ATP World Tour Points Explanation (250 tournament bummer)

So in Atlanta, we have a little 250 point tournament called the BB&T Open.  It's a very small tournament that I have been going to since it was in Indianapolis.  As a matter of fact, that is where I got the pictures to make my first sequential photoshop art:

Anyway the tournament has actually gotten worse in recent years.  Not ONLY because the venue has gotten worse.  I mean seriously: in Indiana they had it on the IUPUI campus.  There was a tennis STADIUM, a grandstand court and like 6 or 7 extra courts.  We went from there to some country club way in the outskirts from Atlanta.  Then Racquet Club of the South which was OK.  Still not in Atlanta, you had to park at a mega church and shuttle in.  Now it's at Atlantic Station in Atlanta.  Which is OK I guess but not better.  It's less of an event and more of a backlot thing that they just shoved in the corner.

But I'm a little off track.  Every one I've been to has had big names promised to us and then they pull out at the last second.  Andy Roddick won this tournament last year I believe but in Indiana he pulled out twice.  How can they do that??

I went to the ATP website to study up on the points system.  If you are not familiar with what that is I will explain it in RED.  If you are you can skip the red.

The ATP points system is basically how the players are ranked.  They play in tournaments and are given points based on when they are knocked out in the tournament.  If you win the tournament you get the points the tournament is named for.  So you win a 500 level tournament you get 500 points.  Grand Slams are a whopping 2000 points.

The Grand Slams and 1000 level tournaments are mandatory for all players that qualify.  However, the 500 level and below aren't.  As a matter of fact only the best 6 of those tournaments count as your ranking points.  So you could play 10 of them.  But they are going to count your best 6 results. 

So far so good?  OK, if you are in the top 30, 4 of the 6 tourneys HAVE to be 500 level tournaments which leaves you 2 tournaments to do whatever with.  If you are in the top 30, why would you play in a 250 tournament unless you can win?  Seriously it is the same amount of rounds but the points are twice as much in one of them.  In other words, for stepping on the court in a 500 I get 20 ATP points.  For a 250 I have to win my first match.

As far as penalties for withdrawing.  For 250 tourneys there pretty much are none because, in 2011, in order for the ATP to make 1000 level tournaments mandatory they had to give up regulations on the 250s (from my understanding).

I only really go to watch the doubles but some of my friends get really happy about these big names.  I would hate to be the tournament director.  It seems like he has to settle for using the big names to sell tickets.  So if the players pull out, at least he has made money.  If they don't sign in, surely he can't say they will be there, right?

Corrections and comments please.  And also, subscribe....like NOW!

Why Women's Tennis is Better Than Men's

I have to admit: when it comes to tennis, I spend a little more time watching women than I do men.  I wish whole-heartedly that more people would watch womens tennis.  Here's why:

1.  Shorter Matches

Geez, no one wants to watch a whole 5 set match!  The male players get tired and they take longer to serve.  The men's game is exhausting!  Why does it have to be 5 sets?  It's not an event anymore.  Every good match is like sitting down and watching 2 Harry Potter movies.  I'm about a 4.0 - 4.5 player.  I play one good match of 3 sets and I immediately need to take my vitamins, icy hot, anti inflamatory, and a muscle relaxer (rum n coke for me!).  I feel sorry for the male players because it is not fair.  Back when tennis was all serve and volley, I can see why the need for 5 sets.  But then they slowed down the surfaces.  Now EVERYONE is a baseliner.  We can shorten the matches back to 3.

2.  Strategies You Can Use NOW

With women's tennis you can implement the strategies right away for your game.  With the men's game it goes "well first you develop a 100 mph serve and then...."  The problem is that you need years of body development in order to hit the ball like a professional man.  However women don't have awesome serves.  They serve well and play it out.  Thus for everything that you watch, you get to see more baseline strategies that don't involve a lot of spin.

3.  No Big Serving

It is not fun to watch a match where people slap service winners all the time.  Isner/Mahut three day match...great serving.  Do you know anyone that actually felt like watching it though.  NOPE.

4.  All Different Types

With women's tennis there is a bit of reverse descrimination.  Simply put, the female game is more diverse.  Not only with race but with body types as well.  Women of all different types and sizes can prove their tennis playing skills with the frames they are given.  The new pro players in america are just a bunch of white guys that look like college baseball players.  But on the womens side its some biracial, black, white, black, thick, tall, short, skinny...no limits for our women.

5.  Better Points System

In women's tennis, the rankings system is different.  More women have a chance to come up from out of no where.  Thus, they don't need to rely as heavily on wildcards.  Also the number one ranked players dont win all the time.  If a player starts playing poorly, they pay for it.  Simple as that.

6.  Easier to Route For

Ladies tennis (other than Serena Williams) is mostly for diehard fans who just like tennis.  The matches are easier to watch in person and if you go to a WTA tournament, the chances that you will sit next to someone that knows tennis is pretty decent.  Also women seem to route for women more passionately which is good for discussion.  unless you are in New York.  They don't like to talk there.

7.  USA Has a Better Chance of Winning

Simply put: as of 7/19/2014 the US has 6 men in the top 100.  The highest ranked is John Isner at 12.  Everyone else is outside the top 60!  The women have 11 in the top 100.  Only 2 are outside the top 60.  One of those 2 is Victoria Duval who is 19 and has the skills to beat a top ten player.  So if you want to wear your flags, you will look better cheering for the ladies.

8.  Controlled Shrieking

As tennis moves along, academies, tournaments, and parents frown on the loud shrieking.  So the up and coming players don't make as much noise out of respect for the audience.  Also the ones that do have the court mics turned down so it doesn't mess up the speakers.

9.  Equal Pay

The tournaments are giving equal pay to the ladies.  If you are a feminist, you need to support ALL the players!  If you are one of the people that complain that men work harder then rally for 3 set matches in slams for men. Otherwise you can take solace that most WTA coaches are men.  So then you can watch women's tennis and cheer for the coach.  "LETS GO PAUL ANNACONE'S STUDENT!!!"

Obviously I like women's tennis.  The WTA is a better league than people give credit for.  It's not just for girls who are supposed to look up to adult ladies....because they don't really.  Its for everyone....right?

Comments and questions on the bottom :)  Thanks

The Truth About Tennis Teaching Part 2

In part 1 we established that a coach is supposed to want for the improvement of their students.  BUT as in all types of subject matters, there is the artist and the businessman.  The artist is the one who is obsessed with turning out something everyone can see is a good product.  The businessman is obsessed with making money.

The artist will push for more contact in lessons because he/she wants and cares about the welfare of the product which is a well rounded tennis player.  The artist is in tune to specifics.  They will ask about the student and be a little more vulnerable.  The idea is to build a better relationship so that the student can better relate the life lessons of tennis with normal life.  Because tennis is the type of sport that trains you to deal with yourself.  In professional tennis, the coaches and players strive to create a bond so that the player/coach can enjoy harmony and focus on overcoming tasks together. This is why an artistic type of coach is better for any type of long term lessons like low level teams, academies, and ongoing privates

The businessman will do the job.  If you say "I will be there at 1 am."  They will clock in early and be on the court ready for you.  They care about your business.  Whatever you tell them you need they will do.  They need you to be satisfied because it is good for business.  Businessmen will not take a risk in telling you anything is wrong and give very political answers.  When you ask them to help you fix a stroke they tell you something you already know because the customer is always right.  This is why they are good for short term lessons like groups, high level teams, and once in a while privates and hitting.

Mixing the two will automatically cause the coach to move into his strength.  The artistic coach when teaching a group will automatically scout for players he/she would like to work with.  The Businessman when doing long term privates will basically babysit you for exactly an hour and never watch your matches.

I'm an artistic teacher (obviously...I didn't write these blogs and draw that art at the top to make me rich!).  I have gotten in trouble for trying to improve students in a close-minded group setting.  And I've also heard many students complain because they have taken many lessons with a businessman coach and they never come to the matches.

Sidebar:  Students get stuck in relationships with coaches that don't really care and it is a shame for me to see.  At a tournament this lady was complaining to me that her daughter had this great coach with a great resume.  Yet the daughter was not very motivated in playing.  Well then that is a fail...right?  I mean this girl is going to quit tennis soon because she has no real bond with her coach.  Its a waste!

Anyway....be sure to follow this blog and ask any questions you have.

The Truth About Tennis Teaching

People feel like a tennis teacher is a tennis teacher.  But we are just like regular teachers in a school.  Every problem that you have heard with a school teacher can happen with a tennis teacher.  So it is important to be extra careful with who you choose for you or your child.  It can be a long term decision.

The idea behind teaching tennis is that your coach is supposed to teach life lessons through the medium of tennis.  That way, you learn about yourself enough to be a balanced individual.  If you practice diligently and balance yourself mentally, you will be a good tennis player.  That is the idea.  The same principles are alive in martial arts.

With that said, there are different types of lessons that you can take depending on where you are:

Group.  These lessons are supposed to spark interest in tennis.  They are the cheapest.  You show up in a group (obviously) and the coach just tells you basic things to do and feeds you tennis balls until your time is up.  Your coach is supposed to be looking for students to pull out of this group.  They should get inspired by the improvement and look to work with this student either in a more advanced group OR privately.  If your group coach never actively suggests better lessons upon improvement...they aren't a coach PAST the group level.  At that point they are doing you a disservice.


Team Lessons.  These lessons are group lessons with people that compete on a team.  Most people on a team don't want to get better privately since the dynamic of a team allows them to be involved without actually being totally responsible.  Most coaches don't suggest you do privates off a team.  HOWEVER a coach will want the team to move up in levels.  Teams are different because some teams want to learn things but most just want to do drills.

Private Lessons.  These lessons are for people that want to get better privately.  They get their own coach and work on specific problems they have or just get better.  You can have one lesson OR you can have a coach and do many of them.  Personally, I feel like the coach should be working hard to wean their students off hitting a ball that is fed to them.  That is not tennis.

Hitting Lessons.  These lessons are for people that need to hit at a specific time with someone that is better than them.  This is best if you are a person with a limited amount of time.  The only problem is that if you just hit with someone really good, you might lose the concept of a person trying to beat you or the cause and effect of your rally ball.

In part 2 we talk about how to pick your coach.