So where does Venus go from here? Her future definitely seems in doubt. At age 31 time is no longer on her side as it has been in past years. Many are left wondering whether or not the phenom will ever be a major factor in the world of women’s tennis again.

Venus Williams released this statement:

“I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw from this year’s U.S. Open. I have recently been diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease which is an ongoing medical condition that affects my energy level and causes fatigue and joint pain.”

The syndrome destroys the glands that produce tears and saliva and can affect the kidneys, lungs and blood vessels. The body mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. Complications – although rare, can include kidney failure, lymphoma and pulmonary infection. Of the 4 million Americans who are afflicted with the condition, nine out of 10 are women.

This is a sad day for the world of tennis. One of the best players to ever grace the court may not be able to go out on her terms. This has to be hard. Hopefully she still has some tennis ahead of her, but right now it does not look good for Williams.

Shrieking and yelling at the top of her lungs, Sharapova came back from a set and a break down against 19-year-old Heather Watson of Great Britain to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 Monday. That improved her to 12-0 this year in matches that went the distance. And this one definitely went the distance.

“It’s just a matter of belief within myself, that no matter how well or bad or good I’m playing, or my opponent is playing, I know I can tough it out.” Those were Sharapova’s words after her comeback victory that lasted 2 1/2-hours. “No matter what the situation is, I have the belief.” Apparently, her words rang true. She is still trying to claw her way back to the top ranking.

These stem from what both my girlfriend and her father have said so they should be able to help you also. As I have mentioned before, she played Big Ten Tennis and her father is a teaching pro as well as a lifelong player.

1. Move around the ball

The number one thing besides moving your feet is how you move them to the ball. For me my backhand is to the left, therefore as I shuffle my feet to get to the ball I must remember not to make a straight line towards the ball. Instead move towards the ball in a counter-clockwise circle meeting the ball between 11 o’clock and 1 o’clock.

What I say specifically while hitting balls being repetitively fed to me is “shuffle left, shuffle left” then when the ball begins to clear the net I shuffle slightly right and forward on an angle saying “circle, circle.” Your teacher should be able to demonstrate this for you but if you are without teacher watch some of the pros. They are constantly circling towards the ball.

2. Pull back as you circle

Right when you begin moving to your backhand side you should be pulling the racket back. Even if you are using a one-handed backhand you may be able, depending on the incoming shot, to use both hands. Always remember this, and you can add it to the first tip by saying, “shuffle, racket back, shuffle.” This will help you get the racket back before you begin your circle towards the ball.

3. Don’t drop your racket

One thing that I have a lot of trouble with is dropping the racket. What I mean by this is that my wrist points the racket towards the ground limply rather than keeping it firm, wrist cocked, and racket handle parallel to the ground. Dropping my racket helps the ball gain air but most of the time too much air sending it sailing over the back stop. To remember this tip as you take your racket back say to yourself racket up thus adding, “shuffle, racket back, racket cocked, shuffle.” Now you must remember to keep your wrist cocked and racket up at all times.

4. Bend your knees

If you want to get some spin on the ball you are going to have to bend you knees. As you shuffle your feet in the circle towards the ball just think about exploding up through the ball. To do that you are going to have to bend your knees and gain power from your legs. If you are a tall player this step is essential as you will not be able to keep your racket cocked as well as hitting from down to up. There will be no power.

Just add, “shuffle, racket back, racket cocked, shuffle, circle, bend.”

Almost there.

5. Racket tip up and through

In order to get spin on the ball and not launch the ball over the back stop you are going to need to accelerate your racket through the ball towards the net while brushing up against the side of the ball. To do this, remember your bent knees and cocked racket, begin your swing towards the ball, right when you make contact with the ball start the extension of your legs from the bent position. Now pretend there is a string at the end of your racket on the top side pulling up and across your body. Make your arm follow this same path creating spin on the tennis ball and hopefully landing it in play on your opponents side of the court.

Finally add, “shuffle, racket back, racket cocked, shuffle, circle, bend, through-up-across.”

There are five steps that should help you on your way to a better more controlled backhand. If you are having trouble with just one step you can always just say that portion of it. I find it best to repeat these sayings while hitting against a backstop board or while getting tennis balls fed to me. Just remember to circle your feet and keep your racket on that same cocked back through and across motion and you’ll be hitting better shots in no time.

This may seem easy enough but you must remember the ball is moving towards you and can spin in all directions after the bounce. This is why it is critical to move your feet. Being able to shuffle and explode from side to side will allow your body to setup earlier giving your swing more time to go through the proper motion of hitting a tennis ball.

Athletic Stance

First you must get in a proper athletic stance. Begin by placing your hands on your hips. Next stand with your feet about an inch or two wider than shoulder width apart keeping your back perfectly straight vertically. Bend at your knees just until you feel a strain on your thighs all the while keeping you back and upper body straight. The angle that your legs make should be between 120 and 140 degrees. Now taking your hands off your hips move them straight out to your sides with a slight bend at the elbow. Finally bend your torso forward at the waist about 15 degrees off vertical. Make sure to keep your head up. This will keep the upper portion of your body vertical.

You should now be in the proper athletic stance. Your legs and lower back should feel strained after a few seconds if you don’t regularly get into an athletic stance. Keep practicing and try holding it longer and longer. You can do this while watching television at night.

Shuffle Your Feet

If you’ve played basketball with a team there’s a good chance your coach has had you shuffle your feet from side to side. It helps build endurance and strength so you can play defense late in the game. If you haven’t, don’t worry, it’s easy and quick to learn.

First assume the athletic stance we just got done working on. For starters lets just keep our hands out to the side, later on we’ll pick up the racket. Next take your right foot and place it about 2 inches away from your left, directly next to it. Then take your left foot and move it left so your feet are just outside shoulder width apart again. Repeat these steps moving farther and farther left. Speed up. Don’t cross over. Now switch directions and shuffle to your right.

There you have it. Just make sure to keep in an athletic position while you shuffle and don’t cross your feet. After going from side to side for a little while your thighs should start to burn.

Drills on the Court

You don’t really need a tennis court to do these drills but being there might help you get a feel for the court size.

First start out at letter A, the center of the service line. Assume the athletic stance that we worked on above. Now make your body angle towards B by pointing your left shoulder in that direction. You should be facing the direction of C. Next shuffle your feet to point B. You don’t have to shuffle your feet quickly at first but I find the faster I go the less stress I feel on my joints. I suggest a medium pace for beginners.

Once you reach B stop, then shuffle back to A along the same line with your body facing the same direction and your right shoulder pointing towards A. Upon reaching A rotate your body so your right shoulder is now pointing towards C. Holding your athletic stance begin to shuffle your feet towards C. Once you reach point C stop, then shuffle back to A on that same line with your left shoulder still pointing towards A.

When you have reached A you have completed one full repetition. You can start out by doing 2 sets of 10 full repetitions and then gradually build up your endurance from their. This is also where you want to hold your racket since you probably won’t be shuffling during a match without it.

Sometimes I like to turn my body once I reach one of the three stopping points to simulate getting my body in the correct position to hit the tennis ball. Both forehand and backhand.

The following are also some combinations that I like to try. Feel free to mix them up and to shuffle to other points on the court. This should just give you a start on how to build endurance on the tennis court.

A-B-C-A
A-B-C-B-C-A
A-B-A repeats
B-C-B repeats

“I love playing Fed Cup,” said Serena Williams. “I like playing for your country. You’re playing in a team environment. It presents something different for us and that’s really cool.”

The US team includes Venus and Serena Williams as well as doubles pro Lisa Raymond and rising star Vania King. The Belgian team is Kirsten Flipkens, Caroline Maes, Yanina Wickmayer, and Tamaryn Hendler. Hopefully America can exact revenge on Belgium for beating us in last year’s Fed Cup semifinals. The winners of the semifinal round will face either Russia or Spain in the next round this July.

Mining the Archives develops three primary themes from its archives in this exhibit:

The Newport Casino Theatre (1881 – 1959)
Discoveries from the archives that span 75 years of performances including diaries, scrapbooks, programs, and announcements.

The American Tennis Association: The Early Years
Highlighting the achievements of the pioneers that established the American Tennis Association to give all tennis players an opportunity to compete nationally regardless of race.

Discovering Helen Hull Jacobs
Helen Hull Jacobs is known as a 1930s tennis star, but her achievements off the courts were special too. Learn about her unique life through her personal artifacts, photos, clippings, and correspondence.

Mining the Archives is made possible by a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH), an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. For information call 401-849-3990 or visit the Hall of Fame’s official web site at tennisfame.com.

These bodybuilding forums have many posts and threads on various supplements and ways to treat repetitive stress injuries. These supplements includes various products for sports related injuries. An article posted at this web site indicates how shoulder problems and joint problems occur and some methods and supplements to correct these problems.

We’d like to thank IronMass for pointing out some great forums and threads to help our tennis readers deal with injuries as well as helping to support our blog. We found tons more sports related threads there.

“Vania is a hard-working, young competitor with a lot of heart and Lisa gives us strength in doubles,” said Garrison. “With both Venus and Serena Williams and a home crowd, we look forward to a competitive and, hopefully, a successful match for the US.”

Tickets for this two-day, best-of-five-match series are on sale now, call 888-334-USTA (8782). Tickets are sold as a two-day series or as individual events; prices range from $25 to $225. The Tennis Channel will show live coverage every day at 2:30 p.m. ET.