The Myth Of Playing Up In Tennis

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The Myth of Playing Up in Tennis

By Jim H Klein 

Over the years I have been faced with many parents concerned about their son/daughter practicing with someone whose level is lower than their own. Parents and players are often under the false impression that to get better "you must play better players". Nothing could be further from the truth.

During the 2004 US Open, Mary Carillo told the story of two opponents who were about to face each other in the round of 16. The two players were Andre Agassi and Sargis Sargsian. Carillo goes on to say that Agassi and Sargsian have been good friends and practice partners for years. In fact the two of them had been practicing the entire US Open summer series together in 2004. As most of us know, Agassi's career high ranking has been number one; while Sargsian's highest career ranking is 38 in the world. Over the years, as well as the '04 summer season Agassi had never lost to Sargsian. These two players who are good friends have met seven times in tournaments between 1997 and 2004. Out of the seventeen sets they have played in tournaments, Agassi has only lost two sets to Sargsian and has never lost a match to him.

My point to all of this, Agassi is by far the better player and yet he is practicing with someone who is obviously not his equal. Realize that Agassi and Federer do not get together to practice. The best almost never practice with each other. Then the question has to be, how can Agassi maintain such a high level of play while practicing with someone who can not challenge him? Using most parents and players logic, "one must play up to get better". Agassi clearly dispels this myth, but I have heard this myth repeated by parents, players and coaches too many times to count over the years. But let's not stop there. Let's talk about the fact that Sargsian was playing up and it did not help him become a "great player". Granted, number 38 in the world is good, but you are not going down in the record books. I am sure that Sargsian was not striving to be the number 38th player in the world. As of today Sargsian's career winning record is 155 wins and 209 losses. This comes out to a 43% winning record. Sargsian has only one title to his name where Agassi has 60 titles to his, eight of them Grand Slams. Agassi's career winning record is 864 wins and 270 losses. Agassi has managed to have a 76% winning record practicing with much lesser players. In my opinion it has less to do with your practice partner(s) and everything to do with the player you are. In 20 years of teaching tennis I have never heard of a player losing a match and blaming it on their practice partner.

When Pete Sampras made his return to tennis after several years off in an exhibition match against Robby Ginepri, one of the big questions tennis fans wanted to know was about his preparation for his first match in over three years? In my opinion his answer is very revealing to the topic at hand. Sampras calls Billy Martin, the head coach of the UCLA men's tennis team and invites college level players to his home to help him prepare. Justin Gimelstob had been a practice partner for Sampras over the years, as well as for Sampras' return this past April. Gimelstob's highest career ranking had been 63 in the world back in 1999, as it stands prior to the 2006 US Open Gimelstob is 73 in the world. Why does a legendary player like Pete Sampras invite college tennis players and Justin Gimelstob as his practice partner for his return to the game, if playing/practicing up is so important?

It is rare to see seeded players practicing with each other at tournaments. In 2003 the year Andy Roddick won the US Open, I watched Roddick practice with then coach Brad Gilbert. It is clear if Roddick were to play Gilbert who would win. Put your money on Roddick. The best players prove that it is OK to practice with lesser players before a match even at the US Open.

When it comes to practice partners, one must practice with players who are weaker, this way you can practice your weaknesses. I have had players concerned with the idea of beating a player who is weaker than themselves and risk demeaning said player. I am not suggesting a 4.0 player should ask a 2.5 or 3.0 player to play. Play down one NTRP level to practice your weaknesses and if you are true to the idea of practicing your weaknesses you will most likely find yourself in a very competitive match. Equal to you, now you have a dog fight on your hands, this is the truest test of them all. Better than you, this way you can see how your opponent exploits your weaknesses. Try to find someone who is one level above you. If needed offer to pay for their part of the court time. A second reason for playing different levels is simple; it solves the problem of players playing up. If you want the opportunity to play up, then you must be willing to play down and give someone else a chance to play up. Fair is fair. If it were true that you had to play up to get better, no one would ever play another set of tennis. When parents come to me and insist that their child play up, one has to remember, for one player to play up another player has to play down. If you always play up you will rarely experience the joys of winning only the frustration of losing. Not much fun in that.

Thank you,

Jim Klein

Director of Tennis

Doylestown Tennis Club

Doylestown Pennsylvania

215-345-7897 / email -  jklein1227@comcast.net

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