Wall

[thefan]

I spend a lot of time hitting against a wall but after a while, its gets boring. What are some drills or activity I could do to make hitting aginst a wall more interesting/productive?

[zapvor]

serve to it

[SoBad]

Why don't you devote more time to hitting with a person on a tennis court?:confused:

[thefan]

Well, obviously the court is better but I dont always have access to (1) the courts, as there are pretty far away away and (2) a hitting partner.

[SoBad]

Are you saying that the wall that you practice at is not adjacent to tennis courts?

[thefan]

^yep, the corts are a little over a mile away from my school. I usually only go there when I get off early.
Anyway, back to the topic...?

[SoBad]

So where's the wall relative to your school?

[thefan]

Why am I being questioned? lol
They are right next to the school, in the playground/handball courts

[Nick Irons]

^yep, the corts are a little over a mile away from my school. I usually only go there when I get off early.
Anyway, back to the topic...?


Gee

a whole mile ?

Well, when you muster the energy to actually make it to the courts .....

(oh nevermind)

[lancernrg]

I spend a lot of time hitting against a wall but after a while, its gets boring. What are some drills or activity I could do to make hitting aginst a wall more interesting/productive?


There are many...many "interesting" things you can do against a wall...but
I rather not say if you catch my drift....har har har

:shock:

[SoBad]

There is no reason to get all upset now, I was only trying to ascertain what you had been alluding to all along - the fact that there is a wall that is suitable for tennis practice that is not adjacent to tennis courts. I happened to find that a curious fact, forgive me for having an inquisitive mind that asks questions of people.

I personally hate the wall and don't practice with it. It's definitely not good for groundstrokes, because the timing is all off from real game. You can use it though to practice volleys, overheads, and even serve-and-volley game.

[jasoncho92]

After you get half decent the wall starts to suck. Theres not much time to do a full stroke

[BeachTennis]

Take a look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLQveR8zuvY

[monkeyisland90]

Wow, that youtube video is pretty insane.. almost seems like the ball is hanging from a string when's volleying... Ok back on a seirous note.. the way the guy volleyed on the wall without having it hit the ground.. Is this one of the best ways to do volley drills on your own? I'm guessing it will dramatically help with racquet control, but not sure about real match settings.. Either way i'm sure it is very beneficial.

[paulfreda]

The wall is a great place to develop your strokes.
You can try different things; backswing positions, types of forward swing ... pronating, suppinating, laid back wrist fixed, different racquets, etc etc.
It is not always easy to get court time or have a partner at your level or above available. But a wall is always there.

1/Hit from different distances to the wall; closer forces you to use shorter strokes to be ready on time or to improve your regular prep speed. Farther away the ball may bounce twice giving you plenty of time and practice with low balls.
2/ Pick different spots on the wall and see how consistently you can hit it. this will help in hitting deep shots [high target] and short shots just clearing the net.
3/ Be sure to paint a line on the wall at 36 inches to simulate the net.
4/ Volleys; get close to the wall and keep the ball going in the air volleying. This is very difficult at first so just try to hit up gently until you can do 10 in a row anf then start hitting harder. FHs only, BHs only then alternating, etc etc. Next move back so you can hit harder. Eventually you will be able to hit 10 in a row from 20 feet away.
5/ Serving in to the ground just before the wall will bring it back very high so you can repeat the overhead/serve practice.
6/ Look at videos at tennisplayer.net, hitechtennis.net or tennisone.com and try to imitate different player's strokes.

That is a good start.

I hit for at least 30 minutes against a wall before playing.
And I learn some little [or very big] thing EVERY time.
Every time, no joke.

[kimizz]

I read B.Bill saying that you should train groundstrokes with 2 bounces. I havent tried it yet since I play pretty rarely with the wall. But try it and tell me how it worked :)

Its important to know how a good stroke feels like if your about to start a wall session. If im hitting to the wall and I know im doing it wrong I stop the rally...you might learn bad habits if you focus on maintaining the rally. Focus on the technique.

I spend last summer hitting to the wall. I was hitting hard and I didnt focus on technique. It was a great workout but it didnt improve my strokes at all.

[cam2]

I laugh when people say the wall isn't good for groundstrokes, it works well as long as you keep your feet moving(don't get lazy) and don't try to hit the ball too hard.

I also use the 2nd bounce because it's great for your technique as it makes you create your own pace and gives you time to think like during a real point.

[Vision84]

Take a look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLQveR8zuvY
Why does the ball seem to jump from one place to another? Is that a clipping error or is it just not legit?

[Mikael]

I like the wall for training intensity, for that reason I only use one bounce, it forces me to hit really hard, but at the same time I try to be accurate. On a hot and sunny day it is an excellent workout! Your lower body has to be very dynamic and precise to follow the pace... If I can hit 15 really hard and clean groundstrokes in a row without scrambling and without letting the ball bounce twice, I take a break and then start over again.

[cam2]

Looks legit to me.

[SlAyR]

I am planning to put up a wall later this weekend and after reading the numerous threads that have been started regarding the topic of hitting with the wall i was wonder:

1. Why do people hit the ball to the wall after two bounces?

2. How long do you usually hit against the wall for? and when do you do it?



Thanks,
SlAyR

[soyelmocano]

I use the wall for a lot of things.
1) I throw a heavy ball against it. 1 lb. rubber ball Great for warming up and simulating some strokes.
2) working on my point of contact. For me, it is important that I keep the ball out in front of me, especially on the backhand side. Of course, if you are working on something like this you don't hit as hard.
3) Slice forehands and backhands. Gives you a good feel for the nice, fluid stroke, and you can hit it repeatedly with the same ball.
4) Overheads. From my volleyball days, you hit the ball right in front of the wall, it short hops up and you hit another overhead, then another, then another, then... Of course the harder you want to hit these the further back you have to stand or else it is a pointless exercise
5) Volleying. Harder to keep it going in the air. Since the wall is on the court where I live, I can use the lines of the court as well. Standing inside the court, I try to make contact around the baseline while not bringing the racquet back past my body. I have a tendency to want to swing on volleys when it is not necessary. So this helps me not do that.
6) Return of serve/playing a ball returned on your serve. This is a little trickier. Serve to the wall and be ready to return your own serve. As you have to be ready to hit quickly after serving, it is also good to prepare you for those returns that come back.
7) Any down the line shot. Standing by the alley of the court, try to hit the wall and have it come back and bounce in the alley. Rinse. Repeat. Good for forehand/backhand topspin/flat/slice. You can run around from side to side in the alley to hit everything in the same rally.
8) Overall conditioning. The ball doesn't miss many shots...

Could add some more, but just be creative and don't try to beat a hole in the wall. Everything has a use (and limitations). You just need to realize what those uses are.

[rosenstar]

After you get half decent the wall starts to suck. Theres not much time to do a full stroke

totally agree

[raiden031]

I personally hate the wall and don't practice with it. It's definitely not good for groundstrokes, because the timing is all off from real game.

I love how so many people have this belief if a training method does not provide conditions EXACTLY the same as match situation, then it is not an effective training method.

I am starting to think there is a conspiracy by teaching pros to ensure that players believe they cannot learn tennis without a teaching pro guiding them along during all their tennis-playing days.

[bluestreak711]

There are many...many "interesting" things you can do against a wall...but
I rather not say if you catch my drift....har har har

:shock:

now keep this forum clean this is for tennis instruction not for dirty comments

[SoBad]

I love how so many people have this belief if a training method does not provide conditions EXACTLY the same as match situation, then it is not an effective training method.

I am starting to think there is a conspiracy by teaching pros to ensure that players believe they cannot learn tennis without a teaching pro guiding them along during all their tennis-playing days.

I think you are right about teaching pros making things sound more complicated then they are sometimes, especially unpopular pros, because they have to try harder to sell their services. My opinion about the wall though is unbiased and shared by many other non-coaching players. To me a weak hitting partner oncourt is better than a wall.

[Hot Sauce]

Take a look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLQveR8zuvY

I think that wall is made out of something different. It's got some major bounce.

[raiden031]

I think you are right about teaching pros making things sound more complicated then they are sometimes, especially unpopular pros, because they have to try harder to sell their services. My opinion about the wall though is unbiased and shared by many other non-coaching players. To me a weak hitting partner oncourt is better than a wall.

All I know is that I have spent very little time working on groundstrokes with a hitting partner because most people at my level want to just play matches. As a result, I developed all of my strokes (except the serve) against a wall and they have come a long way. Obviously the limitation is that you can't work on directional and depth control, but I do think its wonderful for developing your swing pattern and getting your feet in place. Even though the ball has the same spin every time coming back, I can quickly adapt to players with tons of topspin on their strokes immediately after warming up against a wall. So in short, if you balance your training methods, and you are still developing your strokes, I don't see how the wall would not be useful.

I think alot of the reason people hate the wall is because they are advanced players already, so to them its not useful. But you have to look at it from all possible skill levels. A beginner to intermediate player can benefit greatly from it assuming they are concious about good technique. Although this same caveat applies to all practice methods outside of tennis lessons. If you have a hitting partner and don't know proper technique then you're still practicing bad technique and will not improve much.

[Supernatural_Serve]

I use the wall for a lot of things.
4) Overheads. From my volleyball days, you hit the ball right in front of the wall, it short hops up and you hit another overhead, then another, then another, then... Of course the harder you want to hit these the further back you have to stand or else it is a pointless exerciseA lot of people overlook using the wall in this way.

Good for you that you are getting more out of your wall than most.

I also do the above for:

- coming in and practicing high volleys, swinging volleys, overheads (like you) and for chasing down lobs (the wall lobs me over my head) so I run them down.