My forehand/backhand keeps missing wide?

1. Select a target rather than just cross court.
2. Select a safer target 2-3 feet inside the lines.
3. Keep you eyes still until you see the blur of your racquet go past your eyes – looking up re-directs your shot.
4. Align your feet to get better position so your swing is more in line with your target.
5. Focus on the part of the ball you want to hit to make the ball go toward your target (outside, behind or inside of the ball.)
6. You may be contacting the ball too early – be patient or too late – prepare for an earlier contact point.

My forehand/backhand keeps going in the net?

1. Pick out an aim point that is about the height of your opponents head above the net, about 3-4 feet above the net.
2. Be sure to allow your racquet head to get under the ball so you can “lift the ball” over the net instead of driving it the same height as the net.
3. You may be contacting the ball too late – shorten your backswing and meet the ball sooner to get the upward arc.
4. You looked at the net – so your hand guided the ball to your target.
5. Extend the finish of your stroke – up and out.
6. Release the tension in your hand as you finish your stroke to avoid pulling the racquet down before the complete finish of the stroke.

My forehand/backhand keeps going long?

1. You are not applying enough topspin to bring the ball down.
2. Keep your eyes still while contacting the ball – looking up will make the fence become a target.
3. Finish your swing – pulling off will make the ball sail.
4. Take more adjusting steps to get better position – out of position can cause you to alter your swing pattern and lift the ball too high.
5. Stay down, keep a wider stance so you can rotate into the shot instead of lifting with the legs too early in the swing.

My grip is incorrect?

1. Mark the correct position for the index knuckle and the heal of the hand for a forehand and backhand.
2. Hold the racquet by the throat with the non-hitting hand and keep the grip hand relaxed so the non-hitting hand can turn the racquet to the correct grip position for you -forehand or backhand.
3. Study your opponent and lock in on their pattern of shots so you can anticipate whether they will most likely hit to your forehand or backhand.  This “anticipation” will give you a head start to getting the grip position early.
4. Start with the grip that is most difficult to get to – it’s always easy to get to your favorite grip.

My timing is off?

1. Timing is an eye function – usually you are not seeing the ball well.  Look for the shadow of light and darkness on the ball, say “bounce” when the ball touches the court and “touch” when you make contact As more balls are lost between the bounce and contact.
2. Take more adjusting steps (8-10 steps – the pros average 10-12 steps between their shots) between each shot you make.  The extra movement will raise your attention level and your focus level.
3. The adjusting steps help you to establish a better position to meet the ball and produce a better quality shot.
4. Soften your grip.  When your timing is off, your grip may be way to tight.  This tension greatly affects your ability to time your movement, swing and relaxed eye focus.
5. When you feed the ball back to your opponent so they can serve, use the drop and hit effort to practice the “feel” of how you want the stroke to feel in the up-coming point.

Photo Credits: 1

• 7 Habits of Highly Successful Tennis Professionals 1. Be "Pro" Active Sure you have been teaching for years and may not need a lesson plan. But just as you would prepare to play a match, you still would need to review.  So, have a game plan for your student or opponent and think about your last......
• Ken DeHart Presents “Strategy and Tactics of Tennis” at Missouri Valley USPTA USPTA Master Professional, Ken DeHart was the kick-off speaker at the 2009 Missouri Valley USPTA Conference at the Homestead Country Club in Kansas City, Missouri. Ken presented a 4 hour continuing education course on Strategy and Tactics to more than 80 tennis teaching professionals and high school coaches attending......
• Ball Machines – Using them for Singles Practice Ball machines are great for practicing your singles shots – if positioned correctly. 5 things NOT to do when using a ball machine: Do not place the ball machine only on the baseline in the center of the court Do not have the ball machine oscillate only from deuce court......
• Ball Machines – Using them for Doubles Practice [/caption] Ball machines are great for practicing your doubles shots – if positioned correctly. 5 things NOT to do when using a ball machine: Do not place the ball machine on the baseline in the center of the court Do not have the ball machine oscillate from deuce court to......
• Racquet Mail: Defeating the Inside out Forehand Racquet Mail: I have a question regarding how to counter the inside out forehand. I'm a 4.5-5.0 player with an all court game, with a two handed backhand. Lately, I have been having trouble with one high level opponent who grew up on clay courts. Typically, we rally a few......

• The Downswing The downswing needs to be perceived as being a reaction rather than simply being an action. Everything that is going to happen is going to depend on what has already happened. This is why your grip, your alignment, your posture and your backswing are all so important when it comes......
• Tips for Tennis Serving One of the most complex strokes in the entire game of tennis is the tennis serve, as it requires a specific set of motions that is executed in a specific order in order for the stroke to be properly effective. The basic fundamentals in this sport are absolutely critical if......
• 100 Quick Tennis Tips pt 2 Here are 100 quick and easy tennis tips to get your game going. We're going to spread this list out over a couple of posts to keep it interesting. Tip #12 - When the ball is coming so fast that you are not going to get to it in time......
• Diagnosing a Slice Do you know what a slice is? A slice is what happens when your ball curves wide to the right if you are right-handed, or to the left if you are left-handed. Slices are one of the biggest problems that recreational golfers find themselves struggling with the most. When you......
• How To Improve SEO Ranking Of a Blog Or Website Major search engine like Google Yahoo and Bing are constantly changing their algorithms so that they can keep their results better and up to date. On page optimization is no longer used to determine a website’s ranking. Factor that carries the most weight with search engines results are linking. Linking......

1.  Lob with a Purpose – there are two main reasons to lob:

1. To win the point

2. To get out of trouble

The Offensive Lob

Offensive Lob is designed to win the point.

1. Aim point – about 10 feet over the opponents head – hit quickly so they have little chance to run it down or react to the sudden elevation of the shot.

2. Location – best placed over their backhand side of your opponent – be aware of lefties when you plan your lob.

3. Disguise – prepare for the lob as though you are going to hit a drive then at the last moment lift the shot into a lob.

The Defensive Lob

The Defensive Lob is designed to get you out of trouble buy time and keep you in the point.

Height is the key factor in this shot – high to buy extra time to recover. It also forces the opponent to decide to play a difficult shot out of the air or let it bounce.

2. 5 Tips on how to Set up the Lob –

1. Offensive - Get your opponents looking for the passing shot by hitting crosscourt and down the line with shots aimed about waist to chest high above the net with lots of topspin.
2. This strategy should draw your opponents closer to the net so as to be able to cut off the angles you have been using to pass them.
3. Use your first offensive lob on a shot when they least expect it a little later in the game, set or critical situation.
4. This “surprise” will make them a little hesitant to close in so tight and open up your passing shots once again.
5. Defensive – anytime you are in an awkward position, forced wider than the alley, force to retreat well behind the baseline or facing players that charges quickly to the net – Lob high and deep. This height and depth will give you recovery time while forcing your opponents back deeper into their court. This deeper court position will make it less likely they can put the ball away quickly – buying you time to get into a sound defensive position.

Photo Credits: 1

• 5 Winning Keys to Lobbing, pt 2 Welcome to part two of 5 Winning Keys to Lobbing. Below are tips three and four. 3. 5 Tips on where to Lob 1. Always aim lobs  over the opponents backhand side (notice if they are left handed) 2. Few players have the strength or timing to power a backhand......
• Where does Power come from? What are the secrets of power? - Not trying but let it flow.... 1. Just the thought of hitting "hard" will make you tense up and grip the racquet tightly. This does the exact opposite or what you are trying to achieve - it takes away your power. 2. Tension......
• The Psychology of a Winner: Improving Your Practice They say practice makes perfect. I say "perfect practice makes perfect.” Practice is just the first thing you have to keep in mind when you're aiming for that win on the court. This begs the question then on how do you improve your practice? Look to the four tips below......
• Racquet Mail: How to Change Grips Quickly at the Net [/caption] Racquet Mail: Now on the 2 tip you mentioned to change to bh grip with the hand holding the frame of the racket and that it is a mistake to change grip with the hand holding the grip. Why is that? I saw you pulling your shoulders upwards in......
• 3 Secrets to Winning Doubles, pt 2 [/caption] This is the second post of three consecutive posts on the secrets to winning doubles in tennis. Secret #2 "Tennis Dance" Where to move & when to move there! Dance of the server's partner: Find the middle of the service box, half way between the net and the service......

• Top Tennis Tips from the Pros in Tennis The first thing that you are going to want to understand is that pro players are on a completely different level of playing in comparison to amateur players. Still, this is absolutely no reason for you not to look at pro players and take advice from them on how they......
• Basketball Round 1; Whoa Nelley was I Bad So I was feeling pretty good and decided I wanted to try to play some basketball at an open gym.  I need to exercise and having spent the better part of 15 years playing basketball at a high level relative to my age I thought it would be an good......
• Tennis Glossary Finale Umpire - The umpire is the top official of a tennis match. Seated in an elevated position on the side of the court next to the net, the umpire is tasked with announcing the score whenever a point is made, and holds the final say over any and all questions......
• 13 Quick Tips for Better Tennis There are a lot of tennis tips and tricks floating around out there, but many are complicated and complex, and not at all easy for you to implement on your own without a dedicated trainer to walk you through them. The following article is designed to go over some quick......
• A Little Bit of Tennis 101 pt 2 Serving - When you are standing with both of your feet just behind the baseline, you are going to want to take up a sideways type of stance. You should be keeping the left foot pointing in the direction of the net post on the right hand side. The left......