Ego Booster For My Opponents - Does anyone else feel this way?

[choth21]

I'm a solid 4.5 player and am very strong off the ground with my strokes and footwork. I'm one of those players who during rallies, hits lots of winners.

I know it's been well discussed on this board the difference between rallying for fun and playing matches. And I'm really trying to improve my mental game and swing loosely and play smarter when I start playing a set.

But I just feel like i'm playing worse. I've gone all summer without winning a set (I play 2-3 times a week). And while it's never caused anything bad in my friendship with tennis buddies, I'm getting the feeling that people like to hit with me because I provide them just enough of a challenge without worrying them about losing. In other words, I'm a consistent hit for them, but they feel pretty good about walking away as a winner. I think what prompted this are comments like "I really like hitting with you" or "that was a great workout" that I get from my tennis partners.

Argh, it's just been so frustrating. last year, I was at least winning some or playing some close sets.

Just had to vent. I really don't want to be a whiner. I'm still working hard to turn things around and am still out there playing. anyhow, thanks for reading.

 

[dozu]

i see, so you are a solid 4.5 and you haven't won a set all summer.... hm, i guess your neighborhood are filled with 5.0 players... good for you.

 

[fruitytennis1]

I wish we had tons of 5.0s around. Only like 3 at our local club.

 

[LeeD]

Good hitters who don't win match's are just good hitters.
Good hitters who generally come out even in match's against equal opponents belong at that level.
Bad hitters who can win at their level AND level's above are superior PLAYERS, but not good practice partners.
So being a good hitter is good, for hitting and rallying.
Some people would rather play winning matches.

 

[crash1929]

hey choth something is messing with your confidence. find out what and make a plan to address it. find something that fires you up and try to chanel it.

"And I'm really trying to improve my mental game and swing loosely and play smarter when I start playing a set."

this is something i myself struggle with and try to remember while playing as well!
a couple of tips; one i exhale on each shot. i spin my raquet in my hand between shots to remember to hold the raquet loosely.

good luck,
fellow 4.5 league player

 

[choth21]

crash1929--thanks for the advice. that's funny what you say about exhaling on shots. i tried that on my own a couple days ago and did notice a difference. I still need to incorporate it when I play points, but I'm gonna try.

 

[choth21]

Good hitters who don't win match's are just good hitters.
Good hitters who generally come out even in match's against equal opponents belong at that level.
Bad hitters who can win at their level AND level's above are superior PLAYERS, but not good practice partners.
So being a good hitter is good, for hitting and rallying.
Some people would rather play winning matches.

Thanks. yeah that makes sense, and I know that. I'm trying to be better at winning matches.

 

[5263]

I'm a solid 4.5 player and am very strong off the ground with my strokes and footwork. I'm one of those players who during rallies, hits lots of winners.

I know it's been well discussed on this board the difference between rallying for fun and playing matches. And I'm really trying to improve my mental game and swing loosely and play smarter when I start playing a set.

But I just feel like i'm playing worse. I've gone all summer without winning a set (I play 2-3 times a week). And while it's never caused anything bad in my friendship with tennis buddies, I'm getting the feeling that people like to hit with me because I provide them just enough of a challenge without worrying them about losing. In other words, I'm a consistent hit for them, but they feel pretty good about walking away as a winner. I think what prompted this are comments like "I really like hitting with you" or "that was a great workout" that I get from my tennis partners.

Argh, it's just been so frustrating. last year, I was at least winning some or playing some close sets.

Just had to vent. I really don't want to be a whiner. I'm still working hard to turn things around and am still out there playing. anyhow, thanks for reading.

Winning is really not so much about hitting at your stage, as everyone can hit there. What is your approach to winning points on your serve? on rtn games?
And most of all, where are you losing points? If you have a vid for me to chart, I can show you exactly where you lose. This will let you know where to improve. I provide this service professionally. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[crash1929]

about not being loose on your swing. in a match today the commentator made a great point that reminded me of me sometimes: he said the player got tight and their feet slowed down and body wasnt moving and then arm got tight and translated it into poor raquet head spead, pushing and lack of power..... he said it much better. maybe a tight arm starts with the feet, ?.....

 

[choth21]

Actually during Hantuchova's match against Serena, Martina said something that stood out to me. She said that Hantuchova played "user-friendly" tennis meaning that Hantuchova's strokes don't really hurt Serena because they're not going to overwhelm her and they're easy to hit back.

i think that kind of describes me. I hit very solid with good depth and good bounce. So that's why I feel like I'm everyone's good "hitting partner" because i'm a solid backboard.

So I just need to improve my strategy and mental approach. Thanks for the advice everyone.

 

[Bellagizmo]

Maybe your strokes are landing into your opponent's wheel and that sets up perfect for them to pound back...try varying your shots more during match play...for instance bigger loopy topspin forehand shots to see how your opponents respond instead of just spinning it back hard to other side where your opponent is salivating at waist high balls...on backhand side maybe try loopy topspin or vary with low slice shots...:mrgreen:

 

[choth21]

Maybe your strokes are landing into your opponent's wheel and that sets up perfect for them to pound back...try varying your shots more during match play...for instance bigger loopy topspin forehand shots to see how your opponents respond instead of just spinning it back hard to other side where your opponent is salivating at waist high balls...on backhand side maybe try loopy topspin or vary with low slice shots...:mrgreen:

Thanks. Yeah, that's what I was trying to get at, but you explained it much better than what I was trying to say.

 

[LeeD]

That's PRECISELY the reason I gave up tournament tennis!
After 4 years of hitting weird, spinny, loopy balls, I started teaching LOL and needed to hit normal flat, medium speed shots. Unfortunately, I got good at that, and my tournament tennis went down the drain.
If you want to get good at tennis, practice WINNING every point.
If you want to be a good hitting partner, tone it down and hit medium speed.

 

[choth21]

I'm thinking more and more about it and realize that I get a lot of comments from my hitting partners like, "I get into a good rhythm against you" or "I really like hitting with you."

You would think that would have rung a bell with me that I'm feeding "nice" groundies during matches (flat, good speed, waist-high, etc). Oh well. Better late than never.

Thanks again everyone for the comments.

 

[smoothtennis]

Cloth - don't throw away or try to overhaul your nice solid rally ball. Hit three of them, and then throw in a different shot to change it up. This is critical for actually winning. Throw in the high looper, or just hit one without spin, or hit a slice or two, then alternate back and forth.

I say add some variety in the way of paces, spins, and trajectories - you don't have to go for much in these shots. Also, if you get a slow rally going, and then hit out on that fourth ball, you may catch your opponent leaning now, and get the short ball.

Then the other thing is figuring out how THEY are consitently winning points against you and become aware of what is really going on. Are they the one's getting your short ball and pounding it? Are THEY throwing in the change up to get a soft reply?

 

[MakeSenseNotBabies]

I'm a solid 4.5 player and am very strong off the ground with my strokes and footwork. I'm one of those players who during rallies, hits lots of winners.

I know it's been well discussed on this board the difference between rallying for fun and playing matches. And I'm really trying to improve my mental game and swing loosely and play smarter when I start playing a set.

But I just feel like i'm playing worse. I've gone all summer without winning a set (I play 2-3 times a week). And while it's never caused anything bad in my friendship with tennis buddies, I'm getting the feeling that people like to hit with me because I provide them just enough of a challenge without worrying them about losing. In other words, I'm a consistent hit for them, but they feel pretty good about walking away as a winner. I think what prompted this are comments like "I really like hitting with you" or "that was a great workout" that I get from my tennis partners.

Argh, it's just been so frustrating. last year, I was at least winning some or playing some close sets.

Just had to vent. I really don't want to be a whiner. I'm still working hard to turn things around and am still out there playing. anyhow, thanks for reading.

when i started learning tennis, i spent an entire summer playing against the wall, about 1.5-2 hours every day.

the next summer, i finally went out to the courts, and found a hitting partner the same day. at the time, i was probably a 1.5-2, he was probably around a 3-3.5. i was about 14 years old at the time, and he was probably around 30 something.

i lost 68 days in a row to him over the summer. never got a set off of him. but i improved tremendously, as did he. he liked playing with me, and told me that i was more talented than he. so we kept in touch during the off season (there were no indoor courts near by) so tennis came to a close when school started.

the next summer, guess who won 64 days in a row? not he.

moral of the story: if people like playing with you, they like playing with you. simple. doesn't matter what they like, be it a great workout for them or a good ego boost. point is, you aren't winning. hence, you have a lot to improve.

keep playing with them until you're able to beat them. you'll know the difference between just beating them barely where it could've gone either way, and beating them decisively.

 

[choth21]

Cloth - don't throw away or try to overhaul your nice solid rally ball. Hit three of them, and then throw in a different shot to change it up. This is critical for actually winning. Throw in the high looper, or just hit one without spin, or hit a slice or two, then alternate back and forth.

I say add some variety in the way of paces, spins, and trajectories - you don't have to go for much in these shots. Also, if you get a slow rally going, and then hit out on that fourth ball, you may catch your opponent leaning now, and get the short ball.

Then the other thing is figuring out how THEY are consitently winning points against you and become aware of what is really going on. Are they the one's getting your short ball and pounding it? Are THEY throwing in the change up to get a soft reply?

Thanks. very helpful. yeah, i think that my shots are mainly predictable for them. I hit most of my shots pretty deep and am fairly accurate when it comes to hitting the lines, but I think they probably land in the "strike zone" for my opponents too many times.

 

[user92626]

I'm thinking more and more about it and realize that I get a lot of comments from my hitting partners like, "I get into a good rhythm against you" or "I really like hitting with you."

You would think that would have rung a bell with me that I'm feeding "nice" groundies during matches (flat, good speed, waist-high, etc). Oh well. Better late than never.

Thanks again everyone for the comments.

If you can hit nice and consistent, time to learn placement. You can keep hitting the same way but to a spot farthest away from your opponent as possible. That's it!

 

[Kevo]

I think against good hitters one of the best skills to have is good shot selection. I would say this is sort of like variety, but not quite the same.

It's not that you want to hit a different shot every time, it's that you want to hit a shot that doesn't allow your opponent to get comfortable. A lot of pros do this by attacking their opponents weaker side with heavy topspin shots. They may hit several of these in a row. Sometimes they hit slower paced deep shots without much angle. The key is that you don't want to give your opponent a ball they can hurt you with while at the same time trying to make them cough up a ball you can use to hurt them.

This means you need to have a plan in the rally. I find a lot of times I have no plan and then when I get a ball that looks somewhat good I either do too much or too little because I'm trying to decide what to do while hitting the ball.

Have a plan and try to execute it. Keep working the plan until you are sure it is not going to work. If plan A is working, keep it up until your opponent counters it. Then go to plan B.

 

[choth21]

thanks kevo for the advice.

 

[papatenis]

You didn't mention anything about your sever or volley's, but since you are a 4.5er, I'll assume that they are solid.
My strategy is to hold serve. I put all my focus on just holding serve, if I happen to break, then that's just extra.
It's a simple strategy to try next time you play.