What is the single most important quality in a tennis champion? I would have to say desire, staying in there and winning matches when you are not playing that well.
John McEnroeIf you are reading this article, I am sure you have been wondering how you could improve your tennis. Whether you are a beginner or club member, if you follow the basic principles underlined here, you can be certain of achieving your objective. Now we’ve identified the 3 main ways by which you can improve your play. Let us now examine them individually.
1. Observe!
This is one of the things considered to be the most practical ways of developing play. If there’s something your coach or trainer keeps telling you about, take some time off to carefully observe what it is they are saying. You basically cannot succeed in tennis or in most facets of life if you are not observant enough. You must be ready to put your ego aside to observe with a critical eye so as to improve your tennis play. If what you notice is a good skill that you feel you could pick up and polish, then go straight ahead and do so. There could also be scenarios where you might not be doing something particularly right in such instances, ask your coaches to observe your play and provide you with feedback. If it is a difficulty you are facing with a technique be sure to observe exactly what you are doing, compare that with that which the coach says, and correct the errors so that you can improve upon that part of your play. The only way you can realize this fault and improve upon that aspect of your tennis then would be to firstly, if you observe. Make sure you don’t miss this important step.
2. Never stop Learning
Mitch Hedberg once said, “The depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how good I get, I'll never be as good as a wall.” To improve in tennis, a player must constantly find ways of learning new things. I had a colleague who wanted to improve his play at the club level but kept on doing the same old things. His footwork was wrong, his grip was wrong and so were his strokes. Everything except the young man’s desire to improve was wrong.
I have seen many people who want to improve their tennis but end up like this guy, not achieving any of their dreams, just because they did not realize that the only way to unlock the next dimension of their play was to just learn. It’s tough to learn new things on your own, which is why we keep encouraging beginners to find good coaches. A good coach knows how to get each player to achieve a certain level of play that the player would not have attained if they went on without him/her. It’s difficult sometimes to change from our bad habits but if we have the determination to change, we will change and even better, achieve a much higher level of play.
3. Practice! Practice!! Practice!!!
This is where it all begins. This step cannot be emphasized enough especially if you want to improve your play. Every tennis player who has improved certain aspects of their game will tell you that, the only way this was possible was by practicing what they learnt. Here are some few listed suggestions that could help you practice more effectively;
a. Schedule a regular practice time- It is good for beginners to have between 2 to 3 practice sessions within a week and spend about an hour and a half practicing during these periods. This is not consistent with any set standard but is one of the ways of ensuring that you continue to perfect your play. It can get frustrating for players when they improve their play and lose that form a few days later because they were not consistent in their play. The only way you can avoid this would be to constantly keep practicing what you’ve learnt. Make sure you never forget the basics.
b. Practice with your coach (1-on-1) – This enables you to have the undivided attention of the coach. He may then be able to spot exactly what mistakes you are making are, and with this help you resolve some of your major difficulties. Another tip here is to seek for feedback quite regularly. Good coaches will feed you balls till they are sure you can move unto the next level of play.
c. Practice with your sparring partner- If you’ve already read my previous post on finding a good sparring partner, you would have realized by now, what an essential role they can play in helping you improve your play. In most cases, it is preferable that you spar with your partner in the presence of your coach so he can spot and correct the mistakes you make as you develop your play.
d. Do not practice under fatigue- Practicing under fatigue will be utterly ineffective for several reasons we will later discuss (Make sure not to miss that. Sign up for our free newsletter). Your ability to make the right choices in a game would be negatively affected if your fatigue is high. It is recommended that you relax for a few minutes before you proceed with your training session. In other cases, you might have to quit entirely when you realize fatigue setting in. I hope these tips have been helpful and we hope to hear from you soon. Remember, tennis is nothing if you don’t have fun playing it. You can also check out my previous article; 3 effective steps to building confidence in a game.
1. Observe!
This is one of the things considered to be the most practical ways of developing play. If there’s something your coach or trainer keeps telling you about, take some time off to carefully observe what it is they are saying. You basically cannot succeed in tennis or in most facets of life if you are not observant enough. You must be ready to put your ego aside to observe with a critical eye so as to improve your tennis play. If what you notice is a good skill that you feel you could pick up and polish, then go straight ahead and do so. There could also be scenarios where you might not be doing something particularly right in such instances, ask your coaches to observe your play and provide you with feedback. If it is a difficulty you are facing with a technique be sure to observe exactly what you are doing, compare that with that which the coach says, and correct the errors so that you can improve upon that part of your play. The only way you can realize this fault and improve upon that aspect of your tennis then would be to firstly, if you observe. Make sure you don’t miss this important step.
2. Never stop Learning
Mitch Hedberg once said, “The depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how good I get, I'll never be as good as a wall.” To improve in tennis, a player must constantly find ways of learning new things. I had a colleague who wanted to improve his play at the club level but kept on doing the same old things. His footwork was wrong, his grip was wrong and so were his strokes. Everything except the young man’s desire to improve was wrong.
I have seen many people who want to improve their tennis but end up like this guy, not achieving any of their dreams, just because they did not realize that the only way to unlock the next dimension of their play was to just learn. It’s tough to learn new things on your own, which is why we keep encouraging beginners to find good coaches. A good coach knows how to get each player to achieve a certain level of play that the player would not have attained if they went on without him/her. It’s difficult sometimes to change from our bad habits but if we have the determination to change, we will change and even better, achieve a much higher level of play.
3. Practice! Practice!! Practice!!!
This is where it all begins. This step cannot be emphasized enough especially if you want to improve your play. Every tennis player who has improved certain aspects of their game will tell you that, the only way this was possible was by practicing what they learnt. Here are some few listed suggestions that could help you practice more effectively;
a. Schedule a regular practice time- It is good for beginners to have between 2 to 3 practice sessions within a week and spend about an hour and a half practicing during these periods. This is not consistent with any set standard but is one of the ways of ensuring that you continue to perfect your play. It can get frustrating for players when they improve their play and lose that form a few days later because they were not consistent in their play. The only way you can avoid this would be to constantly keep practicing what you’ve learnt. Make sure you never forget the basics.
b. Practice with your coach (1-on-1) – This enables you to have the undivided attention of the coach. He may then be able to spot exactly what mistakes you are making are, and with this help you resolve some of your major difficulties. Another tip here is to seek for feedback quite regularly. Good coaches will feed you balls till they are sure you can move unto the next level of play.
c. Practice with your sparring partner- If you’ve already read my previous post on finding a good sparring partner, you would have realized by now, what an essential role they can play in helping you improve your play. In most cases, it is preferable that you spar with your partner in the presence of your coach so he can spot and correct the mistakes you make as you develop your play.
d. Do not practice under fatigue- Practicing under fatigue will be utterly ineffective for several reasons we will later discuss (Make sure not to miss that. Sign up for our free newsletter). Your ability to make the right choices in a game would be negatively affected if your fatigue is high. It is recommended that you relax for a few minutes before you proceed with your training session. In other cases, you might have to quit entirely when you realize fatigue setting in. I hope these tips have been helpful and we hope to hear from you soon. Remember, tennis is nothing if you don’t have fun playing it. You can also check out my previous article; 3 effective steps to building confidence in a game.
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