Reinforcing the basics

[giseppi]

I've recently begun playing tennis after a 15 year layoff. Needless to say, my game is a little off My wife is trying to learn to play as well. Currently i'm playing some 3.5 league doubles and taking my wife to play when we can find time.

I was thinking it would be good idea to for me to re-learn the basics, and my wife needs to learn them for the first time. My plan is to really focus on one or two of those essentials each month and not be concerned with anything else. Hopefully that should get me back on track and get my wife off to a good start.

My question is...

What are the most important, cant live without, do or die, top ten basics (in order) that we should pound into our heads over the year?

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[johndagolfer]

I've recently begun playing tennis after a 15 year layoff. Needless to say, my game is a little off My wife is trying to learn to play as well. Currently i'm playing some 3.5 league doubles and taking my wife to play when we can find time.

I was thinking it would be good idea to for me to re-learn the basics, and my wife needs to learn them for the first time. My plan is to really focus on one or two of those essentials each month and not be concerned with anything else. Hopefully that should get me back on track and get my wife off to a good start.

My question is...

What are the most important, cant live without, do or die, top ten basics (in order) that we should pound into our heads over the year?

Thanks in advance for the help!

I'll take a stab at this.

1) Grip, without a good grip it doesn't matter if you have a good stroke. There isn't one grip just extremes of standard. If your wife is new I would suggest using a Semi Western Forehand grip, continental for serve, volley and half of the two handed backhand(other should be semi-western).

2) Turn don't only shift. Not turning the shoulders is one of the bigger mistakes that I see amongst beginners

3) Use a full body swing from the ground up. Even when someone has a good shoulder turn I often see that they don't shift their weight in an athletic move

4) Low to high for topspin, either with a loop or not, the racquet stringbed should approach the ball from below and move up. I often see beginners try to turn the racquet over instead of brushing up the back of the ball to create top spin

5) Footwork, learn the correct way to approach the ball. I always teach that the last step should be with the foot on the side of the hit (outside foot?)

6) Bend your knees! Too many beginners use straight knees.

7) Keep your eyes on the ball/head still.

8) Don't move to where the ball is. Anticipate where the ball is going, where you want to make contact with the ball, get to the spot and wait for the ball.

9) Use your off hand. Use it as a guide on the throat of the racquet, very useful in getting a good shoulder turn

10) Don't over swing

Sorry these aren't in any particular order. Also, there are many others dealing with serve, volley and tactics. But these seem some pretty basic need to dos

 

[Crazy man]

First thing my coach told me was to move your feet all of the time, never stop moving.

 

[giseppi]

Thanks for the replies, fellas! Sounds a lot along the lines with what I was thinking. Its great to hear other peoples' ideas though, because there is always something I didn't consider.

Anyone have anything not mentioned above?

 

[Playnice]

I've recently begun playing tennis after a 15 year layoff. Needless to say, my game is a little off My wife is trying to learn to play as well. Currently i'm playing some 3.5 league doubles and taking my wife to play when we can find time.

I was thinking it would be good idea to for me to re-learn the basics, and my wife needs to learn them for the first time. My plan is to really focus on one or two of those essentials each month and not be concerned with anything else. Hopefully that should get me back on track and get my wife off to a good start.

My question is...

What are the most important, cant live without, do or die, top ten basics (in order) that we should pound into our heads over the year?

Thanks in advance for the help!

The basic precepts of the modern game are available free online in a book entitled Play Better Tennis In 2 Hours at www.tennisteacher.com/ebook.htm
This information applies to beginner, intermediate and advanced players

 

[KenC]

I'll take a stab at this.

1) Grip, without a good grip it doesn't matter if you have a good stroke. There isn't one grip just extremes of standard. If your wife is new I would suggest using a Semi Western Forehand grip, continental for serve, volley and half of the two handed backhand(other should be semi-western).

2) Turn don't only shift. Not turning the shoulders is one of the bigger mistakes that I see amongst beginners

3) Use a full body swing from the ground up. Even when someone has a good shoulder turn I often see that they don't shift their weight in an athletic move

4) Low to high for topspin, either with a loop or not the racquet stringbed should approach the ball from below and move up. I haven't see beginners try to turn the racquet over instead of brushing up the back of the ball to create top spin

5) Footwork, learn the correct way to approach the ball. I always teach that the last step should be with the foot on the side of the hit (outside foot?)

6) Bend your knees! Too many beginners use straight knees.

7) Keep your eyes on the ball/head still.

8) Don't move to where the ball is, anticipate where the ball is going, where you want to make contact with the ball, get to the spot and wait for the ball.

9) Use your off hand, use it as a guide on the throat of the racquet, very useful in getting a good shoulder turn

10) Don't over swing

Sorry these aren't in any particular order. Also, there are many others dealing with serve, volley and tactics. But these seem some pretty basic need to dos

Pretty well covered there, and the thing is that this will take you much farther than just the basics and make you a good player.

The only thing I would add is to not be afraid of taking periodic lessons with a good teacher who understands the above hints and helps you implement them. You don't see yourself while you are playing, but a good coach/teacher will notice form errors immediately. I grew up with lessons and when I returned to tennis 3 years ago I took weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) lessons and got my strokes back very quickly. I kept going with lessons and arrived at a 5.0 level last year. Now I want to play at higher levels and take 2 hour hitting lessons 3 times a week. I doubt I could have ever achieved my current level without lessons.

 

[giseppi]

Thanks for the great advice! I plan on her in some lessons as time and $$ allow, but I want our practice time to be simple and productive until then, for both of us.

 

[gmatheis]

I'll take a stab at this.

1) Grip, without a good grip it doesn't matter if you have a good stroke. There isn't one grip just extremes of standard. If your wife is new I would suggest using a Semi Western Forehand grip, continental for serve, volley and half of the two handed backhand(other should be semi-western).

2) Turn don't only shift. Not turning the shoulders is one of the bigger mistakes that I see amongst beginners

3) Use a full body swing from the ground up. Even when someone has a good shoulder turn I often see that they don't shift their weight in an athletic move

4) Low to high for topspin, either with a loop or not, the racquet stringbed should approach the ball from below and move up. I often see beginners try to turn the racquet over instead of brushing up the back of the ball to create top spin

5) Footwork, learn the correct way to approach the ball. I always teach that the last step should be with the foot on the side of the hit (outside foot?)

6) Bend your knees! Too many beginners use straight knees.

7) Keep your eyes on the ball/head still.

8) Don't move to where the ball is. Anticipate where the ball is going, where you want to make contact with the ball, get to the spot and wait for the ball.

9) Use your off hand. Use it as a guide on the throat of the racquet, very useful in getting a good shoulder turn

10) Don't over swing

Sorry these aren't in any particular order. Also, there are many others dealing with serve, volley and tactics. But these seem some pretty basic need to dos

Just be careful with this one ... waiting for the ball doesn't mean planting your feet ... keep them moving with small steps so you can react to how the ball bounces etc

Personally I think watch the ball should be #1 I just think it's so important to be making good contact, and most everything else can only come after that (possibly with the exception of footwork which for me is #2)

 

[Crazy man]

Just be careful with this one ... waiting for the ball doesn't mean planting your feet ... keep them moving with small steps so you can react to how the ball bounces etc

Personally I think watch the ball should be #1 I just think it's so important to be making good contact, and most everything else can only come after that (possibly with the exception of footwork which for me is #2)

Footwork should be #1. Looking at the ball is common tennis knowledge even before you've picked up a racket. If you don't move your feet then you can't hit the thing.

 

[LeeD]

For you, whatever helps to improve your game.
For wifey, especially before her first month of tennis, have fun.

 

[thug the bunny]

Footwork should be #1. Looking at the ball is common tennis knowledge even before you've picked up a racket. If you don't move your feet then you can't hit the thing.

But it's strange that it's so hard to do consistently and well. If you golf, you know that one of the top 3 problems of the hacker is picking the head up/looking up/not keeping the eyes on the ball.

Not to diminish the importance of footwork, however. I also came back to the game after a long layoff, and in retrospect, I would have concentrated on those two things for a while before moving on to mechanics and technique. So, my top 10 list would look like this:

1) Watch the ball
2) Move your feet
3) Watch the ball
4) Move your feet
5) Watch the ball
6) Move your feet
7) Watch the ball
8 ) Move your feet
9) Watch the ball
10) Move your feet

Someone here on TT has Agassi's quote as their sig: "Watch the ball and move your feet. It's the first thing you learn, and it's the last thing you learn."
True. True.

 

[LuckyR]

I've recently begun playing tennis after a 15 year layoff. Needless to say, my game is a little off My wife is trying to learn to play as well. Currently i'm playing some 3.5 league doubles and taking my wife to play when we can find time.

I was thinking it would be good idea to for me to re-learn the basics, and my wife needs to learn them for the first time. My plan is to really focus on one or two of those essentials each month and not be concerned with anything else. Hopefully that should get me back on track and get my wife off to a good start.

My question is...

What are the most important, cant live without, do or die, top ten basics (in order) that we should pound into our heads over the year?

Thanks in advance for the help!

What level did you attain back in the day? Did you have Modern strokes or Classic strokes?

 

[giseppi]

What level did you attain back in the day? Did you have Modern strokes or Classic strokes?

I'd say my strokes are probably more modern. Back in the day was high school, so i'd guess i was probably playing around a 4.0 level. Of course my memories might be fooling me a little lol.

I'd say that i learned my strokes pretty well, but at that age i didn't understand the concepts of focus and intensity. Naturally, that lack of focus didn't help my consistency much, something i'm trying to remedy this time around.

someone posted above about how keeping your eye on the ball is so basic, yet such a common mistake. I agree completely, and i'm surprised at how much trouble i'm having just applying that one simple concept to each shot.

I'm assuming that will improve with practice though

 

[LeeD]

Nope, it will never improve with just practice. You have to constantly force yourself to read the spin on each incoming ball all the way to your strikezone, or point of vision where you can't adjust anything.
Watching the ball to within reach is never natural, and only thru work and concentration can you achieve this.
I find, for most players, as they hit better and better, they slip OUT of the idea of watching the ball closely, and while their improvement in play is certainly there, they take watching the ball for granted and have to work to get it back into their normal hitting routine.

 

[user92626]

Nope, it will never improve with just practice. You have to constantly force yourself to read the spin on each incoming ball all the way to your strikezone, or point of vision where you can't adjust anything.
Watching the ball to within reach is never natural, and only thru work and concentration can you achieve this.
I find, for most players, as they hit better and better, they slip OUT of the idea of watching the ball closely, and while their improvement in play is certainly there, they take watching the ball for granted and have to work to get it back into their normal hitting routine.

+1 vote for LeeD.

Watching the ball seems to remain one of the biggest challenges even when you get better. In fact, it's probably the only thing I dread when I run into a tough situation. But this makes sense if you think about it. The difficulty of seeing the ball correllates with your opponent's skill. Better opponent = faster, crazier spin = harder for your eyes to track.

 

[thug the bunny]

Lee brings up a very good point. As you progress into more difficult and subtle techniques in tennis, watching the ball kind of slips down on the priority list and even gets forgotten. This happened to me. I then became re-acquainted with it again a while back, and the quality of my shots really elevated.

That's what Andre meant when he said that it's the first and last thing you learn..

 

[LuckyR]

I'd say my strokes are probably more modern. Back in the day was high school, so i'd guess i was probably playing around a 4.0 level. Of course my memories might be fooling me a little lol.

I'd say that i learned my strokes pretty well, but at that age i didn't understand the concepts of focus and intensity. Naturally, that lack of focus didn't help my consistency much, something i'm trying to remedy this time around.

someone posted above about how keeping your eye on the ball is so basic, yet such a common mistake. I agree completely, and i'm surprised at how much trouble i'm having just applying that one simple concept to each shot.

I'm assuming that will improve with practice though

Thanks. I was in a similar position a decade or so ago, that is I had grooved strokes, success in competition but was > 15 years out of the sport.

True, you will need to hit a number of balls to get the strokes back, but that should not be so difficult (isn't muscle memory great?). The benefit your tennis can have now, compared to your HS days, is that you are hopefully a bit more circumspect and motivated. I agree that I would spend a considerable amount of energy on things that most HS players don't, like tactics, strategy, evaluating the other guy, fitness, the Mental game etc.

It is possible to become a better player (more successful) than you every were before, with poorer strokes, if everything else is better. This is totally do-able.

The one caveat is, hopefully your older wrist/arm can handle the spin production you used to be able to produce.