Technique Is NOT The Answer | AskThePro

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Technique improvements are great, but if you’re in a pattern of losing to lower level players it’s NOT the answer.
A quick story from Olivier in France illustrates that perfectly.
He was able to play at a “9 out of 10” during practice but only a “2 out of 10” during matches, especially against players who were weaker than him.
During one particular match he actually completely lost confidence and feel for his backhand while his opponent floated him weak shot after weak shot.
Here’s how he tried to solve the problem at first:
  • “I had mostly looked at the technical aspects. I had looked at the internet already because I remember doing some drills and stuff like that because I was really thinking that I needed to find the technical stuff that makes me be more consistent in my tennis. But then I realized, no, what is happening that I lose all this confidence in just a moment, in just a second? So either I fix that and I progress so that I can see that it’s no longer a disaster or I quit and do something else.”

Olivier eventually came to understand a vital truth: if technique execution is good during practice but significantly worse during matches you do NOT have a technique problem.
You have a mental demon problem.
Mental demons cause a wide range of problems for players. Low performance during matches is just one of them but it’s definitely one of the most common.
Here’s how another one of our students describes it:
  • “I have a regular weekly match with someone I have been playing for many years. Our matches were always competitive but then I started overthinking my shots and forcing changes and he started beating me (badly).

Technique is a fundamental element to tennis success, but becoming fixated on it can cause big drops in match performance!

Source: Jorge Capestany, USPTA

Sweet spot: how a racquet can make or break a player

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How do the stars set up their racquets to enhance their game? And how has the evolution of racquets changed tennis itself?

By Anthony Colangelo
JANUARY 20, 2020 is perfect hair held by a perfect headband against a pressed polo shirt, Roger Federer walked on to centre court at the Queensland Tennis Centre for his first tournament of 2014 to an adoring crowd. A real-life glimpse of Federer was enough to transfix even the most casual tennis fan but, on this occasion, if you were in the know, it was his equipment that would have held your attention as much as the tennis God himself. Federer had broken with a decade of tradition and got himself a new racquet. The whole of 2013 had been a career low for the Swiss champion. Usually No.1 or No.2 in the world, he’d ended the year ranked sixth. A premature exit from Wimbledon, in the second round, had marked the first time in 36 consecutive grand slams that he had not made a quarter-final. He’d lasted until just the fourth round in the US Open, a tournament he’d won five times before. These results represented, in the minds of some, the start of a career plateau for the then-32-year-old, with back injuries among the factors blunting his dominance. But Federer arrested the slide. He hired a new coach – his childhood hero, six-time grand-slam winner Stefan Edberg. He set about mending his body. And, perhaps less obviously until he appeared on court in Brisbane, he changed his magic wand – the racquet he’d wielded through his rise to tennis legend. For a certain weekend warrior type of tennis player, changing racquets might offer a seductive solution to a subpar game. After all, it’s easier to spend a few hundred dollars on new equipment than it might be to work on a weak backhand or sluggish legs. And a change can’t do much harm, right? At the elite level, there is nowhere to hide. Just as any adjustment in stroke will be identified and perfected so will every variable gram, inch or centimetre in a racquet be scrutinised. The racquet is the player’s key weapon and one with which he or she has a symbiotic relationship. If a change is to be made to this set-up, it will be for good reason. And even an improvement of 1 per cent is a good reason in international tennis. For Federer, at that moment in Brisbane, the stakes could not have been higher. More recently, in the lead-up to this year’s Australian Open, eagle-eyed fans might have noticed that Serena Williams has stepped out with a new racquet. How do stars such as Federer, his on-court arch rival Rafael Nadal and Barty and Williams set up their racquets to boost their games? And how have changes in racquets over the years changed the game itself? Click here to read more –>    

Roger Federer’s Workout Routine – Sporting Ferret

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We’re going to look at some of Roger Federer’s favorite exercises that have helped him retain elite levels of fitness in a professional career spanning over 23 years, covering warm-ups, exercises for mobility, agility, and strength training.

 

How Roger Federer Warms Up

Whether you’re a professional athlete or weekend warrior, warming up before undertaking intense exercise is essential in helping to improve your performance and avoiding injuries.

Though Roger Federer has an army of nutritionists, personal trainers, and coaches, his warm-up exercises are basic moves that are easy to do but have multiple benefits.

Jump Rope: Jump rope is an excellent exercise for your cardiovascular system and agility. Federer likes to start off slowly and work his way up to ‘double-unders’.

Butt Kicks: A simple yet effective warm-up exercise perfect for elevating your heart rate and getting some heat into your quads.

Stretches: Dynamic stretching is best performed once your muscles are warmed up a little. Avoid static stretching as it can negatively impact your workout and fatigue your muscles.

Side-Line Sprints: This exercise not only builds a bulletproof cardiovascular system, but it’s also known to pack on muscle and get the body used to sudden changes of direction, which is essential on the tennis court. This intense exercise is best done as the last part of your warm-up.

 

Roger Federer’s Favorite Exercises

Medicine ball Shuffle: Roger Federer uses the medicine ball shuffle (passing a medicine back and forth while shuffling sideways) with his coach as a way to build core stability, arm strength, and coordination.

Lateral Band Walks: With resistance bands, like the Victorembands, wrapped around his legs and feet set at shoulder-width apart, Roger Federer performs lateral band walks to increase his hip stability and knee-joint strength.

Cone Drills: Federer’s workout routine includes cone drills to sharpen his agility by using cones as markers for fast-paced direction changing, while simultaneously practicing his forehand and backhand.

Side lunges & Twists: Using a medicine ball to tax his muscles further, Roger performs side lunges with a twist for balance, coordination, and isolating his hamstrings, glutes, and quads.

Trampoline Volleys: Standing on one leg on a trampoline, Federer practices volleying the tennis ball to a partner. He believes it helps his balance and hand-eye coordination.

Racket Drills: Practice makes perfect, and Roger Federer’s fitness coach, Pierre Paganini, runs racket drills with the 20 grand slam winner to make sure his forehand, backhand, groundstroke, and volleys are as sharp as possible.

HIIT: Or ‘High-Intensity Interval Training is a series of cardiovascular exercises performed at maximum intensity for periods of 10-to-15 seconds followed by a rest period of around 45 seconds. Federer does HIIT to build explosive power for short but taxing points within a tennis match.

Jogging: While jogging is not high on Roger’s list of popular exercises, building cardiovascular endurance is essential for top tennis players. Though much of the game is played over short, intense time periods, tennis matches can last for hours.

 

Rest & Recovery

Roger Federer didn’t become a top athlete by exercising alone; he achieved elite status by recovering properly from consistently intense workouts and letting his body adapt to the stimulation.

If you want to recover sufficiently, you need a balanced and nutritious diet and proper sleep. Federer eats whole foods healthily, lean protein for muscle growth, and complex carbs for energy and endurance while getting a minimum of ten hours of sleep per night.

Following Roger Federer’s training routine might not lead you to win Wimbledon, but it will help improve your overall health and fitness, which will lead to gains on the tennis court.

www.sportingferret.com/2021/03/29/roger-federers-workout-routine/

Ask the Pro: Volley 101

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Here’s a quick guide to the art of the volley:

  1. Volley Ready Position: The proper ‘ready position’ is to make sure your elbows are in front of your body.  Too often players stand too upright with their elbows tucked in behind their body — the result is they are slow to react because they have to move their body out of the way to hit the ball. Elbows in front increases your range of motion and speed to the volley.
  2. Move Your Eyes on the Volley:  It takes too much time to move your head, and you can’t recover quickly enough for the next shot.

Great to see a slow and steady improvement in our players in our Ladies Clinic practising these tips.

Cheers,
The Tennis Whisperer

 

ATP: Quick Guide to the Art of Doubles Play

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  1. Manage the ‘real estate’ by understanding the 80% Rule.  80% of shots are in a 2-metre circle around the centre serve box!  Given a choice to defend always move to protect the centre of the court.  You might not make the shot even so you’ll have a play most times!
  2. Doubles is a Team Sport because one player gets to stand in a winning position without hitting a ball! The server’s, and the receiver’s job is to get the ball to their partner at the net. So much easier to win points at the net!
  3. Be a  ‘Threat” by your court presence.  Impose yourself when you’re at the net to intimidate the opposition.  For example Howard (big guy dominating the net) or Netto (fast guy moving around on the net) can cause opponents to make more errors!
  4. 80% First Serves.  Take a little off your first serve to start the point and serve 2/3 of your serves preferably to the opponent’s weaker side. Statswise, you’re more likely to win the point, you have more time to reach your volley position AND your partner has a greater chance of hitting a winning volley — a threefer! Besides your opposition is much more apprehensive about returning the first serve.
  5. Deep to Deep, Short to Short.  When you’re deep behind the baseline, simply return the balls higher over the net and deep within your opponent’s court.  A lob is a great shot to accomplish this particularly when your opponents are at the net.  Conversely, when you are drawn forward into the service box, try to keep the ball short, and preferably on the ground, so your opponents have to hit up — and you can volley down to finish the point.

Cheers,
MTC Tennis Whisperer

ProTip: When Should I Attack or Defend?

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Question: I hit the ball fairly well but often am unsure of whether to ‘attack’ or ‘defend’ while playing a point.  What’s a basic strategy to make this choice simple?

Ninety percent of players spend their time on court trying to improve their technique, and particularly so when their serve or backhand breaks down under pressure or they commit a lot of errors. Often the “cure” suggested by their pro is more stroke lessons to either improve the suspect stroke or cut down on errors.  The next 9% or so figure out what the strengths of their game are: strong serve, volley, forehand weapon, speed around court, and try to play their strength(s) as much as possible against their opponent’s weakness. In case you have been doing the maths, the last 1% have actually figured out how to play/adjust against their opponent’s game.

Regardless of your strengths, your basic game starts with a clear understanding of when to ‘attack’ or ‘defend’ since ultimately success in tennis goes to the player who hits the ball over the net and into the court the last time! The so-called ‘pusher’ understands this very well and wins when his/her opponent overplays the ball — and their errors and frustration increase exponentially .

Many years ago, Billie Jean King wrote about a simple ‘traffic light strategy’ of dividing the court into green (safe), yellow (caution) and red (danger) zones. The strategy was based on a player’s ability to get close enough to the net to safely hit down on the ball. 

Here’s a simple figure I prepared some time ago to illustrate the basic principle:

It’s fairly obvious that a taller player has an obvious advantage by being able to see ‘over the net’ from deeper in the court. It also follows why the pusher wins if you are trying to constantly attack from the baseline — the odds are stacked against you! 

You’ll have noticed that in the modern game, the top players use more topspin to drive the ball up and over the net when closer to the baseline to overcome the disadvantage of being deeper in the court.

To be certain you understand the principle here’s a side view:

Hence, the simplest game plan of all then, is to figure out where your red, yellow, and green zones are and play accordingly.

When you are in the red zone, defend and keep the ball in play; in the yellow zone, hit approach shots to take control of the net by moving into your green zone. When in the green zone with a ball bouncing higher than the net, attack!  

This game plan also goes by another name — percentage tennis!  It may not be spectacular as ‘first strike tennis’, but success has a nice warm feel to it!

And even if you are trying to play ‘first strike tennis’, there are many times — and particularly on big points, when ‘first strike tennis’ is NOT your best option! Just watch how Roger and Rafa play the big points in tie breakers or when down set point or behind on serve.

Become THE ‘smarter player’. It’s always nice to come off with a win regardless of how poorly/well you hit the ball. In fact Brad Gilbert wrote a book about playing smart when you are outgunned. He called it –“Winning Ugly”.

Rob Muir, USPTA
MTC Tennis Whisperer

Contact Rob Muir

Ask the Pro: Dubs 101

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Here’s a quick guide to the art of doubles play:

  1. Manage the ‘real estate’ by understanding the 80% Rule.  80% of shots are in a 2-metre circle around the centre serve box!  Given a choice to defend always move to protect the centre of the court.  You might not make the shot even so you’ll have a play most times!
  2. Doubles is a Team Sport because one player gets to stand in a winning position without hitting a ball! The server’s, and the receiver’s job is to get the ball to their partner at the net. So much easier to win points at the net!
  3. Be a  ‘Threat” by your court presence.  Impose yourself when you’re at the net to intimidate the opposition.  For example Thomas  (“blitzkrieg” big guy dominating the net) or Netto (fast guy moving around on the net) can cause opponents to make more errors!
  4. 80% First Serves.  Take a little off your first serve to start the point. Statswise, you’re more likely to win the point, you have more time to reach your volley position AND your partner has a greater chance of hitting a winning volley — a threefer! Besides your opposition is much more apprehensive about returning the first serve.

Great to see a slow and steady improvement in our players in our Ladies Clinics practicing these tips.

Cheers,
The Tennis Whisperer

 

Finding a way to win! Inside The Joker’s Head @AO

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Djokovic won his 17th Grand Slam at the Australian Open. And while I’m not a fan, there are some key lessons for us tragics!

Conventional wisdom tells us that on big points, we should play to our strengths. Djokovic admitted that when the big points came in the AO final, he did the opposite. Both times this baseliner rushed the net, and both times he came up trumps with the backhand volley he needed. [Coach Goran believes stats can sometimes be overrated particularly on big points and has caused Federer to lose two Slams.]

What does that tell us? That Djokovic has a strategic sixth sense? That fortune favors the brave? I would say it shows that in tennis, execution is underrated. By making those crucial volleys, Djokovic turned a tactic that was at best counterintuitive, and at worst reckless, into a winning one. And he turned what easily could have been his third straight loss to Thiem into his 17th Grand Slam title.

Champions execute, and, yes, while it may not be as simple as it sounds, they do rise to the occasion. In his own complicated way, Djokovic proved it again last night.

Paraphrasing Tennis Magazine, here’s how the match unfolded…..

In the first set, he tried for an early knockout punch. He took the ball early, peppered Thiem’s backhand, and broke the Austrian in his first service game. Thiem got off the mat and broke back, but Djokovic won the set anyway with a brilliant stab return, and a Thiem double-fault, at 4-5.

At that point, you might have expected a player of Djokovic’s stature and experience to relax and run away with a straight-set victory. That’s essentially what he did against Roger Federer in the semis. Instead, he spent the next two sets running out of gas. Thiem was the guy who had worked harder and longer to get here, but it was Djokovic who was suddenly dazed, slump-shouldered, and staggering, and who needed a refrigerator’s worth of food and drinks to revive him.

“Turbulent, I would say,” is how Djokovic described his evening.

“It started off really well; I broke his serve right away. I felt the experience on my side playing many Australian Open finals. For him, it was his first.”

“After I lost the second set, I started to feel really bad on the court. My energy dropped significantly. To be honest, I still don’t understand the reason why that has happened, because I’ve been doing the things I’ve been doing before all may matches. I was hydrated well and everything. Apparently doctor said I wasn’t hydrated enough.”

Like Nadal in New York, though, Djokovic found a way to right himself just in time. The fluids kicked in during the fourth set, and his body language and stamina immediately improved. From that point on, Djokovic went back to doing what he does best: digging in and forcing his opponent to hit a perfect shot, and then another, and then another. Thiem, whether it was because he finally grew tired or finally tensed up, began to misfire on his biggest weapon, his forehand. He made Djokovic work to the bitter end, but he could never get his nose in front again.

“He was a better player,” Djokovic said of Thiem. “Probably one point and one shot separated us tonight. Could have gone a different way.”

Djokovic then alluded to the two most important moments in the match: The break points that he saved early in each of the last two sets, and that kept the momentum on his side of the net. Djokovic saved them both in the same, completely unexpected way: with a surprise run to the net.

“I served and volleyed when I was facing break point in the fourth and in the fifth,” Djokovic said. “It worked both of the times. It could also have been differently. Serve and volley is not something I’m accustomed to. I’m not really doing that that often.”

“I kind of recognized that as an important tactic in those circumstances, and I’m really happy it worked.”

Source: https://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2020/02/novak-djokovic-australian-open-turbulent-triumphant-17th-major-champion-rise/87312/

TENNIS WHISPERER CLINICS

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MTC announces its Tennis Whisperer Ladies clinics.

For Term 1, we have two Ladies Clinics:

  1) Monday Ladies Clinic 9:00 – 10:30 am

  2) Wednesday Ladies Clinic 9:00 – 10:30 am

Numbers are limited and players must meet a minimum playing standard.   Other Whisperer clinics may be held upon request.

MTC charges $30 for our Tennis Whisperer clinics.

Click here to learn more about, and sign up for, our Tennis Whisperer program.