What is one skill most novice tennis players struggle with to become intermediate players?

ferddy

ferddy

New User
I recently began playing tennis in college while also pursuing a degree in industrial design. As part of my research on common challenges faced by tennis beginners, I’ve noticed a significant emphasis on serve and footwork. I'm curious to know if this aligns with your experiences, thanks.
 
the number 1 issue, by far, is racket face control.

learn what the HAND does.

I have helped many adults, 3.5 ish, which is about the ceiling if the player never learns racket control.

take the fh for example... every time I work with them, 90% of the things I say to them is - keep the face closed, keep the face closed.. keep the face closed.

attacking the ball with the sweet spot, is by far the #1 reason low amateurs never get better.
 
The main challenges change over time. As a new player, it's developing the anticipation of where the ball contact is going to be, and then using decent technique to get the racquet on the ball with good timing.

As you become an intermediate player, the challenge to become better usually correlates to how well a person can move to a ball that is not coming to them, and still have the ability to do the other things properly to make good contact with the ball with proper timing.

At the higher end of rec tennis (4.5 or so), it becomes shoring up the weakest parts of the game or at least finding a way to mask the weaknesses so they can't be picked on by equally skillful players.
 
Not sure that's how it works. We learn different aspects of the game, move up a level. Then almost everything becomes insufficient including some of the previous strengths. Then we have to learn to do everything better to get up another level.
 
Number 1 difference between 3.0 (advanced beginner) and 3.5 (intermediate) is serve. A 3.0 cannot hold serve usually because their 1st serve is inconsistent and 2nd serve is weak.
Number 2 would have to be topspin forehand consistency, which is a combination of stroke mechanics and footwork.
 
10sbeast888 said:
the number 1 issue, by far, is racket face control.

learn what the HAND does.

I have helped many adults, 3.5 ish, which is about the ceiling if the player never learns racket control.

take the fh for example... every time I work with them, 90% of the things I say to them is - keep the face closed, keep the face closed.. keep the face closed.

attacking the ball with the sweet spot, is by far the #1 reason low amateurs never get better.
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Thank you for the valuable feedback, I wonder Is racket face control is a problem common with the forehand, or does it equally affect other strokes like the backhand, serve, and volley as well? also, does racket face control relate to other technical aspects of the stroke, such as grip, swing path, and timing is there a specific aspect that is a weak link that contributes to poor racket face control? also are there drills you would recommend to your students that you have found effective for solving the issue?

Apologies if the questions might seem too obvious, thanks again for the feedback.
 
Injured Again said:
The main challenges change over time. As a new player, it's developing the anticipation of where the ball contact is going to be, and then using decent technique to get the racquet on the ball with good timing.

As you become an intermediate player, the challenge to become better usually correlates to how well a person can move to a ball that is not coming to them and still have the ability to do the other things properly to make good contact with the ball with proper timing.

At the higher end of rec tennis (4.5 or so), it becomes shoring up the weakest parts of the game or at least finding a way to mask the weaknesses so they can't be picked on by equally skillful players.
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Thanks for the feedback, injured again, interesting name - hope that's not common to the game. Jokes aside, you mentioned anticipation are there specific game mechanics say footwork or ball-tracking methods that most new players have a weakness in leading to poor anticipation and timing? I ask since I notice I have a challenge anticipating the ball, especially for my backhand. I recently saw a tutorial on the influence of dominant eye on tennis gameplay, could this be one of the aspects that affect anticipation and timing?

Also in your second statement "
As you become an intermediate player, the challenge to become better usually correlates to how well a person can move to a ball that is not coming to them
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correct me if I'm wrong, it seems that anticipation and good timing still play a great role here.
 
johnmccabe said:
Not sure that's how it works. We learn different aspects of the game, move up a level. Then almost everything becomes insufficient including some of the previous strengths. Then we have to learn to do everything better to get up another level.
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Thank you for the feedback. Thats interesting! so generally continuous learning and improvement of the fundamentals. Across different levels, what specific game aspects would you say commonly need a constant upgrade, I've noticed from several online threads, the serve and footwork are frequently mentioned across all levels.
 
ferddy said:
Thanks for the feedback, injured again, interesting name - hope that's not common to the game. Jokes aside, you mentioned anticipation are there specific game mechanics say footwork or ball-tracking methods that most new players have a weakness in leading to poor anticipation and timing? I ask since I notice I have a challenge anticipating the ball, especially for my backhand. I recently saw a tutorial on the influence of dominant eye on tennis gameplay, could this be one of the aspects that affect anticipation and timing?

Also in your second statement "

correct me if I'm wrong, it seems that anticipation and good timing still play a great role here.
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The name is unfortunately true. I’ve had I think six major operations to repair sports related injuries, the last being a knee replacement just over seven months ago. It’s fair to say that I am using every cent’s worth of what body I was born with.

My observations are that beginners can learn to swing a forehand groundstroke with acceptable mechanics fairly quickly. I taught my nephew a few years ago and he was hitting an eastern grip forehand off a drop feed within 15 minutes, and was even able to do it at varying heights from his ankles to mid-chest. Where he struggled was in being able to see the ball come off his opponent’s racquet and quickly determine where that ball would be when it reached his depth on his side of the court. Until he had that figured out, it was hard for him to know how to prepare to swing at the ball. He could often get to roughly the correct spacing to make the swing, but the ball would be lower, higher, faster, or slower than he anticipated and so his ability to make a good swing and good contact was limited.

Backhands are just an unusual stroke and are tough to learn for those without some sort of ball and swinging/throwing sport experience. At the beginning, that’s further compounded by the ball location issue. Tennis is a tough sport with a steep learning curve at the beginning!

Usually by the time a player becomes an intermediate, a player can hit balls of varying height with good competence if they have time and the ball comes to them. They have a good idea of where the ball will be when it reaches them, but they have limited competence in footwork to be able to minimize the ball getting to them in a problematic way if the ball is not a rally type groundstroke. For instance, a high ball to the backhand will usually be recognizable almost immediately, but most intermediate players don’t know how to position themselves to make it a comfortable shot. They often shuffle with slow sidesteps backwards to try to compensate for a high bounce but often still end up hitting a shot above their shoulders or without having their feet in place to make a biomechanically efficient swing. A similarly athletic but higher level player will get to the contact point quicker and be better prepared to make a good swing. Consequently, even if their strokes are not much better than the lower level player, they get many more balls back effectively because they turn more shots into ones where it is like the ball is being hit to them, and they can make a comfortable swing at more balls of different heights and speeds because of that.

I guess another way to think of it is that as a beginner, the challenge is just to hit the ball. As skill levels increase, the opponents hit the ball faster and with better directional intent so the onus becomes on being able to move skillfully to be able to make shots. As skill levels even further increase, shot speeds and directional intent make it so that an opponent can intentionally target a weak part of the game, and so that becomes the primary limiter to getting better.

EDIT: Yes, anticipation and good timing play a role, but at some point if you can’t do some technical thing well, no matter how well you move and anticipate that deficiency will get exposed. If you have a 4.5 forehand but a 3.5 backhand, no after how well you can move and anticipate, you can be pretty assured another 4.5 will find and take advantage of your backhand.
 
Injured Again said:
The name is unfortunately true. I’ve had I think six major operations to repair sports related injuries, the last being a knee replacement just over seven months ago. It’s fair to say that I am using every cent’s worth of what body I was born with.

My observations are that beginners can learn to swing a forehand groundstroke with acceptable mechanics fairly quickly. I taught my nephew a few years ago and he was hitting an eastern grip forehand off a drop feed within 15 minutes, and was even able to do it at varying heights from his ankles to mid-chest. Where he struggled was in being able to see the ball come off his opponent’s racquet and quickly determine where that ball would be when it reached his depth on his side of the court. Until he had that figured out, it was hard for him to know how to prepare to swing at the ball. He could often get to roughly the correct spacing to make the swing, but the ball would be lower, higher, faster, or slower than he anticipated and so his ability to make a good swing and good contact was limited.

Backhands are just an unusual stroke and are tough to learn for those without some sort of ball and swinging/throwing sport experience. At the beginning, that’s further compounded by the ball location issue. Tennis is a tough sport with a steep learning curve at the beginning!

Usually by the time a player becomes an intermediate, a player can hit balls of varying height with good competence if they have time and the ball comes to them. They have a good idea of where the ball will be when it reaches them, but they have limited competence in footwork to be able to minimize the ball getting to them in a problematic way if the ball is not a rally type groundstroke. For instance, a high ball to the backhand will usually be recognizable almost immediately, but most intermediate players don’t know how to position themselves to make it a comfortable shot. They often shuffle with slow sidesteps backwards to try to compensate for a high bounce but often still end up hitting a shot above their shoulders or without having their feet in place to make a biomechanically efficient swing. A similarly athletic but higher level player will get to the contact point quicker and be better prepared to make a good swing. Consequently, even if their strokes are not much better than the lower level player, they get many more balls back effectively because they turn more shots into ones where it is like the ball is being hit to them, and they can make a comfortable swing at more balls of different heights and speeds because of that.

I guess another way to think of it is that as a beginner, the challenge is just to hit the ball. As skill levels increase, the opponents hit the ball faster and with better directional intent so the onus becomes on being able to move skillfully to be able to make shots. As skill levels even further increase, shot speeds and directional intent make it so that an opponent can intentionally target a weak part of the game, and so that becomes the primary limiter to getting better.

EDIT: Yes, anticipation and good timing play a role, but at some point if you can’t do some technical thing well, no matter how well you move and anticipate that deficiency will get exposed. If you have a 4.5 forehand but a 3.5 backhand, no after how well you can move and anticipate, you can be pretty assured another 4.5 will find and take advantage of your backhand.
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Well explained!!, thank you for the elaborate and detailed response. I agree, top players are great at anticipation, and it now gets to peaking out on any signs of weakness from your opponent's technical skills or even maybe finding some mental weaknesses.

Are there any specific drills you can recommend for improving anticipation of ball position from your opponent especially for beginners, as you mentioned your nephew eventually figured this out, was there a particular tactic he used to get over this obstacle?
 
For sure, a lot of beginners struggle with consistency in their serves. It’s a tricky skill that needs a lot of practice to get right. Footwork is also crucial; if you can’t move around the court efficiently, it’s tough to set up for good shots. Balancing both of these is key to making that jump from novice to intermediate.
 
LuckyR said:
Learning to hit medium paced, high consistancy shots with high racquet head speed mostly devoted to spin.
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Thank you for the feedback, you mentioned spin. Interesting enough I've interviewed a few beginners and most of them were not aware of spin, and the ones aware mentioned that its mostly attributed to advanced players.
 
Dragy said:
It’s obviously finding the right racquet! A novice can go through dozens of racquets in several years, and still not play any good!
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I am not even sure if I'm using the right racquet, thanks for pointing that out, is there a particular rule of thumb for finding the right one for yourself?
 
eah123 said:
Number 1 difference between 3.0 (advanced beginner) and 3.5 (intermediate) is serve. A 3.0 cannot hold serve usually because their 1st serve is inconsistent and 2nd serve is weak.
Number 2 would have to be topspin forehand consistency, which is a combination of stroke mechanics and footwork.
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Yes the infamous serve, is there any particular aspect of the serve that seems to be troublesome, for me I seem to have a terrible ball toss.
 
ferddy said:
Thank you for the feedback, you mentioned spin. Interesting enough I've interviewed a few beginners and most of them were not aware of spin, and the ones aware mentioned that its mostly attributed to advanced players.
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I guess I sort of agree with this in the sense that you can't progress without an understanding of spin. In other words, spin = control which = consistancy which = winning.
 
ferddy said:
I am not even sure if I'm using the right racquet, thanks for pointing that out, is there a particular rule of thumb for finding the right one for yourself?
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I was kidding and referring to fellow racquet-o-holics, who are in search of perfect one without investing much into actual on-court improvement.

Rule of thumb is to avoid any equipment that will challenge you and make your tennis life harder than it has to be. There are ideas of using more demanding equipment to force a student to use better technique, but this approach fails 9 times out of 10.

Most 100 sq.in. 280-300g unstrung frames from major brands are good choice for beginners.

PS Strung frames are even better! But with softish strings, no need for RPM Blast or Alu Power until you know why exactly you need it.
 
If we talk about becoming becoming intermediate player, I suppose it’s proper point play and sets, if not tournament/league matches — or how you gauge?

Most beginners who already play matches shall be overall ok with rallying, running down balls, some level of consistency, variety, and likely having basic tactics.

Serve is usually the most lacking element from there.

Then playing easy shorter balls without missing, and overall cutting on errors and getting quality on the balls which are varied, not just comfortable coach feeds. All the lobs, slices, dinks, shanks, topspin rollers, occasional flat rockets — need to recognize, move and play them according to situation, without missing or giving a total sitter back to your opponent.
 
Dragy said:
I was kidding and referring to fellow racquet-o-holics, who are in search of perfect one without investing much into actual on-court improvement.

Rule of thumb is to avoid any equipment that will challenge you and make your tennis life harder than it has to be. There are ideas of using more demanding equipment to force a student to use better technique, but this approach fails 9 times out of 10.

Most 100 sq.in. 280-300g unstrung frames from major brands are good choice for beginners.

PS Strung frames are even better! But with softish strings, no need for RPM Blast or Alu Power until you know why exactly you need it.
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Haha racquetoholics, I'm guessing my friend also falls into this bracket, she had like a dozen, and thankfully she was more than willing to lend me one. Thanks for the feedback, I'll have a look at the specs of what I have.
 
Dragy said:
If we talk about becoming becoming intermediate player, I suppose it’s proper point play and sets, if not tournament/league matches — or how you gauge?

Most beginners who already play matches shall be overall ok with rallying, running down balls, some level of consistency, variety, and likely having basic tactics.

Serve is usually the most lacking element from there.

Then playing easy shorter balls without missing, and overall cutting on errors and getting quality on the balls which are varied, not just comfortable coach feeds. All the lobs, slices, dinks, shanks, topspin rollers, occasional flat rockets — need to recognize, move and play them according to situation, without missing or giving a total sitter back to your opponent.
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Yes League matches and tournaments would be a good reference point for what I perhaps would consider as an intermediate player.
 
Backhand - attack the backhand and win against beginners. Attack the backhand against intermediate and you only maybe win.
 
jimmy8 said:
Backhand - attack the backhand and win against beginners. Attack the backhand against intermediate and you only maybe win.
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My backhand is weak, especially when timing to return the ball to the opponent. I'm still struggling to figure out whether I'm better with a two-handed or one-handed backhand. I was told that my grip is incorrect for my backhand, is this also common to other beginners?
 
ferddy said:
My backhand is weak, especially when timing to return the ball to the opponent. I'm still struggling to figure out whether I'm better with a two-handed or one-handed backhand. I was told that my grip is incorrect for my backhand, is this also common to other beginners?
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Yes, beginners often don't use the correct grip. Practice going back and forth from forehand grip to backhand grip as a drill.
 
ferddy said:
I ask since I notice I have a challenge anticipating the ball, especially for my backhand. I recently saw a tutorial on the influence of dominant eye on tennis gameplay, could this be one of the aspects that affect anticipation and timing?
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There is a drill where as soon as you know what the ball is going to do you call it.
For example, as soon as you know the ball is going to the backhand you call it BACKHAND.
As soon as you know the ball is weak you call it WEAK.
As soon as you know the ball is high you call it HIGH.
Also, you have to react accordingly. As soon as you call it backhand you have to prepare for the backhand, coil torso, etc.

You will notice how late you are in your preparation by doing this, usually players know the ball is going to do something but do not react until the last moment.

Also track the ball, really focus and track the ball in your training, try to tell what the ball is going to do as soon as possible after the balls goes out of the strings of your opponent.

With time you will recognize better what the ball is going to do sooner.

Those are my two cents.
 
+1 for anticipation and racket face control at contact being the major things. I think the more you progress, the earlier and more effective your first move is which is essential to playing people who hit faster.

After that, I would say reading and generating spin would be the next big thing. It adds another dimension to the game. Although I have seen advanced players who don't use much spin at all.

And I'd add - using the right grips. It's common to volley and serve with a forehand grip, but there aren't any pros doing it.
 
ferddy said:
Thank you for the valuable feedback, I wonder Is racket face control is a problem common with the forehand, or does it equally affect other strokes like the backhand, serve, and volley as well? also, does racket face control relate to other technical aspects of the stroke, such as grip, swing path, and timing is there a specific aspect that is a weak link that contributes to poor racket face control? also are there drills you would recommend to your students that you have found effective for solving the issue?

Apologies if the questions might seem too obvious, thanks again for the feedback.
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maybe a little harsh to call a 3.5 a beginner:)

for a true beginner 3.0 he needs to learn the basic grips and as others mentioned, anticipation and being active on the feet.

racket control is the #1 issue for the 3.5s as these people start to 'look like' they are playing tennis... low to high swing, some top spin, some serve with a conti grip... but the game has no tactics, just filled with random errors.

racket control more importantly for the fh, bh, and the 2nd serve... the 3.5s must get thru this learning to understand how to be consistent, so they will start to play real tennis, some tactic during play - such as hitting deep to the opp's bh then go for the winner dtl.... from there tennis becomes enjoyable, as now the game is decided more by winners and forced errors, instead of random UE's out of nowhere lol. this is the most difficult stage... virtually nobody can learn without good coaching. which is why all these people eventually just play pickle. lol.

racket control not so much an issue with volleys as there is almost no swing.

the first serve is more about rhythm, toss, and timing.
 
ferddy said:
Are there any specific drills you can recommend for improving anticipation of ball position from your opponent especially for beginners, as you mentioned your nephew eventually figured this out, was there a particular tactic he used to get over this obstacle?
Click to expand...

My nephew is a good but not gifted/natural athlete with that innate understanding that some people seem to have. He did play baseball, so I used those skills as part of a progression. I had him get his baseball glove and I would hit groundstrokes of varying speeds and heights, and have him run basically along the baseline to field the ball on one bounce. Because fielding a ball is a much simpler task than having to get set up to swing a racquet, it allows focusing more on the ball and less on what the body is going to need to do to hit a ball with a racquet. It really took just a few fielding attempts before the movement to the ball was significantly better. I could almost see that his immediate thought was to start moving to where he needed to go, and once he got in motion to then try to figure out how to hit the ball. That second part remains a significant challenge throughout all skill levels and in my opinion, that specific challenge peaks in roughly the intermediate stage. After that, it still remains a big part but there will be other factors to prevent further improvement.
 
ferddy said:
My backhand is weak, especially when timing to return the ball to the opponent. I'm still struggling to figure out whether I'm better with a two-handed or one-handed backhand. I was told that my grip is incorrect for my backhand, is this also common to other beginners?
Click to expand...

If you are relatively new to the game, what can literally take years off your improvement trajectory as a player is to invest in some lessons now to ensure you have correct fundamentals. You can get to a relatively high intermediate level with all sorts of improper technique but advancing further means your strokes have to meet commonly accepted milestones at a few points during each swing. As an example, I knew a player who was very athletic and could time the ball well, but he had a straight-armed, windmill type serve with no elbow bend. I'd rate his groundstrokes as mid-4.5 level but because of his serve technique, he could never hit more than a patty-cake second serve with no spin. Many 4.0 players could tee off on it well enough that even though he broke serve usually a couple of times a set, he also lost his serve at least twice a set.

The moral of this story? He went from not playing tennis at all and got to 4.0 off his athleticism in probably about a year. In the next four or five years, his groundstrokes (which were also technically not that great) improved to 4.5 level but he never progressed beyond 4.0 competition because of his serve. I think he gave up the game after that because of frustration. A few lessons at the beginning to get his strokes in order and he probably could have been close a 5.0 considering his other athletic abilities.
 
Beginners struggle with many skills especially if they are completely self-taught. I wouldn’t single out one skill as being more important than others that they lack. Every beginner is terrible at tennis in their own unique way!

Generally when teaching a beginner, a coach will focus on proper grips, use of offhand, moving to the ball properly, recovering to the right spot, stopping properly with correct spacing, coiling/uncoiling of the body with bent knees so that they are not just arming the ball, proper takeback and swing path, recovering to alert stance, reading the opponent, making proper decisions on picking trajectory, pace/spins, target spot etc. in some order of progression. Once some basic fundamentals of grip, footwork, spacing, body coil/uncoil, takeback/swing path have been established, coaches will focus a lot on spin generation as that is a key to then teaching how to increase power with control. This progression has to be done on FH, BH, return, serve, volley, overhead, BH slice etc.

So there is a lot that has to be learned even before you progress to how to play matches tactically, strategically, mental focus, routines between points, reading the opponent‘s game etc. Then you want to develop some shots and serves as weapons while you try to minimize all the weaknesses to a level that is not easily exploitable. You will run a lot of drills to improve consistency, accuracy, power, depth, footwork, hitting on the run, speciality shots like dropshots, topspin lobs, specific point patterns, specific shots with focus on serves, returns, +1 shots, putting away winners, coming to net, passing shots etc. So, it is typically a multi-year project to mold a beginner into a decent player who knows how to win a lot.

A common mistake that self-taught players make if they try to learn by watching online/pro videos is to focus too much on swing mechanics while not paying attention to footwork, body positioning/coil/uncoil, using the lower body including bending knees, stopping at proper spacing, stopping with the right pivot foot, transferring weight forward, extension etc. You cannot really execute a proper swing path if you get several of the other components wrong and that is why this kind of student can have a low ceiling.
 
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dennis said:
+1 for anticipation and racket face control at contact being the major things. I think the more you progress, the earlier and more effective your first move is which is essential to playing people who hit faster.

After that, I would say reading and generating spin would be the next big thing. It adds another dimension to the game. Although I have seen advanced players who don't use much spin at all.

And I'd add - using the right grips. It's common to volley and serve with a forehand grip, but there aren't any pros doing it.
Click to expand...
Perhaps they learned them as technical/ fundamental tennis skills as beginners, then later naturally adopted as they pushed their bodies to its athletic limits.
 
Injured Again said:
My nephew is a good but not gifted/natural athlete with that innate understanding that some people seem to have. He did play baseball, so I used those skills as part of a progression. I had him get his baseball glove and I would hit groundstrokes of varying speeds and heights, and have him run basically along the baseline to field the ball on one bounce. Because fielding a ball is a much simpler task than having to get set up to swing a racquet, it allows focusing more on the ball and less on what the body is going to need to do to hit a ball with a racquet. It really took just a few fielding attempts before the movement to the ball was significantly better. I could almost see that his immediate thought was to start moving to where he needed to go, and once he got in motion to then try to figure out how to hit the ball. That second part remains a significant challenge throughout all skill levels and in my opinion, that specific challenge peaks in roughly the intermediate stage. After that, it still remains a big part but there will be other factors to prevent further improvement.
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What an interesting way to teach, it got him to put all his focus on that one particular skill he had a challenge with. I guess the more you advance in the game some unpolished aspect of previously learned fundamental skill is exposed, especially when playing more challenging games.
 
Injured Again said:
If you are relatively new to the game, what can literally take years off your improvement trajectory as a player is to invest in some lessons now to ensure you have correct fundamentals. You can get to a relatively high intermediate level with all sorts of improper technique but advancing further means your strokes have to meet commonly accepted milestones at a few points during each swing. As an example, I knew a player who was very athletic and could time the ball well, but he had a straight-armed, windmill type serve with no elbow bend. I'd rate his groundstrokes as mid-4.5 level but because of his serve technique, he could never hit more than a patty-cake second serve with no spin. Many 4.0 players could tee off on it well enough that even though he broke serve usually a couple of times a set, he also lost his serve at least twice a set.

The moral of this story? He went from not playing tennis at all and got to 4.0 off his athleticism in probably about a year. In the next four or five years, his groundstrokes (which were also technically not that great) improved to 4.5 level but he never progressed beyond 4.0 competition because of his serve. I think he gave up the game after that because of frustration. A few lessons at the beginning to get his strokes in order and he probably could have been close a 5.0 considering his other athletic abilities.
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Noted, a good coach is a great investment, practicing bad habits is insanity and a big waste of time, I can attest to this, I played basketball in high school without a coach, I was pretty good but my shots were average at best, I changed my form so many times and practiced different shooting styles, it would work for a season then stop working, during my bachelor's degree i joined a basketball team with a pretty solid coach, who saw a minute specific error that limited my play which was eventually corrected and my shots drastically improved. Not to downplay the need for a coach but I also think recording your gameplay is the least one can do if they are a "YouTube learner" It is one thing to think and feel like you are making the correct motion and another to actually see evidence of your form.
 
socallefty said:
Beginners struggle with many skills especially if they are completely self-taught. I wouldn’t single out one skill as being more important than others that they lack. Every beginner is terrible at tennis in their own unique way!

Generally when teaching a beginner, a coach will focus on proper grips, use of offhand, moving to the ball properly, recovering to the right spot, stopping properly with correct spacing, coiling/uncoiling of the body with bent knees so that they are not just arming the ball, proper takeback and swing path, recovering to alert stance, reading the opponent, making proper decisions on picking trajectory, pace/spins, target spot etc. in some order of progression. Once some basic fundamentals of grip, footwork, spacing, body coil/uncoil, takeback/swing path have been established, coaches will focus a lot on spin generation as that is a key to then teaching how to increase power with control. This progression has to be done on FH, BH, return, serve, volley, overhead, BH slice etc.

So there is a lot that has to be learned even before you progress to how to play matches tactically, strategically, mental focus, routines between points, reading the opponent‘s game etc. Then you want to develop some shots and serves as weapons while you try to minimize all the weaknesses to a level that is not easily exploitable. You will run a lot of drills to improve consistency, accuracy, power, depth, footwork, hitting on the run, speciality shots like dropshots, topspin lobs, specific point patterns, specific shots with focus on serves, returns, +1 shots, putting away winners, coming to net, passing shots etc. So, it is typically a multi-year project to mold a beginner into a decent player who knows how to win a lot.

A common mistake that self-taught players make if they try to learn by watching online/pro videos is to focus too much on swing mechanics while not paying attention to footwork, body positioning/coil/uncoil, using the lower body including bending knees, stopping at proper spacing, stopping with the right pivot foot, transferring weight forward, extension etc. You cannot really execute a proper swing path if you get several of the other components wrong and that is why this kind of student can have a low ceiling.
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Thanks for the feedback, clearly tennis has a very steep learning curve, a lot of technical skills to master, and not only that but also knowing when and how to apply them.
 
10sbeast888 said:
the number 1 issue, by far, is racket face control.

learn what the HAND does.

I have helped many adults, 3.5 ish, which is about the ceiling if the player never learns racket control.

take the fh for example... every time I work with them, 90% of the things I say to them is - keep the face closed, keep the face closed.. keep the face closed.

attacking the ball with the sweet spot, is by far the #1 reason low amateurs never get better.
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this is a good one, haven't seen this brought up nearly enough. footwork, preparation of course...but racket face awareness is huge.
 
shug said:
Getting over the fear of losing.
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Generally people who fear losing refuse to play matches and want only to hit. I haven’t seen it manifested in matches much.

I‘ve seen more of the opposite which is fear of winning where some players always seem to choke, suddenly make bad decisions and execute poorly when they are on the verge of winning thus allowing the opponent to come back.
 
fear of winning and fear of losing, both are results of the evolution process.

I'd say for the 3.0-3.5's, if you want' to get to the next level, do NOT play matches when you are building the right techniques. I have worked with many such adults, without exception match play always set them back, because when you want to win, you will use the old, 'comfortable' techniques.

this is the same reason in the academies young kids under say 10 don't play matches, otherwise they'd just try to out lob each other lol.
 
10sbeast888 said:
fear of winning and fear of losing, both are results of the evolution process.

I'd say for the 3.0-3.5's, if you want' to get to the next level, do NOT play matches when you are building the right techniques. I have worked with many such adults, without exception match play always set them back, because when you want to win, you will use the old, 'comfortable' techniques.

this is the same reason in the academies young kids under say 10 don't play matches, otherwise they'd just try to out lob each other lol.
Click to expand...
What about playing matches doing the right things? Or at least trying to.
 
Daniel Andrade said:
What if such person doesn't care to lose?
Click to expand...
a person who truly doesn't care then would have no desire to win, then what is the point of playing matches lol.

also, at 3.5 and below match play is completely pointless as all the points are just random errors.

build the tools first. tennis is a lot more fun when you play correctly.
 
10sbeast888 said:
a person who truly doesn't care then would have no desire to win, then what is the point of playing matches lol.

also, at 3.5 and below match play is completely pointless as all the points are just random errors.

build the tools first. tennis is a lot more fun when you play correctly.
Click to expand...
and what about the case of someone like MEP who's 4.5 ?
 
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