Off Court Practice Tips

Katelyn Caniford | Towpath Tennis Pro

With January being a slow and chilly month, players are in the process of transitioning to winter sports, or are in between seasons in their league. In order to keep your game moving along at home, use these easy but prudent tips, so when you're back on the court it'll feel like you never left!

Practice your toss while on the phone

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If you’re struggling to get your toss just right, practice it while talking on the phone! It’s the perfect opportunity to use your free hand to get the toss motion down to a science. Stand up and use your non dominant arm to toss and really emphasize letting the ball come off of your fingertips. Safety Tip: Use a ball of rolled up socks so you don’t break anything.

Split step while cooking dinner

Split stepping is one of the most important parts of your game. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to transition from shot to shot. Take advantage of the standing time and try practicing split stepping while you’re cooking dinner!

Watch instructional videos

Figure out the part of your game that you’d like to work on the most and watch instructional videos on it. Sometimes observing someone else do the motion you are trying to achieve will help you get better at it yourself! Even listening to a podcast to improve mental strategy can do wonders on your game. Best of all, you can do all of this while getting chores done at home!

Watch professional tennis and shadow stroke

With the Australian Open on its way, this is the perfect time to sit down and watch all of your favorite pros compete! It’s also a great opportunity to observe their strokes and try to shadow them yourselves. Tip: If your TV has slow motion settings try recording the matches and watching the close up shots in slow motion. That will help you get a better view of their strokes step by step and will make it much easier to shadow and learn. And take special note in how they set up their feet!

Plank everyday

Most people underestimate the importance of core strength. A strong core is not only good for our overall health but it’s critical for tennis players. Think about how often you are turning, reaching and twisting during your matches. A simple 30-60 second plank everyday will help tone and strengthen those muscles that aid in generating more power with your groundstrokes. Plus, you’ll find yourself recovering quicker to set up for your next shot. It’s a win-win!

Stay active!

Whether you’re getting back into the gym after the holiday break or just going for a simple walk, staying active off-court is vital to improving your tennis game and your health! Yoga is a great option because not only does it help to increase our flexibility and strength, but it also helps to improve our respiration and energy (and you can do it almost anywhere). Anything you can do to maintain your stamina will be beneficial to your game so whatever it is-keep moving!

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Are you a competitive player?

Kristianne Bontempo | Online Store Manager | Legit Tennis Fanatic

Three ways to deal with competition:

1. Embrace competition
2. Defend against competition
3. Avoid competition

What type of player are you?

Scenario #1: You’re in a tournament. Balls are no longer coming at a man-made pace. They are more like bullets zinging past you or landing around your feet. Your winners are becoming THEIR winners. You try one approach, then another but nothing seems to work. What do you do?

1. After letting your racquet “slip out” of your hands a few times, you realize it’s time to get out of this mess and save your reputation. You pull a back muscle, you start to limp, your strings have gotten too loose, you have a plane to catch.
2. Set yourself a new goal. You find yourself preparing early, leaning into your shots, following through. You focus on playing one point at a time, seeing how many times you can get the ball back over the net.
3. Because your ground strokes seem to be going awry, you retreat to a defensive stand well behind the baseline and half-heartedly flail away at what you can.

Scenario #2: Oh no, your group has you playing against someone who’s a level below you and pushes the ball too softly for you to hit it properly, uses some kind of weird spin on the serve, and has extraordinary luck with volleys off the rim. What do you do?

1. Figure out how to play this kind of opponent and learn to enjoy solving this kind of problem.
2. Call the league organizer later to complain about your court and request you only play with certain other players.
3. Grumble about the bad shots you’re getting, wish your opponent to hit the ball harder, and reiterate how this kind of game is hurting yours.

Scenario #3: You’re playing a league doubles match. You feel your opponents are beatable but your partner is having a really off day. What do you do?

1. Groan or roll your eyes to your opponents about your own frustration with your partner.
2. Refuse to play with that partner again.
3. Compliment your partner’s good shots even if they’re not pretty or don’t win the point.

Scenario #4: Your opponent has now made two bad line calls. What do you do?

1. Say nothing as you don’t want to start something unpleasant.
2. Look to get even on the calls, maybe at a key game point.
3. To show you have some doubt, just ask if your opponent is sure on the call, then raise your shot-making goal to hit every ball unquestionably inside the lines.

Key

1) a. 1pts b. 3pts c. 2pt   2) a. 3pts b. 1pt c. 2pts   3) a. 2pts b. 1pt c. 3pts   4) a. 1pt b. 2pts c. 3pts

10-12 points: You not only embrace a challenge, but you attack and revel in it. The competition becomes part of you. You set goals for yourself, find ways to meet them, and then set new goals. Bravo for sticking it out and staying tough until you’ve achieved a new level of success!

7-9 points: You give yourself plenty of excuses when you need them, minimize or criticize your opponents or partner, and find the end result more important than the journey. You’re not driven by the challenge of the sport but maybe by protecting your reputation or social status. If this sounds all too familiar, it’s time to get your goals realigned.

4-6 points: Even though you have your competitive moments, the thought of sitting through a challenging match diminishes any enthusiasm you had left. You might be relieved when it’s over, and feel hopeless about your efforts. It’s a negative or overwhelming experience for you. You need to rethink why you’re playing, maybe go back to some basics, and try to find the fun in tennis.