect tennis shoe by giving professional feedback to footwear engineers. This company is completely and utterly devoted to tennis player”s needs.

On top of equipment, other tennis accessories manufactured by this organization include tennis balls, wristbands, grips, and bags. Babolat tennis bags are in high demand and popular among all players. Possibly because the same dedication to technology the company has shown in its equipment has carried over into its bag line.

Tennis Elbow And The Federations Cup

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The world group final of the Federations Cup draws close, with Italy and Russia competing on the red clay outdoor courts for glory. Italy last took the title in 2009 and 2010, whilst Russia last won in 2007 and 2008 with the side’s last meeting in the 2008 final where Russia came out on top.

The Federations Cup was first launched in 1963 as a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and has grown to become the largest annual international team competition for female tennis players. In 2013, 97 nations entered the competition.

Different types of sports injuries

Sports injuries are common for both amateurs and professionals and sometimes are unavoidable. Injuries themselves can be categorised as either muscle or joint complaints and whilst the majority of sports injuries occur as a result of overuse, some do occur from accidents such as slipping or during contact sports such as football.

Some sports injuries are more common in certain sports than others. Tennis elbow is something associated with tennis or golf (golfers elbow), but equally ankle injuries can be common among players. In a sport requiring pivoting on the ankle joint, as the game progresses and a player becomes tired then there is an increased risk of them rolling the joint when turning to make a shot. A sprained ankle can be very painful and cause inflammation of the joint but is largely self-limiting and a player should recover within a few days.

Upper limb injuries can also be common among tennis players, covering wrist injuries, elbow injuries and shoulder injuries. With players serving at well over 100mph it is clear the amount of force being placed through the upper limb and overuse can lead to joint complaints.

What is tennis elbow?

Tennis elbow occurs as a result of overuse of the elbow joint, causing inflammation of the joint which can be painful and affect overall movement of the forearm. Despite its name, it is not primarily associated with tennis, with other repetitive activities which can lead to the onset of the condition, such as painting and even playing the violin.

Tennis elbow symptoms

The clinical term for tennis elbow is lateral epicondylitis and begins with pain being centred on the outside of the elbow joint. Another common elbow condition is golfers elbow, however the pain is centred on the inside of the elbow joint but ultimately amounts to the same pain and discomfort experienced by the patient.

In the event that you should begin to feel pain within the elbow joint it is advisable to cease your activity and rest as playing through the pain can make things worse.

How to manage tennis elbow

When playing tennis, overuse of the elbow joint can be difficult to overcome unless you stop what you’re doing. The condition is largely self-limiting, though in extreme cases surgery may be required. A typical recovery period can range from between six months and two years, which can be rather inconvenient but necessary to ensure a full recovery.

Ice can also be used to help manage inflammation of the joint, which can help control the pain and allow you greater mobility.

Another common remedy being applied by patients is the use of a tennis elbow support, which can also be used to manage golfers elbow. The support works by applying compression to the affected area of the elbow to help manage pain and inflammation and improve mobility. In the case of golfers elbow the support is simply rotated so that compression is applied to the inside of the joint rather than the outside.

If you have any concerns over your tennis elbow or in deed any other sports injuries then you should seek a professional diagnosis where they may be able to offer you advice on the best exercises to undertake to help with your recovery and may even recommend physiotherapy as an option in conjunction with rest and the use of a tennis elbow support.

Tennis Quotes To Celebrate Arthur Ashe’s Birthday

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This month we will celebrate Arthur Ashe’s birthday and what better way to remember him by than with some famous and entertaining tennis quotes. Arthur Ashe was not just a great tennis player, but he was also a remarkable human being. We dedicate these 12 tennis quotes to him.

1. “Tennis belongs to the individualistic past – a hero, or at most a pair of friends or lovers, against the world.” ~ Jacques Barzun

2. “Though your game is hardly the best, you can fray your opponent’s nerves, by methodically bouncing the ball, at least ten times before your serves.” ~ Arnold J. Zarett

3. “Tennis is a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility.” ~ Billie Jean King

4. “I’ll let the racket do the talking.” ~ John McEnroe

5. “If you don’t practice you don’t deserve to win.” ~ Andre Agassi

6. “Why has slamming a ball with a racquet become so obsessive a pleasure for so many of us? It seems clear to me that a primary attraction of the sport is the opportunity it gives to release aggression physically without being arrested for felonious assault.” ~ Nat Hentoff

7. “Life is like a game of tennis; the player who serves well seldom loses.” ~ Author Unknown

8. “If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that’s a big accomplishment. That quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life, and there’s going to be a life after tennis that’s a lot longer than your tennis life.” ~ Chris Evert

9. “What is the single most important quality in a tennis champion? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well.” ~ John McEnroe

10. “In the complete overall history of tennis, I figure I’ll be worth a sentence or two. That’s why my place in the all-time rankings means so very little to me — because I know I won’t be anybody’s number one, and it’s that same old thing. If you’re not number one, then what does it really matter?” ~ Billie Jean King

11. “Tennis and golf are best played, not watched.” ~ Roger Kahn

12. “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” ~ Arthur Ashe

On July 10th, when we celebrate Arthur Ashe’s birthday, pick up a racket and play some tennis. Then sit back and reflect on these tennis quotes and think about how they aren’t just relevant to life on the court, but are relevant to everyday life in general.

Off Court Tennis Training For Young Players

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It is always recommended for young players from the age of 8 years and up, to do a thorough fitness assessment and postural analysis to determine their height, weight, flexibility, physical strengths and weaknesses. It also gives them the ability to look back in subsequent years and see areas they have improved on, track their growth and development etc. After the assessments a tennis program should be designed to target certain areas such as strength, speed, cardio vascular endurance, flexibility etc.

If tennis is the main sport of a young player, then training away from tennis should be structured to help gain benefits for tennis, this is what we call specific tennis training.

Tennis Training programs should take into account the movement dynamics (high speed, agility and power endurance) and dimensions of tennis (lateral, forward, backward, up and down, rotational etc). Strength is the foundation for development in all-young players. Increases in muscle strength will help to improve movement, power, endurance, injury prevention, co ordination and confidence. There have been 100s of times I have had a coach or parent tell me their young player needs to move quicker or have more power. Doing power and agility exercises will help to a degree, but without a solid strength base benefits will be minimal.

Examples of strength exercises for tennis are:

Body weight: (push ups, squats, planks, lunges etc)

Suspension training: It is highly recommend for young players, it has many benefits and is very low risk for injuries. We use suspension training with the majority of our young players and get great results in strength, balance and co ordination.

Resistance band training: Resistance bands have been around for decades and are a great way to work certain muscle groups in the body. They are commonly used for rehabilitation from injuries, injury prevention and to challenge the musculoskeletal system (muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments) to promote muscle strength. Resistance bands are low cost and are good to travel with.

Muscle loading: It is using weight (dumbbells, weight plates, barbells, machines etc) to challenge the musculoskeletal system. This form of training has huge benefits for athletes, but for younger athletes it can be very dangerous, particularly on the joints of the body. It is hard for a coach or parent to know when a child should start lifting weights. Research tells us, this form of training should be avoided until the age of 16. In most cases it would be accurate, however we need to take into account the body type, physical maturity and natural strength of young athletes before determining when to start their strength program. Obviously working with a specific tennis conditioning trainer will help make that decision. A tennis conditioning trainer should start all players off by lifting no more than 5% of their body weight for upper body exercises and 5%-10% for lower body exercises. Until you have seen a trained professional avoid using weight training for players under the age of 16 years.

As important as strength is, it is also necessary to look at other areas of training for tennis to help boost a young players development. Cardio vascular endurance (running, swimming etc) Anaerobic cardio vascular training (agility) flexibility (stretching), co ordination and core stability should also be targeted and structured into the off court tennis training plan.

Young players should be encouraged to participate in a range of structured sports (soccer, basketball, netball, gymnastics, swimming etc.) and also fun unstructured exercise/play. Participating in other sports (e.g. Basketball, soccer) away from tennis will often give young players an increase in cardio vascular endurance, co ordination and strength.

It is best to consult a qualified tennis conditioning trainer to help structure a plan for off court tennis training. Getting them to work in with the coach is highly recommended, as the coach will have some knowledge on areas of strength and weakness.

Buy Chic Tennis Bags For Women Online

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The world of sports is no longer solely about scoring. In recent times, trend and fashion go hand-in-hand with sports. Court tennis is no different. It has become synonymous with celebrities and wealth. Female tennis players like Maria Sharapova have become ambassadors of various fashion accessories. Trendy tennis bags for women are among the most chic accessories you can carry to your tennis matches and show off your skills.

Convenient and Stylish Bags

Tennis bags for women are the status symbol. Tennis is often related to affluence and the upper-class. A stylish bag is your perfect partner to your games. A uniquely designed bag speaks volumes about your expertise of the game. It builds your confidence, and lets people know of it.

A good tennis bag is extremely convenient to carry assorted belongings in along with the tennis racket. Womens bags are designed particular with the female buyers in mind along with their needs. Women normally carry countless miscellaneous items with them. The bags are sized similar to a handbag, offering the same convenience and ease of transporting things. Besides the ease of usage, the tennis bags are very chic; by sporting a classic bag, you can literally enhance your fashion statement.

Buy Tennis Bags Online

There are variety of colors and patterns to choose from at couture tennis bags for sale online. Buyers are spoiled for choice. Bags are designed to bring out your individual personality. If you are the wild party girl type, the Barcelona Leopard design suits your style; if you have the elegant, lady-like personality, you can choose the Cassanova White Python. You will never run out of choice. When flaunting tennis bags that suit your personality type, you feel more certain about yourself when attending your games.

Additionally, bags from premium brands ensure accessories of the finest quality with high durability that can last for years. The material itself looks and feels rich.

Benefits of Online Buying

Before buying womens bags online, ensure that the store is reliable, providing bags of top-notch quality. You will certainly find more variety at an online tennis bags store than at a local mart. You can browse countless items from the comfort of your home and convenience of time. Another added benefit of buying womens tennis bags online is that you can compare preferences to choose the best.

Show off your style and confidence with trendy tennis bags. Blend your personality and fashion style on the tennis court while playing your best.