Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

THE ART OF UNDERSPIN: Rediscovering Tennis's Most Undervalued Technical Skill By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method IS UNDERPIN MAKING A COME-BACK? Is there a resurgence in the use of underspin in tennis today? Having witnessed years of topspin domination and underspin neglect, we're finally seeing underspin getting the recognition it deserves from top male and female players. Here's what most tennis players need to understand: Every failed volley, every floating approach shot, every defensive slice that sits up for easy winners stems from fundamental underspin technique errors that have been ignored for decades. We're approaching underspin training all wrong. Players don't need more slice practice—they need systematic technical foundations that create consistent underspin under match pressure. Your next breakthrough in net play and defensive skills doesn't come from hitting more slice shots. It comes from mastering the underspin fundamentals that separate recreati...

As a coach, I've always believed in allowing my students to develop their own games naturally as much as possible. I often provide the lead but later I like to see my players find solutions to their own problems. I design the lesson plan, create the most appropriate drills for the topic and provide feedback whenever necessary.  However, once all this is successfully taking place on the practice court it's often best for me to literally take a step back and allow players the freedom of self-discovery. The only time I seldom let this happen is when I'm teaching the Volley. I find that most players have a warped idea of how the Volley should work. Perhaps this is because they've watched the pros volley on TV and feel they now understand how it should be performed and can easily imitate what they saw.  If left to their own devices the vast majority of students would flounder around in lessons trying to perfect their volley game over a long period of time.  Because of the ...