Cheating in tennis? In a Grand Slam? How can this be possible with umpires watching every line and advanced technology like Hawk Eye in place? You wouldn’t think it possible… But the ugly truth is that it happens all the time. It’s very subtle and most people watching tennis on TV wouldn’t even realise what’s going on.

Cheating in tennis is a tricky topic to discuss. In part because many people in the tennis world will deny it even exists. It’s a topic most would rather sweep under the rug because it’s a dirty stain on our otherwise clean and beautiful sport. Cheating in tennis is also very hard to spot because it is easily camouflaged and hard to prove. In this article I will expose and explain the single most common way players cheat in tennis.

Illegally calling the trainer.

In my opinion (and many others), illegally calling the trainer has been rife in tennis for decades and it is time officials did something about it.

The rule is that a player can not receive treatment for ‘loss of conditioning’ (fitness). Loss of conditioning basically means tiredness, cramping, sore muscles, etc. Basically anything but an accident such as a twisted ankle, cut, sickness (not due to being tired), etc. Any player in the later stages of a match is having some ‘loss of condition’. we all get tired especially during five set matches. So almost any massage on a sore body part at this stage is treatment on something that is suffering from ‘loss of condition’. It’s as simple as that really.

How do players illegally manipulate the Medical Time-Out rules?

Often a player will fake an ‘injury’ in order to get a medical timeout for nothing more than ‘loss of conditioning’. In other words they are tired and need a rest. Coincidentally these so called ‘medical’ timeouts seem to happen at crucial stages of a match where their opponents are getting the upper hand. So essentially players are calling tactical medical timeouts with a fake ‘injury’ as an excuse in order to get more rest and put their opponents off. This subtle and sophisticated form of cheating is very effective particularly in close matches where momentum is very important.

How have the MTO rules been allowed to be broken time and time again?

One reason could be that it is hard to prove that someone is faking being hurt. How do you prove something like that? Another more likely reason is that even though it’s the trainers responsibility to diagnose and determine what condition the player is in, the trainer is under extreme pressure not to call a ‘loss of condition’. Remember, these are the players that the trainer sees regularly in the locker room and knows well. Even if it’s obvious to the trainer, it’s hard to call a ‘loss of condition’ on a friend.

What can be done?

I believe there should be an independent medico such as a doctor going on court with the trainer to supervise and diagnose and treatment. This doctor does not have to deal with the pressure of seeing and treating these players every day. He or she would be unbiased in their decision and able to call these issues for what they really are, a ‘loss of condition’.

Most players work very hard to get fit and strong in preparation for a tournament. Being fitter than your opponent and being able to wear them down is a tennis strategy as much as anything else. It takes hard work and dedication. So lets not let a few bad apples cheat their way to victory. The Grand Slams are a battle of the fittest over two weeks. Lets keep things the way they were intended and let the best athletes and players win.

What do you think? Does something need to be done about cheating in tennis? Have you seen this happen recently? Let me know what you think on Quora, Facebook or Twitter!

Oh and please share this article with your friends if you liked it… and Subscribe🙂

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Windy tennis conditions is what I like to call a great leveller. Top players need to play more conservatively to keep the ball in the court which makes them less effective. Like all players, they will make more mistakes as the wind moves the ball in the air just before contact with the racket. Shots hit with spin will slow the ball down when going through the air but are safer and easier to control. Hard and fast shots, like the ones that take our breath away on TV, are usually flat (have little spin) and are riskier and more difficult to control. Wind and other weather conditions can have a huge impact on a tennis match. They force competitors to change tactics and play outside of their comfort zone. This often makes opponents more evenly matched. So how do you play tennis in windy conditions? Here are 4 tips and tactics for winning in the wind…

How to play tennis in the wind:

1. Be aware of which way the wind is blowing.
2. Pay extra attention to your footwork.
3. Attack the net.
4. Counter aggressive volleyers with a 1 – 2 punch.

Now lets dive deeper into each of these four tennis tactics…

1. Be aware of which way the wind is blowing.

Playing tennis with the wind at your back will naturally increase the speed of any shot coming off your racket. So you’ll need shots you can control and keep from flying out. Slice and heavy topspin are your go to shots for this. Slice skids quickly through the court and heavy topspin makes the ball drop down and bounce up. Both of these shots are great for pushing, moving and forcing your opponent back while keeping the ball from flying out due to the wind.

Playing tennis with the wind in your face on the other hand will slow down the speed of your shots. In this situation many players will try to hit the ball harder and miss because they over swing and lose control. A smarter solution is to give yourself a higher margin for error and flatten out your shots (use less spin) to keep the ball deep and penetrating.

If the wind is blowing sideways make sure you adjust your shot selection based on which side of the court the wind is blowing towards. Conversely, when defending ensure you’re aware of the advantage your opponent has based on what shot he/she is hitting and which direction the wind is blowing.

2. Pay extra attention to your footwork.

You should always pay attention to your footwork but under windy conditions this is extra important. So if the wind is swirling and erratic you need to be prepared to take a few small adjustment steps just before hitting the ball if. The key is to keep your movement smooth and relaxed and adjust your position if the ball moves. If you’re not paying attention to the wind and not prepared to adjust your footwork you run the risk of planting your feet and setting up for the shot too early. This’ll result in poor timing and mis-hits.

3. Attack the net.

It’s a plain and simple fact that it’s very hard to cleanly hit an accurate passing shot in the wind. Not to mention almost impossible to lob accurately. Take advantage of this by approaching the net.

With the wind at your back a heavy kick serve or topspin approach will make it very difficult for your opponent to generate enough pace to pass you accurately. Remember the ball is moving in the wind, they’re probably off balance and they risk mis-timing their shot when trying to get power.

With the wind against you, a low, short and perhaps even soft approach shot is highly effective. Follow a shot like this aggressively forward and get close to the net. Your opponent is now in an awkward position and forced to hit upwards. With the wind at their back they’ll be tempted to hit a hard shot to get past you. This will be tough to control with the wind wanting to blow the ball long.

4. Counter aggressive volleyers with a 1 – 2 punch.

To counter players who attack the net learn from the pros. A tactic I used during my professional career was to cleverly try and place the first passing shot down to the feet of an incoming player. This forces the volleyer to hit a defensive first volley which I then follow up with a second easier passing shot. This is quite difficult to do but you see players with superb control like Federer, Nadal and Murray adopt and use this tactic today. Practice this technique by taking some pace off your first passing shot, don’t go for angles and dip the ball at the opponent’s feet.

I will write more on this topic in the future but for now just remember that passing in the wind is very hard. Use this fact to your advantage!

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What a start to the tournament day 1 at the Australian Open has been. You can’t ask for more than a thrilling five set roller coaster ride of a tennis match to kick off a Grand Slam tournament. Bernard Tomic vs. Fernando Verdasco was a great match and I want to congratulate Tomic on a fantastic come from behind victory.
 

The Tactics

It was interesting watching the tactical plan of both players today. Fernando Verdasco, keen on moving Tomic around the court to expose his lack of speed, used his big serve and forehand to control and win points. This aggressive strategy worked well for the first two sets but fell flat in the end. Bernard Tomic, on the other hand, was hitting to Verdasco’s backhand side in order to open up the court and unleash to the Verdasco forehand for the change of pace winner. Tomic cleverly mixed up the pace and strategically used slow balls to mess up Verdasco’s timing which proved to be devastatingly effective in the end.

So What Actually Happened?

Why did Fernando Verdasco’s strategy stop working and Bernard Tomic’s prove to be so effective? Well it’s something the so called experts haven’t explained or haven’t picked up on. The truth is that Verdasco’s forehand is no longer as reliable under pressure as it used to be. And it’s driving the poor guy crazy.

Let me explain…

Fernando Verdasco makes contact with the tennis ball out in front of his body with a straight arm. This is very rare amongst the top players in the world. Yes it’s true, Federer does it and so does Nadal on the odd occasion (depending on the shot selection). Federer is a man with some unusual technical and Biomechanical quirks. His natural ability allows him to get away with things that most people could never do. And when I say “most” I really mean everyone.

Ok moving on…

In the windy conditions, like the ones today, no player (including Verdasco) is able to time the ball as well as he would like. Now, if a player hits every forehand out in front of his body with a straight arm, he would have to be very careful not to hit too far in front (over reaching) causing loss of control. This is exactly what happened to Verdasco time and time again today just as it did for a great part of last year. Verdasco’s forehand is his ‘go to shot’ under pressure and it no longer works as today illustrated. This alone is sending his ranking further and further down. Unless this issue is fixed I believe he will really struggle to regain his top 10 ranking spot.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

Now I’m not trying to take anything away from Bernard Tomic’s 1st round victory. Tomic played some fantastic tennis and exploited a weakness in Verdasco’s game. This is what tennis is all about. Mixing up the pace, using the wind to your advantage and playing clever tennis is exactly what Tomic needs to keep doing.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Consider subscribing to my newsletter if you’d like to get insight and analysis on future Grand Slam matches. Get access here.

What is biomechanics? Why is it important for tennis and sport in general? How will it help improve your game and overall wellbeing? These are a few of the questions I’ll be answering in this primer on sports biomechanics…

What is biomechanics?

In short biomechanics is the study and science of how the system and structure of biological organisms react to external forces and stimuli. It’s a broad field that includes many subfields including musculoskeletal biomechanics, kinesiology and sports biomechanics to name a few.

When it comes to you and me, biomechanics normally refers to how the muscular and skeletal systems in humans function under various conditions. A biomechanic will apply engineering principles, physics and other types of mathematically based forms of analysis to learn the capabilities and limits of the human body.

How can biomechanics be used in sports?

Sports biomechanics is a subfield within biomechanics and is its own branch of human and biological science. Essentially sport and exercise biomechanics is focused on analysing the physiological mechanics of human movement. This includes analysis of how forces interact and the effects these forces have on and within the body. In other words biomechanics in sports examines and explains why and how the human body moves like it does. In a sport like tennis this also includes the interplay between an athlete, their environment and the equipment.

Generally the primary goals of sports biomechanics are:

• Improve athletic performance by identifying and applying optimal technique.
• Prevent injury and speed up recovery.

The benefits of biomechanics.

Basically, understanding biomechanics and applying it is the foundation for good technique in all sports. So by studying how the human body naturally wants to move we can remove stress and pressure on the bones, joints, muscles and ligaments. This results in improved athletic performance, reduced injuries and heightened general wellbeing. Athletes of all ages and skill levels can benefit from biomechanical analysis whether it’s for pain reduction or to increase top level performance. Here are some more benefits of proper biomechanics:

• Increased movement speed (running, swimming, etc.)
• More power (jumping, hitting, lifting, etc.)
• Energy conservation through economy of movement.
• Helps eliminate muscle imbalances.
• Reduces wear and tear on joints and ligaments.
• Improved sport specific form and technique.

In a nutshell, with good biomechanics you can get faster and stronger while reducing injuries.

Why don’t all tennis coaches teach sports biomechanics?

The odds are that most coaches and organizations, especially within the tennis community, don’t even know what biomechanics is. Or if they do, they don’t truly understand it and don’t want you to know about it. Because if you did understand biomechanics and its benefits you’d demand they coach you with this in mind. This would require your coach to admit that much of what he/she teaches is wrong. This in turn would force him/her to go back to the drawing board and relearn everything. Generally speaking this is way too much effort for the average coach. It’s a shame because a stronger focus on biomechanics and good technique would save people from a lot of pain while helping them improve their game.

I learned the hard way so you don’t have to.

I have had an unusual amount of injuries through my tennis career. Back, knees, achilles, shoulder, you name it and I’ve probably had surgery there. It’s a regret that I did not have this information during my professional tennis career. It would have saved me from so many injuries and extended my career. Late in my professional career I made the decision to changed my entire technique and adopt the principles of biomechanics to prevent further injury so I could continue competing. This change has allowed me to stay healthy, improve my game, and continue to play on the champions tour to this day. If biomechanics continues to have great benefits for a grandfather like me, imagine the potential it has to help not only the athletes of today but the average person who just wants to stay active and healthy.

Biomechanics related links and resources.

I hope this post has given you a better understanding of what biomechanics is and why it is so important to tennis. In the coming weeks I will write about specific techniques and give you biomechanically proven step-by-step guides on how to improve your tennis. In the meantime here are some links and resources If you’d like to learn more:

• Introduction to Sports Biomechanics
• Human Kinetics: Journal of Applied Biomechanics
• Elsevier: Clinical Biomechanics
• Journal of Biomechanics
• International Sports Engineering Association
• International Society of Biomechanics in Sports
• International Society of Biomechanics
• Quantification of Human Motion
• European Society of Biomechanics
• Australian and New Zealand Society of Biomechanics
• Tennis Racquet Physics
• American Society of Biomechanics
• Anatomy and biomechanics of the shoulder in throwing and tennis
• Biomechanics and Tennis

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