IMPROVEMENT as an aspiring college player, advice?

kittycattennis

New User
There are many threads seeking advice to improve at tennis but I am in a bit of a rough patch right now so any help would be appreciated.

I am a rising sophomore in HS, female, and been playing for 6-7 years but I only have about a 4.7 utr.
From the age of 11 to beginning of freshman year I had around 2 utr and I constantly beat myself up for it now because how little progress I made in those 2 years and if I had worked harder back then I would maybe have a higher Utr currently.
Early freshman year to end of freshman year, I made some improvements and jumped from around 2.5 to 4.5 utr. But this summer my growth has only been about 0.2 points as I am currently a 4.7. (So I’m kind of plateau-in right now)
My goal is to play D1 college tennis, but I have quite disappointing stats so I anticipate that many people will tell me D1 college tennis is probably unattainable.
But my coaches and my dad tell me my biggest barrier as of now is not my technical or physical, but my mental. Before that, some background:

Around the same time I made a considerable jump in utr, I was training pretty heavily and am still motivated to train hard and as much as possible to improve: around 3 hours a day depending on my schedule, sometimes way more, sometimes less, I do conditioning and fitness for tennis twice a week and also jump rope at least 10 min every day, 30 min max, the usual fitness things, and tournaments nearly every weekend. I definitely don’t train as heavy as 6 utr but I think my tennis training is adequate enough to be improving at a steady rate, but my tennis hasn’t been improving as fast as I’d like for me to play college tennis.

Reason why I am really desperate for advice and guidance right now is because I want to play college tennis D1 but I am certainly not at the level at the moment and I don’t see myself reaching it soon, but I am working really hard to get there anyway and the hard work isn’t paying off fast enough to reach my goal.

My coaches have told me that I am already at the around 5-6 utr level, but I keep being beaten by utr 5 to 6 pretty easily except for a few tightly contested matches between high utr though that doesnt happen often. And my coach also told me that at this rate reaching a 7.3 utr shouldn’t be too unattainable of a goal, so I am aware that I can make this happen.

But with all this talk and “praise“ from coaches i am seemingly doing the opposite of what they say I should be able to accomplish because I am stuck at this 4 utr level and can’t seem to get over the hump. Sometimes I get mad at myself for it because I hear talk all the time that utr 1-5 should be a low-hanging fruit and yet I am working hard as my schedule allows and yet I dont Have the results to show for it and I don’t see myself hitting 5 anytime soon.

I want to improve really bad and I’m going to tell myself to keep believing - but I am doubting myself more and more after each match and disappointing result, will I ever make it anyways? Maybe I don’t have it in me because everyone else around me play Tennis for less years than me and already at 6-7 utr.. am I doing something wrong? what do I need to change to get better?

Do you have any tips to improve faster and what part of my tennis do I need to intensify or change to reach the next level? do I need to practice more? Have a better mentality? I am afraid because I want to reach my goal so bad but I think maybe I’ll never be able to do it.
 
There are many threads seeking advice to improve at tennis but I am in a bit of a rough patch right now so any help would be appreciated.

I am a rising sophomore in HS, female, and been playing for 6-7 years but I only have about a 4.7 utr.
From the age of 11 to beginning of freshman year I had around 2 utr and I constantly beat myself up for it now because how little progress I made in those 2 years and if I had worked harder back then I would maybe have a higher Utr currently.
Early freshman year to end of freshman year, I made some improvements and jumped from around 2.5 to 4.5 utr. But this summer my growth has only been about 0.2 points as I am currently a 4.7. (So I’m kind of plateau-in right now)
My goal is to play D1 college tennis, but I have quite disappointing stats so I anticipate that many people will tell me D1 college tennis is probably unattainable.
But my coaches and my dad tell me my biggest barrier as of now is not my technical or physical, but my mental. Before that, some background:

Around the same time I made a considerable jump in utr, I was training pretty heavily and am still motivated to train hard and as much as possible to improve: around 3 hours a day depending on my schedule, sometimes way more, sometimes less, I do conditioning and fitness for tennis twice a week and also jump rope at least 10 min every day, 30 min max, the usual fitness things, and tournaments nearly every weekend. I definitely don’t train as heavy as 6 utr but I think my tennis training is adequate enough to be improving at a steady rate, but my tennis hasn’t been improving as fast as I’d like for me to play college tennis.

Reason why I am really desperate for advice and guidance right now is because I want to play college tennis D1 but I am certainly not at the level at the moment and I don’t see myself reaching it soon, but I am working really hard to get there anyway and the hard work isn’t paying off fast enough to reach my goal.

My coaches have told me that I am already at the around 5-6 utr level, but I keep being beaten by utr 5 to 6 pretty easily except for a few tightly contested matches between high utr though that doesnt happen often. And my coach also told me that at this rate reaching a 7.3 utr shouldn’t be too unattainable of a goal, so I am aware that I can make this happen.

But with all this talk and “praise“ from coaches i am seemingly doing the opposite of what they say I should be able to accomplish because I am stuck at this 4 utr level and can’t seem to get over the hump. Sometimes I get mad at myself for it because I hear talk all the time that utr 1-5 should be a low-hanging fruit and yet I am working hard as my schedule allows and yet I dont Have the results to show for it and I don’t see myself hitting 5 anytime soon.

I want to improve really bad and I’m going to tell myself to keep believing - but I am doubting myself more and more after each match and disappointing result, will I ever make it anyways? Maybe I don’t have it in me because everyone else around me play Tennis for less years than me and already at 6-7 utr.. am I doing something wrong? what do I need to change to get better?

Do you have any tips to improve faster and what part of my tennis do I need to intensify or change to reach the next level? do I need to practice more? Have a better mentality? I am afraid because I want to reach my goal so bad but I think maybe I’ll never be able to do it.
What happens in the matches where you keep being beaten easily by UTR 5 to 6?
 

happyandbob

Legend
Are you judging your level of tennis improvement by your ability to win matches? Winning matches involves several important factors above your level of tennis skill/athleticism/fitness.

When your coach tells your dad that "your mental" is holding you back, do you know what he/she is talking about? Can you explore or describe that a bit here. I strikes me that you have one sentence about what your coach has specifically identified as holding you back, but you have 50 sentences about other topics (mostly your desire to win more).

If you want to win more, I suggest flipping that ratio and really understanding what your coach means. Mental can mean (among other things):
  • are you able to control your emotions or use them to fuel positive play rather than make you play worse
  • are you able to control your internal dialogue so you can move past bad errors or bad decisions
  • do you have a clear game plan for each match
  • how well are you able to stick to that game plan
  • how well do you play in "clutch" situations?
The difference between winning and losing in tennis is actually preciously small. Top 10 players in the world win in the neighborhood of 54-55% of the total points in matches. Top 100 players in the world win about 53% of the total points in matches. That small 1% of the total points in a match improves match win percent dramatically.

If you're losing to players that your coach thinks you should beat, try to spend more time understanding what he means when he's talking about "your mental" game.
 

jimmy8

G.O.A.T.
Serve - work on increasing speed and placement - you can get a lot of free points from a good serve. Also, you need to work on having a decent second serve - higher level girls will put away a weak 2nd serve.

Agility - work on change of direction, you will get to way more balls if you work on this.

Backhand down the line - practice this a lot - this shot will get you so many points.

Volleyball, overheads, when to approach the net - practice this and get more confident at your net game - don't approach off a weak shot, feel the shot that's about to go in the corner and rush in after it.
 
Last edited:

jimmy8

G.O.A.T.
I developed this when I was in my 30's, but hopefully you can do it too.

Don't think about the score during a point. And don't change how you play because you feel you need to win that point. Don't change to more conservative shots because you feel you have to win a certain point. Just play every point the same, even match point. This will enable you to play freely and also not be nervous. Speaking of nervous, don't think about winning or losing, just play and think it's good if I win, but it's ok if I lose, just play your best.

If you can incorporate these things in your mind, you will not get tight at tight moments of a match. It will free you of playing too conservative at times, and it will get rid of nerves.
 

johnmccabe

Hall of Fame
There are many threads seeking advice to improve at tennis but I am in a bit of a rough patch right now so any help would be appreciated.

I am a rising sophomore in HS, female, and been playing for 6-7 years but I only have about a 4.7 utr.
From the age of 11 to beginning of freshman year I had around 2 utr and I constantly beat myself up for it now because how little progress I made in those 2 years and if I had worked harder back then I would maybe have a higher Utr currently.
Early freshman year to end of freshman year, I made some improvements and jumped from around 2.5 to 4.5 utr. But this summer my growth has only been about 0.2 points as I am currently a 4.7. (So I’m kind of plateau-in right now)
My goal is to play D1 college tennis, but I have quite disappointing stats so I anticipate that many people will tell me D1 college tennis is probably unattainable.
But my coaches and my dad tell me my biggest barrier as of now is not my technical or physical, but my mental. Before that, some background:

Around the same time I made a considerable jump in utr, I was training pretty heavily and am still motivated to train hard and as much as possible to improve: around 3 hours a day depending on my schedule, sometimes way more, sometimes less, I do conditioning and fitness for tennis twice a week and also jump rope at least 10 min every day, 30 min max, the usual fitness things, and tournaments nearly every weekend. I definitely don’t train as heavy as 6 utr but I think my tennis training is adequate enough to be improving at a steady rate, but my tennis hasn’t been improving as fast as I’d like for me to play college tennis.

Reason why I am really desperate for advice and guidance right now is because I want to play college tennis D1 but I am certainly not at the level at the moment and I don’t see myself reaching it soon, but I am working really hard to get there anyway and the hard work isn’t paying off fast enough to reach my goal.

My coaches have told me that I am already at the around 5-6 utr level, but I keep being beaten by utr 5 to 6 pretty easily except for a few tightly contested matches between high utr though that doesnt happen often. And my coach also told me that at this rate reaching a 7.3 utr shouldn’t be too unattainable of a goal, so I am aware that I can make this happen.

But with all this talk and “praise“ from coaches i am seemingly doing the opposite of what they say I should be able to accomplish because I am stuck at this 4 utr level and can’t seem to get over the hump. Sometimes I get mad at myself for it because I hear talk all the time that utr 1-5 should be a low-hanging fruit and yet I am working hard as my schedule allows and yet I dont Have the results to show for it and I don’t see myself hitting 5 anytime soon.

I want to improve really bad and I’m going to tell myself to keep believing - but I am doubting myself more and more after each match and disappointing result, will I ever make it anyways? Maybe I don’t have it in me because everyone else around me play Tennis for less years than me and already at 6-7 utr.. am I doing something wrong? what do I need to change to get better?

Do you have any tips to improve faster and what part of my tennis do I need to intensify or change to reach the next level? do I need to practice more? Have a better mentality? I am afraid because I want to reach my goal so bad but I think maybe I’ll never be able to do it.
Juniors circle is a different world, most people on here are not very familiar with. Find coaches who produced many D1 players to have a look at your matches. From very little I know. You are really running out of time, if not mission impossible.
 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
I would rethink your D1 goal. Ask yourself why you made that as your goal. What's wrong w D2/D3?

More quality time on court. Practice w specific intent to improve some particular shot. Many teens are out on court w/o any focus.
D3 does not offer athletic scholarships.
 

Gary Duane

Talk Tennis Guru
Top 10 players in the world win in the neighborhood of 54-55% of the total points in matches. Top 100 players in the world win about 53% of the total points in matches. That small 1% of the total points in a match improves match win percent dramatically.
Those figures are way too high. There are currently only five people in the world who have won more than 53% of their points this year. #10 is barely over 52%.
 
Last edited:

happyandbob

Legend
Those figures are way too high. There are currently only five people in the world to have won more than 53% of their points this year. #10 is barely over 52%.
Thanks, I was quoting those figures from memory. That info was in a thread with a discussion about the relationship between points won and matches won and what kind of impact a 1% point increase would make on match win percentage. I searched for it, but it's been deleted... and I was too lazy to search the internet for the original source of the points won data.

@kittycattennis the point that many on this thread are making is that small edges make all the difference between wins and losses -- mental, skill, speed, fitness, gameplan. Think small improvements rather than grand plans. Really understand what your coach thinks you need to improve.

Here is a chart of relationship between points won in a match and match win percentage. Small improvements make big differences.

Picture1.png
 

kittycattennis

New User
I would rethink your D1 goal. Ask yourself why you made that as your goal. What's wrong w D2/D3?

More quality time on court. Practice w specific intent to improve some particular shot. Many teens are out on court w/o any focus.
that’s true D3 is probably a better goal for me at the moment but you guys are right I should stop focusing on where I want to end up and just trust the process and focus on specifics day by day. I’ve been trying to have this mindset but sometimes it’s hard not to think about the rankings and all that. Thanks for the tips everyone I appreciate it a lot
Stop focusing so much on ratings and focus on drilling the weakest parts of your game.
Focus on the process, not the results
What part of your game are you currently working on?
I’m working on my mental currently, like others said, I don’t have a game plan usually and play every point thinking “let’s see what’s gonna happen” so I need to be more specific with strategy and go to practice with specific goals to achieve

I developed this when I was in my 30's, but hopefully you can do it too.

Don't think about the score during a point. And don't change how you play because you feel you need to win that point. Don't change to more conservative shots because you feel you have to win a certain point. Just play every point the same, even match point. This will enable you to play freely and also not be nervous. Speaking of nervous, don't think about winning or losing, just play and think it's good if I win, but it's ok if I lose, just play your best.

If you can incorporate these things in your mind, you will not get tight at tight moments of a match. It will free you of playing too conservative at times, and it will get rid of nerves.
Thanks for the advice, yeah definitely need to work oncontrolling my emotion
Thanks, I was quoting those figures from memory. That info was in a thread with a discussion about the relationship between points won and matches won and what kind of impact a 1% point increase would make on match win percentage. I searched for it, but it's been deleted... and I was too lazy to search the internet for the original source of the points won data.

@kittycattennis the point that many on this thread are making is that small edges make all the difference between wins and losses -- mental, skill, speed, fitness, gameplan. Think small improvements rather than grand plans. Really understand what your coach thinks you need to improve.

Here is a chart of relationship between points won in a match and match win percentage. Small improvements make big differences.

Picture1.png
good point, focus On the details I guess
Super easy: spend no time on social media and instead be on court.
yeah
im not good at thatunfortunatley
Serve - work on increasing speed and placement - you can get a lot of free points from a good serve. Also, you need to work on having a decent second serve - higher level girls will put away a weak 2nd serve.

Agility - work on change of direction, you will get to way more balls if you work on this.

Backhand down the line - practice this a lot - this shot will get you so many points.

Volleyball, overheads, when to approach the net - practice this and get more confident at your net game - don't approach off a weak shot, feel the shot that's about to go in the corner and rush in after it.
(y)This is a lot of good info thank you very much
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
@kittycattennis

Don't know if it still happens but, back in the day, Brad Gilbert played D3 for 2 years (Foothill Community College in NorCal) and then in '82 he transferred to Pepperdine U, a D1 school.

OTOH, some D1 schools, like Stanford have, in the past, taken tennis players as a Freshman. Not sure if they've ever taken transfers to play on their tennis teams
 
How often do you play matches? Training, drilling, cardio, etc is all important, but match-play is part of the equation too. You will be able to work on a lot of the things the previous posters mentioned by just playing more. No substitute for it.

Keep aiming for D1, nothing wrong with D2/D3 being the backup. Set your sights high and work towards achieving your goal.
 
Have your coaches coached multiple juniors who have become D1 players in recent years? If not, and you want any chance of making D1, you need to get new coaches. (Though given your current age and level, making D1 will still be an uphill battle.)
 

happyandbob

Legend
Juniors circle is a different world, most people on here are not very familiar with. Find coaches who produced many D1 players to have a look at your matches. From very little I know. You are really running out of time, if not mission impossible.
Have your coaches coached multiple juniors who have become D1 players in recent years? If not, and you want any chance of making D1, you need to get new coaches. (Though given your current age and level, making D1 will still be an uphill battle.)

I think this point is also important. If you really want to aim for college tennis, you need a high level coach. This is important not just because the coach may be better at teaching/more knowledgeable, it's also important because you'll get a chance to hit against that coach's other students -- kids who also have D1 or higher aspirations.

My son improved much faster when he switched to a high performance coach who had been trying to get him. He stayed with his original coach out of loyalty, but it's hard to beat the impact of constantly hitting with people better than you. He had to make the move eventually.
 

tennispiglet

New User
There are many threads seeking advice to improve at tennis but I am in a bit of a rough patch right now so any help would be appreciated.

I am a rising sophomore in HS, female, and been playing for 6-7 years but I only have about a 4.7 utr.
From the age of 11 to beginning of freshman year I had around 2 utr and I constantly beat myself up for it now because how little progress I made in those 2 years and if I had worked harder back then I would maybe have a higher Utr currently.
Early freshman year to end of freshman year, I made some improvements and jumped from around 2.5 to 4.5 utr. But this summer my growth has only been about 0.2 points as I am currently a 4.7. (So I’m kind of plateau-in right now)
My goal is to play D1 college tennis, but I have quite disappointing stats so I anticipate that many people will tell me D1 college tennis is probably unattainable.
But my coaches and my dad tell me my biggest barrier as of now is not my technical or physical, but my mental. Before that, some background:

Around the same time I made a considerable jump in utr, I was training pretty heavily and am still motivated to train hard and as much as possible to improve: around 3 hours a day depending on my schedule, sometimes way more, sometimes less, I do conditioning and fitness for tennis twice a week and also jump rope at least 10 min every day, 30 min max, the usual fitness things, and tournaments nearly every weekend. I definitely don’t train as heavy as 6 utr but I think my tennis training is adequate enough to be improving at a steady rate, but my tennis hasn’t been improving as fast as I’d like for me to play college tennis.

Reason why I am really desperate for advice and guidance right now is because I want to play college tennis D1 but I am certainly not at the level at the moment and I don’t see myself reaching it soon, but I am working really hard to get there anyway and the hard work isn’t paying off fast enough to reach my goal.

My coaches have told me that I am already at the around 5-6 utr level, but I keep being beaten by utr 5 to 6 pretty easily except for a few tightly contested matches between high utr though that doesnt happen often. And my coach also told me that at this rate reaching a 7.3 utr shouldn’t be too unattainable of a goal, so I am aware that I can make this happen.

But with all this talk and “praise“ from coaches i am seemingly doing the opposite of what they say I should be able to accomplish because I am stuck at this 4 utr level and can’t seem to get over the hump. Sometimes I get mad at myself for it because I hear talk all the time that utr 1-5 should be a low-hanging fruit and yet I am working hard as my schedule allows and yet I dont Have the results to show for it and I don’t see myself hitting 5 anytime soon.

I want to improve really bad and I’m going to tell myself to keep believing - but I am doubting myself more and more after each match and disappointing result, will I ever make it anyways? Maybe I don’t have it in me because everyone else around me play Tennis for less years than me and already at 6-7 utr.. am I doing something wrong? what do I need to change to get better?

Do you have any tips to improve faster and what part of my tennis do I need to intensify or change to reach the next level? do I need to practice more? Have a better mentality? I am afraid because I want to reach my goal so bad but I think maybe I’ll never be able to do it.
Well, you can't improve faster but you can try to make smart improvements. For example,
  1. What is your biggest weakness (serve, fh, bh, etc): find ways to improve your problem (you can find a lot of help online on YouTube for example).
  2. Practice for to improve the things you need to beat yourself in one month 6-0 6-0 (your past game) like you are a 4.7 utr and in a month you improve enough to win yourself when you were 4.7 utr 6-0 6-0
  3. Add in work on slices, drop shots, and volleys. Knowing that you can play at the net or hit a drop shot here and there can increase your confidence in your game
 
Top