experienced advice needed

[therich29]

ok so i need some help in deciding what to do with tennis. i have played tennis since i was knee high but it has only ever been for fun with my family. i am taking it seriously now and all thought it is not a proper career for me as i am a musician, i want it as a priority in my life. i want to do it for the rest of my life.

i am not rated, or have entered any tournaments, but i would love to do both. i am goin to get a membership and private lessons very soon at my local tennis club.

i was wondering what would be the best route for me to take, guidance from people with experience. here is a bit about me as a player.

i have a powerful serve which i am continually practising, along with my topspin forhand. i am good with drop shots and i am fairly quick for a guy of my size (6'4").

i am pretty much a power baseliner in a nutshell. i just want to know what to do next. i want a rating and to enter tournaments, but mainly just to have fun!

absolutly ANY advice would be so hugely appreciated.

thanks guys for an amazing forum, if there is any questions then please do ask!

Rich

 

[therich29]

also, im not a total beginner, but as i havent been rated its hard to say how good i am.

cheers

Rich

 

[Swissv2]

Being a former professional musician, I believe tennis is a great sport to take on while involved with music. Though your muscles might not be as loose as before you play tennis, playing shouldn't be too much of a hinderance to your musical career.

Your involvement in the sport is entirely up to you - and from my experience, the better you get, the more fun you have in tennis. Joining tournaments is challenging, but if you join a team you should get some great support and hitting partners as well.

Good luck.

 

[therich29]

thanks so much for your advice, i am a drummer of 14 years, and at 19 i do have my life ahead of me. im am so in love with music and sport, tennis in particular, that i cant imagine my life without either. i want to take my tennis seriously and would love to progress along side my music career.

its gr8 to know that someone has taken a similar path to myslef.

thanks so much

Rich x

 

[MomentumGT]

Seems like you are on the right path to being a better tennis player. Membership and tennis lessons from a good teaching pro goes a long way. Here is a little advice I give some of the HS students I coach who can't play tourneys consistantly and it helps chart your progress as well.

First, start by finding a solid group of people in your area or club to hit with. Presumably 5 people you know you can beat, 5 people you know are of equal level as yourself, and another 5 people you know are considerably better than you.

Play and setup matches with these people and chart your progress. The 5 you know you can beat try to keep the wins between 90-100%. This helps with your focus and mental toughness. And it also helps to condition you not to play to your opponents lower level. The 5 people that are of equal level as you, try to keep the wins above 50%. As you improve this % should be rising. And the other 5 people that you know are better than you, if you can get 1-2 wins out of the 5 you're starting to see your potential as a player. It also shows that you can rise to the occasion and play at a higher level when pushed. This is a simple way to actually see results and progression if you aren't hitting up every local tourney. Hope this simple tip helps any.

-Jon

 

[therich29]

Seems like you are on the right path to being a better tennis player. Membership and tennis lessons from a good teaching pro goes a long way. Here is a little advice I give some of the HS students I coach who can't play tourneys consistantly and it helps chart your progress as well.

First, start by finding a solid group of people in your area or club to hit with. Presumably 5 people you know you can beat, 5 people you know are of equal level as yourself, and another 5 people you know are considerably better than you.

Play and setup matches with these people and chart your progress. The 5 you know you can beat try to keep the wins between 90-100%. This helps with your focus and mental toughness. And it also helps to condition you not to play to your opponents lower level. The 5 people that are of equal level as you, try to keep the wins above 50%. As you improve this % should be rising. And the other 5 people that you know are better than you, if you can get 1-2 wins out of the 5 you're starting to see your potential as a player. It also shows that you can rise to the occasion and play at a higher level when pushed. This is a simple way to actually see results and progression if you aren't hitting up every local tourney. Hope this simple tip helps any.

-Jon

hey Jon,

its simple but a gem, thanks for that, really helps ill do it. i think the way to meet these people would prob go to a group evening and meet them there. i've not actually played a serious competitive tournament but i think i could hold my own in a lower league.

thanks so much again,

Rich

 

[LuckyR]

Sounds like you practice and rally a bunch but haven't played many (nonsocial) matches.

As you are probably aware from the Forum, matchplay is quite a bit different from practicing. Definitely get some matches in. That'll probably get you completely hooked on the sport. In addition, your experience in the matches will guide you as to where you need to hone your skills.

For example, you may feel that a particular shot is quite good in practice, but if it falls apart in matchplay, it isn't as good as you thought.

 

[njjohan]

Rich I can see that you live in Cornwall, so I'll try to explain the LTA Rankings system to you: Basically, when you first sign up for a tournament/ league, you are automatically awarded a 10.2 rating. Win 4 matches and you progress to 10.1, so on and so forth, although the steps get harder I think. I'm in a somewhat similar to you, as I have been playing since I was 7 but only started taking it seriously 2 years ago, which unfortunately coincided with a year in China. Now at 16, I play literally whenever I can and am entering a tournament in a few weeks. My advice would be to first join a local club and go from there, and also enter a grade 7,6 or 5 tournament and just see how it goes really.

 

[burosky]

There are some famous musicians who also are good tennis players. I can't remember the name right now but there is a famous musician who is the son of a European Davis Cup player who played in the 70s. I think this guy plays drums for a big time rock group. Help me out guys. I'm not sure about my facts but I'm sure someone could come up with the name.

 

[hotseat]

welcome to the wonderful addiction known as tennis
for someone just sort of getting into the "competitive" scene, I can't stress enough how important it is for you to sign up for every possible social that your local tennis club has, which includes tournaments! you mentioned you are going to take some private lessons, which is great for you to find out your ability level. your pro should be able to give you a great sense of where you will fit in at various events/tournaments/leagues. does your club have drop in tennis? if so, do it! network, network, network. meet people. you will eventually build a web of tennis connections so you will always have someone to play/hit with. you will also meet people you're better than, worse than, and just about equal to. all of which are important to practice against when you get a chance. the main point i'm trying to make here and biggest piece of advice i'm handing out is the networking. meet people with similar tennis related goals to yours and you will be on your way to so some great times!

 

[therich29]

Rich I can see that you live in Cornwall, so I'll try to explain the LTA Rankings system to you: Basically, when you first sign up for a tournament/ league, you are automatically awarded a 10.2 rating. Win 4 matches and you progress to 10.1, so on and so forth, although the steps get harder I think. I'm in a somewhat similar to you, as I have been playing since I was 7 but only started taking it seriously 2 years ago, which unfortunately coincided with a year in China. Now at 16, I play literally whenever I can and am entering a tournament in a few weeks. My advice would be to first join a local club and go from there, and also enter a grade 7,6 or 5 tournament and just see how it goes really.

chhers man that helps so much, i didnt really know about how the rating system worked in my own country so thanks! its better that ur fully going for it at that age, i've just turned 19!

 

[therich29]

thanks for all ur helpful responses guys they have really cleared things up and helped more than you think! you guys are awesome!

Rich