5 Coach's Tips To Improve Your Tennis

Improve Your Footwork

Becoming more nimble on court is crucial for taking your game to the next level. In order to be able to play more consistently, we need to be able to get into position for every shot. 

We need good footwork to get into position effectively. There are two main factors that make good footwork: adopting the correct stance for each shot and foot speed. Both can be trained during your tennis lessons or while practising with your friends. Footwork drills can also be done off court, wherever there is space, so no excuses for sloppy footwork!

You will need to adopt the correct stances for different shots: For the majority of your shots you should be landing on your dominant foot and getting into a balanced stance before striking each ball. For example, if you are right handed, you should aim to step into your backhand with your right foot. This would ensure we are in a closed stance for hitting our backhand.

To improve your foot speed you can carry out drills which involve side-stepping, cross-overs, side-to-side, forward and backward sprints. 

Improve Your Balance

The ability to get into a balanced stance before striking the ball will greatly improve the consistency of your shots. Try to be more conscious of your balance as you are hitting the ball.

Many players from beginner to intermediate levels neglect the importance of maintaining their balance during play. We get too focused on getting to the ball faster and swinging harder but if we are unable to maintain our balance there will be a high chance that our returns will fly out of the court.

To have good balance on the tennis court you must practise being able to stop and stabilise after being on the run. You can practise in any open space. Do sprints with a change of direction. Make a conscious effort to maintain your balance, especially when you stop to change direction in your sprints. 

Squats and lunges exercises will help in your core strength and improve your balance too. Read How to Build Your Lower Body Strength.

Increase Your Racket Acceleration 

Being able to accelerate your racket will help you generate more spin on your serves and groundstrokes. We want to have the ability to put spin on our shots as it allows us to add variation to our games. With more topspin, the ball will bounce higher on your opponents’ side of the court and keep them on their back feet.

One way you can improve racket acceleration is to practise shadow swings regularly. You just need a racket and some space. Do multiple sets of shadows swings with rest in between. Do the number of reps and sets to your comfort level. 

For a more challenging drill, practice the shadow swings with a plastic bag covering the head of your racket. This creates air resistance as you swing, helping to strengthen the muscles you use for accelerating the racket. Try swinging the racket again without the plastic bag on. You should feel a significant difference.

Develop Better Ball Sense

Developing your ball sense is one of the keys for becoming a better tennis player. Having good ball sense allows you to time your shots effectively and make less errors. Without good ball sense, you could have the best technique, stamina and footwork in the world but still struggle to keep a tennis rally going. No ball sense = no fun on the tennis court. 

Ball sense involves judging the speed and anticipating the path of the ball. With ball sense, you will be able to move before the ball has bounced on your side of the court, and get into the optimal position to return the ball.

How can we develop better ball sense? Practise, practise and practise. There is no substitute for hitting balls on the court to improve your tennis. However, if you are unable to access a court right away, you can try looking for a wall to hit against, or even practise throwing, bouncing and catching balls with a partner. 

Cover All The Basics

Now this last one might seem obvious but we should definitely go over it. Ensure that your foundations are solid! Foundations include the forehand and backhand technique (groundstroke techniques) and the serve and volley technique. 

Work with your hitting buddies and coach to refine the technical aspects of your game. With the proper techniques, your game will be more consistent and you will be less prone to injuries. 

Having the basics ticked off is key to getting to intermediate level.

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Play Tennis Better

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