The Open vs Closed Stance Debate Rolls On!

Brian lloyd wrote to me today

Try as I may I couldn’t find the original article supporting my argument.

But I stumbled across 2 others that support the closed or neutral stance producing faster shots.

I’ll try and attach them to this email, but my computer skills are limited.

Me

Thanks for getting back again, Brian.

I couldn’t really see the attachments but pace of shot is not the only reason the open (or semi open really!!) is superior.

Have you or anyone else for that matter thought about recovery after the shot??

As I have said before, you really need to ask yourselves why the Pro game moved from the closed to open stance??

Paul

P.S. Check This Out!

Win More Tennis Matches

A Tennis Christmas Present From Santa

Here is your Xmas Prezzie straight from Santa!!

Go Get It HERE

How To Plan Your Tennis For 2009

Ok, It’s that time of year when people get all reflective about their tennis year gone by and begin to look forward to the year ahead.

And that is perfectly ok!

After all if you don’t look back sometimes you won’t know how far you have come and even if that’s not very far at least you should be able to reflect and see what you could have improved and try and implement those changes for the coming year.

So, definitely try and spend 15 minutes to reflect on what you have done this year and what you want to do next year.

To help you do this and to simplify the process, I am giving you a sheet that is one of the 2 sheets that I use with all of my tennis players.

It’s a very simple but very effective system that is easy to do and is something you can and should use on an ongoing basis.

You can find the sheet and info on how to use it HERE

Make 2009 Your Best Tennis Year Yet!

How to make 2009 your best tennis year yet!

Firstly, an email sent to me at www.tennis-training-central.com !

Paul,

You have made me think and I have put together some goals for the new year;

1 Improve first serve % from x to y by 1 may

2 improve 2nd serve % from x to y by 1 may

3 improve volley % from x to y by 1 may

4 improve consistency from X ball baseline rally to y ball rally by 1 may(forehand & backhand)

5 improve tennis movement (tennis footwork) skills don’t know how to measure by 1 july

6 improve match play tactics by 1 july don’t know how to measure

Interested in your thoughts Peter

My Reply

Hi Pete, thanks for the mail!

Ok let’s start at the beginning!

1st serve – We will have to just pick a number say 50 and measure no of serves in

2nd serve – same for this!!

Volleys – Your Ball machine (or hitting partner), random setting? set number (50?) no of volloeys in.

Groundstroke consistency – same as volleys!

Movement – set up a circuit/set movement pattern and time it. Improve time and therefore movement efficiency!This will also improve your tennis fitness.

Matchplay – Difficult as this is more subjective but you do “know.” Also you will play people and you can always compare previous result patterns etc

With first 4, keep target areas quite large i.e. anywhere in.

And over time narrow the area down for increased accuracy and pressure (match specific position & simulation!!).

Hope that helps!!

Paul Gold

Tennis – How To Win Every Time You Play!

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Imagine the following situation. Every time you step onto the tennis court whether it’s to play a regular tennis game, a practise match or a competitive match – you WIN!

No, this is not a tennis how to serve lesson because that alone will not win you matches.

No, this not some kind of tennis act where I tell you to watch the tennis ball better and you learn absolutely nothing.

No, you can’t get this advice from your local tennis shop, and there are no special tennis terms for what you are about to learn.

No, you can’t just pop a tennis video on and learn it either.

BUT…

Yes, it is possible and I am going to show you how to do it!

So here goes – The tennis information on how to win every time you play guide.

First things first, a true story (yes it really is true!)

The whole “tennis how to win every time you play” thing started a long time ago when I learnt how to do it and finished most recently with one of the ladies I have started to coach!

Now previously, like most people I coach and see, Karen mainly judged her weeks’ tennis on how many games and matches she had won. It also revolved around how she was still unable to beat this player or that player even though she was convinced she was the “better” tennis player with the “better” tennis shots (and the better tennis kit).

Everything was brought into sharp focus one day when I decided we would play doubles against one of the other local coaches and their pupil. We played and lost! But it was Karen’s inability to reproduce the form she had been showing just 10 minutes earlier in the warm up lesson (and she was playing well).

We talked about things and I outlined some of the strategies I have in my Tennis Matchplay System Report at www.beatallthetennisplayersyouwant.com which is written for and works for players of all tennis levels and after a bit of head shaking she began to see that winning tennis matches was not all about just hitting tennis balls.

The following week we played the same pair and drew, with Karen playing much better, saying she just tried to play and place her shots better. Even though we had drawn the match, in her eyes she had made serious progress and in some way even had the feelings of having won (I think you might be seeing where I am going with this).

This was bought up another level the week after when she told me she had played some mixed doubles with a guy during the week and had lost. But she said for the first time since she started playing she realised that although they had lost the doubles as a pair, she was really happy with how she had played.

“Even though WE lost” she told me, “I, felt like I had won!”

And that is exactly the right way to approach things!

And that is exactly the right way for YOU to approach things!

So, from TODAY stop focusing on the OUTCOME when you play i.e. Win or Lose and start focusing on the PROCESS when you play i.e. raising your 1^st serve percentage, cutting down on unforced errors etc.

If you think about it, just improving on a couple of things like your 1^st serve percentage and unforced errors will help you <b>WIN</b> more matches anyway.

But, if you improve on the 1 or 2 factors that you choose to focus on (and I recommend you only choose 1 or 2), and lose the match then your opponent was probably too good BUT you can look back at the match with a really positive outlook in the knowledge that if you continue to focus on and improve on separate facets of your game you will be improving your tennis rankings and improving your tennis game out of sight…….and THAT is the way to WIN every time you play!

Remember & start it today.