If you find yourself struggling with some tennis basics, take a look at these quick tips to improve your game. It’s important to remember that there is no perfect way to play a tennis stroke, but these tips offer some fundamentals to help you hone your skills.
1. Early preparation
You can never prepare yourself soon enough. Turn your hips and shoulders before the oncoming ball bounces on your side.
2. Exaggerate your follow through
Follow all the way through your shot after your hit. Hit the ball, follow through, and move your feet.
3. Hit-recover
Instead of focusing on your shot after you’ve made it, focus on the recover. Hit, finish and get back into position.
4. Keep your head still
If you find yourself mis-hitting shots, be sure that you aren’t moving your head as you swing. Follow the ball onto the racquet and keep your head still until the shot has been played.
5. Get your back leg behind the ball
Getting your back leg and weight behind the ball allows for easier weight transfer and a more consistent shot.
6. Pull back on your serve speed
The serve is the most important shot in tennis, but that doesn’t mean you should wail on the ball. Focus on accuracy versus force.
7. Prepare early for groundstrokes
Once you know where the ball is going to bounce, move yourself into a position where you feel comfortable playing the shot. The higher you make your backswing, the more power you will likely generate. Finding the right balance between the swing and the force is key.
8. Get the right forehand grip
How you grip a tennis racquet is one of the most important aspects of the game. A common serving grip of the pros is the continental grip. Watch this video to learn how to perfect the grip: //youtu.be/WtzWazMGcTY
The semi-western grip is a good grip for groundstrokes. Here’s a quick video with tips on how to master it: //youtu.be/_2In06DTI9U
9. Practice your tennis ball toss
When serving, your ball toss should go straight up and come straight down about 18 inches in front of your leading foot. Grab a bucket of balls and practice your toss, without actually hitting the ball.
10. Don’t be too hard on yourself during matches
It’s easy to be overcritical of yourself, especially if you miss an otherwise easy shot in a competitive environment. If you miss a shot just move forward in the match and keep playing to the best of your ability. Practice your stroke afterward to improve and perfect your skills.
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1 Comment
My little brother is getting into tennis, and he wants to make sure he does pretty good at it. That being said, I really appreciate you sharing some insight with me about ways he can improve his serving and swings when playing. I'll be sure to show this to him right away so he can begin practicing. Thanks at on for your help. //www.recsurf.com