One of the main issues I have with my teenage kids today is constantly reminding them to practice effectively or as I put with a specific purpose in mind. Whether it is on the tennis court or on the soccer field where I have also taught recreational soccer, it always good to have fun but to also focus on practicing with specific objectives in mind. Today I will focus specifically on things you can do on the practice court that will help you help you tremendously when you play a match that really counts.
Plain and simple, practicing with a purpose means that every time you go out on the court for any type of practice, be it with a ball machine, a partner or just a hopper of balls to hit serves, you should have before hand a specific goal you want to achieve from that practice session.
When I play a practice match with my tennis buddies, I always have in my mind what I want to practice usually in groups of games. For example the first 3 games of the first set I will focus specifically on hitting my backhand down the line as much as possible to create winners or force errors. If I’m not satisfied with the results after 3 games I’ll extend that goal to another 3 games until I am hitting that shot consistently. The next 3 games I could focus on hitting cross court forehand with a severe angle to open up the court. Of course I’m not trying to attain my goal on every single shot but as soon as I get a good opportunity I go for my “goal” stroke.
I also have complete sets where I’m just focused on minimizing my unforced errors and trying to keep the ball in play as long as possible. I try to avoid going for winners and keep my opponent moving back and forth. This specific practice strategy has helped me in matches where I’m behind in the set and have slowly crept back by forcing my opponent into errors before I do.
I will also practice my serve and volley for several games at a time or also play aggressive tennis where I take any short ball and come into the net. The key is sticking to your plan whether or not you are winning the set against your partner. Remember that the goal is to improve the stroke or tactic you are working on.
Pros of course have specifics that they work on every time on court. Here’s a couple of videos showing the Pros in action. Check out Tsonga below hitting every ball with a purpose, practicing a forehand backhand burst drill
Here’s Del Potro practicing groundstrokes also at high level.
Besides practicing with a purpose, there are other valuable practice tips I want to leave you with which you should also develop into habits.
1. Get into the habit of visualizing your shots. Before hitting the ball your shot must have a purpose and that means just before you hit your shot in your minds eye visualize exactly where you want the ball to go, what trajectory it will have over the net and exactly where it will land. You’ll be surprised how well this works once you do it often.
2. Watch yourself practice. With today’s smartphones everyone has a video recorder in their hands. Have someone else record part of your hitting session or use a tripod, which are are also inexpensive these days. Watching yourself hit you will discover a wealth of information which you can then compare to videos of pros on you tube. Watch your technique for example on the forehand and then compare to how some of the pros hit theirs. You’ll be able to make the adjustments necessary to improve your stroke.
3. Practice your swing in slow motion. You’ve probably seen some of the Pros do this often after missing a shot. They will do several slow motion practice swings of the shot they just missed. By doing this you can see exactly what your form looks like and make corrections if needed. It will also help create muscle memory of the correct technique.
4. As mentioned above, set goals for your practice session. Have a very clear goal of what you want to accomplish. It is best to concentrate on a single stroke for a while or for the whole session until you are satisfied with the results.
5. Stretch for full benefit from practice. Stretching properly before practices is probably one of the most important tips I can recommend. Stretching should be developed into a daily habit because it will prevent injury and allow you to become more flexible over time. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts I actually like to include stretching and a short yoga routine into my daily exercise. For Pros, stretching is a must as described in this article by Nadal’s physiotherapist where he states “Several hours of stretching is a very important part of the daily routine both as a warm up, an exercise in itself and then recovery.”
So next time you decide on hitting the courts, make sure that you have a specific plan for what part of your game you want to work on. You will get so much more out of your routine practice.
Until next time. Enjoy your practice session!
YouTube Videos courtesy of TheUSTATennisPlayer