Rock & Rally Tennis Podcasts

Welcome to another segment of “Just One Tweak”, where I share my thoughts regarding a tweak or refinement I would make to a particular player’s game if I were part of that player’s coaching team. This is “Just One Tweak – Segment #3: Ash Barty”.  Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section. Tags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, tweak, instruction, lesson, tip, tension, challenge, forehand, backhand, serve, volley, drop, slice, ball, strike, chip, slam, major, versatility, French, Wimbledon, U.S., ATP, WTA, Barty, Brady, Osaka, Riske, Rogers, Sabalenka, Federer

As the saying goes, “All good things must come to an end!” Congratulations to Daniil Medvedev for winning his first Grand Slam singles title and thwarting Novak Djokovic in his quest to win the calendar Grand Slam. We share our thoughts on Medvedev and the final match of Djokovic’s run at the calendar Grand Slam. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section. Tags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, focus, instruction, tip, serve, return, backhand, forehand, strategy, tactic, defend, net, baseline, court, position, GOAT, grand, slam, major, champion, U.S., Open, Wimbledon, Djokovic, Medvedev, Federer, Nadal, Raducanu, Fernandez

What a spectacular 2021 US Open – Women’s Final between teenage sensations, Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez!  Congratulations to Raducanu for winning her first Grand Slam singles (and WTA) title. We share our thoughts on what was one of the most memorable US Open Women’s finals in recent years. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section. Tags:What a spectacular 2021 US Open – Women’s Final between teenage sensations, Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez!  Congratulations to Raducanu for winning her first Grand Slam singles (and WTA) title. We share our thoughts on what was one of the most memorable US Open Women’s finals in recent years. 

Common scenario: your know your doubles partner has a weak serve, but you play up at the net anyway; your partner serves up a lollipop 2nd serve; the opponent blisters the return directly at you and hits you with the ball; “pleasantries” are exchanged between you and the opponent. So, what about it? We share our thoughts and insights on this popular topic. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section. Tags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, focus, instruction, tip, serve, return, defend, net, baseline, court, position, double, Nadal, Kyrgios, ATP, Acapulco

Welcome to another segment of “Match Points” where we answer questions from our listeners! In this episode — Match Points segment #24, we share our insights on: (1) whether Djokovic needs to win the calendar Grand Slam to be considered the GOAT; and (2) what is the most important criteria in the GOAT discussion. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section. Tags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, focus, instruction, tip, mindset, GOAT, Djokovic, Federer, Nadal, Sampras, grand, slam, major, French, Masters, golf, Tiger, Nicklaus 

Welcome to our 2021 Wimbledon preview! No Osaka, Halep, Nadal or Thiem. More updates to the Grand Slam record books? Will this be #24 for Serena? Will this be #20 for Djokovic? Who are the potential spoilers? We share our thoughts and insights on the year’s third major. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.     Tags: tennis, rock and rally, podcast, instruction, tip, ball, forehand, backhand, serve, volley, Australian, U.S., Open, French, Swiatek, Barty, Osaka, Halep, Serena, Svitolina, Andreescu, Pliskova, Gauff, Krejcikova, Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Thiem, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Rublev, Berrettini, Shapovalov, Auger-Aliassime, Karatsev, Sinner, Opelka, Isner, Fritz, Kyrgios, Korda, Musetti, Querrey, champion, slam, major, clay, grass.

Welcome to another segment of “Just One Tweak”, where I share my thoughts regarding a tweak or refinement I would make to a particular player’s game if I were part of that player’s coaching team. This is “Just One Tweak – Segment #2: Felix Auger-Aliassime”.  Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section. Tags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, tweak, instruction, tip, tension, challenge, forehand, ball, strike, slam, major, French, Wimbledon, U.S., ATP, Felix, Auger-Aliassime, Thiem, DeMinaur, Nishioka, Schwartzman, Federer, Nadal, Paribas, Cologne, Drummondville

This is our 200th podcast! Thank you to our fans! We are deeply humbled by your unwavering support of the Rock & Rally Tennis Podcast since our first podcast in 2016! We look forward to the next 200 podcasts!    Congratulations to the 2021 French Open singles champions, Barbora Krejcikova and Novak Djokovic! Lots of interesting storylines from this year’s French Open! We share our thoughts and insights on the year’s second major. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.     Tags: tennis, rock and rally, podcast, instruction, ball, slam, major, clay, grass, French, Australian, U.S., Open, Wimbledon, Krejcikova, Pavlyuchenkova, Swiatek, Kenin, Barty, Stephens, Andreescu, Ostapenko, Wozniaki, Halep, Serena, Siniakova, Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Tsitsipas, GOAT   

Welcome to our 2021 French Open preview! Lots of great players and intriguing storylines; one of which is whether anyone stop Nadal from winning his 14th French Open title; 21st overall Grand Slam singles title to edge ahead of Federer in the record books? We share our thoughts and insights on the year’s second major. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.     Tags:Welcome to our 2021 French Open preview! Lots of great players and intriguing storylines; one of which is whether anyone stop Nadal from winning his 14th French Open title; 21st overall Grand Slam singles title to edge ahead of Federer in the record books? We share our thoughts and insights on the year’s second major. 

The common misconception of aggressive or “offensive tennis” is that it’s only about hitting clean winners or pummeling the ball from all parts of the court. Offensive tennis is so much more than that. We share our thoughts and insights on this popular topic. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section. Tags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, instruction, tip, mindset, forehand, backhand, offense, defense, lob, serve, approach, error, winner, control, pressure, uncomfortable

Tells are prevalent in virtually all sports. The ability to identify a player’s tells is a skill that every player should work on and try to develop, particularly in this day and age when camera phones are everywhere. We share our thoughts and insights on this popular topic. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section. Tags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, instruction, tip, mindset, forehand, backhand, tell, baseball, pitcher, mechanics, serve, toss, crosscourt, club, footwork, baseline, approach, volley, Mets

Is it considered poor form or a “cheap tactic” to use an underhand serve or drop shot? We share our thoughts and insights on this popular topic. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.\r\n\nTags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, instruction, tip, mindset, baseline, serve, return, drop, underhand, sportsmanship, winIs it considered poor form or a “cheap tactic” to use an underhand serve or drop shot? We share our thoughts and insights on this popular topic. \r\n\n

Mindset can impact your game well beyond the mental aspects. Mindset can also influence the physical aspects of your game, in particular, stroke technique or mechanics. We share our thoughts and insights on this popular topic. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.\r\n\nTags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, tweak, instruction, tip, mindset, mechanics, technique, offense, defense, footwork, preparation, neutral, volley, stroke, baseline\r\n\n

Welcome to our new podcast segment called, “Just One Tweak”, which is a fantasy coaching type of segment. We kick off this new podcast segment discussing Serena and the one tweak I believe would be an effective addition to her game at this stage of her career. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.\r\n\nTags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, tweak, instruction, tip, Serena, slice, mindset, forehand, backhand, ball, strike, slam, major, Australian, French, Wimbledon, U.S., Open \r\n\n

Welcome to another segment of “Match Points” where we answer questions from our listeners! In this episode — Match Points segment #23, we share our insights on: (1) the single most important component to good ball striking; and (2) how to deal with opposing players who crowd the “T” when you are serving. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.\r\n\nTags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, career, match, court, point, question, focus, instruction, tip, mindset, forehand, backhand, stable, balance, ball, strike, T, serve, volley, net, gamesmanship, sportsmanship\r\n\n

Employ “The 3-6-9” — a simple and effective tool — to assess how well (or not!) your opponent handles short balls. We share our thoughts and insights on this popular topic. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.     Tags: tennis, court, rock, rally, podcast, instruction, tip, mobility, 369, short, long, power, baseline, offense, defense, volley, forehand, backhand, volley, net, serve, return

As players, we have all heard the sound advice to “keep the ball deep”. Well, here’s to hitting it short… intentionally! We share our thoughts and insights on this non-traditional, but effective tactic. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.     Tags: tennis, rock, rally, podcast, instruction, tip, 2020, 2021, ball, tactic, drop, offense, defense, slice, backhand, U.S., Open, short, Federer, Shapovalov, Carreno, Busta

Congratulations to the 2020 French Open singles champions, Iga Swiatek and Rafael Nadal! We share our thoughts and insights on the final major of this most unusual 2020. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.     Tags: tennis, rock and rally, podcast, instruction, 2020, ball, Australian, U.S., Open, French Swiatek, Kenin, Barty, Halep, Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Schwartzmann, champion, slam, major, coronavirus, pandemic, clay, tactic, versatility

It’s time for the 2020 French Open! Who are our top picks to win at Roland Garros in this most unusual year? Will the fall weather and playing conditions be an important factor to consider? We share our thoughts and insights on the final major of 2020. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.     Tags: tennis, rock and rally, podcast, instruction, 2020, ball, Australian, U.S., Open, French Barty, Osaka, Halep, Serena, Svitolina, Andreescu, Bencic, Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Thiem, Raonic, Laver, champion, slam, major, coronavirus, pandemic, clay.

Congratulations to the 2020 U.S. Open champions — Naomi Osaka; and Dominic Thiem!  We share our takeaways from this atypical U.S. Open, along with thoughts on the champions, Djokovic and others. Share with us your thoughts below in the comments section.     Tags: tennis, rock and rally, podcast, instruction, career, 2020, French, U.S., Open, Osaka, Azarenka, Serena, Sabalenka, Mertens, Thiem, Zverev, Carreno Busta, Federer, Nadal, analyst, commentator, serve, fault, champion, slam, major, defense, offense, default, umpire, judge, clay