Sharapova, Serena, Wozniacki make Top 10 list among most searched athletes on Bing

Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki all made Bing’s Top 10 list for the most searched athletes in 2011. Sharapova came in at No. 2, while Williams was No. 3 and Wozniacki was No. 5. Other professional athletes on the list included Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and Brett Favre.

 

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Balance is one of the fundamentals to developing great tennis ground strokes.

In today’s game of power tennis, many of the players are leaping in the air to hit their forehands and backhands. This results in not only many errors but also many injuries.

One of the great ground-strokers and inventor of the power game, Andre Agassi, had phenomenal balance which allowed him to strike the ball so hard. If we look at the photo you can see that Agassi has his feet a racket’s length apart before and during contact with the ball.

When you are balanced it is much easier to hit the ball with power and accuracy. Roger Federer is another player with incredible balance. A great way to work on your balance is to place your racket between your feet, pick up your racket and hit strokes without moving.

Once you feel yourself balanced, practice by running to the ball then placing your feet at the same length as the racket before you strike the ball. Try to hit the ball without allowing your feet to be close together.

Vinnys Tennis League in Pittsburgh

 

A female athlete that is pregnant can also play tennis safely, although it is only recommended if she has played tennis regularly prior to becoming pregnant. Tennis is a wonderful sport that can be played at many different paces, so a pregnant athlete will want to keep things going at a slow to moderate pace.

The best thing about playing tennis while pregnant is that the exercise can alleviate pregnancy symptoms, help maintain a healthy weight, and can tone muscles in the arms or legs. If a female athlete has never played tennis before becoming pregnant, it can still be a safe sport to participate in, as long as she plays doubles, and only plays at a slow rate. It is also important that a female athlete be aware of the potential for falling, since coordination and balance is off during pregnancy. If possible, a pregnant female athlete should only play tennis on softer surfaces, so that if a fall occurs it will be less damaging to the body.

A pregnant athlete also might choose to play tennis up until the middle of her pregnancy, to ensure that she does not fall during the risky stages of the pregnancy. A female athlete might decide to start playing tennis while pregnant, which is a great chance to get a feel for the sport, and begin learning techniques to try out after the baby is born.

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Former world number one Rafael Nadal admitted he has struggled of late to rekindle his passion for tennis on Thursday after defeat by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga sent him spinning out of the ATP World Tour Finals at the group stage. The 25-year-old Spaniard ended 2010 as the dominant force in

men’s tennis after completing his career grand slam but apart from a sixth French Open crown in June, this year has been a disappointing one by his sky-high standards.His 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 defeat by French powerhouse Tsonga came just two days after he was thrashed in an hour by great rival Roger Federer and the zip and spark is clearly missing from his game.

“It’s because of lots of things. Because probably I was little bit less passionate for the game, probably I was a little bit more tired than usual. I’m happy how I practised the last three weeks. But to compete I wasn’t in the right way. We can find excuses, we can find problems, but it’s not the moment to say that,” he said.

“In your career you have moments where you come back, then you go down. Today is not my best moment.”

While one grand slam title and defeats in the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals would be rated as a massive achievement by mere mortals, 2011 will certainly not be one he looks back on particularly fondly.

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After throwing for over 300 yards — including a 400-plus and 500-plus game — in four of the first five games, Tom Brady has only done it twice in the last five games.
A source close to the team and Pro Football Weekly says that Brady is dealing with something called “tennis elbow”.

No, Tom hasn’t been taking up a new sport in his down time.
“Tennis elbow is caused by either abrupt or subtle injury of the muscle and tendon area around the outside of the elbow. Tennis elbow specifically involves the area where the muscles and tendons of the forearm attach to the outside bony area (called the lateral epicondyle) of the elbow.”

So can we expect the ailment to subside in the near future? Not exactly. The best way to cure the condition is to “rest and avoid any activity that causes pain to the sore elbow.”

That’s not going to happen for long enough stretches, although the same source told PFW that the Pats are resting Brady as much as they can during the week.

Brady has been seen wearing a black band on his right arm near the injury (pictured above).

The injury can also be treated by a cortisone injection in the area of the pain.

The percentage of people who recover from tennis elbow is 90%-95% once treatment is followed.

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