How effective is hitting on the ball machine?

[VictorS.]

I work mostly at nights during the week and weekends, so I play tennis mostly during the early afternoons. I know a few people to hit with during these times, but for the most part it's kind of tough to find people during the day to hit with. Obviously, finding people to hit with on weekends isn't too hard. But during the week...I've began really working out hard on the ball machine and backboard. Initially it seemed kind of tedious. However, I began wearing my headphones to listen to music which really gets me "zoned out" while I'm out there. And I can really get in a groove with my strokes. My question is this, how effective is hitting on the ball machine IYO?

[TwistServe]

Its good developing rythm and maybe developing strokes if you haven't played in a while.. But for match play its not very helpful. I can usually rip any ball that comes out of a ball machine, simply because its predictible, fast or slow.

[BiGGieStuFF]

Some of the newer more expensive ball machines hit up to 90mph and vary location and spin. Those are much better but that's pretty damn pricey. It's highly beneficial though. It definitely can't hurt your game.

[djbrown]

I use a ball machine as well, usually for about 2 hours at a time. The key thing is to force yourself to move back to the center line following the shot, etc.. so you don't get in a bad habit of just waiting for the ball and not moving your feet etc..

You can get two-tone Micro-X balls, as well as the standard all yellow, to spice things up a bit. Always go cross court with a two-toner, DTL with yellow, etc.. Gives a little variety.

And it's an excellent way to groove strokes according to the Wardlaw Directionals too. Keep feeding inside ground strokes and rip them to the open court, etc...

And the random feed with oscillation for a few minutes gives ya a good workout too. Chasing 125 balls hit every 3 seconds to various court positions.

[ChrisNC]

You can get two-tone Micro-X balls, as well as the standard all yellow, to spice things up a bit. Always go cross court with a two-toner, DTL with yellow, etc.. Gives a little variety.
That's a great idea

[drakulie]

Excellent in helping you develop proper mechanics and consistency.However, you need to be careful because unless you are consciuosly working on your feet it could make you lazy,and slow footed because you get use to receiving the ball at the same spot with the same speed,spin,etc.

[vin]

Both the ball machine and backboard are great for ingraining and maintaining good technique. This won't help all aspects of match play like shot selection and strategy, but I think it will help areas like consistency, accuracy, and power.

In addition, a ball machine or backboard can be a more efficient way to practice than with a partner. You hit many more balls in the same amount of time and the balls you're hitting are somewhat predictable which make it easier to reinforce good technique.

[gmlasam]

Excellent in helping you develop proper mechanics and consistency.However, you need to be careful because unless you are consciuosly working on your feet it could make you lazy,and slow footed because you get use to receiving the ball at the same spot with the same speed,spin,etc.There are ball machines that shoot randoms with different pace of the ball and spins. It can hit deep corners and pull you in for drop shots. Ball machines these days are becoming more sophisticated. Ball machines are great to help with stroke and foot work mechanics in my opinion.

[Ronaldo]

VictorS, you should notice whether this drill is improving your game or making you more effective during play on weekends. Always seemed to work the wasted motion out of my strokes, shorten my backswing, and always move forward when hitting the ball. You get immediate feedback as to what is working.

[djbrown]

You can get two-tone Micro-X balls, as well as the standard all yellow, to spice things up a bit. Always go cross court with a two-toner, DTL with yellow, etc.. Gives a little variety.
That's a great idea

It's a real easy way after you hit to see which shots you are having trouble with too. If there's a pile of yellow ones at the net and hardly any two-toners, you know what to work on :wink:

Plus, it helps you get in the habit of following the ball immediately after it's "hit" at the other end of the court.

[paulfreda]

Machines are great for giving you time to experiment and see what works on a given shot. But as stated above it is easy to get lazy after a few balls.
You need to vary things up a bit.
So first try hitting to different spots and see what is takes to be consistent at that shot.
Machines that will hit left and then right are good if you have access to them.

One thing I enjoy is feeding a looping ball to mid court.
With this ball I can now hit high volleys, then move back and take waist high swing volleys, then move back more and hit a high bouncing FH or BH on the rise or, after moving further back, on the fall. So one setting gives many shots to practice.
Feeding an overhead; you can take in out of the air, or like Henin-Hardene does, let it bounce, or move back and take a high bouncing groundie on FH or BH side, on the rise or on the fall.

You can get very creative with a wall too. And it provides a complementary kind of practice that is valuable. Even after all these years I still seem to discover some little thing after hitting for 30-60 minutes, sometimes it a a very significant thing. But I am always learning and getting better insight; or just re-discovering something I had forgotten about.

[VictorS.]

Tennis, to me, is very much a game of rhythm and timing. If I don't play for a few days, It definitely takes me a little bit of time to get the timing back in order. I agree with most of you in regards to match strategy, etc....it really doesn't do much. But tennis is very much a game of confidence and repetition. I feel like hitting on the board or the ball machine definitely helps in that department.


And regarding getting lazy while hitting on the ball machine....I really don't have that problem. I don't really shuffle back to the middle after each shot. But I do try to stay on my toes bouncing (a la Steffi Graf).....Having a walkman and good music I've learned really gets the adrenaline going and really helps to stay energetic.