Tennis is an awesome sport. However, whether you are a beginning tennis player just starting to take tennis lessons or an advanced player who has played tennis for years, you probably figured out pretty quickly that tennis can be an incredibly frustrating sport as well.

Many of my students want to learn the technique and have nice looking strokes, which is important when you are taking beginner tennis lessons. What most tennis players really struggle with is the ability to be able to problem solve when they miss a shot. Tennis is a game where you are going to miss a lot of balls. Even the best players in the world miss a lot of shots, so get used to watching yourself miss and get over it!!! What you need to focus on is how to immediately correct your mistakes so you don’t get on the court and have that hopeless feeling overtake you. Don’t feel bad we have all been there.

The answer to many of your problems is being able to problem solve right on the spot. Missing a shot and taking the information right away and know exactly what went wrong so you can quickly correct and move on. This is a skill that takes some time but is essential in your development as a tennis player.

The good news is I am going to cut the learning curve dramatically by making a series of tennis instruction videos where I present a problem and you have to solve the puzzle. We are going to go over all the shots, the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, overhead, and footwork. If you are going to be a great tennis player you must become a Sherlock Holmes on the court. Taking clues and quickly solving the mystery of your mistakes.

What I see too often is a tennis player who is actually hitting the ball well but they completely lose confidence because their balls are not landing in the court. Here is a news flash you can hit a great shot and still miss!!! A great player will miss a shot and feel good about it because they will take the information and know right away the minor tweak they need to make the next time they see that shot to put the ball in the court.

Today I have a video of myself making a serve error in the net. Watch the video and comment below on what I am doing every time that is making the ball go in the net. This will help your ability to problem solve on the court. If you can’t figure it out don’t worry just fill out the form and I will give you a video with the answer.

]]> http://tennismuse.com/?feed=rss2&p=217 1 http://tennismuse.com/?p=214 http://tennismuse.com/?p=214#comments Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:50:14 +0000 tennismuse http://tennismuse.com/?p=214

This is a fun video that demonstrates how to add the right amount of under spin to you slice forehand or backhand. The key is you don’t want to add too much cut on your ball, which is what most club players try to do. This exaggerated cut motion results in a ball that floats too much and has no pace.

What you want to do is be much more subtle with the amount of cut you put on the ball. I compare it to putting just a dash of salt in your soup. If you just add a dash or a hint of cut to your slice you will end up with a shot that more resembles what the pros like Roger Federer hit. A shot that has some drive to it and skids and stays low when it hits the other side of the court. Make sure to watch the whole video so you can see exactly what I am talking about and please be sure to let me know if this video helped!!!

Watching the Davis Cup this weekend was fun and it was great to see the US beat Switzerland. John Isner had the biggest win of his career and beat the legendary Roger Federer 4-6, 6-3, 7-6,6-2.

Marty Fish came up big coming back from being down 2 sets to 1 against Stanislas Wawrinka winning 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 9-7. This no doubt will help Fish get back his confidence for the 2012 season after a very disappointing Australian Open.

Ryan Harrison had his Davis Cup debut and beat Michael Lammer 7-6, 7-6 to make Davis Cup captain Jim Courior proud and hopeful for the future of American tennis.

All these results are great news for American tennis and a big win for our Davis Cup team. However, who really cares? My friend who happens to be a Federer fan said to me the Davis Cup is not important anymore and just like an exhibition.

When I thought about it, I had to admit he kind of had a point. I mean unless the Davis Cup is on television right in front of you, is it an event you look forward to. When players lose matches in the Davis Cup is it a big deal? If I am being honest I don’t look forward to the Davis Cup like I look forward to the Grand Slams. I already cannot wait for the French and that is months away!!!

The players are already talking about the Olympics coming up this summer at Wimbledon and so am I. So the question is what can be done about the Davis Cup to make it more relevant as a major event. Should it be played every couple years and run like a tournament to get it done all at once? Should the Olympics just take the place of Davis Cup now that all the top pros seem to want to play it? Or is the Davis Cup just fine the way it is? Let me know what you think by commenting below…

Maybe the most physically demanding matches in the history of tennis. These two battled for nearly 5 hours and the quality of tennis was off the charts. Amazing shots, amazing gets, and tons of heart from both players.

I felt having Lendl in Andy’s corner was a big help and has pushed Andy’s game to another level. It is a real shame he could not pull out the win. This is a match where you hate to see someone lose.

What can you say about Novak Djokovic. He has gone from being a choker to MR Clutch!!! He now loves these moments and somehow knows he is coming out on top no matter what.

Here is the question of the day. Can Novak come back and play Rafa Nadal at 100 percent. I believe his game is now better and more complete than Rafa, but he will need to be 100 percent ready physically and mentally to deal with the Spanish Bull. Can he do it or did today’s match take it’s toll? Let me know what you think.

Another classic match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. If you are a Roger fan though it is the same old story close but no cigar. The two are so evenly matched and it really produces high drama scintillating tennis.

This match again had everything!!! Amazing points, huge momentum swings, and fireworks…literally(it was Australia Day and the match was stopped for 15 minutes). If you are a Rafael Nadal fan you must love all these matches because they truly are breathtaking to watch.

I however am a Roger fan so it is a little heartbreaking to watch. To see him try so hard, play so well and still fall short is hard. As I was watching the match it becomes more and more apparent why he can’t beat Rafa. The talent is there, the hunger is there, but the pressure is too much!!!

He knows he has to play aggressive to win and when Roger watches Rafa run down great shot after great shot it becomes disheartening to him. He is so good at controlling his emotions but you can still see the look of overwhelm on his face. Roger simply has to do too many complicated shots to win a point and when the pressure builds he goes for too much at the wrong times.

Rafa on the other hand has the luxury of playing high percentage heavy topspin pounding tennis. Now while this looks incredible exhausting there is not as much pressure to produce greatness and genius every point. Rafa produces his greatness by reacting to what Federer has thrown at him, but he does not constantly have to be thinking,”ok whats the next amazing shot I have to try to win this point”. The way Roger has to win points is not only physically exhausting but mental as well. That is the big difference in my opinion.

Let me know if you agree and if you disagree, why do you think Roger can’t beat this guy? Comment below the video of highlights…

Watch Video for my picks. Let me know what you think….