American Tournament Swings Into Action.
Local tennis coach Dan Travis brings new and dynamic ideas to Preston Park Courts.
Preston Park is a pinnacle of our community: but you’d be shocked to know just how little people know about the sensational tennis activities just a step away.
Dan Travis, the Director of the Preston Park Tennis Courts, has taken the time to tell me all about the initiatives, tournaments, and how to excel in a match.
To begin with, I asked Dan what is the American Tournament at Preston Park?
“The American Tournament is a type of competition that has 20-minute rounds. You play doubles, with the same partner, then you give your score in and whoever has won moves up a court.
If you lose, you stay on the same court. The idea is with each round you're playing with someone different.”
And how long has it been running for?
“The tournament has been running since September 2023, but the idea of it has been going since the early 1980's at Preston Lawn Tennis Club.”
This seems like an ideal opportunity for local tennis enthusiasts.
After all, as Dan recounts, anyone can play in the tournament, it is ‘open to every level’.
“Although it tends not to be the top players, the best junior players participate. It's also mixed, so girls and boys get to compete alongside each other.”
How does it benefit tennis players?
“It benefits them as they gain confidence in playing matches, because most players don’t have a lot of match experience.
For example, if there is someone near beginner standard or new to the game. It is also a fantastic workout where players can test their capabilities on the tennis court.”
Next, I inquired about Dan’s research into match strategy in his book, The Art of Winning Tennis.
“The research into match excellence that we’ve done has been tried before, but we felt that people hadn’t got the real idea of what it’s like to win a match, and what they can do on a practice court to improve.
People weren’t asking in enough depth how they can identify the areas they need to work on. We found by studying data, there were lots of things that other people had missed before.
For instance, players tended to focus on the wrong things, such as a faster serve. What matters is hitting the first 2 shots into the court- so you have a 2 shot plan.”
All of these developments in coaching, styles of play, and an exciting new installation of floodlights for evening tennis, make Preston Park a game, set, and match for tennis fans.
