You Tell Me What You Think

[looseswing]

I will describe my game style and you guys tell me what you think that I should concentrate on and make into my strengths. I am pretty much open to anything. I am about 5' 6" and 135 pounds. I have played all styles including S&V, baseliner, and all court.


Forehand: eastern/ light semiwestern. Hit it flatter than most, still pretty consistent, and I can turn up the pace. High balls are not a problem, but overhitting on some slower balls is. Working on extension and getting a little farther below the ball.

Backhand: twohanded, hit from mostly closed but open when pulled wide. Less power than forehand, also flatter than most, but still consistent. Also have a problem on slower balls that are higher for this stroke. Trying to work on extension and dealing with midcourt balls.

Serve: my best shot. Very good slice and flat serve. Topspin serve as a second needs some work, but I get a very high percentage of first serves in. Working on getting more pace and spin on second serve.

Volley: also a very well developed shot, I sometimes have trouble hitting the forehand volley deep, and can angle well. Working on hitting off of higher balls (both hard and soft).

Slice: very consistent and I can put it deep easily. Not a lot of pace on it, but it is a useful tool.

Speed: average

Movement: average

Working on (for all shots): developing a more pronounced knee bend/being more explosive, moving to the ball better.
Thanks for your feedback, and sorry that I cannot post a video.

[LuckyR]

I will assume you are playing predominantly singles. Do you find that you use pace or angles for your winners, usually? When you play as a baseliner, how is your unforced error rate? (The reason I ask is because of your flat hitting style) What is the age range of your competition?

[looseswing]

I am fifteen years old and play according ot my division. My unforced error rate is generally moderate because I don't really try to smack a ball unless if I can set up properly (mostly open stance forehand) or if it is short. I do play singles mostly, I don't use that many angles becaue I really don't use enough topspin to do that. Usually my winners come from a ball that I can set up and smack, or from my net play.

[LuckyR]

In that case, IMO you have a decision to make. Either you can change your basic stroke type, to the modern SW/Western FH with significant topspin and move (with the herd) to the power baseliner style (and consequently away from the other styles you mention) or keep your stroke type and move away from the baseline and all-court styles. The best alternative IMO would be to the S&V style. Given your good serve at your young age (you are only going to get stronger and taller) and your solid volley technique (which seems rare in your age group based on the posts in this Forum-- which I have no reason to doubt). Since S&V is so rare nowadays, a lot of your competition will have little experience countering it and you should do fairly well.

Since your serve is so good, you will likely provoke short, weak returns and your Eastern FH will be great for flicking angled, topspin approaches, if you can develop that shot (which along with your serve) and therefore that's where I would concentrate my efforts.

[looseswing]

The only problem with developing a serve and volley style will be my height. We got tests done by a doctor and he said that even though I am only aged fifteen my bone something is aged like seventeen years, and that was a year ago, so it does not look like much more growth in my part. As for the approach shots I already have a lethal forehand approach off of short balls, but I will have to work on my topspin drive for my backhand and I will need to work on getting a little more pace on my slice bh.

[LuckyR]

Cool. Happy to help with your tennis career path...

[looseswing]

Thanks. I really apreciate this. It helps me to know exactly where I need to go and what I need to do to get there. Serve and volley was actually my favorite style among the three.

[EliteNinja]

How's your backhand slice?
Can you approach on it?
Just pointing out a shot you may have overlooked or underestimated.

[looseswing]

I have a decent backhand slice, the only thing that it could use is a little more pace, but I can get it deep and low very easily.

[Supernatural_Serve]

Forehand: Focus on hitting consistently with depth, everything else will take care of itself. Consistency and depth are more punishing than spin or power.

The mechanics of your swing are probably not an issue worth expending a ton of energy on relative to the above point

Backhand: No comment. I'm a one hander

Serve: Nothing will give your 2nd serve more spin than accelerating your energy upward, skyward. Hit up on the ball and get fully extended and stretched out. So, try focusing on attacking the ball upward with your body, even if you are only swinging your racquet at 25-50% and see how much spin you can generate.

Volley: stick to textbook volley form and the deep volleys will happen. However, if you "swing" or stand "stationary" or bend your body and not your knees, or lower the head of your racquet instead of keeping it up, or allow balls to get inside your body or arms, then you will lose depth guaranteed.

This is just repetitive stuff and not being lazy about form at the net. The net is not a good place to be complacent, lazy, or "unready". As we all know, we don't have much time at the net, and neither does your opponent when you drive a deep volley (even one with little pace).

Slice: depth and stickyness is more important than pace. So, sounds like all is well with this one.

Speed/Movement - average. Its tough to become more than an "average" singles player at your level with average speed/movement. So, keep working on it.

A close match, and one quickly sees a handful of opponents winners or our errors made for lack of speed/movement and that makes all the difference in the outcome.

[looseswing]

Do you guys have any tips for improving my movement on the court in the short run. In the long run I have plenty of exercises that I can use, but anything that I can impliment on the court tommorrow?

[LuckyR]

I assume by "tomorrow" you have an important match tomorrow. If so, use the warmup to scope out his prefered responses to classic shots like: high to the backhand, crosscourt low to the forehand, being pulled off of the court wide on either side etc. Store that knowledge and use it to get a "jump" on the ball when you hit those shots. It's not about footspeed...

[Amone]

Alright, movement tricks: Don't. Hesitate. Practice it, it's harder than you think. Set, for instance, an alarm clock to go off in 1 minute, and then get a watch so you know when it is to the second. Then, when it goes off, walk across the room that very second, no hesitation. This is something I learned in middle school, waiting for the lunch bell to ring. Interestingly, you and I have the same height, and a similar weight, so I can tell you, you can very easily be successful at the net, if you're agressive.