Category: women

Tennis elbow or tendonitis? Blame your racket

I may have a wee tennis problem… the more I play, the more I want to play. Tennis Anonymous is clearly in my future.Wilson Tennis Racket

Amusingly, it’s injury that has rescued me from full-blown addiction. While I’ve had knee and shoulder problems in the past, my newest bogeyman is arm tendonitis. Yet over the last year, I’ve made a surprising discovery: my tendonitis may be self-inflicted – and fixable.

I’d like to share my experiences, as I’ve met many players with similar problems. My arm tendonitis is strikingly similar to tennis elbow, and possibly even a precursor to it, so if you suffer from either, these tips may help. Continue reading “Tennis elbow or tendonitis? Blame your racket”

Solving the puzzle of mixed doubles

A few months after I first picked up a tennis racket, I was thrown into a round robin of mixed doubles. An alarming experience, to say the least. I barely had groundstrokes, let alone volleys, and didn’t even know where to stand.

A pattern quickly emerged. My partner would leap heroically around the court, hitting all the balls, until I got lucky / unlucky enough to hit a ball, causing it to sail wide. It didn’t take me long to figure out that watching, rather than playing, was safer for my team – and my ego.

Subsequent matches confirmed the pattern. And it wasn’t just me; I observed other teams where men hit 90% of the balls, running energetically in front, behind, and nearly through their female partners.

I started wondering: Why do women bother playing mixed doubles?

It took years for me to understand the benefits and, yes, even the fun, of mixed doubles. I’d like to share what I’ve learned.

Continue reading “Solving the puzzle of mixed doubles”

Are women less competitive than men? [Part 1]

On the face of it, there shouldn’t be any difference.

Yet over the years, I’ve noticed a pattern on the tennis court. Let’s examine the evidence.

Exhibit 1… tennis tournaments. It doesn’t seem to matter which type of tournament – club, intermediate, senior or city-wide, more men enter than women. For example, witness the recent entries in a small, intermediate tennis tournament in Ottawa:
Continue reading “Are women less competitive than men? [Part 1]”