Coach Kwong Young One of the greatest assets a player can have (besides ball striking) is to have Court Awareness, or sometimes called “Situational Awareness.” Here are three key factors you/partner need to have to play your best and outplay your opponents: 1) Know where you are (which zones): Backcourt, Mid-Court, Net Area 2) Know…
Penny Petersen On Oct. 29 Cottonwood Tennis Club (CTC) hosted players from Sun Lakes Country Club and SunBird. A Social is a one-day event designed to bring tennis lovers from the Sun Lakes area together for friendly play, lunch, and desserts. The object, of course, is to win your match, but making new friends from…
Coach Kwong Young Every level tennis player will be in “No Man’s Land” during a ball return at some point, so let’s have a better understanding of this area, which lies between the baseline and service line. This area means you are too far forward to be hitting a comfortable groundstroke, forcing you to hit…
Penny Petersen One of Cottonwood Tennis Club’s best players, Ollie Johnson, and her Mixed Doubles partner Terry Jackson of Albuquerque, N.M., won the Gold medal recently at the Huntsman’s World Senior Games held in St. George, Utah. They competed in the age 70-74 category in Mixed Doubles and were seeded as the number one team.…
Penny Petersen The six-day charity tournament began with some outstanding matches. The tournament doesn’t end until Saturday, Nov. 12 (after the Splash deadline), so we’ll give you a teaser and report the final statistics next month. The opening match on Center Court was a doozy. Bob Lewis and Roger Diddock competed against Al Mein and Bill…
Penny Petersen The most exciting tournament of the year is coming up in November. It’s the Bradshaw-Neu Charity Tournament held at the Cottonwood courts. The week-long tournament begins Sunday, Nov. 6, and runs through Saturday, Nov. 12. It’s open to players (whether they belong to a club or not) from Cottonwood Palo Verde, IronOaks, Sun…
Coach Kwong Young Before a tennis match, players should do some light warm-ups, such as jumping jacks, shadow stroking, butt kicks, knee lifts, etc. It is also wise to train the feet by doing W or M formation footwork drills. Run the lines always facing the net, practicing your up-and-down and side-to-side movement. Warm up…
In sports, we generally measure success from the performance of winning and losing. One of the best lessons you will receive is coming up short (losing!). If someone is a good loser, they will accept their loss without complaining, as well as add compliment to their opponent’s play. If someone is a bad loser, they…
Penny Petersen Something exciting is happening at the Cottonwood Tennis courts. The Cottonwood Palo Verde Homeowners Association Board approved a new outreach program that allows anyone from Sun Lakes and nearby communities to play Thursday evenings beginning at 7 p.m. at the Cottonwood courts. No need to join, no cost to players. All ability levels…
The new board of the IronOaks Tennis Club has been busy making plans for a 2022-23 tennis season filled with activities to include every member of the tennis community. Mark your calendars for these great events: • Nov. 5: The year will start with a casual “Welcome Back” gathering of tennis and pickleball players for…