How To Improve Your Tennis Game
Everyone has the same problems with a tennis ball; I can hear the murmuring already.
“My serve never goes in!”
“Why can’t I ever hit top-spin!”
“Why do all my shots never go in!?”
Tennis is a complex game, and it’s necessary – if you want to reach a high level – to practice, practice and practice. Tennis is a sport that follows the principal, whatever you put in you will get out, to perfection. There are five fundamentals, however, that should always be remembered.
They are:
- Direction: Essentially the direction the ‘eyes’ of the racket are pointing; in other words which way your racket face in pointing at the point where you make contact with the ball. Always make sure the racket face is pointing slightly up and towards the other side of the court.
Expert Tip: If your timing is off, sometimes it’s better to always hit a ball cross-court. This way, if you miss hit, the ball will go down the line, instead of travelling out.
- Speed: The racket-head speed – or how fast your move your hand – is very important to determine how hard the ball is hit and where it lands. All the right form in the world won’t matter if your hand speed is either too great or too weak. Find that balance and more balls should begin going in.
Expert Tip: If you’re able to hit topspin, try increasing hand speed to increase the amount of topspin on your ball.
- Spin: It’s a windy day, and every single shot you hit is going out. What do you do? Increase the spin on your ball. Increasing the spin on your ball essentially acts like a damper on your shot. You can hit it much harder, as well as gain much stronger accuracy on your shots. Focus on that low to high action, and you should be hitting topspin in no time.
Expert Tip: During a point try throwing in a slice to change the pace of the ball. Sometimes this will cause your opponent to fall into a false sense of security and miss time his next shot.
- Height: Height over the net is key! Nobody likes hitting a ball into the net; a much better feeling is hitting it long and feeling powerful. Aim about two racket lengths above the net – imagine a window – and try hitting every shot in that area.
Expert Tip: If your opponent approaches the net, instead of trying to pass him with a hard shot, use a lob – a shot with a lot of height – to force him back to the baseline.
- Depth: Deep balls are a lot harder to hit than short balls. Practice hitting all your balls only a few feet from the baseline. This will constantly cause your opponent to be on relative defence, and will allow you to win the majority of the points.
Expert Tip: You don’t need to paint the lines to win the point. A deep ball a few feet from the line sometimes is just as good.
