Bad line calls in junior tennis are an unfortunate but common occurrence. Whether it’s an intentional bad line call or an honest mistake, dealing with it can be frustrating for players and parents. In this blog, we’ll cover strategies for addressing cheating in a way that fosters fairness, personal growth, sportsmanship, and a healthier experience.

In sports, results takes center stage, and highlights focus on flashy moments. Sportsmanship is usualy mentioned when rules are broken or fights occur. If winning and controversy get all the attention, how can we teach kids that character matters most? Yosuke Watanuki recently gave us a prime example of sportsmanship that every young athlete should see.

You can’t be mentally tough without handling the routines in-between points properly. Player’s spend more time in a match dealing with their internal dialogue, than actually hitting a ball.

“A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t” - Jack Dempsey

It’s a hard thing to explain to someone if they haven’t gone through something incredibly difficult and challenging, and refused to back down. It can also seem like an unfair thing to explain to a young athlete, but it’s a necessary thing for them to learn.

“Most of our fears and most of our anxieties don’t exist in the present.”

There is zero upside to looking at the draw, and immense downside.

Tennis is the only sport in the world where you can win more points than your opponent and still lose.

“When people believe their basic qualities can be developed, failures may still hurt, but failures don’t define them. And if abilites can be expanded-if change and growth are possible-then there are still many paths to success.” - Carol Dweck “Mindset”

"Five minutes before entering the central office, I suddenly felt really bad, extremely nervous. I started to cry. I even had to go throw up a bit.” Stan Wawrinka discussing his emotions before walking on the court for the 2016 US Open final. He won the match and the title.

“People often practice what they know how to do rather than trying to master something they can’t yet do. Effective forms of practice are hard work and generally not fun.” - Dr. Anders Ericsson

The better a player’s technique, the smaller the probability of a shot breaking down under pressure. But the weaker a player’s mentality, the higher the probability they will break down under pressure, no matter what the technique.