Tennis on grass..

[Jassy_B]

Ah... the annual grasscourt tornament!!! this will be my 3rd year going. First year got slaughtered (was starting competitive tennis). Last year didnt sleep b4 my match was to excited didnt know it was right when i arrived since tornament is on a island. Lost singles 4-6 3-6 4-6 cant remember exactly since was a year ago and lost to #1 seed in doubles 4-6 5-7 (both matches i got broken at very last game ). So this year i think im at the level to get deep in the draw but the only thing is.. I CANT REMEMBER HOW GRASS PLAYS!!!!! haha. Im gonna have to go straight onto the courts without any practice on the surface. So im wondering if any of u guys have any tips / drills that me and my friends can do to get prepared for grass. Thx lots kidz

 

[noobplayer]

aim low and hit the ball in the grass? nah j/k. just practice for a couple minutes with a partner or somethin on the court?

 

[MTChong]

You do 3 of 5 in the singles? That's quite a lot of playing.

 

[Yan Man]

No it's not best of 5 i think he just made a mistake on the typing. The matches are best of 3 sets. I'm also going to play in this tournament (mainly just to get the experience of playing on grass as i'm just a 2.5-3.0 player) and any type of strategical advice for playing on grass would be great!

 

[Jack Romeo]

the key is to always stay low. always bend your knees. sometimes, we non-pros forget this very basic thing. this is also the most important thing to remember because you're gonna have to hit a lot of passing shots. even more important for those who use semi-western and western grips or 2-handed strokes.

if you can get a few hours of practice before the actual tournament, then maybe you should concentrate on practicing the serve and the return. concentrate more on the flat and slice serves. for the return, concentrate on the flat drives or blocks and chips.

if you have a slice, use it - a lot. it is very very effective. even better if you have short angles and drop shots.

if you wanna expand your game and try some of that net rushing you've been practicing, then this is the surface to do it on (see: nadal,rafael). the basic serve and volley play is serve out wide then play a cross court volley. hit most approach shots down the line.

grass is the most slippery surface. we see a lot of players lose their balance. but balance is very important in executing your shots. so if you can do some footwork drills just to get used to the movement on the surface then better.

 

[Swissv2]

Depends on the grass surface. Test it out a bit, check the bounce, and adjust your body position and swing accordingly.

 

[Jassy_B]

You do 3 of 5 in the singles? That's quite a lot of playing.

ah it was 6-4 3-6 4-6

 

[Trinity TC]

Jassy_B...I see you're from Canada. Is the tournament at South Cowichan LTC? Don't worry...everybody is going to be unfamiliar with grass at that tourney.