My son is 12 years old and has been playing tennis for 7 years. We have been told that he has lots of talent and that he has natural tennis abilities.

However, he does have a mental weakness. Before he starts a match, he is very nervous which in some cases will continue through the match. He would eventually get upset if he makes an error and eventually lose focus.

He would also ’scream’ from frustration to the point where he does not care if he loses or not. I have told him to be positive and to control his anger but he just can’t do it. He says that he trys but I am not too sure about that.

I have seen him lose to persons that he should be able to beat easily but once the fear takes over, he loses focus and eventually the match. How could we (parents) help him to overcome this?

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Justine Henin recently retired at the age of 25 while still being the No. 1 in the WTA rankings.

To many of us this decision was a surprise, especially since Justine was a favorite to win another French Open title this year.

So why did Justine Henin quit from professional tennis at only 25?

1. Wishing to live a full life
Being a top professional tennis player is very demanding and takes a lot of sacrifices.

Justine had to sacrifice many events in her youth to pursue her career while watching her friends enjoy parties, socializing in school, holidays, going to the movies and so on.

Even at young age of 15 or 16, tennis players practice at least 4 hours on court and 1 hour off court. The rest of the time is dedicated to proper nutrition and rest.

And when you are becoming successful in the WTA tour (Justine entered top 100 in the WTA in 1999), you are pushing your body and mind to the limit almost every day in order to compete and win against the best in the world. (more…)

Hi Tomaz,

My name’s David and like a lot of people i have found your tennis website very helpful. I am 20 years old and played tennis since I was 8 competing at a high level (satelites, futures events) but for one reason or another i never quite cracked it to the top.

My passion for tennis continues and i still hit regularly and do 3 days of coaching a week. I help out a well respected coach that has coached at a national level and I have learned a lot.

When i read your ‘about me‘ section i noticed you have had a similar life to me. I would like to ask you for any advice you could give me for the best ways I could be successful in tennis from a business point of view.

I hit with an up and coming junior girl and I have often thought I could use my knowledge of fitness and tennis to be a coach/hitting partner for an up an commer on the circuit, though I realize this would be hard to get in to.

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