Play as good as you practice

Dallas Aleman | Towpath Tennis Owner | Tennis Guru

Why is it that you can play well in practice or in a lesson and then when you play a match, you play poorly at times?

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It may be the way you practice or the type of lesson you take. If your practice partner or pro is always hitting the ball back in your strike zone where your strokes are grooving, then you are preparing yourself for only one type of ball. You are essentially ‘playing catch’ where no ball really challenges you. This type of practice is great to correct a defective stroke but it’s not so good for preparing you for matches.

During actual competition, you are going to see the player that hits with spin, drop shots, uses the whole court, or the dreaded moon ball. They are your nightmare and you are cannon fodder for them. That is unless you know how to turn things around to your advantage. By beating the enemy you must learn their game and if you can’t seem to figure it out during practices, then match play is your best bet. Challenge yourself to find those types of shots and players that don’t just ‘play catch’ with you.

When you find yourself struggling against a player that doesn’t fall into your catching game, remind yourself this--you learn to improve the best when you are struggling in an uncomfortable situation.

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Mental Toughness Tip: Positive Body Language

Kristianne Bontempo | Towpath Tennis Employee | Legit Tennis Fanatic

The key to having positive body language is to get yourself into the right mindset, meaning you want a good attitude that exudes confidence. But come on, we've been in those down and out matches and sometimes the only thing keeping you going is the fact that this ugly match is almost over. We don't expect you to perform psychological magic, but do as the pros do--fake it til you make it!


Juvante Johnson keeps alert at Towpath

1) No slouching! Slouching is a sign of defeat so walk around with your shoulders back--even if you are down 0-5.

2) Stop dragging your feet. The last thing you want is for your opponent to see you're tired. Even if your feet feel like bricks, kick them around a bit to prove you still have some gas in the tank.

3) Run don't walk. Every so often, pick up a light jog while retrieving a ball or getting back into ready position. Even in the 5th set of the French Open, we saw Nadal gunning to the baseline after a changeover. This will not only energize you but it will terrify your opponent into thinking you aren't getting enough of a workout from them.

4) Get enthusiastic! If you're playing doubles, your forced enthusiasm can be contagious. Soon your slumping partner will have an extra skip in her step too.

Stick with these tips and before you know it, you're game will rise up to your attitude.

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We get better at what we practice

Dallas Aleman | Towpath Tennis Owner | Tennis Guru

Tennis is both an individual and team sport. This time of the year we have a lot of you practicing to compete. But sometimes we hear grumbling off the court after a match with players wondering why they can't play like they do in practice.

Well we say, you get better at what you practice. So next time you're on the court take a moment to reflect, what are you practicing?

• Stretching before and after
• Hitting recklessly
• Being generous with your comments
• Skeptically shooting down ideas for lineups and pushing your own agenda
• Having energy (moving your feet)
• Grumbling
• Looking for opportunities to improve your game
• Dreaming pipe dreams with no substance
• Blaming others for your fault
• Working on a particular shot
• Giving useful feedback
• Making an effort
• Being on time
• Hitting with accuracy
• Playing it safe
• Positive attitude

Practice is just that, a combination of positives and negatives. It's up to you now to decide the outcome of your next practice by seeing what will outweigh the other.

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Is it a lost point for reaching over the net?

Kristianne Bontempo | Towpath Tennis Employee | Legit Tennis Fanatic

By NickStenning via Wikimedia Commons

We're constantly faced with many on court challenges, but recently we've seen a lot of fuss over whether it's okay or not to reach over the tennis net. Well there are two answers to this, which is why there has been a lot of confusion over the correct ruling.

The first part of the official USTA rule states 'a player may break the plane of the net on a follow through from a shot as long as the ball was on that player's side of the court when the ball was struck. In other words, DO NOT reach over the net to hit the ball. Wait for it to cross the net and then swing all you want.

However, there are times when reaching over the net are perfectly acceptable. In the second part of the official USTA rule, it states 'if the spin or wind brings the ball back over the net to the side of the player who hit the shot, the opponent may then reach over the net and play the ball.' In other words, if you don't reach over the net, you lose the point. Just be careful not to touch the net with your clothing, equipment, or any part of your body because your efforts will be at a loss.

There you have it, you cannot reach over the net to hit the ball unless an untouched ball bounces back over the net. If your opponent were to ever question you, whip out a rule book (USTA's Friends At Court) or your phone and look it up. Your opponent's ignorance does not call for you to replay the point, so if you state the rule and defend it positively, then the outcome will usually go your way. Now that you know the rule, your job now is to correctly judge the situation at hand and see if it calls for a ruling.

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Is your tennis game lucky?

Dallas Aleman | Towpath Tennis Owner | Tennis Guru
   

Roger Federer's the King of creating his own luck (flickr)

Luck is winning the lottery. In tennis, there is no such luck. When you hear players say "this guy is so lucky" or "how lucky can a girl get," you're listening to those that feel you don't deserve such a point. The thing is you may have thought it was lucky, but you created it!

 

Luck represents hard work and like many pros, such as Roger Federer, they create their own luck. When you have the urge to rationalize your opponent's shots by calling them lucky, you are actually going down a dangerous road. It's not a rabbit's foot in their pocket, nor the rituals they go through before a match. It's simply because their hard work and effort has paid off.

So come out and create your own luck. There is nothing more rewarding than to hear your opponent cry "lucky shot!"

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Mental Toughness Tip: Positive Visualization

Dallas Aleman | Towpath Tennis Owner | Tennis Guru

Do you find yourself freezing up at critical points, playing great in practice but lousy in competition, or letting self-doubt creep into the back of your mind? Guess what, we ALL do! Even the pros have their mental meltdowns at times. Your mind controls your body so the key is to train your mind to work for you.

Competitive play should be a happy positive experience where improving is the goal. Many of the struggles with getting better relate to how you visualize your upcoming matches, since the active imagination has no trouble envisioning the negative outcomes. The thing is, positive visualization doesn't actually decrease your chances of failing, but it does increase the odds of success.

Anyone can tell you to think positively but sometimes that's easier said than done. Whether your slumping during a match or having trouble sleeping the night before a big tournament, take this as an opportunity to try these positive visualization techniques.

• Imagine yourself loose, even if that means physically shaking out your legs and arms.
• Visualize hitting the perfect shot; an ace out wide, a forehand down the line, an overhead smash-whatever gets you going.
• Repeat the image in your mind of your perfect shot over and over and over again. 
• Envision the win. Don't get me wrong, you don't want to jump the gun but allowing yourself to see the end result is encouraging.   

These and many more positive thoughts are the way you create pathways and environments where a winning environment can take place. This not only programs your mind to think positively, but it will help you gain confidence and belief that just because your down 0-5 in a match, you can still come back and win-it's happened! So continue testing out these positive visualization techniques and let us know, does it work for you?


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