warming up volleys/overheads. Is it really necessary ?

[Mauvaise]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Also, I like to see if my opponent can lob. Don't laugh. There are some people who are so challenged feeding a warm-up lob that you know they could never lob you in the match.

That would be me. I really need to learn how to lob. I know it would help my game, doubles & singles. But I really only lob 'by accident'. I will try to lob from time to time during a match, but it doesn't usually go well.

I feel really bad for any opponent that actually really wants to warm up an overhead because I can not feed a lob to save my life. I do apologise to them and tell them I'll try, but usually they are lucky if they get one good overhead during warm up.

[North]

Originally Posted by Mauvaise

I feel really bad for any opponent that actually really wants to warm up an overhead because I can not feed a lob to save my life. I do apologise to them and tell them I'll try, but usually they are lucky if they get one good overhead during warm up.

I play singles and definitely warm up volleys & overheads since I S&V and get to the net as often as possible.

I can still practice overheads even on poorly fed lobs - prob more realistic anyway lol. What is even more common is that people can't hit the ball decently & consistently to warm up more then a few volleys in a row. It got better when I got to 4.0 but still hard to warm up volleys well. I have discovered, though, that the people who can't place the ball consistently to warm up volleys usually can't place passing shots that well either.

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by Mauvaise

That would be me. I really need to learn how to lob. I know it would help my game, doubles & singles. But I really only lob 'by accident'. I will try to lob from time to time during a match, but it doesn't usually go well.

I feel really bad for any opponent that actually really wants to warm up an overhead because I can not feed a lob to save my life. I do apologise to them and tell them I'll try, but usually they are lucky if they get one good overhead during warm up.

If you can learn a topspin lob, you will immediately rise at least one USTA level.

Take your hopper to the court and set up at the baseline. Toss a ball up into the air and let it bounce. Try to lob it to the other baseline with as much topspin as you can. Fool around with grip, contact point height, shoulder turn. No flat lobs are allowed. You will get it and then it is just a matter of trying it in matches

Hint: The first thing I noticed when I set out to learn to hit good lobs was I needed a SW grip.

[corbind]

Originally Posted by dlam

I'm okay with it but we have limited court time and i like to get on with the match and not spend too extra time at warmup

Ask your opponent if you could skip it. If not then you're stuck feeding him for for net volley warmup but I'm sure you can skip your net warmup there.

[goober]

Originally Posted by chatt_town

I agree...about the overheads...I never warm them up in singles or doubles. I only take about 3 to 4 volleys at the net in singles and doubles...I hardly come to the net in singles but I come to the net on every point in doubles. If your technique is screwed up...it doesn't matter how many you hit in warmup..it's going to be screwed up during match play anyway.

I play a fair amount at night. Lighting conditions vary from center to center and some places have terrible lights. It is much better to warm up overheads to see what you are getting into rather than finding out in a match. With volleys it is not a technique issue it is more a timing issue in warming up at least for me.

[tennis tom]

Originally Posted by dlam

Playing singles and I notice a few players like to warmup their volley and overheads in addition to backcourt game. Then when we play a match they play a baseline game and hardely play the volley game. Why do you need to warm that up ? I can understand if you play doubles or play serve and volley singles style but shouldn't you be warming up mostly your serves and ground strokes ?
I'm okay with it but we have limited court time and i like to get on with the match and not spend too extra time at warmup

Yes you need to allow your opponent to warm-up his volleys and OH's. That is an important aspect of the game, even if he's a baseliner, what if your shots fall short and he has to hit an approach and a volley or an OH. In a tournament you have anywhere from 5, 7 to 10 minutes to warm-up. If there's an official around they will give you a two minute warning to warm-up serves, you should take warm-up serves from the add and the deuce side.

So YES, if you don't want to tell him, but let him warm-up according to the traditional method--there's a reason for everything in tennis including the warm-up. Not following the tradition marks you as an amateur, possibly a weirdo and you won't be asked back again.

This is tennis, not the x-games.

[Fuji]

Originally Posted by tennis tom

Yes you need to allow your opponent to warm-up his volleys and OH's. That is an important aspect of the game, even if he's a baseliner, what if your shots fall short and he has to hit an approach and a volley or an OH. In a tournament you have anywhere from 5, 7 to 10 minutes to warm-up. If there's an official around they will give you a two minute warning to warm-up serves, you should take warm-up serves from the add and the deuce side.

So YES, if you don't want to tell him, but let him warm-up according to the traditional method--there's a reason for everything in tennis including the warm-up. Not following the tradition marks you as an amateur, possibly a weirdo and you won't be asked back again.

This is tennis, not the x-games.

We get a 5 minute warm up here, so for the last 2 minutes I let my opponent warm up some extra serves. My shoulder isn't in the shape where I can just hit serves after a 3 minute warm up.

-Fuji

[dlam]

I like warming up my serve and allocate at least half my time for that
During warming up the groundies it's more for me to observe what type of strength my opponent has when they rally
I feel my groundies are consistent day to day
Its the serve that might change day to day so I like to feel what it's like on that particular day

[tennis tom]

Originally Posted by dlam

During warming up the groundies it's more for me to observe what type of strength my opponent has when they rally

You've already warmed up or should have long before any serious competitive match. The pros "warm-up" for an hour or two long before the so-called beginning of the match "warm-up". Stick with the traditional warm-up routine and things will go much better if you're playing against a real player--if you're not it really won't matter because he won't know any better either. If you need to "practice" or warm-up your shoulder, hit your serves on a practice court before your match. If it's a casual match, arrange with your opponent that you want to practice your serve for a while and maybe he can practice his returns.

[comeback]

When i play doubles i need a longer warmup of all shots because you get half the amount of action and every point is critical, so i have to be ready from the first point.

When i play singles i can do with a shorter warmup. I use the first game or two to get going..My serve is very consistent so i can usually make them after just a couple of warmups..Then i'll try bigger serves later.

Best to do a good 10 minute dynamic shadow warmup before you get on the court

[blakesq]

warming up is the only practice I ever get!

[comeback]

Originally Posted by tennis tom

You've already warmed up or should have long before any serious competitive match. The pros "warm-up" for an hour or two long before the so-called beginning of the match "warm-up". Stick with the traditional warm-up routine and things will go much better if you're playing against a real player--if you're not it really won't matter because he won't know any better either. If you need to "practice" or warm-up your shoulder, hit your serves on a practice court before your match. If it's a casual match, arrange with your opponent that you want to practice your serve for a while and maybe he can practice his returns.

Very True and great advice. But you wonder how much of the ball striking is psychological. Agassi started a trend late in his career to do a very short or no warmup before matches..The theory is that an older pro's strokes are so grooved by 30+ that they try to conserve their energy.

[LeeD]

Warming up is NOT practice.
It's WARMing up.
So maybe 5 minutes is plenty.
After some light stretching and some upping the heartbeat.

[blakesq]

IT is practice to me, if it weren't for warm ups, i wouldn't practice at all.

Originally Posted by LeeD

Warming up is NOT practice.
It's WARMing up.
So maybe 5 minutes is plenty.
After some light stretching and some upping the heartbeat.

[LeeD]

As said, most of us have our strokes, and only need a warmup to play.
Without the warmup, we can't find our stokes the first 10 minutes.
And without prior practice, all the warming up in the world does nothing to help us play well.
Like the serves before a match. I only need to hit a few, maybe 3. I already know HOW to hit it, I just need to warmup the shoulder and legs TO hit it.

[JRstriker12]

Originally Posted by dlam

Playing singles and I notice a few players like to warmup their volley and overheads in addition to backcourt game. Then when we play a match they play a baseline game and hardely play the volley game. Why do you need to warm that up ? I can understand if you play doubles or play serve and volley singles style but shouldn't you be warming up mostly your serves and ground strokes ?
I'm okay with it but we have limited court time and i like to get on with the match and not spend too extra time at warmup

Waste time? Seriously? It only takes a a few seconds to warm up. 3 volleys each side, three overheads. Done. It's a warm up not practice.

I can't remember a singles match where I haven't had to hit either a volley or overhead so it's worth it.

The dude who doesn't warm up his overhead and volley is the guy I'm drop shotting, lobbing, and forcing to hit volleys. Even if it takes a few games to finally warm up, I'll gladly take that edge.

[JRstriker12]

Originally Posted by tennis tom

You've already warmed up or should have long before any serious competitive match. The pros "warm-up" for an hour or two long before the so-called beginning of the match "warm-up". Stick with the traditional warm-up routine and things will go much better if you're playing against a real player--if you're not it really won't matter because he won't know any better either. If you need to "practice" or warm-up your shoulder, hit your serves on a practice court before your match. If it's a casual match, arrange with your opponent that you want to practice your serve for a while and maybe he can practice his returns.

I'm definitely for a good warm up hit before the actual match and I do it when I can. However, it's not always practical due to either time constraints or weather (we're playing USTA indoors and I'm not a member where we're playing or there are no courts available).

[TheCheese]

I definitely wouldn't want my first overhead I hit all day to be on a really important point.