Laurie's Tennis articles

Over the past few years I have noticed a massive decline in girls playing tennis and when I go to local club level tournaments, there are very few competing. If I am only to look at our club coaching programme I notice that there are only about 20% girls. The concern for woman’s sports is regularly asked but there is no simple answer and governing bodies / sporting organisations have been confounded by this issue for a while. Boys and girls sport at primary school is virtually identical but then a large number of girls decide to ‘opt out’ before secondary school. Girl’s involvement also decreases at a more rapid rate than the boys through their teens and beyond. But why? There are many potential reasons why girls drop out of sport but surveys have shown that sport is seen by society as turning ‘boys into men’ and that it is a significant form of male socialisation. Sporting prowess gives males a status amongst both male and female peers where girls receive the message f...

The 2014 tennis season is just a couple of weeks away, the WTA tour promises another exciting season, an opportunity to look at the potential leading contenders for glory. Serena Williams I don’t think I’ve seen a player make such an impact in her early 30s as Serena Williams.   Andre Agassi did a great comeback where he pocketed four slams between the age of 29 and 32 but Serena is virtually dominating all of her opponents. It is likely a combination of Serena’s game improving further over the years as she has found a way to avoid perennial injuries; and perhaps collectively her opponents are not quite as good as past rivals like Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin and Venus Williams.   What has helped to take Serena’s game to an even higher level has been the improvement of her serve.   Serena’s serve has always been a major weapon but since the beginning of 2012 has got even better with the ability now to hit aces at will in all four corners of the ...