TENNIS TIPS

These tennis tips are timeless and should be reviewed often – Dave Power

1. The sleep you get two nights before the big match is more important than the amount the night before. Anticipation may make it hard to sleep the night before.
2. When receiving and having the ad point, keep the third ball in your pocket instead of hitting it back over to the server’s side. The server won’t need it because you are going to win the next point. It is a psychological ploy.
3. When you know you will be playing through your normal meal hour, it would be good to eat ahead of time to make sure you have enough fuel to finish the match.
4. When serving, pick out the ball with the least felt left on it to hit your first serve with. It will fly faster through the air making the serve more effective and more difficult for the receiver to control the return.
5. If the ball felt gets fluffy, don’t try to hit fast-paced shots. Instead, work the court with good placement.
6. If the opponent only has a slice backhand, come to the net as often as possible because his passing shot will sit up nicely for your volley.
7. Have racquets strung with different tensions-you may need more power or more control on certain days and this will give you the flexibility.
8. To avoid disputes, always say the score before playing each point.
9. If you break a string during a point, get to the net as quickly as possible. Your volley will have a bigger court and better angles available than a groundstroke.
10. Clear all balls from your side of the court before each point starts.
11. To avoid blisters, wear two pairs of socks-a thin pair under your regular pair.
12. If a score dispute occurs, you have to remember every point played in order, who won it, and what the score became at that time.
13. When you are running to get to a ball and you realize you will not get there in time, stop so you get a good look at the ball to make the call.
14. If you feel too nervous to serve, chose to receive if you win the toss.
15. Over-hit your shots in the warm-up to get rid of your nerves.
16. Start hydrating your body the night before a match.
17. Stay out of air-conditioning one hour before a match. Get off your feet and sit in the shade so your body stays adjusted to the outdoor temperature.
18. You should learn three lessons from each defeat-what to do better next time, what you wished you had done, what weakness to improve, etc.
19. There is a different confidence you develop from being in great condition-the feeling you can get to every ball. When you move well, you play well.
20. Avoid eating dairy products before physical activity, especially on hot days.
21. After a double fault, serve two second serves.
22. Hand strength is very important in tennis. Use a hand gripper to develop your strength.
23. Play practice sets against the opponent that is hardest for you to beat until you understand the shots it takes to beat them.
24. Wake up a minimum of one hour before your match time. One and one-half to two hours is preferable.
25. When returning serve, break up the server’s concentration by removing the ball lying in the court between the first and second serves.
26. The first rule of doubles is to get your first serve in.
27. The longer the rally, the more important it is psychologically to win the point.
28. Deny your opponent any winners between the singles sidelines.
29. Hustle is worth at least four points a match.
30. Try for every ball-your reflexes cannot be selective.
31. Toss the ball lower on windy days so the wind will not effect your toss as much.
32. The edge goes to the smarter player when the match is on the line, like third set tie-breaks.
33. Always end your practice session on a positive note-by hitting a good shot.
34. Your timing may suffer after playing in a lopsided match against a much weaker opponent. Go out and hit 10-15 minutes before your next match to re-groove your stroke.
35. If you had trouble with a particular stroke during a match, make sure you practice that stroke to improve it before the start of your next match.
36. Slow starters need to play 3-4 practice games before a match starts so it feels like they are playing the second match of the day when they step on the court.
37. All players should have three goals: short term-3-4 months and intermediate term-1 year (add a new stroke, make a weakness better, particular ranking, player you want to beat) and finally your ultimate goal (play high school, college tennis, pro circuit, NCAA tournament).
38. Allow no winners between the singles sidelines.
39. Do something everyday towards your goals.
40. Play out balls in your practice sessions to strengthen your eye muscles and develop your concentration.
41. Do not make an error into the net when both players are rallying from the baseline during a point.
42. Pay attention to the feeling in your hand and the flight of the ball to detect groundstroke errors.
43. Pay attention to the ball toss and the flight of the serve to detect service errors.
44. Two good reasons for not getting topspin on your shots-hitting too close to the body and striking the ball late.
45. The correct learning order is consistency, placement, and pace.
46. Make the opponent play every point!
47. Good things happen to players who stay focused and positive.
48. Do not miss two shots in a row the same way i.e. both forehands in the net, both serves long.
49. Develop the attitude of “I never saw a ball I did not like”.
50. Establish your game before your opponent can establish his/hers.
51. Never turn your back to the net and lose sight of the ball.
52. Never start to serve when you are out of breath.
53. Make your tired opponent stretch for balls.
54. Do not try to hit a drop shot on crucial points
55. Two out of the three basic strokes (forehand, backhand, and serve) have to become weapons to reach a high level of play.
56. When at the net, anticipate the shot that takes the shortest distance to get to you.
57. When correcting a serve, you have control of three variables- speed, spin, and trajectory.
58. Develop an all-around game. The more weapons you have, the greater the chance of winning matches.
59. You have to learn how to win when you are only playing at 50-70 % of your ability.
60. Your conditioning program will have to keep pace with your game improvements.
61. You need to practice against players of greater and lesser abilities. The better players will teach you what you have to improve and the lesser players allow you to practice the weak areas of your game.
62. You need a good mix of singles and doubles because they work on different parts of your game.
63. It is better to practice your weaknesses than your strengths.
64. You are only as good as your weakest shot-good players will find it.
65. Your goal for tiebreaks is to win both of your service points and split your return points.