The journal Volume 2026

Every examination we've published.

Newest first. Browse by topic from the navigation, or by category from the footer. Older pieces stay reachable forever — we don't archive away from URLs.

Page 23 of 33

221
Coaching ·6 min · June 2026

College Tennis Coaching: What the Pay and the Calendar Actually Look Like by Division

A friend of ours, a former conference-level singles player with three years as a high-performance junior coach, forwarded us an offer letter last spring.

222
Strategy ·9 min · June 2026

Break Point Definition: Why One Point Carries So Much Weight (And How to Play It)

You are down 30-40 on your own serve. You toss the ball, and somewhere between the toss and the contact a small committee convenes in your head and starts arguing.

223
Scoring ·6 min · June 2026

Deuce Definition: What Advantage Scoring Actually Does to a Tennis Game

You are standing at the back fence watching your first league match. The score reaches what sounds like a tie — both players have won three points — and someone calls out "deuce." A few seconds later…

224
Tennis Shoes ·6 min · June 2026

Clay Court Tennis Shoes vs. Repurposed Hard Court Models: A Side-by-Side Test

If you play on clay more than a handful of times a season, you have probably felt it: the foot that should plant and instead keeps going, the slide that doesn't stop where you asked it to, the moment…

225
Tennis Elbow ·5 min · June 2026

Do Compression Sleeves Actually Help Tennis Elbow? What We Found Testing the Common Advice

Walk into any racquet club with a sore outer elbow and you'll hear the same sentence within five minutes: get a compression sleeve, it'll help.

226
Shoes ·6 min · June 2026

Budget Tennis Shoes vs. Premium: What That $120 Price Gap Actually Buys

There is a number worth staring at before you spend anything: about $120. That is the gap between a competent budget tennis shoe — call it the $60 tier — and a current flagship court shoe at $180.

227
Tennis Balls ·6 min · June 2026

Tennis Ball Colors, Decoded: A Buyer's Guide for Junior Stages and the Bin of Old Balls in Your Garage

The "official" color of a standard tennis ball is not the one most people would name on the spot. The International Tennis Federation calls it yellow.

228
Tennis Terminology ·6 min · June 2026

First-Round Byes in Tennis Terminology: Why Some Players Skip Round One

On a tournament entry sheet, the word bye sits next to a player's name like a small gift. No opponent. No first match. Straight into round two while everyone else sweats through an opener.

229
Racquets ·5 min · June 2026

Balance Point Modification: The Tennis Racquet Customization Tweak That Changes More Than You Think

There is a sentence we hear at the stringing bench at least once a week, usually from a 4.5 who has just bought a balance board off the internet: "head-light is for control, head-heavy is for power…

230
Gear ·11 min · June 2026

Tennis Headbands, Tested: What Actually Absorbs Sweat and Stays Put

Walk into any club on a humid Saturday and you can sort the players by their foreheads. Some are dabbing with a wristband between points; others have a band of fabric across the brow doing the work…