Tennis Drills you might have taken lightly- exercise your wrist and forearm

For sports like tennis where the wrist of the player is constantly used, it becomes important that the wrist and for that matter, the entire arm be strengthened. One sure result you can achieve by increasing the strength in your wrist is an increase in power of your forehand shots. A stronger wrist will also give you the necessary control needed when returning fast paced balls.
It is unfortunate that although this remains one of the greatest contributing factors to a player’s game, it is not discussed even by most experts as much as other parts of the sport. For this reason we have taken the responsibility of tackling a few of the techniques by which you can do this. You are however advised to do these exercises within the limits your body allows. If you have any qualms concerning these exercises, consult your physician.

Exercise #1-   5 balls, 15 balls, 20 balls
This is one of the simplest drills you can indulge in to increase the strength in both your wrist and forearm.

What you need; A squash wall, tennis balls and tennis racket

How it’s done; You start by playing a single tennis ball to hit the squash wall. Let the ball bounce once then hit it again against the wall. Try repeating this for 5 hits against the wall before you quit. Next, you try doing this for 15 hits against the wall. You gradually increase the number of times you want to return the ball till you feel you’ve had enough of the drill. This simple drill helps most beginners to improve their timing and concentration as well. This is one drill that even club level players can use to increase the length of their rallies and their stamina.

Exercise #2- Bouncing along the path
This is a drill that is pretty new but produces the effect you seek. It reminds me of the good old saying, “No pain, no gain”.

What you need; The rectangle of the doubles court, Racket, tennis balls

How it is done; You begin on the baseline and with your racket, bounce the tennis ball as you walk. Try to keep the ball within the confines of the extension of the double’s court. Also, try to keep your racket from moving too much. Rather, what you want to do is to make the racket control the bounce of the ball so you can walk without stopping from the baseline towards the net. The process is repeated in the opposite direction. You may perform this drill as many times as you are physically capable. An additional advantage of this drill is that it improves the eye and ball coordination of the player.

Exercise #3- Wrist curls with barbells
This final drill is centered mainly on increasing your forearm strength. I watched this video and knew it had the perfect description of the drill so I have chosen to embed the video below.
What you need; Barbells, workout bench
How it is done; Watch video

If you found this topic interesting, you might also want to read my article on; TIMING THE BALL IN TENNIS. All your questions and queries are humbly welcome. Subscribe to receive all our upcoming updates on how to improve your tennis. Have a great day.

Volley to victory

The definition of a volley is playing a ball before it lands on the ground. Volleys in tennis can be fun to play particularly when you know the right techniques behind them. The volley can also become a critical tool in your play if you want to get a quick winner in a match. One additional advantage of the volley is that, it reduces the recovery time of your opponent and gives you the upper hand if you want to move in and finish them. The volley is also used in cases where the feels they may choke on a ball if they try to do the complete forehand swing or backhand swing. At such occasions, volleying a ball may save you from losing a point in a game. For these reasons, we’re going to treat the basic techniques behind hitting both the forehand and backhand volleys. Get yourself ready.
Key Principles
If you are now conversant with the right technique of the forehand, it will be much easier moving on to the forehand volley. Just as in the forehand, the forehand volley involves 3 principal points. They are;
Preparation for the ball
Getting your footwork right
Keeping your eye on the ball

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga playing a jump-forehand-volley at Wimbledon 2011

Forehand volley
First of, to volley the ball using the forehand, hold the racket using the “crab” hold. Learn more on the crab hold by checking out The Art of the Forehand . The footwork for the volley is slightly different from that of the forehand. In the case of the volley, you stand facing the net with your right foot moving in across the left. This way, your upper body weight rests completely on your right leg with your knee slightly bent. Your racket at this point is already released from the crab hold and is held with the face pointing to the side of the court you want the ball to go. Try to keep your elbow at an angle a little greater than 90 degrees. Your ability to keep your wrist and grip firm on the racket will play an important role in whether or not the ball will get to the angle you are sending it.

If you can keep playing tennis when somebody is shooting a gun down the street, that's concentration. I didn't grow up playing at the country club.
Serena Williams
Quoted in The Sunday Times, June 2002.

Backhand volley
In playing the backhand volley, a left-handed player will move their left foot forward thereby transferring their weight unto their left leg. The player stretches out his arm such that it is almost straight as compared to the forehand volley where the arm is slightly bent. All this while, the racket is held in such a way that the face is pointing toward the position the ball is being directed. Caution must however be taken in this because, choosing a wrong angle can lead to having your balls being played off court or the balls failing  to leave your side of the court. Try playing several volleys and through that, select the right angle for yourself. Also keep in mind that each volley is different from the other so you have to learn to be flexible in your approach for each one.




The video embedded above shows you how to play the volley. Make sure you watch how exactly this is done. Go out and practice with your coach after this. It should be fun!

Packing your backhand- Improve your tennis backhand the right way

What is the Backhand?

For right handed tennis players, a backhand involves the player swinging from the left side of your body, across your chest and over your right shoulder. This may be done with either one hand and thus is known as the one-handed backhand or with both hands and is known as the double handed backhand.
The choice of which to use is usually a choice of the player. Most players of the game who go for a little more power on their backhand prefer the single backhand as opposed to people who seek a higher consistency and higher chance of landing the ball in the court and go for the double handed backhand.

Vera Zvonerenka playing the double handed backhand

How do I play the Backhand?

To play a good backhand, one needs to first be ready for the ball. So it is advisable that the player is in the ready position for the backhand. The ready position is where the player faces the net with one hand firmly holding the lower end of the racket as the other holds the just a little above the other hand. This creates an angle of about 45 degrees. Most coaches call this the “Crab” hand. At this point, you are ready to play the ball. The racket face should be open during this phase.

Want to start playing tennis? Find a good sparring partner

Footwork for backhand
Now, as the ball arrives, you move your right foot in such in a way that your right side faces the net. To maximize your ball control, keep your eye on the ball all this while as you slightly bend your knees and prepare for contact with the ball.

Contact with the ball
The racket face to during this stage should be slightly closed. When the ball finally arrives, swing across your shoulder– (this is where the decision of whether you swing with the single-handed or double-handed backhand comes in). The swing across the shoulder for the single-handed backhand may not be a complete swing as the human arm can swing to only certain limits. This is one of the advantages of the double handed backhand which has more of a complete swing.

After contact

Move your right foot back again and get back into the ready position. Remember to keep your eye on the ball through every stage. This ensures you hit with higher accuracy with a good chance of directing the ball where you want it to go. Try to do some drills with your coach or sparring partner to increase your consistency and power of the shot over time.






Also for you reading;   The Giant move

The Art of The Forehand Part I

 Today's video is pretty self explanatory. I will definitely write a follow up article but try to understand the basic concepts discussed here. I know you will enjoy this one. If you have any problem understanding anything in this video, do well to leave a comment or send me an email (my address is below).Cheers!

Simple ; 3 effective steps to improve your tennis

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 McEnroe

If 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.