What Produces The LobIt’s important to recognize the factors that produce a lob, that way you can prepare for it as soon as you hit the ball and be ready by the time your opponent hits it back. If a ball is bouncing at least hip high, your opponent has enough time to get under the ball. That […]
Doubles StrategyWhile playing doubles, some people have a hard time playing the full court because they’re not used to seeing an opponent at the net. Instead, use that to your advantage. When you get a short ball, take a bigger back swing as you’re moving up. The opponent at the net might be in the way, […]
Anticipate a Late ReactionWhile you’re transitioning in for a volley, learn to anticipate a late reaction from your opponent. When you rally cross-court with your opponent, you know the area the ball will come back to is the opposite side you just hit from. For instance, if you hit the ball to your left side, you know the […]
Lobbing StrategiesThe goal of lobbing is to make your opponent move laterally and back, not forward. When you’re lobbing, you want the ball to go over the backhand side of your opponent. No one is as strong hitting an overhead in that position. Remember to hit the lob straight and not cross court. Then, you can […]
Strategy for Handling a High BallThere are a few ways to handle a high ball. Much of it depends on what your opponent is doing. Your goal is to get the ball back in play in a way that allows you to get back on offense. You don’t want to stay in the same position and get into a lob […]
Know Your PositionYou have to know if you’re on defense and when your on offense. If in the middle of a point you find yourself to be in a defensive position or an off-balance position, how do you get out of it? Don’t just push the ball back and stay on defense. Return the ball high to […]
Returning a Soft ServeOne of the hardest serves to deal with is the cupcake or really soft serve. It might come from someone who serves the first serve at Mach 10 and then the second ball is maybe 20 MPH. You’ve got to move in and forward because the ball has no pace. The uglier the serve, the […]
Aggressive ReturnsThe key to playing aggressive tennis is to always be moving. If you stand still, you won’t have time to get moving, before the ball comes. You’ll be late and you’ll have no choice but to block it back and hope your opponent makes a mistake. If the goes into the net, you need to […]
Rush PlayWe all know at least one player who plays like a wall. They return everything. But the ball has no pace. Every ball comes back to mid court. Their strategy is hit-and-hope. They are waiting for you to make a mistake. If you don’t, the match never ends. You get tired. You get bored. You […]
Start With a Backhand GripA good player tends to go after their opponent’s weaknesses. This is true even when serving. If your backhand is weaker than your forehand, start in a backhand grip when returning a serve. If the ball goes to your backhand, you’re all set and ready. If it doesn’t, you’ll never have trouble transitioning to a […]
Attack the Second ServeToo many times, I see club players waiting for the second serve on the baseline. You know the serve has to bounce in the service box, so move in and be prepared to attack the second serve.
The 5X’sWhen you’re thinking about what area of the court to hit your next ball to, Josh makes it simple with the 5X’s. The 5X’s are five targets on the court that can be used to build a strategy to take apart any opponent. For more on strategy and the patterns you can implement with the […]
Passing the Net Player in DoublesWhen playing doubles, the tendency is to try to hard to pass the net player. If you do this, you’re going to dump it into the net. There are a few simple strategies and techniques for breaking down your opponent’s game. If the net player isn’t overly active, use your normal stroke. Don’t expect they […]
Slow Down and Relax to React FastAt the net, things happen twice as fast which means you have half the time to react. Don’t let this scare you. Remember to breath. Things are going to be alright. When you’re at the net, you have to slow down and relax in order to react fast.
Predict the Next BallReading your opponent and predicting the next ball is just as applicable for any position on the court as it is up at the net, with some variation of course. You have time to get set and be ready for the return, but your approach matters. Being set and ready doesn’t mean over-committing. You have […]
Your Weak Shot Produces a Strong ReturnWhen you’re at the net, you have to understand that your weak punch shot produced the strong return. You did it, you have to be able to anticipate the return rather than react after the ball comes back.
What Produces The LobIt’s important to recognize the factors that produce a lob, that way you can prepare for it as soon as you hit the ball and be ready by the time your opponent hits it back. If a ball is bouncing at least hip high, your opponent has enough time to get under the ball. That […]
Doubles StrategyWhile playing doubles, some people have a hard time playing the full court because they’re not used to seeing an opponent at the net. Instead, use that to your advantage. When you get a short ball, take a bigger back swing as you’re moving up. The opponent at the net might be in the way, […]
Anticipate a Late ReactionWhile you’re transitioning in for a volley, learn to anticipate a late reaction from your opponent. When you rally cross-court with your opponent, you know the area the ball will come back to is the opposite side you just hit from. For instance, if you hit the ball to your left side, you know the […]
Lobbing StrategiesThe goal of lobbing is to make your opponent move laterally and back, not forward. When you’re lobbing, you want the ball to go over the backhand side of your opponent. No one is as strong hitting an overhead in that position. Remember to hit the lob straight and not cross court. Then, you can […]
Strategy for Handling a High BallThere are a few ways to handle a high ball. Much of it depends on what your opponent is doing. Your goal is to get the ball back in play in a way that allows you to get back on offense. You don’t want to stay in the same position and get into a lob […]
Know Your PositionYou have to know if you’re on defense and when your on offense. If in the middle of a point you find yourself to be in a defensive position or an off-balance position, how do you get out of it? Don’t just push the ball back and stay on defense. Return the ball high to […]
Returning a Soft ServeOne of the hardest serves to deal with is the cupcake or really soft serve. It might come from someone who serves the first serve at Mach 10 and then the second ball is maybe 20 MPH. You’ve got to move in and forward because the ball has no pace. The uglier the serve, the […]
Aggressive ReturnsThe key to playing aggressive tennis is to always be moving. If you stand still, you won’t have time to get moving, before the ball comes. You’ll be late and you’ll have no choice but to block it back and hope your opponent makes a mistake. If the goes into the net, you need to […]
Rush PlayWe all know at least one player who plays like a wall. They return everything. But the ball has no pace. Every ball comes back to mid court. Their strategy is hit-and-hope. They are waiting for you to make a mistake. If you don’t, the match never ends. You get tired. You get bored. You […]
Start With a Backhand GripA good player tends to go after their opponent’s weaknesses. This is true even when serving. If your backhand is weaker than your forehand, start in a backhand grip when returning a serve. If the ball goes to your backhand, you’re all set and ready. If it doesn’t, you’ll never have trouble transitioning to a […]
Attack the Second ServeToo many times, I see club players waiting for the second serve on the baseline. You know the serve has to bounce in the service box, so move in and be prepared to attack the second serve.
The 5X’sWhen you’re thinking about what area of the court to hit your next ball to, Josh makes it simple with the 5X’s. The 5X’s are five targets on the court that can be used to build a strategy to take apart any opponent. For more on strategy and the patterns you can implement with the […]
Passing the Net Player in DoublesWhen playing doubles, the tendency is to try to hard to pass the net player. If you do this, you’re going to dump it into the net. There are a few simple strategies and techniques for breaking down your opponent’s game. If the net player isn’t overly active, use your normal stroke. Don’t expect they […]
Slow Down and Relax to React FastAt the net, things happen twice as fast which means you have half the time to react. Don’t let this scare you. Remember to breath. Things are going to be alright. When you’re at the net, you have to slow down and relax in order to react fast.
Predict the Next BallReading your opponent and predicting the next ball is just as applicable for any position on the court as it is up at the net, with some variation of course. You have time to get set and be ready for the return, but your approach matters. Being set and ready doesn’t mean over-committing. You have […]
Your Weak Shot Produces a Strong ReturnWhen you’re at the net, you have to understand that your weak punch shot produced the strong return. You did it, you have to be able to anticipate the return rather than react after the ball comes back.