New Issue
  Advanced Tennis
  Stroke Archive
  Patterns Archive
  HighSpeed Archives
  Famous Coaches
  Classic Lessons
  Biomechanics
  Tech in Teaching
  The Heavy Ball
  Tour Strokes
  Your Strokes
  Footwork
  Physical Training
  Mental Game
  Strategy
  Teaching Systems
  Ultimate
  Fundamentals
  High Performance
  Future Stars
  Tennis Science
  Tennis History
  Tour Portraits
  Features and Notes
  Ultimate Links
  TennisStream
  Staff
  Contact Support
  Privacy Policy
  Forum
  


Invisible Greatness


Nate Chura

Printable Version


Joanne Russell believed in invisible will.

At a birthday party for Steffi Graf's long-time coach Pavel Složil I asked my friends JoAnne Russell and Mary Carillo for their input about what separates one obviously gifted tennis player from another.

Why do players inexplicably miss routine shots? Why do "talented players" lose to "less talented players." I was beginning an inquiry to discover the invisible factors that made tennis players great.

Carillio noted that when she watched players like Jo-Wilfred Tsonga or Gael Monfils she wondered the same thing. Truly there was a mystery about it. She noted that some players like Andre Agassi just needed a blueprint, strokes, patterns, but for others that was not enough.

Russell said the difference was determination, passion, and desire. Coming up in tennis she was driven to prove she would succeed when others doubted her ability. Here was the first of a number of invisible factors I would uncover--will.

Imagine two players playing a match. What can you see or measure? The court, the racquet, the ball, footwork, strokes, the conditions. But then you get to the moment when one player either makes a winning shot or misses it. This is where greatness starts to become a blur.

Why did Player A miss the shot? It's easy to point out he or she was out of position or attempted a low-percentage shot, or their shot was too weak and short, and so on, but is that really why the player missed it?

Want to study the rest of this article?

Click Here to Subscribe!

Nate Chura is a New York tennis pro, writer, and speaker. He is the director of tennis at Onteora Club and head tennis professional at The Heights Casino in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of Emerson College in Boston, MA, a USPTA Elite certified tennis coach, and certified Dartfish technician. His first novel, The Man in the Barn: Digging Up Lincoln's Killer, was released on the 150th anniversary of John Wilkes Booth's death.


The Man in the Barn: Digging Up Lincoln's Killer

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. Afterwards Booth jumped to the stage and shouted, "Sic semper tyrannis," and miraculously managed to flee the capital on horseback with a broken leg. Twelve days later, Union forces surrounded the assassin and shot him dead at Richard Garrett's barn in Virginia. The Man in the Barn: Digging Up Lincoln's Killer is a provocative modern thriller by Nate Chura that explores the mystery behind John Wilkes Booth's death.

Click Here to Order!


Tennisplayer Forum
forum
Let's Talk About this Article!

Share Your Thoughts with our Subscribers and Authors!

Click Here