Who plays tennis

Sheddie · administrator

Who plays tennis

Andymonium · Satellite level

yeah i play. i take it pretty seriously. I play for my school team from march - june i play pretty much everyday over summer and other than that i play 3 times a week at my tennis club

Sheddie · administrator

What sort of courts do you play on, what's your favourite surfaces ?
At my club, we have outdoor carpet and indoor acrylic and clay. I love playing on clay and quite like outdoor carpet. I don't really like indoors that much because I get outhit because it's so fast, I also can't stand tarmac.

What level are you ? Do you play for any regional team ?

What rackets do you use ? I used to like Slazenger but they've stopped making rackets so I've only got one Slazenger now, I've got a new Babolat racket which IO've hit with a couple of times. It seems really good for groundstrokes, I get really good power on forehand and backhand but on the serve and return it takes a little getting used to.

What's your game style, are you a serve-volleyer, an attacking baseliner, an all-court player or a counter-puncher. I'm a counter-puncher though I like to attack when possible on my forehand and attack the net.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just interested.

Do you want to post something about yourself in the "introductions" thread ?
What's life like in Ohio, have you got any snow at the moment ?
What are you studying at school ?

Andymonium · Satellite level

during winter i play on indoor- acrylic courts and during summmer i play half half with outdoor-acrylic and outdoor clay. i use the Wilson NSix-One 95. Its got a real nice serve(alot of spin acttion) and really smooth easy to put away volleys. I play at level 6 which is the highest in my club. I am not currently in any regional teams.right now i am more focusing on preparing for my school tennis team which starts in MArch. I tend to do similer to you and use agressive forehands and attack the net. I use a one hand backhand(i am one of the only ones around were i live because every one is taught the two hander now)

lol ok Right now in ohio we have no snow, but we have about 1 footand half a couple weeks ago whch isnt alot for me cuz i lived in Buffalo, NY for 8 years in which we got up to 5 ft(wow) IF u didnt no already American schools are alot differn to British schools. I am not studying one or 2 thing but rather 7. (accounting,Math:calculus, Basic english literature, Advanced biology, Physics, French, and History: early age) I am planning on going into more depth in Accounting or Mechanical Engineering after my finial year in hight school as i got to a college or University.

Sheddie · administrator

I like playing on slow - medium paced courts like outdoor acrylic and carpet. I played a tournament on real clay in Austria which was really great. The worst thing to do though was to attack the net, everyone over there hits really incredible passing shots. I don't like tarmac because it favours the tall guys as the courts are so bouncy . Both players end up standing 6 ft behind the baseline moon-balling !

I've played with a Wilson racket several times, I'll probably try and get one sometime as it's got a really nice feel to it. I found it great for serving with on clay - you get loads of topspin and the serve really kicks up. By the way, the clay courts we've got at my club are artificial clay, it's the nearest the LTA can get to real clay without having to pay loads to get the real surface. It's a beachmat kind of undersurface with what looks like fragments of rubber scattered over the top. There are millions of these fragments. Amazingly though it sounds completely crazy the courts play like clay-courts. The only problem is movement on them - they are so slippy. If you're running to retrieve a shot you continuen several yards after you've got the ball because you can't stop !! Movement at the net is really difficult, if you try to slide you have to judge it really carefully or you end up doing the splits. This is not good for me because of my counter-punching game style, I have to be able to get the ball and stop-start to get back into court.

Wow, you've had 5 ft of snow in the past. That must be so amazing. Over here if we get 1 inch of snow, that's good !!! Do you prefer it in Ohio to Buffalo. Have you had any snow since you posted that message ?

I don't really have any idea of the American school system but 7 subjects sounds a lot. Are those like A-levels ? In Britain if you're doing 5 A-levels [like me] you're considered insane. I'm also going for engineering at uni, I like electrical engineering. Which areas of mechanical engineering would you like to specialize in ?

Andymonium · Satellite level

now i like buffalo over ohio...mainly cuz im a huge fan for there american football team (buffalo bills) and i also like the snow. No i havnt got any snow in ohio, it dosnt no much here.

haha i dont even know what A-level are. i donno which areas of mechanical engineering would i specialize in. i have another year to think about that. i might not even do that. Im thinkin about going to uni somewhere in the south like texas or alabama

invisibleman18 · Social player + Official Aussie/NZ season match reporter

I play at my local club, I'm quite competitive but its more a social thing to do in summer as I take football in winter slightly more seriously (and play at a higher level).

I would say I'm reasonable at tennis considering I have never been coached and have basically taught myself how to play. I have played for about 4 years. First took it up at school and played for the school team for my last 3 years at school (where I was captain the last year) and have played at the club for 3 years.
I usually go to the club nights which is just a social thing where you play a few doubles games with different people and I play in one of our interclub teams aswell. This season I am having to play in seniors as I am now over 18. I started off getting thrashed a few times but have won my last 3 singles matches so its picking up.

My club has 6 courts - 4 turf and 2 hardcourt. I usually prefer the turf courts, but I have been winning on the hardcourts this season so starting to like them a bit more.
I believe the club are fundraising to get 2 new courts, and we are in a place where there is plenty of room to expand.

My style of play - well I think I prefer to play at the baseline and my serve is not much good (possibly due to being quite short - the pic of me with Andy Murray that I just posted will show that)

-- Edited by invisibleman18 at 23:07, 2006-01-09

Siobhan · Social player

I play tennis and have done for around 14 years!

Don't play as much at Uni because its a treck getting there and back which is such a shame. I absolutely LOVE grass courts, they rock!!!

Sheddie · administrator

I've been having quite a few problems with racket-hand blisters as I'm starting to play more men's singles events and matches go on for longer eg: 2.5-3 hours.

Does anyone know what I should do to avoid this problem ? I'm told to tape my hands but what with ? Sellotape ?, elastoplasts ?

Sheddie · administrator

I've found out now from Laura Fleming.

Just in case anyone is interested, a good way to combat racket hand blisters is to buy a packet of zinc oxide tape from Boots, this covers the sore area and acts like a protective layer of skin.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

i am bored at work today so just found this thread.

i agree with what slabba said about outdoor tarmac courts, personaly i find it difficult to take the ball early and the bounce is so high you are almost at the back fence b4 you are ready to hit. i need to practice taking it on the rise.

For gear i use head Liquid metal presitge, which is a good recquet but possibly a little too advanced and unforgiving for me but it was given to me and i realisticly cant afford to change it.

Have just bought a new pair of blackish barricade 4's, does anyone else use them? i have worn the 2's and 3's which were both really comfortable, the 4 deosnt feel so good but mayeb it takes time to wear in.

when i play i like to come into the net but its hard on slow courts. i have played on the indoor at westway which is nice (but its so expensive) and the indoor carpet at gemax in belgrade (where the challenger is) which was good too but didnt play long enough to get a proper feel for it.

have never had any problems with blisters but have never played for longer than 2 hours in one go, what grip do you use in the 1ts place?

Sheddie · administrator

Re tarmac courts: I agree, I also need to practise taking the ball earlier as it's the only way to play on that surface, the problem I find is that when you take the ball early you can't generate as much power - I expect that would improve with practise.

I think that it's necessary to come to the net a lot on tarmac to keep the points fairly short otherwise you just end up getting pushed further and further back. The surface gives taller players a massive advantage as it's easier for them to dominate the points. I find myself hitting overheads from 10 feet behind the baseline !!! Tarmac also favours players with good topspin serves - not necessarily particularly powerful but a good amount of topspin on the serve can leave the returner hitting a shot from way above head height.

I use a Babolat racket - similar to the one which Alex Slabinsky uses. I used to use Slazenger before they went out of business. I tried Dunlop aswell but didn't get as much control with that racket. Have hit a few times with a Wilson racket but have never bought one- always liked the feel and power generated with that racket.
My friend is a leftie and he uses Yonex rackets which enables him to get a ot of spin on his serve. How do you find Liquid metal prestige, Count ?

Re shoes: I just use ordinary trainers, lol !!! At first they don't have much grip on them when they're brand new so get some sharp rocks and vigorously rub the trainer soles against the rocks to rough them up so that the shoes will have some friction when you're moving around the court.

Wow, you played at Belgrade, did you go there to watch the challenger ? How fast were the courts ?

I've played on the David Lloyd indoor carpet courts at Bushey [near Watford] and they're lightning fast, early preparation and a big serve is vital !!

That's a big problem in this country, indoor courts are so expensive, it's not really financially viable to play on them regularly. At my club, you have to pay £250 for an adult membership and if you want to play indoors, you still have to pay an extra £10 for an hour each time.

My hands start blistering once I've been playing for over 1h30 min in a tough singles match. The longest match I've played was on outdoor carpet when I won 7-6[10], 5-7, 7-6[6] and that was 3h 15min in the quarters of a tournament - after that my racket hand had about 5 blisters plus blisters on both feet. Since then the wounds reopen fairly easily.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

i enjoy using the LMP raquet, but you have to prepare early, heads own rating is L6 (so the longest swing) i think in that respect it maskes you think, and if you get the shot right it can be a beauty, if you get it wrong then can be very weak on power, i have added some lead to the top to try and help.

on shoes: beauces i mainly play on the outdoor hard courts i found normal trianers got ripped to shreds along the sides really quickly as you are alweays dragging your feet as such. i guess thats why tennis trainers rubber always come up the sides a bit. i have worn the barrivacdes 4's a bit more now and they are satrting to feel very comfortable, even for general walking.

i was in belgrade on holiday, not a great tourist desitnaion, but you can get away with a lot by saying you are from London :) i even got let in to watch a red star (their joint biggest team) match for free. gemax just happened to be the nearest courts so i played there, they also have clay. The carpet was fast and you could hear the ball spinning but it was hard to get a feel as i was using a weird raquet and was out of practice.

i have never joined a club, i wouldnt know which one, but it all seems very expensive, esp if yopu have to pay on top to use indoor courts. the cumberland club in finchly loosk nice tho.

on grips i normaly use tournagrip, have never had any blister problems, but i dont play as much as that. 3 hrs indoors is one hell of a long match. i guess it felt good to win tho.

Count Zero · Tennis legend

further throughts on the cost, the nearest courts to me are in hyde park, outdoors and no floodlights.

cost is £12.50 per hour peak (after 5om and weekends, off peak is £1 cheaper) for non member, £10.50 for member, membership costs £110 per year.

so to make membership costs back you have to play 50 hours worth of tennis. that would cost you £635!! surely thats a huge ammount.

Sheddie · administrator

The prices of the tennis clubs near you sound incredibly expensive Count. So you have to pay for playing outdoors aswell as a membership fee !!!

The prices at my local club are crazy for adults. For U18s it costs £75 for a year but for adults it's something like £425 for a year !

Once I'm at uni, there's no way I can afford that as I'll be completely broke, I'm going to have to join the village club which doesn't have the facilities or the standard of competition but only charges £50 a year for adults !!!

I've had some crazy matches in the ncl lately. It can be incredibly knackering as you have to play 3 best of 3 sets matches in one afternoon, all back to back. By the 3rd rubber, it's really survival of the fittest. A couple of weeks ago I ended up playing to a virtual standstill, I won my first match 6-4, 6-7[7], [13-11] which lasted 2h 30min and then had to go straight into my 2nd match where I got kicked 6-3, 6-4 and then I had another 2hrs+ match straight after that, which I won 3-6, 6-4, [14-12]. In that deciding champions tiebreak I saved 5 match points, 2 with service winners, 2 with backhand winners and the 5th with a fluked lob winner off the frame of my racket. After losing my opponent chucked his racket out of the courts, cursing loudly which was quite amusing. I can't say I blamed him though, I would have probably done the same !