Tips on Aiming?

[Roy125]

I seem to suck at aiming my hits. One time, my coach put on cones near the deep ends of the court and we were instructed with hitting 2 feet from there. I got 1/10 in for my backhand and 3/10 for my forehand. Anyone have tips on how to aim my strokes?

Also, when you're attacking a ball that is bouncing up to your shoulder, what is your grip? When I use my Eastern in this occasion, I always hit it to the net.

 

[CHOcobo]

i was told to point your hips to where you want to hit. works well for me but i just can't concentrate hard enough to do that every stroke.

ball at shoulder height.....i think i jump most of the time and do my regular forehand.

 

[krprunitennis2]

Whichever direction the racket face is pointing is the direction your shot is going to go.

In my opinion, it is a lot easier to aim your shots if you drive through it more. Imagine that you are hitting three balls in one swing: one right next to you (perpendicular to your shoulders when you turn), one in front of it, and another. Hopefully, after a while, you get more feel for the ball.

Also, aiming your shots would be much easier if you can direct your weight toward the direction that you want. So good footwork might help you in aiming.

 

[masterxfob]

i find that stepping out with your rear leg helps open up your stance to create more of a cross court angle. only thing about that though, is that you have to get around the ball a little more.

as far as your grip on a high bouncing ball, i think it should be the same as when you strike a ball at waist height. the only thing i change is the path of my stroke depending on how close i am to the net. the closer i get to the net, the straighter my stroke, and even sometimes a high to low stroke if i'm really close. however, i find it better to hit a low to high stroke at a severe angle if i'm that close to the net.

 

[10s talk]

have your strings go towards your target as long as possible, as opposed to swinging in a semi-circle... it makes timing less critical

imagine hitting through 6 or more balls

 

[yellowoctopus]

...In my opinion, it is a lot easier to aim your shots if you drive through it more. Imagine that you are hitting three balls in one swing: one right next to you (perpendicular to your shoulders when you turn), one in front of it, and another. Hopefully, after a while, you get more feel for the ball.

Also, aiming your shots would be much easier if you can direct your weight toward the direction that you want. So good footwork might help you in aiming.

I support krpurnitennis2's advice. On the driving-through-the-ball part, I find that focusing on extending my arm straight out helps tremendously, especially on the forehand.

Additionally, I also find keeping my head still during the swing to work wonder for shot accuracy.

Best of luck

 

[canadave]

Maybe I'm not as good as I thought....is it really considered that bad to hit 3 out of 10 forehands within two feet of a target on the far side of the court?

 

[LeeD]

No easy cure except practice.
In target tennis, most pros are more accurate using backspin.

 

[krprunitennis2]

Maybe I'm not as good as I thought....is it really considered that bad to hit 3 out of 10 forehands within two feet of a target on the far side of the court?

Well hitting it two feet to a target is hard to do consistently. I don't think that you should be thinking that you always need to have that pinpoint accuracy. I don't think that even the pros can do that consistently. Maybe around 7 out of 10 times? I'm not really sure.

I don't think you should worry so much.

 

[zapvor]

theres an analogy that may help.

imagine you are standing somewhere and you see a tree. look at it for 10seconds or so, then turn away from the tree. you can visualize where the tree is right? now same thing on the court. pick up whereever you want to hit to, and look at it. then when the ball comes, you can visualize the spot, so you look at the ball, and direct it to where you 'remember' the spot. try it