Sabalenka’s forehand said to be faster that Alcaraz's but women use different balls

Tennis coaching guru Patrick Mouratoglou claimed on LinkedIn that based on Aryna Sabalenka’s performance at the recent US Open Tennis Championships her forehand is faster than that of both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. 

“Aryna Sabalenka’s average forehand speed during this US Open is faster than that of top men’s players,” said Mouratoglous.

It is in the news but he forgot one crucial difference in the equipment used. Here it is:

In professional tennis, both men and women use the same standard tennis balls in most major tournaments. However, there is one notable exception:

In the U.S. Open, women play with a slightly different ball than the men. Women use the regular-duty tennis ball, which has a thinner felt coating, while men use the extra-duty tennis ball, which has a thicker felt. Both balls have the same weight and size, but the thinner felt on the regular-duty ball makes it move faster through the air, providing slightly different playing characteristics. 

Outside of the U.S. Open, both men and women typically use the same type of extra-duty ball in most other tournaments, such as the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon.

Sorry, but the ''expert' appears to have made a fatal mistake in his argument. 

I suspect, actually, that the women play with different balls in more tournaments than is publicised but it is kept quiet. I am happy for them to play with balls that travel faster as it makes their game more interesting.

Research indicates that in the other three Grand Slams—Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon—men and women use the same type of tennis balls. This difference at the US Open has been a point of discussion among players, with some female players, such as Iga Świątek, advocating for the use of the same balls for both men and women.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Confused Emma Raducanu unsure what her playing schedule should be

Not long ago Emma Raducanu said that she'd follow her own playing schedule which was and would be less than is typical for tennis playing professional as this suited her. She was losing too many matches and she and her advisers decided that playing less matches would make her more competitive. Perhaps it was trying to recreate that freshness she had when she won the 2021 US Open.

See video below which reveals that Emma has no toenails...! Do any of the other players suffer from this condition due to heavy training? I think not. What does this say about her anatomy?

Fast forward to the 2024 US Open. She has just lost in the first round against Sophia Kenin in three sets. She broke down in the post-match press conference saying that she should have played MORE before the tournament. She'll take a look at her schedule.

All in all she is definitely confused about what her playing schedule should be. Many people, both non-playing experts and players have said that she needed to play more to become match ready. There is no substitute for playing competitively to become competitive,

Practice alone is not enough for a tournament pro. You  have to go through the grind of winning tournament matches to sharpen the mind to winning. This is common knowledge so where did she get the idea that playing less was a good idea?

It is another Raducanu screw-up. The fact is that she and her team have unjustified expectations. They are grappling with an unsolvable problem. She won the 2021 US Open unexpectedly. I think she got very lucky. I also think that she is not an exceptional talent. But she has been built up as remarkable with unjustified expectations. News media has not helped.

There are many players of her standard and some of a better standard on the tour at present. She cannot recreate that magical moment of 3 years ago. But she does not feel able to grind it out like other pros.

She wants to go home all the time. I think she has an attitude problem. She does not like the life of a touring pro. Because she has a mental problem with this lifestyle and being on the road all the time, I think she will never recreate that past magic.

“I was maybe a bit slow starting,” she said. “Yeah, I would have preferred to probably play, a little bit more before coming into the US Open.

"You know, I know when I have a lot of matches, just like every player, you feel really good. You feel like everything's automatic. So yeah, I think I can learn from it. And you know my manage my schedule slightly differently.”

What she is saying here contradicts what she said a couple of months ago. Confused I'd say. She'll have to accept that she is a middle-ranking pro and grind it out. She can't accept that. I predict an early retirement.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Barack Obama admired Arthur Ashe as a man and learned from him

I'll keep this short. Arthur Ashe was a great man born into a poor family and a disciplinarian father who suffered a lot of bad luck but he was born with a great talent as well. He was born with intelligence and athletic ability. He is known for his tennis; as a great tennis player with three grand slam wins and 76 titles but he did not want to be remembered for his tennis. His mother died when he was young and he said he can't recall ever holding her hand.

Barack Obama admired Arthur Ashe as a man and learned from him. Ashe playing against Dennis Ralston at the 1964 Southern California Intercollegiates. Image: Wikipedia.

He wanted to be remembered for what he achieved in contributing to bettering humanity. He fought against racism and he fought for a cure for AIDS because he contracted AIDS as a result of a blood transfusion he received after a heart operation when he was aged 36.

He needed a heart operation at the age 36 because he had a heart attack. He inherited a heart problem. And then the hospital who treated him ultimately killed him slowly because they gave him blood that was infected.

He dealt with AIDS with great dignity because at that time there was a lot of misconceptions about it and people with AIDS were stigmatised. Of course he was stigmatised as a black person as well.

Throughout his life he acted with great intelligence and dignity combined with passion and a commitment to right wrongs and better the world. He used his superb achievements as a tennis player to achieve, for him, more important goals in achieving better rights to people of colour for instance. His tennis gave him celebrity and an entry into white society and he used it as a platform to change attitudes.

He married a woman who was intelligent too and she was a photographer. She used Leica cameras which interests me because I was once a photographer.

But the point here is that Barak Obama, another intelligent person, looked up to 2 sports men as people from whom he learned how to be a man; men who he admired as sportsmen and as men you had the right qualities. These two men were Arthur Ashe and Muhammad Ali.

Arthur Ashe died of pneumonia related to his HIV-positive illness. He died aged 49 in 1993. A life cut tragically short. I believe his brother is still alive.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Female tennis professionals should wear shorts like Sharapova

More female tennis professionals should wear shorts like Sharapova as they look so much better than cycle shorts under dresses and skirts. That's my honest opinion. The modern look is horrible. It looks stupid. Jelena Ostapenko looks the worst. I think she makes her own tennis clothes. And she wears huge cycle shorts underneath. Looks clumsy and frankly crude. Far from elegant. Why not just wear a nice pair of elegant shorts. Look at Sharapova below.

Maria Sharapova is at Wimbledon this year as a guest. She retired in 2020. She looks great and says great things too. She's a smart lady. I sense that she is really switched on which probably contributed to her great success as a tennis professional during which, on one occasion, she wore shorts at Wimbledon in 2008.

Harpers Bazaar online says this:

When it comes to her most memorable on-court looks, Sharapova says it has to be the tuxedo-inspired ensemble with shorts that she wore in 2008 that stands out for her. “It was quite rare for girls to wear shorts and it felt really unique. I feel like I pushed the boundaries a little bit.”

Image: Clive Brunskill - Getty Images

Obviously this is a matter of personal choice and taste. But I think that the female tennis professionals are scared to wear shorts in matches. They want to because we see them always wearing shorts when practicing. They change into match garb and it is nowhere near as elegant. 

Shorts are more practical too. Are the ladies worried about spectators thinking that a female tennis pro wearing shorts is gay? Is that the barrier to wearing shorts? Please tell me. 

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Top women professional tennis players should NOT burst into tears

This Wimbledon we have had at least two instances of top professional female tennis players on camera bursting into tears at crucial moments in their match; at turning points in the match, because the tension and pressure of the moment got to them. We see them on the BBC, in full view of the entire multi-million viewer population crying their eyes out. I hate to see in the best interests of women in general.

Donna in floods of tears on camera. Not good.

Both Donna Vekic and Harriet Dart broke down into floods of tears on a major show court. Vekic apparently cried because she was in pain, she said. Navratilova questioned Vekic's fitness and said in an interview with Clare Balding that Vekic might benefit from 'cardio support'. Dart cried because of frustration and losing points in a tie break. Both were very far from Borg, who mastered his emotions on court.

It is so bad for ladies tennis. I know we have to be sensitive and respectful of women players and I am. This article is for them. It is in support of them.

It is just not right on so many levels and is in stark contrast to Carlos Alcaraz who smiles when he is under enormous pressure. His instinctive emotional reaction to these pressure moments is to stand back, suck it up and smile. Control his emotions and ensure that he produces his very best at a crucial moment in the match which is why he is such an awesome and respect winner.

Here are some reasons why top women professional tennis players should not cry during matches:

1. It undermines the long journey that women have faced in gaining equality in all areas of society and work. This is a man's world still. Women have great endurance. They are as strong as men in terms of their abilities to endure and come through tough times but they have to promote that. They have to look like they are strong emotionally. It is a marketing job. It is PR.
2. To be successful, professional tennis players must have command of their mind during matches. A good mental attitude is crucial. There are sports psychologists who work with top sports people on this. I am sure that they'd agree with me that crying at tough moments in a match or competition is the exact opposite to what they should be doing.
3. When a female tennis professional cries on court they send a strong signal to their opponent that they are losing. They strengthen their opponent's resolve. Their opponent knows that they are winning and will win. It is very bad from the point of view of being a strong competitor. The body language that a professional tennis player gives off is very important in dominating the opponent. For instance, Novak Djokovic gives off an aura of invincibility. He is a game up before he even starts the match 👍. That's what I mean.
4. Ultimately this is about women telling the world that they are emotionally strong. They need to tell the world that in order to get what they deserve in a man's world. A lot of men will react to seeing top professional female tennis players crying on court with the thought that this is a "silly emotional woman". It is a negative male thought. A lot of men like to dominate women. Keep them down. Make them subservient and in their place. I hate this and crying on court supports these objectionable male thoughts and objectives.
5. Top women tennis players represent all women. They are influencers. Girls look up to them. They are standard bearers. They must set a good example. Crying on court is not a good example even if it can be excused. I understand the reasons for it but a top pro needs to control their emotions far better than this.

Please tell me your thoughts in a comment....

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

John McEnroe wants Carlos Alcaraz to explain how he smiles in matches

When in discussion with the BBC's Clare Balding about Wimbledon, John McEnroe invited Carlos Alcaraz to his place in Manhattan, New York (believed), to tell him how he manages to smile during tense and highly competitive tennis matches. 

McEnroe is in awe of Alcaraz's ability to stay calm, focused and above all be able to smile and apparently enjoy the tension. 

In the past Alcaraz has said that he has learned to suck up the tension and enjoy it. It is a way of dealing with it. He has focused hard on the mental side of the game to great advantage. And so mature for a young man. Carlos said that smiling during matches helps him to win and he considers it very important. I suspect it is because it allows him to express his tennis talents unencumbered with mental blocks. It frees him up.

For McEnroe, Alcaraz has the best attitude of any professional tennis player he has seen. No one compares which is a huge asset to Alcaraz. 

Not only does he have all the shots he has the rock solid mindset to back up his top quality tennis skill set.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

John McEnroe says Noval Djokovic has been disrespected by audiences

John McEnroe is amazed at how Novak Djokovic has managed to deal with a lack of respect by a minority of tennis audiences for the 21 years that he has been playing professional tennis. 

He believes that Novak has been unfairly treated and he believes that a minority of perhaps Danish people in the audience when Novak faced Holger Rune were in fact booing him as Novak said and not supporting Rune. A kind of sneaky booing.

And Novak has faced that all his professional playing days. He has learned to feed off it and play better. But it must irk him badly. 

John McEnroe said that this lack of respect for Novak never happened to Federer or Nadal. Those two were worshipped. But the imposter that is Novak Djokovic has beaten both of them in terms of the number of grand slam tournaments won. Novak might make it 25 grand slams at this Wimbledon. That looks entirely possible despite the knee injury he suffered just before Wimbledon. The man is amazing and his diet is equally amazing. 😉

Johnny Mac could not put his finger on why Novak has been disrespected all this time.

Novak Djokovic not happy with the crowd at Wimbledon after his win today. "To all the people who chose to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a ‘good’ night. I’ve played in much more hostile environments. You guys can’t touch me”
byu/GreenSnakes_ insports

No one has explained it. Novak is an amazing tennis player. Perhaps some people in the audience don't like it that he is so good. Almost like a robot. Non-human abilities. That might be a reason.

He wins so much so people might like to see his opponent win which may end up looking like disrespect for Novak.

Because he wins so much and is so good McEnroe believes that he should receive praise not disrespect.

And McEnroe says that Novak has been brilliant for professional tennis. He has helped to raise the overall standard of tennis. 

McEnroe expressed disbelief as to why he does not get the respect that he deserves.

I think the reasons for him not being respected like Federer and Nadal is because his game is, as mentioned, somewhat robot-like. It is super-efficient but less attractive than the games of Nadal and Federer.

There also may be a racist element. Novak is Serbian. He comes from Eastern Europe. Eastern European are general less well liked than Northern Europeans. Perhaps because there is more crime and corruption in Eastern Europe compared to Northern Europe. Just guessing but if I am right it is very unfair because racism against anyone is unjustified and immoral.

Novak Djokovic hitting back at the Wimbledon crowd. Image: Getty Images.

Extract of what John McEnroe said:

In conversation with Claire Balding the BBC presenter, an animated McEnroe said: "He [Novak Djokovic] has been battling this for his whole career. Yes he feeds off negative energy and yes I did feed off that at times, but I hated it in a way. Do you want people yelling against you, hoping you'll lose, just because you're so good they start pulling for the other guy for no reason other than you're so good?

"He is like the Darth Vader. There's two of the greatest class acts we have seen in tennis, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who can compare to them in terms of what they have brought to the table and the way that people love them? Nobody. Then this guy Djokovic has the 'nerve' to come in and break into the party.

"It's like 'how about respecting me in all this?' Here's a guy that had a surgery a month ago, the odds are that 10 per cent that he wouldn't play this tournament. He is thinking 'I'm helping this tournament', which he is, why don't I get some love when I am playing a guy who is 15 in the world and hasn't done a damn thing compared to him?

"So yes there were maybe a handful of Danish people going 'Rune' and I get that people want to see a good match, but you have to respect the greatness that you see. It's easy to be the backseat driver now and let it go and (say) they weren't doing that, but that's what he has been dealing with for 10, 15, 20 years.

"I admire the guts that he had to say it there, that takes something because that's in a way going to put more people against him. He doesn't deserve that at this stage, we need him and he has been too great for our game.

"How about they have gone too far the other way? Is it possible that maybe that the fans in there have disrespected him? Don't you think that there has been at least 100 matches over the course of the last 10 or 15 years where Novak Djokovic has been disrespected because of how good he is?

"Why? What has he done that has been that bad? Name something. What is it, that he wants it? That he competes as hard as anyone has ever competed on a tennis court? I just don't get why, is it the look or where he is from?"

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Emma Raducanu has seen a sports psychologist and it is working well

For the past six months I've been criticising Emma Raducanu because she's simply not shown the right mental approach to top-standard professional tennis. She found excuses for not winning and I believe that she suffered from anxiety which resulted in a kind of hypochondria about her physical well-being. She had many physical ailments and on one occasion was breathless. Anxiety, I say. 

I put it down to the pressure of expectation on her performance following her unique 2021 US Open win. The pressure of expectation from the public and commenters can be very burdensome and intolerable.

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Update next day 7th July 2024, playing Lulu Sun. Emma lost in 3 sets because she was expected by all to win because Sun is a qualifier. The pressure was back on her and she didn't play quite so well or with the same level of freedom she employed in beating Sakkari (ranked as high as 3 recently) in the previous match. Raducanu suffers in my opinion with expectation management problems and other emotional issues and her sports psychologist I am pretty sure is working on that. But her performance against Sun shows us that Raducanu's mental issues are deep seated.

Raducanu needed treatment on her left knee after a fall in the third set but the real story of this match was her timid approach and Sun's fearless play. She hit 52 winners - with Rafael Nadal-like whipped forehand hurting Raducanu more than her slip on the grass. -- Daily Express. She lost her boldness and her frailties returned. It is inherent in her. She fluked the 2021 win. Got lucky.

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Emma Raducanu has seen a sports psychologist and it is working well. Image: MikeB

All in all it was a sorry picture and her ranking in women's tennis was worse than it was when she won the 2021 U.S. Open as a qualifier.

The world No. 9 used her pre-match press conference to remind Raducanu that she was facing a top-10 player ahead of their third-round Wimbledon clash. But that didn't bother the Brit, who needed 92 minutes to pull off the upset and beat Sakkari 6-2 6-3. - Daily Express newspaper today 6th July 2024.

But, at the moment, she is playing at Wimbledon 2024 and doing remarkably well. She has recaptured that energy and joie de vivre in playing tennis. She is playing aggressively and boldly. That is the kind of tennis she employed when she won the 2021 U.S. Open. I can remember Tim Henman, who was on the side lines during the final, encouraging her to continue to be bold in her play. It's that kind of boldness and freedom of playing which can be highly successful and certainly was in her case.

It's about not thinking too much about the game. It's about letting one's natural talents and instincts take over. It's getting into the "zone" as the experts call it. When things just flow and your body takes over and the brain is pushed out of the equation. You don't want to think too much when you play professional sport as the brain can get in the way.

And I strongly sense that Emma Raducanu has been seeing a top sport psychologist to rectify what I would see as an incorrect mentality as a top tennis professional. Her mentality now seems to be good. Sport psychologists can work wonders. There are no hard reports to support my assertion but I am certain that she has altered her mentality through the services of a good sports psychologist.

Jannik Sinner has seen a sport psychologist and his game improved substantially. In fact, the default situation regarding a team of experts supporting top professional sportsmen should include a sport psychologist. This is the norm now. It is not exceptional although it was once in the past.

It is a recognition of the fact that sport psychology is vital to success. The attitude, mental approach, confidence and mental well-being of a sports person is vital to their success in their profession. It's as important as the mechanics of the serve or the mechanics of the forehand or backhand. It is as important as the footwork. There's the physical side to tennis and the mental side.

No matter how good you are physically and how talented you are, you will not win consistently and win championships without the correct mental approach.

I am hopeful, and I believe, that Emma Raducanu will now progress normally as she has deserved to do and start to win some competitions. She may even win Wimbledon this year but that would seem to be unlikely at present but certainly possible in the future. 

But with her mind freed of those unnecessary burdens - mental baggage - perhaps mainly through the pressure of expectation, she can now progress and it will be the first time this has happened since she won in 2021.

P.S. From Google Gemini:

There is no public confirmation that Emma Raducanu has worked with a specific sports psychologist. However, there is evidence that she likely has benefited from some form of mental training:

• Sports psychology experts commenting on her game: Several sports psychologists have weighed in on Raducanu's performances in the media, discussing the mental challenges young athletes face and how those challenges might apply to her. This suggests that mental training is a recognized aspect of tennis at her level.
• The importance of mental training in tennis: Tennis places significant mental demands on players, requiring focus, pressure management, and emotional control. It's common for professional tennis players to incorporate mental training into their routines.

Even without confirmation of a specific sports psychologist, it's likely that Raducanu receives some form of mental coaching as part of her overall training regimen.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Reason why pro tennis players grunt but pro golfers do not

The picture was created by an AI bot and it looks like a couple of gay professional sportsmen made of plastic. They appear to be stereotypes. It looks like DALL-E has decided to go particularly woke and politically correct. Fine. I like it.

There was a time when pro tennis players were silent when hitting the ball and they changed ends without sitting down and the time between first and second serves was seconds. Now pro tennis is frenetic when play is in progress but ponderous when not.

Why do professional tennis players grunt/shout when hitting the ball while professional golfers do not?

Professional tennis players often grunt during matches as they strike the ball. This practice has been observed in both men’s and women’s games. Here are some reasons behind tennis players’ grunting (these come from a search of the internet except for item 4 and 5 which are mine):

1. Timing Mechanism: Grunting can serve as a timing mechanism. Players who grunt while hitting the ball tend to time their shots optimally, transferring the right amount of power through the racket.

2. Masking Auditory Information: Anecdotally, players suggest that a well-timed grunt can mask important auditory cues used during ball contact. By focusing on the grunt, players may inadvertently impair their timing. 

3. Release of Tension: Grunting can also act as a release of physical and mental tension, potentially improving a player’s performance.

4. My preferred reason is that when a player grunts at the moment of striking the ball it enables them to fully release all their energy which is why golfers could or should do it when driving the golf ball from the tee. Distance is very important when driving the ball and grunting may improve it.

5. Another reason of mine would be that the shout/grunt stops the mind thinking which frees up all the muscle memory gained over years of practice. The player plays instinctively which is better than allowing the mind to intervene and tighten up the action. Once again this might benefit golfers and I can see some golfers adopting the habit in due course. The only problem is course etiquette. Golf is a silent sport. For a player to start grunting when hitting the ball might be frowned upon by some.

The conventional conclusion: In contrast, currently professional golfers do not typically grunt during their swings. The differences between tennis and golf, such as the nature of the sports, the equipment used, and the rhythm of play, likely contribute to this distinction. While tennis requires explosive movements and quick reactions, golf emphasizes precision and finesse. As a result, tennis players may find grunting beneficial, whereas golfers do not rely on it for their game.

The unconventional conclusion: golfers might start doing it one day. I am sure many golfers talk to themselves while hitting the ball to ensure rhythm. The same kind of thing.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Accident or assault? Metal bottle hits Novak Djokovic.

The man leans over the barrier with his left hand offered to Novak. His backpack is wide open and his metal water bottle is in it - at the top. Was this an accident or a very carefully orchestrated surreptitious assault on Novak? Was it an assault made to look like an accident? You decide. Novak has a lot of detractors. He is unpopular with a lot of people.

Being of a suspicious mind and having watched the video several times, I am beginning to believe and allege that this man did it deliberately and that it was not an accident.

• Why the metal bottle and not the usual plastic?
• Why did it fall from the backpack so easily?
• Why wasn't he shocked? Look at his reaction. Passive.

Here is another version:

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Ranking of Emma Raducanu has got worse since winning US Open

Immediately before Emma Raducanu won the 2021 U.S. Open she was ranked number 150 in the world. Today, she is ranked number 212 in the world. She has to qualify for the French Open because the administrators did not give her a wild card entry. After these years she still has to qualify for a major. No advancement. No progress. No hope as I see it. Disagree? Tell me.

Stomach trouble?! Breathing problems? The beginning of a history of illness and injury. Screenhot.

And therefore I have to conclude that Emma Raducanu has gone backwards since before the 2021 U.S. Open. She has, on the face of it, made no progress whatsoever which is a reality check.

The newspapers continue to write about her but a reality check indicates that she's failed to make progress. Surely we need to look at the hard facts? We have to put aside, now, our expectations for this young woman. It would seem to me that the world has misplaced expectations for her because of her extraordinary success during that U.S. Open tournament three years ago.

Before that tournament we knew nothing about her. There were no real expectations. There were hopes that she might do reasonably well and then she won the tournament; the first qualifier to a tennis tournament to win a major ever in the history of tennis.

And I don't think we can consistently make excuses for this lack of progress. We know that Emma Raducanu has had a series of injuries but it's more than that. It's about her mentality. It's about her attitude and I would argue a lack of commitment to succeeding.

I don't want to sound harsh or be over critical but Emma Raducanu too quickly wants to go back home and doesn't want to stick around long enough and be persistent enough to succeed as a tennis professional.

That is why I said a few months ago that she will retire within 24 months or thereabouts. It's about mentality. I don't actually think she likes tennis any more. She doesn't like all the trappings of the professional tennis life. She prefers to go home and be at home.

This assessment feeds into what she recently said to the news media that she has pushy parents. Have her parents demanded too much of her? Have they pushed her into playing professional tennis as a career when she is not emotionally fit to do it? Just asking.

And I personally believe that some of her illnesses were either semi-psychosomatic or psychosomatic. I think some of them were emotion-based such as the difficulty breathing in her first Wimbledon last-16 match when she had to retire. That I think was a forewarning of what was to come. She was trailing 6-4, 3-0 in this match against Ajla Tomljanovic.

She has retired from matches since when trailing and losing. A lack of steel?

Nobody has discussed this upsetting fact that Emma Raducanu's ranking is now lower than it was just prior to the U.S. Open which he won. This is significant.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik have both calmed down on court

To the advantage of both of them, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik have both calmed down on court when playing in tournaments. Perhaps they discussed their attitude together and decided on change. Rublev is Russian and Bublik is Kazakhstani. They may well be friends. Rublev is popular among the players and so, I believe, is Bublik.

Both of them are excitable, high quality tennis players who wear their heart on their sleeve. They're both winners and both have enormous talent.

Yesterday, I watched Andrey Rublev beat Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open tournament and he was interviewed afterwards by the Sky Sports team.

Andrey Rublev. 

The first thing he said was that he kept calm during the match which helped him win. He said that it would have been stupid of him if he did not address his vocal outbursts in the past which his team probably said were hurting his competitiveness on court.

Those outbursts detract from his focus and temporarily weaken his standard which can lead to the loss of a game and ultimately the match.

Bublik is a similar character. He used to lark around on court a lot. Recently he decided to take tennis more seriously and use his great talent to better effect. He decided to stay focused throughout the match and be more committed to winning. 

It is the difficulty in committing to winning which may have been hard for Bublik. If you commit to winning it hurts when you lose.

I feel that Bublik messed around so that he took away true commitment to avoid the hurt of losing. He latest play has been more serious and he is winning tough matches. He has grown up as a professional tennis player.

Alexander Bublik recently secured a hard-fought victory at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier. In a thrilling final, he rallied past Borna Coric with a score line of 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 to recapture the trophy he had previously won in 2022 at the indoor hard-court ATP 250.

Both these players appear to have followed a change in mental approach by Jannik Sinner who is seeing a special sports psychologist which has improved his game. It is was noticeable. Click the link below for information about Sinner's sports psych.

Jannik Sinner benefits from high-tech mental training from Dr. Ceccarelli

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Image credit: By si.robi - Rublev MCM23 (43), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132685332

Carlos Alcaraz has lost that spark of enthusiasm for tennis

Alcaraz started playing tennis at the age of four at the Real Sociedad Club de Campo de Murcia (Royal Murcia Country Club), where his father was the tennis academy director, and his grandfather one of the club's founders. - Wikipedia.

He is currently 20-years-of-age. He has been playing tennis for 16 years. I sense that he has lost that spark of enthusiasm for the sport with a resultant slight falling off of desire which in turn leads to a slightly lower level of energy on the court. 

I can see it in his eyes and in his face. These are subtle signals but they are there I'd say. It is quite noticeable in fact.

Carlos Alcaraz. Image believed to be in the public domain.

This is leading to losing matches as no matter how good a tennis player you are nowadays there are too many excellent young players ready to knock you off your perch in the top 5.

It just has to be 100% commitment all the time on the court with the best possible preparation and no injuries.

I don't think that Alcaraz will win big again meaning he won't win a grand slam event again. He has been falling back relative to Sinner for the past several months. At one stage they were neck and neck with Alcaraz slightly ahead.

Alcaraz was expected to dominate tennis and win 10 majors. Not now and it does not look good.

His recent loss to Rublev and the Madrid Open showed us his slight lack of enthusiasm for the sport. At the end he was almost giving up which would have been unheard of a year ago when he was buzzing with on-court energy and confidence.

Borg retired at 26 because he lost interest in tennis. He did not want to play anymore. There are precedents for top pro tennis players retiring early.

There is no glamour in top pro tennis. People think there is but it is not true. It is hard and to compete all the time is tough for some people. 

Top level competition in any sport can shred the nerves eventually. You can burn out and want to stop.

Let's see if I am right. I think Alcaraz will continue to struggle compared to how he was performing a year or two ago.

Losing in the quarter finals or something like that will not do for Alcaraz. He needs to win to meet expectations both for himself and his team and also for the public and tennis fans.

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Jannik Sinner benefits from high-tech mental training from Dr. Ceccarelli

As far as I am concerned, Janik Skinner is the best tennis player in the world today because he has worked extensively on his mental processes. He's done this to an extent and in a way which is different to other tennis players. 

Jannick Sinner at practice. Image: by si.robi - Sinner MCM23 (8), CC BY-SA 2.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132685340

He has outstripped the progress of Carlos Alcaraz who appears to have stalled his progress and even gone backwards slightly. I think we can distinguish these two top players in one definitive way: Jannik Sinner has employed a psychologist involved with improving the performance of F1 drivers, Doctor Ricardo Ceccarelli while Carlos Alcaraz has not.

There was a notable improvement in Jannik Sinner's performances about a year ago and he has dominated since. So how does Ceccarelli work?

How does Dr Ceccarelli work to help Jannik Sinner?

Dr. Ricardo Ceccarelli, renowned for his work in Formula 1, plays a crucial role in Jannik Sinner’s mental preparation and performance improvement. Let’s delve into the details:

1. Background and Collaboration:

   • Ceccarelli has been an integral part of Sinner’s team since 2020.
   • In September 2021, a collaboration emerged between Formula Medicine (founded by Ceccarelli) and the Piatti Tennis Center. Together, they established a ‘Mental Economy gym’ dedicated to athletes’ mental preparation, including Sinner.

2. Methodology:

   • Ceccarelli’s approach focuses on enhancing an athlete’s self-awareness.
   • They create scenarios where Sinner associates specific sensations (like anger, discouragement, fatigue, calmness, and effectiveness) with moments in his matches.
   • They use a joystick for computerized tests, monitoring brain activity (via a frontal band) and heartbeat.
   • The goal is to understand how Sinner’s brain functions under different conditions, ultimately improving his effectiveness in tennis.

3. Results:

   • Within two months of implementing this program, the 22-year-old broke into the world’s top 10 rankings.
   • Ceccarelli’s system has contributed significantly to Sinner’s mental toughness and overall performance.

In summary, Dr. Ceccarelli’s innovative approach combines psychology, technology, and personalized training to elevate Jannik Sinner’s mental game on the tennis court. 🎾🧠

Sinner said: "It is very different from having a coach or a sports psychologist because in those cases you have a conversation with that person and try to find solutions. What I do is different because we dedicate ourselves to solving exercises on a computer and we calculate the performance of my brain when it comes to finding solutions to the problems I encounter in these exercises."

He added that, "repetition makes me automate the processes and my brain is more efficient and works better under pressure and in extreme situations. It helps me a lot because it makes me have to understand why things happen and I can analyse them in detail [and that] we have been working with this methodology for a few years and I feel that it is working very well. I have improved significantly in this mental aspect."

I believe Cessarelli employs a process called Mental Economy Training to sharpen the mind and make it tougher so that it works far more efficiently in the heat for battle on the tennis court.

Mental Economy Training® is able to evaluate and improve the main aspects of the mental sphere including:

• Self-awareness
• Mental flexibility and adaptability
• Self-confidence
• Decision making ability
• Multitasking skills
• Resistance to stress
• Interpersonal relationships
• Teamwork

A couple of extra things are worth mentioning. He has the best and most powerful forehand (probably) and he has made significant improvements in his movement which means he is a better defender. Lastly he says that he can improve his dropshot and his volleying. He is working on these aspects of the game. He is set for dominance similar to that experienced by the big three for so long.

Alcaraz would be well to observe what has happened and do something similar to improve his mentality. I have felt that Alcaraz has dopped off mentally recently. A lack of motivation. It is hard though to maintain motivation at the top. Look at Björn Borg Borg who retired very young and in his prime because he no longer enjoyed it.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Emma Raducanu should wear a glove

Yes, I know that this is nothing to do with cats! But I have run out of things to say about cats so that's it. And I've thought about Emma Raducanu on and off for a while. I've concluded that she should wear a glove on her right hand. It would be a kangaroo skin glove of the same type worn by professional golfers.

The reason why I have suggested this is because in the past, as you might remember, she has suffered from blisters to her right hand. This is are going to be a problem for a tennis player who is not playing a lot of competitive tennis which would apply to Emma Raducanu.

After her last early round defeat she went home to lick her wounds and re-evaluate what she's doing. I decided that she's going to retire within 24 months. That might be a bit cruel and incorrect but I sense that is the way things are drifting.

There are no rules against tennis players wearing a glove to protect their playing hand. It makes sense to me. Nadal doesn't wear a glove but he wears white tape on his fingers. Some golfers actually also put tape on their fingers to protect them.

Kangaroo skin gloves are very high quality. They allow the player to maintain feel through the glove. They help the hand to grip the club. It makes playing golf more comfortable and I would suggest more tennis player should also where a kangaroo skin glove.

It would certainly entirely protect her right hand against blisters. It would be another step towards minimising injuries for which Emma Raducanu has become famous. I don't think the pro tennis lifestyle suits her actually. 

And I mean both physically and emotionally. She's talented but looking at her now I don't see her being any better than a lot of middle ranking women tennis players.

She suggested she might drop down to a lower tier in order to get more competitive playing time. She's not done that. If she did, I would suggest that she would never get out of that tier. I think it would be a bad idea but it may be the only idea.

Emma Raducanu will not wear a glove as I have suggested because she probably thinks it looks like she's admitted to the world that she has delicate hands or something. It's almost a sign of weakness because nobody else wears them. 

But I would recommend it and she could even brand the glove and market it. Make it a big thing and show it off. Be bold about it. That would help silence any critics.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Emma Raducanu laughs as a ginger tabby cat interrupts the commencement of her Abu Dhabi Open match

I am able to combine Emma Raducanu, who I have written about recently when I predicted that she'd retire from professional tennis within 2 years and a cat! It's hard to do that in a video but we have one here from the Daily Motion website. It is no big deal. 

The only query I have is how did a cat get onto the tennis court at a professional tournament at the commencement of play when there are players on court and spectators in the stands?

Does this indicate that there are lots of stray cats in Abu Dhabi or that the management of the tournament is a little slack? Or perhaps it was just bad luck. Maybe it was good luck as it made Raducanu laugh. 

I have seen her look sad too often after losing matches in the early round of recent tournaments. She has not progressed beyond round two so far this year; her first campaign after her three operations - two on her wrists and one on her foot. She has returned to the UK to practice. I think she's returned to also discuss her future as a pro tennis player. It is not working out. She is way off the mark to beat the top 10 players.

This is an embedded video which means that it may stop working as I have no control over its presence on this website.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.