Where to find quality Tennis shoes
The sport of tennis has surely been growing over the years with big names such as Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Venus and Serena Williams, just to name a few. With the growth of the sport comes more merchandising of the sport and people wanting to play. Tennis shoes have been growing in quality and scope along with the growth of tennis in general. There are some people who say all types of sneakers are tennis shoes. Well not all sneakers are good for tennis let me tell you. So this article will be about places to find a great pair of actual sneakers specifically for the sport of tennis.
In my opinion the best place to buy tennis shoes are online. You have a large selection on the internet and can browse stores very quickly from the comfort of your own home. Not to mention you don’t have to waste time and gas driving around to different stores shopping. It’s also going to be a lot easier to compare prices online from a large amount of stores as opposed to only maybe a handful if you get in your car and drive to them. So in my opinion, shopping for tennis shoes on the internet is clearly the best idea.
If you do decide to go to an actual store to buy tennis shoes, make sure it’s a sporting goods store. The staff at a sporting goods store is more likely to be more knowledgeable about tennis shoes than at a standard shoe store. Not to mention they’ll probably have in stock most of the shoe sizes you’ll probably be looking for. You may not have as large of a selection with this option as you do with shopping online, but most of the time you can still get a pretty good pair of shoes.
Last but not least is buying tennis shoes from a normal shoe store. Such as Foot Locker or other standard shoe stores. They’ll probably know what a basketball shoe is, but if you ask for a tennis shoe, they may be clueless. These stores as less specialized for sporting shoes. While you very well may find tennis shoes there the selection probably won’t be as large. So this should be your last resort to shopping online or going to a sporting goods store. The latter option will more than likely always yield better shoe finding results.
So in conclusion if you really want to find a pair of quality tennis shoes, the way to go is online or sporting goods stores. I personally wouldn’t recommend normal shoes stores. So I hope this article was of some help to people and good luck finding a great pair of shoes for the great sport of tennis.
Tag: Serena Williams
Forehand Technique What Every Tennis Player Needs To Know
Forehand tennis technique can vary from person to person and is highly dependent on a number of different factors. Among the factors affecting the best forehand tennis technique for you are the following: age, body style, optimal style of play, agility, strength and more. One such factor is age. A younger player may be able to handle more extreme grips, larger swings, and other progressive tennis techniques whereas a seasoned player may benefit from more compact strokes and more traditional tennis grip choices.
Why? As we grow older, the body is less able to handle stressful body movements and/or modern tennis fundamentals. As a result, consideration should be given to a person’s age when making decisions on how to hit forehands. A good coach can assimilate information about a player and decipher the information to make the best decision on how a player can best optimize his or her forehand. Hitting a forehand is not as simple as some make it. Following a cookie cutter layout for stroke development is unwise. Each person has different capabilities so you are well advised to take time to think through what would work best for you.
Roger Federer’s classic style may work best for him but would not necessarily work best for a baseline grinder like Rafael Nadal who uses extreme topspin forehands to control the court. Although there are many variables to consider when deciding on the right backswing, stance, and follow through for your forehand stroke, most good strokes employ a few common technical elements including:
1. Start in a good ready position. If you are just starting, use a continental or semi-western grip as your dominant hand ready position. Your non dominant hand should be on top on the grip which will allow you to be ready to hit a forehand or a backhand.
2. As soon as you identify the incoming ball as a forehand, quickly turn your shoulders and prepare by initiating your backswing.
3. Generally speaking, there are two common backswing styles. You can turn your shoulders and take the racket straight back of you can employ the loop styles backswing (ala Andre Agassi or most other professionals for example). Ideally, you should prepare with the earliest and quickest backswing possible when first starring out (see Serena Williams or Venus Williams for a great example).
4. Contact the ball by swinging in a methodical and steady motion. If possible your contact point should be just below the ball in an attempt to “lift” the ball.
5. Following contact your racket should proceed upwards.
6. The forehand stroke typically ends by catching the racket with the non-dominant hand after contact or wrapping the racket over the non-dominant shoulder after contact.
7. Throughout the stroke, try to keep your eye on the ball until contact.
8. Finally, after hitting, be sure to recover to the ready position in the middle of the court.
The tennis technique tips above serve as a great start to developing an excellent forehand. Be sure to consult your tennis professional for expert guidance and to ensure that your technique fits your body style. Get out there and enjoy!
Women In Tennis – Venus And Serena Williams
Venus and Serena Williams are two of the top women tennis players in the world. They recently won a gold medal in the doubles at the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing, China. With the strides that these two women have made in the game of tennis in their many years of playing it’s hard for one not to think of them when the topic of tennis is being discussed.”
Venus Williams born June 17, 1980 is the oldest of the two sisters and currently resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Venus started playing tennis professionally in October 1994 at the age of 14. While she played a couple of tournaments in 1995 and 1996, she did not start playing tennis regularly on the tour until 1997. She debuted at the US Open but lost to Martina Hingis. In 1998 she won the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and French Open. In the span of her career she has won 16 Grand Slam titles including seven in singles, seven in women’s doubles and 2 in mixed doubles. She has also won three Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles events. She plays right-handed but has a two-handed backhand. In 2008, she struck the fastest serve by a woman in Wimbledon’s recorded history. She is very skilled at volleying and due to her long arms she can reach shots that alot of players would not try to play.
Serena Williams, born September 26, 1981 is currently considered the top ranked American female player in the game of tennis. She has won eight Grand Slam titles in the singles event and two Olympic gold medals the women’s doubles event. Serena began playing tennis at a very young age and won her first tournament at the age of four and a half. By the age of ten she had entered 49 tournaments and won 46 of them. Her first professional event was at a tournament in Quebec City. She first ranked in the WTA top 20 in 1998. She moves very quickly around the tennis court and plays very agressively. She is primaraly a baseline player but she is very capable of overpowering her opponents with her serves. While tennis is her career she has also taken the time out to start a clothing line called Aneres. She has also done several acting jobs including roles in ER, Hair Show, The Division and My Wife and Kids. In “”Men’s Fitness”” magazine Serena was asked what she would be doing if she wasn’t a tennis pro and she stated that she loves writing and acting and would probably be a struggling actress or writer.
If you want to become the next Serena or Venus – you need to start practising! So visit the Tennis Section at VideoJug today and learn the techniques from the experts free of charge.
Venus Williams Women’s Tennis Star
Tennis star Venus Ebony Starr Williams the sister of Serena Williams a tennis star player as well was born in June 17, 1980. Venus started her career in tennis at a young age and at 14 years old she was already infamous in the world of tennis. She became professional tennis player in October 31, 1994 with top seed opponent Arantxa Snchez Vicario at the Bank of West Classic tournament in Oakland. After losing the game with Arantxa Snchez Vicario, she didn’t join any tournament in that year.
Venus Williams is a former World No. 1 tennis player though at the current standing she ranked as the World No. 3 as of May 11, 2009. In her entire career she already won in the Wimbledon singles and doubles category as well as the reigning Australian Open champion. With 16 years of being a participant of Women’s Tennis Association tour, she has already won 56 titles-17 Grand slams, eight in doubles-women category, seven in singles and two in mixed doubles.
The star tennis player Venus had also played in Olympics and won Olympic gold medals in both women’s singles and doubles category. She’s truly a record holder for winning the most Olympic medals in tennis than other tennis players either male or female. She was the most successful tennis player ever win three gold Olympic medals.
Venus Williams is one of many great tennis players today that most feared to match with. With her long wingspan and agility on the court that she utilizes to win the match, she is one of the powerful tennis players. When in match, she was well comfortable with court grass like in Wimbledon where she has five titles which she was given the Grand slam title. Other than that she also had the fastest serve ever with record of 130 mph equivalent to 210 km/h in Zurich Open and holds the record of the fastest serve in Grand slam tournaments. She has been injured many times that resulted for her temporary retirement in tennis for recovery but always had sensational come back. With all that great things happened to her, family and friends have been supported at all times. Her sister Serena Williams is her partner in most women’s doubles category. Venus is coached by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price with trainer Kerrie Brooks.
In terms of spirituality, She is a Jehovah’s Witness devotee with two sisters other than her equally famous sister Serena Williams. With her successful career as a tennis player she also managed to have a different career as an image model for shirts, shorts and others. Being popular, companies want to make Vanessa Williams as their products endorser. There have been Vanessa Williams’s handbags and Vanessa Williams shoes of her own collection
She has an associate degree in Fashion Design that she received in December of 2007 from the Art of Institute of Fort Lauderdale as a Cum Laude with 3.5 GPA. She also has her own company and wants to pursue her career in interior and fashion design after her tennis career.
As a tennis player, she did great jobs inside and outside of the court. Venus was the one responsible for having equally rights between male tennis player and women tennis player. Venus fought for women to have same equal prize money as with men’s tennis players. She has won the battle in February after Wimbledon announced that there would be equal prize money for all players.
Copyright (c) 2010 Davide Botticelli
Choosing A Tennis Racquet That Fits Can Help Prevent Tennis Injuries
With the UCLA Farmer’s Classic in full effect this week, we got a healthy dose of tennis fever here at the Bauerfeind Performance Center. I thought it would be a great time to discuss how to choose a tennis racquet. My clients often ask me about how to choose a tennis racquet best suited for their needs, especially if they have been injured during tennis. Retailers carry a variety of different brands, all claiming that their technology is superior to others. In a saturated market, how does one go about choosing a tennis racquet that best suits your needs?
Tennis players place a high emphasis on, “feel” of their racquet during play. While it is important to become comfortable with the way you feel the racquet in your hand, there is more to choosing a tennis racquet than just taking a few practice swings with every racket in the store. There are several important variables to consider when choosing a tennis raquet. The right combination of size and balance of the racquet, string type and tension can ensure sustained play without causing tennis injuries.
Start by realistically evaluating your skill level before choosing a tennis racquet. While we all like to imagine that with a little practice and maybe the right racquet, we can also play like Rafael Nadal or Serena Williams. If we choose their tennis racquet, we will be one step closer to their level of play, right? Wrong. The number one mistake my clients make when choosing a tennis racquet is to base their choice on a tennis player they love. Consider your own strengths and weaknesses and base your choice on how you play now, not what you hope you play like in the future.
The first step in choosing a tennis racquet is to choose the size of your tennis racquet head. Elite players are capable of hitting the ball in the middle of the strings most of the time, so they do not, require a large head size. Less experienced players, or players prone to tennis elbow, will benefit from a racquet with a larger head size. This type of racquet has a larger sweet spot and provides the benefit of reducing the shock transmitted to your body.
Tennis racquet head size is also linked to weight distribution or balance of the racquet. Exceptions exist, but generally speaking, a racquet with a larger head size will be a head-heavy racquet while the smaller racquet will be head-light. Head-heavy racquets are better for the less experienced players because their weight helps generate more power on impact. Head-light racquets are more desirable for experienced players who have good strength and biomechanics so that they can utilize their own power and retain more control over the ball.
Three main types of strings to consider are, in order to increase stiffness, natural gut, nylon and polyester. Stiff strings transmit more vibration to hands and arms, so tennis players prone to upper extremity injuries are better off using natural gut or multifilament strings that help dampen vibrations in the strings. Many players like polyester strings because they are stiffer and players feel they can hit the ball harder with them. However, I have had many patients who simply change their strings to natural gut from polyester and this alone allowed them to break their cycle of recurring bouts of tennis elbow.
Finally, consider the string tension when choosing a tennis racquet. You should check the appropriate tension range corresponding to your particular racquet. However, you can still customize a tennis racket to your unique needs. Lower tension gives the player a bit more power but less control, while higher tension gives a slightly better control but less power. Here again, I make recommendations based on skill level. Less experienced players do not have the skills to control their racquets well and generally will benefit from slightly increased power. The reverse is true for the more experienced players.
Overall, the point I want to make here is that the racquet brand you select is less important than the type of racquet you choose and how you choose to string it. Modern frames are made of graphite and each manufacturer will have slightly different angles that they use to differentiate themselves from competition, but the differences can be debated and really subject to individual preferences. What each manufacturer will have in common is that they have different head size racquets, racquet balance, and stringing options to choose from that will allow you to adjust the points outlined above.
Here at the Bauerfeind Performance Center we carry Wilson tennis racquets and strings. Not only can we help you with choosing a tennis racquet, that’s the exact fit, but we can even string it for you on-site and get you the correct grips and shoes to minimize your risk of tennis injuries and raise your potential.