How much practice before a match?

[Traffic]

So looks like I'm finally in the lineup for 7.0 mixed doubles. I was sub last week.
During men's flights on Tuesday, I couldn't get my serves in. I've been working on a new service motion and I think I need to go back to my old one.

I hit a few serves during a pick-up practice session on the court. And serves were going in again with my old motion. But didn't really work on it that day.

So match is Saturday evening.

How much practice Saturday morning before I'd negatively impact my play in the evening? I'm thinking 1hr max? Nothing intense? Don't want to be stiff for the match.

And would you join a drills class or just work on serves and volley drills with a buddy?

 

[edathompson2]

An hour or 30 minutes before shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[ChaelAZ]

At our level, I think hitting before a match is, or well should be, more about building confidence in what you will be bringing to the match - no working on changing things or such. More doing some light consistency hitting and making sure you have a comfortable level of play to get into points.

Then you just start there and up your game if you are feeling it in the match.

 

[esgee48]

Play or hit 60 to 90 minutes max. Light drills, hitting, like doing a pre-match warmup. An hour before the match starts if you have the time, repeat what you did in the AM for 30 minutes, then stop. Sit and compose yourself mentally, talk with partner if you have specific tactics. Get your signals straight. Restroom, then out to the courts for 5 minute warmup and match.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

It's not like you're going to get that much better in your practice on the same day that it will make a difference in your match. The probability is small. You have to weigh that against the chance of getting tired or overdoing it. I'd err on the side of caution and keep it light. At that late point, mental preparation will probably pay higher dividends.

 

[Mongolmike]

7.0 mixed... I wouldn't sweat it too much. Get the serves in the box. Serve your regular serve and work on the new serve this next week.

 

[Turbo-87]

At our level, I think hitting before a match is, or well should be, more about building confidence in what you will be bringing to the match - no working on changing things or such. More doing some light consistency hitting and making sure you have a comfortable level of play to get into points.

Then you just start there and up your game if you are feeling it in the match.

Good point. My game varies a lot and I can tell right away in warmups whether it will be a good match for me or not. If my launch angles are low and I feel good I am already confident and ready to go in the match. Launch angles always seem to be the variable to me.

 

[OnTheLine]

When I can (and the match time and location is a good fit) I like doing a clinic for 60-90 minutes beforehand. It is more about finding my rhythm and getting all my parts to work.
But only if playing a doubles match.

For a singles match, I like to have a hitting partner for about 30 minutes beforehand. Cooperative rally balls.

I don't practice the serve in those sessions., if I am generally warmed up, my serve is on. If I am the least bit stiff or rhythm-free the serve is ho-hum.

In "official" warm-ups, if my mini-tennis is a disaster, it is usually a sign I am going to have a good match .... at least that is what I tell myself.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

In "official" warm-ups, if my mini-tennis is a disaster, it is usually a sign I am going to have a good match .... at least that is what I tell myself.

By that logic, I should have had a lot more good matches!

 

[FedLIKEnot]

I always try to go into a match feeling confident. Most of us have busy days, weeks, etc. I have two kids and work 40 hrs a week so it can be hard to get in all the hitting I would prefer. But before a match I try to have had a hit within a few days working on making good contact, feeling good about my game or as is the case sometimes taking stock of what isn't working so well and try to drill on that to elevate that. And on match day I try to get there an hour before a match and have a good warmup with my teammates before getting our court assignments and warming up with our opponents.

 

[eelhc]

When I can (and the match time and location is a good fit) I like doing a clinic for 60-90 minutes beforehand. It is more about finding my rhythm and getting all my parts to work.
But only if playing a doubles match.

For a singles match, I like to have a hitting partner for about 30 minutes beforehand. Cooperative rally balls.

I don't practice the serve in those sessions., if I am generally warmed up, my serve is on. If I am the least bit stiff or rhythm-free the serve is ho-hum.

In "official" warm-ups, if my mini-tennis is a disaster, it is usually a sign I am going to have a good match .... at least that is what I tell myself.

I think a lot more recreational players would play much better if they had a regular hitting partner(s) who they can hit their full paced balls consistently with. For me, dialing in my groundstrokes to the length of the court before a match is really helpful. Even at the recreation levels, weather, humidity, court speed do make a big difference.

 

[OnTheLine]

I am fortunate that i have several on my teams that also like to have a pre-match hitting session, at match-level pace ... For tournaments it is more difficult, but I can often find someone ....

As another alluded to, I find it hard to erase the day of work thoughts, stress, agitations before the match begins ... a nice hitting session seems to help with that.

 

[eelhc]

Another issue is that there are soooooo many D-Bags who try to hit winners during warm ups and expect me to fetch their balls. It's a crapshoot whether I'm actually going to get a warmup. Couple of balls like that then it's "I'm ready when you are".

 

[texasleaguer]

I had a doubles match this morning, and I told my partner about this thread. We had a good laugh. If we practiced for 30-90 minutes before a match, we wouldn't be able to get off the bench for that match. If our opponents want to warm up, we tell them to hit against one another and let us know when they're ready. The way we figure it, if we want to practice we practice, when we're going to play a match we play a match. But we never ever combine the two.

 

[Traffic]

Ok, reporting back. I ended up reserving an indoor court Saturday morning so I can get some practice playing with indoor lights and walls, etc. Did an extended warm-up routine and tried to get my serves to come in. Meh... The practice was good but I did get a bit tired. Fortunately I was able to take a nap mid-day to rest up a bit.

Someone booked the court prior to the match so I got a chance to warm-up for 1/2 hour. I had not played at this club before and the lights were way different than my club so that took a little getting used to. Funny, it's supposed to be a "home" match, but I was invited to play on a different club's team. So this was first time stepping onto this particular court.

Well, wouldn't you know it, the opponents defaulted our court due to family emergency. I ended up playing singles against my 4.0 partner. That was a real treat. She hit very low with little pace, but returned everything and hit very sharp angles. Plus my serves weren't going in. (She didn't want to win any points due to DF, so we played first ball in for my serves) Lost 6-2 first set. Then I adjusted to her pace and my serves started to come in. Lost 6-4.

I think the answer to my question was probably 45-60min max earlier in the day. I still found myself a bit stiff. But my serves were not grooving by game time. The singles match helped in that by the second set, the serves were going in and so were my groundstrokes. I don't know if that would've helped me in doubles as that would translate to the end of the 2nd set with 4 players.

 

[OnTheLine]

thanks for the report back ... for me, practicing earlier in the same day would not be helpful, would tire me likely and then come match time I would be just as "cold" and rhythm-free as if I hadn't hit earlier in the day.

Low balls without pace ... I hate playing against them, especially if they are well-placed. Those really frustrate me.

 

[SoaD]

20 minutes is probably the maximum length that I want to warm up. Any more than that and I will tire myself out or get bored before the match even starts.

 

[Traffic]

20 minutes is probably the maximum length that I want to warm up. Any more than that and I will tire myself out or get bored before the match even starts.

When I was playing more regularly, 15-20min prior to the match would be plenty.
But I had been off of tennis for a while or limited to playing once a week if I'm lucky. I needed a few extra practice sessions to groove my strokes and feel comfortable with my serves.

I guess it was my desperate attempt at getting back closer to my playing shape in a short amount of time...

 

[SoaD]

When I was playing more regularly, 15-20min prior to the match would be plenty.
But I had been off of tennis for a while or limited to playing once a week if I'm lucky. I needed a few extra practice sessions to groove my strokes and feel comfortable with my serves.

I guess it was my desperate attempt at getting back closer to my playing shape in a short amount of time...

Haha you will get back in shape soon enough! I used to like longer warm ups, but most of my USTA and ALTA matches are at 9 am on Saturdays, so I've had to adjust to ten minute warm ups.

 

[darkhorse]

In an ideal world I would do what the pros do, a 30-45 minute hitting session about an hour before match time. But alas, I'm lucky to get there 20 minutes before match time.