Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

  The Necessity of Hitting Aces in Professional Tennis In professional tennis, the serve is more than just a way to begin a point—for advanced players, the ability to hit aces consistently is not a luxury but a necessity. Let’s explore why delivering aces is crucial and how it impacts a player’s overall game and match performance. Dominating with your serve is a crucial part of  professional tennis. 1. Serving Aggressively: Protecting Your Service Games Losing your serve can spell disaster, and often means also losing the set. Matches at the professional level are frequently decided by a single break of serve, and recovering from such a loss of serve can feel like climbing a mountain. This is why maintaining an aggressive mindset and aiming for aces throughout the match is vital. An aggressive mindset keeps you "honest". Hitting regular aces can save energy while also sending a psychological message to the opponent, signalling that they will have few chances to break your se...

  Why “Playing On” in Practice is Hurting Your Match Performance In many tennis practice sessions, whenever a player hits the ball out they “play on,” believing that the goal of practice is to hit as many balls as possible—prioritizing volume over accuracy. This mindset creates a dangerous disconnect between practice sessions and match play. The Problem: No Consequences in Practice In a real match, every mistake has a consequence. A missed shot could mean losing a crucial point, a break of serve, or even the entire match. But in practice sessions, many players ignore errors and keep hitting, assuming that "playing on" and sheer repetition will make them better. They're seeking comfort in their practice. Unfortunately, this approach leads to a (mentally) painful realization when they step into a competitive match: suddenly, every mistake matters, and the mental adjustment can often be overwhelming. The transition from practice to actual matches will  become a lot easier f...

Driving Your Success in Tennis: Why Strategy and Mentality Trump Perfect Strokes Imagine planning a long road trip to another state and you've never made this particular trip before. Your car is ready, but what are the real essentials you'll need for the trip?  A map to guide you, and the ability to navigate highways, follow routes, and drive within the stressful environment of the motorway.  Getting to your destination requires knowing where to go and driving skills In tennis, many competitive players and their coaches obsess over perfecting their strokes, believing flawless technique is the key to winning matches. That's like polishing your car in the driveway at home every day and expecting that a clean car makes a difference in getting where you want to be, but of course, it doesn't. Similarly, great strokes don’t suddenly translate to great results. Just like a spotlessly clean car doesn’t guarantee that you will reach your destination, classic strokes won’t win...

  More and more matches today hinge on just a few special moments, such as a loose shot that your opponent can take advantage of or one player pulling off a miraculous winner from almost nowhere. These situations occur frequently in today's highly competitive environment. It is becoming less about a technical or physical problem and more about a player's shot selection during important moments of the point. “…today…(losing the point) is becoming  less about a technical  or physical problem…” I’ve begun to see two distinct types of groundstrokes players are being asked to play during a point. I’m beginning to call these two types of groundstrokes the “Dynamic” and the “Set & Unload” options. Characteristics of a Dynamic Groundstroke: A Dynamic Groundstroke is any ball that doesn’t allow you time to set up and will be mostly hit while on the move or when you're at a disadvantage. If you are compromised in any way, you're  playing a Dynamic Groundstrok...