Bailey’s Blog

I was working with Alex (student) on her reading the ball and reacting. So a good drill I thought was to stand behind Alex and throw a ball against a trunk of a palm tree. Now a palm tree is shaped in such a way that as the ball strikes the tree it will rebound off in an unpredictable direction. So I said “Alex, watch the ball!”. she did this but had trouble catching the rebound….she was always late.So I said 2 things “Relax” and ”Look through the ball, split step as the ball hits the tree, but more importantly look through the ball and focus on where the ball is going to hit the tree i.e. if the ball is heading towards the right side it will go to the right; likewise if heading towards the middle it will rebound straight back!”. The difference was profound, 10 perfect catches in a row. Hence the concept of anticipation…look beyond the ball and see what your opponent is doing. This is vision flexibility not vision focus.

‘People don’t understand the difference between fitness and technical excellence. They where pin-pointing my forehand and saying it was erratic but that wasn’t the problem. It came down to my fitness.

I wasn’t moving well enough and I was rushed when I got to the ball. That’s when  I changed my fitness routine and worked much harder off the court. All of a sudden I was a step faster on the court and able to get to my forehand. People say ‘What have you done to your forehand?’ All I say is ‘I’m moving better’

Tin Henman - Former Top 10 ranked tennis professional

Great statistics to help you plan your training. Stroke frequencies - Grass: 2 strokes per player Hard: 5 strokes Clay: 7 strokes Average: 3 for men 4 for women!

Serve and returns are 1/3rd of all points played!

60-95% of womens points last less than 10 seconds. 72-99% of mens points last less than 10 seconds. 

Most distance run to a ball 14 meters. Average distance between 2 strokes i.e. includes recovery = 3-7 meters. Average = 14-15m run per point. Average distance travelled in a match = 2500 meters. These statistics shows how explosive tennis is, and the importance of first step quickness aligned with the ability to move in tight spaces.  

Proper positioning of the feet, bending of the knees (strength of the legs) and body alignment (straight positioning  of the back, shoulders , head and hips) all play an important role in the effective delivery of the shot and thus help prevent injury.

If a player depends solely on the hands and arms to hit the ball the hands and arms will fatique quickly. Use good alignment, knee bend and great footwork so you are not reaching for the ball. Try and get behind the ball with you outside foot. When the arms are over extended to perform long strokes then power is lost and the shot is weak as only the wrists are used to finish the shot. Overeaching also requires bending or twisting at the waist which also puts the back in a strained position. Two handed backhands also require a lot more adjusting steps as a fully closed stances puts a lot of stress on the back. Lazy footwork leads to a lot of lower back injuries with two handed backhands.

You cannot control your opponent or score but you can control your behaviour and attitude. Zen, is a fundamental change of attitude to the game as a whole .ie.

• master the art of being in the moment
• breath freely
• act spontaneously with clean, unworried shots
• be unconcerned with outcomes
• enjoy hitting the ball out of play if the stroke gives you a nice feeling

Zennis, I think this is a great point when working on your footwork and movement….enjoy being an athlete, enjoy the feeling of hopping, sliding, lunging,jumping, spinning and shifting the hips etc.. there is no sport that matches tennis in its grace and range of athletic movements. Tennis is poetry written with the human body….DON’T TAKE IS SO SERIOUSLY that you lose the joy of the amazing and unique tennis movements.