how many balls to groove a stroke?

[randomname]

I remember reading an article once that mentioned how many balls it takes to groove a new stroke/technique, though I cant quite remember the number, anybody have any idea what it is?

[Andres]

Can I take a wild guess and say 5.000 or 10.000?

[TalkingTennis91]

Yeah, I'd say it's definitely in the 5,000 to 20,000 range as a general number.

[XhotXEX1290]

a lot of ballls....millions if you want pro strokes..

[jasoncho92]

Millions is just complete bs

[thejackal]

500 balls a day times 300 days a year times 10 years = 1,500,000 balls

for pro strokes, millions isnt out of the question

[Spindarella]

at least 100,000

[jasoncho92]

500 balls a day times 300 days a year times 10 years = 1,500,000 balls

for pro strokes, millions isnt out of the question
I never knew that 1.5 million was considered millions unless you round the numbers. And the strokes come before they go pro

[mrHan]

thejackal's estimate is on the low end side of the range. 500 balls = 10 x 50 ball rally's. So on the average that would take about 30 minutes if you only have 3 balls in play while drilling. So in a regular training session you would have easily hit thousands.

Then a serious player would not practice 300 days a year. 2 times a day plus weekends you easily have more than double and if not 3 times the number of sessions from thejackal's estimate of 300 times a year.

Multiply that by 10 years and you average a few million shots.

[EricW]

Someone told me it was 30,000 balls on average to get to the next level with a stroke

[randomname]

Someone told me it was 30,000 balls on average to get to the next level with a stroke

thanks, that was really what I was looking for

[cam2]

Billions and billions served!

[oldhacker]

They say you need to do a new action about 20,000 times before the muscle memory is reprogrammed. Of course this means doing it correctly 20,000 times and from my experience of remodelling my game it takes at least 20,000 times of getting it wrong, but gradually more correct before I am hitting a 'correct' stroke. Even once you have the new stroke 'grooved' in the brain you need to work on hitting it at faster pace as you have to learn it at slower pace. So i reckon at least 100,000 and that is just for club level play.

[Tennismastery]

Consider that if you hit "millions" of shots using poor technique, you will only master that form within its limitations.

In terms of mastering a stroke, it depends greatly on how dedicated and conscious the player is when making attempts. Out of 10,000 strokes, if only half of them are attempted within the distinct desirable form, then it will take someone twice as long and/or twice as many practice strokes than someone who takes care in making every shot count.

I have 8 and 10 year olds who have only been playing for a year or two who have far better strokes than adults who have been playing for twenty, thirty or even forty years. The number of shots that these adults have hit are in the millions for sure. Yet, they are not even close to mastering the form associated with "skilled" play.

[thejackal]

perfect practice makes perfect, that's for sure.