Raising my own pace and dealing with opponents' high pace

[Dly]

I got to play against my coach today. I was pretty content with the way I played. However, my coach was clearly levels above me.

He pretty much dictated every point. I had no chance to do anything besides hit some decent groundstrokes near the middle of the court. I mainly won points by just trying to blast the lines. There were a couple times where I kind of built the point up and won, but I was virtually in a neutral-defensive position the whole time.

After the lesson, I asked him how I could up my pace and get used to the higher pace of others. He told me that my strokes don't have much more developing to do so I should mostly work on my athleticism. He did say I was naturally quick, but he also said that I needed to get stronger and more fit.

Could you guys refer me to some recommended exercises, maybe in the Health and Fitness section?

What else can I do to raise my level?

(And just to clarify, I'm not out of shape or overweight or anything. I'm actually in pretty good shape haha. A lot of people would even consider me skinny heh)

 

[dominikk1985]

one important thing is trying to get the first strike. that is the beauty of having good returns and serves.

even if you have identical quality from the baseline you can get bageled by an opponent with superior serves and returns (you see that sometimes in high level tennis) because they get to strike first.

if your opponents makes you already react to his serves and even worse the returns (against first serves it is normal that you react but if you have to react to his returns too you are in trouble) you will have a hard time.

 

[movdqa]

Play against people with more pace and control that give you less time to react so that you have to speed up your reaction time.

Practice two on one with peers to stress your game. You will have to move faster and be prepared when you get to the ball. The other two won't get tired out - something that you might see playing with peers.

 

[Dly]

one important thing is trying to get the first strike. that is the beauty of having good returns and serves.

even if you have identical quality from the baseline you can get bageled by an opponent with superior serves and returns (you see that sometimes in high level tennis) because they get to strike first.

if your opponents makes you already react to his serves and even worse the returns (against first serves it is normal that you react but if you have to react to his returns too you are in trouble) you will have a hard time.

Ah interesting. I can see why having the first strike is important.

 

[torpantennis]

...
(And just to clarify, I'm not out of shape or overweight or anything. I'm actually in pretty good shape haha. A lot of people would even consider me skinny heh)

Maybe that's exactly the problem? You could be a bit too skinny?

Tennis is not an aerobic sport like jogging/cycling. The movement and powerful groundstrokes require explosive power from core and leg muscles. I know the feeling of lacking explosiveness, because I was once a skinny 5ft9/125lbs. Then I got to gym, and am now at 170lbs.

Couple of years ago I dedicated all my gym train on improving tennis fitness. What I basically did was:
1)Pilates to build core muscle powerhouse
2)Posterior chain leg strength on gym (GLUTES!, hamstrings)
3)Explosive jump-based leg training
4)Kettlebell swings
5)Running intervals, 20-60s running with 20-30s breaks
6)Fitness classes with explosive jumps and movements, some challenging balance and coordination

All that improved my ability to move better on court, and hit harder with effortless power. As you see, there was NO long distance aerobic training.

But remember, all training should be based on your history of training. Start slowly, and develop good technique before lifting heavier weights.

 

[Cowboyardee]

For one, dominik makes a good point.

Beyond that...

You might as well think of generating your own pace and dealing with an opponent's pace as two different things. To learn to deal with pace, the biggest things you need are a lot of experience against players who generate a lot of pace and also footwork, footspeed, and anticipation. You can do a little bit to improve your footspeed via training and footwork via studying and practicing, but mostly you need experience (or plain natural talent). The problem with getting experience against consistent big hitters is that they're not always eager to play against someone who can't hang with them. On the upside, you've got a coach who can hit the ball.

Generating your own power comes from a few things. Decent form is one. Sounds like you're good to go there. But there's also your conditioning, positioning, raw talent/genetics, and a kind of flow to your strokes that tends to come with a lot of repetition. Moderate strength training and plyometric workouts can help you build your conditioning towards more power. The other stuff takes time and experience and in some cases god-given ability.

But a question for you: how often are you swinging the racquet as hard as you possibly can (while attempting to maintain form)? A lot of people say they lack power, but really just lack the control they need to go swing 90%+ at the ball and expect it to go in.

ETA: favorable strings and a powerful racquet with a little heft to it can make a difference. But they make a relatively modest difference. Nothing wrong with tweaking your equipment, but someone who can hit the ball hard consistently and deal with pace can generally do it regardless of their racquet, and someone who can't won't magically transform overnight with the right setup.

 

[Dly]

Maybe that's exactly the problem? You could be a bit too skinny?

Tennis is not an aerobic sport like jogging/cycling. The movement and powerful groundstrokes require explosive power from core and leg muscles. I know the feeling of lacking explosiveness, because I was once a skinny 5ft9/125lbs. Then I got to gym, and am now at 170lbs.

Couple of years ago I dedicated all my gym train on improving tennis fitness. What I basically did was:
1)Pilates to build core muscle powerhouse
2)Posterior chain leg strength on gym (GLUTES!, hamstrings)
3)Explosive jump-based leg training
4)Kettlebell swings
5)Running intervals, 20-60s running with 20-30s breaks
6)Fitness classes with explosive jumps and movements, some challenging balance and coordination

All that improved my ability to move better on court, and hit harder with effortless power. As you see, there was NO long distance aerobic training.

But remember, all training should be based on your history of training. Start slowly, and develop good technique before lifting heavier weights.

Hey I actually am about 5'9" and 125! It looks all your training had a huge impact. I hope if I train hard enough I can get similar results.

 

[Dly]

But a question for you: how often are you swinging the racquet as hard as you possibly can (while attempting to maintain form)? A lot of people say they lack power, but really just lack the control they need to go swing 90%+ at the ball and expect it to go in.

To be honest, I swing as hard as I can without slapping on almost every shot. If I try to swing much harder I'll start to feel like I'm just muscling the shot without having any control. I would like a "90%" power stroke to come easily and consistently but it's tough. :/

 

[Fuji]

To be honest, I swing as hard as I can without slapping on almost every shot. If I try to swing much harder I'll start to feel like I'm just muscling the shot without having any control. I would like a "90%" power stroke to come easily and constently but it's tough. :/

You most like are not transferring your weight most effectively into your stroke if you swing at full power on every shot. There are a couple things you can to do increase the weight of your shot:

1) Take it earlier, and out in front of your body. This is key, the more out front of your body the ball is hit the easier it is to transfer your body into the shot.
2) Adopt a more closed stance on your FH if you haven't already. Open stance tends to have people generate a lot of RHS but loose weight due to imbalance of the body.
3) Hit cleaner. If you're hitting the sweetspot more frequently, you'll be hitting bigger.
4) Hit Flatter if you are truly lacking weight. For people who spin the ball too much, it becomes noticeable. Obviously a "heavy" ball with be spinny and have weight, but if you have too much spin you loose a lot of the forward energy which pushes people back.
5) Gain some weight yourself. You're a pretty slim build, a little goes a long way in tennis. Obviously juniors can hit a big ball at your size, but their athleticism and timing is darn good. (When I'm in season I usually drop about 15-20lbs due to full time training, but my ball looses a lot of weight on it on average. In the off season I hit my serve and groundies WAY bigger just due to being more bulky. I'm usually at around 170-175 during the on season, and I get to around 185-195 in the off season.)

There is a lot that goes into hitting a heavy ball, but it all comes down to balance, strength, stability, and timing at the most basic of senses.

Also, you said you swing quite hard? Why? At most I usually swing at 60-70% for a normal rally ball and I focus on hitting it out front. If I'm swinging at anything above that it's usually a winner. You don't need to swing that hard if you are able to catch the ball clean and early!

-Fuji

 

[dominikk1985]

Ah interesting. I can see why having the first strike is important.

Coaches that are good players are also very accurate. my coach is in his mid 40s but a very good player (would guess about 5.0, he was a very good player in his country) and when he plays practice points against us (about 4.5) he will hit wicked slice serves (lefty) and on the return hit the ball hit into the corners (not even that hard usually- although he can pick up the pace but he prefers to play with us) so that you start hitting the rally on the run.

 

[snvplayer]

it's difficult to give advice that are relevant to your situation without more information about you and your game. Here are some general tips.

To get use to faster pace, you need to play against players who hit harder. In addition, during the lesson with your coach, I would work on hitting balls on the rise, and redirecting these fast balls using the pace on the ball.

One thing overlooked in generating your pace is movement and balance. Work on your core muscles as well as hip strength. And flexibility in these areas. This will help you maintain balance on the move, and getting more weight into the shot. And, try to lead your swing with buttcaps as long as you can.

 

[torpantennis]

Hey I actually am about 5'9" and 125! It looks all your training had a huge impact. I hope if I train hard enough I can get similar results.

If you want to bulk up muscle, EATING A LOT is so important. At one stage, I was eating like 1800-2000 calories after each training session, and it's a lot!

 

[Fuji]

If you want to bulk up muscle, EATING A LOT is so important. At one stage, I was eating like 1800-2000 calories after each training session, and it's a lot!

Definitely! This is a huge thing. During off season I'm eating 3500+ calories daily with gym work.

-Fuji

 

[rkelley]

I got to play against my coach today. I was pretty content with the way I played. However, my coach was clearly levels above me.

He pretty much dictated every point. I had no chance to do anything besides hit some decent groundstrokes near the middle of the court. I mainly won points by just trying to blast the lines. There were a couple times where I kind of built the point up and won, but I was virtually in a neutral-defensive position the whole time.

After the lesson, I asked him how I could up my pace and get used to the higher pace of others. He told me that my strokes don't have much more developing to do so I should mostly work on my athleticism. He did say I was naturally quick, but he also said that I needed to get stronger and more fit.

Could you guys refer me to some recommended exercises, maybe in the Health and Fitness section?

What else can I do to raise my level?

(And just to clarify, I'm not out of shape or overweight or anything. I'm actually in pretty good shape haha. A lot of people would even consider me skinny heh)

Anyone would have to see you hit to be able to say anything about your specific game. I will say that all the advice here about bulking up and doing a bunch of exercises is likely missing the point, IMO. Being strong and in shape is great, but if you're fundamentally getting pushed around by your opponent, then the likely problem lies in your strokes, footwork or shot selection.

I play with a guy who's maybe 145 lbs. and 5'8" or so. The dude can crack a forehand like the wrath of the god, with good consistency. He can hit both pace and spin, excellent 1hbh, very good serve (said he had it clocked - fastest about 115 - that seemed about right to me). He used to play 5.0. He's fast too.

Anyways, he can hit like that because he has great technique. He really effectively uses his body to generate racquet head speed, and he's not afraid to take a cut at the ball. Likely the same is true of your coach. Watch the pros. Even hitting very relaxed they can hit so freakin' hard, even the smaller guys.

If you're getting pushed around the court by a better player, and you want to go to the next level on power, then I'd first look at technique. Is it efficient? Can you hit a good, solid ball when you have time to set up with a relaxed, efficient, motion? Then, can you generate power when you're moved around and a bit out of position? Are you getting the ball into good locations so you force your opponent to have to move? Especially important when he starts moving you. Are you keeping your opponent back behind the baseline with your pace, or can he move up on your strokes and hit inside the baseline?

 

[GuyClinch]

rkelley is right - technique is king. However at 5'9" and 125lbs I think a general weight lifting program would do wonders. In just a a few hours a week you could get stronger without losing much from your court time.

You are going to need to eat a lot more though.