Often, we are worried that if we try to hit the same shot that was used in a winning point, our opponent will be ready for it. If you hit a great inside out forehand that wins the point, try to hit that same shot again. If you hit this same shot, you are likely to…
The ready position is extremely important when preparing to react to a shot. Keeping the racquet head up will allow you to use your upper body turn with shoulders and hips to get the racquet in the correct position to move to the ball. This technique helps keep your wrist firm on the backswing and…
Taking time away from your opponent can make it very difficult for them to hit their shots well and execute their strategy. Hitting the ball faster is the most common way that players try to take time away from their opponent. However, there are several other ways to do this. One is to adjust your…
There are a lot of tennis players who are able to hit the ball extremely well. This is especially the case with groundstrokes. Most practice time tends to be spent rallying and hitting from behind the baseline so many players are comfortable bashing balls back and forth. If most points are being played from the…
It is important to focus on the things you can control on the tennis court. This starts with your serve. The serve is the only shot you hit that is not affected by your opponent. Find a serve that you feel good about, can hit consistently, and helps you get control of the point. Direct…
The trend these days is to stand further back to return serve. A large number of professional players are using this strategy to give themselves more time to take a big swing at the serve even if it is hit with a lot of pace. If the server hits the serve and recovers back to,…
This could be the most obvious tip I have ever written. If you want to be a good player and understand what competition is, you have to try your best on every point. This means going through your basic routine, preparing to play the point, running after every ball, and then doing it again regardless…
In tennis you can miss a shot in the net, wide, or long. This is assuming you make some contact with the ball and don’t just tip it or miss it completely (which I have seen happen several times at this year’s U.S. Open). Missing the ball in the net is the least preferable of…
There are signs that serving and volleying will make a comeback. The statistics are steering players more and more to the net. Even the best baseline players are only winning just over 50 percent of the points from the baseline while players advancing inside the baseline or up to the net are winning 65 percent…
I have stated many times that the game of tennis has become extremely fast. Players are hitting groundstrokes 65-85 miles per hour when setting up the point and often over 100 mph when hitting a winner. Average serve speeds have increased as well. However, the ability to mix in a slice, a slower, well placed…
