Posts Tagged ‘how to play tennis’
Tennis Tips: Choosing the Best Tennis Racket for Your Game
Choosing a tennis racket from the many hundreds available can be a daunting task. Should you buy a racket with more power or more control or a mixture of both? What are the major differences between rackets and why is it important? I wrote this article to give you a few tennis tips on factors to take into account when choosing a tennis racket:
1) Head Size. Head sizes can vary between about 85-135 sq. inch with the most common size being in the range 95-110 sq. inch. In general, the bigger the head size, the more powerful the racket and the bigger the “sweet spot”. A way to visualize this is to think of a trampoline. With a large trampoline, you can jump higher than a smaller one because the material on the large trampoline can flex more than the smaller trampoline, ‘catapulting’ you higher into the air. These larger head rackets are also more forgiving of off-center shots (ie slight mis-hits). The smaller head-size rackets generally have more control.
2) Length of racket. Rackets can vary in length from about 27”-29” with the majority of rackets in the 27” range. With a longer racket, you can generate slightly more reach and because of the greater distance between your grip and racket head, you can generate more leverage and power on ground shots. However, the longer racket is more difficult to manoevre than the standard length racket.
3) Racket materials: Most rackets are made of graphite which is very light but gives good power and control. Aluminum and titanium are also light materials which can also provide good power and are suitable for beginners. The lightest rackets are made of boron or Kevlar, but they are also very stiff materials which means that vibrations from mishit shots can travel up the arm (possible tennis elbow injuries if not used correctly). These rackets are most often used by more advanced players.
4) Weight of racket: Light rackets in range 225-280g (generally more powerful, but this depends on the racket head speed in addition to racket head weight). Medium rackets are in the range 280-300g and heavy rackets are in the range 300-340g and generally have more control.
5) String Pattern: In general, a racket with a denser string pattern (more strings) will have more control than a racket with a lower density string pattern, but the lower density string pattern racket will have more power. Again, this is can be visualized using the trampoline analogy. With fewer strings, the weight of the ball is distributed against fewer strings causing then to flex more so there is more of a ‘catapult’ effect. With a higher density string pattern, the strings don’t flex as much, but this gives more control. A lower density string pattern can also cause the strings to bite the ball (flexed strings giving more contact area with the ball) which in turn can be used to generate more spin.
6) String Tension. In general, tighter strings equals more control whereas looser strings means more power.
7) Grip size. Grip sizes can be grouped as follows:
Grip size 1 = 4 1/8”
Grip size 2 = 4 ¼”
Grip size 3 = 4 3/8”
Grip size 4 = 4 ½”
Grip size 5 = 4 5/8”
A good rule of thumb for choosing a good grip size is to grip the racket in your playing hand and then slide the index finger of your other hand in between the tips of your fingers and the base of your palm. If your finger will not fit, then the grip is too small whereas if there is a lot of room then the grip is too large. If you are between two sizes, choose the smaller one because you can always increase the size of the grip using an over-grip tape (soft, padded tape that fits around the grip).
All this detail may seem overwhelming. So one of the most important tennis tips I can give to you is to go to your local tennis store and talk with the store owner. Usually, these owners are keen tennis players and can offer tremendous advice on choosing a racket suitable for your game. Even better, many of these stores allow you to try several rackets for a few days (for a reasonable deposit payment) so that you can try out the different models. Often, the deposit is used as a down payment on the purchase price of the racket you choose. This is the main reason I would always choose a local specialist tennis store than a large discount store unless you are 100% confident you know which racket you want. It is often worth spending a few dollars more to make sure that you purchase a racket that suits your game and that you are happy with rather than just trying to choose blindly in a large store.
Tennis Tips : Play Better Tennis by Incorporating Both Aerobic and Anaerobic Workout Routines
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, one of the factors that has helped me and my wife the most in improving our tennis is by making sure we have regular workout sessions. We have fitness trainer at our local gym who uses many of the exercises in the book ‘Complete Conditioning for Tennis’ by E. Paul Roetert and Todd S. Ellenbecker. The book emphasizes the need to do both aerobic and anaerobic exercises and so in this article, I wanted to explain these terms in more detail and explain why it is important to incorporate both forms of exercises in a workout routine if you want to be a more successful tennis player.
In its simplest form, aerobic and anaerobic refer to the presence or absence of oxygen, respectively.
Aerobic Exercise
During aerobic exercise, glycogen (which is stored in our body mainly in our muscles and liver) is converted first by our bodies into glucose. If the glycogen stores in our body run low (through extensive long-term exercise, like running a marathon, for example) then our bodies begin to use fat as a fuel. But for a typical tennis game, the predominant energy source will be glycogen and not fat.
During aerobic exercise, oxygen is taken in through the lungs and carried to the tissues in our body through the blood stream. Glucose is then broken down with the aid of oxygen into a chemical called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Aerobic exercise is a highly efficient producer of ATP and is the main energy system needed for sports where long term endurance is required (long distance running or moderate tennis activity, for example).
Anaerobic Exercise
During high intensity workouts (such as very fast sprinting or intense weight lifting) the main energy term used by the body is called anaerobic glycolysis, which also produces ATP, but without using oxygen. A by-product of anaerobic glycolysis is lactic acid, which begins to accumulate in the muscles after continued high intensity workouts. This build up of lactic acid is the reason for the burning sensation felt in the muscles and will eventually force the person to stop the activity until the lactic acid can be removed from the body. Anaerobic glycolysis is only effective as an energy source for about 2-3 minutes after which the person must cease activity or slow down to allow the aerobic energy system to “kick-in”.
If you are still unclear about the difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise, try this. Do push-ups as fast as you can and keep the level of activity as high as possible. Alternatively, sprint as fast as you can along a track or road. After a very short time, you will find you “hit a wall” and you have to stop or slow down because you are physically very fatigue. You may also have a burning sensation in your muscles (lactic acid build up). This is anaerobic exercise. Now try a moderate jog around the block or moderate work-out where your heart rate and breathing rate increases, but you can still maintain the activity level over a relatively extended period of time (30min or longer). This is aerobic exercise.
How Does This Relate to Tennis?
Depending on your level as a player, your game will probably include both anaerobic (fast sprinting for side to side or front to back where your heart rate increases rapidly and you are out of breath) and aerobic (moderate activity level) activity. Therefore, to improve your overall fitness level and success rate in tennis matches (especially in tournaments and competitive tennis games), you need to incorporate a work-our routine that incorporates both aerobic and anaerobic fitness conditioning. That’s why one of my favorite tennis tips (and the subject of my very first blog) is for you to increase your fitness to play tennis rather than playing tennis to keep fit. Besides increasing your success rate as a player, you will also dramatically decrease your chances of injury.
Tennis Tips : Preparation for a Tournament – Part 2
In part 1, I covered the essential preparation leading up to the day of the tournament and covered issues such as work-outs, tennis practice sessions and optimum nutrition. In this tennis tips article, I will cover the actual day of the tournament.
So you ate a carbohydrate rich meal about 2-3 hours ago and you are feeling fit and ready to go. Here is a check-list of items to include in your tennis bag.
- - Spare racket – ideally one that is matched (same weight, balance, strings, string tension, grip size) to your primary racket
- - Spare tennis shirt. It’s nice to be able to change into a dry shirt when you have split sets or between games.
- - Spares socks – same reason as above
- - Spare hat
- - 2 towels. It’s good to have two because the first can get very wet especially on a very hot day.
- - Some lotion to treat cramp.
- - Sun block. Don’t forget this or you could really suffer during a long, hot tournament.
- - Cold pack – just in case of sprain or muscle injury
- - Plastic bags – good to hold ice (from your water container) in case of sprains/injuries
- - Band aids
- - Ankle supports, knee supports. Just in case something unexpected happens.
- - A few bananas and energy bars. To top up between sets or matches.
- - Spare balls for warm-up sessions.
- - Large canister of water with ice. The ice can be used to help with injuries, if necessary
- - Several bottles of your favorite sports drink. This is necessary to top up on electrolytes lost through sweating that you can’t get from water alone.
- - CD or mp3 player with your favorite music to keep you relaxed during breaks between matches.
Try to arrive at the even early enough to give yourself time to calm yourself and focus on the match. Remember that your opponent’s ranking has no relevance at all to the match you will play today (see previous article). Just focus on your own game. Usually, for tournaments, the official warm-up time is 10 minutes but if you arrive early enough, you might be able to find a hitting partner who will help you warm up your strokes. Don’t go crazy! The idea is just to warm up and get your footwork and timing in order.
In the actual warm-up before your match, use the ten minutes wisely not only to warm up, but to study your opponent’s strength and weaknesses. During the warm-up, try to at least know the following about your partner:
- Are they right or left handed?- Yes we’ve all been guilty of this one. We are 3 or 4 games into the match before we suddenly realize that we are playing a left-hander !
- How do they handle deep forehands or backhands, especially one that bounce high?
- Which side is stronger?
- Are they good at volleying?
- Do they move well from side to side and front to back?
- How do they handle spin, both top spin and back spin? Many hard hitting players hate low back-spin shots which keep low over the net, so try a few during the warm-ups.
- How do they handle overheads?
- How well do they serve?
Knowing these strengths and weaknesses from the warm-up session will give you a real advantage going into the match itself. Hopefully, these simple tennis tips will help you next time you prepare for a tournament.
Tennis Tips: Preparation for a Tennis Tournament – Part 1
Depending on whether you play tennis just fun, or whether you are very competitive, you may consider entering a tournament at some stage. Tournaments can be a great way to meet new people and gauge your standard against other tennis players.
Here are a few tennis tips to help you prepare for a tournament that should help you be more successful. First of all, take into account your overall fitness level before you decide how many events (singles/doubles/mixed doubles) to enter. Usually, tournaments are held over an extended weekend period and if you enter more than one event, you could find yourself playing back to back matches. If you are fit and prepared, then this OK but don’t try back to back matches over several days when you are only an occasional player and not very fit. You will probably end up injuring yourself.
To give yourself the best chance of success, try increasing your work-outs and tennis matches several weeks before the event to build up your stamina, endurance and fitness level. In your work-outs, a good idea would be to incorporate many of the tennis specific exercises in the “Complete Conditioning for Tennis” book by E. Paul Roetert and Todd S. Ellenbecker (see original blog post). In your tennis matches and practice sessions, make sure you include players with lots of different styles such as back-boarders and left-handers, so that you are not surprised if you encounter this situation in the tournament. Make sure that you are doing regular stretches each day (see dynamic and static stretching article). As you get closer to the to the tournament (within a week), you can gradual decrease the amount of exercise to avoid the risk of strains and injuries, but still maintain a moderate amount of tennis practice sessions so that your timing and footwork remain good.
During the last week before the event, start reducing the amount of fat and increasing the amount of carbohydrate (oat-meal, pasta, bread, potatoes, rice) in your diet. You should aim to obtain about 50-60% of your total calorie intake from carbs during the last few days. This is to increase your ‘glycogen’ store which your muscles use to convert to energy to work effectively (more about this in an upcoming article). Eating a few bananas a day about 2-3 days before the event is also good to increase your potassium levels. This is important, because potassium can be lost from the body when you sweat during a tennis match and excessive losses (together with other electrolytes such as sodium) may lead to muscle cramping. Try also to drink as much water as possible to fully hydrate yourself. In this last week, you also want to aim for 7-8 hours sleep per night and you should avoid any alcohol in the last 3 days because alcohol can lead to dehydration of the body. Remember, you can always party after the tournament!
On the night before the tournament, you can eat a pasta meal to stock up on your carbohydrate levels and in the morning, you can have a breakfast such as oatmeal (also a good source of carbs) with skimmed milk. Try to avoid eating anything 2-3 hours before the match so that your stomach does not contain partially digested food. In Part 2 of this tennis tips article, I will cover the items you should take with you to the tournament.
Tennis Tips: How To Beat a “Left-Hander”
It’s always a shock the first time you play a left-handed player. Your favorite shots that normally go deep to your opponent’s back-hand suddenly coming flying past you for winners. What’s more, that shot to your opponent’s back-hand at the net which has been your big earner is suddenly dispatched with no problem at all. Then suddenly you realize that you are playing a leftie! Those shots are being returned so well because you are playing to their forehand, which is usually (but not always) the strongest sides for most tennis players. Now, in the middle of the match, you are forced to change all your favorite shots as you try and “reverse” everything to play to their back-hand. For example, rather than playing your back-hand cross-court to play to your opponent’s back-hand as you would do for a right-hander, now you have to play down the line to go to the “leftie’s” back-hand. That’s not a shot you want to try in a competitive game when you are not used to it. Unless you play it deep and close to the side-line, it will be quite an easy back-hand return for your opponent.
So what should you do? Well, playing a left-hander in a competitive match is not the best way to learn new strategies. Here are a few tennis tips to help you. The best approach is to practice beforehand with a left-hander so that you can try out all your different shots to see what works and what doesn’t. The next time you play a ‘leftie’, get their phone number and arrange to play some practice matches with them. Always try to have at least one left-handed player in your arsenal of people that you practice with on a regular basis. You can now try your back-hand shots deep down the side-line and your cross-court forehands to pressure their back-hands just as you would normally do for a “rightie”. If you can do it, a very effective technique is to try a very heavy sliced serve out wide to the leftie’s backhand.
Just a word of caution here. Since a lot of left-handers are used to playing right-handers, they may be very familiar with right-handers trying to pressurize their back-hand and may have developed a formidable back-hand to deal with this. So watch out. Sometimes just reversing all your usual “right-hander” shots may not be an effective strategy. If this is the case, try the forehand, bringing them to the net or deep shots until you have discovered a chink in their armor. Mixing up your shots is a very effective strategy against any tennis player to discover their strengths and weaknesses.
Try this out these tennis tips the next time you play a leftie.
Tennis Tips: How to Beat a Backboard Player
Have you ever been in a situation where you playing an opponent who just keeps getting the ball back, no matter what you do? Usually, that player stands on the baseline and seems to just return everything you hit to them. It’s just like playing against a wall or board, hence the name “backboarder”. This type of player normally does not put any pace on the ball, but the ball still keeps in play forcing you to play yet another shot. Your frustration increases and you try and hit it harder and harder, but it still comes back. Eventually you overhit and the ball goes out or you dump it in the net.
If this has happened to you then you need to change your strategy. Try these simple tennis tips. Always think about what your opponent likes and what they dislike? What are their strengths and weaknesses? With a backboard player, they are obviously good at the baseline and they are consistent with their ground strokes even though they don’t put much pace on the ball. So, if you keep hitting the ball harder and deeper, you are just playing to their strengths.
Normally, with a backboard player, you will find that they are very uncomfortable at the net. So rather than just blasting the ball back, try playing a short ball and bringing them forward towards the net. Once they are at the net, you can now try a passing shot or a lob. The backboard player will usually be very uncomfortable playing volleys at the net and so passing shots and dippers (shots that stay low over the net and drop quickly at your opponent’s feet) will usually work well. The lob should also be equally effective because now your opponent is forced to run backwards, which they are not accustomed to doing. If the manage to return the lob, you have the opportunity of an easy overhead or a short angled volley from the net.
So next time you play a backboarder, remember to mix-up your shorts. Try a few deep shots and then a short one and bring them into the net. If you mix-up your shots, you will always have your opponent guessing and they will not be able to establish a consistent rhythm, which is something else that the ‘backboarder’ thrives on.
I hope that these simple tennis tips will help you the next time you play a backboarder.
Tennis Tips : Don’t Worry About Your Opponent’s Ranking
We’re probably all guilty of doing this at some point in our past. We look up details about our opponent and see that they are ranked lower than ourselves. They may have lost to many players who we have beaten in the past and not done very well in any tournaments. We then go on court thinking that this will be an easy game and then the next thing we know is that we start making stupid mistakes. Easy shots go long or we dump them into the net. Our anger and frustration grows and we keep saying to ourselves “I should be beating this person easily”. The next thing we know is that we have just lost the match to a person we “should” never have lost to.
Alternatively, our opponent may have a much higher ranking than us and we go on court thinking that we will lose and we start playing very tentatively and defensive. The end result is the same. If this situation sounds familiar, try out these simple tennis tips.
It is important to realize is that your opponent’s ranking has no relevance at all to the game you are about to play. What is important is that you must always play your game and approach it in the same way, regardless of who your opponent is. Always remain positive and concentrate on your strengths. Every game is unique; your mental state, your opponents mental state, the type of courts, the weather, how fit your are, how tired you are etc. so try and focus on your game and don’t let your opponent’s ranking change your approach. All that matters in the end is who plays better on a given day.
Consider this. If every high ranking player always beat a lower ranked player, then in every major tournament the top eight seeds should always reach the quarter finals. In fact this very rarely happens because it is actually very common for lower ranked players to play better than a higher ranked player “on a given day”. The better ranked players usually win in the long run, but not every single time. Here is an interesting article I found which discusses this in more detail.
So here is a simple tennis tip : Stay focused on your game and don’t concern yourself with your opponent’s ranking.
Tennis Tips: Recommended Warm Up Routines : Part 2 – Basic Warm-Up Shots
Now you are ready to start hitting some tennis balls! One of the best tennis tips I know is to start just hitting ‘short’ balls with a partner using the service court (the boxes closest to the net).
1) Short-Ball Practice
Use short back swings and concentrate on a smooth shot so that the ball lands in your opponent’s service box. It’s very important to develop control over your ‘short’ game before you move onto longer shots from the baseline. Think smoothness and control and make sure you watch the ball completely to the contact point with the racket, rather than where you want the ball to go (easy to say, but much harder to remember in competitive matches). Repeat this cross court on the forehand side (using diagonal service boxes) and then on the back-hand side. This is a great exercise for developing a short angled shot, which is especially effective in doubles.
After doing this for several minutes, try doing volleys with your opponent using the ‘short court’ to develop control over your volleys. After several minutes, you are ready to move back to the baseline.
2) Baseline strokes and volley practice
Rather than just hitting the ball randomly with your partner, use this time to study their game and look for their strengths and weaknesses. Try and hit the ball deep (close to the baseline) on the forehand and backhand side and see how your opponent deals with these shots. Usually, they will be weaker on the back-hand side, especially with the deep ball so make a mental note of this for your game. Next, have one player approach the net while the other player stays on the baseline so that the net player can practice volleys. If you are volleying, try to practice both deep, short and angled volleys and don’t just hit it back to your opponent otherwise you will find yourself doing this in the game. As the baseline player, play shots to the ‘volleyer’ on both the right and left and study how they cope with these shots. Vary the pace and height of the shots and also try a few “dippers” (a shot that keeps low over the net and drops quickly at your opponents feet).
3) Overhead Shots
Next, practice some over head shots. Have your opponent play the ball high into the air (lob) and then practice your overhead return before the ball bounces. Don’t try and over-hit. Use the same action as your service and keep as relaxed as possible. Practice a few angled overheads during this time.
4) Serves
Now it’s time to practice your serve. Don’t go for your big one straight away! Just serve at about 60% speed and concentrate on smoothness and accuracy. Try and aim serves at all locations in your opponents service box (deeper usually better). One you have warmed your serve up a little, vary the pace and direction so that your opponent is always kept “guessing”. When your opponent is practicing their serve, practice your return of serve so that you have a feel for their serve before the game starts. Having practiced your serve, it’s time to start the game. Make sure you top up on ’Sports’ drink (helps replenish electrolyes lost due to sweating) and water before you start so that you are fully hydrated.
I hope you found these tennis tips on ‘Recommended Warm-Up Routines’ helpful.
Tennis Tips: Recommended Warm-Up Routines: Part 1 – Dynamic stretching
One of the best tennis tips is to make sure you have a good warm up routine to make sure that you are physically and mentally prepared for your tennis match. Too many players just rely on warming up during the match itself and then wonder why they are suddenly 5-0 down or have an injury early in the game.
Try and arrive at the courts early enough to give yourself at least 30 mins for a warm-up. Some of the latest research which you can read about in “Complete Conditioning for Tennis” by E. Paul Roetert and Todd S. Ellenbecher (see original blog post) emphasizes the need to do dynamic stretching before a game rather than static stretches. Static stretching should only be done during the cool-down period after your match. Here is a dynamic stretching routine that I have found to be very useful.
- 1) Start by doing a slow jog on the spot. Keep your body loose and relaxed.2) Gradually increase the intensity of the jog until you can feel your body temperature rise slightly and your muscles start to relax.
3) Now start at the baseline, facing the net at the far right hand corner. Jog gently, along the doubles side-line towards the net
4) Start side-stepping gently to the left, parallel to the net until you reach the opposite side-line.
5) Jog backwards along the side-line back to the baseline and then side-step back to your starting point.
Next, repeat 1-5, but this time bring your knees high towards your chest as you jog forwards and backwards. The side-stepping portion of the exercise remains the same.
Finally, repeat 1-5, but now substitute “butt-kicks” (kick heels backwards and try and reach your butt each time) instead of the knee-raises.
After this, your heart rate should have increased slightly and you may be sweating slightly depending upon how fit you are. If necessary, repeat the warm-up routine above. In the second part of these tennis tips articles on Recommended Warm-Up Routines, I’ll cover the basic tennis shots you should practice before you start your game.
