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Why practicing until it “feels right” is time consuming and expensive.
If you hit thousands of forehands and paid for $1000s in lessons you’d certainly see improvements. You’d have greater control, power, and spin. But how would you know if you made real mechanical improvements to your forehand or simply learned how to hit a flawed forehand–better–through repetition?
Video review: the faster way to make big changes to your game.
Learn more, here:
http://volleycam.com/improve-your-tennis-forehand-with-video-review
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Here's a recent interview ( http://hdtenniscamera.com/how-to-be-a-pro-tennis-player ) with Alejandro Ahuja, who had a short stint as a pro on the ITF Futures Circuit, where almost every player loses money:
"If have any interest in making a living playing tennis, you should probably read this first.
I've always been one of the elite players at my club, on my team, and in my town. When I heard that every ranked player on the ATP has at one point played an ITF event as a junior or adult I took the leap and played some tournaments on the International Tennis Federation'sprofessional circuit.
An introduction to the ITF.
Very little is known about the ITF circuit. It has only been a couple of years now that scores became easily available to the public,and scores can’t really tell the story of who these players are, what their journey is like, and what the ITF circuit life is all about. And believe me, it is a world that exists at the opposite end of the tennis spectrum. It's the entry level of professional tournaments, with prize money of $10,000 or $15,000, and over 220 tournaments held yearly worldwide. Anyone can enter, but you'll have to win 3 or 4 consecutive matches just to enter the main draw of 64, where only the top 8 typically get any prize money.
Who are these players?
The Futures are mainly interesting because of the mix of players you can find at one single event; from future prodigy teenage players trying to break into the ATP World Tour, to thirty year old journeymen who are still out there grinding it out, and everything in between.
Who pays?
In most cases, the player does: the flight, the hotel, and the food. It is easy to spot which players have some outside financial support (many have wealthy families...a lucky few have endorsements) and which players are out there on their own. Most players on the ITF circuit travel in teams in order to share expenses such as hotel and travel. Players in Futures events do not have many of the benefits that the top professional players enjoy. They do not have free accommodations, and there is seldom free transportation from the hotels to the tennis venues; there are no fans flocking to their practice sessions, no sponsors chasing after them for big endorsement deals, and no big stages to showcase their talent. Nearly all players at ITF events do not travel with a coach, a physical therapist, or even family members, because that just means added expenses.
Can you make money?
There's virtually no money to be made at these events; most players are doing this for the love of the game and the chance to accumulate enough ITF points to qualify for a chance to qualify for an ATP event. ITF Futures events are either $10,000 or $15,000 in prize money, with 80% of that distributed to singles and only 20% to doubles. A regular qualifying draw at a Futures event consists of sixty-four players, with eight of them making it into the main draw after three matches. Unlike Challengers and ATP tournaments, where players earn ranking points and/or prize money after the first round of qualifying, the only thing players earn in a qualifying draw of a Futures event is the chance to compete in the Main Draw. And even then, if you played three tough matches and managed to get into the Main Draw, there are no ranking points for losing in the first round of the tournament. There is, however, the pay check for approximately $150.00 which should be enough to cover one night at a hotel and three meals...after spending almost a week near the tournament! For those who are on their own and have little or no sponsorship, this lifestyle becomes a race against time. They have limited funds, and thus limited time to break through to the next level, where they can at least break even.
How good are these players?
Very. It important to point out that all of these players are incredibly talented, incredibly fit and work as hard as anyone on the tour. If you were watching a practice session during any of these tournaments and you were not familiar with the rankings or level of the tournaments, you could easily be fooled into thinking that you just watched a practice session between two guys who are about to play the first round at a Grand Slam. Just being able to obtain a single ATP ranking point is an incredible feat, so even the player who is ranked #1900 is already at a level that no recreational player can even imagine.
See a grittier version of pro tennis: watch an ITF event.
There are ITF Futures events happening every week in as many as 16 countries in the world. And if you are a true tennis fan and want to get a glimpse into the making of a tennis player, I encourage you to attend one of these tournaments. Tickets are free of charge, you can interact with the players who are always happy to get some attention and share their stories, and more importantly, you will be introduced to a whole new side of professional tennis.
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I once played my young instructor, Matt, in a tournament, and was expecting to be “blown” off the court by his serve. Instead, he served with such unpredictability that he essentially “confused” me off the court.
Here’s the “thinking man’s” way to win matches with the serve.
Don’t hit every first serve flat.
Most of my opponents serve in a familiar pattern: Flat first serve, spinny second serve. Flat first serve, spinny second serve. It’s easy to read. But Matt randomly mixed in flat, kick, and slice serves on his first serve. He was very clever to set up off-speed serves with fast, flat ones. When he sensed I was expecting another bullet…and promptly served up a slow but high bouncing serve. The result: an early swing, an error, and another easy point for him.
You probably serve to your opponent’s backhand TOO much.
This is probably the most predictable tactic I find at my level (4.0). And it does work for a while, but on the way to the end of the first set I’ve returned so many serves with my backhand (I usually slice them back) that it actually becomes MORE reliable than my forehand. Serving to the backhand is a fine tactic, but choosing that side any more than 66% of the time is too much.
Disguise your intentions with a hard-to-read ball toss.
What good is a random serving pattern if your opponent can “read” it after a few games? Try to place your toss in the same spot each time regardless of how or where you’re hitting it. Here’s a great discussin on camouflaging your intentions:
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/archive/index.php/t-234289.html
Original article as posted on VolleyCam blog:
http://hdtenniscamera.com/tennis-serve-tips
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Ever watch an NFL game? The coach is stalking the sidelines with a large color coded chart of plays handpicked for that day’s opponent, while the quarterback has a “cheat sheet” strapped to his forearm. Then eleven men get together to all get on the same page. These guys are organized! Unfortunately many tennis players take the court with little or no plan of action, just hitting the ball about and hoping for the best. >Here's how to put together a reliable "play" when you need it most.
Take count of your strengths and weaknesses.
The first part might just be the most difficult. You have to take an honest account of your personal skill set. What are your strengths? What are the shots that you can count on day in and day out? Honesty is of extreme importance here. Are your opponent’s forced to adjust to these strengths you possess?
What are your weaknesses? What shots give you the most trouble? This account should go further than shots too. You need to assess other things as well. Is your movement good, or a weakness? Can you last through a hard three set match? How is your concentration? All these varied skill sets are important in constructing your personal game plan. Obviously a player with no endurance and little concentration will have trouble with a grinder type game plan, and on the same line, you will have great difficulty carrying out a good “first strike” game plan if you have no obvious weapon.
Learn the 3 distinct parts of each point.
There is my lead in to the next consideration, the three parts of a tennis point. Understanding the construct of a point will help you devise a game plan that fits your personal skill set. Every tennis point starts with the obvious, the first exchange. One player is serving and the other is returning serve. This first exchange can often give one player control of the point. Many times the point won’t even get to the
next part.
The next part of the point is the rally, the true meat of every point. The higher the level the more important this part becomes. The serve is put in, the return is made, and then the point begins to take shape. This is the segment of any point that will most be determined by experience, or proper training. If you haven’t done your homework this part will be a challenge.
The third and final part of the point is the finish. While most points end with errors if you are 4.0 or better you must begin to WIN a percentage of points. Please don’t misunderstand, consistency permeates every level, right up to the very top, but there comes a time when you need to be willing to think offensively too. Now I will make a statement that is very important-you must affect your opponent’s decision making.
Make your play.
So here we go, with those three parts of a tennis point in mind, with an honest account of your tennis skills, you can now think of creating your very own game plan!
Tips for "First Strikers":
Let’s begin with a First Strike player. Obviously you need either a big serve or big return for this. By BIG I am not necessarily referring to pace. Spin can make a shot BIG. Accuracy can make a shot BIG. Sure, if you possess consistency, spin, accuracy AND pace that is great, but it is the first three elements that are most important. On the return side, a consistent return of serve can be a weapon. Every server hates to have to work for every point.
The goal of a first strike player is to get control of the point from the first shot. This is crucial to a
player that doesn’t move well. That first strike player puts you on the defensive immediately, making you chase the ball, so they don’t have to. This is the consummate big serve, big forehand player. Hit the big serve, get a short or inside return, and put you on the run with a big forehand. This is also an important play for a player with an obvious weakness, like a broken backhand.
Tips for "Rally Monsters":
For the player that wants to build around the rally part of a point that player needs a highly reliable
serve and return of serve. Obviously without that they may not get to the rally portion of a point. The rally focused player needs to be at a neutral status after the first exchange to be effective. This type of game plan demands a certain amount of fitness. Tennis players have become more consistent so if you are building a game built on consistency you need to have the fitness level to be able to carry out this plan, and have the mind set to do this.
Tips for "Finishers":
Then there is the Finisher. This player needs a big shot, a finishing shot that will put fear into his pponent. The typical finisher has the big forehand, and typical to this player, he is more than willing to do a lot of running to hit as many forehands as possible. That is a key element. You must have the aggressive mindset to hit a lot of your big shot, and continue to hit it big! This player will not get flustered after missing a few. This player needs to go down swinging!
This should get you started. The next couple times on the court focus on assessing your skills. Try a few things, maybe play a practice set as a First Striker, another as a Rally Monster, and yet another as a Big Finisher. Which feels more comfortable? Which suits your personality, and skill set?
This article was originally published on the VolleyCam blog:
http://hdtenniscamera.com/mental-toughness-in-tennis
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Do you find yourself having fantastic “breakthroughs” in practice that don’t translate into your matches? You seemingly solve a problem during drills and casual play, but when you’re keeping score, those bad habits creep in again.
I asked Burlingame, CA teaching pro Scott Perlstein: Just what does it take to make the discoveries we make in practice TRANSLATE into match play?
Scott’s response:
“As you add a new skill you must have a THREE prong understanding of the steps needed to master the skill.
1. Learning the skill.
This is the stage when the player is introduced to a new concept and will initially struggle with and even resist changing their habits. There are 3 tactics to help develop a more open mind to change:
New strokes become permanent when you learn to trust them.
a. Define specific terms for the new skill. I will often ask the student to explain to me what they are trying to do. If a player tells me he is looking for more depth from his two hand backhand, for example, simply having him repeat the word “extend” “extend” “extend” in his mind as he sets up the shot works as a mental cue to use a new way.
b. Encourage body awareness. A: an awareness of what your body is doing, and B: a comfort level. If the shot is not comfortable you will never use it. I often tell the student that they are not trying to make me, the instructor, happy. We are trying to make the student happy. So if you’re not using your new skill in a match, it’s because you’re not comfortable with it yet. Let your instructor know this! You haven’t corrected the behavior until it feels good doing it.
c. Visualization. The student must have a video in his mind of what he is trying to look like, and what the result of his shots look like.
During your work with your coach you need to be patient with yourself. Until you have a high comfort and trust level you need to have a “more please “ attitude.
2. Locking in the skill
Locking in the skill takes practice both on and off the court. I tell the students…off court I want them swinging in front of a mirror so they can get an instant video feed back of what the shot looks like. On the court in drills and practice matches you introduce the shot with some degree of stress. Trusting the shot will take time. The more it works for you the more you will want to use it. Introduce score keeping in practice to simulate the tension of match play. It’s nerves that cause tennis players to be defensive and react with trusted, proven instincts.
3. Owning the skill
Finally, ready for prime time. One of my tour coach friends, Dean Goldfine, told one of his pros not to use a certain shot during the match as it was not mastered enough to be productive. In matches you should only use shots that you have developed a trust for. Trust doesn’t mean making the shot 100% of the time, but that it works enough that you would use it when it counts.
Ultimately, it’s through repetition that we learn, but following the above tips can help to accelerate the process.”
Quoted from my recent article on tennis practice habits..
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Here's a way to accelerate your improvement by comparing your tennis to the pros on YouTube.
Learn the pros' strokes on YouTube.
A month ago I committed myself to learning the two hand backhand. I was not looking forward to the awkwardness and frustration of learning something new . And where would I find the time? You have to hit around 10,000 balls to feel confident in a new stroke. But with video analysis, I think I've cut that number in half. Here's how.
Step 1: Identify a technically "perfect" stroke on YouTube.
We'll call this the "control" video. It should be of a pro hitting in slow motion with a good view of the player from head to foot. This video of Thomas Berdych's 2 hand backhand is perfect:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/KvBVFDozccQ?rel=0
Step 2: Film 3-5 of your sessions on a ball machine.
Set up a camera on the baseline. It doesn't need to be my VolleyCam, or anything expensive, but high definition will be a big help. Hit a few hundred balls at a time and return home to compare your stroke to your "control" video (in my case, Berdych hitting backhands). Identify one thing to work on during your next session (ie, shoulder turn, extension of left hand into court, etc.). Keep it simple, and focused: you can't learn it all in one session. With each session, compare videos and "check off" each element (shoulders, knee bend, footwork) until you have a fundamentally solid and repeatable stroke.
Step 3: Real world testing. More video.
Find a partner or instructor good enough (and patient enough) to isolate your new stroke. You're about to find out the vast difference between "ball machine" confidence and "real world" confidence. The ball will be coming at a varied pace, angle and height. You will struggle. It will be frustrating. At this point, some players give up and return to their flawed but familiar strokes. But if you're diligent about filming, comparing to the test video, and working on just one thing at a time, you're reducing a large problem into a series of smaller, more manageable problems. And you have the benefit of video to verify your progress.
Conclusion: It isn't right, until it "looks right."
If you're going to learn a new stroke, or radically change a stroke, don't just practice until it "feels right" or the ball goes in reliably. Your work isn't done. If you make the extra effort to have the most mechanically efficient form possible, you're arming yourself with a major advantage on the court. You aren't working as hard, and you're working with far more margin for error. You become one of those players who wins without seemingly trying.
Full article on learning the backhand from my blog.
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tournament wrote:I think Federer has a good chance as Nadal, his arch nemesis is waning due to injuries. I always thought the Federer and Djokovic were more evenly matched. So, Federer can indeed get back into the top spot (IMHO).
He could catch Djokovic, as Joker won't add points @ tournaments he won last year.
He'll need Nadal to have injuries.
But if he can with the USO, he always piles on points through the end of the year (especially ATP Finals).
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