Bailey’s Blog

Because tennis is a game where you you have to react to someone else it is important to put some unpredictability training into your fitness and footwork drills. Tennis is a game where you must SEE a ball, REACT to this ball then EXPLODE over a very short distance. Remember the furthest you will ever move to a ball is 14 meters. Great unpredictable drills for tennis is have a partner (this makes it unpredictable) throw one of 2 tennis balls so as you catch one and throw it back the next is thrown immediately. The ball can be caught as a volley, on the first bounce, rolled along the ground, caught above the head, dropped so you run like a drop shot and thrown over your head like you run back for a lob. This is great before tournament play as it gets you moving and warming up eyes, feet and muscles and is tennis specific.

So I saw this title of this book Relax and Win written by Bud Winter and said “Wow! How true is that!”. He says “To move without flaw remember the 90% law”. This is so true in tennis as the secret is not to try too hard. Never try and hit or move faster than 90% of your maximum effort. You need to be like water and flow around the court. In life, if you become uptight, then everything becomes like that….you come up and you get tight.  It is the same in tennis. Thus the importance of staying relaxed and therefore winning. And, more importantly, looking and acting like a winner.

Hello world this my first daily entry, I am new to the internet but am really excited about sharing my daily thoughts,ideas and tips with you. Don’t forget to check out the free weekly e-course and get some great tips on footwork and fitness for tennis.

I want to start with how important it is to warm up properly before you play any game of tennis.  I believe the best way to do this is through shadow tennis.  That is, mimic your swings and footwork without a ball but still swing the racket.  They do it in golf, they do it boxing why not do it in tennis?  Not only does this warm up the muscles, but it also warms up your mind because it is a form of moving visualisation and gets you concentrating. And concentration is essential for tennis!