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Tennis & Racquet Sports

Archive for August, 2009

2009
20
Aug

Avoiding Tennis Elbow Injuries

by James Qubec

My brother who is a fit man used to joke when I went off on my 2000 km cycling trips that it was never the couch potatoes that got sports injuries. And sure enough when I hurt my knee cycling that summer I had to agree that he had a point. But this didn’t stop him from kicking around a soccer ball or doing light weights on his press bench at home, or playing the odd game of squash.

When I first heard about tennis elbow, I wondered if that was only for the competitive players who played tennis for hours on end every day. And if not, Id have to warn my brother to go easy on the squash, just like he had done with my cycling.

Tennis elbow, which is known as lateral epicondylitis, is apparently an extremely common injury. Pretty much if you’re a frequent tennis player, you’re at risk of having a case of tennis elbow. And, surprisingly enough, given its name, it affects a good number of people who don’t play tennis at all.

by Alex Broos

The Head Liquidmetal 8 is a great, oversized racquet that provides the player with a lot of control and useful power. Those players in the 2.0-4.0 level for tennis will instantly feel the difference in the Head Liquidmetal 8 than they would from a beginner’s racquet.

Weighing in at less than a pound, owners of the racquet can easily hit their shots early due to their success in executing fast swings with the racquet. Net play is just as easy, as the light weight once again lends itself well to volleys. A huge sweet spot on the racquet makes things less intimidating in an otherwise challenging situation.

While this racquet is suited for intermediate players, it lends itself well to advanced tactics, spin being one of them. This gives the racquet nice longevity, as it might take some time before a player grows out of it.

One of the reasons for the racquet’s spin-friendly architecture is Head’s Total Sweetspot Construction, which strategically places the strings at certain locations on the racquet head, making it very conducive to shots with spin on the ball.

by Trey McDowell

This racquet has been around for several years now, but the Head Liquidmetal Radical remains a competitive racquet for intermediate and advanced players, and one version is actually used by the pros.

Those familiar with previous Radicals will notice this racquet is a little heavier than in the past. This is a welcomed change for us because the ground strokes feel a lot more comfortable. Actually, everything off the ground felt very comfortable with the Head Liquidmetal Radical. The feel on slices, top spins and volleys were all great and felt crisp with tons of control.

When serving, the Liquidmetal Radical mid-plus gave us excellent control over the ball, and each serve felt great coming off the racquet. Returning serves at high speeds was no problem either.

Overall, the comfort and feel the Head Liquidmetal Radical gives you, especially off the ground, explains the reason why this is one of the best-selling racquets of all-time. We recommend this to any strong intermediate or advanced player looking for a fair-priced option.

by Randy Wilson

The Head Liquidmetal 4 is the ideal racquet for people who finds themselves on the border of intermediate and advanced player. While the racquet has been available for several years, it still wins accolades yearly, and was even selected as a top racquet by the esteemed tennis magazine.

Best suited for this racquet would be teens and adults between a 3.0 and 4.5, and the racquet’s flexible set of offerings facilitates much improvement in one’s game. Though most racquets for players of this level are heavier than racquets for beginners and intermediates, the Liquidmetal 4 is lighter, but not obnoxiously so.

Just like the other racquets in this series, the Liquidmetal 4 is lightweight and flexible. Owners of the racquet praise its control features, and there’s very little shock felt when the ball is hit compared to other competing racquets.

The power off the ground with the Head Liquidmetal 4 makes it easy for someone who might not have the fastest swing hit the ball deep. The large sweet spot also proved to be very forgiving.

2009
17
Aug

The French Open

by Angela Jones

It is pretty unimaginable that you will not have heard of the French Open tennis championship, because it is a competition which is a regular topic of conversation. In French the name of the competition is ‘Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros’ or ‘Tournoi de Roland Garros’. This tournament, which lasts for about two weeks is held in Paris at the Roland Garros Stadium, from which it got its name.

The French Open is one of the most advertised and broadcast sports events in the whole world of sport and many VIP’s attend it. The attendees of the game are fanatics who await with baited breath every stroke, especially when there is a close struggle between the two players, doing|trying| their best to win. TV viewers actually get a feeling of being there live too.

The French Open tennis championship comes in second on the annual schedule of the Grand Slam tournaments and its history goes back to the year of 1891 when it became an international competition. At that time it was named the ‘International Championship of Tennis of France’ or ‘Championat de France International de Tennis’ in French.

2009
16
Aug

Trusting an Instinct

by Ronnie Barrett

For all around performance out of a player’s racquet, the Head Liquidmetal Instinct might be one of the best choices around. We found it had no true weaknesses, and plays just as well at net as it does from the baseline.

At a very light weight of roughly eleven ounces, the racquet was very easy to maneuver, but wasn’t flimsy like other racquets at that weight might be.

We loved the way the racquet connected with our strings, and we were able to place the ball around the court as well as any racquet lets us. While it’s light and it has a bigger head, in no way will it limit your game.

The power the racquet gives you is excellent as well. As far as our baseline game was concerned, our strokes had some great speed on the ball and we found our shots landing deep on the other side of the court. Serving was just as successful, and the control it gave us on our second serve was very comforting.

2009
15
Aug

The French Open Championship

by Angela Jones

It is pretty unlikely that people will not have heard of the French Open tennis championship, because it is a competition which is an annual topic of conversation. In French the name of the competition is ‘Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros’ or ‘Tournoi de Roland Garros’. This tournament, which lasts for about two weeks is held in Paris at the Roland Garros Stadium, from which it got its name.

The French Open is one of the most advertised and broadcast sports events in the whole world of sport and many VIP’s go to it. The attendees of the game are fanatics who await with baited breath every stroke, especially when there is a close struggle between the two players, doing|trying| their best to win. TV viewers actually get a feeling of being there live too.

The French Open tennis championship comes in second on the annual schedule of the Grand Slam tournaments and its history goes back to the year of 1891 when it became an international competition. In those days, it was called the ‘International Championship of Tennis of France’ or ‘Championat de France International de Tennis’ in French.

by Jesse Boskoff

Juan Martin del Potro. Many forget to mention del Potro when speaking of top contenders, but his potential on the hard court is undeniable. Del Potro won 23 straight matches last summer, capturing four tournament victories in a row leading straight up to the 2008 US Open, besting any teenager in tennis history except for Rafael Nadal.

Del Potro reached the quarterfinals at least year’s open, but was stopped short by Andy Murray in a four set nailbiter. Murray went on to advance to the finals. This is all an indication that an improving Del Potro can’t be overlooked at this year’s tournament.

Andy Roddick: Andy Roddick is realistically the only American hopeful at grand slam events, and has remained that way for quite some time. For a long time, Roddick often occupied the 5-8 seeds, although such a high seeding was virtually meaningless given the dominance of top 3 players Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic. Federer has since experienced some shakiness, Nadal has struggled with injury, and Djokovic’s mental game has affected his performance, thus opening the door for players like Roddick to make a measurable impact.

by Arrun Donald

The game of tennis is plenty more cutthroat than it was. The players these days are tougher, more fit and can stroke about every shot in the book. Even the new athletes are able to play just from the baseline well. This has made the game stronger but also made the game loads more fun to watch.

Given that the opposition is so talented these days players must train at the best tennis schools in the world if they desire to have any chance at becoming a professional tennis player. But not only do hopeful tennis professionals join schools but also amateurs who only wish to improve their game. One of the critical tools which are used by persons which would like to get to the next stage are tennis ball machines

There is nothing quite similar to playing in a real tennis match against a real opponent nevertheless to prepare for these matches a ball machine will help you produce a reliable backhand and forehand stroke. It is very uncommon for a professional tennis player to not possess a ball machine.

2009
09
Aug

Benefits of a Graphite Racquet

by Stephen Nepstein

Tennis racquets have complicated rather a lot over the last many decades. These days, a graphite racquet is often preferred for lots of different reasons, and you will see that there are lots of benefits to selecting one. A graphite racquet can enhance your sport and in the long run save you money.

One of the most significant reasons why the graphite racquet became so popular was as the light material so can be very stiff and sturdy. This made a great alternative to heavier elements that would weigh racquets down, or light materials which would be too fragile.

Since the introduction of the graphite racquet, the average weight of full size racquets has fallen significantly, to 10 or eleven oz. Originally, debuts of the graphite racquet were upwards of twelve or 13 oz, which was still significantly lighter than anything while remaining powerful and robust.

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