Hitting partner upset that I let the ball bounce twice

[PistolPete23]

Hit with a guy a while ago. I would characterize him as the tricky, non-traditional type. VERY flat shots, good hands at net, but stroke mechanics looked way off; he used a Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3 OS and had almost no backswing, just flicks the racquet at the ball. When we first started hitting, his flat ground strokes were consistently short, so I let a lot of them bounce twice. At some point he got exasperated and screamed at me, "You cannot let the ball bounce twice man! It's throwing off my rhythm!" He seemed so upset that I decided to appease him and expend more energy by running down his short shots. I ended up only hitting with him once, but was wondering whether others here have had similar experiences hitting with eccentric players. Was I wrong to let the ball bounce more than once? Is not letting the ball bounce twice during rallying some unspoken rule I'm not aware of?

 

[chic]

Man, if I'm just rallying and any shot lands inside the service box there's like an 50% chance I just let it bounce twice. Especially if I'm just working on my groundstrokes and keeping a rally going.

However, when doing so, the norm is to hit the ball right to them, because they're probably setting up their position for where you are assuming you'll hit the first bounce. So if you're hitting them all over the court off the second bounce that's kinda bad manners.

 

[tonylg]

Either second bounce, or come to the net.

 

[grhcan99]

Nothing wrong with letting the ball bounce twice or even more. The other person had no right to dictate what you do with the ball on your side for as long as the ball gets back to him.

 

[PistolPete23]

Man, if I'm just rallying and any shot lands inside the service box there's like an 50% chance I just let it bounce twice. Especially if I'm just working on my groundstrokes and keeping a rally going.

However, when doing so, the norm is to hit the ball right to them, because they're probably setting up their position for where you are assuming you'll hit the first bounce. So if you're hitting them all over the court off the second bounce that's kinda bad manners.

I was definitely not spraying the groundies; if anything, this guy was hitting more inconsistently than I was. Even though I let it bounce twice, I was doing a pretty good job aiming the shots with decent depth. I was just getting back to tennis after a long hiatus though, so my shots were hitting the net or landing long more than usual and it took a while for me to hit a rhythm. After a few rallies, he started to criticize my inconsistencies and became very instructive (like I was his student). During the breaks, he was a nice enough guy, but I just had the feeling that he took his tennis a bit too seriously; he told me before going to hit with anybody, he'll prepare himself mentally and strategize, even if it's just to rally. I mean, I just pick up my racquet and go ...

 

[am1899]

What a jackass. No, there’s no unspoken rule. I might have been tempted to stand in no mans land to prove a point (which by the sounds of it may still have been lost on him). But anyone who opens their mouth and spews BS like that to me doesn’t ever get another invite to hit. And if they ask me, the answer was no...and if they press it, I will make horrible excuses so they get the point (oh, I forgot...I have to mow my lawn, sorry).

 

[PistolPete23]

What a jackass. No, there’s no unspoken rule. I might have been tempted to stand in no mans land to prove a point (which by the sounds of it may still have been lost on him). But anyone who opens their mouth and spews BS like that to me doesn’t ever get another invite to hit. And if they ask me, the answer was no...and if they press it, I will make horrible excuses so they get the point (oh, I forgot...I have to mow my lawn, sorry).

Well, he never asked me to hit again either . I got him pretty good with heavy topspin winners several times because I was angry too. He conceded that the winners were "nice shots" but he also added, "you can hit hard, but can you hit 5 shots in a row like that?" This happened several months ago but the hitting session was so memorable, from time to time I'm reminded of it LOL. I guess I posted it here just for my own therapy and to get confirmation that it wasn't me who was being unreasonable. This was probably the only time in my life where I was in a worse mood before tennis than afterwards.

 

[Ronaldo]

Let it bounce thrice, just to see the look on his face

 

[am1899]

This is just me...but there’s a very short list of people (ok it’s 1 person) who I ever allowed to tell me how I was going to play/hit/whatever during a hitting session, who was not taking a lesson from me. She’s in the hall of fame, so she got a pass.

Everyone else, telling me what i am or am not going to do during a hitting session is a good way to guarantee I won’t hit with you again. LOL

 

[Chadalina]

Hit with a guy a while ago. I would characterize him as the tricky, non-traditional type. VERY flat shots, good hands at net, but stroke mechanics looked way off; he used a Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3 OS and had almost no backswing, just flicks the racquet at the ball. When we first started hitting, his flat ground strokes were consistently short, so I let a lot of them bounce twice. At some point he got exasperated and screamed at me, "You cannot let the ball bounce twice man! It's throwing off my rhythm!" He seemed so upset that I decided to appease him and expend more energy by running down his short shots. I ended up only hitting with him once, but was wondering whether others here have had similar experiences hitting with eccentric players. Was I wrong to let the ball bounce more than once? Is not letting the ball bounce twice during rallying some unspoken rule I'm not aware of?

Remind him this isnt mini tennis. Telll him to get the damn ball past the service line for once

Im the opposite, people get mad because i hit so deep.

 

[PistolPete23]

This is just me...but there’s a very short list of people (ok it’s 1 person) who I ever allowed to tell me how I was going to play/hit/whatever during a hitting session, who was not taking a lesson from me. She’s in the hall of fame, so she got a pass.

Everyone else, telling me what i am or am not going to do during a hitting session is a good way to guarantee I won’t hit with you again. LOL

I don't mind constructive criticism at all, but I have to know you first. If you try to criticize my game or dictate how I should hit on the first session, that's pretty ridiculous.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Hit with a guy a while ago. I would characterize him as the tricky, non-traditional type. VERY flat shots, good hands at net, but stroke mechanics looked way off; he used a Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3 OS and had almost no backswing, just flicks the racquet at the ball. When we first started hitting, his flat ground strokes were consistently short, so I let a lot of them bounce twice. At some point he got exasperated and screamed at me, "You cannot let the ball bounce twice man! It's throwing off my rhythm!" He seemed so upset that I decided to appease him and expend more energy by running down his short shots. I ended up only hitting with him once, but was wondering whether others here have had similar experiences hitting with eccentric players. Was I wrong to let the ball bounce more than once? Is not letting the ball bounce twice during rallying some unspoken rule I'm not aware of?

I'll take the under: I don't think he was justified screaming at you but I would have tried to get every ball before the 2nd bounce just like during a match. If I train by letting balls bounce twice, what's that going to do to my match instincts? No matter how wacky the shot, I will sprint after the ball, not to please him but to train me. Who knows? You might run into someone like him [or even he himself] in a tournament and then what are you going to do? Too late to practice those shots.

And even if my opponent is not trying to hit shots like that, he will occasionally hit them just the same. I'm still going to lose the point if I can't run the ball down.

 

[FedGR]

LoL that's actually funny. Who cares if the ball bounces twice before you hit it back? It's rallying, not a match. It's his fault if he is hitting short, not yours.

 

[tonylg]

I'll take the under: I don't think he was justified screaming at you but I would have tried to get every ball before the 2nd bounce just like during a match. If I train by letting balls bounce twice, what's that going to do to my match instincts? No matter how wacky the shot, I will sprint after the ball, not to please him but to train me. Who knows? You might run into someone like him [or even he himself] in a tournament and then what are you going to do? Too late to practice those shots.

And even if my opponent is not trying to hit shots like that, he will occasionally hit them just the same. I'm still going to lose the point if I can't run the ball down.

Based on some of your others posts (and your username), would you hit an approach shot and then occupy the net? I drilled that with one of my regular doubles partners a few days ago. He had been running forward to short balls during matches and then retreating back to the baseline (only to have me chastise him), likely because that's how he'd been practicing! We drilled him approaching on a short ball, closing and then trying to finish with a volley. I wonder how the OP's hitting partner would have like that?

 

[tennis tom]

There's a lot of jerks, weirdos, narcissists, and as mentioned above, jackasses who play, or play at tennis--this guy falls into one or more of these categories. He's too cheap to buy a hopper of practice balls, rent a ball machine, or pay for a pro to hit with to humor him. Tournament players warm-up slowly from the baseline and hit deep to each other. If you start rushing the net on this creep's short balls due to his lack of technique you will injure yourself and he won't give a hoot.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Based on some of your others posts (and your username), would you hit an approach shot and then occupy the net? I drilled that with one of my regular doubles partners a few days ago. He had been running forward to short balls during matches and then retreating back to the baseline (only to have me chastise him), likely because that's how he'd been practicing! We drilled him approaching on a short ball, closing and then trying to finish with a volley. I wonder how the OP's hitting partner would have like that?

If it was practice and early in the session, I would have moved forward to hit the ball and dropped back, the logic being I'm not done warming up on the BL yet.

If it was practice and I was warmed up enough on the BL, I would have used the short ball to hit an approach. Heck, I would have used a deep ball to hit an approach.

The only circumstance when I wouldn't try to get it before two bounces is if I was still cold, early in the warmup. At that point, I'll let it bounce until it rolls.

 

[J011yroger]

Two bounce rallies are the hallmark of park players!

What's next, hitting with new balls? Actually being aware and using etiquette when your ball rolls onto someone else's court? Using any sort of backhand grip?

You start hitting the ball on one bounce and it's a slippery slope my friend...

J

 

[djkahn86]

next time yell at him and say clear the service line! His weak shots were messing up your rhythm.

 

[grhcan99]

I'll take the under: I don't think he was justified screaming at you but I would have tried to get every ball before the 2nd bounce just like during a match. If I train by letting balls bounce twice, what's that going to do to my match instincts? No matter how wacky the shot, I will sprint after the ball, not to please him but to train me. Who knows? You might run into someone like him [or even he himself] in a tournament and then what are you going to do? Too late to practice those shots.

And even if my opponent is not trying to hit shots like that, he will occasionally hit them just the same. I'm still going to lose the point if I can't run the ball down.

Yes I agree that it helps to condition yourself to play with one bounce even on practice. But that decision is yours to make and not from somebody else.

 

[grhcan99]

There's a lot of jerks, weirdos, narcissists, and as mentioned above, jackasses who play, or play at tennis--this guy falls into one or more of these categories. He's too cheap to buy a hopper of practice balls, rent a ball machine, or pay for a pro to hit with and humor him. Tournament players warm-up slowly from the baseline and hit deep to each other. If you start rushing the net on this creeps short balls due to his lack of technique you will injure yourself and he won't give a hoot.

Amen to that. And if I may add he probably couldn't find one who would hit with him after the first time

 

[MathGeek]

I'll take the under: I don't think he was justified screaming at you but I would have tried to get every ball before the 2nd bounce just like during a match. If I train by letting balls bounce twice, what's that going to do to my match instincts? No matter how wacky the shot, I will sprint after the ball, not to please him but to train me. Who knows? You might run into someone like him [or even he himself] in a tournament and then what are you going to do? Too late to practice those shots.

And even if my opponent is not trying to hit shots like that, he will occasionally hit them just the same. I'm still going to lose the point if I can't run the ball down.

I agree. You are not really practicing if you let balls bounce twice. Get it in gear and chase them down. Moving opponents forward and back is part of what I'm practicing on the other side.

 

[tennis tom]

...being aware and using etiquette...

"etiquette"...etiquette?...what's that?...this is tennis--not rugby.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Yes I agree that it helps to condition yourself to play with one bounce even on practice. But that decision is yours to make and not from somebody else.

True. So while I'd be busting my butt to get to everything, he wouldn't be high on my list in the future unless I explicitly wanted that type of practice.

 

[tonylg]

The problem with my doubles partner was he was conditioned to polite practice and rather than pounce on short balls, he politely put them back in play and retreated to the baseline [emoji849]

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[Ronaldo]

The problem with my doubles partner was he was conditioned to polite practice and rather than pounce on short balls, he politely put them back in play and retreated to the baseline [emoji849]

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

Had a dubs partner who would get his lawn chair and sit until this baseline polite practice was over. Guns or Knives?

 

[Holdfast44ID]

I would tell him to hit deeper or I will just hit winners off those short balls. Need to practice that anyway! If I am injured, and cannot run, I will let short balls bounce twice.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

 

[ChaelAZ]

When we first started hitting, his flat ground strokes were consistently short, so I let a lot of them bounce twice. At some point he got exasperated and screamed at me, "You cannot let the ball bounce twice man! It's throwing off my rhythm!" He seemed so upset that I decided to appease him and expend more energy by running down his short shots. I ended up only hitting with him once, but was wondering whether others here have had similar experiences hitting with eccentric players. Was I wrong to let the ball bounce more than once? Is not letting the ball bounce twice during rallying some unspoken rule I'm not aware of?

I hit with some older guys and they take a bit of time to warm up, so I don't worry about double bounces when things start. However...I would rather NOT deal with double bounces through the practice at all, but certainly not once things get going after warming up. Just my preference,s o I give a bit of leaway to others warming up. I usually skip practing with players who let too many double bounce.

 

[Traffic]

Hit with a guy a while ago. I would characterize him as the tricky, non-traditional type. VERY flat shots, good hands at net, but stroke mechanics looked way off; he used a Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3 OS and had almost no backswing, just flicks the racquet at the ball. When we first started hitting, his flat ground strokes were consistently short, so I let a lot of them bounce twice. At some point he got exasperated and screamed at me, "You cannot let the ball bounce twice man! It's throwing off my rhythm!" He seemed so upset that I decided to appease him and expend more energy by running down his short shots. I ended up only hitting with him once, but was wondering whether others here have had similar experiences hitting with eccentric players. Was I wrong to let the ball bounce more than once? Is not letting the ball bounce twice during rallying some unspoken rule I'm not aware of?

It depends where you are in the practice.

If you are warming up, bounce twice, three times, pick up the ball, whatever. Just get the rally going again.
If you are playing out the point, then you should play like you're keeping score.
If you are playing out the point, and it's a winner drop shot, then I would say, "great shot" and give up the point. I'd let it bounce and put the ball back into play as if to reset the point.
If it's get-able, then I would run it down and attack or hit a good defensive shot and try to win the point.

 

[tennis tom]

When warming up or practicing I stuff as many balls into my deep pockets as they will hold and encourage my partners to do the same--it's a lot more fun hitting balls then picking them up. The ones who object to having so many diverse balls on the court are usually the same ones who can't hit two balls back to me to save their lives. Somewhere they heard that you should warm-up with the same quality balls you will be playing with--I think or tell them the balls are the least of their problems--why is it that the more mediocre the "player" that the more they insist on hitting with the best Penns that Costco has to offer--and these are the same "players" who never open a sleeve themselves--I tell them "If you don't like my balls you're welcome to open a can of yours"--this end the discussion every time. They may put the extra balls on the tea tray on the net post where I duly retrieve them from and stuff them back into my deep pockets. These players have never played a tournament in their lives except for may a Halloween costume or Thanksgiving turkey roll at ye' ol' club.

p.s. In regards to the OP's issue, screw that guy, it sounds like you won't be seeing the a-hole again, good riddance, he can go to tinder tennis for more opponents.

 

[sovertennis]

For me, it's the guys who warm up by standing four feet behind the baseline, then let the ball bounce twice before playing it OR the guys who warm up by intentionally hitting short, paceless balls that don't clear the service line who I find slightly annoying. In the case of the former, I'll hit a a high, deep ball and the guy will usually move up to the baseline after a few minutes; for the latter, if he persists in hitting intentionally short (and I have to continually dive forward to hit it on the first bounce), I'll just just catch the ball and quickly feed it back to him, hoping he'll get the message; if that doesn't work, I'll just move in and play volleys.

Unlike the guy the OP hit with, I certainly won't chastise either guy for failing to live up to my expectations. There are enough d-bags already.

 

[red rook]

Actually, the higher level you get, you will see that in the first five-ten minutes it’s actually “rude” or “non-etiquette” to hit the ball short enough for a double bounce to be possible. A lot of times the other player will put their hand up in apology for a short ball during warm up. If I am receiving a short ball hit with a trajectory that makes it double bounce I just pick it up and start the rally over. I’m not breaking out in a sprint to get your shank during warmup when my body’s not yet ready. Now once more intense hitting happens, short balls get the down the line treatment or at the very least an approach and volley.

 

[apjones01]

I have a hitting partner who, whenever he's in trouble, especially on his BH side, will just slap at the ball such that there's backspin and no power. The ball will usually make it over the net but then just die. So, my only choice is often to hit it just off the ground after a couple bounces or just pick it back up. More recently, I've been opting for the latter, hoping he gets the point (he hasn't). To be clear, we're both relative newbies (him a ~3.0, me a 3.0 / 3.5).

He's an incredibly nice guy who is mostly just out there for fun. But I don't think he gets that the point is to sustain rallies and his style isn't conducive to that. He's taken lessons, and can hit the ball properly, so I think it's just laziness. Given we're both rooks, I think I'd sound like a total jerk telling him to hit it "properly" so that we can sustain more rallies.

Any thoughts from the crew?

 

[grhcan99]

I have a hitting partner who, whenever he's in trouble, especially on his BH side, will just slap at the ball such that there's backspin and no power. The ball will usually make it over the net but then just die. So, my only choice is often to hit it just off the ground after a couple bounces or just pick it back up. More recently, I've been opting for the latter, hoping he gets the point (he hasn't). To be clear, we're both relative newbies (him a ~3.0, me a 3.0 / 3.5).

He's an incredibly nice guy who is mostly just out there for fun. But I don't think he gets that the point is to sustain rallies and his style isn't conducive to that. He's taken lessons, and can hit the ball properly, so I think it's just laziness. Given we're both rooks, I think I'd sound like a total jerk telling him to hit it "properly" so that we can sustain more rallies.

Any thoughts from the crew?

There is still nothing that'll stop you from getting your practice. You should be focused on groving your strokes, timing and footwork. And you can do this regardless of how the other guy across the net deals with the ball. I mean c'mon it's not like 100% of the time that this happens anyway. Treat it as practicing on your abilities to handle any scenario. When that happens just treat it as practice to come in and practice your volleys. I do it all the time and that's something that should be developed. Be flexible and patient. Trying to perfect your strokes and footwork is stressful enough with out you getting the other guy into the equation.

 

[apjones01]

There is still nothing that'll stop you from getting your practice. You should be focused on groving your strokes, timing and footwork. And you can do this regardless of how the other guy across the net deals with the ball. I mean c'mon it's not like 100% of the time that this happens anyway. Treat it as practicing on your abilities to handle any scenario. When that happens just treat it as practice to come in and practice your volleys. I do it all the time and that's something that should be developed. Be flexible and patient. Trying to perfect your strokes and footwork is stressful enough with out you getting the other guy into the equation.

Thanks very much- helpful feedback. Coming to the net and volleying ain’t exactly my strong suit, so gotta break that seal.

 

[Dartagnan64]

My wife is the Queen of short ball/long ball rallying. If she remains unfocused, I just start picking the balls up and re-feeding to send her a message. Both our jobs in the rally are to target that spot 6 feet from the baseline and 6 feet in from the singles sideline. If you are missing it by 10 feet, then re-focus and start again.

On occasion if I'm fed up with the short stuff, I'll hit an approach come in and hit a volley at them and if they don't pass me, put the second volley away. Good practice and they learn that short balls aren't very smart.

 

[apjones01]

That's helpful as well - will definitely employ the volley approach.

 

[Sardines]

Hit with a guy a while ago. I would characterize him as the tricky, non-traditional type. VERY flat shots, good hands at net, but stroke mechanics looked way off; he used a Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3 OS and had almost no backswing, just flicks the racquet at the ball. When we first started hitting, his flat ground strokes were consistently short, so I let a lot of them bounce twice. At some point he got exasperated and screamed at me, "You cannot let the ball bounce twice man! It's throwing off my rhythm!" He seemed so upset that I decided to appease him and expend more energy by running down his short shots. I ended up only hitting with him once, but was wondering whether others here have had similar experiences hitting with eccentric players. Was I wrong to let the ball bounce more than once? Is not letting the ball bounce twice during rallying some unspoken rule I'm not aware of?

Were his balls not reaching the baseline after the first bounce? If not, then sit on the baseline or even inside. There are certainly players who prefer pace and even rely on incoming pace, and they can be using plow and incoming pace to hit the ball back and it invariable often lands short and not have much momentum, reaching the baseline at around less than 12" off the ground, whereas my balls carried over 3' and faster. It's extra effort to move and drive up short balls. I now see it as practice for short balls... a lot! LOL Either that or I not play with my buddy.

 

[milk of amnesia]

I have a hitting partner who, whenever he's in trouble, especially on his BH side, will just slap at the ball such that there's backspin and no power. The ball will usually make it over the net but then just die. So, my only choice is often to hit it just off the ground after a couple bounces or just pick it back up. More recently, I've been opting for the latter, hoping he gets the point (he hasn't). To be clear, we're both relative newbies (him a ~3.0, me a 3.0 / 3.5).

He's an incredibly nice guy who is mostly just out there for fun. But I don't think he gets that the point is to sustain rallies and his style isn't conducive to that. He's taken lessons, and can hit the ball properly, so I think it's just laziness. Given we're both rooks, I think I'd sound like a total jerk telling him to hit it "properly" so that we can sustain more rallies.

Any thoughts from the crew?

Practice partners are supposed to work cooperatively with each other so I see no reason why you couldn't say something like, "I'd really like to work on my ground strokes today so why don't we try to get a rally going and hit baseline to baseline for the next X minutes?" You could suggest hitting deuce court to deuce court or ad to ad if he has a hard time covering the entire court. Since he is a 3.0 you might find that he isn't able to rally very well (which would be all the more reason to practice it) but he should at least be willing to try. If he just keeps dumping the ball short, following the advice of the other posters and working on your approach and volley is a good idea, but you will probably need to find an additional hitting partner to work on your ground strokes.

 

[NLBwell]

I thought you punched the guy because he got upset at you.

This thread is a letdown.

 

[zaskar1]

Hit with a guy a while ago. I would characterize him as the tricky, non-traditional type. VERY flat shots, good hands at net, but stroke mechanics looked way off; he used a Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3 OS and had almost no backswing, just flicks the racquet at the ball. When we first started hitting, his flat ground strokes were consistently short, so I let a lot of them bounce twice. At some point he got exasperated and screamed at me, "You cannot let the ball bounce twice man! It's throwing off my rhythm!" He seemed so upset that I decided to appease him and expend more energy by running down his short shots. I ended up only hitting with him once, but was wondering whether others here have had similar experiences hitting with eccentric players. Was I wrong to let the ball bounce more than once? Is not letting the ball bounce twice during rallying some unspoken rule I'm not aware of?

PP23
if you are just hitting with this guy, and he finds your hitting not to his liking, perhaps you need to find another hitting partner
the purpose of hitting is to work on your stroke technique, not to see how many balls you can run down.
maybe this guy needs to stick to the ball machine, as if he complains about that, the ball machine wont listen
z

 

[PistolPete23]

PP23
if you are just hitting with this guy, and he finds your hitting not to his liking, perhaps you need to find another hitting partner
the purpose of hitting is to work on your stroke technique, not to see how many balls you can run down.
maybe this guy needs to stick to the ball machine, as if he complains about that, the ball machine wont listen
z

I've only hit with him once and have hit with several other people since then, all of whom were very pleasant in comparison

 

[Louis33]

I was definitely not spraying the groundies; if anything, this guy was hitting more inconsistently than I was. Even though I let it bounce twice, I was doing a pretty good job aiming the shots with decent depth. I was just getting back to tennis after a long hiatus though, so my shots were hitting the net or landing long more than usual and it took a while for me to hit a rhythm. After a few rallies, he started to criticize my inconsistencies and became very instructive (like I was his student). During the breaks, he was a nice enough guy, but I just had the feeling that he took his tennis a bit too seriously; he told me before going to hit with anybody, he'll prepare himself mentally and strategize, even if it's just to rally. I mean, I just pick up my racquet and go ...

Sounds like a nut case. When warming up I almost always let short balls bounce twice to get in a good rhythm. The only bad etiquette would be trying to hit winners off double bounces.

 

[blai212]

Hit with a guy a while ago. I would characterize him as the tricky, non-traditional type. VERY flat shots, good hands at net, but stroke mechanics looked way off; he used a Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3 OS and had almost no backswing, just flicks the racquet at the ball. When we first started hitting, his flat ground strokes were consistently short, so I let a lot of them bounce twice. At some point he got exasperated and screamed at me, "You cannot let the ball bounce twice man! It's throwing off my rhythm!" He seemed so upset that I decided to appease him and expend more energy by running down his short shots. I ended up only hitting with him once, but was wondering whether others here have had similar experiences hitting with eccentric players. Was I wrong to let the ball bounce more than once? Is not letting the ball bounce twice during rallying some unspoken rule I'm not aware of?

tell him either a.) he needs to stop hitting so short or b.) lets jus play service line mini tennis


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[PistolPete23]

Update - I ran into this guy the other day again when I went to my local court to hit against the wall. Since the other court was being used, I asked if he wanted to hit a little. I'm a lot better than I was when I last played with him and I also wanted some revenge. This time I was ready. Instead of hitting the ball to him nicely, I gave him a taste of his own medicine and moved him around the court with a variety of shots - flat, topspin, slice, drop shots and I NEVER allowed the ball to bounce twice. His weakness was heavy topspin to the backhand; even though he could return it consistently, it's always a short ball that I can put away easily, and I attacked that side relentlessly . I got him to scream at himself several times and it felt pretty satisfying, to be honest. When we were finished hitting, he tried his best to still offer "criticism" to my game AND my gear lol. I showed him my IG Prestige mids and he said I can't play competitively with such a small head size; I didn't tell him that he was using a granny stick and shouldn't be the one to talk. He then asked how many times I can hit against the wall, probably planning to follow up my answer with some more advice. I never counted my upper limit but I gave him a confident number: 30-40 times. He looked at me incredulously and it was obvious he didn't believe me so I asked him if he wanted to see me do it. He eagerly replied yes and I proceeded to do it. After I was done, he took one last stab at me and asked why I couldn't hit as consistently when I played against him lol. Yeah, I think this dude was trying as hard as he can to project himself as a superior player I should respect, but it was obvious I wasn't going to fall for it. Anyway, I left the hitting session rather pleased with myself.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Update - I ran into this guy the other day again when I went to my local court to hit against the wall. Since the other court was being used, I asked if he wanted to hit a little. I'm a lot better than I was when I last played with him and I also wanted some revenge. This time I was ready. Instead of hitting the ball to him nicely, I gave him a taste of his own medicine and moved him around the court with a variety of shots - flat, topspin, slice, drop shots and I NEVER allowed the ball to bounce twice. His weakness was heavy topspin to the backhand; even though he could return it consistently, it's always a short ball that I can put away easily, and I attacked that side relentlessly . I got him to scream at himself several times and it felt pretty satisfying, to be honest. When we were finished hitting, he tried his best to still offer "criticism" to my game AND my gear lol. I showed him my IG Prestige mids and he said I can't play competitively with such a small head size; I didn't tell him that he was using a granny stick and shouldn't be the one to talk. He then asked how many times I can hit against the wall, probably planning to follow up my answer with some more advice. I never counted my upper limit but I gave him a confident number: 30-40 times. He looked at me incredulously and it was obvious he didn't believe me so I asked him if he wanted to see me do it. He eagerly replied yes and I proceeded to do it. After I was done, he took one last stab at me and asked why I couldn't hit as consistently when I played against him lol. Yeah, I think this dude was trying as hard as he can to project himself as a superior player I should respect, but it was obvious I wasn't going to fall for it. Anyway, I left the hitting session rather pleased with myself.

Someone like that will never run out of excuses or criticism; he's obviously got an inferiority complex which is why he's so desperately trying to project superiority. An actual superior player probably wouldn't care and would be more likely to offer constructive advice, although he wouldn't impose it on you; you'd have to ask.

People like that are energy sinks and best avoided. They won't do much for your game.

 

[NLBwell]

Update - I ran into this guy the other day again when I went to my local court to hit against the wall. Since the other court was being used, I asked if he wanted to hit a little. I'm a lot better than I was when I last played with him and I also wanted some revenge. This time I was ready. Instead of hitting the ball to him nicely, I gave him a taste of his own medicine and moved him around the court with a variety of shots - flat, topspin, slice, drop shots and I NEVER allowed the ball to bounce twice. His weakness was heavy topspin to the backhand; even though he could return it consistently, it's always a short ball that I can put away easily, and I attacked that side relentlessly . I got him to scream at himself several times and it felt pretty satisfying, to be honest. When we were finished hitting, he tried his best to still offer "criticism" to my game AND my gear lol. I showed him my IG Prestige mids and he said I can't play competitively with such a small head size; I didn't tell him that he was using a granny stick and shouldn't be the one to talk. He then asked how many times I can hit against the wall, probably planning to follow up my answer with some more advice. I never counted my upper limit but I gave him a confident number: 30-40 times. He looked at me incredulously and it was obvious he didn't believe me so I asked him if he wanted to see me do it. He eagerly replied yes and I proceeded to do it. After I was done, he took one last stab at me and asked why I couldn't hit as consistently when I played against him lol. Yeah, I think this dude was trying as hard as he can to project himself as a superior player I should respect, but it was obvious I wasn't going to fall for it. Anyway, I left the hitting session rather pleased with myself.

Now you are won and done!

 

[Ronaldo]

Now you are won and done!

In the end there can be only one! May you keep your head while all others lose theirs