The goal of your footwork should be to get yourself in a position to take a normal swing at the ball as often as possible. This means getting to the ball early enough so that you are making contact at the peak of the bounce and/or in between waist height and shoulder height whenever you…
The two big stories at this year's French Open are the coming out party of Jelena Ostapenko and the total domination of the men's field by Rafa Nadal. The 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko did more than just fill a void at the top level of women's tennis. She played with the heart of a champion and…
Start the point towards the middle of the court in both doubles and singles. The net is the lowest at this point and your shot will still be in if you hit it a little early or late. Also, if you keep it deep, the shot down the middle takes away the angles for your…
With the new technology in the modern game, many players tend to use speed and hitting it through the player to win the point. A better idea is to keep the ball deep and push the player back, setting up a big opening in front of your opponent. Players have a difficult time moving forward…
Groundstrokes should be hit crosscourt, especially at the beginning of the point. In doubles, use the crosscourt (or diagonal) idea until you have your opponents in trouble and then change the direction or move forward. In singles, use the crosscourt to get the opponent moving and then use down the line groundstrokes when your opponent is…
It is a great idea to formulate a strategy or plan prior to stepping on the court. A game plan may be as simple as “hitting three or four crosscourt groundstrokes and being patient at the baseline”. It could be to “serve and volley on all first serves, and work your way in to the…
It is always difficult during a match to determine what may have caused a mistake. However, it is extremely important to identify the cause so that you can make an adjustment and hit the shot better the next time. At all levels of play, from beginner to professional, the two most common technique errors usually…
If you put 10 different players on the baseline and have them serve, you will likely see 10 different service motions and serves. The most common attribute of the best servers is their ability to keep the toss consistently in the same place. This allows the server to swing with confidence and adds smoothness to…
Tennis is an incredible sport. As you are learning the game, you can work on so many different areas to improve on. Most of us initially focus on the actual hitting of the ball-strokes, footwork, placement, etc. As you improve, it becomes pretty obvious that winning a tennis match is not always directly related to…
Back in the day, men's tennis was ruled for a time by big-mouthed boors who railed against the injustices and perceived slights inflicted by the tennis establishment. The irony, of course, is that these rebels without a clue rarely played by the rules of sportsmen-like behavior. Some of these tennis thugs have grown up, but…