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Remember the egg-and-spoon race!
Question:
I get to drop shots OK, but why can't I control the shot?
Answer:
Don't take the racket back!
Remember the egg-and-spoon race at school?
Run with your racket held out in front of you. It's enough to get the racket under the ball and flip it up.
Generating power is NOT the objective here.
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Two small steps are better than one big one!
Question:
What exactly is "good footwork"?
Answer:
In tennis, having strong legs is not enough. Good footwork is about speed, balance and
agility. You need a fast brain as much as fast legs, because being able to think quick and
anticipate buys you time.
Speed enables you to get to the ball, but it's only part of the story. Work at setting yourself
for your shots so that you're not hitting off-balance. Agility can be improved by means of
drills which have you changing direction and compensating before you hit the ball. If you can't
work with a coach, use courtline-touching exercises.
Stay "light" on your toes and use small steps rather than long strides. Remember, two small steps
are better than one big one.
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Getting primed for action
Question:
I took up tennis recently but I tire quickly. How can I improve my stamina?
Answer:
Without wishing to be a killjoy, I must say that if you're not used to participating in
vigorous exercise you should seek your doctor's permission first. Certainly, if you feel any
discomfort or pain when you exercise - stop!
It might be advisable to take up a programme of exercise where you start with regular walking
and then progress gradually to jogging and stretching. This should prepare you eventually for
some gentle rallying on court.
Assuming your doctor is happy for you to play tennis, allow your body to adjust gradually.
Don't go and play a best-of-five-sets singles just yet!
Some attention to diet will probably be required. Again, it's a good idea to consult your
doctor about this.
In order to function efficiently, your body needs to maintain a balance of electrolyte
minerals such as potassium, which is involved in regulating your heart beat and muscle
contraction. A pound of sweat generated from exercise can contain as much as 100 milligrams
of this important mineral. Topping up with bananas, dried apricots, peaches, fish, potatoes
or orange juice can help replace the potassium lost in sweat.
Carbohydrates are stored in the form of muscle glycogen and act as fuel when you embark on
any cardiovascular exercise. They also help to keep your blood sugar levels stable during
exercise. It's a good idea, therefore, to have a carbohydrate-rich snack about an hour before
you play. Bread, pasta, fruit, yogurt and cereals are high in carbohydrates.
Be sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and after you play. Bear in mind that your
body needs fluid before you actually feel thirsty! Most sports drinks contain a small amount
of sodium which makes you drink more. They also contain a small amount of carbohydrates,
which are absorbed quickly by the body, offering you an energy boost.
Finally, warm up and warm down properly by jogging and stretching for five minutes or so.
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Stretching a point!
Question:
How can I avoid getting injured all the time?
Answer:
Playing any physical sport puts you at risk of injury. Some injuries
are caused by accidents, some by poor technique and others by
overstressing your joints and muscles. Let's consider these categories
and see what we can do to reduce the risks.
OK - accidents. You might think these are unavoidable by definition.
Not so! You can reduce the risk of accidental injury by paying attention
to your equipment and your environment. An obvious example is clearing
all the balls from the playing area before you play each point. Do your
shoes support your feet properly? Do they fit? Do they still grip the
court adequately? Accidents can also be caused by inappropriate
behaviour. Do you really need to leap over the net on a changeover?
When you send the balls down to the other end of the court between
points, do you do it safely? I often see players testing out their
fiercest groundstrokes without even checking where their opponents are!
So - moving on to poor technique. Keep getting tennis elbow? Sore
shoulder? Bad back? Book a few lessons with a good coach and get him
to check over your technique. It'll cost you a bit, but it may save you
money in the long term if you eliminate the need for all those visits
to the physiotherapist or the chiropractor. You may even become a
better player into the bargain! I had a chronic tennis elbow problem
some years ago. It got so bad I could barely lift a cup of tea!
Eventually, I resolved it by improving the mechanics of my backhand
groundstroke. Now I can drink tea all day! Greg Rusedski enlisted the
services of Brad Langavad, a biomechanist, to change his techniques
and it worked - an injury-threatened career was rescued.
OK, what's left? Ah, yes - overstressing the muscles and joints.
Flexibility is an essential part of fitness, especially in tennis where
long, supple muscles are important. Yet many of us totally neglect the
simple act of stretching. We should do it as a regular daily exercise
- and we don't. We should do it to warm up before playing - and we
don't. It�s time to change!
Quite simply, if you don�t warm up before exercise, your muscles are
likely to tear. You need to raise the temperature of your muscles,
reduce tension and ease your joints effortlessly into exercise.
Begin with a few minutes of slow, large movements such as arm swinging
and slow jogging to warm up the muscles and raise your heart rate.
Continue by doing some slow, static stretching. Hold each stretch for
around 15 seconds. Change positions slowly and never, never bounce!
There are stretches for the neck, shoulders, arms, trunk, hips,
quadriceps, hamstrings and calves. I don't want to stretch the point,
but I do want to point out a stretch or two! So here's a few for you:
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Hamstrings |
Stand with one leg fully extended and resting on a bench (or anything
slightly below waist height). Lean forward towards your leg until you
feel the stretch.
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Biceps and chest |
Stand with your knees slightly bent. Extend your arms straight back behind
you and interlace your fingers behind your lower back. Keeping your elbows
straight, squeeze your shoulder blades together and lift your arms. Don't lean
forward while doing this.
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Triceps |
Raise your arm and bend it down behind your head so that your hand rests between
your shoulder blades. Grasp your bent elbow with your other hand and gently pull
on it. Don't let your trunk rotate. Switch arms and repeat.
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Inner thighs |
Sit on the floor with your knees bent and the soles of your feet together.
Grasp your ankles with your hands and lower your knees to the floor. You can use
your elbows to press down on your knees to assist the stretch.
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Quadriceps |
Stand next to a wall or fence or something you can balance against.
Bend your leg up behind you and grasp your foot with one hand. Use this
hand to pull your leg up and back, keeping your knee pointing down at the
ground. Balance against the wall with your other hand. Don't twist your knee.
Switch legs and repeat.
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Calf muscles |
Stand facing a wall and place both hands flat against it.
Both feet should be flat on the ground and your toes should all be
pointing forwards, one foot 2 or 3 feet behind the other.
Keep your back straight and your heel on the ground, bend your front knee
and slowly lean forward towards the wall. Switch legs and repeat.
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You can avoid muscle soreness after playing by cooling-down properly.
Jog and then walk around for a few minutes until your breathing and
heart rate return to normal. Then repeat the same stretches you use
for your warm-up.
As well as going through your stretches as part of your warm-up and
cool-down routines, use them on a regular basis to ensure your limbs
and joints continue to function through a full range of motion. It'll
make you a faster, stronger, more resilient player. It'll help correct
some of the postural imbalances that often develop in sports like
tennis, where there is disproportionate stress to joints and muscles
(i.e. because you use your racket arm much more than your other one).
And, of course, it'll make you a better player because your muscles
will be in better condition!
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A drill to turn you inside-out!
Question:
Can you recommend footwork practices other than line drills?
Answer:
And what's wrong with fan drills? I think they're excellent!
Boring, you say? Well, ok, what about jumping rope? Vary your speed and rhythm and you can
get a whole lot of benefit out of skipping.
Too strenuous, you say? You're kidding! All right then, here's one for you. It's challenging
and fun and it's tennis-specific and you can develop racket skills at the same time. What you
do is you find someone to practise with, you go on court and rally using just the service
boxes. One of you hits crosscourt and the other hits down the line. Change over after a few
minutes. Once you've got the hang of it and you're managing to keep the rallies going fairly
easily, try doing the same but using inside-out shots, i.e. run outside the line of the
ball and play forehands on your backhand wing and backhands on your forehand wing.
When you're really, really good at it, have a go at doing the same on the full-size court.
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Lie down! The commercials are on!
Question:
Can you recommend some abdominal exercises?
Answer:
I'm definitely not a fitness expert or anything, but I know there are some exercises that are
okay and some that aren't. When it comes to abdominal exercises, what you shouldn't do is
sit-ups. Apparently, these are inefficient and potentially unsafe (they grind the vertebrae in
your lower back).
Try these instead. They can be done without the aid of any equipment and they don't take too
long - you could do them during the TV commercials!
1. Reverse Crunch:
Lie with your lower back pressed to the floor. Extend your hands out flat to your sides.
Crossing your feet at the ankles, start with your thighs perpendicular to the floor (knees
bent at 90 degrees). It's important to realise this is the starting position (i.e. don't start
with your feet on the floor). Relax your shoulders and contract your abdominal muscles to
bring your pelvis up and in towards your rib cage. Your knees should then move towards you and
your butt should come off the floor (only a small movement is required to get the benefit of
the exercise). Hold the position for a moment and lower slowly. Exhale when you contract,
inhale when you return to the starting position. Be careful not to swing your legs to assist
with the exercise as you'll end up using momentum and not strength (it may also cause back
pain). If you do it properly, regular use will strengthen your lower abdominals.
2. Bicycle Manoeuvre:
Lie with your lower back pressed to the ground. Clasp your hands loosely behind your head for
support. Lift both legs about a foot off the floor. Immediately bring your left knee towards
your chest while keeping your right leg straight. Try to touch this knee with your right elbow
by turning your trunk to the left. Now straighten your left leg and pull your right leg up.
Touch your right knee with the opposite elbow by turning your trunk to the right. Continue
this push-pull process for as many repetitions as you can, taking four full seconds for each
leg action. At this slow, controlled speed, 10 repetitions are good, 15 are very good, and 20
are excellent. Keep your breathing even and relaxed throughout.
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Say something positive!
Question:
People say I self-destruct. What can I do about it?
Answer:
We're all inclined to reproach ourselves more readily than we praise ourselves.
But how can we avoid self-reproach turning into self-destruction?
Missing a sitter can be frustrating and painful, but . . . come on, you're just human!
Self-reproach can be helpful if you have become lazy and unmotivated. Maybe a sharp reminder to
move your feet or watch the ball might snap you back into a focused state of mind, but guard against
overdoing it - your opponent might enjoy the spectacle of you berating yourself!
Say something positive when you win points, even if you win them "ugly"! The word "yes" will do!
A simple exhortation such as "come on!" is also simple and very effective. Try it! If you feel
uncomfortable yelling "Yes!! Come on!!!", don't yell it, just say it to yourself.
Final tip - read Brad Gilbert's book, 'Winning Ugly'.
Final final tip - don't invest all your self-esteem in your tennis!
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Forget McEnroe - play it cool!
Question:
How can I stop my bad temperament hurting my game?
Answer:
Sorry, but I won't mince my words here. If you've got a problem with your temper and
you want to improve your tennis, improve your temper! You can do it!
No question about it - losing control on the tennis court is BAD news. Really, really
BAD news! I'm not kidding. No use telling me that it didn't do McEnroe any harm.
McEnroe knew what he was doing. Sure, he used to get angry, but he didn't lose control. In fact, he
used his anger to alter the ambience of a match when he didn't have the momentum going for
him. Matches develop a certain psychology and McEnroe was able to alter that psychology by the use
of disruptive tactics or by channeling his anger to motivate himself. It was unsporting and
all the rest of it, but, consciously or subconsciously, he knew what he was doing. As for
the rest of us, forget it - losing our temper is going to lose us the match!
Improving temperament is a big subject. It's one I can easily warm to. Nearly all players have
failed to control their temper at times (myself included!). Here are some of the things that have helped
me. I hope they work for you too!
Learn to recognise the triggers. Maybe the flashpoint is a one-off trigger like a bad line call.
Maybe it's a build-up of frustration caused by minor triggers (repeatedly netting your backhand,
for example). If you can recognise them, then do something about them! If it's an unforced
error, try something different - compromise on the shot perhaps (just get it back in play).
If it's a bad line call, have a routine ready to fall into - ask "are you sure?", straighten
your strings, walk to the back of the court, resolve to work a bit harder to make your opponent
suffer for it! That last bit of advice is one way you can channel your anger positively.
Rituals can be an excellent safety valve! Some players play with their strings. Some, like Andre
Agassi and Greg Rusedski, towel down to calm down. Find a ritual that works for you.
Don't kid yourself - losing your temper is definitely detrimental to your game. But don't shrug
your shoulders and say it's just the way you are - you can do something about it. I've
been learning this myself. Just be cool and express yourself through your tennis. Good luck!
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You're always a winner if you give 100%!
Question:
I keep losing. How do you cope with a bad run of results?
Answer:
Yes, I know exactly how you feel. Sometimes it's really tough to keep a positive attitude when
you're on a losing streak. We're tempted to get discouraged or maybe play the fool to distract
from the misery of our plight.
So what do we do in these circumstances? Well, I think a losing streak is an excellent opportunity
to re-evaluate your game and your attitude to it.
It may help for a while to switch all your emphasis to effort. If you can come off court genuinely
convinced you gave 100%, then according to this criterion you're no loser, regardless of the
score! You need to derive some benefit from playing and this should do it!
After a while, you'll feel better about yourself and able to approach things more constructively.
Remember, nobody learns much from winning, but losing certainly focuses the mind. Take stock of
exactly what you're doing well and what you need to improve, establish this as a baseline against
which you evaluate your next matches and chart your progress.
If this doesn't work, you may have to drop a level and pick up some confidence that way. Andre
Agassi did this successfully a couple of years ago, so you're in good company!
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Abandon all hope!
Question:
How do you play the big points?
Answer:
The tennis scoring system dictates that certain points are more important than others. It's
a player's attitude to these points that determines the outcome in so many matches,
and this particularly applies to close matches.
When a big point arrives, recreational players are inclined to hope that they win it
(or they hope that the opponent loses it!). Well, they say hope burns eternal, but it'll
burn a hole in your ambitions if you're serious about competing.
Instead of just hoping, you've got to make something happen on the big points. You could
resolve to attack and go after the point. Or you could resolve to guts it out
and just stay in the point longer than your opponent. Either way, you've got to be positive
and have a clear objective.
If you're unsure whether to be aggressive or tenacious, make up your mind before the point
starts. You might have to change tack during the rally, but you must have an initial mindset.
Your decision might depend on whether you're serving or receiving. If you're serving, you can
resolve to get the serve in and keep applying pressure on your opponent by making him move. If
you're receiving, perhaps you should resolve to get the ball back and give nothing away.
I hope you succeed. Cancel that! MAKE SURE you succeed!
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Stay out of the red for a smooth ride!
Question:
The harder I try the worse I get. How come?
Answer:
I'm indebted to my son, Mark, for this tip:
The main use of a rev counter in your car is to tell you when it's time to change gear.
If it's going into the red and you don't change gear, you may blow up your engine (or fly
off the road or get arrested!).
Use an imaginary rev counter when you play tennis. Use it to measure your intensity level.
When you're playing a match that is really important to you, whether it be in the first round
of the club mixed-doubles tournament or the final of a satellite event, it's very easy to try
TOO hard. This may sound like a contradiction in terms, but all too often inexperienced
players try so hard out there on the court that their weapons become liabilities, as they
strive for more pace and go closer to the lines. And what do most players do to solve this
problem? They try harder!!
Managing your intensity level can be a very important factor. Some players find it difficult
to get "pumped up" and need an intensity boost. Others get so intense, they virtually
self-destruct. Just like driving a sports car with the rev counter in the red, they're
gambling.
On the tennis court there are so many different factors that can tip you one way or the other. A
suitably high level of intensity can take you closer to optimum performance, but playing
in the red is very risky. Lowering your intensity level too much and being laid-back is not
the answer, however. For one thing, you can't perform if you don't care! In the words of Andre
Agassi�s coach Brad Gilbert, "if you don�t really care about winning or losing, then don�t
keep score. It must be a sorry son-of-gun who doesn�t feel any different with a victory than
defeat."
Tennis is becoming such a physically and mentally demanding sport and it's vital that you're
sharp and intense if you want to succeed.
So watch that rev counter and drive as close as you can to the red but don�t trash your engine!
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Tennis players do nothing 80% of the time!
Question:
When the top pros talk about focusing well, what do they mean?
Answer:
Statistics often show that, during a match, the ball is in play for just 20% of the time.
Let's call that time "uptime".
The remaining 80% of the time is spent doing other stuff, like walking, sitting, standing
around, bouncing the ball, adjusting strings, collecting balls, and so on. Let's call it
"downtime".
When you're in uptime, you need to be totally absorbed in the dynamics of playing the rally.
It's not the time to think about train times or what to have for dinner. More relevantly,
it's not the time to indulge in excitement or anxiety about the implications of winning or
losing the point.
Players can sometimes sustain that total absorption for long periods. They can keep it going
through downtime as well as uptime. You'll hear them refer to it as being "in the zone".
However, we usually have to settle for switching in and out, i.e. focusing narrowly on the
ball and the relevant periphery during uptime, and then relaxing the concentration during
downtime. It's a difficult technique and requires lots of practice. Actually, what it really
requires is lots of matchplay, because the mind wanders out of focus much more seriously when
we're under pressure - when we get excited about winning, when we get anxious about losing.
Emotions such as excitement and anxiety should be kept well under control during downtime as
well as uptime.
So what should you think about during downtime? Well, use it to evaluate and adjust
tactics. For example, you might say to yourself: 'His backhand's breaking down - I must target
it on the big points'. Use it also to remind yourself of something you might improve
technically. For example, you might say to yourself: 'I must split-step when I move in to
volley'.
As uptime approaches, you must narrow your focus. A useful technique for achieving this is
visualisation, whereby you play an image in your mind of what you want to happen, i.e.
imagine your serve or your return going where you want it to.
To simplify things, you might approach it like this:
downtime: work out what to do
uptime: in the words of the famous Nike slogan - 'Just do it!'
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Talk the talk, walk the walk
Question:
What should I look for in my opponent's body language?
Everybody's talking at me
I can't hear a word they're saying
Only the echoes of my mind
Fred Neil
Players express themselves by means of bodily gestures, postures, and facial expressions. It's
fascinating to watch, but actually understanding the language can be a frustratingly inexact
science.
I'm not sure you should draw too much encouragement from your opponent's body language.
It's too easy to misinterpret the signals and it's too easy to react inappropriately. If, for
example, your opponent slumps his shoulders and gazes around in all directions, you might
interpret this as a sign that he has become disinterested and passive and you might go for
the kill inappropriately early in the rally. Anyway, if you get into the habit of
reacting positively to an opponent's poor body language, you're probably going to react
negatively when his body language is confident and aggressive.
It's probaby more useful to use your observations of body language to try and predict certain
shots. Your opponent may set his shoulders a certain way when he's going to rip a backhand
down the line. He may position himself wider to attempt a slice serve or arch his back more
to apply topspin. These are cues that allow you to anticipate what's coming and plan your
response.
I find it helps to assume my opponent is nervous whatever his body language suggests. If he looks
nervous, he's nervous. If he looks confident, no problem - he's putting on an act - he's
nervous. If he's 5-1 up, he's going to get nervous closing out the set. If it's 5-5, he's
going to be nervous about all the big points coming up. If he's 5-1 down, I don't care if he's
nervous or not!
But the really important thing about body language in tennis is to speak it well yourself. Good
body language is like wearing nice clothes - it makes you feel good! Dress well, move well,
look good, feel good!
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Demoniacal prophecies!
Question:
On big points, something always tells me I'm going to double-fault. What can I do about it?
Happens to all of us. Usually on big points. You miss your first serve, prepare for your
second serve and . . . yep, there he is - the Self-Doubt Demon. He pops up in front of you,
grinning mischievously as he taunts and teases you: "You're going to double-fault! You're
going to double-fault!"
If you let this go unchallenged, the demon will win - you'll double-fault for sure! So you
have to challenge it.
You can't slay this particular demon. None of us can. But you can keep him under control -
grab hold of him and stuff him in your pocket (you're not worried if your opponent gets
distracted by this, are you?). The demon won't venture out of your pocket if you keep him
at bay with a positive thought. Just say to yourself: "This serve is going IN!". Decide
where to direct it (forehand/backhand/body), visualise it and do it.
Oh, I nearly forgot - empty your pocket and let the demon out just before the next change of
ends. See how your opponent gets on with him!
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Pull over to the side of the court! Your engine's smoking!
Question:
My intensity level goes up and down when I play. How can I control it?
If you have a car, you may (or may not) know that the spark plugs
transmit electrical energy required to ignite the air/fuel mixture.
Too cold a plug causes loss of power and poor throttling. Too hot a
plug also causes loss of power and poor throttling, but can also cause
pre-ignition and detonation. The temperature has to be right.
And so it is with competitive sport. Every player has an optimal
state of intensity (mental and emotional temperature) at which they
perform best. Unfortunately, human sensibility does not enjoy the
engineered reliability of a modern motor car and temperature
fluctuations are commonplace.
Overheating can occur at peak pressure moments and, as with a car,
can result in detonation in the form of temper outbursts and even
self-destruction ("tanking"). It can also result in poor throttling
in the form of tentative shots ("choking").
Dips in temperature can occur for all kinds of reasons. They often
appear when the outcome of a match appears to be assured one way or
another, i.e. because one of the players is winning easily. Loss of
intensity can jeopardise the efforts of the player who's leading just
as much as the one who's fallen behind.
To be a successful competitor, you have to learn how to maintain your
optimal level of intensity.
When you're under pressure, this means eliminating anxiety and
replacing it with positive thoughts and positive feelings. It means
relishing the challenge and staying focused. It means saying to
yourself: "Watch the ball!" or "Let's get these feet moving!" or
whatever gets your mind focused on the 'here and now'. Above all, it
means approaching the situation as a challenge and an opportunity.
Getting into the 'here and now' is equally important when you
experience a dip in intensity. The old adage of playing "one point
at a time" applies. Say to yourself: "This point! Just this point!"
You should also try to trigger a greater emotional intensity, not by
launching into a tirade against the umpire a la John McEnroe, but by
using positive language such as Lleyton Hewitt's "Come on!" or by
using positive body language such as pumping your fist.
Develop some triggers that will spark your performance when you need
it, but also learn to recognise the symptoms of overheating - they
vary from player to player - and think something neutral and practical
like "Get the return back deep!" or "Serve to the body!"
It may even help to remember this motor car analogy when you're playing
your matches. Learn how and when to accelerate and how and when to
brake. Get that engine purring and you'll soon be on the road to
success.
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