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Marcos Baghdatis became a household name and a youtube favorite, with his destruction of tennis rackets at the Australian Open. Don't remember, here it is

Baghdatis breaking rackets on australianopen.tv

I am sure Baghdatis would rather be remembered for his brilliant play that got him to an Aussie Open Final, but there is no doubt in this social media bonanza world we live in that his racket breaking brought him more attention.

While Marcos sets the record to my knowledge for the number of rackets broken in one match, all at one time, sometimes the type of break is even more impressive. This is a real man's racket breaking:

I will leave the perpetrator unnamed, but let's just say he "went all in"! Racket breaking can happen even to the best, most calm players. Remember Roger Federer's breaker at Miami in 2009?

Roger breaks a racket, for real



If you know me, you know that I don't support racket breaking, especially of those new, real expensive rackets with outer space technology in them. And, sometimes I think we misplace the blame. Was it really the racket's fault? Next time maybe hit yourself... oh wait Mikhail Youzhny attempted that and it ended badly.

Youzhny bloodies his head

So, you shouldn't break your racket, and probably should avoid beating on yourself. What can you do?

You can try a less exaggerated behavior like tapping your racket lightly with your knuckles. Of course I have heard that it can go from a love tap to full-out punching of the strings as the match continues to frustrate the player.Ultimately you have to deal with the negative thoughts, and angry, frustrated feelings that cause you to go off.

I find you need to make a pact with yourself. I won't do this anymore. Have a replacement response such as two hands on the racket and eyes on the strings. Replace the old, angry thoughts that led to the racket throwing with something positive or productive. And, get yourself back to thinking of solutions instead of emotions. Refocus on the match.

How do I know this? I not only have helped players to stop throwing rackets, but also stopped myself.

So you want to play tennis with your child but you don't want to be a pushy parent? Or your child does not want to turn it into a lesson? Joe Dinoffer provides some great information about how to play tennis with a beginning child in a fun way.

Joe Dinoffer Playing Tennis with your Beginning Child

I really enjoyed the creative ideas Joe gives for engaging your beginning tennis player in a fun learning environment. You do not have to be a taskmaster for your child to learn on the court!