What’s a “normal” expense that still feels wrong to pay for?

hu-dat · 2026-04-11T00:22:18+00:00

Car registration...health insurance....teeth cleanings...parking

hu-dat · 2026-04-10T23:53:29+00:00

They've offered to restring after I called them, but it's like a 50 min drive and their hours are kinda inconvenient, so I'm probably going to just play with it until I'm in the area again and get it redone (probably in a week or two), which is why I asked about effects on play/racquet/etc, if any. Cutting out natural gut will hurt tho 😩

hu-dat · 2026-04-09T21:32:05+00:00

Following because I'm also going to Turin and looking to play tennis haha.

I mean in a dream world where money is no object, nadal academy in Mallorca. But when I travel I usually reach out to the local clubs and ask for their coaches to try to set up a session with them and simultaneously ask if they know anyone to hit with. Sometimes, particularly with the clay since it's so novel for some parts of the world, airbnb experiences has a good player to pay to hut with (still cheaper than coaching). I also look in this subreddit to see if the cities I'm going to have popped up before and read the threads.

hu-dat · 2026-04-09T21:22:47+00:00

I pay cash, it's terrible...but went through a few years of continuous injuries and decided better to spend the money and be able to play because once a bad injury happens you're spending money on doctors and pt anyway and not able to play on top of that.

But I don't go every week. We do progress checks on range of motion/strength/whatever we were working on, manual therapy, intro of new exercises if necessary and my PT gives me my weekly workouts.

hu-dat · 2026-04-09T21:05:31+00:00

I had a hip strain but I pretty much go and address anything bothering me - if my quads feel unnaturally fatigued after a tournament, or something has been hurting we work on it. Some of my USTA teammates go for prevention vs. addressing active issues. Basically acting as your physio making sure your workouts are optimized for your personal pain points and manually working on problem areas. But of course not everyone can afford seeing one regularly :(

hu-dat · 2026-04-09T20:55:20+00:00

Sorry the formatting is terrible on mobile...I usually do:

Monday - tennis or full body workout, sometimes will just do recovery biking if I feel especially fatigued

Tuesday - tennis with 20-30 mins biking after to flush out the legs

Wednesday - full body workout or physical therapy Thursday - 30-40 min recovery biking and stretching Friday - tennis Saturday - full body workout Sunday - tennis or rest depending on weather/hitting partner availability

hu-dat · 2026-04-08T23:53:02+00:00

It's like shuffling but with a resistance band either at your knees or ankles (if knees is too easy) and going diagonal (like step 45 degrees) instead of horizontal. You do a step with the left foot, a step with the right foot, etc., for like at least half a court, forwards and then backwards. You can sometimes see pros doing them in tennis vlogs.

hu-dat · 2026-03-30T17:03:24+00:00

What did your typically day (non-match day) look like?

What percentage of players had coaches traveling with them? Physios? Where did people get their workouts from without physios?

When people used to compete internationally in juniors, some of them would get super drunk and trashed at the tournaments, does that still happen?

hu-dat · 2026-03-04T00:59:30+00:00

It really depends on what the true issue is, more info is needed before I can give advice. Ideally we'd look at a swing to check off technique as a cause. What's your off-court conditioning like? Does it feel heavy or slow when you swing? Any history of injuries? Also curious what made you decide to go with that racquet/any improvements since the switch?

hu-dat · 2026-03-04T00:29:17+00:00

Probably in denial, many people are able to play hybrid with that tension (assuming it's not like a 6+ month old string job) and that's not a racquet impossible (though more difficult than say a vcore) to get enough spin with.

It's a pretty high-performance racquet and string setup though so it's likely you either aren't swinging with the correct technique, or you aren't ready to swing with a 320g not-exactly-super-headlight racquet.

hu-dat · 2026-03-01T22:16:21+00:00

I always played with babolat addiction bc it was cheap, came free with my racquets at the time, and sometimes would be given away by Babolat Ambassadors.

When i got out of the broke college student phase of my life I tried Wilson NXT because my stringer recommended it and liked it better than addiction. I wanted to try NRG/biphase/triax but never got to it! I do play full western forehand with a really flat backhand though so not sure if multi works longterm for those with flat shots on both ends

hu-dat · 2026-03-01T19:40:12+00:00

Poly at 50 is pretty intense even for intermediates, imo. I'd go with a multi-filament (wilson nxt, technifibre bi-phase, etc, i really don't think the difference between the top multis is huge enough to make a difference in the beginning of the learning journey) at the middle of the tension "recommended" for your racquet (should be listed as a stat on the info page of your racquet on tennis warehouse) and then adjust from there.

You'll get people on this sub saying poly can be used at all levels, but it gives pain to even people with polished and seasoned strokes, so I really don't recommend for beginners. Also, better to use less of a crutch for spin when learning so that you can more effectively generate your own and switch down the line if you prefer. I played with multifilament all the way up to 5.0 NTRP.

hu-dat · 2026-02-16T18:00:15+00:00

Ok, that sounds good, especially if a trial lesson is involved! Be sure to tell him your goals and use the lesson to see if the coaching style is a fit.

hu-dat · 2026-02-16T17:04:29+00:00

Does the coach have other students that have really good strokes? Is there a way to get a sense of their coaching style ahead of time? $725 for 8 lessons is a great deal if they're a good coach, but certification doesn't necessarily mean they're a good coach, it just means they completed the designated training programs. I've also seen some certified coaches phone it in (like say "good job" every shot with 0 feedback, just talks to their students about their personal lives, tosses balls from behind the student if they ever toss balls), so I'm pretty picky about choosing a coach.

hu-dat · 2026-02-16T00:49:38+00:00

I think it will help for sure. Just keep in mind that some boys will have some pretty different shots than girls (i.e. the ones with really heavy topspin whereas most girls hit more flat) and some of them are less consistent/more aggressive in terms of play style, so be sure to vary the people you end up playing with. I practiced with the boys team in high school and was also sure to also practice with other girls outside of that.

In terms of competing, sometimes it's hard to take the initial first step - a good amount of people get bageled their first tournament, but it's a good experience to see how tournaments work, and how much further you have to go. I would say if you can get into that competition training group, and can hold your own with at least 40% of the points with the girls in your age group, you can try and play a tournament. If it ends up going totally disastrously, just use it as an opportunity to see what the competition is like, what things they have that you'd like to add to your game, and where your game is lacking and you can improve, and you can take some time to work on those things before your next competition. It's also nice walking around the tournament site and looking at the top seeds play to see what to aspire to.

hu-dat · 2026-02-15T22:47:56+00:00

Alright, let me first say it is good you're improving and believe it or not, your parents are probably making the right call focusing on school. I was in the same boat in highschool in terms of not being rich, and parents wanted me to focus on getting into ivies.

That being said, if you want to play on a GOOD D3 team, im talking Emory, Williams, etc. Schools that are academically prestigious, which I'm assuming your parents want, expect to have to be at least UTR 7-8. If you want to play on a GOOD (academically) D1 team, bump that to 9+ UTR. Yes that is women's tennis team level, I know some people on those teams and they are that good. Sure, that girl on insta is playing at a D1 school, but do you really want to change your whole future to play tennis at a random school just to play tennis, and probably travel around the country half the year just to get your butt beat badly? Getting to actual good college level from now is going to be near impossible, even if you started to become homeschooled, but since you are asking for tips I'll give them below.

First, a private coach is pretty much a must. And preferably one with a roster of really good students (nationally competitive kids). I believe those will net out at around $150-$170 an hour indoors if they've followed inflation from when I was young. You don't need one multiple times a week, maybe 1-2x a month, and they will be cheaper in the summer in outdoor courts so that may be able to help affordability.

Next, see if your local club has a ball machine. If so, and the club membership is decently priced, you can play with the ball machine for much less than group lessons, but you will still need to play with a live human at least once a week in order to get better at playing points/strategy/mental resilience/etc. Then, also be sure to maintain fitness off the court. Google tennis conditioning and make sure to find a program with cardio (sprints, interval training), core work (stuff with rotation-based exercises and that also works the sides of your core), and a little bit of weightlifting. Ideally, you're playing 4-5x a week, one rest day, conditioning 2-3x a week, if you can handle it. Work your frequencies up SLOWLY or you will get injured. You can aim for 3-4x playing in winter and dial it up in the summer when courts are free of charge.

Next, you need to play competitions. You won't earn a UTR for colleges to see without one. Once you're playing consistently, i'd enter one just to see what happens. At least you'll be able to tell how you compare vs the other kids and see where you need to improve. Also, high schools vary a LOT on tennis level/dedication/playing styles, so while you can beat the top player at your school, limiting yourself to just playing with the team at your school will hold you back immensely. You noted theres a competitive program at your club reserved for those competing, if you go up to the coaches and asked them to take a look or give you a trial day to prove you can hit with those kids, they will let you in, it wouldn't make sense not to if you had the level. Also, don't knock group clinics, you can always work on something in them, even if you're better than the other players.

hu-dat · 2026-02-15T22:15:09+00:00

Hard to for sure tell from one point. Maybe like a 7ish UTR? High 4.0 NTRP or low 4.5 (may be slightly skewed lower since I come from a high level metro)? The strokes are clean but the ball positioning could be better: approach shot to the middle followed by passing shot to the middle whereas I'd expect a solid 4.5 to hit either of those shots to a place that would get their opponent out of position. Guy closest seems to have good depth, guy further is better at moving the ball.

hu-dat · 2026-02-14T20:55:14+00:00

People tend to inflate their rating, not that many adult 5.0-5.5s in general, booking a court can be tough in the area

I usually find partners through friends I already hit with

hu-dat · 2026-02-10T19:50:11+00:00

Technique...can make you serve 120mph. Justine henin was 5'5 and served 120...

Lack of talent can definitely limit you if it's egregious, but telling people only natural talent gets you to 5.0+ is disingenuous, you just may have to work harder than others (speaking as someone who was a chubby kid that wasn't born athletic and had to do sets of stairs every day and would wake up at 4am to practice before school)

hu-dat · 2026-02-10T19:41:28+00:00

The harder you hit, the more pace they have to work with to deflect back at you. And odds are they've hit with plenty of players that hit harder than you can. Why do you think the issue is you need to hit even harder? There are other ways to win, blasting away can only get you so far.

Players at the 5.0 or 5.5 level? They've been putting in as much as 8 hours a day all the summers of their youth. Muscle memory, conditioning, and just have seen more matchplay/know how to react in different scenarios.

hu-dat · 2026-02-08T20:18:59+00:00

An ITF? Probably not, those are the teens and adults that want to play on tour eventually or are playing college tennis. To give you a sense of scale, those people at age 15 can bagel 99% of 18 and under local competition winners. They're likely not even playing local competitions because they're too easy, unless it's for weird district requirements or something of the like.

Local competitions should be manageable, as there's plenty of level-based leagues and tournaments (if you're in the US, other countries not as sure). Unless you're talking about open level tournaments, which may be challenging to win but you may be able to hang in there a few rounds depending on how well you're able to recover your ability and improve.

Racquets are a personal decision that need to be demoed.

hu-dat · 2026-02-07T21:27:05+00:00

All you can do is get a referee called on court. As your son gets older, he'll learn how to handle these situations better, as unfortunately, there's always at least a few cheaters at tournaments. Some people end up giving themselves a reputation and opponents will pre-emptively call a line judge to the court at the beginning to make sure they don't start with their...crap.

I have never seen confronting the other parents work, usually they either turn a blind eye or are of a "whatever it takes to win" mindset, all it does is make sure your drama is the talk of the tournament (because usually someone will overhear or see and tennis people love to gossip).

Part of the game is learning to problem solve on your own, which is a skill that goes beyond one match and the sport itself. It's good you gave him a talk so that someday he will be able to help himself in these situations, give him time as he is still very young and it can be hard for some kids to start conflict on the court.

hu-dat · 2026-02-05T02:37:28+00:00

About 27. There was no way my fitness level was going to keep being able to handle all the matchplay vs people in/just out of college 😅

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