Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

A player involved in a match and trying to play smart tennis is constantly assessing a variety of factors when trying to maintain their good momentum or make significant changes in the match because they are behind on the scoreboard. If a player feels they are losing the battle either technically, tactically, physically or mentally, there needs to be a process each player can go through to make those necessary changes. As a Davis Cup and Federation Cup captain I often had to go through this mental process myself in order to turn a match around by adjusting the way my player was competing. Those adjustments came about after a process that involved accurately reading the situation and deciding what needed to change (or in some cases to not change at all) and putting those changes to the test during the match. Here is that process in detail: 1.      EXPLORE (Analyse) This is the stage where, if there is a change of strategy needed, the player explor...

A correct physical training program can enhance your tennis game significantly, while an incorrect physical training program can also harm your game tremendously. In past years players honed their skills on-court and then participated in an off-court physical training program that was very general and non specific to the demands of a tennis match. This all changed several years ago when players, coaches and trainers began to mimic the physical demands and skills required in competitive tennis. Suddenly off-court training became highly specific to tennis and the players began to experience a marriage of tennis skills and physical ability… the two facets of training began to enhance each other! If you have not yet synchronized your on-court and off-court training programs you are definitely missing out on obtaining optimal results in competition. So what areas do you need to be aware of when synchronizing physical training with tennis technique?  Here are 5 ar...

Everyone talks about fundamentals and how important they are.   Anyone playing well is said to have “great fundamentals”, while anyone playing poorly is  accused  of having “poor fundamentals”. But have you ever tried to find a list of these fundamentals? If such a list existed, surely this would immensely help players and coaches. The truth is that you will never find a definitive list of the “Tennis Fundamentals”. Although players are continually admired or criticised for their fundamentals and training programs worldwide attempt to install “fundamentals” in their players, no definitive list is available. So, let’s start defining what exactly a fundamental is or should be. I believe a fundamental cannot be taken out; in other words, you cannot play without it. Think about that for a moment. What elements cannot be taken out of our game? Is the backswing fundamental? No, because some volleys, service returns and half volleys don’t require a backswing. ...

At any given time, you are in one of three conditions: Defence, Neutral or Offence. You need to clearly define which condition you are in to compete successfully. If you attack the point at the wrong time or have an opportunity to attack but fail to take that opportunity, it doesn’t matter how well you stroke the ball your overall game will lack cohesion and meaning. So, how do we define when we are in a Defensive, Neutral, or Offensive situation?  What exactly are the factors which put you in a defensive mode? When can you attack the point with a high degree of confidence that you will be successful? How do you know you are in a Neutral situation? Whether you are in Defence, Neutral, or Offence depends on two criteria, and you must constantly be aware of these criteria as you play.  Those criteria are: THE POSITION OF YOUR FEET WHEN YOU HIT THE BALL If your feet are behind the baseline when you contact the ball, you are on Defence. If your feet are inside the...

Tami Grende, Wimbledon Junior Doubles Champion Many players and coaches try to approach tennis with the mindset that if they can create the perfect swing, their game and results will automatically improve. I call this the “cosmetic” mindset. They believe that something that looks (cosmetic) correct, translates into a perfect result.  In fact, you see golfers at golf driving ranges adopting the “cosmetic” mindset to improve their games all the time. Golfers spend a lot of time tweaking the position of their feet, where their elbows finish, correcting the angles of shoulders and arms, etc before and after every stroke. The problem with adopting a golfers' “Cosmetic” mindset for your tennis training is that golf and tennis are completely different sports requiring different training methods. In golf, the position of the ball is predictable (stationary), while in tennis the ball is unpredictable and not under our control.  In golf, you can stand over the ball and dictate exac...

Many players reach a very high ranking with huge deficiencies in their games.  It seems that it comes down to whether you opt for doing "A few things really well" or "Many things OK". But it doesn't have to be that way. Women's tennis is full of players who have solid, dependable  groundstrokes, no serve, no net game, but have still reached the top 100 on the WTA ranking list. In the men's game its less obvious but there are still players with a limited range of strokes and who depend on a very conservative game plan to win matches. This limited range of strokes and conservative approach to points often comes from a players time in the juniors, especially if the player was successful. often players, coaches and parents are not willing to expand the game and take on new initiatives. Pete Sampras is famous for deciding to change from a two-handed backhand to a one-handed backhand as a junior, only to lose early in tournaments for the next t...

The serve is a unique shot in tennis because its the only " closed skill " shot we hit, meaning we control all the elements from start to finish. All other shots are " open skilled " which means we must react and adapt to what our opponent sends our way. I believe a big part of serving well is the attitude you bring to serving. If you feel the serve is merely a way to start points then your serve will never be a true weapon. I believe that the serve is your premier weapon and the best opportunity to win points quickly and consistently. You should maintain an aggressive and confident mindset regarding the serve. Having a more positive, aggressive mindset over time also creates "instinct" that helps you maintain control of your service games, maintain momentum with your service games and the ability to get yourself out of those tricky break point situations that come along sometimes.  In order to create instinctive service shot selection when a ...