UTR Guide

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  • 5 Grip Mistakes That Quietly Cap a Junior’s Game

    Most junior technique problems aren’t really technique problems — they’re grip problems wearing a disguise. The grip is the only connection between your kid and the racquet, so when it’s wrong, everything downstream compensates: the swing gets loopy, the wrist gets flippy, the elbow starts aching. Here are the five grip mistakes I see most…

  • UTR Impact Calculator: See Exactly How a Match Moves the Rating

    UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) is a 1–16.5 skill scale that measures how good a tennis player is, based on recent match results. If your kid is about to play a match and you’re wondering “how much does their UTR move if they win — or lose?” — that’s exactly the question our free UTR Impact…

  • The Continental Grip: The One Grip Every Junior Must Learn

    Ask a junior what grip they use and you’ll hear about their forehand. Ask what grip they volley with and you’ll often get a blank stare. The continental grip — bevel 2, the humble “handshake” grip — is the most under-practiced and most important grip in junior tennis. Serves, volleys, overheads, slices, drop shots: one…

  • Semi-Western vs Western vs Eastern: Which Forehand Grip Is Right for Your Junior?

    Eastern, semi-western, western — three grips, one bevel apart from each other, and a surprisingly heated debate among tennis parents. Here’s the honest breakdown: what each grip actually does, who it suits, and when (if ever) your kid should switch. The quick answer For most juniors aged 10–16, semi-western is the right default. It’s what…

  • How Who Wins? Works (And When to Trust It)

    The short version: Who Wins? gives you a probability, not a promise. Yesterday we introduced the match predictor; today we’re going under the hood. How to read the forecast, what the confidence number actually means, where the model is strong, where it’s blind — and when to trust it, question it, or ignore it entirely.…

  • Tournament Day Checklist for Juniors: What to Pack, Eat, and Do

    Tournament mornings are stressful enough without forgetting the extra grip tape. Here’s the exact checklist junior players (and their parents) use to walk onto the court prepared — nothing fancy, just what works. The Night Before Check the draw: match time, court location, and check-in time. Screenshot it — don’t rely on venue Wi-Fi. Pack…

  • How to Find Your Kid’s Forehand Grip in 60 Seconds (The Bevel Method)

    You don’t need to be a coach to identify your kid’s forehand grip. You need 60 seconds, a racquet, and one landmark: the index knuckle — the big knuckle at the base of the index finger. Wherever that knuckle sits on the handle’s eight bevels tells you the grip. Here’s exactly how to check. Step…

  • Introducing Who Wins?: Know Before They Play

    The short version: before your kid walks onto court, you can now get an honest read on how the match is likely to go. Our new Who Wins? match predictor takes two players and tells you who the numbers favor — and why. Not gut feel. Not draw-sheet gossip. An actual forecast built from the…

  • Tennis Grips Explained: The Complete Parent’s Guide (Continental to Western)

    If you’ve ever watched your kid pick up a racquet and wondered is that hand even in the right place? — this guide is for you. A tennis grip is simply where the hand sits on the handle, and it quietly decides what shots are easy and what shots are nearly impossible. The good news:…

  • The 48-Hour Recovery Rule

    The short version: after a hard tournament weekend, your kid needs 48 hours before anything resembling real training. Not 48 hours of “taking it easy” while hitting full practice the next morning — 48 hours of genuine recovery. Sleep, food, light movement, and nothing that looks like competition. Junior tennis has a chronic overtraining problem,…