Still hitting the frame. Help!

I've been playing now for 3 years and I rate myself at about a 3.25. My biggest problem is I'm still hitting the frame now and then. I play with a 110 racquet and really don't want to go bigger as I'm getting better and looking for a little more control at this point. Sometimes I'll get a lucky frame hit that just makes it over the net and drops in for a point (my doubles partner thinks I'm a genius), but more often than not the frame hits either don't make it to the net or go off to the side. This problem increases as I get more tired and also as it gets darker. Any easy ways to correct this problem? I've been trying to watch the ball a bit longer when I make contact, but I still have a bad habit of looking where I think the ball is going to go. :shock:

Thanks all.

but I still have a bad habit of looking where I think the ball is going to go.

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Many will think this is a joke but a very effective solution for this is grunting which all top pros employ. You create and synch an adequately long grunting sound with your swing. It's an audible feedback in addition to visual. You can't cut short or alter your swing, ie framing, when you still have to finish your "arghhhhhh" for example.

Ziggy925 said:

I've been trying to watch the ball a bit longer when I make contact, but I still have a bad habit of looking where I think the ball is going to go.

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Well no miracle here. Keep your head still as soon as you begin your swing and until you start your follow-through. It's really no secret; the "hard" (relative) part is to apply it.

Lukhas said:

Well no miracle here. Keep your head still as soon as you begin your swing and until you start your follow-through. It's really no secret; the "hard" (relative) part is to apply it.

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+1

In other words "keep your eyes at contact point, through the contact"

Are you swinging faster than you can control?

user92626 said:

Many will think this is a joke but a very effective solution for this is grunting which all top pros employ. You create and synch an adequately long grunting sound with your swing. It's an audible feedback in addition to visual. You can't cut short or alter your swing, ie framing, when you still have to finish your "arghhhhhh" for example.

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Good post.

Thanks, 5263.

These days in almost every session I still find myself amazed that I don't frame the ball more than I should. I mean, watching the ball closely before hitting still feels very uncomfortable and unnatural to me and it should be, if you think about it. There's no everyday instance where you have to watch a fast flying object so closely and swing at it with eye blinking speed and with control. It's never gonna become a natural thing like walking.

I'm a thinker. I tend to try to find out and think up lots of ways to make things easier.

user92626 said:

Thanks, 5263.

These days in almost every session I still find myself amazed that I don't frame the ball more than I should. I mean, watching the ball closely before hitting still feels very uncomfortable and unnatural to me and it should be, if you think about it. There's no everyday instance where you have to watch a fast flying object so closely and swing at it with eye blinking speed and with control. It's never gonna become a natural thing like walking.

I'm a thinker. I tend to try to find out and think up lots of ways to make things easier.

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I think you just described hitting a baseball. Seems like many of these answers are confirming my original thoughts, in that the problem is taking your eye off the ball at contact. Is this correct? BTW, I think I'll leave the grunting to Sharipova, but maybe I can grunt to myself.

Ziggy925 said:

I think you just described hitting a baseball. Seems like many of these answers are confirming my original thoughts, in that the problem is taking your eye off the ball at contact. Is this correct? BTW, I think I'll leave the grunting to Sharipova, but maybe I can grunt to myself.

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The advice to grunt to help your coordination is interesting. Seems to work the same as the "bounce-hit" mantra Gallwey recommended.

Of all the things we try to copy pros, grunting is probably the easiest and apparent most cost effective! (gain vs effort). Beside what I said above, grunting also helps magnifying decisiveness, aggressiveness and timing. Do you ever see a silent weight lifter? It's no coincidence that all top pros, except Fed, use grunting.

Don't worry about grunting like Sharapova or Nadal or Djokovic. Like anything else we try to copy them, chances are you'll do it half baked and non-habituated, ie it won't be the degree as theirs and can be adjusted.