Top 20 Tennis articles

LOS ANGELES - AS children return to school this fall and sign up for a new year's worth of extracurricular activities, parents should keep one question in mind. Whether your kid loves Little League or gymnastics, ask the program organizers this: "Which kids get awards?"

As a sports psychologist, I consult regularly with tennis players, and the ones I work with most are the highly motivated junior tournament players. Some are in the high-powered tennis academies and others live at home, but their common problem is excess stress.

Sandy Young/PA URN In case you're wondering how a woman from Scotland-a country with no tennis tradition, terrible weather and hardly any indoor courts or coaches-managed to raise two boys to become professional tennis players . . . I can assure you, that wasn't the plan.

A lot of parents want to know what it will take for their children to succeed in tennis. The answer is pretty simple: It'll take everything they have-all the energy, strength and hours they can commit to the game at the expense of many other fun things like school dances and sleepovers.

There's no bigger possible strain on the relationship between parent and player than competition. On match day, your child will be stressed, and so will you. Here's my advice: Have a match day plan, and make that plan together. Here's a roadmap....

By Allen Fox, Ph.D. c 2013, all rights reserved The only player who can beat Serena Williams is Serena Williams. She is superior to almost every player on the women's tour in every aspect of the game except emotional stability. She moves faster, hits harder, and serves immensely better.

By Allen Fox, Ph.D. c 2010, all rights reserved EXCERPT FROM "TENNIS: WINNING THE MENTAL MATCH" Points tend to be won and lost in streaks. This happens because the players winning them start to feel good and play better while the players losing them start to feel bad and play worse.

EXCLUSIVE: Bernard Tomic's former training partner Thomas Drouet has revealed what life was really like under John Tomic in this diary extract. November 2012 A 27-hour trip and I am feeling really jet-lagged. I barely arrive and there is a fit of anger from John because Bernard is playing on his PlayStation.

Led by her 15-year-old daughter, Gayal Black was taking her first walk through Times Square last week when she realized that things had suddenly and perhaps forever changed. "People came up to us and recognized her," Black said of her daughter Tornado Alicia Black, who had reached the final of the US Open girls' juniors the day before.

Shocking insight into a control freak father & his violent relationship with his son

WIMBLEDON 2013 Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC HD Channel, Red Button, BBC Radio 5 live, plus 10 live streams available on the BBC Sport website, tablet, mobile and connected TV. We've all been there as kids: standing on the field of play, staring across in disbelief at the psychotic father exploding on the sidelines.

Planning - it's one of the keys to being a successful athlete. Here's how a four-year cycle surrounding London 2012 might have looked for a few of our elite sportswomen: 2011: Reach top five in world rankings. Train hard. Build to peak. 2012: Go to Olympics. Win medal. 2013: Get pregnant.

WHAT do you reckon is one of the main reasons most kids quit sport? While you're pondering, let's absorb this stat from the US: Each year 20 million children register for baseball, soccer, football, hockey and other competitive sports; about 70 per cent of those will quit by age 13.

BBC Sport looks at the career of Wimbledon 2013 champion Andy Murray following his three-set win over Novak Djokovic

I began playing tennis at the age of five, and while many stories of children starting sports at a young age involve burnout and a loss of love for the game, mine never has. And our boys are discovering the fun on the court now, as well!

© Ella Ling What is tennis talent? Cameron Johnston Following Grigor Dimitrov's defeat to Joao Sousa in the opening round of the U.S. Open, a friend of mine took to Facebook to ask when, if ever, 'mini-Federer' would make his big break.

© Ella Ling Roger Federer's mother: How to be a tennis parent The Tennis Space Exclusive tips from Roger Federer's mother Lynette on 'How to be a tennis parent'. Click here for information on the Roger Federer Foundation. It's important that the child enjoys the game and isn't forced into it.

"It is great that we can deliver that, but it is also not the real world in terms of what these kids are going to face 30 or 40 weeks a year. "That's a toughness that we are going to have to create." For Britain's brightest young prospect such toughness looks like it is already there.