Ideas on How to Train To get A LOOSE arm for Forehands?

[Oldracquet27]

I am always tight! On practice i hit better but on Matches i get tight and tentative. I guess i need any trick to totally transform my muscle memory while hitting so it will be VERY AUTOMATIC and i can perform the same while playing matches.!

 

[salsainglesa]

hehehehe, well, thats the hardest part of tennis inmy opinion, actually... you must not place a lot of importance on winning, because you will have more trouble dealing with your emotions.
Emotions have physical manifestations, as tightening the muscles, so try to identify whatyou are feeling te next time you are playing... thats step one.

and when you are hitting during practice, pay attention to your emotions aswell...

get into tournaments wich are a level lower, and only practice being loose on the court...

cheers!

 

[fruitytennis1]

Edit: didnt really read what you said.

 

[T1000]

I play New Years Day in my head and other U2 songs since they calm me down.

 

[WildVolley]

One trick is to try to raise the stress level in practice and still try to stay loose. You need to have something on the line and do competitive drills in practice, while still focusing on staying loose. Maybe make a bet with the person you're practicing against even if it is just to run lines if you lose.

It also helps if you can focus on what you want to do in a match in terms of a game plan rather than winning or losing. Stop thinking about the outcome and focus on your goal of staying loose.

 

[GetBetterer]

You're afraid of losing and that thought gets in the way, and the fact that you've hit amazing shots before doesn't come to mind because you're afraid of losing.

Let your shot skills take over, or as The Inner Game of Tennis states, Self 2. He's the guy who knows how to hit the ball deep, short, etc. because he's hit it before. Self 1 just tells him where he wants it to go on the conscious side and focuses on the incoming ball.

 

[Blake0]

Put more pressure on yourself in practice. Don't be afraid to make some errors in matches (don't go for winners every point either), everyone does. Find a aggressive game plan which you can execute consistently and have a lot of confidence in. Learn when to hit offensive/neutral/defensive shots, you'll learn eventually that you need to hit different in different situations.

Remember, losing is a learning experience, don't always try to win, you can't. It's better to play well/your game and lose then to punch balls all day and win, you'll get better that way.

 

[HunterST]

Do you mean stay loose as in relaxed or are you talking about actually having a loose arm like you do on the serve?

If you're speaking about the latter, I'm not sure that your arm is supposed to be quite THAT loose on ground strokes.

 

[crystal_clear]

I try to keep the hitting arm loose to have a laid back wrist for the FH stroke. It is not easy as I am not used to it.