Do you pick up tennis balls?

Oxford

Rookie
I used to bend over and pick up tennis balls when I got back into spending more time actually learning the game recently. At 55 this was not a good idea. Bending over about a few hundred times (?) was really working my back and I would end up with alot of pain and having to take weeks off to recover.

NOW I NEVER bend over. I use the side of my foot and push the ball against it and pop it up and bounce it into my hand. I am really good at it now :D

Anyway, do you folks bend over and pick up tennis balls or "pop" them UP to you in some fashion?

OX
 

Noveson

Hall of Fame
Why would you when it's so much easier to just pop them up? I either just give it a few quick bounces to get it high enough, or put it between my foot and racquet and throw it up.
 

Oxford

Rookie
Why would you when it's so much easier to just pop them up? I either just give it a few quick bounces to get it high enough, or put it between my foot and racquet and throw it up.


For me it was just a newbie habit to pick them up...:confused:
 

Mad iX

Semi-Pro
I usually pick them up between my racket and shoe. Either that or flick them against the fence.
 

bumfluff

Semi-Pro
I bend over a little and bounce them up with my racket, or I flick it up with the end of the frame.
 

lakis92

Rookie
You are 55 and I'm 15. Popping them up is a nice way to impress the girls. Even though winning is an even better one.
 

LuckyR

Legend
The leg thing was big in the 70's I don't know anyone who does that anymore. Must be a regional preference. Once you can bounce them up, that is the easiest.
 

JavierLW

Hall of Fame
I used to bend over and pick up tennis balls when I got back into spending more time actually learning the game recently. At 55 this was not a good idea. Bending over about a few hundred times (?) was really working my back and I would end up with alot of pain and having to take weeks off to recover.

NOW I NEVER bend over. I use the side of my foot and push the ball against it and pop it up and bounce it into my hand. I am really good at it now :D

Anyway, do you folks bend over and pick up tennis balls or "pop" them UP to you in some fashion?

OX

I just bend my legs to crouch down and pick them up, without bending my back. It's the same method you would use to pick anything up to avoid stress on your back.

Plus it's good for your legs to keep them flexable.

There have been times when I used to play tennis and I did anything to avoid having to go down to pick up balls, and usually during the point I managed to do the same thing. (I didnt bend my legs and mishit a lot of low balls)

You should never bend over with your back to pick up the ball, I dont care what age you are. If your legs are flexable enough and you can do it the right way, there is nothing wrong with it.
 

Oxford

Rookie
I saw Rod Laver (plays at my club) do this thing where he places the tip of his racquet on top of the ball and rolls the ball back toward him and the ball kinda rolls up the back of the racquet face and he scoops it up to him.

Looked slick. Still can't do it yet :confused:

ox
 

Ambivalent

Hall of Fame
I can do that Rod Laver thing you're talking about, but there's a high risk of scraping my k6.1 so i usually dont :)
 

Vision84

Hall of Fame
I just flick the ball up between the racket and shoe. I've always done it this way as far as I can remember and it is quite efficient.
 

TheShaun

Hall of Fame
sad to say it, but i have a hard time bouncing them up off the court with my racquet, so i just do the popping up with my foot thing.
 

Hot Sauce

Hall of Fame
When I'm not feeling lazy I just pick them up, but usually I just flick them up to hit the net or fence, and then bounce them into the palm of my hand!
 

Exci

Rookie
Through the knees, single hit on the ball and then flick it on the racquet or bounce it again.. :)

But occasionally the foot method as well or the fence. At my club they even teach Juniors to pick them up with their foot to save their backs.. :)
 
The leg thing was big in the 70's I don't know anyone who does that anymore. Must be a regional preference. Once you can bounce them up, that is the easiest.
How can a method of picking up a ball become dated? It's not like it's fashion, music, dancing, etc.

BTW, using the racket and your foot to pop the ball up is the easiest method. Bending over to bounce the ball up with your strings involves...well...bending over. You might as well just pick them up with your hand if you are already bent over anyway.
 

Bagumbawalla

G.O.A.T.
Actually, if you ever tried to pop up a ball with a wooden racket you will understand why, prior to modern rackets, people lifted them between foot and racket-- so, in a sense, it is a kind of old-fashioned way of picking up balls.

When there are just 3 balls, I always pop them up. However, if there are 40 or 50 (like with serving practice) sometimes I will just make a kind of drill out of it and run back and forth picking them up one at a time and putting them in the bucket to see how fast/smoothly I can do it.
 

LuckyR

Legend
How can a method of picking up a ball become dated? It's not like it's fashion, music, dancing, etc.

BTW, using the racket and your foot to pop the ball up is the easiest method. Bending over to bounce the ball up with your strings involves...well...bending over. You might as well just pick them up with your hand if you are already bent over anyway.


You don't really mean "how", right? I am not necessarily convinced it is a time difference, hence my speculation that it is more of a regional difference.

As to your comment on bending over, there is a world of difference for me between bending enough to touch my racquet to the ground than my fingers, perhaps it's age and back problems.
 

kevhen

Hall of Fame
I usually push two balls together and then pick them up in one scoop but using your feet and racquet might be a better idea.
 

ubel

Professional
When I'm playing, I vary between picking them up from the ground with a quick two/three bounce with the racquet and pinching it between my inside left/outside right foot and racquet.

When I'm practicing, however, I force myself to do a standing squat with a straight back to pick up every ball. It's a hidden workout in itself when you to pick up 6-10 balls. Even better is when I bring out my 50-ball hopper because I just stay crouched walking around to each ball in this position, balancing the as many balls on the racquet with my arm fully extended as I can. Pretty good workout for my forearm grip, arm stabilizing muscles and legs :)
 
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