Federer And Nadal Use The Fundementals Of Tennis Technique To Rule

Mention the names Federer & Nadal in tennis circles and you normally set people off to wax lyrical about how great they both are, the Wimbledon  final of last year and the Australian Open of this year (2009)!

Now whilst we do get plenty of opportunity to marvel at their shotmaking, insane levels of super-human mental toughness and all the other qualities that go to make up a tennis champion most people get it wrong when asked to name the number 1 thing these guys do every single point!

The reason nobody seems to get it is because it is so ……easy!!!

Apart from being ridiculously easy, it is also No1 on the list of technical fundementals that govern good tennis and note I am not saying that every player must play a particular way or the same way, BUT every good player can/must have these fundementals in their shot production.

The good news is that SO CAN YOU!!

You can work on/improve these 5 things and improve your stroke play dramatically.

The first of the 5 is………….wait for it……………WATCH THE BALL!!

There, I told you it was easy.

Watching the ball (not just looking at it – there IS a difference) allows you to judge the flight of the ball, without which you will struggle to know where the ball is going never mind making a good contact.

Without this in place, the other 4 just won’t happen, so start watching that ball TODAY!

Tennis Coaching – Can You Have 2 Or Even More?

I got sent a really interseting question the other day?

Q. Hi Paul,

I would like to find out if it is advisable to have 2 separate coaches to develop different skills, one to help with ground strokes and the other to develop the volley and overheads, for a 11 yr. old playing competitive tennis?

Well that’s an interesting concept!

In an ideal world that is exactly how you would do it if you could – a coach per department.

In reality it tends not to work like that.

I know in many other sports especially team sports you can tend to have a defense coach and an attacking coach etc but they are normally under the guidance of the head coach and for good reason – somebody has to have the overall vision for the team and this would have to be the same for this 11 year old girl.

If you don’t have a head coach, then both coaches would have to have a great understanding and both have the same vision/end result in mind.

Normally what happens when you coach somebody is that you have the “end product” in mind and you then slot all the pieces together within that common ground.

I think the fact that you never see or hear about this being done tells you something although if you as the parent knew something about the game and had the “vision” you could certainly get different people to coach different shots etc if they had a special knack in these areas.

I’m really interested to find out if anyone else has thought about or indeed done this in the past.

So, whether you have kids and have thought about multiple coaches or even done so yourself, I want you to leave a comment below!!

The Match Winning Tennis Strategy Mindset

If there was one thing I could tell you about wining tennis matches, it would be this -

Learn to love your “B” game!

But what does that mean?

Well, when you are playing your “A” game and everything is going to plan, things are easy.  This never lasts forever though (even in the course of a match) and there are times where you just have to “tough it out” and hang in there – your “B” game.

You really need to learn how to win sometimes with your “B” game if you want to progress in tournaments.

It could be that you are not playing well at the time or on a given day, or even as simple as you are playing an opponent that you just have trouble with.  It doesn’t matter.

What really matters is that you learn to love these obstacles safe in the knowledge that your “A” game is always just around the corner.

Rafa Nadal illustrated this perfectly a couple of weeks ago when his “B” game got him through against Verdasco which allowed his “A” game to turn up against Federer in the Final.

Don’t just think that it’s a “disease” of the club player – both Federer & Sampras were just talented players who were never happy (unless they were playing “perfect tennis”), until they learnt about “Winning Ugly”.

This acceptance of the “B” game turned them both into the Tennis Champions they are today.

Again,many coaches disagree with me, but in the match playing arena sometimes you need to play in the present and not dwell on why this or that shot wasn’t perfect.

It’s not always about pretty tennis, sometimes you need to get the “W” on the scoresheet, and move on to the next match.

Learn to do this and you learn how to win!

P.S. Don’t forget to check out my Tennis Matchplay Special Report which shows you how to -

Beat Any Tennis Player You Want

Your Tennis Training Warm Up Doesn’t Need To Be Affected By Snow

It is so important that you don’t just walk onto the court, grab your racket, rally a few balls, hit a few serves and start playing a match!!

I have had people asking about a really simple way to incorporate a warm up into their tennis routines without taking time out beforehand to go to the gym or something – so have a look at this.

P.S. Did you know we have been having a lot of snow recently?

How To Manage Your Tennis Injuries

Now injury (if we are honest) is a normal part of the process of playing tennis & sport.

It could be something as popular as tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) or golfers elbow (medial epicondylitis).

There is nothing worse than when you are playing and you suddenly feel pain and discomfort.

What should you do?

Do you carry on and finish the match? Or do you instantly stop & get some attention?

Well, there is a 4 point system I have come across that you can use to help you make the best decision.

The first thing you need to do is to grade your pain on a scale of 1 to 4!

Based on that score, you can use the following guidelines -

Pain Level 1 (Play on Normally) – No impairment or likely worsening of the injury.

Pain Level 2 – (Play on Normally with Some Caution) There is some pain but playing at your normal intensity is normally ok as it isn’t forcing you to alter the way that you play.

Pain Level 3 (Consider Stopping) – The pain is altering the way you are having to play and you could be risking further injury to the injury site as well as to other parts of the body as well.

Pain Level 4 (Stop Immediately) – This is an obvious injury problem that needs attention NOW!

Talking of which, if you are suffering with or have a history of elbow problems you really should check out this great resource which I know has helped lots of people I know to get rid of some very nasty pain that has stopped them playing over the years.

You can get all the details by Clicking HERE

The Open Stance Tennis Forehand Youtube Debate Rolls On!

So when it comes to the tennis forehand there is only one thing that is worthy of debate – open or closed stance?

Well you would think so given the emails and comments I get almost on a daily basis.

If you have not seen what I am talking about or have not made a comment the go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW1xZOLXxEU and check it out and leave your comment below.Please do leave  comment whichever side of the fence you are I really want to see what everybody thinks!!

Use Nadal & Verdasco To Improve Your Tennis

From the round of the last 16 at the Australian Open and all the way to that epic 5 1/4 hour marathon with Rafa Nadal, Fernando Verdasco’s increased fitness was the topic of many conversations.

Much of it centred around Gil Reyes, Andre Agassi’s former trainer, who worked with Verdasco during the off-season.

Although many credited Verdasco’s upturn in form to his fitness, I think many people actually are missing the real point!!

I have no doubt that he was fitter than before, BUT I can tell you that the main thing that get’s affected when your fitness goes up is your mental strength & confidence.

There is no better way to get that self confidence “right up there” than to know that you have done all that hard work and that lasting in a match or getting to any ball on the court will be no problem.

Just like I say to all my players – being a better tennis player is not just about your tennis strokes!

You need to work on all aspects of your game, many of which improve other elements automatically!

This is obviously the case with Nadal who as Mats Wilander said is not a better tennis player than Federer but because of his “complete package” (which includes his incredible tennis fitness) is the better competitor and that’s what wins tennis matches and is why he is the No1.

If you want to improve your tennis fitness. your self confidence and ultimately your game, check out my Ultimate Tennis Fitness Planner.

It gives you day by day, session by session, rep by rep workouts for anything from 2 weeks to 4 months.

Watch the video that explains it all

HERE

Ramp Up Your Tennis Game In Just 10 minutes – Part 3

Improve Your Serve & Return

This is really a no-brainer!!

Improve your serve and you hold more often.

Improve your return of serve and break more often.

Again, use the 10 minute rule that I have told you about previously and Bang!

Trying to improve the accuracy (use targets) and power of your serves will always be a great help, also getting someone to serve at you and trying to return as many balls as you can on a regular basis are both great habits to get into!

Just by practising both of these shots on their own in small 10 minute chunks will have a BIG effect on your game!

Paul Gold