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Tennis Forehand – Secret For Mastering Top Spin

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Tennis forehand is the fundamental move in tennis. In this case we will talk about top spin. Hitting a tennis forehand is crucial, because it will be your main weapon in rally. It is also most likely the first move you learn when you start tennis. Since this is so important, there are people who neglect the training after thinking they are good enough with the forehand. But this is a grave mistake as tennis forehand is the basic. Let us think about it, how are you going to improve if you do not master the basic?

So this article will share with you some tips on how to overcome challenges in mastering your tennis forehand:

*I miss the ball or it does not hit on the sweet spot
There are several reasons for this:
1. If you miss the ball often, then you need to look at the ball first. What I mean is when your opponent hit the ball; observe where he is hitting and where the ball is going to bounce. After that you can have a better placement of yourself.

2. Do not swing too hard. Some beginners tend to do this because they want more power in their shot. Well, nothing wrong with that, but usually beginners have not built the habit of hitting tennis forehand. So by focusing on power, they do not focus on their swing. In this case you should just swing your tennis forehand without power.

3. If you have trouble in aiming your forehand, then you can try to point the ball using your off hand. This will help you to have a sense of where you should hit the ball.

4. Pull your racket behind before you hit and do it as soon as you know that you are going to use your forehand to hit the ball. This is pretty straight forward, but some people tend to forget it which results in late preparation to hit the ball.

*The ball fly too high
Most of the time is because you do not swing properly or you are not using the right grip for your tennis forehand. If you ever play badminton, you will see that the racket is facing up when you hit and that is why the cock fly upwards. If you do not use the right grip, then your racket might be facing upward. Your point of contact with the ball also have some effect, you might be too late or too early hitting the ball.

*Not enough spin
If you want to have more spin for your tennis forehand, then the easiest way to add it is by changing your grip. The western grip will give you more top spin, but usually most people use eastern grip because it is easy to use.

So here are some ways to improve your tennis forehand. It is not that hard to improve your swing once you know what your weakness. All that left is for you to start your training properly.

If you are interested in more detail on tennis forehand and other things related to tennis, visit http://www.besttennistips.com/ There are also videos and lesson to improve your game.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eriko_Sanada

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Creating Your Tennis Fitness Conditioning Program – Cardio

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In tennis one of the main factors that you have to focus on is tennis fitness. This is what will keep you going in the match; it is what is going to push you above the competition if your fitness level is above theirs. Without a good level you will find that as your level of competition gets harder you will become more exhausted during games, unable to reach the ball in time, unable to change direction in time to reach a shot by your opponent. These are just a few reasons that you want to increase your tennis fitness levels; if you can increase them then you can have your opponent feeling like this!

How do I increase my fitness?

The best way to do this is to create a conditioning program that you can follow every week for a series of weeks. This may sound like a lot of work but without creating a conditioning program you will get trampled on as opponents stride past you with the greatest of ease.

What should my conditioning plan include?

Your conditioning plan should include a group of exercises which are targeted to increase your stamina, endurance, strength and power and most importantly your cardio.

How do I increase my cardio?

One of the biggest mistakes made with a tennis conditioning program is the cardio factor. You may have experience a coach say “today we are going to start off with a 3 mile run.” This is far from what you need to do! A bit of long distance running to warm up is fine but not miles, when are you ever required to run miles on a tennis court? NEVER! So why should you run miles in training?

The best way to increase your cardio is to target the sport. For example if you’re a sprinter you wouldn’t run for miles as that would train your muscles to run for miles. You want to run for 10-200 metres in short sprints! The same applies for tennis – it is a game that consists of sprinting, changing direction and exploding around the court! This is what you need to train yourself to do!

So for tennis you want to look at adding in some interval training to your condition program where you sprint for a short distance, stop and then repeat. By doing this you will increase your tennis fitness and train your body to be ready for what is expected when it comes to games.

Tennis fitness is a vital part of your tennis game so make sure that you have it under control. You can find out more on creating a conditioning program over at UltimateTennisPlayer.com which will give you tips on reaching peak fitness levels and also how to create a diet that will help you reach peak performance too!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Pswarai

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My Favourite Tennis Tips

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If you go to a tennis club everyone there is usually looking out to find the newest great tennis tips. Usually it takes a lot of work to improve a tennis game but there are a few highly effective tennis tips that have been around for a long time and will stay around for much longer.

My Favourite Tennis Tips

1. Lift The Ball On Your Groundstrokes

Almost all recreational players hit way too many balls into the net. Players look down on their target because they can see through the net. Tennis would be much easier if the net was black and you could not see through! What happens for the majority of recreational players is that they do not get the racket down low enough and therefore cannot lift the ball up. For topspin groundstrokes you need to lift the ball up with a motion that goes from low to high. I see way too many players that move their racket on a straight swing plane towards the contact point and are surprised that most of their shots land in the net!

2. Hit The Ball Deep And Stay Away From The Sidelines

When it comes to tactices the best tennis tip I know is to try and hit the ball deep and stay away from the sidelines. If you can hit the ball deep and don’t miss much (which staying away from the sidelines will help you with) then you will beat a lot of players. I once did a clinic with Brad Gilbert for recreational players and he me that he believes that even at the professional level the majority of matches are won by the player that makes less unforced errors!

So a great approach is to focus on getting enough height over the net, which will result in good depth, and leaving yourself enough room from the sidelines. If you don’t believe me just turn on the TV and check out what professional tenins players are doing. You might be surprised and you will certainly be surprised when you start winning a lot more matches!

3. Hit And Move

Now this tennis tip seems very simple but it is also very effective. Many tennis players hit the ball and then stand still while watching what happens with their ball. This is another one of those very common mistakes. Therefore my advice is to remind yourself to: Hit And Move! This can be like a mantra in your head that you repeat over and over. I do that with my students quite often where I keep saying hit and move, hit and move until it becomes automatic. You will find that you are much better prepared for the coming shots!

4. Say Bounce-Hit

Certainly one of the all-time best tennis tips is to say bounce every time the ball bounces and hit every time you hit the ball. The result is usually that you get a great focus on the tennis court and get rid of some of the thoughts that might have been holding you back from perfoming well.

So those are my favourite tennis tips. If you are serious about improving your game then click on the following link to check out my tennis instruction website!

Florian Meier is a USPTA certified professional tennis coach who runs a tennis academy in Hamburg, Germany. To reach more people he also started the instructional website http://www.onlinetennisinstruction.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Florian_Meier

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How to Become a Great Tennis Player

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This article has been written for anyone who is looking to improve at the game of tennis. It covers the four key aspects of tennis that need to be developed to maximize ones improvement. No one area can be ignored as they are all as important as each other and have to integrate if you are looking to become a successful player.
The four key aspects are:

1) Physical
2) Psychological
3) Tactical
4) Technical

Physical
All tennis players should have a strong interest in fitness. At lower levels we are wanting to become fitter, tennis might help us do this. At higher levels we want to improve our fitness above and beyond that required for the game of tennis so we can excel to greater levels. Regardless of your level you will need to condition your body to prevent injury, adapt to the movements required on the court and develop your game.

A player will need to perform strength training specific to the muscles used in the game. Weight training for especially the upper body is imperative as it will help you develop more power in your shots. If you look at Agassi for instance he could bench press 140kgs almost twice his body weight. This is a phenomenal power to weight ratio.

Strength training also helps prevent injury. Tennis can unbalance muscles in the body which can lead to injuries down the track. Often the front shoulder and chest muscles are more developed then the back muscles. Also the more dominant arm is often more developed then the non dominant arm. Working back and non dominant arm muscles will help balance your body out.

Psychological
Some say tennis is 80% mental and 20% physical. Whether this is true or not, psychological factors play a big part in the game of tennis. Your mental training program should go beyond the game of tennis on the court. You really need to build your self confidence, develop a competitive attitude, practice relaxation and concentration techniques, ensure you use positive self talk and visualize your goals you want to achieve. All these factors cannot be covered here in detail, and some are self explanatory like self confidence. Really all need to be developed and worked on daily.

Self talk and a positive attitude is perhaps the most important factor that needs to be discussed here. When you miss a shot what do you tell yourself in your head? Something along the lines of “damn I missed it” or “ill hit my next one for a winner”. Can you see the first comment is self defeating and the second is positive. If you can change the way you think from a negative to positive outlook by consciously monitoring your self talk you will go a long way to a sound psychological mind for tennis.

Tactical
Tactical elements of the game of tennis are often overlooked by most coaches which is a bad mistake. A more mindful tactical player will come out on top. Thousands of players hit better balls then the pros, however there poor tactical mind impedes there performances.

The ultimate tactic in tennis is consistency. The more balls you hit in the more likely you are to win a point. This is your greatest weapon. Good shot selection is also a cornerstone for a sound game. When in a rally situation you should use the more safe cross court shot, and only when you get a short ball that you can take advantage of should you go down the line.

The foundation of a good tactical play is the understanding of ones limits at all times. This comes through tactical practice and knowing where one is on the tennis court. Always incorporate tactics into a training regime and implement them in games.

Technical
Everyone’s technique is slightly different, however certain fundamentals need to be met for a sound shot. For example the racket face is always vertical on impact, certain grips work better on different shots, and a pathway of motion of the racket is required. For a topspin shot this would be from below the height of the ball to above the height of the ball.

Make sure when you train you develop a sound technique which can meet the demands of playing at higher levels, to ensure you do not have to drastically modify it later. This is done through developing those basic technical foundations that every coach should be able to help you with.

In summary all the four areas do need to be addressed to ensure you can develop a well balanced game with scope for improvement.

© 2008 copyright South Parkholme Tennis Club [http://www.southparkholme.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dean_Caruso

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Tennis for Children: Bump Ups

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After a child is able to balance a tennis ball on the strings of their racquet, they should begin to learn to move the ball and still remain in control. Rolling the ball around on the strings is typically the first step towards controlled movement which is often followed by the child moving while still keeping a ball balanced on the racquet strings.

Many coaches will race their students (if only one participant) or set the children in a race scenario based on keeping the ball balanced on the strings while moving quickly to some predetermined spot. Parents can race their children across the driveway or even compete with how many times they can spin around in a circle without the ball falling off the strings.

As the child becomes stronger in the ability to keep the ball on the strings, try the following: Have the child bounce the ball upwards using the racquet without letting the ball hit the ground. We call this “Bump Ups.” The term ‘bump’ implies a small contact between ball and racquet as opposed to the term ‘hit’ which implies a strong contact assuming the ball flying away at great speed.

Some reminders:
Bounce the ball upward using the racquet
Keep the bumps (or bounces) below ‘head high’
The softer the contact; the easier it is

There are two ways to measure success:
Keep a running total of all times the ball is bounced on the strings
Count the number of bump ups obtained ‘in a row’ without missing

In the early stages of learning to control bump ups, the child will be more interested in how many bounces they are able to obtain in total. This allows the child to count further than 1 or 2 and shows early success if even simply counting attempts at success. As the child develops the ability to bounce the ball successively on the racquet, begin to set goals for the number of times ‘in a row’ the child can continue their control of “Bump Ups.”

In other articles I mention a few ways to keep repetitive counting to small totals interesting. Counting in different languages is certainly my favorite. Over the years, I have personally learned to count to 20 in Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese (not so different from Spanish), French (which I already knew), German and Korean.

However in any language, “Bump Ups” are a great way to help a child further develop their tennis skills!

Good luck, and remind your child of Rule #1 for Ankle Biters Tennis:

-Never try to hit the ball with your face!

Shaun J Boyce is the author of ‘How Not to Play Tennis’ and has written for the USPTA and GPTA. Active in his local community, Shaun is on court as often as possible. Shaun runs a specialized group of teaching professionals who are focused on providing tennis programming for preschools, daycare facilities and after school programs. He also volunteers his time with his local high school teams.

http://www.hownottoplaytennis.com
http://www.anklebiters.info

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shaun_J_Boyce

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