1 mental "key" while hitting "OUT IN FRONT!"

[Safina]

"Don't TASE me, BRO!" :)

[krz]

I think out in front is a good idea. Sometimes I notice myself starting to catch everything way late when I'm not focusing also.

I know feds more out in front more than most people on his shots because he hits some of them with a straight arm.

[VolklVenom]

the old rule still applies:
Hit too "out in front", and into the net
Hit too late, and it'll sail long.

so bare that in mind as well

[JCo872]

what mental "key" to do think of while hitting?

i usually don't think at all and just hit.. but lately my play has slipped.
i love to hit HARD, and even though I have 18x20 radical and string it with
full poly at 60+lbs... if I am not "on" a lot of balls will sail long on me.

it can be incredibly frustrating.. and as i was sulking, i was watching the best player I know (a 5.5, we call him baby-fed for his effortless play) and noticed something that I hadn't really paid attention to before.

He hits EVERY ball way out in front of his front foot. His anticipation of bounces and speeds is uncanny, but the more I think about his approach, the more I have tried to focus on that one aspect.

I intentionally have tried to put my contact point at least a foot farther in front of me... starting my swing earlier and leaning into the shots more...
and tennis is like a whole new game!

The extreme soft and hard hitters are still the worst for me to play, I have to change to an extreme western grip to keep the ball in against pushers as I swing away for winners, and with similar power players, it challenges my anticipation and reaction time to always be ready to swing earlier than to get out in front on the ball, but this is really my only mental key and it has really helped my game.
It keeps me aggressive, it focuses me on the ball, and I can take time away from my opponent by always going after the ball instead of the ball hitting my racquet.

Baby Fed actually doesn't swing that hard, he just has such good timing and accuracy that he can pick his spots, but he can ratchet it up if he needs to... that is also interesting to me... but I enjoy trying to crush the ball.. even Baby Fed has asked how I generate so much action on the ball.. i just tell him you have to swing like an idiot to get that spin!!!

Anyway, do you think that my "out in front" mental key for each shot is wise... At least I am thinking about something now.. instead of playing "caveman tennis". No offense to the sensitive caveman tv guys! ;)

This is a great post Safina. You bring up a number of excellent points. Contacting the ball in front of the body will increase the pace of your shots for several reason -- one being, as you mentioned, the ability to "lean into" the shot more. I have so many examples of this on video of pro players that it really is a secret of high level tennis - contact in front of the body and lean into the shot (or push through the shot). If you can focus on the contact point AND your finish reference point, you will be all set.

The other point you brought up, which is right on, is that the 5.5 player "doesn't swing that hard". He gets his pace from contacting the ball properly, and accelerating with the ball at just the right time. It's not the "fast swingers" that rip the ball - it's the players who understand how to use their bodies to properly contact the ball in front of the body - and use proper weight shift at the right time to drive the ball - that hit hard.

Good for you for getting out of a "caveman" mentality by observing what good players do, and incorporating it into your game through "mental keys".

[GuyClinch]

This is a great post Safina. You bring up a number of excellent points. Contacting the ball in front of the body will increase the pace of your shots for several reason -- one being, as you mentioned, the ability to "lean into" the shot more. I have so many examples of this on video of pro players that it really is a secret of high level tennis - contact in front of the body and lean into the shot (or push through the shot). If you can focus on the contact point AND your finish reference point, you will be all set.

I've found that hitting out in front helps me some too. I am a pretty bad player (3.0) and one thing I was doing (I took a lesson to figure this out) was that I was hitting the ball late and then hitting with too much "up and down" motion and not going through the ball as much as should..

The result is a weak "top spinny" shot witout great direction.. I have started to really concentrate just on hitting out in front. The downside though I still don't get this whole "leaning into the ball" bit.

It would seem that if you swing later you could "lean" on something more, no? Should I be trying to add some "lift" with my legs on every shot..I wonder.

Pete