Although physical therapists have used the Fitness Ball for 40+ years, fitness trainers around the world now understand that they are a great way for athletes to strengthen their entire bodies and increase balance, endurance and coordination. This is particularly true for tennis, a sport which requires constant balance, stability and core strength.

Also known as a Swiss ball, physioball, or exercise ball, the fitness ball is a multipurpose functional exercise tool that is inexpensive, safe and targets several muscle groups at once.

Training with a fitness ball requires strength, balance and co-ordination of core muscles that are used to stabilize the spine and maintain good posture. (more…)

Juan Martin Del Potro reached his dream – he finally won the US Open this year by beating Roger Federer in five tough sets.

The parts of interviews below are from his 6 interviews that he gave at the US Open 2009 and I’ve chosen the parts that show how Juan Martin Del Potro mentally approached the US Open and how he mentally adjusted during the tournament.

Juan Martin Del Potro at the US Open 2009 / Photo by: Philip Hall/usopen.org

Interview after beating Jurgen Melzer 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round:

Q. And in the hardcourt summer season, you have had great success. What do you attribute that to?

JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO: Well, I like the surface, for sure. I beat Roddick, González, and they are very good players on this kind of surface. But if I want to be a good player in the future and to beat Murray, Federer, and Djokovic on this surface, I will try.

(more…)

Kim Clijsters won her second US Open Grand Slam beating Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3. Kim kept her level of play extremely high and was playing without fear, doubt and hesitation.

Kim Clijsters at the US Open 2009 / Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

But so unbelievable about Kim’s win is that she already retired from tennis couple of years ago.

Kim started playing just for fun 5 months ago when she was invited to play an exhibition match at Wimbledon with Tim Henman, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graff. (more…)

Serena Williams lost her semi-final match at the US Open 2009 against Kim Clijsters in a controversial way. Serena was 4-6, 5-6 and 15:30 down when she served a second serve and it was called a foot fault by the line judge.

That meant 15:40 and two match points for Clijsters. Serena at first seemed to accept the call but a few seconds later she exploded and threateaningly wawed her racquet towards the line judge and definitely said a few harsh words.

Serena Williams threatens the line judge after a foot fault call / Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images

The line judge was encouraged by the chair umpire to tell what Serena said and it seemed like Serena said that »I will kill you…« or something like that.

Anyway, the tournament referee (Brian Earley) was called in and according to the rules if the player threatens or curses towards any of the umpires, he or she gets a warning. (more…)

Ana Ivanovic lost in the first round of the US Open 2009 against Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 3-6, 6-7.

It’s interesting to see how much Ana actually knows about the mental game and how it’s not really about learning more about the mental game but how difficult it is to implement and use what you know.

Q. What’s difficult about the toss, anyway? Seems not to be a difficult part of the game.

ANA IVANOVIC: Yeah, serve should be the easiest part, because the only shot you control completely. Yeah, it’s – I think it just – it’s very hard to describe, because what happens is that sometimes when I toss, I either release too early or I flick it and I release too late. It’s just so hard to describe. It’s like, you know, I tried also to do exercises with heavier ball so I get more feel for it. I mean now it’s feeling better so I worked on that.

Ana says that the serve should be the easiest part but that belief (that the serve is the easiest) can set you up for many frustrating moments. (more…)