Improving Consistency

Topspin24

Rookie
So my school's tennis season starts soon and I have been playing a lot lately however I have hit a roadblock in my development. I have made the JV team the last two years and right now my consistency has lowered a lot lately. I have been moving my feet a lot to get into position for the ball and I believe that I am doing so quite well but for some reason, on the important shots, I wail the ball out. What would be some tips as to improve my consistency so I can end up making my varsity team, (I do have the serve and firepower/direction control)?
 

mark1

Semi-Pro
Play smarter. A lot of tennis at that level is staying consistent and knowing when/if you pull the trigger.

Playing smooth cosistent tennis will be huge in your development.
 

Blake0

Hall of Fame
Tips to improve consistency.

Focus on good footwork and early preparation. They are fundamentals of hitting consistently well. Timing and contact point are important in getting you power without having to muscle the ball as much.

Other then that, all i can say is topspin, hit solid topspin shots when you need consistency.
 

SStrikerR

Hall of Fame
Play it safer. Don't be quick to pull the trigger; have the same mentality you have during other points. I'm not saying be a pusher, but keep the ball in, even if you aren't hitting that hard. Odds are, unless you're playing really good high school players, eventually they'll make an unforced error. Most don't have the patience for long rallys, and try to hit a shot that has a low success rate. Just be mentally tougher, and make smarter choices than your opponent.
 

salsainglesa

Semi-Pro
To be able to perform during gametime, you must practice consistency.
Get over the net a 100 balls with a partner on a regular basis, and with time add some pace depth spin whatever you like. At first a 100 balls over the net is the goal, by whatever means, if you can mantain good rally balls, the better, if not, then its perfectly fine to start with easy balls.

practice is key
 
http://www.revolutionarytennis.com/federervisiontechnique.html

Will correct any and all issues with mishitting and shanking/framing the ball.


in practice, go at about 75% power and just hit your spots and work on accuracy.

in high school tennis, if you can make your shots 95% of the time, you will win.

practice practice practice placement of the ball on the court, and make sure your footwork is perfect to GET to every ball and setup accordingly.

also maybe use a bit more topspin for added control
 

dozu

Banned
all of the above are valid.... but are only band-aids IF the swing is flawed.

and since you play JV, I have to assume that the swings ARE flawed.
 

Topspin24

Rookie
Well, I dont think you guys know how good my school's varsity team is. We have won state's 8 times out of the last decade. We're really good. But thanks for the advice, I think it's my swing. I can't really decide to use a bent arm semi western or straight arm swing.
 

dozu

Banned
^^ I made a separate thread about consistency.

bent/straight doesn't matter... whatever feels natural is fine.

make sure from the bottom of the racket drop thru the windshield wiping, the face is looking a the same angle all the time.... some text book may say the face is perpendicular to the ground at impact... but in reality, because of the ball/stringbed friction, the face is slightly hooded thru impact... so make sure that's the angle the face looks at before/at/after impact.

you cannot miss if you hit this way.
 
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