Category: Tournament Prep

“When should we start tournaments?” It’s the question every tennis parent asks, and the honest answer is: earlier than you think, smaller than you think, and with lower stakes than you think. Tournaments aren’t the reward for getting good. They’re how kids get good — the testing ground where practice turns into match toughness. But…

Our first tournament, I forgot the sunscreen, brought one banana for a six-hour day, and didn’t know the check-in closed 30 minutes before the first match. We’ve been the unprepared family. This checklist exists so you don’t have to be. Print it. Laminate it. Keep it in the tennis bag. The bag: what to pack…

Watch any junior tournament and you’ll see two kinds of warm-ups. The first: kid arrives five minutes before the match, hits six forehands, two backhands, three serves, says “I’m good.” The second: a real routine — movement, progression, serves last — and a kid who walks onto the court already warm, grooved, and calm. The…

Most tennis parents get tournament week backwards. Monday through Thursday, the kid barely practices — homework, life, whatever. Then Friday night panic sets in, and suddenly it’s a two-hour “cram session” the day before the draw. That’s the single worst way to prepare for a tournament, and it’s incredibly common. Here’s the truth: you can’t…