Tennis is a widely enjoyed sport that attracts participants of all ages. The sport is played for both competitive and social purposes. There are a ton of benefits to playing tennis, but some of the best reasons to play are to improve overall health, fitness, strength, and agility.
Playing tennis is enjoyable, even if you don’t have the skillset of a professional player. However, the better you get at playing tennis, generally speaking, the more fun it is to play!
Below we explore some handy tips for how to improve your tennis game.
9 Pro Tips On Stepping Up Your Tennis Game
Without further ado, here’s our list of ways to work on your game so that you can win more serves, games, sets, and matches!
#1 Stretch & Warmup
Preventing muscular strains and tears during exercise requires a thorough stretching routine. Stretching muscles and warming up by practicing common shots and motion can help get your head in the game.
You’d be hard-pressed to find any professional athlete, perhaps outside of an aging Babe Ruth, who doesn’t thoroughly warm up prior to a match.
#2 Keep Your Eye On the Ball
The head posture in tennis during the striking phase has been thoroughly studied based on recent observations of elite tennis players. When examining photographs taken of elite tennis players while they competed, the head posture during the striking phase was assessed.
The head posture during the execution of the stroke separated top players from other professional players substantially, particularly after impact, according to the picture analysis. At impact and throughout the follow-through, elite athletes have a recognizable head fixation towards the direction of the contact zone.
According to study’s results, elite athletes have significantly different gaze control (coupled eye and head movements). In other words, the old adage, “keep your eye on the ball,” couldn’t be more true if you want to boost your skills.
#3 Follow-Thru On Your Shot
You’re in the follow through phase of a tennis stroke after the ball has left your racquet.
Even if you’ve already made contact with the ball, it’s crucial that you complete your stroke with a correct follow through to help with ball control, speed, and accuracy with your shot.
#4 Hit & Recover
Learning how to recover after a shot is a key skill for getting better at tennis. Fortunately, there are a number of ways to practice hit / recover movements.
The Chair Drill is one such exercise that teaches you how to strike and rebound after a difficult corner shot from your opponent. Here’s how:
Place a chair in the middle of the baseline and set the ball machine up to feed deep to one corner.
In order to fit in two sprints, one out to the ball and the other back to your starting position to the left of the chair, make sure there is adequate time between feeds.
Between strikes, you’ll have to dash around the chair, which forces you to turn correctly and take fewer steps.
Alternate between launching a high, looping shot down the line and a deep crosscourt drive. In order to give yourself enough time to regroup, you need to loft the ball and strike it deep into the opposite court so that you can to get back into position.
#5 Transfer Your Weight
There are two main methods for utilizing your body weight when striking a tennis ball:
By placing greater weight behind your shot, the trunk rotates continuously during the stroke, transferring energy from your legs into the racket.
The second method is to start the body rotation, slowing it down, and then transferring the momentum to the arm first, causing it to accelerate.
#6 Grip the Racket Correctly
You may change the angle at which the racket face strikes the ball by adjusting the grip you use on your tennis racket.
You often have your own normal grip when you exchange forehands from the back of the court according on your strengths and limitations.
For serves, volleys, smashes, and slices, a different, flatter grip should be used instead.
Backhands may be played with any grip in either direction and the two-handed backhand has a grip of its own.
#7 Backspin / Slice Shot
Tennis backspin, also known as a slice shot, is easier than most people imagine.
Players aiming to hit slicing shots often make the mistake of overdoing the downward action, resulting in a weak shot.
People who are trying to hit slice shots tend to make the downward part of the swing bigger than it needs to be. This makes the shot float or lack power. In reality, it’s hard to hit a ball that is completely flat with a full swing.
Getting a good slice has a lot to do with how well you prepare. When hitting backspin, you usually want to start with the racket higher than where you expect to hit the ball. It doesn’t have to be very high; it just needs to be high enough that when you hit the ball, the racket goes downward a little bit.
#8 Topspin Shot
When a tennis shot results in forward rotation on the ball, this is referred to as topspin.
Topspin increases the forward momentum of the ball, enabling it to bounce deeper and higher while also increasing the likelihood that it remains within the lines.
Given that many players rely on forehand topspin as their primary stroke, it is one of the most important abilities to master and remember, practice makes perfect!
#9 Serving
There’s no question that the serve in tennis is the most important shot in any sequence.
To improve how well you serve:
Put the ball in the center of your hand, which is the spot directly in the middle of where your palm meets your fingers.
Keep a gentle grip on the ball by placing your thumb on the top.
Always keep your arm straight and use just the motion of your shoulder to toss the ball up.
You should let go of the ball when it is about at the same level as your eyes, then continue to elevate your arm while following it with your eyes.
Finally, extend your body and strike through the shot – putting as much weight into the stroke as possible to increase speed.
Get Better at Tennis in Mountlake Terrace
If you live in or around Mountlake Terrace and want to improve your tennis game, reach out to Basha Tennis. Our coaches elevate student’s game by evaluating skills, identifying weaknesses in their game, then teaching proper techniques to get the most out of your play.
Click here to learn more about our youth tennis lessons and adult classes or reach out directly with any questions you may have.