Hey guys, I hope you’re having an awesome week so far and getting a lot of good practice in! Did you get a chance to try out the pressure serve drill yet? If not, you definitely want to make some time for it in the next few days. It’ll help your game out tremendously, trust me .

Now this week, as promised, I’m going to shed some light on a second method that you can use to dramatically increase the productivity of your practice sessions, and at the same time, be better prepared for your next opponent no matter what skill level or style of play they possess. (see below to get the answer how)

Perfect Practice Method #2: Vary Your Competition

Though the drill factor that we discussed in last week’s tip is incredibly effective in getting you to really focus in on every single shot you hit, going toe to toe with another player on the other side of the net is one of the greatest ways improve every aspect of your game.

You can work on your serves, ground strokes, volleys, and overheads etc. without the risk of getting too mechanical. Because let’s face it, if you’re doing a forehand drill or one where it involves coming to the net to finish off a volley, you sometimes, get tempted to cheat so to speak.  Cheat? Yes, cheat.  I know you’re probably saying, “I thought that you could only do that in a match, when you’re playing someone else.”

Well yes, that’s one form of cheating. But you can also cheat yourself. When you know where the ball is going to be coming ahead of time, it’s easy to jump the gun and head to your destination too early. That may make it “easier”, but in the long run it’s going to hurt you. Why? That takes away the reality of the drill all together. You lose that playing “in the moment” feeling. In a real match, many times, you won’t have that luxury.

Now on the other hand, when you’re playing against someone else who is trying to beat you, everything suddenly becomes very real and very live. You see, when you’re involved in a drill, you have someone there who’s on your side and who’s pumping you up and motivating you to go harder and push for more. He or she is telling you to get to a particular spot or destination on the court so you’ll be able to get to the ball and get the most out of the repetition.

But when you’re engaged in battle with another player, that player isn’t going to be as supportive as your coach would . He could care less if you get to the ball or not, and he’s definitely not going to let you know before hand where he’s going to be directing his shots. Not only that, but if you miss a shot or lose a point, you don’t get to trot back to the line and do it again.  All these things are really great for you. You know why?

By adding these real match-like elements, you won’t get that false sense of security or that fantasy-land illusion that everything is working like a well-oiled machine, firing on all-cylinders, and then get a sudden rude awakening when the pressure is on.

If something goes wrong or you mess up, you’re going to have to live with the consequences. This adds more pressure to the practice session, the same type of pressure and crucial decision making that you’re going to have to deal with if you want that trophy at the week’s end and even better, bragging rights in some cases, wink wink.

So, do you incorporate this element, that of one on one (… all out) competition, into your practice sessions? If so, great job! But hey, don’t get too excited just yet. There’s something very critical that you must add if you want to get the most out of this strategy and really give your opponents a royal beat down.

And I know that’s what you want to do, right? You don’t want to go out there and only get 50% of the benefit and only beat a couple people. That’s outright looney ha-ha. You want the whole enchilada… You want to beat everyone who has the audacity to step onto the court with you… Am I right? Of course you do, and that’s why you’re definitely my kind of player.

So, listen up. Though many players use this method to improve their winning percentage in live match play, they often leave something out of the equation that really can make a world of difference. I mean, it can catapult you from winning 30% of your matches to a whopping 60% to even 75% of them, maybe more. And that missing piece of the puzzle is none other than variety.

Frequent practice against real opponents that are coming at you with everything they’ve got is very important but it’s equally if not more important to be sure that you’re not just playing against the same people and the same hitting styles over and over again.   Because if you do end up in this type of cycle, players like you and I, begin to get very comfortable, too comfortable with certain players and certain styles of play. And as a result, we end up limiting our own growth and progress because of it.

I mean, if you only play against the people who you’ve played with and hitting styles you’ve seen a million times, there’s little room for spontaneity or surprise – two fundamental elements of what the sport of tennis is really made of. This is because you gradually begin to know your opponent’s style inside and out.

And when this happens, you don’t really find yourself on your toes as much with that “wolverine-like” heightened sense of awareness. Practicing against another player is supposed to be sharpening your senses, like speeding up your set up, reaction, and recovery times so that you’ll be ready for battle.

But what ends up happening, whether you know it or not, your game begins to weaken. And instead of sharpening your instincts, they begin to dull.

You just find yourself going through the motions and end up turning into a whole different kind of animal – one that’s passive without much bite. You see, playing against strangers, allows you to improve your adaptive skills and will ensure that you learn how to vary your style, make the necessary adjustments, and read opponents at a more efficient pace. And in the end, you’ll become a much more well-rounded player – the kind that really strikes fear in others.

IMPORTANT: Don’t be afraid to play against people who are more skilled as well as less skilled than your regulars or even yourself. By playing someone better, you’ll be able to improve your skill set and “step your game up”  so to speak. And by playing against weaker players, you help eliminate the possibility of playing down to your competition. Both of these will really give you a major boost.

———-

In tennis, there are literally thousands of different game types, styles of play, and player tendencies. I’m talking about players that hit with their left hand, have a one-handed backhand, have a two-handed backhand, like to serve and volley, use bone crunching pace, pushers, kick servers, flat servers, out of control players, poised players, etc. The list really will go on forever.

But if we are only exposed to 1 or 2 of them… You see where I’m going with this?

Hey don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with playing matches against your buddies as it can surely help get those competitive juices flowing as well as make the game much more fun. The thing is though, you’ll only get better at playing against those particular individuals. So, you don’t want to stop there.

In order to truly take your playing to the next level, you’ll have to expand your competitive circle, and try your game out against different opponents as often as possible. Try going to different parks or tennis clubs, you’re sure to find plenty of people that’ll help elevate your game. Then, you’ll be on your way to becoming the incredibly fierce, king of the court, ready to bare your teeth, and pounce on anyone brave enough to step on the court with you.

All the best,

Brian Hall, Head Coach
TennisMindCamp
webmaster@tennismindcamp.com

Tagged as: competition, drill factor, tennis, tennis strategy, tennismindcamp, vary your competition, volleys