Stop Thinking About Winning

By John F. Murray, Ph.D Wouldn't it be grand if there were a special world where every player won every match? In this tennis fantasyland, scores would be meaningless since every player would be crowned champion. If this is what you seek, hit the snooze button one more time. When you wake up and smell the Starbucks again, you'll remember that every player eventually loses except the tournament winner. In fact, without the risk of losing, your dream would be so boring it would keep you asleep! The challenge and uncertainty in tennis provides much of the thrill and an obsession with winning only hastens defeat. Too much emphasis is wrongly placed on winning. This does not mean not wanting to win far from it. That is why we play sports. But remember that there is also an opponent and that the most control we really ever have in a match over outcome is 50%. 50% is just as good as zero since there is never more than half control. When NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner gave Joe Torre the ultimatum, “win against Cleveland or you are out,” media scurried to cover the “bad boss” element. I made the point that saying “win or you are fired” is the same as saying “flap your arms and fly or you are fired!” Nobody can control winning, but everybody can control performance, and that is where the focus needs to remain. Task-involved athletes focus on performance and display high intrinsic motivation, produce maximal effort, and persist longer across a variety of situations. Players emphasizing performance goals (e.g., higher percentage of first serves) over outcome goals (e. g., winning) retain more attention for the immediate task at hand. Getting wrapped up in thoughts about outcome only leads to distraction, anxiety, and pressure. What you really want is to be sincerely fascinated with the many dimensions of performance. Staying excited about performance keeps you firmly in the present and guards against the loss of self-confidence that could occur when the next Rafael Nadal or Justine Henin rolls into your upcoming tournament. Take a few seconds to recall the best performance of your life. You may not remember the details well because you were so completely absorbed in the moment. Expending energy dwelling on past mistakes or possible outcomes would have only spoiled this peak experience. Your focus on performance that day was admirable and winning took care of itself. This is where you want to be every match. One way to remain focused on performance is to set short-term goals. These should include daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Start by investing in a small notebook or computer blog site which should be used to keep track of goals, achievements and comments. A rule of thumb is to set goals that you can achieve about 55% of the time. If you are reaching your goals more than 65% of the time set greater challenges. If you achieve your goals less than 45% of the time set them easier. Make sure that your performance goals are specific, challenging, and realistic. Here are some examples of viable performance goals in tennis: 1. Increase your net approaches by 10 each set. 2. Increase your first service percentage from 55% to 70%. 3. Replace every on-court negative self-statement with a positive comment. 4. Lob the ball at least 50% of the time when in serious trouble. 5. Reduce your unforced errors by 5 per set. Remember to set mental as well as physical performance goals. Self-knowledge is the key to setting intelligent goals. As you notice improvements in performance, don't be surprised if your opponents begin losing a little more often. So stop flapping your arms to fly. Your best chance of flying is to focus first on performing.

Pick the right doubles partner

It used to be said that the best doubles team in the world was John McEnroe and anybody else. While we can’t all play alongside a ringer, we do have some say in our selection of a partner, and that’s the first step toward playing good doubles. I feel that the best doubles sidekick is one who complements you. For example, if you’re an extrovert, try to find a more introverted partner. Or vice versa. Your differences in personality will even out your moods on the court and prevent you from getting too excited or too withdrawn. But this doesn’t just apply to your personalities. Combining players with different playing styles—for example, a steady player with a flashier one, or a right-hander with a lefthander— also works well. Angel Lopez, USPTA Master Pro San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club, San Diego, Calif.

A New Footwork Manifesto

Much of what you’ve heard about moving on a tennis court is wrong. Here are the real keys to footwork in the modern game. By Jose Higueras(Tennis Magazine) How many times have you heard the following phrases: “don’t give any ground”; “always move forward for the ball”; “don’t hit off your back foot”? In the United States, “hug the baseline” and “take the ball on the rise” have become self-evident truths; to play well, you must play it this way. This is a myth. If you want proof, look at the pro game. The world’s best players frequently hit the ball while leaning backward, not into the court, or while retreating from the baseline. The pros don’t do this because of nerves or bad technique, but out of necessity. As Rafael Nadal, who might have the best feet in the world, explained when a reporter asked him why he spent so much time well behind the baseline against Fernando Verdasco in the Australian Open semifinals, “Did you see the speed of the ball or not?” Nadal points out a simple fact about footwork in today’s modern, baseline-oriented game: You can’t fight the ball. If it’s coming slowly, move in and take the offensive. But if it’s coming quickly, you need to adjust. Imagine you’re standing in the middle of a circle, ready to react to the ball from 4 feet behind the baseline. You have four obvious choices—forward, left, right or back—along with all the directions in between. In other words, footwork is a 360-degree skill. It requires reading the ball immediately and taking the most efficient path to the ball. This is what I’m teaching students right now as the USTA’s director of coaching for elite player development, because it’s essential for players to learn these skills as early as possible. Here are four pointers and a drill that will help you dramatically improve your footwork. 1. Take pride in defense If someone throws a hard punch at your nose, should you step forward and absorb the full force of the blow, or lean back, minimize the impact and throw your own punch? The answer is obvious, yet too few people apply the principle to tennis. If someone drills a ball close to the baseline, don’t try to cut the ball off at a sharp angle. Move back diagonally, make sure you’re balanced, and try to get the ball back deep. As much as we think of Roger Federer as the ultimate offensive player, his defense and positioning are what allow him so many opportunities to hit offensive shots. Tennis is a game of errors, even for the pros; if you make fewer of them than your opponent, you’ll win more often than you’ll lose. That said, let me emphasize that “defense” and “pushing” are not the same thing. Playing defense doesn’t mean being passive. 2. Think balance, not weight transfer If you can arrive at the ball early enough to step into your shots, by all means do it. But at some point, you’re going to have to hit a ball off your back foot, with a slightly more open stance than you would like, or with your feet farther apart than you want. No one adjusts his movement like this better than Andy Murray. Fortunately, changing your technique on the fly is easier than ever today, thanks to lighter racquets that have larger sweet spots and better stability. The key to success on a shot like this is maintaining your balance. Keep your center of gravity low as you move and don’t slump your shoulders or bend over at the waist. 3. Use large steps if needed It’s generally good advice to take many small steps, rather than a few large ones, when approaching the ball. But follow it only when it’s practical to do so. Sometimes you have no choice but to take a big step, as Jelena Jankovic does here, and put the best swing you can on the ball. If you have to run a long distance, it’s OK to take bigger strides at first, and if you have time, shorten them as you near the ball so you can be more precise with your positioning. Many times, I find that players take too many steps when only a few are needed. This causes just as many problems—bad timing, weak strokes, errors—as taking too few steps. You want to move decisively (see the ball, react to the ball) and economically. 4. Find your own middle You’ve been told to return to the middle of the court after every shot. It’s better to learn where your neutral position is and return there. For most, neutral means favoring the forehand side; righties would stand 2 to 3 feet to the left of the center hash mark, like Andre Agassi does here. Others prefer to hit more backhands. Either way, move to a spot that allows you to use your weapon as often as possible. If your strokes are equally strong on both sides, but you move better to the right or left, leave more room on your faster side. Footwork isn’t just about moving to the ball. It involves orienting the court in a way that forces your opponent to place the ball where you would prefer to hit it. Use your positioning on the court to influence where your opponent hits the ball. If you simply go back to the middle after every shot and ignore your strengths, you’ll put yourself at a disadvantage. Drill: Scramble I run this drill with our USTA players. Stand facing the net behind the baseline in the ready position. Your practice partner should stand a few feet in front of you, facing you. When your partner tosses a ball—either to your backhand or forehand, and at varying depths—run after it and hit your normal stroke. From this close range, a partner can force you to hit many shots in a few seconds, and also make you move in various directions. As you improve, ask your partner to speed up the drill and toss balls to more difficult spots on the court. It won’t be long before you find yourself reacting to the ball more quickly and making better decisions.

Be your own court Trainer

Come to your own rescue with these treatments for common on-court injuries. By Dana Sullivan Even a minor injury like a blister can be a major problem on the court. But keeping a few basic first-aid supplies in your racquet bag and knowing how to treat some typical on-court injuries will keep you in the game, or at least get you back on court quickly. Here’s a look at some familiar scenarios, and how to treat them a.s.a.p., with advice from Dr. Christopher Van Tilburg, M.D., editor of Wilderness Medicine magazine and an avid tennis player. The injury: Blister How to treat it: “The sooner you can catch a blister, the better chance you have to prevent it from turning into a three-weeklong annoyance,” says Van Tilburg, who works at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital Mountain Clinic in Oregon. If the blister develops while you’re playing and you don’t want to stop, cover it with a thin layer of first-aid tape (Band-Aids probably won’t stay in place during play and thick material can bunch up and cause friction that can lead to more blisters). If the blister is on your hand, you might have to wrap the tape around your wrist to keep it in place. “Never pop a blister,” Van Tilburg says. The fluid inside has immune cells that help with healing, he explains, so opening the blister slows that process. You also risk introducing bacteria that could lead to infection. If the bubble bursts on its own, clean it as described in the following section on scrapes and cuts. For the next few days, leave the blister exposed to air as much as possible. If the blister is on your foot and you need to wear shoes, cover it with a piece of moleskin or a special blister bandage like GlacierGel Blister and Burn Dressings, which are waterproof bandages that have a layer of cooling gel. And while you may have heard that duct tape can be used as a blister bandage, Van Tilburg advises against this remedy because the tape isn’t hypoallergenic and could ultimately cause more irritation than the blister itself. The injury: Scrape or cut How to treat it: On a scrape, squirt a solution of baby shampoo mixed with water, making sure to rinse out any debris. “We use baby shampoo in the ER because it doesn’t sting and does a good job of cleaning surface wounds,” Van Tilburg says. Next, add a layer of antibiotic ointment and, if the scrape is bleeding, cover it with a bandage or a piece of sterile gauze and first-aid tape. For a cut, stop the bleeding by placing clean gauze or a cloth over the wound and applying direct pressure. If the bleeding won’t stop, the cut may need to be closed with stitches or a type of “super glue” that seals cuts. If the bleeding has stopped, treat the cut as you would an abrasion, but use a sterile saline solution to clean it since there’s more risk of infection with a deeper cut. Then cover it with a butterfly bandage or gauze and first-aid tape. After you’re done playing, leave the wound open to speed healing. Even surface wounds can get infected, so if the area becomes red, warm to the touch, and swollen after 24 to 72 hours, see your doctor because you might need antibiotics. Slather the area with sunscreen when you’re outside for two to three months after. “Scrapes scar really easily,” Van Tilburg says. “Using sunscreen diligently will prevent a permanent reminder.” The injury: Sprained ankle, knee or wrist How to treat it: Break open an ice pack and hold it on the injured joint for 10–15 minutes. Next, wrap the injured area in an ACE bandage, making the bandage snug, but not so tight that it cuts off circulation. Finally, elevate your leg or arm so it’s above your heart for another 15 minutes. (The acronym for these four steps is RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.) If there is significant swelling, if you heard a pop or crack, or you cannot move the joint normally after 15 minutes of rest, see a physician within 24 hours since you may have a more severe injury. “If you ignore a minor fracture it can become major, possibly even requiring surgery,” Van Tilburg says.

Returning Soft Shots

Q. I consider myself a solid 3.0 player. I love competing against other 3.0 and 3.5 level players and I do quite well. But when playing against what I would consider 2.5 level players, I usually end up losing the match. My problem is that I cannot seem to speed up their short slow balls. I return anything that comes my way slow with the same intensity that it comes in. If I take a good swing at it, all my shots go long. This has been going on for about six months! What is the best way to handle this situation? Obviously, I can push the ball back over the net all match long, but this does not change the pace, which is the outcome that I am looking for. —John Kelly, Boston A. Creating pace is difficult for many players because it requires polished technique to do it consistently. And it’s especially tricky to hit forcefully off really soft shots. You don’t say anything about your technique so I’ll address your situation in general terms. First, here’s what not to do. Don’t try to hit too hard. Just as you don’t take your car from first gear right to fourth, you shouldn’t attempt to take your opponent’s soft shots and send them back twice as hard as they came to you. Instead, whenever your opponent gives you a soft shot send it back with a little more pace than it came with. This may not feel as satisfying as you’d like but it’s a mental adjustment that you have to make if you want to successfully handle these soft, short balls. Get started by having a practice partner simulate the shots that give you trouble. There’s no substitute for hitting dozens of balls in a controlled environment. As you practice work on getting in position and preparing well. A full shoulder turn is critical if you want to create pace. (To ensure you’re turning your shoulders enough try this. Assuming you’re right-handed, if you’re hitting a forehand turn your upper body so that your left shoulder comes to your chin. For backhands your chin would rest on your right shoulder.) Since you say the balls you’re having trouble with are short and you have a tendency to hit long, you need to place a special emphasis on using extra topspin to keep the ball in the court. In fact, spin should be emphasized over power. Therefore, make sure you get your racquet below the intended point of impact as you’re swinging forward. That may mean using your legs to get lower than you normally do. Finally, focus on placement. Sure it feels good to hit the ball hard, but winning shots are more about putting the ball in the right place than they are about being struck with great force. Generally, aim the ball toward your opponent’s weaker side and go for depth. If it lands closer to the baseline than to the service line you’re doing good. —Tony Lance, Instruction Editor, TENNIS Magazine

Tag-team tennis

By Pat Whitworth The best doubles teams play as if they’re a tag-team wresting duo that tries whenever possible to turn points into two-on-one contests. The idea is to isolate and work over one of your opponents until you get the right ball to finish the point. This does three things for you: 1) Allows you to hold your position on the court instead of following the ball around as you would if you hit to both of your opponents। 2) Gives your opponents fewer gaps to exploit, since your position doesn’t change much। 3) Reduces your errors, since many errors occur when you try to change the direction of the ball too early in a point। Pat Whitworth is a USPTA Master Pro in Hamilton Mill, Dacula, Ga.

High backhand volleys made simple

High volleys should be easy, right? Then why do you miss so many on the backhand side? The problem is likely because of your backswing. Players miss volleys long because their backswing was too long and the ball got to their racquet before the racquet face got back forward. Players miss volleys into the net because their backswing was too long, they swung aggressively, and the racquet ended up too far forward. The good news is that it’s really hard to miss a routine volley—especially a high volley—if you don't take too big a backswing. How do you know if your backswing’s not too big? If, when you take your racquet back, you can still see the back of your strings (the side the ball's not on) it's almost impossible to make a mistake on the volley. All you have to do is line your racquet face up with the ball and push forward on impact. from the "tennis" mag.

Body Blow

If your opponent is still catching his breath after a long point, consider aiming your next serve directly at his body. A winded receiver will often play the return without taking adjustment steps, which are necessary for returning a body serve. Aiming the ball at your opponent in this situation will often result in a weak reply that allows you to play an aggressive shot on the next ball. Kirk Anderson, USPTA & PTR Master Pro, New Fairfield, Conn.

Tag-team tennis

By Pat Whitworth The best doubles teams play as if they’re a tag-team wresting duo that tries whenever possible to turn points into two-on-one contests. The idea is to isolate and work over one of your opponents until you get the right ball to finish the point. This does three things for you: 1) Allows you to hold your position on the court instead of following the ball around as you would if you hit to both of your opponents। 2) Gives your opponents fewer gaps to exploit, since your position doesn’t change much। 3) Reduces your errors, since many errors occur when you try to change the direction of the ball too early in a point। Pat Whitworth is a USPTA Master Pro in Hamilton Mill, Dacula, Ga.

Cooling Down a Hot Opponent

Beginners should aim most of their shots toward their opponent's weakest stroke, which is often the backhand. Trying to raise your game isn’t necessarily the best option when you face a player who’s giving you more than you can handle. The first thing most players do when they find themselves trailing in a match is look for things that will help them raise their level of play. The problem with that strategy is that players typically start matches using their A game, so switching to something else usually means they end up using a tactic that’s the second- or third-best choice for their style of play. I’ve found that the smartest players react in a different way when they’re behind: Rather than trying to lift their own level, they focus on lowering their opponent’s. Here are some ways to win ugly. BEGINNER OBJECTIVE 1: Keep the ball in play. When you’re just starting to play tennis, you can win many matches simply by being more consistent than your opponent. Mastering the concept of shot tolerance—knowing how many balls your opponent will hit before he feels he has to go for a winner—should be first on the todo list of all developing players. While shot tolerance varies from player to player, hitting three or four balls on a point is often all it takes to push a beginner out of his comfort zone and cause him to take a risk that, more often than not, will result in an error. OBJECTIVE 2: Isolate and destroy Isolation is the tactic of identifying and exploiting your opponent’s vulnerabilities. At the beginner level the most glaring weaknesses are often particular shots, such as the backhand or the volley. Once you identify the chinks in your opponent’s game, hit the majority of your shots to those soft spots. Making your opponent hit shots he’s uncomfortable with should bring down the rest of his game. Use underspin to test your opponent's timing and technique. INTERMEDIATE OBJECTIVE 1: Master the moonball While many intermediate players know how to play aggressively from the baseline, few have learned the skills needed to attack when given a steady diet of high, looping balls with plenty of topspin—aka the dreaded moonball. These difficult-to-handle shots force your opponent to move back from the base-line, giving him fewer angles and less pace to work with. Consequently, moonballs often lower your opponent’s level of play by depriving him of the opportunity to attack while simultaneously forcing him to be more patient than he might like to be. OBJECTIVE 2: Use slice and underspin Have you ever seen someone come off the court bragging about how well he played against a guy who sliced and diced? I haven’t either. The fact is, most players absolutely hate to compete against opponents who hit a lot of junk. Why? Slice and under-spin shots are not as easy to handle as they appear. Sure, they look like they would be easy to attack, but because they bounce lower and slower than topspin shots, slices take you out of your rhythm. Hitting aggressively against these shots requires well-grooved technique and excellent timing, abilities most intermediates don’t have. Changing spins is one of the most effective ways to lower your opponent’s level of play. Drop shots can lure advanced players into the forecourt on your terms. ADVANCED OBJECTIVE 1: Serve to the weaker side It’s not uncommon for advanced players to have a 5.0 forehand and a 4.0 backhand. Discovering whether this is true for your opponent will give you a huge advantage. Think about it: If you pay attention and hit your serves to your opponent’s weaker return side, you can deter-mine if you’re going to be playing a 5.0 player or a 4.0 player as you start each point in your service game. The last thing you want to do when you’re trailing in a match is to give your opponent an opportunity to hit his best shot. OBJECTIVE 2: Develop a drop shot This may seem like a tactic best suited for a lower level of play, but remember that most advanced play-ers prefer to hit from the baseline. If you can make your opponent come to net on your terms, you can force him to beat you from a part of the court where he’s uncomfortable. Re-member to use the drop shot to get your opponent off the baseline, not to try to end the point outright. If a winner is your goal, the drop shot is not the best choice.

Two tips for better doubles

Bounce for better poaches: If you are going to poach a service return, start to move when the served ball bounces. At that point, your opponent will have his or her racquet back in preparation for a return. Move at an angle simultaneously toward the ball and toward the net for an easy volley. And don’t forget to let your partner know you are going to poach before the point starts! Mirror your opponents: If both of your opponents are closing in to the net, mirror that image and close in as well. If an opponent backs up behind the baseline for a shot, then you and your partner should mirror that movement and back up toward the service line in anticipation of a lob. If the opponents move to one side of the court to reach a shot, you and your partner should follow and sway with the movement of the ball. If you keep moving with your opponents, you’ll be in position to win the match.

Don’t overdo it

Have a match coming up against the top player in your league? That guy or gal who beats you every time, even if you start out with a big lead? Take a lesson from last weekend’s Rogers Cup champ, Novak Djokovic, and don’t worry about playing up to your opponent — just be yourself. You’re not unique for wanting to play your absolute best against the best competition. But asking that much of yourself — I have to hit more winners, fewer errors, and better angles, TODAY — often produces decidedly worse results. Playing within yourself isn’t easy, but there are ways to approach a match that can help you do it. Think about spin and depth, not power: Players too often think they have to hit the ball harder against a quality opponent. You’re probably better off working your opponent with softer, topspin strokes that clear the net by a safer margin and land deeper in the court. If your opponent has less to work with — fewer short balls and fewer obvious angles — you’ll find more chances coming your way. Don’t be afraid to use the middle of the court: You don’t always have to put your opponent on the run (check out how many backhands Djokovic aimed at Rafael Nadal’s feet in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup). It’s difficult to create angles, and hit winners, off deep shots in the center of the court. If you jam your opponent, you might get that short ball you’ve been waiting for. Use your second serve as a first serve: Unless you are an ace machine, keep that first-serve percentage high, even if it means a little less pace and a little more spin. Concentrate on placement. Repetition is your friend: If you find something your opponent doesn’t like, keep going after it. Do you think Djokovic felt guilty about pounding Federer’s backhand over and over again on Sunday? You don’t need to look better than your opponent. Winning will do just fine.

Practice makes perfect

Everyone likes to play matches. It’s how you measure yourself against the competition. But it doesn’t necessarily improve your tennis ability. The best way to accomplish that is to pinpoint deficiencies in your game and practice them until they become reliable. Playing matches puts the emphasis on winning, not improving. By removing the pressure of winning, you allow yourself the freedom of making mistakes and exploring parts of your game you’re not comfortable with. Here are some things to remember when practicing: —You can still make a game out of it:Some players complain that practicing is boring. You can play points out, just don’t keep traditional score. Play a tiebreaker or to 21 and start points without serving. The less you make it feel like a real match, the more you will experiment and try different shots. —Expose yourself:Whatever part of your game you’re not happy with is what you should be practicing. When playing a match, you want to win so you try to play to your strengths and conceal your weaknesses. You’ll never be a complete player that way. If it’s volleys – get to net. If it’s a slice backhand – start chipping. And there has to be something you can work on, because even the pros practice. —Remember, you do it in other sports:Tennis is one of the few sports that don’t emphasize practice. Golfers hit the range to work on their drives. Baseball players get in the batting cage to improve their swing. Practicing your weaknesses just makes sense. If you don’t have anyone to practice with, don’t be embarrassed to take a bucket of balls and just serve. Skip the match and hit the practice courts. It’s the only way you’ll really improve.

Adjust for high balls

One of the toughest shots for most recreational players to handle is the high-bouncing ball, especially if it has a lot of topspin on it. But there’s an easy way to improve your success rate in dealing with these pesky shots: Use a higher backswing. Lots of players unwittingly lower their chances of returning high balls effectively by taking their racquet back the same way they do for waist-high or low-bouncing shots. By doing so they force themselves to have to swing sharply upward to meet the ball and this puts the racquet and the oncoming ball on very different paths, thus requiring nearly perfect timing to make good contact. Instead, you’d be much better off taking your racquet back higher than usual and adjusting your entire swing up. That way you’ll put your racquet more in line with the ball and improve your chances of making a solid hit.

Go for seconds

It’s an old saying, but it’s still true to this day – “you’re only as good as your second serve.” A good first serve is important. A good second serve is crucial. When going for a second serve, too many players tell themselves, ‘I’ve got to get this serve in.’ What they should be telling themselves is that this is another opportunity to hit an effective serve. After swinging with all their might on the first serve, they will let up and spin a soft serve in the box just so they don’t lose the point. It’s a natural progression, but it puts the player at a disadvantage right from the start of the point. Being overly aggressive and regularly double faulting is stupid. But over the course of a match, playing passively on second serves is more destructive than an occasional double fault. That’s why a good player takes a bigger cut at the ball on their second serve than on their first. That’s right, your racquet head should be moving faster on the second serve than the first. That’s what happens in the pros. Here’s why: Look to the Baseline—Watch players with heavy topspin hit their ground strokes and you’ll notice how much faster they swing than players who hit a flatter ball do. That’s because they need greater racquet head speed in order to achieve the same pace and depth on their shots. The player with the flatter shots can be more dangerous, but has much less margin for error. Just like the difference between a first (flat) and second serve (spin). Practical Geometry—Since the first serve has less spin it will cut through the air quicker. It also has a much more acute trajectory than the arc created by a topspin second serve. So the flight path of the ball is shorter. That’s why it is important to use the legs, hips, shoulders, wrists, and entire body in a first serve, because the swing itself should just be a fluid and relaxed motion. Simple Physics—It may seem strange to actually swing harder on a second serve, but it makes sense. The faster you swing, the more topspin you will create. Topspin results in constant rotation of the ball, which reduces velocity and brings the ball down into the service box. Even if you swing harder it’s still a safe and consistent shot. You’re just producing more topspin, which will make your second serve heavier, bounce higher, and much more difficult to return. The next time you’re faced with a second serve, don’t let up. Go after it. Soon it could be as dangerous as your first.

Work on your foot speed

Tennis players spend a great of time working on their strokes. They will take lots of lessons or practice for hours looking to hone their shots. But a sure way to improve your game without even stepping on a tennis court is to increase your speed and agility. It’s not as glamorous as learning to hit a big forehand or serve, but gaining more foot speed can win you just as many points.

Here are some numbers for you:

• Average seconds per point:
Clay – 10
Hard – 5
Grass – 2.8
• A player averages 4.2 directional changes per point.
• Average distance covered per stroke is 4 meters.
• The ratio of time playing tennis and time walking around the court is 35:65.

By looking at this data, it’s easy to see that tennis is fast game full of explosive movements. You should train your body accordingly. Jogging will give you endurance, which is good for long matches, but when do you ever jog to a ball to hit a shot? You need speed. Practice sprinting short distances in all different directions (just like you would on a tennis court) and then rest. Do a series of sprints where you run for 15 seconds, then rest for 45 more. Simulate the action of a real point. Try to incorporate sets of hops or jumps, or any movement that will increase your quickness and explosion. You want to train your body to be able to run hundreds of short races – not one long one.

Maintaining a Lead

How to keep focus after winning the first set. It was just minutes ago that you won a hard-fought first set 6-4. Now you’re down an early break in the second. You’re starting to tighten up, and you feel as if you’re losing the match even though you’re ahead on the scoreboard. The momentum should be on your side, but it’s slipping away. You ask yourself what happened. This scenario plays out time and again at all levels of the game. Why? It’s in our nature to escape the un-pleasant feeling of excessive stress. In a close tennis match the stress on the player in the lead increases as he progresses toward the conclusion of a set and, ultimately, the match. After winning a difficult, tense set there’s often a conflict between your logical mind, which tells you to keep applying pres-sure and close out the match, and your subconscious mind, which suggests that you temporarily escape all this stress by easing up and taking a well-deserved mental break. With a set under your belt, now feels like as good a time as any. Big mistake. On the other side of the net, your opponent knows that he has to bear down or he’ll soon be leaving the court a loser. So he tends to maintain or increase his intensity level. Couple that with your own tendency to let up at this stage and there’s a momentum change just waiting to happen. How do you prevent it? In this situation, forewarned is forearmed. If you win the first set, take a few moments to collect yourself and pump yourself up. Then redouble your efforts at the start of the second set. It often helps to play games with your mind. Try to convince yourself that the match is starting over and that you have to jump out to an early lead. Be even more aggressive, resolute, and focused than you were in the first set. Concentrate on each point to minimize your errors and show your opponent that he’s in for a long and painful afternoon if he wants to win. Your opponent, trailing in the match, may be on the brink of despair. Your immediate objective should be to break his spirit by being tough. Don’t let him back into the match. Remember that your opponent is looking for some sign of weakness on your part to convince him that the first set was a fluke. If you let up even the slightest bit, you might give him hope. As the second set begins, keep the door shut—or, better still, slam it on your opponent’s foot.

Jump start your warm-up

We’ve all done it –at the court just minutes before our match starts, do a couple of knee bends, and then think we’re ready to play. After dropping the first three games of the set we scratch our heads, wondering why we’re playing so lifelessly. If you want to come out firing bullets instead of blanks, you’ve got to come on the court warm and excited to play. The best scenario would be to practice a half-hour before you play, but you’re not always going to have the opportunity. So at the bare minimum you should try to get your heart pumping before you take the court. That way your blood is flowing, your muscles are loose, and you’re ready to compete. A quick and effective way to do this is jumping rope. A jump rope is inexpensive, ready for travel, and easy to use. You don’t have to go at a Rocky-like pace, but several minutes of steady jump rope will prepare you for a match in important ways because it: Simulates Running – During warm-ups you tend to hit the balls directly at each other. This may help with your strokes, but during a match how often are balls hit in that fashion. Work the rope up to a good speed and you’ll feel like your sprinting for a drop shot. Heats You Up – Watch a professional in any sport and you’ll see they start a contest already sweating. Jumping rope helps get a lather going. For those worried about tiring out, a moderate amount of jump rope will actually energize, not weaken you. Entire Body Exercise – Jumping rope utilizes the wrist, forearm, shoulder, and whole leg, which are all crucial for playing good tennis. It also increases coordination and balance, two things a player can never have enough of. So if you suffer from early match flatness, you can skip it by jumping rope.

The 12 Step Program for Tennis

Whenever our strokes fail most of us assume our swing is to blame. But my observation is that the majority of errors in tennis occur when players stop moving their feet as much as they normally do, forcing them to use their hands in unpracticed ways to compensate for their poor positioning. And all too often the predictable result is a ball that goes into the net or outside the lines. Tennis is a game of movement and good preparation. The best players know this and pay special attention to their footwork. Need evidence? Consider this. The pros average about 10-12 steps between each ball they hit in a rally (around 8-10 if they get into a crosscourt exchange where the ball is hit too deep for the opponent to change the direction without a high risk factor); strong high school players and fair college players about 8-10; 4.0-4.5 players about 6-8; 3.0-3.5 players about 4-6; and 2.5-3.0 players only take an average of 2-4 steps between shots in a point. Want to raise your level of play? Clearly, one way to do it is to add more steps to your preparation. In fact, if you aim for an average of 12 steps between shots your level of play will sky rocket. Guaranteed. Oh, by the way, if you think this doesn't apply to you because you play doubles, think again. The Bryan brothers often take 20 steps between shots when they play.

Lob or Not

Here’s the scenario. You’re under attack from your opponent at the net. You reach his shot in time to have a choice of whether to lob or go for a passing shot. Which do you chose? For most recreational players the decision should follow a simple rule of thumb: lob if you’re behind the baseline, and go for the passer if you’re in front of it. Why? If you’re standing in back of the baseline and attempt a passing shot your opponent will have time to pick off all but your best shots. It’s best in that case to try and push him back with a lob. On the other hand, if you’re in front of the baseline the odds of your passing shot succeeding are improved, and even if you don’t hit an outright winner you stand a strong chance of forcing a weak reply that you can deal with on your next shot. So the next time you’re under fire from a net-rushing opponent use this basic guideline—lob if you’re behind the baseline, pass if you’re in front of it—to make your shot selection in this situation virtually foolproof.