Characteristics of a Heavy Ball

A heavy ball in tennis is characterized by three essential components:

• Topspin
• Speed
• Depth

These elements work together to create a challenging shot for your opponent. Topspin provides the ball with a higher trajectory and ensures it dips rapidly as it approaches the other side of the court.

Speed makes the ball difficult to react to, while depth ensures it lands deep within your opponent's court, pushing them back and limiting their offensive options.

To truly understand why all three components are necessary, I conducted an experiment where I applied two components and omitted the third one so that we can see what effect that has on the ball flight.

Experiment 1: Topspin and Height Without Speed

First, I hit balls with plenty of topspin and height but without speed. The results were clear—my assistant Kaja had no difficulty handling these shots.

Despite the heavy topspin and safe height over the net, the lack of speed caused the ball to land short and drop right into Kaja's strike zone (green area) which made it very comfortable to hit it.

This type of shot, while safe and effective up to a certain skill level (around 3.5), becomes ineffective against more advanced players who can easily handle slow-moving balls.

Essentially, without speed, the heavy ball loses its sting.

Experiment 2: Topspin and Speed Without Height

Next, I combined topspin and speed but kept the shots low over the net. This approach was riskier and proved to be less effective. 

Although the balls were fast, they consistently landed in Kaya's strike zone, making it easy for her to return them.

At higher levels of play, players are positioned correctly about 70% of the time, allowing them to control and utilize the speed of your shots against you. 

The high risk of this strategy, combined with its low effectiveness, makes it an unreliable choice for hitting this way.

Experiment 3: Speed and Height Without Topspin

Finally, I hit balls with speed and height but minimal topspin. As expected, this method was the riskiest.

Without topspin, controlling the depth of the shot was challenging, leading to many errors. 

Some balls might trouble an opponent because they fly fast and land deep, but the high risk of mistakes outweighs any potential benefit. 

This experiment reinforced that topspin is crucial for maintaining control and ensuring the ball lands deep in the court.

 The Ideal Heavy Ball

After these experiments, it's evident that a heavy ball requires a balanced combination of topspin, speed, and height. When executed correctly, this shot becomes a powerful weapon:

• Topspin ensures the ball dips sharply and lands deep in the court.
• Speed reduces your opponent's reaction time.
• Height provides a safe margin over the net, reducing the risk of hitting into the net.

When all three components are present, the ball is not only difficult to return but also safe to execute consistently.

The Main Objective Of A Heavy Ball

In practice, hitting a heavy ball allows you to stay aggressive while minimizing errors.

By consistently hitting deep, fast, and topspin-heavy shots, you force your opponent into uncomfortable positions, increasing the likelihood of them making errors, while at the same time playing very consistent yourself.

This strategy provides a foundation for controlling the rally and eventually opening up opportunities to finish the point.

In the next video, we'll delve deeper into the technique behind hitting a heavy ball. We'll cover specific drills, stroke mechanics, and strategic scenarios where a heavy ball is most effective.

Stay tuned for these insights, and if you haven't already, check out my previous video on hitting a good neutralizing ball—a foundational skill for mastering the heavy ball.

Novak Djokovic Forehand Analysis

By closely observing Djokovic's forehand technique, we can discern that his follow-through varies in three instances. Twice, his follow-through extends above his head, while on the third occasion, it remains closer to the shoulder.

Interestingly, none of these follow-throughs align with the commonly taught method of finishing over the shoulder.

Furthermore, his forehand technique incorporates different stances, with a neutral stance on the first shot, a neutral stance on the second, and an open stance on the third.

This adaptability in his stroke is necessary due to the diverse situations he encounters, including the type of ball he receives and the desired shot he intends to execute. 

Thus, it becomes clear that fixating on minute technical details is futile, as one's technique must constantly adapt to the unique characteristics of each ball. No two balls are the same, and therefore, one must approach each shot with flexibility and adaptability.

I recommend that you also check out the Holding Your Ground video article as I go into much more details on how much the strokes have to adjust depending on the distance to the ball, direction of the ball and contact point height.

A Forehand Stroke Explained By Feels

After I hit the forehand, I'll explain what it feels like and break it down for you. We're not going to focus on technique, such as the position of the racket head or elbow, but instead, we'll focus on biomechanics and feel.

So, what am I doing? First, my body is rotating.

When I hit the ball, my body has a large mass, so I cannot move it very fast. Therefore, I push my right hip into the ball. This creates a steady, continuous push through the ball. 

What is my arm doing? My arm is swinging before contact.

When the ball is higher, I swing less, and when the ball is lower, I swing more.

What I feel is an element of letting go. I don't completely control the movement; there is a partial swing.

My wrist has a lag, and when I hit the ball, I'm slapping it. I feel the slap through my hand and the racket face as if I am slapping the ball with a big hand.

When the ball makes contact with the racket, my arm is driving and keeping the direction.

All ground strokes, including two-handed backhand, one-handed backhand, and forehand, follow the same components.

To summarize, I'm pushing with my body, swinging with my arm, slapping with my wrist, and driving the ball if it's a normal forehand or a backhand groundstroke.

These four sources of power and control are present in every groundstroke I hit except that they vary in the amount, meaning how much I apply each of them.

If you focus on feeling and using the 4 major "feels" of the stroke you will find it much easier to develop good strokes as you will not be focusing on small irrelevant details of the stroke that cannot be always replicated. 

8 Major Mistakes Related To 4 Feels

I will now demonstrate the forehand hit incorrectly showing you 8 different ways you can execute it wrong when it comes to body rotation, swinging, using the wrist and driving through the ball.

See if you recognize yourself in one or more of them...

1. Body Rotation

The main purpose of body rotation is to give you a stable source of power and good control of the arm and racket as it stabilizes the contact through the push.

a) Not enough body rotation

In this case, the hips tend to stay back, resulting in a stroke that looks something like the image below.

This is one of the most common problems at recreational tennis because players hit the ball too late and the hip is not able yet to rotate forward by the time player hits the ball.

b) Too much body rotation

You may also overdo body rotation and stepping into the ball and you keep pushing the hip and body too much into the ball.

That prevents the arm from swinging well as the arm will accelerate only if the hip decelerates at some point. Strokes hit like that have good control but no power and very poor accuracy.

2. Arm Swing

Swinging your arm provides you with the biggest source of effortless power as you use gravity to help you accelerate the racket. 

a) Not enough swing

What does it look like when a player doesn't feel the swing? They just move their arm back and forth with stiffness, and the racket doesn't swing.

If your strokes don't have a component of swinging, you will struggle with generating power.

b) Too Much Swing

On the other hand, what happens when the player swings too much? They lose control, and their arm goes all over the place.

So the player might have good power but they have very poor control of the ball meaning that they make a lot of unforced errors.

3. Wrist Lag & Slap

The "slap" is another source of effortless power as it allows you to use the trampoline effect of the string bed and bounce the ball off the racket easily.

In order to use your wrist and hand well you need enough wrist lag in the first place.

a) Not Enough Wrist Lag & Slap

When a player lacks wrist lag, they will have their racket head on the right side (for right-handers) of the hand, making it difficult to slap the ball.

This results in a pushy motion, limiting the player's ability to spin or accelerate the ball.

 b) Too Much Wrist Lag & Slap

Overusing wrist lag & slap leads to a loss of control. While it may feel powerful, excessive slapping can result in poor synchronization with other components of the swing, such as the drive and push of the body.

Therefore, it's important to find the right balance between wrist lag and other components to achieve a perfect swing.

4. Arm Drive

Driving the arm forward towards the target area is the key to good accuracy of the stroke and the key to "taming" the swing and the wrist lag that brought a lot of power into the contact.

Power is great for tennis but it needs to be controlled to be consistent and that's the role of the arm drive.

a) Not Enough Arm Drive

If the arm is not driving, the player tends to hit the ball like in baseball, and the moment they hit the ball, they release the arm.

This usually happens because the player feels very good power and they hope that eventually they will learn to control the ball despite not controlling the follow-through - but that actually never happens.

b) Too Much Arm Drive

On the other hand, if the arm is driving and pushing too hard, the stroke is too linear and too pushy, the arm moves too slow. 

In this case, the player is too controlled and afraid of missing the ball, resulting in the arm being pushed too hard. Also, if the arm is the only driving force, the hip tends to stay back.

Summary

This is a brief overview of the four major biomechanical components of a stroke or swing, which are commonly referred to as "feels." 

Rather than focusing on minor technical details of the stroke, it is more beneficial to concentrate on these sources of power since the stroke needs to be adaptable to a variety of situations.

The objective is to sense each "feel" being present and applied with the appropriate amount of force while hitting the ball. 

You can use the eight common mistakes as a reference point and then practice repeatedly and play in different scenarios to identify the ideal adaptation of each "feel."

#1 - It’s Easier To Hit Sweet Spot With A Horizontal Swing Path

Many tennis players naturally swing their racquet horizontally when they hit the ball. This is because it's easier for your brain to calculate the ball's meeting point with the racket’s sweet spot.

This, however, produces a flat shot that makes the ball fly straight, with little to no topspin.

You need to adjust your swing path to a low to high motion to generate topspin, especially heavy topspin. Focus on a continuous fluid motion as you swing under the ball first and then up on the ball.

#2 - You Want To Hit A Low Ball Over The Net

Many beginner and intermediate tennis players (incorrectly) believe that hitting low and fast over the net is the way to play good tennis and therefore they visualise such shots.

When you imagine hitting a low ball over the net then your mind and body will automatically adjust your movements to accomplish that task - which means you will not really drop your racket under the ball and apply topspin to it.

So your first step in correcting this issue is to become aware that you want to play too low above the net (it’s too risky long term!) and visualise a higher trajectory over the net.

Hitting a better tennis topspin groundstroke will happen much more likely and naturally. Of course make sure to address all other issues explained in this article to finally get more consistent topspin on your groundstrokes.

#3 - You Don’t Imagine Topspin

Swinging from below the ball up on it does not guarantee topspin, you actually have to imagine it.

If you’re racket face is a little bit too open then you won’t really impart topspin, you will just lift the ball higher over the net.

So in order to actually put some topspin on the ball you have to imagine with strings do to the ball, namely create friction and spin the ball.

#4 - You Want Too Much Control Or Power (Tight Wrist)

Another reason why the racket doesn’t drop below the ball and you can’t impart more spin is because your wrist is too tight and it simply prevents the racket from dropping.

This happens in two situations:

• You want too much control which results in you gripping the racket very tight which also prevents it from dropping under the ball.
• You want too much power which results in creating tension not just in your wrist but also in your arm and that again prevents the swing under the ball which is necessary to impart topspin.

The solution to excessive control is to accept mistakes as a normal part of tennis and to spend more time in free hitting sessions where you will not be under pressure and you will then naturally relax more and therefore swinging under the ball and the resulting topspin will happen more naturally.

And when it comes to hitting with power and yet staying relaxed enough for the racket to drop under the ball and apply more topspin, you need to accelerate gradually and not in a quick jerky manner.

#5 - You Are Hitting The Ball Too Late

When you hit the ball late, your racquet is typically further back and closer to your body. This position restricts the low-to-high swing path essential for creating topspin.

Instead of being able to brush up the back of the ball effectively, the racquet faces more horizontally, leading to a flatter shot. 

Without the upward swing motion, the racquet head speed is not optimized for imparting the heavy topspin desired in advanced tennis.

This results in less topspin and reduced net clearance, making the shots less effective in competitive play. 

Hitting the ball earlier, in front of your body, helps achieve the low-to-high motion that is essential for topspin.

#6 - Hitting Too Many Balls At High Contact Points

When you hit the ball at shoulder height or above, the natural swing path tends to be more horizontal or even slightly downward.

Therefore the racket will not impart topspin on the ball and if you hit a lot of balls at high contact points you start to ingrain such movements and find it more and more difficult to change them into a topspin shot.

If you’re struggling with topspin then it’s better to first develop it at lower contact point as it happens much more naturally.

So stand further behind the baseline and let the ball come to a lower contact point from where it will be much easier to hit a tennis topspin shot.

#7 - Technical Flaws In Stroke Mechanics

As you can see now, technical flaws in stroke mechanics develop over time mostly because of mental blocks that players have or simply because they play in situations where developing topspin is not easy.

So only when we address the mental blocks described above and when the player is playing in “topspin favourable” conditions such as a slower and lower ball, can we start to work on topspin with technical corrections.

The easiest conditions to work on topspin are actually slow slice incoming balls since they “sit up” as they bounce and it’s quite easy to hit them with topspin.

If your coach or partner can hit such controlled balls to you then spend a few minutes every practice session and keep hitting them with topspin as they keep hitting them back with a slow slice.

When you can consistently hit good tennis forehands and backhands with topspin off such slow slice balls, then progress to slow flat incoming balls and eventually to slow topspin incoming balls.

And only when you are quite consistent hitting topspin off such slower incoming balls, start working on hitting tennis topspin shots off faster incoming balls so that it becomes a second nature.

Drill #1 – Bring the Ball into Focus After the Bounce

Try to see the ball clearly (in focus) as it comes out of the bounce, as if you were taking a clear photo of the ball with your phone.

Call out a “yes” to confirm to yourself and your subconscious that you saw the ball in focus every time you see it well.

Drill #2 – Bring the Ball into Focus on Top of its Flight

Bring the ball into focus as soon as you can after your partner hits the ball, and call it out again with a “yes.”

Extra attention should be paid to how clearly you see the ball around the top of the ball’s flight.

Drill #3 – Bring the Ball into Focus Before and After the Bounce

The previous two exercises were combined by trying to see the ball clearly in focus around the top of its flight and as it came out of the bounce

Call out “yes” or “no” for each of the two periods of the ball flight to make sure you’re completely focused on the ball and on this task. (as the mind can quickly wander somewhere else).

Drill #4 – Say “Hit” when your Partner Hits the Ball

The most common mistake with this drill is that players observe the hit and then call it out, which means that two sounds are heard in sequence: the sound of contact and the sound of your voice.

We need to be more precise in tennis, and anticipate and read hits and bounces more accurately. Therefore, your goal is to say “hit” exactly when your partner hits the ball.

Drill #5 – Say “Top” when the Ball passes through the Top of its Flight

One of the main reasons why players prepare late is because they don’t pay attention to the first flight of the ball.

By calling out “top” when the ball goes through the top of its flight, you are forced to observe the ball’s flight really well and that will help you read the ball’s flight much earlier and can therefore prepare the stroke earlier.

Drill #6 – Call Out “Hit” and “Top”

Combine the previous two drills and call out your partner’s hit and the top of the ball’s flight.

When playing mini-tennis, the hit and top will follow very quickly in sequence, but when you play from baseline, you’ll find it easier to call them out.

The quick sequence of events that you need to be aware of will help you raise your alertness and concentration levels, helping you perceive the ball’s flight much better.

Drill #7 – Call Out the Bounce on your Side

Call out “bounce” when the ball bounces on your side.

As with previous drills, do not wait to observe the bounce and then call it as your mind needs to work faster and anticipate events in tennis.

Your goal is for the sound of the bounce and the sound of your voice to overlap when you call out the bounce on time.

Drill #8 – Call Out Bounce and Hit on your Side

This is a famous exercise invented by Timothy Gallwey, who wrote The Inner Game of Tennis, and will always be one of the foundations of getting into rhythm in tennis.

Call out the bounce and your own hit of the ball, and pay attention to the timing of your calls so that it is exactly at the moment of bounce and contact with the ball.

Drill #9 – Call Out your Partner’s Hit and Bounce on your Side

You can play with variations of the rhythm, mixing up the hits and bounces that you want to focus on.

In this example, you call out your partner’s hit by the ball and the bounce on your side. The key is to match the sound of the ball bouncing with your voice.

Drill #10 – Call Out your Partner’s Hit, Bounce of the Ball, and your own Hit

This is the most complex task that requires the highest level of concentration, and that’s how focused you should be during every ball exchange in tennis.

Most players are not really in a sufficiently alert and focused state until they are about to hit the ball, which is not good enough because you need all your brain power to judge the ball very early in its flight.

This exercise is a final test of how well you can track a ball and the accuracy of your timing.

Drill #11 – Observe the Spin of the Ball After the Bounce

The next set of drills are designed to keep your mind focused on the ball by asking yourself to observe something on the ball.

We all see the ball, but how well do you pay attention to it is the real difference in how well you will time the stroke.

In the first drill, we only want to notice whether the ball is spinning after bouncing. Confirm with a “yes” when you see the spin.

Drill #12 – Observe the Spin of the Ball on the Other Side

Your next task is to try and see the ball spin as it comes over the net before the bounce.

Paying attention to the ball and reading its flight characteristics early allows you to judge its flight well and predict with good accuracy how it’s going to bounce, so that you are in position early and can prepare your stroke early.

Ask your partner to vary the spins (topspin, flat, and backspin) so that you remain focused on the task.

Drill #13 – Call Out the Spin Type Before and After the Bounce

Combine the previous two exercises and read the spin of the ball before and after the bounce.

Have your partner vary the types of shots so that you remain fully focused on
reading the ball’s flight.

Drill #14 – Compare the Rate of Spinning Before and After the Bounce

You are still looking to read the type of spin before and after the bounce; however, you must observe the spinning rate.

You can start with “fast” and “slow” but as you become better at reading the ball’s spinning rate, add the “medium” rating as well.

Drill #15 – Observe the Sunny and Shady Part of the Ball

On a sunny day, you can try this fun task: observe which part of the ball is sunny and which part is in the shade as it flies towards you. 

Note this before and after the bounce, and remain focused on that for one or two minutes.

Tracking the Ball Better

As you can improve by paying attention to the ball, you can try to track it for a long time.

There are two ways you can think about it:
- take multiple snapshots of the ball as if using a phone or camera or
- think of continuously tracking the ball as if recording a video.

Taking snapshots is a useful approach to testing, as you can ask yourself how many images of the ball you remember and see in your memory after you hit it.

I can almost always recall 3–5 clear images of the ball (from bounce to contact) stored in my short-term memory.

If I try to recall images of the ball from the partner’s hit to the bounce, I will see somewhere between 5–8 images depending on the speed of the ball.

The more images you can see, the more time you will perceive and the slower the ball will appear.

This will make you feel that tennis is a relatively slow game and that there is a lot of time to move and prepare for the stroke.

While you can give yourself more time at first to practice watching the ball, like 15-20 minutes per session, never completely stop with the focusing exercises.

Use them even just for 2-3 minutes at the start of your tennis session, whether it’s free hitting or a match to ensure that your eyes and mind are fully alert and ready to track the fast moving small yellow ball through space.

Why Power Is Not (Always) The Answer

Tennis players tend to think that hitting the ball with power is always a good thing but they forget that with more power comes more risk.

Another thing to consider is that at lower levels of tennis, somewhere between 2.0 and 4.0 NTRP rating, players do struggle with faster incoming balls even if they are positioned well.

Their timing and ball judgment is not so good yet so they struggle to hit the ball cleanly and with good control.

That’s why you will (unfortunately) for quite a few years along your tennis journey get good results (forcing a short ball or an error) as soon as you hit a faster ball.

But once you start playing 4.0 and better players that won’t work any more as players will have no problem handling your speed and fact using it against you.

Therefore it will be pointless to try and pressure such players with faster balls from the baseline because they will be ineffective and risky.

Your main objective is then to hit a good neutralising ball to prevent them from attacking and at the same time put them under a little bit of trouble.

What Is A Good Neutral Ball

While at first glance you may say that a good neutral ball is a deep ball, we need to take it a bit further and define it better.

That is a very simple definition of a neutralising ball and yet it is true to almost all levels of players even at around 5.0 NTRP level.

There are three main reasons why the ball rising over the baseline is so effective in neutralising the opponent:

1. Good Depth & Risk Of Attacking

When a ball rises as it crosses the baseline, it typically lands deep within your opponent's court.

This depth makes it challenging for your opponent to attack since they are very far from you at that moment and their shot would take long time to reach you therefore you will be able to get to most of their shots comfortably.

2. Time Constraint & Difficult Timing

Deep landing balls create a time constraint for your opponent.

There is less time from the bounce to their contact point which makes it more difficult to time the stroke well and hit the ball in the sweet spot.

This again increases the risk of missing in general and especially if they decide to hit the ball harder.

3. Hitting Outside The Ideal Strike Zone

An ideal strike zone is a zone where hitting a forehand or a backhand is the most comfortable and therefore gives us the most power and control with the least amount of effort.

When we hit deep balls that rise over the baseline they will in most cases end up outside of the ideal strike zone and cause problems to the opponent in terms of ball control and power.

A combination of all three reasons described above is what makes the ball that is rising over the baseline so effective in neutralising.

How to Practice Hitting A Good Neutral Ball

Now that you grasp the significance of a good neutralizing ball, let's delve into a practical exercise to enhance your skills.

This simple yet effective drill can be practiced with a partner, helping you hone your ability to read the ball early and respond swiftly during a match.

Rally with your partner from the baseline and call out whether partner’s ball is rising over the baseline or not.

You can rally like that for a couple of minutes and see who gets a higher score in a limited amount of time.

By the way, this is one way of evaluating the quality of baseline shots in high performance tennis all the way from junior level to pro level.

We time the players for 1 minute and count how many times they hit the ball from the baseline so well that it’s rising over the baseline.

The Road Ahead: Mastering the Heavy Ball

Now that you've laid the foundation by understanding and practicing the neutralizing ball, you're ready for the next step in your tennis journey - mastering the heavy ball.

The heavy ball represents a more advanced version of the good neutralizing ball, and I'll delve into it in the upcoming video article.

For now realise that a good neutralising ball even without much topspin that is rising over the baseline prevents most attacks even from 4.0 to 5.0 players.

Note that depth is a consequence of moderate speed and the right height so if you need a quick reminder how to focus on the height check out the previous article on how to aim in tennis.

The Importance Of Gentle Grip

Coaches often emphasize the importance of holding the racket with less tension than many players naturally employ. This advice holds true for most players. 

When your grip is overly tight, it restricts the flexibility of your wrist, which is essential for executing various groundstrokes and serves. 

A tight grip can also lead to a shallow ball drop during serves, resulting in weaker and less effortless shots. Essentially, excessive grip pressure limits both your power potential and your ability to finesse shots.

Tailoring Grip Pressure to Skill Level

It's important to recognize that the appropriate level of grip tightness depends on your skill level as a tennis player. 

It's unrealistic to expect beginners to maintain an extremely loose grip, as this can compromise their control over the racket.

Similarly, a 3.0 level player cannot adopt the same loose grip as a 5.0 player, as the latter possesses superior skills in areas such as movement, ball judgment, timing, rhythm, ball perception, and consistently hitting in the racket's sweet spot.

Instead, aim to hold the racket more lightly or gently while maintaining a solid connection between the racket handle and your hand.

There should be no space or movement between them.

Applying Grip Pressure to Different Tennis Strokes

1. Topspin & Flat Forehand

For me, the forehand is my stronger shot, and it typically involves a lighter grip.

During warm-up or relaxed situations, my grip pressure hovers around a 2 or 3.

However, when faced with a trickier ball that requires more control, I may increase my grip pressure to 4 or 5.

In cases where I encounter a very low ball that demands stability and control, my grip pressure might even reach a 6.

2. Topspin & Flat Backhand

On my backhand, I generally maintain a slightly firmer grip. This is because a firmer grip helps with control, especially when dealing with balls that bounce unpredictably. 

My preparation phase always starts with a grip pressure of 2, but during the stroke, I typically maintain a grip pressure of 4 or 5.

For balls that are particularly challenging, like high bounces or balls in sandy conditions, I may increase my grip pressure to ensure better control.

3. Backhand Slice

Slice shots require a level of control that surpasses what's needed for topspin shots.

Therefore, I maintain a grip pressure of 4 to 5 on slice shots to ensure precision.

The wrist remains relatively firm to guide the racket head through the ball, preventing unwanted movement.

4. Volley

During volleys, I aim for a grip pressure of 4 to 5. It's essential to maintain control while still being able to react quickly.

The grip pressure may vary slightly depending on the pace and height of the incoming ball.

For fast, stable balls, I might reach a 6 or 7, ensuring stability during quick volleys.

5. Smash

For smashes, my grip pressure remains relatively constant. In the preparation phase, I start with a grip pressure of 2, but at contact, it increases to about 5 or 6.

The firmer grip allows me to maintain control and direct the ball precisely, even during difficult situations when I am hitting a smash while moving backward.

6. Flat, Topspin & Slice Serve

On a flat serve I start with grip pressure 2 like for all strokes and it goes up to 4-6 levels at contact, depending on how hard I hit the ball. 

This firmness in grip is crucial for stability and control, especially during the demanding motions of pronation and internal shoulder rotation.

For a slice serve, my grip pressure starts at 2 and goes to around 4, and for topspin serves it goes to around level 5 at contact.

Conclusion

In summary, grip pressure in tennis is a dynamic aspect of the game that adapts to different situations and strokes.

Understanding the appropriate grip pressure for each scenario is vital for controlling the ball better in easy and more difficult situations.

So, the next time you step onto the tennis court, pay close attention to how you grip your racket and fine-tune it based on the specific demands of each stroke. 

By doing so, you'll not only improve your overall performance but also gain a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of this beautiful sport.

Step 1: Hit Along The Track

The first concept to have in mind is the "track" that starts at the contact point and leads all the way to your target area. 

This track is roughly the width of the doubles alley and it helps me visualize the racket path through contact that extends long towards the target.

This narrow track / path also affects how you execute the stroke technically as it makes you swing longer through the contact point as you extend along the track.

It's very similar idea to bowling where we have a long track and we extend along it towards the target. 

To me hitting a tennis ball is like bowling in the air. The track is in the air and I also have to add some trajectory to the ball compared to bowling which I will explain in step 3 - having a window.

If you don't have a mental image of a narrow track and you just hit the ball with a more vague general idea of where you want to hit it, then your tennis technique will adapt to execute such a shot and consequently you won't be hitting the ball cleanly.

Step 2: Spin the ball on the horizontal axis

While I point out the spin axis here as step 2, you can easily add that later as step 3 if it requires too much of your mental focus.

Most of you reading this article already hit groundstrokes with topspin so you're already on the right track.

But what you may not realize is that spinning the ball EXACTLY around the horizontal axis really helps with ball control and accuracy.

It's quite easy to just hit topspin but in most cases you're hitting the ball a bit too much across which makes the ball spin in an axis that is slightly tilted.

While you still get most of the benefits of topspin, you are not hitting the ball as cleanly as possible and you are not hitting it the most accurately.

Step 3: Aim into a window above the net

The "window" is something that most tennis players don't visualize well. 

While most players have some vague idea about height above the net, it's too generic and does not make the player control the accuracy of their height better.

In many cases players have no idea about the height at all as they are making their shot, they think just in 2 dimensions, meaning they are just deciding whether to hit the ball left or right without any height parameter.

Visualizing a window above the net helps with accuracy and depth control.

I approximated the size of the window I visualize with the space between the two umbrellas so that you have a better idea how big the window is.

It of course must depend on your skill level. Lower level players should visualize bigger windows and higher level players can visualize smaller windows.

Why Do I Aim Into A Window Rather Than A Target On Ground?

While I of course know the area on the court on the other side where I would like my ball to land, I don't really feel I can aim accurately because that target is so far from me.

The window above the net is way closer to me and it doesn't feel that difficult to me to hit it.

So I feel much more confident when I make my shots as I can "feel" much better where the window is above the net depending on whether I am hitting down the line or cross court.

To better understand what I mean by "feeling where the window is", start with drop hitting and stand at around the service line and aim into a window.

You'll see that it doesn't seem that difficult to hit such a big window. Then gradually move back and keep hitting into a window.

Note that in tennis we cannot watch where we hit but we need to watch the ball. Therefore we need to have some kind of orientation in our mind in which direction to hit the ball.

And since the window is closer to me than the ground target I find it much easier to orient in space and know in which direction the window is in relation to the ball and therefore I can play very accurate shots.

One more thing: once you define the height with the window, all you need to figure out is the speed and spin parameters that combined with the height give you good depth.

Good depth is the key to consistency and neutralizing your opponent from attacking.

And once you have the window and the right speed (assuming your topspin rate is mostly the same) then depth is the result of those parameters.

As you tweak the parameters of depth and speed you also control depth.

Summary

In tennis we can make an analogy to driving a car - tennis technique is like an engine and aiming in tennis is like being a driver.

No matter how much you improve your technique, if you're not "driving" it the right way, meaning you don't aim your shots the right way, then technique is not going to be effective.

You've learned about the idea of tracks, horizontal spin and a window above the net.

If none of these are currently in your mind as you are about to hit a forehand or backhand, then I suggest you start with a window idea first.

It will give you a direction and height parameter.

Refine it later with a track parameter and lastly refine it with a horizontal spin idea.

And just like in driving it was tough the first few driving lessons to keep all the instructions in mind but then in time they became subconscious, so is the same process in tennis.

Learning to aim like described above will take more of your mental effort at first but eventually your subconscious will take over.

I invite you to incorporate the right way to aim in tennis into your game and return to this article after some time to share your feedback with the rest of us.

What Is Coordination?

If you look up the definition of coordination, you'll see something like this: "the organization of the different elements of a complex body or activity so as to enable them to work together effectively” and “the ability to use different parts of the body together smoothly and efficiently."

In tennis, we have to “organize” body parts quickly and efficiently since we always have limited time. The better this “organization” or “coordination” is, the more smoothly and efficiently the player will move and execute their stroke, which allows for more power and better stroke control.

One of the biggest problems in recreational level tennis is preparing the stroke too late and hitting the ball late.

The usual instruction is to “prepare early,” but that doesn't usually work. Most adult recreational tennis players can't coordinate early due to many different footwork patterns as they move around the court.

That's why warm up coordination drills are so useful. You will move through 4 major directions: forward, backward, left and right while simulating the stroke.

You will not use the racket in the usual way, as that would trigger your ingrained habits.

Instead, you will either use the racket by holding it in two hands, or you will use different balls and other tools to help you feel certain parts of the stroke execution better.

One more thing: all these drills are based on the Universal swing movement that I have shown before where the player swings both arms in a continuous figure 8 pattern.

This swing pattern works for the forehand and the two-handed backhand, while the one-handed has a slightly different pattern.

These drills are ideally suited for the two-handed backhand and especially the open stance forehand, which poses so many problems for recreational tennis players.

Variation #1 – Holding The Racket With Both Hands

In the first variation of warm up coordination drills, you'll hold the racket with both hands at each end.

That helps you connect your upper body and arms well and helps you feel upper body as one unit in relation to the lower body.

a) Moving forward

First, begin moving the racket and your arms in the figure 8 swing pattern to get into a rhythm. Then, you will start moving forward with one step.

These keys to moving forward apply to all variations:

• Hold your balance on your front foot until you have reached your left hip (for right-handers) with the swing.

• Drag your back foot on the tip as you pull your hip forward during the forward swing (you can imagine that your shoe is tied with a string to the racket).

• Keep your head straight and fix your gaze on an object far ahead of you.

• Exhale as you swing forward and inhale on your backswing.

Start from the baseline and move forward step by step until you reach the net.

b) Moving backward

To move backward efficiently and coordinate the upper body well, you need to turn your upper body and step back at the same time.

After that, rotate on your back foot and bring your front foot behind your back foot. You'll be turning your body close to 180 degrees while you do that.

The keys to moving backward are as follows:

• Keep your head straight and your eyes fixed on an object like before.

• Keep a slightly forward-leaning posture as you spin around for good balance.

• Maintain a correct breathing pattern as described above.

Perform this pattern moving all the way from the net to the baseline.

I suggest 3-4 sets for all directions of movement.

c) Moving to the right (for right-handers)

We'll focus on the open stance forehand footwork combinations because they performed much worse than neutral stances at the recreational tennis level.

We have two options:

One step:

• Step out with your right leg while turning your upper body 90 degrees.
• Keep your balance on your right leg and keep your legs apart as you turn your upper body close to 180 degrees to simulate the stroke.
• The left leg tends to be pulled toward the right leg. Don't let it; keep your feet apart.
• Only once you've completed the stroke can you can “reset” your feet. Step closer together, as that allows you to make another big step to the side to start another repetition.

Two steps:

• This time, start with your left foot in a crossover step.

• Turn your upper body at the same time as you crossover.

• Add another step with your right foot to end up in the open stance forehand while maintaining the upper body turn.

• Execute the stroke as above, and don't let your left foot be pulled toward your right foot.

As in the previous examples, I suggest you perform 3-4 sets of movements for each footwork pattern.

d) Moving to the left (for right-handers)

Moving to the left can be done only with 2 steps. This footwork pattern is used when the ball flies right at the player and they need to get out of the way or when they want to run around the backhand to hit a forehand.

The keys to moving to the left are below:

• Start with a couple of pivots back and forth first to feel how to step back and to the left with your right foot while turning your upper body. Most players are not coordinated well enough to find this move intuitively while playing; therefore, they need to consciously learn it.

• After 6-8 pivots, add one more step with your left foot stepping more to the left so that you end up in the open stance and then execute the stroke.

• Make sure you feel well balanced and calm at the end of the stroke on the left leg.

• You can pull your right leg slightly toward your left as you execute the stroke.

• “Reset” your feet after the stroke; namely, pull them closer together so that you can get ready for the next repetition.

e) Combinations

Once you are bit a more comfortable with these footwork patterns (this could be after 3-5 sessions), you can challenge yourself with combinations of movement.

Perform the forward–backward combination a few times, where you can choose either only one step in each direction or two steps in each direction before changing directions.

For left–right combinations, you will always use two steps.

For example, you will do two steps to the right to simulate an open stance forehand and two steps to the left immediately after that to simulate getting out of the way and hitting an open stance forehand again.

Variation #2 – Medicine Ball (2 kg / 3 pounds)

Now that you're familiar with how to execute the coordination and footwork patterns in all directions, we can look at variations of doing these warm up drills.

Variations are important to prevent boredom and to emphasize and activate different parts of the stroke or get different feels of the stroke with each new training aid.

The 2 kg medicine ball is very useful for engaging bigger muscle groups like legs, core, and upper body. It also helps to stabilize and firm up the chest muscles, which are the key to connecting both arms together when hitting forehands.

Variation #3 – Baseball Training Balls (450 grams / 16 oz)

The baseball training balls are extra heavy compared to normal baseballs in order to help baseball players engage more of their body into the throw.

They are also fantastic tools in tennis to encourage swinging and engaging the non-dominant arm.

While the medicine ball is great for engaging big muscle groups, it does not give you a good swinging feel. That's why it's good to vary the training aids in these warm up coordination drills because each complements another.

Use two baseball training balls, one in each hand, and swing them in the now familiar figure 8 shape while you perform all the warm up footwork patterns.

Variation #4 – Pick Up Tube Across The Chest

If you have the pick up tube, you can use in two ways for warm up coordination drills.

The first one is to hold it across your chest with both arms. That will really help you become much more aware of how much you're turning your upper body in preparation and follow-through.

That's because you'll see the ends of the tube with your peripheral vision.

Tennis players often do not turn enough when they are preparing for the stroke, and this drill can help them become aware of that mistake and correct it.

Variation #5 – Swinging The Pick Up Tube

The pick up tube is also a great swinging tool because it's relatively heavy and long.

You can perform all the footwork patterns described in this article while swinging the tube to simulate a forehand or a two-handed backhand.

The long and heavy tube helps correct jerky movements and short follow-throughs because it has a lot of inertia when you swing it, which helps you feel the swing path.

It also helps with poor wrist lag since it's heavy enough to really pull your wrist back into the fully laid back position.

Variation #6 – Swinging And Throwing Tennis Balls

Hold 2-3 tennis balls in your non-dominant hand and one ball in your dominant hand.

Perform the coordination and footwork drills while keeping the usual figure 8 swing shape and doing an underarm throw of the ball when you swing forward.

Get the next ball into your throwing hand in the follow-through position above the shoulder and continue the footwork patterns and the figure 8 swing shape.

Throwing tennis balls is a great way to immediately give the player a sensation of swinging and helping them relax the hitting arm, which tends to tense up so often in recreational tennis.

Variation #7 – Using WearBands

I've reviewed the WearBands device before, so follow the link to learn more about WearBands if you haven't come across them.

WearBands uses elastic bands to provide resistance to your arms, which gives you a similar benefit to holding a medicine ball.

The resistance bands force you to engage your arm and upper body muscles more, and that helps with overall better connection and coordination of both arms, especially on the forehand stroke.

Using WearBands for a few minutes may make the player a little bit tight, so I like to follow up with throwing tennis balls to refresh the feel of swinging in the player's mind and body.

Summary

The usual tennis tip of preparing the stroke early may be theoretically correct, as players do prepare too late in many cases, but it simply doesn't work.

It doesn't work because the player needs to coordinate early preparation with different footwork patterns depending on which direction they are moving.

In most cases, adult recreational tennis players do not intuitively find that coordination by themselves.

Therefore, I propose a different approach that has proven to work very well and very fast: have tennis players perform a warm up where they go through a sequence of movements that coordinates early preparation with each of the most common footwork patterns.

That way, they are not only warming up (which most players don't do!), but they are also learning the right sequence and combinations of movements that will be needed later once they start playing with a live ball.

I highly recommend you implement these tennis warm up coordination drills into your tennis sessions, as even just 5 minutes of these drills performed regularly makes a big difference in efficiency and smoothness of movement and stroke execution.

Once they have to hit in a situation that they haven't practiced enough and are not comfortable with, there's a high likelihood that they will miss or hit a poor shot.

In this article, you'll learn how you can use a certain type of baseline movement and positioning in tennis that will challenge you to practice most of the types of incoming balls that you will encounter in a match.

Understanding Variations In Hitting A Tennis Ball

To better explain most of the variations a tennis player has to deal with in a tennis match we'll use an example of Novak Djokovic playing one point at Roland Garros 2022.

Special thanks to the Inside the Game YouTube channel for letting me use the footage and images from their video clip.

While there are many variables in relation to a tennis ball that we need to adapt to in a match, we'll focus on three major ones in this example:

• position of the player in relation to the baseline (close, medium, or far)
• contact point height (low, medium, or high)
• trajectory of the ball at contact (on the way down, on top of the bounce, or on the way up)

If you've watched the video above, then you have seen Novak hit the ball in many different situations; in fact, of the seven shots he played in that one point, he never hit the ball in the same situation twice.

With just three different variables each having three different categories, we can already see that there are 3x3 = 9 combinations possible.

This, of course, doesn't take into account the speed, spin, direction, and time from the bounce of the ball. 

It also does not take into account the type of shot Novak decided to play off each incoming ball, as he varied the speed, height, spin, speed, and direction of his own shots.

So, the main takeaway from this first part of the article is that we need to able to adapt to many different types of incoming balls and hit them well at different contact point heights, distances from the baseline, and flight trajectories.

The 3 Most Common Mistakes In Movement And Positioning

Now that you're aware of how challenging the game of tennis is, see if you can spot yourself in one of the examples of common mistakes players make when it comes to their movement and positioning on the baseline.

a) Always Stepping In

In my work with adult recreational tennis players, I see this pattern the most. 

I don't blame the players. Instead, I blame the coaching community who have over-simplified the complexity of tennis and brainwashed tennis players into believing that stepping into the ball, transferring weight into it, and taking it early is the best way to hit.

What they fail to tell you is that this way of hitting the ball is very risky and that one needs to carefully decide on which type of the incoming ball is stepping in really worth the risk or necessary if the ball is really short.

They also don't know (as they don't practice) how to hit an open stance forehand well, so if it does happen, it's executed poorly and the ball usually ends up in the net or short.

If we now look at this movement pattern from the point of view of many variations that happen in a tennis match, we see that the player who constantly steps into the ball limits themselves to generally just medium contact point height and hits most balls on the rise or on top of the bounce.

Again, if you've been told a million times that this is the best way to hit the ball, then the above description sounds great to you.

But if you remember what Novak Djokovic had to deal with in just one point and extrapolate that to the whole match, you'll see that one also needs to be able to cleanly hit balls that come into the high and low contact zones, far behind the baseline, and often in a downward trajectory.

To give you a simple table to show what the player hits most of the time and what they miss out on:

HIT MOST: position: close, contact height: medium, flight: up and top

MISSING OUT ON: position: medium and far, contact point: high and low, flight: down

b) Always Moving Backwards

Many tennis players tend to move backwards all the time so they can gain more time from the bounce of the ball and hit the ball at a low contact point, which feels very comfortable to them.

In addition to missing out on practicing the other variations of hitting the ball, they also tire themselves out because of the constant movement.

They have almost no chance to apply pressure on the opponent, as they are hitting the ball so far behind the baseline.

So, not only do they play a lot of long points, but they also wear themselves out with constant forward and backward movement.

This raises the questions: what do they mostly hit, and what do they miss out on?

HIT MOST: position: far, contact height: low, flight: down

MISSING OUT ON: position: medium and close, contact height: medium and high, flight: top and up

c) Crowding/Hugging The Baseline

This type of player is similar to the first one, but they don't always step into the ball. They are also able to play open stance. 

They stand very close to the baseline, taking all the balls very early, and they make no forward or backward adjustments to the ball. Instead, they only move sideways parallel to the baseline.

The problem with this type of playing is again a very high risk of mis-hitting the ball.

There is a very short amount of time from the bounce of the ball to the contact, and it's very likely that the player will hit the ball late and off center, which results in short balls and missed shots.

So, what types of shots do these players hit the most, and what do they miss out on?

HIT MOST: position: close, contact height: medium, flight: up

MISSING OUT ON: position: medium and far, contact point: low and high, flight: top and down

I'd like to quickly mention the fourth incorrect way of positioning, which is to stand very far from the baseline and wait for all the balls to reach you.

This is not a common type of baseline positioning because the player is vulnerable to short balls. 

As a result, only players who have really good ball judgment skills and are quick on their feet can afford to spend most of their time far behind the baseline.

The majority of adult recreational tennis players do not fall into this category, so I see this pattern rarely. 

Since you're now much more knowledgeable about the variations in tennis, you can already see what this type of player would be missing out on playing like that.

Holding Your Ground And Challenging Your Timing

So, what is the best way to position and move when playing from the baseline in free hitting sessions?

The best way is to position yourself at a medium distance from the baseline and make small adjustments forward and backward when necessary.

My typical “home base” position is about 1.5 meters (5 feet) behind the baseline.

In other words, I will hit at high, medium, and low contact points, and at the same time the incoming balls' trajectories will include balls on the way up, on top of the bounce, and on the way down.

While I will be hitting mostly at the medium distance to the baseline and I will vary that parameter the least, I will still move out of my zone here and there to play the ball close and also far from the baseline.

We obviously cannot practice all the elements and variations of a tennis game in one single approach, but what I mostly want to challenge myself with the Hold the Ground concept is to hit balls at different heights, flight times from the bounce, and trajectories.

When a player keeps repeating one of the above three incorrect patterns of positioning and movement on the baseline, they are basically making themselves comfortable in hitting one pattern of timing.

Players who keep stepping in and crowd the baseline don't know how to wait for the ball and give themselves more time, while players who keep moving backward don't know how to hit the ball early.

By playing at the medium distance from the baseline and not constantly adjusting your position and movement to the ball, you can challenge yourself to adjust to the ball by hitting it with different timings, heights, and trajectories – and that's what will actually improve your general skill of playing tennis well.

Having weaknesses in your game means more than having a “weak backhand.” 

It can also mean “not being able to hit a forehand at a high contact point” or “not being good at hitting the ball at a low contact point with a downward trajectory.” 

Your opponent can exploit any of these weaknesses and win the match.

Since tennis is such a demanding sport where we have to deal with so many different situations, we need to practice them as much as we can.

Hold your ground the next time you have a free hitting session. Intentionally challenge yourself to hit balls that you're not comfortable with and give it some time.

If you regularly do that, you will see improvements in your timing and ability to hit the ball cleanly. Then you'll realize a simple fact: you're now a better tennis player. 

At first glance, it may seem that there is no solution as the game is simply too fast for a non-trained tennis player.

But there’s always room for improvement, and what’s really interesting is that we can improve your tennis game with just one single concept called “just in case”.

If we look at one hitting cycle in tennis, we see that we are in a ready position with some kind of light movement of our feet, and as our opponent is about to hit the ball the hitting cycle starts.

To complete one hitting cycle we need to:

• split step,
• prepare our stroke,
• move quickly towards the ball and hit it,
• and recover to the ideal recovery position.

The split step, movement to and from the ball are the keys to reaching the ball well and being in position for the next one, and early preparation is the key to good timing.

What’s really surprising is that we can improve all 4 elements of the hitting cycle with one single idea called “just in case”.

1. Why You Should Split Step Just In Case

While most of you are aware of the split step in tennis, you may not be aware of why it’s so important and why we actually do it.

In one of the comments I received, one player told me that they do a split step because “it helps them get into a groove and improves their mental patience of waiting for the ball.”

That’s great, but that’s not the true purpose of a split step in any sport.

The legs work with the same principle and are ready to release the energy explosively IF NEEDED!

What happens in the game of tennis, especially at the beginner and intermediate levels, is that there are not very many good shots hit fast and away from the player. Therefore, the player will easily get to the ball, even if they didn’t split step before.

They really didn’t need the maximum explosive power of the legs to be released in order to reach that ball.

In fact, at the beginner and intermediate recreational levels, the player has to move at maximum speed toward the ball less than 50% of the time.

In the video above, I show an example where in a typical rally there were 4 shots hit not far from me that required no acceleration or running to get to the ball and only 1 shot where I had to move quickly toward the ball.

The unfortunate result of this pattern is that the player doesn’t really feel the effectiveness of a split step since in most cases it’s not really needed. That’s why they stop doing it.

Playing tennis (or any other sport) makes no sense to the primitive part of the brain that is concerned with energy preservation ;).

It’s just trying to do its job of not wasting energy while we consciously push ourselves to play a sport for various reasons like ego gratification when winning, social status, acceptance, having fun, health benefits and others.

So, the primitive part of the brain will quickly realize that doing the split step is mostly wasted energy. It will stop engaging your legs to do all that, but you won’t realize that you stopped split stepping because you’re so engrossed in the match.

In other words, the split step happens before we see how the ball was hit.

If you time the split step correctly, then you are:

• at the highest point of your jump when the opponent makes contact with the ball
• and just landing and having the legs well loaded with energy just as you are able to read the direction of the ball.

Therefore, we cannot wait to do a split step only when a good shot is hit and conserve energy when a mediocre shot is hit toward us.

We actually need to do a split step every time JUST IN CASE a good shot is hit so that we have all the maximum energy stored in our legs available to explode and push us quickly in the direction of the ball.

Yes, when the ball is not hit that far away from us, then looking back in time we can say that the split step was not really needed for that ball, but obviously we can’t see the future.

Therefore, we need to do the split step every time because that prepares us for the worst case scenario, which is when a good shot is hit away from us.

That way, we’ll have the best chance of getting to the ball as well as we can, which increases our chances of hitting it well back across the net.

2. Why You Should Prepare Early Just In Case

Now that you’re using a split step just in case and you can react quickly with your movement, you also need to prepare your stroke early enough.

Tennis players tend to prepare their stroke too late – meaning they usually wait until the ball bounces before they start preparing.

When they receive a slow ball, they can get away with it. Unfortunately, again, they don’t realize there’s a problem since they did put the ball back in play.

When they receive a faster ball, they usually miss it or play it way too short. Since those situations don’t happen that often at the beginner and intermediate levels, they again don’t realize how critical their flaw is.

Rushing the preparation will cause tension in the arm and the body, but it will still result in a late contact point. Not only that, but since they are rushing the movements, they are speeding up the racket towards the ball that is coming in very fast!

Can you see a problem with that?

They will very likely over-hit and lose control of the ball.

If we receive a fast ball, we should swing slowly toward it so that the resulting speed of the slow racket and fast incoming ball is a moderate speed shot that we can control well.

Therefore, we cannot wait to see what kind of ball we will receive and then prepare accordingly.

So, just like with the split step, we use the same principle: we are preparing for the worst case scenario, meaning just in case we receive a fast ball, we want to be ready for it.

If we happen to receive a slow ball and we have prepared early, that’s also very beneficial to our stroke.

Now we can slow down the backswing and downward swing, which leads to contact that allows us to relax our arm, get easy power through gravity acceleration and form a good wrist lag, resulting in good stability and ball control.

3. Why You Need To Move Quickly Toward The Ball Just In Case

Now that the split step and early preparation have taken place, you need to move toward the ball that was hit away from you.

The same problems arise again if you wait to read how far and how fast this ball is really going and then decide how fast you’re going to move.

Unfortunately, this process of judging the ball and adjusting our speed to the ball’s movement is intuitive and happens subconsciously.

But it doesn’t work in tennis.

Because if the ball is hit fast and away from us, it takes us a few tenths of a second to read that. By then, it’s too late to reach the ball well, even if we sprinted toward it.

We need to move as quickly as possible toward the ball as soon as we see it going away from us, even though we don’t know exactly to which spot the ball will go and how fast it’s going.

If we start moving from the beginning as quickly as we can toward the ball, we will do the best we can on difficult shots and have the best chances of controlling those difficult balls.

Just as in the case of the split step and early preparation, we start moving toward the ball quickly in case the worst case scenario happens – which is a fast ball hit far away from us.

If we start moving quickly and then realize that the ball was not hit that fast or far away from us, we then have time to “beat the ball” to the hitting point, which is exactly what we want.

When we “beat the ball” to the hitting point, we have enough time to position ourselves well, to stabilize well and to execute our stroke in a calm, relaxed manner.

If we can accomplish all that, then we have the best chances of hitting the ball clean and controlling it well.

4. Why You Need To Recover Quickly Just In Case

Now that you’ve hit the ball, it’s time to return to the ideal recovery position. That’s the position from where you can cover all the opponent’s possible shots equally well to each side, whether they play left or right.

The first scenario in the video above showed what happens when tennis players don’t really recover correctly but don’t realize that since their opponent didn’t hit a good shot.

When my assistant Kaja hit my hit down the line shot with a poorly angled cross court shot, I got to the ball comfortably even though I did not recover quickly (just in case) to the ideal recovery position.

Because I got to the ball comfortably, I did not realize anything was wrong.

At the beginner and intermediate levels of tennis, your opponents are not good enough to regularly punish you for poor recovery, so you get away with it most of the time.

Unfortunately, you also don’t learn anything. Those accurate punishing shots are too few and far between for you to realize that you’re constantly doing something wrong.

If you’re motivated to improve your tennis game to another level, then you need to become aware of the poor recovery that you’re doing now and improve it.

That means that you need to return to the ideal recovery position just in case your opponent hits a good shot away from you.

Even though you will move quickly and expend some effort to get to the ideal recovery position, you will realize that at the beginner and intermediate levels you’ll rarely need to be there so early.

But when your opponent does hit the ball well and far away from you, that’s when you’ll be best positioned to get to it.

At higher levels of tennis, players quickly learn that they really need to hurry up recovering and try to get to the ideal recovery position because many more balls are hit accurately away from them and they need to increase their chances of getting to them well.

Summary

Tennis is a game of space and time. We need to manage the space that we cover and the time that we have at our disposal the best we can if we want to play tennis well.

Even at the intermediate recreational level, there is only 1.7 to 2.0 seconds of time on average at your disposal from the moment your opponent hits the ball to the moment the ball reaches you.

If you waste even just a few tenths of a second of this precious time, you’ll quickly run out of time in terms of reaching the ball and hitting it well in front in your ideal strike zone.

To complete one cycle of hitting the ball, you need to:

• split step,
• prepare your stroke,
• move to the ball and hit it,
• and recover back to ideal recovery position.

What’s personally interesting to me is that you can improve all these 4 elements of tennis game with one single concept: “just in case.”

Not every shot from your opponent is so good that it would automatically teach you to split step, prepare, move and recover at your maximum ability, but since you can’t see the future, you need to prepare for the worst case scenario.

The “just in case” approach simply means that we are reacting, moving and preparing the stroke for the worst case scenario so that we’re ready to handle it to the best of our ability if it happens.

If the worst case scenario doesn’t happen, then we have plenty of time to position perfectly for the ball and execute our stroke in a calm, relaxed manner, which greatly increases the chances of hitting it really well.

While the “just in case” approach expends more energy than waiting to see what happens and then reacting, it is the price we have to pay in order to play tennis well.

My question to you now is this: have you recognized yourself in any of the 4 situations where we need to apply the “just in case” concept? If so, which one(s) were those?

Let us know in the comments below and share how you’re going to improve your tennis game in your upcoming sessions…