Tip of the Week: Tennis is Still a Sideways Sport

By Steve Annacone
Although the majority of players these days hit many shots with an open stance, tennis is still a sideways sport. The best players have their shoulders sideways (or even past sideways) to the net just prior to starting the forward part of the swing. This applies to all shots, even the serve. The...Read more

Tip of the Week: Adjust Your Court Position

By Steve Annacone
A good player tends to react to the shot that was just hit by moving their feet prior to the next shot. If the shot that they (or their partner) has hit is offensive, and/or hit well, movement forward happens prior to the opponent's response. If the shot is more defensive or not hit well, a step or...Read more

Tip of the Week: Have a Convenient Memory

By Steve Annacone
Let’s face it—almost every tennis match you play will be a roller coaster ride. There will be lots of highs and lows. The longer you are on the court, the more likely this will be the case. If you look at both the Men's and Women's 2018 Australian Open singles finals, all four players had their...Read more

Tip of the Week: Keys to Placing Your Serve

By Steve Annacone
The modern game tends to emphasize power and pace on your shots. This is very evident on the serve where even the good club player can now hit a serve with enough speed to give the opponent trouble-if it goes in! Being able to place your serve is a very underrated skill and can be the key to your...Read more

Tip of the Week: Your Volleys Can Win the Match

By Steve Annacone
In both singles and doubles, your ability to volley well can be the deciding factor in the match. Most players these days can hit their groundstrokes well. If you can use your offensive shots from the baseline to work your way into the net and finish by hitting a winning volley, this could be the...Read more

Tip of the Week: Use Variety to Make Things Difficult for Your Opponent

By Steve Annacone
In today's tennis world it is easy to fall in love with the ability to hit the ball hard. The racquets, strings, and modern techniques have given almost all players the ability to use pace to win the point. It is a very good idea to change things up during a match so that your opponent doesn't get...Read more

Tip of the Week: Hit Your Targets

By Steve Annacone
A great strategy at all levels is to hit most of your shots to specific targets on the court. If you are playing singles, pick two targets halfway between the middle of the court and the singles sideline, as well as halfway between the service line and baseline. This gives you a good margin for...Read more

Tip of the Week: Use This Concept Between Points

By Steve Annacone
Many times during a match, players have a tendency to get caught up in the competition making it difficult to focus on things they can do to improve their chance for success. One of the most underrated aspects of this plan for success in a match is the ability to think the correct way in between...Read more

Tip of the Week: Keep the Racquet Head Up on the Backswing for Solid Groundstrokes

By Steve Annacone
An excellent way to naturally move the racquet in a low to high direction on your forward groundstroke swing begins with the racquet head coming back high. Although this sounds like it goes against the low to high idea, the high racquet head helps create a "loop" which is what many pros consider to...Read more

Tip of the Week: Put It All Together

By Steve Annacone
There are a lot of different things that go into a good shot. First and most importantly, you must hit the ball in the center of the racquet. Use your feet to get in a position to do this. As you get in position, make sure you have turned your shoulders and started the racquet back. As the swing...Read more

Tip of the Week: Serve, Return of Serve, First Shot

By Steve Annacone
The points in tennis have gotten shorter and shorter. A great concept to increase your chance of success is to focus on the first two hits of each point. Try to hit a good serve (preferably first serve) and a good first shot on as many points as possible. Use the same idea when returning serve-good...Read more

Tip of the Week: How and When to Think on the Court

By Steve Annacone
A big part of being a successful tennis player is the ability to use knowledge and thoughts you have accumulated from experience, on the court. There is usually a very small physical difference between most of the pros on the tour (and probably many of your opponents). This often makes the mental...Read more
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