Video: Running Through The Approach

In this example, Jarko Nieminem efficiently runs through the approach shot to venture into the net. There are many ways to get to the net and this is just another avenue to reach the net that is at your disposal.  Notice how the feet never stop moving as he takes a controlled swing which allows him to get closer to the net.  People who have a hard time hitting winners from the baseline should look to employ this strategy into their games as it: 

1)  Takes time away from the opponent

2)  Applies lots of pressure on the passer

3)  Provides you with the opportunity to get closer to the net to hit volley winners

Have fun knocking off volleys and enjoy!

Serve and Volley Play

ANTONY: "These many then shall die, their names are prick'd" (Modern Translation: These many men then shall die; their names are checked on the list). Julius Caesar (ACT IV; Scene 1) by William Shakespeare. In this scene, Antony, Octavius and Lepidus have banded together in a counter-conspiracy to destroy the men who killed Caesar. The men pick certain people who must die, including the brother of Lepidus. They are sacrificing even their loved ones in order to achieve their desired goals.  

Great! What does this have to do with tennis and, specifically, the Serve and Volley Play?! When embarking on a serve and volley gamestyle you have to completely change your attitude towards tennis. For example, where winners and "forced" erros are rare in a baseline-to-baseline exchange, they are far more prevalent when one of the players is at the net. In other words, you don't get many second chances to scramble when you're at the net. As a serve-and-volleyer (or attacking player) you are simply going to have to become accustomed to seeing balls go by you, having the opponent force some errors from you and, perhaps, even hitting you. However, you have to believe that simply by being at the net, the percentages will slip in your favor thereby putting you in a better position to win the match. Even if you're 51%-49%, that's still sufficient room for you to win the match. Serve-and-volleying is about taking time away from your opponent and elciting more errors from the opponent than passing shots or shots that force errors on your behalf. Therefore, keep coming in for as long as you are winning more points than you're losing. The missed volleyes and half-volleyes as well as your opponent's passing shots should "slide off" you as water on teflon. Don't let lost points get to you. Unfortunately, a lot of juniors see balls going by them once or twice and, thereafter, refrain from coming in altogether because they're thinking that they are doing something wrong. Initially, that may be the case but with more practice you will be much better at "reading" the opponent's shots. For example, you will notice how certain grips, footwork, balance and preparation results in certain shots. Then, next time you see these movements, you will be in a better position to anticipate. You will also be better at placing your serves, mixing them up as well as navigating the mid-court transition area. These are things that will help you with the rest of your game even if you remain, for the most part, a baseliner. 

The only real way to become good at attacking is by doing it repeatedely. No, one workout a month is simply not good enough. If you want to improve this dimension of your game you (as a 14+ year old player) are going to have to set aside 6-8 weeks of serious serve-and-volley development. Work on volleys, swinging volleys, pick-up shots, stab volleys, reflex volleys, volley-overhead combination, chip-and-charge plays, etc. all with the mindset of being aggressive. If you're "in season", try to use the S-and-V strategy in earlier rounds against weaker opponents. Alternatively, seek to play smaller tournaments so that you get to use this play in more matches. The goal is not to become a serve-and-volley player (although there's nothing wrong with that if it's in your heart) but to simply become an expert at this play. Then, you can still play your "game" but you can use the attacking play once or twice a game (more/less) to mix things up.

In this regard, I recommend playing a lot of practice points where all you do is serve and volley. Divide the receiver's service box into two halves and practice playing points (up to 11, 15 and 21) where you serve only in one of these halves. Then, change it up and serve in the other half. When you become good at picking up on the opponent's returns, leave the court-dividers but serve anywhere. The goal is to start seeing HOW your opponent RESPONDS based on the placement/spin/pace of your serve. Remember, humans are pattern-creatures. We tend to do what's comfortable when faced with a situation that's even slightly out of the ordinary. By repeating these points, you will become more adept at discerning the opponent's return patterns and movement. Again, it's practice so don't get discouraged at seeing returns go by you. Go forward like "the Russians to Berlin" (i.e., forget about the sigh-seeing). Break some eggs and sacrifice some "loved ones" so that you can achieve greatness down the road. 

 

The Score: 4-1 Up A Break

Here is the deal, you are up a break 4-1 in the first set. Your opponent is at a comparable level to yourself and the match can swing either way. Thankfully, all your preparations heading into the match have panned out, sprinkled with just enough unforced errors from your opponent at inopportune times. The nerves of your opponent were not as sharp as yours, thus causing more unforced errors than they would usually make. The good news is you are up a break 4-1.

Then your opponent does the unthinkable and STOPS MISSING! (I hate when that happens!)

The rookie mistake is to accuse your opponent of treeing (playing unbelievable, this can't be!). You begin to panic and overhit. The obligatory 2-3 unforced errors a game are cut down to 0 or 1. Your opponent has suddenly relaxed into the match and settled down. The person on the other side of the net desperately wants to claw their way back into the match. Points that were coming easily are becoming less frequent and rallies of 10 plus shots are becoming the norm. Your heartrate starts to accelerate and frustration starts to build because of their solid play. How can this be?

When they stop missing, THIS IS WHEN THE MATCH BEGINS. You have to be on alert for when this moment comes. It might come at 4-1 or 5-2 or 2-0 up in the second set. But against any good player who is mentally strong, they will eventually decide to put the ball in the middle of the court- over and over again. When you think about it, nothing bad has happened and you should be grateful you have a 4-1 lead. Now is the time to remain calm and be ready to wrestle into some long rallies.

It is very conceivable the rallies won't go your way and you find yourself up 4-3, losing 2 consecutive games. Again, nothing bad has happend, you are still on serve. You have to realize at 4-1 down, they had nothing to lose and maybe loosened up a bit. With the pressure off of them, lots of players can recover from a break down. However, once the score reaches 4-3 on serve, the pressure is back on for them. And as long as you have remained emotionally calm and not do anything drastic, you can weasel your way to another break. Being emotionally calm, not reacting or panicking to the 4-3 scoreline will only increase your odds of winning the set. If you panic, you have simply decreased your odds.

At 4-3, this is not the time to try fancy plays (interject new strategies), but this is the time to bring high percentage tennis. Lots of meat and potatoes and see if they can hang with you mentally (maybe they will crack). The rookie mistake at 4-3 would be to change strategies completely and be hotheaded. This is a sure recipe for losing the set 7-5.

The goal at the end of the day is to maximize your odds of winning. You want to stack all the odds in your favor (remember, your opponent on the otherside has problems too) and execute your strengths to their weakness. Towards the end of the set is when people begin to crack. Weak backhands at 1-0 are easy to make, but weak backhands directed to an opponent become increasingly difficult at 4-3 and 5-4. You have to work on their head and don't let them off the hook with cheap unforced errors. If they keep up the good tennis, atleast you played smart and didn't let go of the rope.

Good luck with your next 4-1 lead!

Junior Tennis: National Points vs Who You Beat

Before Y2K, the junior landscape for gaining entry into Sectionals and Nationals was very different from what it is today. Currently, the USTA has implemented the point system which rewards players for reaching certain rounds in certain tournaments. The further you go, the more points you get.

Before the USTA implemented the point system, the junior ranking system consisted of your wins and losses. Players were required to fill out their "Player Record Forms" to submit to tournament directors, sectional offices, and the USTA for ranking and seeding purposes (you had to send it before the entry deadline through snail mail). It was all about who you beat and who you lost to. You were penalized for losing to poor players (you couldn't have a bad day all year) and you were also penalized for taking an injury default during a match (eliminated the mental shenanigans for weak players). The combination of your wins and losses determined your ranking.

Furthermore, in big sections like the South or Midwest, one had to qualify from parts of their state to make it to sectionals. For instance, Chicago might take 15 of the top players to go to Sectionals for a 128 draw. You had to qualify, no silly exemptions, everyone had to play. Whether you were Jack Sock or #533 in Chicago, you had to go through the avenue to get to Sectionals. Then to get to Nationals (Clays, Hards, Indoors), one had to be in the top 15 in the Section of the Midwest Section. The draw size was not 192, it was a smaller 128 draw with clear cut quota spots for each section.

The competition was viscious and everyone had to go through this pipeline. Nobody could duck competition, everyone had to face the music and display guts. The best tennis players were rewarded and it promoted a certain amount of toughness. The mentally weak were weeded out and the sneaky parents couldn't buy their way to the national tournaments (abuse of point system today). Kids were tougher and college coaches could rely on that stats the ranking system spit out. Today, college coaches have a harder time deciphering who is the real deal when the system is all about points, skipping levels, ducking tournaments, playing ITFs, playing Pro Circuit Events, and such.

Back in the day, only the top 10 players from SoCal would be able to attend Nationals. Think about how viscious the competition was? Think about how good it was for the kids to experience this type of pressure, year and year, multiple times per year? It allowed amazing players to develop and nobody was allowed to cut corners. People who were left behind had to fight that much harder, there was no other way to Kalamazoo!

Parents: Next time you whip out the credit card to travel 1000 miles to a tournament to get his/her ranking up, save your money. It's not money well spent. A better option is to play a local tournament at his/her level (don't play up) and make them prove time and time again, they can handle the pressure of winning. All college coaches will not be fooled by points, they will first check how they did against the top players and who they lost to. It all comes down to wins and losses.

First The Smile, Then The Good Tennis

"Champions love to practice when nobody is looking and champions love to compete when everyone is watching" -unknown

The title of this article sounds kind of cheesy, but it is very true. Tennis is a really long journey and the MOST important thing is falling in love with the game. Ultimately, you want a player who can be their own coach. Sure, there have been and always will be a giant of list of players who don't "love" the game or never had the "bug" for it, who happened to blossom because they were gifted athletes driven by tough parents and/or coaches. Usually these types of players only frustrate the ones who care about them because they never fully realize their potential. The smile never was there from the beginning or more likely, the smile was lost along the way.

Here are some ways to ignite the tennis "bug" from a young age (pay attention hungry, overachieving, perfectionist parents):

1) Make tennis a family activitiy. You should play with your kids.
2) Take them to local college tennis events, pro events, get autographs.
3) Introduce them to the wall and explain how the The Wall is the best player in the world.
4) Don't force heaps of tennis lessons on them. Let them play with other kids.
5) They do not need $60 private lessons at age 8. Keep it light and fun.
6) Don't be technical, just let them swing for the fences or tap the ball. Whatever they want.
7) Play points, forget drilling. It's like when you first learn the piano, would you rather learn chords or a popular song off the radio. Make it fun!
8) Take tennis away from them, limit their play. It will make them want more.

Now if they catch the "bug," you have done an excellent job. Now how do you maintain the smile for the next 10-15 years?

Stay out of their tennis and just be supportive- no matter what. Don't be the one who ruins their love for the game. If you are the type who can't stay away, must micromanage, cherry picks from mutiple coaches, calls coaches after lessons to discuss backhand technique, chases tournament points all over the country, makes excuses for your child's poor play, and has an opinion on everything- STAY OUT OF THEIR TENNIS and JUST BE SUPPORTIVE! (We all know who you are, atleast there is never a shortage of drama and characters in tennis).

Tennis is hard enough as it is. You can't force a horse to drink from the river. And you can't drag your spouse down the aisle at your wedding...

Always the smile, then the good tennis.