NTRP 3.5M looking to improve game to 4.0

[pdizzy]

Looking for advice on my game to improve to 4.0. Feel free to follow me and comment on my progress videos below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfJ6cEJSKrS_LN4mOynmtNw

 

[ChaelAZ]

Good base to work with.

• Improve serving and reduce double faults.
  
• More urgency on your footwork to get in position earlier.
  
• You hit a majority of balls very neutral down the middle of the court, so you might try more aggressive balls to conservative spots towards alleys.

 

[pdizzy]

@ChaelAZ I appreciate the pointers and for sure the double faults need to go down, pure laziness.

 

[GuyClinch]

You need a more continuous swing on your groundstrokes and more shoulder turn. You are losing a lot of potential power. You really need to groove those strokes.

 

[pdizzy]

@GuyClinch Will do and much appreciated!

 

[Dartagnan64]

I watched the first video and assume the OP was the guy in red. Had a hard time determining who was 3.5 and who was 4.0 in that video. They both looked very 3.5ish, i.e. lots of UE's, very little consistency and not much in the way of weaponry other than fitness.

I think there is good recovery footwork but poor setup footwork (lots of reaching). I think the strokes were often too delicate and deliberate and not loose and free swinging, leading to very few balls going deep. A lot of the rallies were played inside the baseline.
Too much arming. Too many DF's especially given the serve speed wasn't terribly fast.

Sometimes I think fear of losing inhibits people too much in their development. Throw that fear away and focus on the process of becoming a good tennis player. Hit out with power, even if you send some long. Think of the fundamentals - unit turn, knees bent, low to high, hit off the front foot, head still. Pick one to work on every day and focus on that fundamental. Don't worry about the outcome. As you improve, winning will happen as a byproduct of committing to the process of developing a good foundational game of tennis.

 

[pdizzy]

@Dartagnan64 I agree with your statements at the end for sure. I feel like after this year of tournaments, my main focus wont be winning but improving overall as a player.

Feel free to subscribe if you want to see if these improvements take place. Thanks!

 

[NuBas]

Personally, I would suggest one thing and that is work on your lower body which includes speed, movement, position, and hustling. If you improve in that you can have more time to set up nice strokes and that is actually the second thing I recommend is develop cleaner strokes and pay attention to your grips. Also concentrate intently on your shot and slow things down with your mind, you have more time than you think, don't rush. Lots of silly mistakes can be avoided for sure.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Notice that almost all points end in errors as opposed to winners. Simply reducing your errors might be enough to move up to the next level.

That doesn't mean taking no or minimal risk, though. You should be taking some risks, especially as you are developing your strokes into weapons. I think you've got the right attitude for improvement.

 

[pdizzy]

@NuBas & @S&V-not_dead_yet I appreciate the feedback! I definitely need to loosen up on my game to become more fluid while also focusing on core fundamentals. Definitely will be taking more risks with more angled shots and shot selection in general.

 

[SinjinCooper]

As long as you remain a Steelers fan, you'll forever be 7.0 in my heart.

 

[pdizzy]

@SinjinCooper NICE!

 

[Dartagnan64]

As long as you remain a Steelers fan, you'll forever be 7.0 in my heart.

2.0 in mine.

Go Hawks

 

[pdizzy]

@Dartagnan64 Seahawks? I suppose I can respect that.

 

[pdizzy]

Worked on my serve a little this weekend if you all wish to critique that as well:

 

[TheBoom]

If you did footwork drills you would be well on your way to 4.0. At 3.5 if you can get to the ball and push it back you'll will the majority of the time

 

[pdizzy]

@TheBoom I do plan on incorporating more footwork drills into my workout.

 

[GuyClinch]

Wow just like your groundstrokes you need to be more fluid and relaxed on your serve. To do this you need to coordinate your toss and work on a fluid loop on your serve as well. Essentially at the same time you start your drop you want to be turning your shoulders. If you toss at the right time you will come up out of your drop and contact the ball at the right height.

The trick really is coordinating these three variables. Teaching pros will have students shadow swing to get the feel for this..

Quite a few videos on this by teaching pros if you have time to look it up.. Main thing is to really understand what is going on.

People often focus on relaxation - but if you just allow the racquet to loop down and don't have the timing on the toss right - this is not going to work (obviously).

 

[pdizzy]

@GuyClinch Definitely am appreciative to hear your pointers and will look more into fluidity in my serve and ball toss.

 

[pdizzy]

Starting a consistently, updated forum to post all of my videos here:

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/my-3-5-tennis-gameplay.596568/

 

[BretH]

This does not appear to be a kick serve:

You should be coming up under and on the left side and then finishing "over" the ball to the right. Instead this basically looks like a flat serve. This from what I could tell is mostly because of the racquet position before extension - it's behind you coming pretty much straight forward to the ball instead of behind your back coming up to the ball.

 

[BretH]

I'd say besides consistency, which others mentioned (at 4.0 you should be able to hit rally balls pretty much all day without error), I'd work on serve - especially second serve. Develop a spin - yours are basically slightly softer versions of your first serve and red meat to a decent returner. Spend whatever time is necessary to develop a true spin serve first, then modify it for a kick serve.

My 2 cents worth.

 

[pdizzy]

@BretH 2 cents accepted and noted. Thanks!