Our Tennis Thread

[L Sanchez MD]

Back on outdoor courts, although it's cold as f*** and windy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKTQAkxUdbU

What do you think? 2.5?
The camera was on the ground, so everything looks loopier than reality, but I'm sure you've all experienced recording tennis on your camera / phone.

[djarvik]

Point your left hand to the ball when you finding it. This will accomplish a few things for you and help you. Then open up your shoulders a bit as you hit. Make sure you finish the shot, a good indicator is to point your elbow into direction you want to hit.

[Moralspain]

no lines painted on that court?

i'd say 3.0

This player is fairly consistent when hitting medium paced shorts, but is not comfortable with all strokes and lacks execution when trying for directional control, depth, or power.

[djarvik]

0.5 - The clip is to short to evaluate



No, seriously.

[L Sanchez MD]

lols the clip is short cus it's just one rally, but yea, gives you no idea of what our consistency might be.

@Moral - lines on the court of course, but the camera is right on the ground, so you pretty much can't see them. It's an artificial grass court at a local sports centre.

@Djarvik, nice tips, thanks. In terms of forehand preparation, any ideas? More wrist in the forehand?

[djarvik]

At your level of development I would concentrate on a few things: keep your grip loose and make sure you start a slow take back and accelerate all throughout the shot, finishing with an elbow pointed towards direction you want to hit.

Don't think about anything else, concentrate on loose grip/hands, relax and think finish.

Don't worry about your take back at all. Don't worry about your legs and stance either.

[L Sanchez MD]

Will do, sir.

Heading back out tomorrow morning for another practice (weather has been bad, so haven't hit in a few weeks). Will try that stuff, and might video again.

My strokes (and movement, lulz) all look rather unnatural to me, while my brother's (at the far end) look very fluid. But I'll focus on your tips.

[djarvik]

You both look about the same

Yeah, if you post a longer rally I can "do" better. You need some coaching though. Not sure how much or if it is possible for you to get a coach, but I would certainly recommend. I know that I can pretty much "make" your strokes look good after 2-3 hours of feeding balls to you and chewing up your ear. Once you get the feel, I would find you a wall (or a ball machine, better) and make you spend some significant time with it by yourself.

I need to see you serve, return, volley and hit backhands too.

[L Sanchez MD]

Where I live, there are literally no walls to hit against
We go to the court when we can, but it's kind of awkward to get to, so we ain't gunna be winning challengers anytime soon. But we do slowly improve each time.

I'll see if I can record some rallies tomorrow. I recorded quite a bit today, but only bothered to edit out that rally from it because it included one of my few successful volleys

[djarvik]

ahhh....pity. I know the feeling is to put "your best foot forward", but it's the mistakes that will really help me help you. Everyone wants to upload a video of a success and everyone editing out the bad stuff, sadly, the bad stuff matters just as much if not more in this case.

No walls ah? Hmmm.... well, I guess then it is just you and your brother. "Be the wall".

BTW - I didn't mean to imply you should play Challengers, but I strongly believe that anyone who plays recreationally should take a few lessons from a reputable coach. Tennis is MUCH more fun when you can play a bit better. Just to be able to basically hit most shots, have a solid serve, slice, drop and lob. It makes the game so much more fun.

[L Sanchez MD]

You're right of course. I was thinking of getting a coach for some lessons, but not something I could afford long term. Maybe work on fundamentals, and especially serve

[Rob ITST]

When I was a kid, the courts I played on didn't have a wall.... so I made one.

Two sheets of plywood, sandwiched to together, and hung on the fence with coat hangers. Best of all, it only gives you a 4x8 target, so you get really accurate. If you have more money than I did, use 8 sheets of plywood, and make an 8x16 wall.

[L Sanchez MD]

Nice idea.

[VillaJ100]

I never really used a wall. I was always lucky in there being a lot of courts near where I live with all different surfaces, and having a dad and older brother and sister to play with. Because of this though I have quite a lot of old fashioned habits haha.

[Ugadalou]

You're right of course. I was thinking of getting a coach for some lessons, but not something I could afford long term. Maybe work on fundamentals, and especially serve

I think this is the best piece of advice you can get at this level and I wish someone had told me when I was there.

It is VERY important for every beginner in tennis to take some lessons by a good coach.A coach at this stage will help you learn the fundamentals in footwork,grips and strokes which are essential.Even if you can't afford it long term,don't worry.Get the basics right so you've got a base you can then build on.

If you don't do that and just try improve by playing,you'll develop your own wrong technique,in an effort to get the ball over the net.There will be a time with this self-taught technique though,when you've reached your limits and can no longer improve (and I guarantee you it'll be soon enough and at a disappointing level).
The worst thing is that if you try and learn ''proper'' tennis at that time it will be 100 times more difficult for you.Cause then your brain will have to ''erase'' all the mistakes you are used to making and learn everything from ground zero.

Since you and your friend are at about the same level,I'd suggest the two of you hiring a good coach.It's so much more efficient than being in a tennis group and since you pay half the price it's not very expensive.

As for the tips djarvik gave you,it is very good but I disagree on one thing:don't overlook the feet.Footwork for me is the most important thing in tennis and you should work on the basics (like checking before your opponent hits,setting your feet nicely so you get torque and acceleration by weight transfer etc)
Hope any of this helps!