Looking to play better tennis?
Which of the 4 main categories do you fit in?
We are always looking to improve and play better tennis, but where do we start and what are the most practical ways of improving?
It depends mostly on your time how many hours per week can you practice or play. Another important component is whether you are a younger player or an older one with many years of your already automatic technique.
I will give some tips how to play better tennis depending on where you are and what areas to focus on. There are 4 main areas of the tennis game that you can work on: technique, tactics, mental part and physical preparation.
Younger player - less time to practice
Young players with not enough time should focus mainly on technique. Even though they are not playing that much it's very important to teach them the correct form which will later enable them to play better tennis economically and effortlessly if they decide to play more.
There are some exceptions to this rule and these are the very talented players. Since technique is in my opinion only the tool to achieve a desired tactical idea, these players can actually just play and their technique will happen by itself. They need very little teaching sometimes you can demosntrate to them only a few times and they can play better tennis in the next few minutes.
Younger player - lots of time to practice
If you are younger player with lots of time, then of course work on all areas. Technique can be trained to a very high level as well as physical preparation. The areas that happen in the mind tactical decisions and mental toughness are the more difficult ones for young players.
That doesnt mean that they shouldn't practice them, but results can often come with a little delay.
Older player - less time to practice
Older players which in my definition here means around 30 years and more which don't have a lot of time should focus mainly on tactics and the mental part of the game. Unless they are complete beginners, their technique is already automatic and it is very difficult to make changes with few repetitions and practice sessions.
So it's best to leave their original technique as it is and work on tactical patterns of play which will inevitably make some small changes in their technique. These small technical changes, combined with good tactical play will help them play a much better tennis with not that much practice.
Physical preparation can be practiced and make significant changes only if they can also practice off court in their free time. Otherwise their physical conditioning will also improve by just playing 2 or 3 hours per week.
The mental part can make very big changes in their games if they play competitively. Since most of their competitors are probably in the same time constraint, there are very little differences between them. So a mentally tough player who knows how to use tactical patterns in his favor can win most of the close matches with his opponents.
Older player - lots of time to practice
If older players have enough time to practice and a big desire to make changes to their stroke, that can of course be accomplished too. This is of course the best way to really guarantee that they'll play better tennis. They just need to be persistent to make the changes in their motor programs in their brain and muscles and not force the change too much.
It takes time and it's best to be detached from the outcome better technique and let it happen when it happens. Physical preparation can also play a big role since most of the players don't play that much and are less fit.
The mental and tactical part are of course important since the player who plays a lot can develop really good feel for certain shots and patterns like short cross courts and drops shots which can really make the game difficult for their opponents. They can play better tennis very soon since the practice lessons are so close to one another that they still have the feel from the previous day.
And constant exposure to mental challenges in the tennis game combined with good mental tennis tips can greatly improve their winning percentage.
When you are learning how to play tennis it's important to decide on which area you're going to focus in order to achieve the most in the shortest time possible. Tennis tips are one of the rare shortcuts in the tennis game which can help you play better tennis in a very short time. You can keep in touch with the latest tennis tips by subscribing to my newsletter and receive two excellent free reports which will help you play better tennis in no time.
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