As of this writing I am heading out on the U.S. Open shuttle to our night match which probably will be delayed due to rain earlier in the day. It is a perfect time to reflect on what I said in an earlier post card regarding timing. It does not always work the way it was intended.

The same can be said about playing sports like tennis in a pain-free setting. Most tennis-related injuries are classified as overuse injuries causing micro trauma to the muscles and joints most often challenged by the demands of the game.

I know you have heard it said that, in life, timing can be everything. Well, in pro sports such as tennis, it is the only thing. Take for instance the playing surface. The NBA has hardwood courts, and the NFL, MLB and pro soccer play on grass and turf. Moving through the Grand Slams in tennis, players go from a hard-court surface (Australian Open), to a clay court (French Open) then on to grass (Wimbledon) and back to a hard court (U.S. Open).

When most of us think about the sport of tennis, the first thing that comes to mind is that it is a country club sport enjoyed by millions of people around the world. But when you get to the level of pro competition, such as what the world's best men and women players are enduring at the U.S. Open going on in New York, it brings a whole new meaning to the tennis phrase "hit and return."

The Harvard Health Review recently offered their take on what they called the "secret to better health," and not surprisingly, their conclusion was that it was exercise. As they discuss and I completely agree, the activity levels of our generation and of our children's generation has declined. With televisions, computers, video games and now the ability to do almost anything on a cell phone, people seem entirely too occupied with starring at a screen than getting up and moving around.