Adult League E-Newsletter

Read the latest news regarding Adult Competition in the Pacific Northwest!

Your Tennis Roadmap to Success!

The road to success as a tennis player can be littered with potholes, roadblocks, sharp curves, and other obstacles. To find success, a player must navigate the undulating and often challenging road to tennis achievement. Every player has their own strategy on how they will make it to the promised land at the end of the long road.

Here are a few proven practices that will help you steer clear of the most difficult obstacles on your road.

1. Get Good Coaching - tennis is a sport where having a foundation built on proper technique will serve you well throughout your tennis journey. While poor technique will limit your growth as a player, having a solid grasp on the fundamentals will not only allow you to advance further and faster as a player, it will also help you to avoid injuries. So do what the best players in the world do…hire a good coach/tennis instructor.
2. Weekly Drills - one of the most common mistakes players make is to only play competitive(league/tournament) matches, or just play doubles. This strategy does not provide the player with an opportunity to work on their weaknesses and solidify their strengths. Find a player to practice with, and practice with a purpose by hitting a million balls. Spend time working through groundstrokes, volleys, overheads, and serves, always hitting to specific locations on the court. Finish each session with some fun, slightly competitive games to simulate match play, but still with the focus on developing your game.
3. Practice Matches - play plenty of practice matches, as this will get you in the rhythm of match play without the pressure of a competitive match. Again, the purpose is to practice and shore-up weak areas in your game. The result of a practice match is always secondary to your making positive strides towards becoming a better player. Play practice matches against players of higher and lower abilities…you will benefit from both.
4. League Play - you started playing tennis because it was fun. There is no better way to have fun on a tennis court than competing alongside your teammates in a league match. League tennis gives you a competitive match environment, but with the added support of your teammates…it’s not just you out there! At the end of the match, win or lose, your teammates are there for you. To find out more about USTA Leagues in the PNW, click HERE.
5. Tournament Play - do you play in leagues but want to grow even more as a player? Look at adding tournament tennis to your roadmap. Often played over the course of a weekend, tournaments offer a player a condensed opportunity to play competitive matches. This can be especially beneficial to the league players that advance to Sectionals, where they will play up to four matches within a few days. Tournaments also provide a player with immediate feedback on the results of their training sessions and can point to areas where improvement is needed.
6. To find out more about local tournaments in the PNW, click HERE.
7. Fitness & Nutrition - let’s face it, we aren’t ATP of WTA Tour professionals who compete for a living, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from them. Developing a sound fitness regimen and nutrition plan can help every tennis player regardless of their playing level. This doesn’t mean you need to skip the post-match beer or trip to the ice cream shop, but your fitness/nutrition advisor can help you play better, avoid injuries, and play tennis for a very, very long time.
8. Have Fun - the road to tennis excellence is a long one. ENJOY YOUR TRIP!

Mixed 55+ League: Alaska Style

Alaska's Mixed 55 & Over 7.0 community decided to shake things up a bit this season by creating a player draft.  Team captains coordinated the draft of all the flight’s players for their 3 teams; Acing Gracefully, On the Board, and Stirred But Never Shaken. 

The teams played a flex format for the first two rounds of competition and collectively agreed to make the final round a league celebration with all participants in attendance for round robin match play, and a final season pot-luck feast.  It was a great way to cap off a fun season of competitive play in Alaska.

Are you looking for fun USTA Leagues in Alaska. Check us out HERE.

Did You Know?

Rules every player should know