The USTA just announced  former No. 1 Carlos Moya of Spain is withdrawing from the 2009 U.S. Open because of an injury to his foot.

Moya has been out of action for the majority of this tennis year. His ranking recently took a skid, taking him  out of the top 100. I bet that hurt… Ouch!   Also, Kei Nishikori of Japan was atop the alternates list for the previous year, but he won’t participate because of an injury as well.

The two unfortunate injuries mean that Ecuadorian Nicolas Lapentti who holds the world’s 106th spot in the ATP tour will now gain an automatic entry into the tournament’s main draw.

Remember guys, you always want to work on your fitness. Train your body both in and out of the gym. The stronger you are are, the less likely you will be to succomb to an injury.

Being in great shape and being physically fit can do wonders for your mind as well. Why? Becuase you won’t think twice about putting your body out there on the line in stretching for a hard to get drop shot. You can get to your proper setup and recovery position without getting winded or thinking twice about it. You’ll feel much more secure in everything that you do.  You’re NOT wondering whether your body will be able to handle it.

But hey, don’t get me wrong guys, some injuries are simply unavoidable (… like the twisting of an ankle while charging the net for a short ball), but you want to do everything in your power to prevent something like that from happening.  And strength training can definitely be a HUGE help in making sure something like the twsiting of a knee or something more serious doesn’t happen.

Because the truth is, you never want that to be the reason you miss a big opportunity that could change your game as well as your life forever. So good luck Carlos and Nicolas. We at TMC, wish you a speedy recovery and much success in the upcoming year!

Brian, Your Tennis Mind Coach

TennismindCamp

P.S. How many of you guys currently have a gym routine?  Just curious