You’re getting warmer

Have you ever played a match where your opponent couldn’t—or wouldn’t—keep the ball in play during the warm-up and you were forced to start the match before you felt your strokes were ready? Every tennis player can relate. While the ideal situation is to get a good practice in before your match, busy schedules and limited court time often make that unrealistic. Many of us rely solely on the five minutes we’re allotted to get ready for our matches. But there are other things you can do to be better prepared to play that don’t require you to be on the court with a practice partner. For one thing, research shows that imagery—imagining yourself hitting your strokes and going through the motions of playing—can reduce the time it takes to get warmed up. So try to spend at least a few minutes before each match visualizing yourself producing the kind of shots you want to hit. Also, many tennis centers have a practice wall that you can use. A few minutes hitting against a backboard is often better than hitting with a partner anyway. A word of caution with backboards: Make sure you don’t hit too hard and rush your strokes. Instead, concentrate on making good contact and using good form. Finally, you can prepare simply by shadow swinging—going through your strokes without a ball. To make this exercise even more effective, perform it in front of a big window or a mirror so that you can see yourself and ensure good form.