Can hitting against the Wall send you backward?

[AllCourtHeathen]

Anyone else get to a point where hitting against the wall seems to make you play worse in a rally/match?

I hadn't hit against the wall in a few months, was playing better than I ever have, but since hitting against the wall alot in the past week , it feels like I hit worse in a rally when playing live. It's as though my timing and footwork are out.

Anyone else go through this?

Starting to think the Wall should be used very specifically, and "rallying" against the wall is counter productive

 

[Deleted member 23235]

yes, if you're not conscious of how you're using the ball to practice.
Common mistakes on the wall that translate to poor play on the real court:
* not aiming high enough (tendency is to choose a spot too low on the way)
* not hitting topspin... if you hit flat or even underspin, it's easy to look good on the wall, then find out all those balls on the wall are really going long (imo this is the big one)
* not varying the ball left/right... easy to feel good when the ball is coming back exactly in the same area
* tendency to look up too soon on the wall because the ball is coming back 2x faster (another big one)

that said i think the wall is still a good tool.
for 3.0-3.5 folks i recommend using a kids comopression ball (red, green, orange), to slow down the ball, allowing you to focus on good technique to shape the ball

i prefer spanish feed style drills (self fed)..
* i can shape the ball, and
* i need to generate all the pace (so i can't "cheat" relying on blocking the ball back with a half stroke, using the incoming pace - i have to take a full stroke every time)
* i can aim for specific targets on court

my #1 solo practice these days (far better for my development imo than trying to hit with say a 3.5 that can't consistently return the ball)...
* serve
* self feed "the return"... ie. simulate a hard fast low ball at various spots on the base line (forces me to recover quickly after the serve)
* self feed a "short low" ball

 

[AllCourtHeathen]

yes, if you're not conscious of how you're using the ball to practice.
Common mistakes on the wall that translate to poor play on the real court:
* not aiming high enough (tendency is to choose a spot too low on the way)
* not hitting topspin... if you hit flat or even underspin, it's easy to look good on the wall, then find out all those balls on the wall are really going long (imo this is the big one)
* not varying the ball left/right... easy to feel good when the ball is coming back exactly in the same area
* tendency to look up too soon on the wall because the ball is coming back 2x faster (another big one)

that said i think the wall is still a good tool.
for 3.0-3.5 folks i recommend using a kids comopression ball (red, green, orange), to slow down the ball, allowing you to focus on good technique to shape the ball

i prefer spanish feed style drills (self fed)..
* i can shape the ball, and
* i need to generate all the pace (so i can't "cheat" relying on blocking the ball back with a half stroke, using the incoming pace - i have to take a full stroke every time)
* i can aim for specific targets on court

my #1 solo practice these days (far better for my development imo than trying to hit with say a 3.5 that can't consistently return the ball)...
* serve
* self feed "the return"... ie. simulate a hard fast low ball at various spots on the base line (forces me to recover quickly after the serve)
* self feed a "short low" ball

great post, thanks mate.
I think it is the way the ball comes back so quickly, and also in a way that does not happen in play, ie, if you hit on an angle the wall deflects it on an opposing angle, whereas in a real life cross court rally, you hit on an angle cross court and the ball returns the same way.

You are right too, if you only aim at a specific height, you get no real feedback as to what would happen in a rally, as the wall sends it back before any issues are exposed.

I was lucky enough to hit against a couple of really good juniors for a few weeks, and my game tightened up fast, back against the wall though, and its regressed

 

[Deleted member 23235]

great post, thanks mate.
I think it is the way the ball comes back so quickly, and also in a way that does not happen in play, ie, if you hit on an angle the wall deflects it on an opposing angle, whereas in a real life cross court rally, you hit on an angle cross court and the ball returns the same way.

You are right too, if you only aim at a specific height, you get no real feedback as to what would happen in a rally, as the wall sends it back before any issues are exposed.

I was lucky enough to hit against a couple of really good juniors for a few weeks, and my game tightened up fast, back against the wall though, and its regressed

i use the wall mainly to get some cardio in (ie. too bored/unmotivated to do sprints or go for a long fast 5k run)...
when i'm hitting, i'm hitting all out, really trying to move (adjusting steps) run down everything, strive for 20-30 ball rallies, etc...
i'm usually exhausted in 30m of "baseline" hitting...
then i'll switch to volleys (would love to get to cara black wall volley speeds!)

 

[heninfan99]

It takes me about 15 minutes to adjust from the wall to court hitting. Even if you stand back the depth/look is different so you have to adjust. It's doesn't make my worse and the contact & timing is solid when switching to the courts though I will hit long for about 10-15 min.

Anyone else get to a point where hitting against the wall seems to make you play worse in a rally/match?

I hadn't hit against the wall in a few months, was playing better than I ever have, but since hitting against the wall alot in the past week , it feels like I hit worse in a rally when playing live. It's as though my timing and footwork are out.

Anyone else go through this?

Starting to think the Wall should be used very specifically, and "rallying" against the wall is counter productive

 

[Deleted member 23235]

It takes me about 15 minutes to adjust from the wall to court hitting. Even if you stand back the depth/look is different so you have to adjust. It's doesn't make my worse and the contact & timing is solid when switching to the courts though I will hit long for about 10-15 min.

+1
when i came back to tennis... i spent alot of time on the wall just to get back consistent contact and timing, before calling any live partners to hit with

 

[SinjinCooper]

I still enjoy a good wall hit from time to time.

But I mostly use it to practice crosscourt rally shots. You've got to stand at a bit of an angle, and imagine the "true" baseline running at a slight angle to the wall -- so that a ball straight into the wall, that will come straight back to you, represents the angle you'd hit a crosscourt rally ball on an actual court. But if you can make that leap of imagination, you can get a good, ultra-reliable simulation of a CC bh-to-bh or fh-to-fh type rally going.

Bonus is that when you're rallying crosscourt, that's when you're hitting highest and deepest -- which is the recipe for getting a good ball back from a wall. It's about the only type of wall practice where the hitting you're practicing meshes nicely with the technique needed to keep the rally going.

It's a lot like playing against a perfectly consistent pusher, since spin will obviously never be a factor, but whatchagonnado?

 

[AllCourtHeathen]

Been thinking while digesting all the replies, and I suspect that maybe, when hitting against the wall I have no opponent or court to focus on, I have no strategy to implement, so I hyper focus on form, or on targets I painted on the wall.

Whereas in play, I can become unconscious about my form, and all those little niggling things, and focus on outcomes...

 

[heninfan99]

Been thinking while digesting all the replies, and I suspect that maybe, when hitting against the wall I have no opponent or court to focus on, I have no strategy to implement, so I hyper focus on form, or on targets I painted on the wall.

Whereas in play, I can become unconscious about my form, and all those little niggling things, and focus on outcomes...

Sometimes its fun to play out a point on the wall.

 

[OnTheLine]

realizing that I haven't hit against a wall since I was a teenager with an aluminum racket, hitting balls against the garage door when I was mad at my parents. Funny memory, except of course for 2 instances of broken window panes .... those took all my babysitting money!

I rarely see anyone using the various hitting walls at the club. I have thought that for focusing on the mechanics of a stroke and footwork it could be a good thing.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

realizing that I haven't hit against a wall since I was a teenager with an aluminum racket, hitting balls against the garage door when I was mad at my parents. Funny memory, except of course for 2 instances of broken window panes .... those took all my babysitting money!

I rarely see anyone using the various hitting walls at the club. I have thought that for focusing on the mechanics of a stroke and footwork it could be a good thing.

IMO most hitting walls at the clubs are too short,... and for beginners, it's painful, because 5 min into hitting they shank a ball over the fence
on those kinds of walls you're better off with compression balls, and work a mini tennis style hitting session, focusing on contact, and shaping the ball with topspin
better walls are usually twice the height (ie. think back of school building)... but even then as a kid, i managed to roof alot of balls.

 

[SinjinCooper]

IMO most hitting walls at the clubs are too short,... and for beginners, it's painful, because 5 min into hitting they shank a ball over the fence
on those kinds of walls you're better off with compression balls, and work a mini tennis style hitting session, focusing on contact, and shaping the ball with topspin
better walls are usually twice the height (ie. think back of school building)... but even then as a kid, i managed to roof alot of balls.

Yeah, I hate those little walls.

Enough so that I "liked" the post even though you mentioned mini tennis as though it weren't Satan's trap for wayward tennis souls.

 

[Shroud]

i use the wall mainly to get some cardio in (ie. too bored/unmotivated to do sprints or go for a long fast 5k run)...
when i'm hitting, i'm hitting all out, really trying to move (adjusting steps) run down everything, strive for 20-30 ball rallies, etc...
i'm usually exhausted in 30m of "baseline" hitting...
then i'll switch to volleys (would love to get to cara black wall volley speeds!)

Yeah she is amazing. My attemps are like slow mo shots compared to her

 

[sureshs]

Anyone else get to a point where hitting against the wall seems to make you play worse in a rally/match?

I hadn't hit against the wall in a few months, was playing better than I ever have, but since hitting against the wall alot in the past week , it feels like I hit worse in a rally when playing live. It's as though my timing and footwork are out.

Anyone else go through this?

Starting to think the Wall should be used very specifically, and "rallying" against the wall is counter productive

The wall may be unforgiving, but very soon a player knows how it is going to behave, based on the simple laws of "reflection" and spin. It is quite different from playing a human.

Players complain a lot about hitting with those who can't seem to hit back properly to get into a groove, but I have found that even those partners have something to offer - namely, uncomfortable balls. It makes you get used to that.

 

[2HBH-DTL]

there is such a thing as hitting against the wall the wrong way. i've hit against a wall for years and haven't found any ill effects in my game. if you start getting into a rally with yourself and the wall and it's too fast paced where you have to hurry with your mechanics then it's not going to be beneficial. The purpose of the wall is to hit maybe 5 balls max at a time and really focus on your mechanics and strokes. standing the right distance from it is also crucial.

 

[GuyClinch]

Absolutely. The thing is wall does not reward spin the way it is IRL. So you will tend to flatten out your shots - and they could be sailing long - you have no idea. Realistically its not great for your footwork. Sure you can use proper footwork but since you know where the ball is going (because of geometry) its easier to cheat..

I have seen the controlled wall practice - and I think it probably does help. But it needs to be a limited part of your practice. Ironically wall seems best suited for very advanced players - who don't need a wall because they are good enough to always find someone to hit with..

So sure Agassi might have hit some on the wall while he was waiting around when he was a kid. I have no doubt. But Agassi's strokes were incredibly grooved - no risk of them flattening out so much he can't play with a partner again.

That's not the same for joe 3.5.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

Yeah she is amazing. My attemps are like slow mo shots compared to her

looks better than what i can do
key to the drill is being able to hit the same spot on the wall so you don't have to think about where to put the racquet next.