Santa Shumilina: a rising star

Santa Shunilina: a rising star

 

Last week I was very fortunate to have a few training sessions with 15 year old Santa Shumilina from Russia.

The fresh under 16’s champion of Russia was in Mauritius on holidays but she still came out and had a few practice sessions with me.

 

Santa has very good hands combined with simple and efficient technique. We had some beautiful rallies with over 50 hits at maximum speed.

She has the precious ability to take the ball early combined with a great physical resistance that enables her to be very consistent.

She also had a very sound technique on the volleys.

This girl has got a lot of qualities and she is on her way up to the top of the WTA rankings. She has one big thing to work on in order to get there fast: her serve.

As we saw with Maria Sharapova in Australia, a good serve makes a huge difference in big matches. Santa is tall, talented, intelligent and hard working. There is no reason why she cannot transform her serve into a weapon

The main problem she has on her serve is that she is trying to force it instead of focusing on rhythm and flexibility.

On her serves she has to check two things: her wrist has to be loose and her body has to be nicely balanced on her left foot.

 

As you can see on the picture of Tim Henman’s serve, Santa has to learn to snap her wrist. A loose wrist and good balance on the serve gives precision, speed, spin and power.

 

I would advise Santa to go out to the practice courts and hit a lot of serves thinking about being relaxed and focusing on precision. In a year from now, she should be able to hit topspin, slice and flat serves with the same ball toss so that the opponent cannot guess what is coming at her. This will help her win a lot of free points which is extremely precious when you are on your way up and facing new situations.

 

Good luck to you Santa!!

 

Santa Shumilina: a rising star

 

 

 

Kamil Patel

Managing Director

 

Kamil Sports Management Ltd.

Tel: +230 7289343

www.advantage.mu

 

Always stay positive

Always stay positive

 

Like Mickael LLodra that has just won the Adelaide Open this afternoon, you must always stay positive.

Mickael Llodra decided a bit more than a year ago that he would concentrate more on singles than doubles. Mickael Llodra is a great doubles player and with Fabrice Santoro he won his first grand slams.

Unfortunately, the 2007 season didn’t turn out as he had wished and he finished the year with only 13 wins.

But where Mickael has been great is that he has stayed positive all the way through, sticking to his training routine and discipline of a top athlete. He has managed to conquer his nerves in Adelaide and he is finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

In pursuing your tennis career always remember to stick to hard work, a healthy life style and a positive attitude. It will always pay off!!!

 

A lot of my clients at the sugar beach resort and la pirogue hotel can relate to that. They come to Mauritius to find peace, play tennis, live a healthy life in order to “feel new” again when they go back to their normal lives.

 

To find out more on how you can benefit from the healthy life style in Mauritius click on www.advantage.mu

 

Always stay positive