How To Practice

GENERAL COMMENTS ABOUT PRACTICING

1. Always practice with an objective.

·         When learning the many new techniques as presented in this program, work on only one new technique at a time.

·         Once you become comfortable with a new technique, learn to practice two or more techniques at the same time.

2. Give yourself feedback after each and every shot.

·         Evaluate what you did right and give yourself credit.

·         Evaluate what you did wrong and be sure not to make the same mistake on your next shot.

·         Notice the DEGREE of your errors.

3. Stress the quality, not the quantity of balls hit.

·         Experiment! All progress and learning begins with experimentation.

AWARENESS

Awareness refers to the skills of visualizing and controlling your tennis motions without actually looking at them.

Awareness reference points commonly used in tennis:

A. O’clock positions
B. Racket pitch (open, perpendicular, closed)
C. Arm and body extension (extended vs. not extended)
D. Racket head position as it moves through space
E. Direction of stroke (low to high, level, and high to low)
F. Your physical location on the court
G. Position of the feet when hitting the ball (open stance vs. closed stance)
H. Pace of the shot (soft, moderate, hard)

WHEN PRACTICING ON THE COURT…

1. Keep the ball OUT OF THE NET at all costs. The worst thing you can do in tennis is to hit the ball into the net.

2. Learn to direct every shot toward a backcourt target point.

3. When practicing with someone better than you…

·         Just try to get EVERY ball back in play.

·         Be defensive; hit soft, high, and down the middle on most shots.

·         Don’t let him or her intimidate you; stick to your objectives.

4. Practicing with someone just as good as you…

·         Work on the same things together and learn from each other.

·         Play games and sets often; this is the ultimate test of your progress.

5. Practicing with someone not as good as you…

·         Welcome this opportunity; promote the sport.

·         Hit each shot to him or her toward the middle backcourt target point. This is an excellent opportunity to work on your accuracy.

·         Be consistent so the weaker player actually PLAYS BETTER when he or she hits with you. This is also a good opportunity to see how consistent YOU can be.

·         Notice your opponent’s weaknesses and humble yourself. Remember, you probably had the same weakness in your game at one time or another.

By: Andrew S. Rosz

South Florida Professional Tennis Instruction
Hollywood, Florida, USA
(954) 922-8040