tennishabit
Legend
every now n then heard ppl saying 'you only get better by playing better players', is it true:?))








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Agree. Not much practice if you’re not getting the racket on the ball. Otherwise, yes, it will accelerate your progress quite a bit.Not if they mop the floor with you.
Slightly better, yes.
Having a good balance is the key.'you only get better by playing better players', is it true:?
Score doesn't always correlate with practice gain. The key is always purposeful practice. My best singles set lately ended with a bagel. It all depends on how well you execute towards your goal. Constantly getting beaten up by stronger players can affect confidence though. Most people measure the success of practice with score.Not if they mop the floor with you.
Slightly better, yes.
This is a big misconcept. Of course better players expose your weakness in some areas. But weaker players expose your weakness on other areas.lesser players don’t.
High percentage offense is intrinsically more difficult to build in singles. After seeing UTR 9+ players making the same mistakes as I do, I'm telling myself to be patient with developing offense game. It's just harder than it looks.This is a big misconcept. Of course better players expose your weakness in some areas. But weaker players expose your weakness on other areas.
Yes, it is a weakness, to hit the ball out wide on that short shanked ball from your opponent.
Infact it is very common to see the rec players do close to their ceiling on defense, but a lot worse than their ceiling on offense. This is one of the reasons many struggle against pushers, even when they are placed in offensive positions a lot (even though arguably the pusher maybe at a higher level... still it is a weakness on offense).
Again it is critical to have the right balance. In my opinion the optimal is 50/20/20/10 as I described above.
Good points, I thought it, didn’t write it. Lesser players who hit a lot of short balls expose the weakness of players who can’t put away short balls.This is a big misconcept. Of course better players expose your weakness in some areas. But weaker players expose your weakness on other areas.
Yes, it is a weakness, to hit the ball out wide when dealing with that short shanked ball from your opponent.
Infact it is very common to see the rec players do close to their ceiling on defense, but a lot worse than their ceiling on offense. This is one of the reasons many struggle against pushers, even when they are placed in offensive positions a lot (even though arguably the pusher maybe at a higher level... still it is a weakness on offense).
Again it is critical to have the right balance. In my opinion the optimal is 50/20/20/10 as I described above.
33% slightly below level - let's you work on new things... for example, back in the day, when learning to volley, i would call all the guys i used to beat 2,2 out rallying them from behind the baseline, and just s&v, c&c against them... even if it meant losing to them in the short term (also have played matches where i only sliced, or moonballed, or dink&lob, only attack their fh, etc...)every now n then heard ppl saying 'you only get better by playing better players', is it true:?)).......
Actually you dont get (much) better playing matches against anyone, when compared to drilling.every now n then heard ppl saying 'you only get better by playing better players', is it true:?)).......
Yes and the reverse is true as well.every now n then heard ppl saying 'you only get better by playing better players', is it true:?)).......
Are they "lesser", then?Lesser players can ironically expose your inability to deal with said junk and can expose your inability to consistently finish off points without beating yourself.
Actually, that's debatable.Are they "lesser", then?
Are they "lesser", then?
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For a time I played regular singles with a couple of lads, before injuries had their way with me.
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The word "only", pretty much makes this an invalid question.every now n then heard ppl saying 'you only get better by playing better players', is it true:?)).......
what types of injuries got you:?)) a lot of ppl stopped playing tennis n swithed to something else like pickles which's getting popular worldwide.............
The one that put paid to singles was the hip.
Once my body decides even doubles is too much for it I'm going back to golf.
The dilemma is that better players don't want to play with you, because they also want to play with better players than them.
I don't mind playing with less advanced players, but I do make it a routine to force myself to make harder/impossible shots instead of focusing on winning points. For instance, hitting winners from return of serve, hitting down the line when cross-court is the safer shot, painting lines, short angles, consistently targeting the same spot on the court, losing points on purpose so I can test my mental ability to come back from behind etc.
I think it definitely helps to be within a certain range of the player that’s better OR have some part of your game that gives them a challenge to work on.The dilemma is that better players don't want to play with you, because they also want to play with better players than them.
I don't mind playing with less advanced players, but I do make it a routine to force myself to make harder/impossible shots instead of focusing on winning points. For instance, hitting winners from return of serve, hitting down the line when cross-court is the safer shot, painting lines, short angles, consistently targeting the same spot on the court, losing points on purpose so I can test my mental ability to come back from behind etc.
I play with both as Im a member of several clubs. Two are dedicated tennis clubs and one is more of a fitness centre with tennis heritage. The latter has the weakest players, even in the higher-tier classes. I can honestly say I learn little from them and usually play at 60%.. So I practice weaker shots and do inside backhands etc.It’s important to play with both. Playing with better players exposes your weaknesses and can help you focus on what you need to change/how to win with what you have. It isn’t helpful to play someone so much better than you that you get spanked and can barely hit the ball in the whole time. Ideally you hit with someone just better than you to give you (at least that’s my experience.
But, I think hitting with people worse than you is also important, if for nothing else than for tournaments/competitive match play. Inevitably you’ll have to play someone in a competitive setting that is marginally worse than you, but if you aren’t prepared for them to scrap and play with nothing to lose you may find yourself in trouble.
Plus, I think it’s important to help others improve and be a helpful part of the tennis community