Bigger Better Tennis - Paul Dale

I Need Players Who Empty Their Tank:  The Mindset That Separates Champions By Paul Dale The 3AM Method The Message That Woke Me Up I was jolted awake by the persistent buzzing of my watch. A series of messages were coming through from Joy, one of the players I work with. She'd just finished playing in a doubles final—a match that hadn't gone her way. The messages came in quick succession: updates about the match, frustration about missed opportunities, analysis of what went wrong. But it was the final message that stopped me cold:  "I hate losing." Three simple words that revealed everything about what makes a true competitor. The Tale of Two Players As I sat there in the dim light of my room, those words echoing in my mind, I couldn't help but think about another player I'd been working with. This player had talent—real talent—but when matches got tough, when the pressure mounted, something entirely different happened. Instead of fighting harder, they ...

Teaching "Loading" Alone Is Ruining Your Players' Timing (And What I Teach Instead) By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method Every coach knows the importance of ground reaction forces in tennis. We teach players to "load"—bend their knees and thrust upward to create racquet-head speed. It's fundamental to every powerful groundstroke, serve, return, and overhead. However, here's the problem: teaching players to  only  load the ground creates  more timing issues than it solves. The Loading Trap That's Destroying Player Development Loading refers to a player interacting with the ground by bending their knees and thrusting out of that position to create greater racquet-head speed. While this happens on all good shots, the instruction to "just load" is backfiring for most players. Here's what typically happens: A coach tells a player to load. The player dutifully bends their knees—precisely what the coach wants to "see." For a small p...

  Master the Two-Handed Backhand: 4 Essential Tennis Techniques for Control and Power By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method Complete guide to developing a versatile two-handed backhand with professional-level control, spin, and directional accuracy The two-handed backhand can be one of tennis's most reliable and powerful strokes when executed with proper technique. However, many tennis players struggle with consistency and versatility because they focus on rigid grip positions rather than understanding the fundamental mechanics that create control and power. These five essential elements will transform your two-handed backhand from a defensive liability into an offensive weapon. By mastering hand positioning, power generation, and directional control, you'll develop the backhand versatility needed for competitive tennis success. 1. Bottom Hand Positioning: Controlling Your Contact Zone Length The bottom hand grip position directly plays a part in the length of your two-handed bac...

Why Tennis Players Fail in Matches Despite Perfect Practice (The Hidden Transfer Problem Every Coach Will Face) By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method How the 3AM Method solves the practice-to-match performance gap that affects most competitive tennis players I was watching a junior tennis tournament last month. A young player was hitting absolute rockets  during the warm-up,  perfect tennis technique, incredible power, shots landing exactly where intended. Her practice partner could barely keep up. Then the match started. Within three games, this same tennis player was struggling to keep balls in the court. The powerful groundstrokes that looked so impressive ten minutes earlier were now sailing long or finding the net. Her confidence was gone entirely; she looked like a different player. This scenario unfolds in courts worldwide every day, revealing a crucial aspect that many tennis players and coaches overlook about the relationship between tennis practice and competitive perfo...

Why 50% of Tennis Players Lose Matches They Should Win (And the 100-Year-Old Strategy That Fixes It) By Paul Dale | The 3AM Method William Tilden, the greatest player of his era, coined a phrase 100 years ago: "Never change a winning game, always change a losing one." Tilden is saying that if things are going your way in a match, your job is to keep doing those things that are working. However, if you’re losing, you need to look for something to change. Players today don't need improved technical skills or better fitness as much as they need to learn a greater level of strategic awareness. Because if you don’t understand the game from a strategic perspective, there’s a chance that you are losing matches that were yours for the taking! The Match Management Problem (You've Seen This) Picture this: A player is dominating the first set with aggressive baseline play. Perfect execution, the opponent is struggling, and confidence is building. Then the second set ...