Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

As tennis teachers, we've become obsessed with teaching how the strokes should look, the outward appearance of the stroke, rather than the Fundamentals. It's as if we're more concerned with creating picture-perfect strokes than a fundamentally sound stroke. We're trying to craft a visual masterpiece, but often at the expense of the core skills; the Fundamentals. Fundamentals are our game's building blocks,  while  the way a stroke looks is the Form. Whenever any new player reaches the top of the tennis rankings, Coaches look closely at that player's style and try to copy what the player is doing technically to have made them so successful. They're unable to diagnose the new player's strokes more deeply, so they are left with looking at the "cosmetics" of the player. Anyone learning tennis through the  form  method never learns to adapt to different types of balls or correctly analyse what they must do on each stroke, nor what is causing their e

While stroke mechanics and fitness are crucial, they pale compared to the advantages of being mentally resilient, strong, and adaptable.  This article will deal with a topic I have expounded on for years: the importance of mental training and highlighting how it can make or break  a player's performance.  TENNIS IS A MENTAL GAME People often describe tennis as a mental game; coaches are happy to make that statement but later continue emphasising technique and form in their practice sessions! Everything returns to the status quo.  Nothing is done on the practice court to reflect the importance  of having  a r esilient, strong and adaptable mindset during competition. ...in competition, the battle is fought against  an opponent and also within one's own mind.  Your ability to stay focused, composed, and  confident during crucial moments can be the  deciding factor between victory and defeat. RESILIENCE UNDER PRESSURE: At its essence, mental strength in tennis is the ability to h

So much time is spent by players working on their groundstrokes, yet in my opinion the Return of Serve is a bigger factor in winning matches. If each player is dominating with their service games during a match, it's up to the Return Of Serve to create the break of serve to  win the  match. The Return of Serve is the key to unlocking tight matches.                                       THE GOAL WHEN RETURNING SERVE Your goal when Returning Serve is consistency. You want to get as many balls back to start the rally as possible.  Put yourself in the Server's shoes for a moment. You've been serving really well and landing lots of first serves, but your opponent keeps making their returns and forcing you to engage in the point. What should they do? Do they change something or continue to play the same? Whichever course of action the Server takes, you have managed to get into their head, create doubt and influence their decision-making. When you are returning the Serve...  Aim

Poor footwork will significantly impact your ability to hit your ground stroke targets accurately, and y our ground stroke game will never reach its full potential if left untouched. There are two main components involved in the relationship between your Footwork and your Ground strokes: THE TECHNIQUE To achieve consistency and accuracy in your ground strokes, you must set up the ability to hit each ball with balance, timing, and inertia. Achieving these three elements allows the racquet-head to work through the ball uninhibited and without contamination.  This is all hitting great ground strokes involves, but each element is fundamental to achieving a controlled and powerful stroke. Let's break each element down separately; Any lack of balance creates contamination because if you are falling uncontrollably during the stroke, the path of the racquet is affected (contaminated). A solid platform allows you to execute the stroke smoothly and consistently. Any lack of timing during t

" Most practice sessions prior to competition  often  revolve around  perfecting strokes  and gaining confidence." The biggest misconception among players and their coaches is that practice sessions should create comfort. Most practice sessions prior to competition often revolve around perfecting strokes and gaining confidence. However, relying on comfortable practice conditions and seeking to develop confidence during practice sessions will later hinder performance in real match play. In this article, we will explore the significance of making practice uncomfortable and focusing on mental toughness, decision-making, and adapting to unpredictable situations to achieve success on the match court. The Illusion of Comfort: Many advanced players approach practice sessions with the goal of making their strokes feel good and comfortable. They believe that by grooving their strokes in ideal conditions, they will automatically transfer that confidence into match play. Unfortunately,

Within a match, winning a point can be achieved in two ways: hitting a winner or capitalising on your opponent's errors. While hitting winners may give you an immediate sense of satisfaction, strategically drawing errors from your opponent can greatly impact the match.  1. The Psychology of Errors: When your opponent makes an error, it not only adds a point to your score but also creates a sense of frustration and self-doubt in their mind. You can disrupt their rhythm and confidence by consistently putting pressure on them and forcing them into making shot-selection mistakes or rushing them into technical errors. 2. Building Pressure: Drawing errors from your opponent requires you to analyse their game and give them the speed, width, height and placement they least enjoy.  Combining these factors means you constantly force your opponent to make difficult decisions and never allow them to feel comfortable. When building pressure in a match, the ultimate goal is to make your opponent

If you're an advanced competitive player, you must constantly seek an advantage, continually improving your game. Just one strategy or technical change can make all the difference to your results. One area to work on is your shot selection, When, why and where to hit the ball. Great shot selection can compensate for a lack of power and help you attack and defend the point better. Many players focus primarily on two basic targets: hitting the ball wide to the baseline corners during ground-stroke rallies and serving wide or "big" down the "T." However, a third target often goes unnoticed and can be a game-changer – the "body target." There are significant benefits when you target the body and adding this dimension to your game can make you a more versatile and unpredictable player, The Body Target: A Game-Changing Strategy Hitting the ball wide to your opponent's baseline forehand and backhand corners is a well-established tactic. It forces your opp