Top Tennis Webpage ...

[tenniscoach1]

Got an email from these guys today ... thoughts? They seem to have a lot of top 50 players/coaches in the world on this offering advice - I don't have all day to type but I see Everett, Navraolova , William's sisters, Brad Gilbert, Zverdev, Felix, Bianca, Rubiev, Davenport, Graf, Agassi, Bolletierri etc etc ...

PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

TopCourt is thrilled to announce it's now the official tennis e-learning platform of both the ATP and WTA Tours. A pioneer in the sport, TopCourt is dedicated to bringing the knowledge, insights, and deeply inspirational stories directly from professional players and coaches, to the everyday tennis athlete and fan. Through the partnership, content from various TopCourt players will be featured on the ATP and WTA’s digital platforms, highlighting TopCourt ambassadors on the tours’ rankings pages. Designated via the signature gold court icon, fans will have access to new releases, exclusive trailers, and extended player profiles, linking them back to the TopCourt platform.

Unlock TopCourt exclusive content through the WTA and ATP website and app on the rankings and player pages.

[johnyandell]

Yeah I have seen it. Footage of many top players. NO high speed shuttered video. "Instruction" quality varies quite a bit.

[tenniscoach1]

Yeah I have seen it. Footage of many top players. NO high speed shuttered video. "Instruction" quality varies quite a bit.

Forgive me if I am misinterpreting - what do you mean by "instruction" - you think it is poor? I am curious - list me some examples of what you disagree with?

[doctorhl]

Yeah I have seen it. Footage of many top players. NO high speed shuttered video. "Instruction" quality varies quite a bit.

Top Court has a great showcasing of personal interest stories and high quality cinematic production. This is a good marketing tool, but not as a serious coaching/ teaching portal. Instruction depth is limited. Instruction by players usually lacks depth and understanding because they are performers, not analyzers and teachers. Most really talented performers don’t have the experience nor waste energy with understanding the whys and hows of technique, psychology, and knowledge/feedback transmission, etc...........they just perform. Perhaps pro player presented instruction is the vehicle this platform is using to generate increased interest for the average viewer as they stated and was not meant to compete with the depth of a site like this one. The goals of an instruction driven platform and a marketed driven platform are just too different for comparison.

[johnyandell]

I researched it. It's some former college players. Raised $1.5 million! Will be interested to see how they do now affiliated with both WTA and ATP!

[jeffreycounts]

“Most really talented performers don’t have the experience nor waste energy with understanding the whys and hows of technique, psychology, and knowledge/feedback transmission, etc...........they just perform.

That is the glaring (and unfortunate) problem with their model. Highly skilled athletes are, ironically, the worst source of insight into tennis technique. Why? Because their technique is embedded in what’s called “procedural memory”. Also called “muscle memory”, this type of memory is unconscious and automatic. The ability to article something lies in what's called "declarative memory", and that type of memory would actually impair a player's performance. When I was playing juniors I had a coach who said he had a trick he pulled on opponents. He would quickly figure out their best shot, and then at a changeover, would say "You have a really great forehand (or whatever). How do you do that. Once they started thinking about it, it would ruin them. And he'd get a nice easy win. That was my first introduction to these two types of memory systems.

i saw a clip of Taylor Fritz on the TopCourt site giving advice on the forehand. He said you need to “stay down” through the shot. Then they show him hitting some forehands in slow motion and on contact both his feet are about a foot off the ground. I left a comment and said it wasn’t helpful when a players advice directly contradicted what they were doing.

in another example, I saw Rublev talking about his forehand. When he was asked how he hit, he almost turned red and mumbled that he really had no idea. It was uncomfortable to watch.

I read a lot of comments about the site, and the common refrain was “this doesn’t give me specifics on how to hit the ball”. Blame procedural memory for what I see as a $1.5 million dollar mistake. On a positive note the videos are beautifully shot. And it’s kind of fun thinking Genie Bouchard is your coach. Other than that, it's just a pretty package with great intentions.

[tenniscoach1]

I researched it. It's some former college players. Raised $1.5 million! Will be interested to see how they do now affiliated with both WTA and ATP!

They will make tens of millions - and, they will get access to everything and everyone in the world of tennis/business/arts/movies which is likely their goal. If you are young and ambitious you do projects like this to help your businesses, affiliates make money and get your selfies with Roger, Genie and cross marketing and look cool and popular. This is a chump change project for them - if I was these kids I would throw 5/10 million more investment into it - they probably will go for many more cash calls - the companies net worth has probably gone through the roof with the tennis bodies endorsements anyways LOL. The coding, SEO, management, content and business theory behind what they are doing is 11/10 - it's some rocket scientists making that platform. So, in time with the cash/connections/affiliations they will more than break even - personally I would make this tennis company if I was them into a fucking money pit of crazy expenses and write-offs to achieve objectives in other non tennis spheres - I am sure they are bright kids and don't need to be told this basic business 101 ... access is power.