What was the “thing” that made it all click (serve,volley,forehand,backhand etc)?

[Jst21121]

I feel like tennis really is like riding a bike or learning a language. It can be frustrating at times but sometimes- something just clicks and it all makes sense.

You study Spanish for a year or two struggle and then one day it clicks.

For tennis- what do you remember that made your serve, volley, forehand etc click? And if so can you share as I would love to get better.

For me- today, I feel like my forehand finally clicked.

All the YouTube videos and practice and whatever for 1-2 years I just couldn’t get it.

But today- I realized that when I do the unit turn and “relax my grip and “pet the dog” that just staying completely loose and letting my arm fall naturally while accelerating into the shot with legs first- made all the difference.

Previously I “held the racket tight and conciously dropped the racket” but now I take back and let the racket just drop naturally while being extremely loose.

This for me has made THE difference for my forehand. It finally clicked.

What tip made something for you finally click?

 

[McGradey]

Footwork. Improving movement paves the way for broad improvements to your strokes and your game as a whole.
Tracking of the ball and consistently early shot preparation too.
Basically all the things that give you the time and space you need to hit good shots.

 

[Jst21121]

Footwork. Improving movement paves the way for broad improvements to your strokes and your game as a whole.
Tracking of the ball and consistently early shot preparation too.
Basically all the things that give you the time and space you need to hit good shots.

I 100% agree. I was watching a YouTube video and they basically said that before the ball bounces on your court- you should be already in position unit turned and ready to unleash the forehand. Footwork is essential!

Also recovery is extremely underrated in rec tennis. Hit ball watch it sail and wait. No! The pros recover extremely fast and their footwork provides that.

 

[Fintft]

Footwork. Improving movement paves the way for broad improvements to your strokes and your game as a whole.
Tracking of the ball and consistently early shot preparation too.
Basically all the things that give you the time and space you need to hit good shots.

Not with the serve though.

 

[socallefty]

You study Spanish for a year or two struggle and then one day it clicks.

For tennis- what do you remember that made your serve, volley, forehand etc click? And if so can you share as I would love to get better.

This sounds like an ‘urban myth’. Usually you imcrementally improve with any new skill you are trying to learn and there are no big magical leaps.

I bet your FH will not feel great in another couple of days if you have not mastered all your fundamentals right. If you did learn all your fundamentals right on footwork and shot technique, it probably didn’t happen overnight either

 

[ChaelAZ]

For me my best improvements have been with fitness, footwork, and focus. If all three are aligned and present, strokes and technique can be applied well. Any one of those is missing or hampered, things regress. Lately I have been really focusing on focus and being very deliberate/relaxed in application of technique with very good results.

 

[davced1]

Backhand always struggled with my one hander never feeling comfortable with the eastern backhand grip. My slice was good so one summer I decided to stick with my continental slice grip for top spin also. I figured if it worked for Edberg and McEnroe it’s good enough for me.

 

[Jst21121]

This sounds like an ‘urban myth’. Usually you imcrementally improve with any new skill you are trying to learn and there are no big magical leaps.

I bet your FH will not feel great in another couple of days if you have not mastered all your fundamentals right. If you did learn all your fundamentals right on footwork and shot technique, it probably didn’t happen overnight either

That sounds pretty negative, and while I do understand that I haven’t leveled up where I am hitting 5.0 strokes overnight- something clicked and I feel 100% more confident that I’m getting there. And I also do understand it’s a combination of footwork, rotation and timing etc.

Regardless the topic at point is asking where in your learning process of a serve forehand volley where one piece of advice made it all “click” for you.

I still can’t volley well and my serve tends to be all over the place. Solid but it hasn’t “clicked yet.” Thats the point of this post. If there is advice out there that helped someone “click” with their serve or whatever then I would love to take it and apply it to my game so I can see if it “clicks.” If so- do you have any “eureka!” Moments? Cuz I would love to try them out.

 

[ballmachineguy]

Don’t let anyone kill your buzz. When you go from doing something incorrectly to doing it correctly, it can make a huge difference. There was a 10 word string in your OP that would make a lot of difference to your stroke. Not surprised you’ve improved.

 

[johnmccabe]

That sounds pretty negative, and while I do understand that I haven’t leveled up where I am hitting 5.0 strokes overnight- something clicked and I feel 100% more confident that I’m getting there. And I also do understand it’s a combination of footwork, rotation and timing etc.

Regardless the topic at point is asking where in your learning process of a serve forehand volley where one piece of advice made it all “click” for you.

I still can’t volley well and my serve tends to be all over the place. Solid but it hasn’t “clicked yet.” Thats the point of this post. If there is advice out there that helped someone “click” with their serve or whatever then I would love to take it and apply it to my game so I can see if it “clicks.” If so- do you have any “eureka!” Moments? Cuz I would love to try them out.

He is right. There is no magic moment. In the first couple of years, there should be a lot of quick progresses that felt like something clicked. But then you quickly realize you are still miles away from playing good tennis. Then it feels like slow incremental improvements one at time. If you hope one morning everything just suddenly starts to work for you, then you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

[AnyPUG]

OP's eureka moment, the transition from death grip to very lose grip with wrist stability when it matters is very unique in tennis skills development and could dramatically improve the shots (gs and serves) like an on-off switch. Imo, very few rec players reach that stage and able keep it. If you are able to recreate the feeling everytime and in pressure situations, you will hit great shots and be consistent. Lots of online vids on very lose grip and letting the lag happen on it's own, but if you "get it", you will be a different player. Great progress and have fun with it.

The death grip tightens up many parts of the body. A relaxed grip brings in a bunch of benefits - makes the breathing normal, less tired, improve footwork unconsciously, get larger muscles to the "party' and more.

 

[zill]

I feel like tennis really is like riding a bike or learning a language. It can be frustrating at times but sometimes- something just clicks and it all makes sense.

You study Spanish for a year or two struggle and then one day it clicks.

For tennis- what do you remember that made your serve, volley, forehand etc click? And if so can you share as I would love to get better.

For me- today, I feel like my forehand finally clicked.

All the YouTube videos and practice and whatever for 1-2 years I just couldn’t get it.

But today- I realized that when I do the unit turn and “relax my grip and “pet the dog” that just staying completely loose and letting my arm fall naturally while accelerating into the shot with legs first- made all the difference.

Previously I “held the racket tight and conciously dropped the racket” but now I take back and let the racket just drop naturally while being extremely loose.

This for me has made THE difference for my forehand. It finally clicked.

What tip made something for you finally click?

All strokes are different. But to generalise, turning correctly is a common theme to all strokes.

 

[eah123]

Big Eureka moment on the serve was when I learned the secret to hitting a bigger flat serve is the addition of a small amount of topspin.

 

[dsp9753]

There is no single eurka moment for me. It was probably as I started to play higher and higher level tennis, I started to watch the ball and opponents like a hawk more and more.

For ball striking, super watching the ball carefully and aiming for a specific spot on the ball made me realize everything else I needed to do as far as movement and get into the right position.

Watching and aiming for the top of the ball on my serve made it have alot more kick, consistency and accuracy.

 

[Daniel Andrade]

Big Eureka moment on the serve was when I learned the secret to hitting a bigger flat serve is the addition of a small amount of topspin.

Meaning 25% kick 75% flat or so?

 

[Curtennis]

For me I had to forget so much of the stupid sayings I’ve been taught from videos and generic coaches.

I stopped trying to swing low to high. How else can you friggen swing? It’s always gonna be low to high! I was way overdoing the low to high portion and forgot how to just swing a racquet like a normal human.

The second is I stopped focusing on hitting the ball out in front. Now my big thing is just don’t hit it late. If I’m not late it’s probably going to have contact out in front. The whole out in front mantra had me looking forward to much and not fully seeing the ball enter my strike zone. Now I’m allowing my head to turn a much more diagonal to the net when I start my swing. In the past I was always trying to swing while still looking straight forward at the net. To maximize my hitting out in front.

https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/180702140901-roger-federer-wimbledon-tease-super-tease.jpg

How out in front is he really hitting if he’s looking Sideways? Cause just like my first issue is I overthought all these stupid sayings and wasn’t playing tennis just how a normal athlete would attempt to. I over complicated everything. At the end of the day you more or less just need to swing as relaxed as possible and accelerate through the shot. Everything else just allow your body to be completely natural.

 

[WYK]

Nothing ever 'just clicks'. There is no magic bullet, there is no 'one simple trick'.
Just like with everything in life, what there is are hours and hours of training, coaching and practice. After which, stuff will start to 'just click'.
If you want to circumvent the training, the effort, and the time, do not expect much clicking.