If you could give yourself ONE tennis tip...

Strategy

Strategy

Semi-Pro
If you could go back in time and give yourself ONE tennis tip...

If you could go back in time when you were just learning and tell yourself ONE tennis tip that would make your life so much easier and really improve your game much faster, what would it be?


Also, please don't post things like "practice more" lol. I'm more looking for technical skills, like rotating shoulders when hitting a forehand, etc
 
Last edited:
v-verb

v-verb

Hall of Fame
relaxed wrist - lay the wrist back on the forehand and backhand, swing fast - not hard - on the serve
 
firepanda

firepanda

Professional
I'd switch me to double-handed backhand and left-handed straight away. I'm very much sinistrous, but I started out righthanded with 1HBH, which... didn't end well. When I was 8, I stopped taking group lessons and my Dad took the opportunity to make me southpaw, 2HBH, continental serve, western forehand.
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
Strategy said:
If you could go back in time when you were just learning and tell yourself ONE tennis tip that would make your life so much easier and really improve your game much faster, what would it be?


Also, please don't post things like "practice more" lol. I'm more looking for technical skills, like rotating shoulders when hitting a forehand, etc
Click to expand...

It is one tip at a time at a certain stage, but no single tip for everything.
 
SystemicAnomaly

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Headshotterer said:
keep the eye on the ball until it crosses the net
Click to expand...

Don't understand this. Are you talking about an incoming ball or an outgoing ball? A better mantra would be, "keep your head still and eyes fixed on the contact zone for (nearly) all of the forward/upward swing" for an incoming ball.
 
Mick

Mick

Legend
don't try to copy exactly a pro's stroke. Implement what's good about that stroke into your own stroke.
 
C

CCH4TENNIS

New User
Strategy said:
If you could go back in time when you were just learning and tell yourself ONE tennis tip that would make your life so much easier and really improve your game much faster, what would it be?


Also, please don't post things like "practice more" lol. I'm more looking for technical skills, like rotating shoulders when hitting a forehand, etc
Click to expand...

Find the ball by stalking it moved my tennis to another level :)
 
mikeler

mikeler

Moderator
I'm fairly close to ambidextrous, so I wish I had started out left handed.

My current tennis tip to myself today would be "Stop hitting so many drop shots!"
 
A

ATP100

Professional
Strategy said:
If you could go back in time when you were just learning and tell yourself ONE tennis tip that would make your life so much easier and really improve your game much faster, what would it be?


Also, please don't post things like "practice more" lol. I'm more looking for technical skills, like rotating shoulders when hitting a forehand, etc
Click to expand...

Take more time off.
 
goran_ace

goran_ace

Hall of Fame
"Don't be in such a hurry to end the point." I was a very impatient player as a junior. I was overeager try to rip one for a winner. I tried to hit my way out of trouble when on defense. Going for a lot of all-or-nothing shots is not a winning strategy.
 
S

sundaypunch

Hall of Fame
goran_ace said:
"Don't be in such a hurry to end the point." I was a very impatient player as a junior. I was overeager try to rip one for a winner. I tried to hit my way out of trouble when on defense. Going for a lot of all-or-nothing shots is not a winning strategy.
Click to expand...

This is a good point and a difficult one for many juniors to learn. Some players will hit a couple of really good shots in a point and then you see them get impatient. It is as if they feel they should have already won the point so they get more reckless trying to finish it.
 
Mongolmike

Mongolmike

Hall of Fame
Looking back, one tennis tip to give myself....

...have parents who own a tennis club, giving me full and free access to indoor courts and the professional instruction of the teaching staff.

That, or having parents who own a golf course with the same benefits.

That's all.
 
UCSF2012

UCSF2012

Hall of Fame
Before you can walk, you have to crawl. Before you can hit winners, you have to push. Pushing wins matches.

Hitting flat is more consistent. Shouldn't have learned topspin.

Should've stocked up on nCodes.
 
Relinquis

Relinquis

Hall of Fame
keep your eye on the ball until you hit it, then stay focused on the contact point until you're pretty much done with the swing.
 
Headshotterer

Headshotterer

Professional
SystemicAnomaly said:
Don't understand this. Are you talking about an incoming ball or an outgoing ball? A better mantra would be, "keep your head still and eyes fixed on the contact zone for (nearly) all of the forward/upward swing" for an incoming ball.
Click to expand...

this is for when i am going to swing and hit. and my brain tends to take the eyes off earlier, so trying to keep eyes on before it crosses the net guarantees a focused impact
 
5263

5263

G.O.A.T.
SystemicAnomaly said:
Don't understand this. Are you talking about an incoming ball or an outgoing ball? A better mantra would be, "keep your head still and eyes fixed on the contact zone for (nearly) all of the forward/upward swing" for an incoming ball.
Click to expand...

I'd like to second this one above as the most important basic fundamental that
should always stay intact in your game, then add one that is more for the next level.

Using the open stance on the Fh and even the Bh sometimes to make court
coverage more efficient, well as how the open stance helps with attacking
mid ct balls with better net clearance control.
 
C

chatt_town

Hall of Fame
Bend knees and accelerate through the serve.


Strategy said:
If you could go back in time when you were just learning and tell yourself ONE tennis tip that would make your life so much easier and really improve your game much faster, what would it be?


Also, please don't post things like "practice more" lol. I'm more looking for technical skills, like rotating shoulders when hitting a forehand, etc
Click to expand...
 
TomT

TomT

Hall of Fame
Strategy said:
If you could go back in time when you were just learning and tell yourself ONE tennis tip that would make your life so much easier and really improve your game much faster, what would it be?


Also, please don't post things like "practice more" lol. I'm more looking for technical skills, like rotating shoulders when hitting a forehand, etc
Click to expand...
To quiet my mind and not analyze or remember or regret or project. Just feel the moment. See, hear, react. Play in the now, the moment. Concentrate. Just watch examples of good play and imitate.

I think that playing/living with this orientation would have resulted in a much faster learning progression.
 
B

BCTennis

New User
Play SMART instead of playing WELL.
People might think these are the same things but they are very different. For instance, hitting your biggest weapons is called "playing well". But this is not how you win matches. Playing well only works when you feel confident and you are playing someone as good or worse than you. However, "playing smart" means you have strategies to win. "playing smart" works even when you are not playing your best tennis. I am a 4.0 player and I faced a 5.0 today. The skill difference between us is huge. But I played smart- I made a plan to moonball+grind+slice to throw him off guard. I still lost but the score was 7-6, 7-5 for him. Playing smart gets you better results.
 
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