My 3.5 Tennis Gameplay

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Some volley work against the ball machine with the Wilson PS97 that Dimitrov uses:

Why did you go out of your way to state the racquet you used? Did it make any significant difference in your volleys? Your technique will matter a lot more than the racquet; I would focus on that, not the racquet.

Some comments:
- You swing way too much on your FH volley [compare to your BH volley, which is a lot simpler].

- You hinge your racquet back and swing a lot with your wrist. Look around 0:22: your racquet face is pointed almost straight up to the sky. At the follow through, the racquet face is pointing straight down. This means your racquet has gone through 180 degrees of arc from start to finish.

While this allows tremendous racquet head speed, it also leads to huge variability in results. If you contact the ball slightly early, it will pop up. If you contact the ball slightly late, it will go down into the net. You only have a very small window of time and space to get it just right.

Contrast that with a more conservative approach of taking the racquet back only as part of the unit turn so that the racquet face is pointing at your target. You then "swing" by moving your entire body forwards, keeping the racquet face pointed at your target. Assuming you can turn in time, the entire arc of your swing is with the racquet face pointing at your target. If you contact the ball anywhere in that arc, it will go in.

The racquet hinging method relies primarily on wrist and forearm. The unit turn method relies primarily on legs/core/shoulder, ie the bigger muscles. That's why the second method is more stable.

- You are hitting your FH volley more like a FH GS [the first one was closer to an OH]. For example, look at the follow-through after your 0:22 volley: your racquet is all of the way on the other side of your body. The faster the shots are coming in, the less time you will have to reset. You're vulnerable in this position.

- I suggest stopping the excessive racquet twirling. It adds nothing to your technique and just adds more risk.

Here's an excellent video on the topic:

The problem he discusses at 2:58 is precisely what you're doing.

As you master what is discussed here, your volleys will improve greatly. And don't be discouraged by the "beginner" in the title; the advice is spot-on.

Additionally, I suggest standing much further back, say, a few feet in front of the SL. You are so close to the net, the temptation is to try and put everything away. When you are 15' away from the net, that temptation should diminish. You're not after putaways at this point; you are after solid technique.

 

[pdizzy]

@S&V-not_dead_yet Thanks for the pointers! I merely meant to state what racket I used since it was one of the 3 I was demoing.

 

[eelhc]

Some volley work against the ball machine with the Wilson PS97 that Dimitrov uses:

Some quick observations...

Shoulder turn! Shoulder turn! Shoulder turn! Your torso/body stays perpendicular to the flight of the ball. On a lot of volleys you're simply not getting out of the way and being jammed.

There's just way too much going on. It's good that your feet are moving. But it's almost like you're hopping towards the ball and using a flyswatter to smack at the ball. Keep it simple, split, cross-step and drive.

Also.. it looks like a lot of your volleys are hit with an eastern grip. Why twirl the racquet? Just get a continental grip and leave it there. Cut down on the unnecessary movement, and again, keep it simple.

I would set the machine up to shoot the ball straight down the T, and alternate hitting 1 forehand and 1 backhand volley. Each time splitting/recovering to the center so you are forced to step out of the way and create the room require to hit the volley properly. Do this both at the service line (approach volleys) and at the net. if you want a real workout, set up the machine this way and hit 1 groundstroke, 1 approach volley, and 1 putaway volley. Each time moving in. You can choose to circle back to the baseline or make it a convergence/divergence drill: groundstroke-approach voller-net-approach volley-groundstroke... You'll get a better sense of real time split step, footwork and grip change required for each.

 

[pdizzy]

@eelhc Thanks!

 

[StringSnapper]

Pdizzy one thing that makes me feel like i cant miss a volley; i use a very firm wrist at contact. I hold the continental grip then make an L shape with the racquet and my forearm. From ready position all the way through contact, a firm L. When your wrist is loose theres too much going on (for a volley anyway).

Consistentcy will go through the roof

 

[pdizzy]

@StringSnapper Thanks! I tend to get to excited to put the ball away that I lose focus.

 

[eelhc]

Pdizzy one thing that makes me feel like i cant miss a volley; i use a very firm wrist at contact. I hold the continental grip then make an L shape with the racquet and my forearm. From ready position all the way through contact, a firm L. When your wrist is loose theres too much going on (for a volley anyway).

Consistentcy will go through the roof

Excellent point... a good way to do this is to grip the racquet harder just before contact. Also... pdizzy is attempting to "hit" his volleys (swinging). A volley is really a deflection/rebound shot and the power has to come from the legs/stepping into the ball with forward momentum. A key to a good volley is location, not power. Think deep into a corner on an approach, than angle for winner.

 

[eelhc]

@StringSnapper Thanks! I tend to get to excited to put the ball away that I lose focus.

Start thinking "put the next point away" rather than "put this point away"... So on the shot you're playing, think of it as a "set up" shot driving your point off the court... corners and edges with plenty of margin... to set up the next shot which will be an easy put away. You might be surprised at the results. You'll actually end up hitting winners on your "set up" shot and making less UFE.

You might think it's a sweet feeling overpowering the opponent and hitting through them. In my experience, for evenly matched levels, very rarely does on player overpower and hit through the other player. The sweeter feeling is actually constructing the point... putting a plan into play and executing.

 

[pdizzy]

@eelhc I appreciate your help and will work on what you stated above. I hit again the ball machine some as well and might post those videos on here soon for slaughter...

 

[pdizzy]

Some ball machine work:

This was at the end of an hour long session so I was rather gassed to add onto my sloppy game. Enjoy.

 

[BlackTatsu]

When you use a ball machine, you should be practicing your strokes or anything that you need improvement on. It just looks like you are just hitting for the purpose of hitting.

There's no purpose behind your practice which will prolong your improvement. Work on cross court, down the line, depth, consistency, etc.

 

[Wesley J]

It was pointed out earlier...but you excessively twirl your racket. I'm not sure if you are doing that for a reason or if it is just a nervous habit, but it will hurt your consistency as I doubt you are hitting with the same grip every time.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Pdizzy one thing that makes me feel like i cant miss a volley; i use a very firm wrist at contact. I hold the continental grip then make an L shape with the racquet and my forearm. From ready position all the way through contact, a firm L. When your wrist is loose theres too much going on (for a volley anyway).

Consistentcy will go through the roof

But firm wrist is not applicable to all volleys: for floaters at chest height? Sure. For dippers that untie your shoelaces? No way.

And for a drop volley, you absolutely need to relax your grip in order to absorb impact.

 

[StringSnapper]

But firm wrist is not applicable to all volleys: for floaters at chest height? Sure. For dippers that untie your shoelaces? No way.

And for a drop volley, you absolutely need to relax your grip in order to absorb impact.

Yeah sometimes you need to swat at it, but i find firm wrist applicable in most cases.

I'm not an amazing volley person, but i can usually get the job done at the net. You probably volley better than being mr. S&v

 

[Wise one]

Some quick observations...

Shoulder turn! Shoulder turn! Shoulder turn! Your torso/body stays perpendicular to the flight of the ball. On a lot of volleys you're simply not getting out of the way and being jammed.

There's just way too much going on. It's good that your feet are moving. But it's almost like you're hopping towards the ball and using a flyswatter to smack at the ball. Keep it simple, split, cross-step and drive.

Also.. it looks like a lot of your volleys are hit with an eastern grip. Why twirl the racquet? Just get a continental grip and leave it there. Cut down on the unnecessary movement, and again, keep it simple.

I would set the machine up to shoot the ball straight down the T, and alternate hitting 1 forehand and 1 backhand volley. Each time splitting/recovering to the center so you are forced to step out of the way and create the room require to hit the volley properly. Do this both at the service line (approach volleys) and at the net. if you want a real workout, set up the machine this way and hit 1 groundstroke, 1 approach volley, and 1 putaway volley. Each time moving in. You can choose to circle back to the baseline or make it a convergence/divergence drill: groundstroke-approach voller-net-approach volley-groundstroke... You'll get a better sense of real time split step, footwork and grip change required for each.

Just squeeze the racquet grip right before contact.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Yeah sometimes you need to swat at it, but i find firm wrist applicable in 90% of cases.

I'm not an amazing volley person, but i can usually get the job done at the net

OK; I would quibble with the "90%" # but I would agree that the majority I hit are with a firm wrist. But I hit quite a few that are more positional in nature [not designed to win the point but to put my opponent in a semi-awkward position, from which I'm hoping he will overhit to try and compensate].

 

[StringSnapper]

OK; I would quibble with the "90%" # but I would agree that the majority I hit are with a firm wrist. But I hit quite a few that are more positional in nature [not designed to win the point but to put my opponent in a semi-awkward position, from which I'm hoping he will overhit to try and compensate].

I actually edited the 90% after i posted it. Didnt wanna be the 100% of guys who make up 100% of stastistics off the cusp lol

 

[StringSnapper]

OK; I would quibble with the "90%" # but I would agree that the majority I hit are with a firm wrist. But I hit quite a few that are more positional in nature [not designed to win the point but to put my opponent in a semi-awkward position, from which I'm hoping he will overhit to try and compensate].

True. Thats probably next level volleying skills. I have trouble aiming the volley, i usually jist try to punch it back hard.

But i usually just baseline and only come in when my opponent is scrambling in struggle town for an easy volley

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

True. Thats probably next level volleying skills.

It is. And it's a lot of fun playing Cat & Mouse against someone else who is just as good [I'm talking doubles now]. And you can do it too but you have to broaden your horizons a bit to include placement and touch rather than just power.

I have trouble aiming the volley, i usually jist try to punch it back hard.

But i usually just baseline and only come in when my opponent is scrambling in struggle town for an easy volley

Understood. So your next mission, should you decide to accept it, will be to experiment with coming into the net more often: off of a serve, a chip return, a deep ball to the opponent BH, etc. This will force you to deal with a much wider variety of passing shots [and lobs; sharpen up that OH].

And when you practice, make sure you get fed all types of shots, not just generic, middle pace, chest-high ones.

if you lose, the organization will deny all involvement. This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds.

 

[StringSnapper]

It is. And it's a lot of fun playing Cat & Mouse against someone else who is just as good [I'm talking doubles now]. And you can do it too but you have to broaden your horizons a bit to include placement and touch rather than just power.



Understood. So your next mission, should you decide to accept it, will be to experiment with coming into the net more often: off of a serve, a chip return, a deep ball to the opponent BH, etc. This will force you to deal with a much wider variety of passing shots [and lobs; sharpen up that OH].

And when you practice, make sure you get fed all types of shots, not just generic, middle pace, chest-high ones.

if you lose, the organization will deny all involvement. This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds.

Lol nice.

I think i've been reluctant to serve and volley much mostly because a baseline game suits me more; i have more experience doing it and i'm young and can run fast. i also just like the exercise. its fun to occasionally chuck in there. cat and mouse in singles is fun too. hitting a half volley is strangely satisfying.

i'm mostly gunning at the moment to increase my ranking, i think a complete overhaul of tactics would do more harm than good at this point. it definitely seems that as you get older you need to reply more on volleying and skill though. At the moment opponents better than me generate too many short balls off baseline exchanges with their hard flat strokes, so i'm trying to work more on on a flatter block-ier type groundstroke for these situations.

there is this one guy at our club who is an amazing serve an vollier, really makes you feel like you can't pass or lob him. its an intimidating game to play against.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

True. Thats probably next level volleying skills. I have trouble aiming the volley, i usually jist try to punch it back hard.

But i usually just baseline and only come in when my opponent is scrambling in struggle town for an easy volley

Here are 2 great videos, with steady progressions:

Here's another, dealing solely with touch:

http://www.essentialtennis.com/2-tips-better-touch-better-feel-tennis-lesson/

If you can absorb 100% of the incoming ball's momentum, like he does in the 2nd part of the video, you can also absorb 95% or 90% or 80% to hit amazing drop volleys.

Just another tool in the toolbox. It won't solve all of your ills but it will make tennis even more enjoyable.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

i'm mostly gunning at the moment to increase my ranking, i think a complete overhaul of tactics would do more harm than good at this point.

I'd agree. OK, keep it in your back pocket and pull it out in 20 years or so. I removed the self-destruct algorithm.

 

[StringSnapper]

Here are 2 great videos, with steady progressions:

Here's another, dealing solely with touch:

http://www.essentialtennis.com/2-tips-better-touch-better-feel-tennis-lesson/

If you can absorb 100% of the incoming ball's momentum, like he does in the 2nd part of the video, you can also absorb 95% or 90% or 80% to hit amazing drop volleys.

Just another tool in the toolbox. It won't solve all of your ills but it will make tennis even more enjoyable.

the first 2 videos they didn't teach firm wrist with the L shape. the women both had floppy wrists and inconsistent volleys. the woman in black didnt seem to improve her volley at all

i think when you teach firm wrist first, you automatically don't 'whack' at the ball like Ian was saying, since your wrist is too firm anyway to 'come through' the ball.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

the first 2 videos they didn't teach firm wrist with the L shape. the women both had floppy wrists and inconsistent volleys. the woman in black didnt seem to improve her volley at all

i think when you teach firm wrist first, you automatically don't 'whack' at the ball like Ian was saying, since your wrist is too firm anyway to 'come through' the ball.

What you should be taking away is not how well the particular students do but the principles involved.

 

[pdizzy]

Thought I would give another update and show some more matchplay for your viewing pleasures. Enjoy!

 

[eelhc]

Thought I would give another update and show some more matchplay for your viewing pleasures. Enjoy!

I'm not sure there's any difference in this video compared to the first video you posted 4 months ago.

what DO YOU think the differences on your strokes are?

 

[pdizzy]

@eelhc Thanks for watching again! I feel alot more confident hitting certain angles when I play now. I also feel like my fitness/endurance during matches has improved greatly. It is hard to see in these short videos sadly and the majority of this match was even outdoors at a separate location!

 

[eelhc]

@eelhc Thanks for watching again! I feel alot more confident hitting certain angles when I play now. I also feel like my fitness/endurance during matches has improved greatly. It is hard to see in these short videos sadly and the majority of this match was even outdoors at a separate location!

How much more confident you feel or your fitness level has nothing to do with any fundamental stroke improvement.
Maybe you feel more confident on certain shots as a result of playing more and gaining experience.

To be honest, I stopped watching after first 2 forehands. There is absolutely zero shoulder turn. In fact, your shoulders are almost perfectly square to your opponent the entire stroke (Of course... your left hand is wrapping around the body in the "hug me" motion counter to the stroke). It's entirely an arm swing.

I really think you should do some hitting sessions to focus on your strokes. Otherwise your game will not improve.

 

[pdizzy]

Nice, well thanks for watching the first 2 forehands!

 

[Rattler]

Some match play from this weekend's Texas Sectionals in SA. Lots of errors and not a great match for myself.

Looks like court 7 or 16 at McFarlin (thinking 16 for the walk at the North end of the court...looks like your phone is perched there)

Where in Texas do you live? Do you in San Antonio or Austin?

 

[pdizzy]

@Rattler No, I was just there for a tourney then. I think it was at McFarlin though.

 

[Rattler]

@Rattler No, I was just there for a tourney then. I think it was at McFarlin though.

Yeah I recognized McFarlin and the Tourney Director’s voice over the PA...well if you’re ever in San Antonio and you want to hit...pm me

 

[pdizzy]

@Rattler Sounds good! If you use youtube, feel free to subscribe too!

 

[StringSnapper]

Nice, well thanks for watching the first 2 forehands!

I also stopped very soon in. Before you do anything else make sure you work out the shoulder turn concept. It will revolutionise your game

 

[pdizzy]

@StringSnapper I appreciate the feedback!

 

[Curious]

I have a suggestion. Wear a weighted vest of 10 kg and play tennis. You will be surprised how difficult it is. Now stop playing tennis and jog every day until you lose 10 kg and start playing again and post here. People will say ' wow! you play much better now, mate. What have you done?' I don't want to be mean but you will really notice how an extra 10-15 kg affect your movement once you try the weighted vest. You can buy a cheap one online.

 

[mightyrick]

@Rattler No, I was just there for a tourney then. I think it was at McFarlin though.

So you don't live in Texas? Ah shoot, I was going to suggest maybe we meet up for a hit or something if you are remotely close to Austin.

 

[pdizzy]

@mightyrick I am in the north TX area but visit Austin regularly to visit friends. I hit with them as well.

 

[pdizzy]

Not tennis related but wanted to wish all of those who have visited my forum post a Merry Christmas!

 

[damazing]

In both the ball machine video and the match videos it seems like you are comfortable moving left and right but not forward / backwards. In the ball machine video many times the balls would drop short and rather than moving in to hit them at your optimal spot you reached for them. Don't be wedded to the spot 2 feet behind the baseline as your opponents may hit short / long and if you just hit the balls as they come to you then you will either mishit them or hit a weaker shot.

 

[mightyrick]

@mightyrick I am in the north TX area but visit Austin regularly to visit friends. I hit with them as well.

Well, next time you get down here to Austin, please feel free to PM me. I live in north Austin (Round Rock/Cedar Park) and we can maybe go hit and record a video for posterity!

 

[pdizzy]

@damazing I will definitely work that out and thanks! @mightyrick I will be sure to!

 

[pdizzy]

Just an update to grace your eyes going into 2018. Happy New Year!

 

[ubercat]

Your practice partner is making you look good. I think both of you would benefit from practicing a cross Court slice approach shot on the BH. I'm seeing a lot of floaty backhand slices popping up into the mid Court.

And definitely introduce the split step into your return of serve. It's a lot easier to remember to do it on a set piece like that than during a rally.

And maybe Point your feet in the direction you want the ball to go at least for a little while. That will get you turning side on and hopefully encourage a bit more rotation

 

[Chadillac]

Just an update to grace your eyes going into 2018. Happy New Year!

Looking good, but your dropping your left arm way to soon. Throwing it into the court gives you more power, i think they call it "reaching into the court", someone will explain probably

 

[pdizzy]

Just thought to dust off the thread and add a recent video.

 

[rrortiz5]

Just thought to dust off the thread and add a recent video.

Great pronation and RHS on your serve Pdizzy. One of the 1st serves could be approaching 110mphb I think. Very resembling of Roddicks serve. Your forehand looks good and backhand too. It’s rare to see 2-handers on both sides like your ground strokes. Keep up the good work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IowaGuy]

Just thought to dust off the thread and add a recent video.

Have you incorporated any of the earlier suggestions to improve your skills?

 

[pdizzy]

@IowaGuy I definitely have as far as confidence in my overall strokes and serving. Lately I have been competing at a higher level than before as well.

 

[TennisDawg]

@IowaGuy I definitely have as far as confidence in my overall strokes and serving. Lately I have been competing at a higher level than before as well.

Just some friendly advice, I wouldn’t get hung up about competing at higher levels, just yet If you can afford lessons that would help 10X more than what you well get here. If you can’t get private lessons check into on line lessons, there many reputable online coaches. One I would suggest is Clay Ballard Top Speed Tennis. But private lessons are your best choice. Good luck and keep playing.