Ok, the title is not entirely true - however the point is DO NOT think TOO much during the match.

During the match is the time to EXECUTE everything that you have thought about before the match.

What am I talking about?? Ok. Before a match you would have trained and practiced. You would have worked on your technique across all your shots. You would have found great rythm on your serve and ground strokes. You also should have developed a clear plan / strategy on how you are going to play this match. Plan A and Plan B.

Do you see what I refer to when I say THINKING? During a match is the time to EXECUTE all these things. Forget about technique, you can not change that in a match. Forget about rhythm - it is your opponents objective to ensure you get no rhythm! Also forget about strategy.. it is pretty tough to work out a solid plan when you are in the middle of a match. Before the match is the time for that.

So, during the match you are relaxed and free to only think about executing your PLAN to beat this opponent. Focus on your plan, have confidence in your plan and most importantly STICK TO IT. Give your plan time to work.

So many people come into a match with a plan and then get discouraged because they are down in the first set. They go to plan B, which also fails.. What happens then? Then they are totally lost. When you are totally lost you are hitting balls aimlessly and points have less meaning. Then what do you start to think of? …. Technique, or creating plan C. During that time, game after game is slipping away and ultimately the match.

IF you PREPARE your plan well, be confident to EXECUTE it. Sometimes your plan may take a few games or set to take effect.

THINK before a match EXECUTE during the match..

Michael

Make life easy for yourself and hit the ball on the rise. One of the challenges with tennis is that every ball we hit will come to us differently. Different height, speed, spin, distance from our body etc. Our challenge it to try and move ourselves into position to execute as close to the same shat as possible each time.
Let me give you a tip that will make a massive difference to your groundstrokes. Hit every ball on the rise OR at the top of the bounce.

As soon as that ball starts to drop your whole stroke needs to change to get the ball up and over the net. The stroke becomes much more difficult and you will hit the frame of your racquet more especially if you are trying to apply topspin.

The first picture shows how closed the racquet face can be if you hit the ball on the rise. The key is that you can hit the ball very hard and it will stay in the court. You are changing the direction of the ball. In the picture the ball changes direction by about 90 degrees. Lets see what happens with a dropping ball.

With a dropping ball you need to open the face of the racquet, and hit up to get exactly same ball direction. However in this case the harder you hit the ball the further over the fence the ball will go. In which case most people then back off the power and they let gravity bring the ball down onto the court.

Now you can picture in your minds 2 different pictures. High level players strike across a rising ball and other players tap a dropping ball back up and over the net.

High level players use mainly the wind resistance of a heavily spinning ball to make it land in the court, while other players rely on gravity for it to land in the court.

To see another compact explanation of this look at or think of people playing ping pong. The ball is hit with a closed bat, as the ball is coming off the table. They can generate massive power and still keep it in that little area.

Anyway I hope that has got you thinking. Move those feet, move forward, hit the ball on the rise and WATCH YOUR GAME IMPROVE !!.

Enjoy your tennis !

Well the title is not entirely true. However, the point is that winning tennis matches is not about hitting winners. Yes, hitting a winner feels great ! I think it is one of the most exhilarating feelings.

The more difficult the shot, the greater the feeling when you make it.

Personally, being pulled wide on my backhand, then executing a winner down the line feels fantastic ! You have such a small thin slice of court in which to land the ball - high risk and high reward.

Anyone watching loves it and the opponent will be impressed.

However, does that win matches? Unfortunately the answer most of the time is no. The chances of hitting winners all match is very low. The risk of these attempted winners becoming unforced errors is very high.

Some players, sometimes will hit winners shot after shot, however usually that will only last a few points or games. Maybe they can keep it up for a set, but not likely for a whole match.

I am considering a winner to be one where you have executed a shot at about 95%, it would need to be close to the lines and unreachable by your opponent.

So when is the best time to go for a winner? Hmmm, tough question..

Some would think - when you have a decent lead on the opponent. However you should never change a winning game. You should be closing the match out not handing points back to them.

Maybe, if you have little or no chance of winning the point so it is ‘do or die’. Clean winner or loose the point. However if you dont go for a winner and give the opponent another shot - they might make an error on their shot or play a weak shot so you can recover. So really you MAY still win the point.

If you have a short ball and maneuvered your opponent out of court, a high percentage winner is a good shot selection !

Maybe the secret is Winners in Moderation..

Let me know your thoughts… Winners feel great, they get the crowd excited but do they win matches?

Something to think about !! Sign up to ensure you do not miss the Daily Tennis Tips. Please contact us with comments, suggestions, topics etc.

Until Tomorrow !! Michael

During a match we tend to tighten up in pressure situations. Serving is where these pressures can mount up. Why? Well, we are expected to win our serve AND we are in control of when the point starts. (Here also lies the opportunity to become a very sold server - more about that another time)

If you find yourself pulling your serves into the net it is usually due to you dropping your ball toss shoulder too early.

Right handers - your left shoulder. Left handers - your right shoulder. (if ball toss shoulder wasnt clear enough )

This is definitely the case IF you find you are looking at the ground after serving. Some people are hunched over after the serve with little forward momentum.

So what to do? A very easy cue to remember in the match - is ‘keep your front shoulder up high’. I mean, really keep it up high for as long as you can.

In actual fact it will be forced down eventually as you make impact and follow through the serve.

See the example of the picture in this article. Federer has his left hand and shoulder reaching high. His front shoulder is much higher than the back shoulder.

‘Keep your shoulder high’ is the simple cue in the match to get your serves back on track.

By forcing this action you will stay very tall during the serve and it will force you to go ‘up’ and ‘out’ to the ball.

Stay tall, feel strong, and build a solid serve you can rely on in any situation.

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