Club Players

Club Players - how to hit it.

How to hit it at club level is always dictated to by where you want to hit it.

At club level, most players have some success with all their shots. However, most club players will have favorite shots and shots which need improving.

The first stage in improving your technique is deciding what excatly to want to work on. Answering the questions below will help you identify what you want to improve:

Forehand:

  • Can I hit the ball regularly over the net and in the court?
  • Can I deal with low balls?
  • Can I deal with high balls?
  • Can I deal with wide balls?
  • Can I hit to their forehand and backhand when I choose to?
  • Can I move my opponent off the court?
  • Can I hit with pace?
  • Can I attack with my forehand?
  • Can I defend with my forehand?

Backhand:

  • Can I hit the ball regularly over the net and in the court?
  • Can I deal with low balls?
  • Can I deal with high balls?
  • Can I deal with wide balls?
  • Can I hit to their forehand and backhand when I choose to?
  • Can I move my opponent off the court?
  • Can I hit with pace?
  • Can I attack with my backhand?
  • Can I defend with my backhand?
  • Can I hit with both slice and topspin?

Volleys

  • Can I hit the ball regularly in?
  • Can I direct the ball to either side of my opponent?
  • Can I volley low balls in?
  • Can I use a half-volley?
  • Can I kill with high balls?
  • Can I deal with wide balls?
  • Can I hit smashes in regularly?
  • Can I direct smashes?
  • Can I hit smashes with pace?

Serve

  • Can I hit my first serve in consistently when I need to?
  • Can I direct my first serve to the opponents forehand and backhand at will?
  • Can I hit with pace? (Do I serve aces?)
  • Can I use slice serve wide?
  • Can I hit a topspin serve?
  • Is my second serve consistent?
  • Do I hit my second serve with spin?
  • Is my second serve to easy to attack?

Answering the questions above will help you identify what it is that you want to work on.

Now you have identified the areas to improve, let's look at how to improve them: look again at the lists above and apply the following questions to the areas you have identified, they may well lead you to some answers:

  • What feels uncomfortable about the weakness I have identified?
  • Am I in control of the racket face?
  • Is my racket path correct and consistent?
  • Is my contact point correct?
  • Am I hitting the ball along the appropriate flight path?
  • Am I on balance?
  • Am I making the right decisions about where to hit it?

To know more about the above areas, you can refer to Quick start - How to hit it.

Most areas to improve can be linked to one of the above areas. If you have difficulty though, the best thing to do if to contact your local tennis pro and get some lessons!.

Finally, never forget: How to hit it at club level is always dictated to by where you want to hit it. (For more info on where you want to hit see Club Players - Where to hit it!!!)

 Where to hit it

Tactics that take into account the opposition

All players have strengths and weaknesses. There are many tactics that can be used to exploit their weaknesses or at least avoid their strengths.

Individual weaknesses/strengths

These can be:

  •   technical (e.g. not liking low balls due to a strong western grip or having good angles due to hooking the ball)
  •   mental (e.g. never hitting a topspin backhand due to lack of confidence or
    being good at the net due to being aggressive)
  •   tactical (e.g. usually missing wide balls because of trying for a flash winner down the line every time or being tough to pass due to a good approach shot down the line)
  •   physical (e.g. not moving well to the left due to a bad right leg or defending well because of great speed around the court).

As well as individual strengths and weaknesses, many players play to certain styles. For example, some always hit everything at one pace - very hard; others hit everything very soft, like a spongy wall! Some players can change the pace of the ball at will; others can do so only if they are given pace to work with first. Some initiate the play; others simply react.

There are two different ways to beat these various types of players:

  •   Give them what they don't like. For example, you serve wide to a player with a strong western forehand grip; or come to the net on their backhand if they always slice it.
  •   Don't allow them to be successful with their favourite basic plot plan. This works because when their favourite shot is not getting them points, they lose hope and can't see where the points are going to come from. Similarly, when they get cheap points from their basic plot, their confidence soars. For example, keep net players away from the net; don't make silly errors against consistent players; make big servers play the next ball as often as possible by blocking the return.

There are many ways to exploit weaknesses, but sometimes concentrating on the opponent's game too much means you forget your own game. To keep things simple in the heat of the battle, you are often better off letting them worry about how to deal with your imposing game. For more information on this see 'Tactics - Centre Court Stuff'.

 Mental Toughness

Fighting Spirit and Renewing Efforts

The key is how much energy and focus you can bring to the match at the key times. This will be decided mainly by your desire to win the match - how great it is and why it exists in the first place. In other words, if you are playing because you really want to win, then your levels of fighting spirit are likely to be high. But even then you need to know how to respond to situations to channel your fighting spirit.

The way fighting spirit shows itself best in tennis is through clear focus and ability to renew efforts.

Focus
A player's focus, or concentration, relates to how absorbed they are in the present. The closer they are to the present, the sharper their focus. It is like imagining a torch light shining in the dark- the closer you are to the torch, the sharper the light.

Renewing efforts: why is it so important?
The trick of controlling momentum is the speed at which you renew your efforts.

Renewing efforts is an individual thing. It does not necessarily mean a lot of visible bustle and bluster. In fact, immediately renewing efforts can be an internal, unemotional, professional decision.

Controlling your energy

Finding the right state for you on court is what is important. People are different and play well in different states of energy. Some like to bounce around the place the whole time; others prefer to be more calm and reflective until it matters. Indeed, one player I know finds that clicking his fingers makes him feel more rhythmic and energised. You must decide how you want to be on court.

Body Language

Body language plays a big part in controlling the energy on court. It affects both your energy and your opponent's energy.

Your own energy is affected by your body language because you tend to feel the way you act. With clothes, when you look good you feel good, and vice versa. With friends, if you hang around with low, negative energy people, you get depressed, and vice versa. It's the same with body language: if you act as if you have low, negative energy, then you will probably make matters worse. High energy is what you want, preferably positive energy. (For more on body language -see Centre Court Stuff - Mental Toughness.)