Top Tennis Tips To Improve Your Game

You’re Going to Lose Lots of Points – Accept It

Losing sucks. We all hate it and we all want to avoid it, but it’s just a fact that in tennis you’re going to lose a lot of points. In order to thrive, you’ve got to accept this fact and be free to play without fear of losing the point.

The scoring in tennis is complex, and it can be endlessly frustrating, but this is one of the reasons we all love the sport so much.

When you think about it, you can win a match 6-3 6-3 and still win the same number of points as your opponent, so if you can’t handle losing points, then you’re going to struggle.

One of the best tips we can offer is to accept the fact that you’re going to lose lots of points, and free yourself up to go out and play.

The more you can free yourself from the fear of losing points, the more you will find you end up winning the important ones.

If You Get More Balls in Than the Other Guy You Win the Point

Tennis is a sport that allows you to express your creativity and build points however you desire, but the simple fact is, if you put one more ball in than your opponent, then you’re going to win the point.

Hitting penetrating shots and forcing your opponent to play difficult balls is important, but you can’t lose sight of the fact that it’s fundamentally important to get the ball in.

As someone who always likes to take the difficult option on court, it pains me to say this, but sometimes you’ve just got reign things in and play the percentages.

There are lots of tactics you can use to swing those percentages in your favor, but the aim of the game is to get one more ball in court than your opponent.

If It’s Not Working Change Things Up

If you’re going out there with “Plan A” and getting battered, then you’ve got to change things up.

You can try and hang in there with “Plan A” and hope that something changes, or you can keep finding ways to unsettle your opponent.

There are so many different options you have with each shot, so see if you can find a way to put your opponent off their game.

Tennis is a long game, you’ve got plenty of time to figure out a way to win, but if you keep pursuing the same losing tactics, then you can find yourself off the court pretty quickly.

Your opponent is like a puzzle you’ve got to solve, and you’ve got to actively find ways to do that. You have all kinds of tactics to use, you’ve just got to find the one that works.

Small Differences Change Outcomes

When you watch men’s grand slam tennis the action can go on for the best part of five hours, but many of those matches hinge on just a few key points.

If you can make sure you’re alert and ready to play your best tennis when those points come around, then you’ll find you start winning a lot more matches.

Part of this is understanding your game, and sticking to the things you do best when the big points come around.

When you match your strengths up against your opponent’s weaknesses, then you give yourself the best chance of winning the point.

Even when it seems like you’re down and out in tennis, you’re never far from getting yourself back in the game because that’s how the scoring system works.

One minute you can be down a set and 5-1 and 20 minutes later you can be back even, but you’ve got to believe it’s possible for it to happen.

Tiny differences change outcomes, you’ve just got to be ready to make that difference.

Prepare to Win on the Practice Court

Everything starts on the practice court.

You can’t hope to walk on to the match court and successfully implement things you’ve never practiced, so you’ve got to take your training sessions seriously.

The better you practice, the more you will find things come good on the match court, but you’ve got to put those hard yards in first.

Nothing comes for free and the price of improving your tennis game is putting in the effort on the practice court.

You can read as many tennis tips as you like, but you’ve got to practice them for them to be useful.

Do a Proper Warm-Up

You can’t improve your tennis if you’re constantly injured, so it’s important that you look after your body.

One of the ways you can do this is by doing a proper warm-up.

Get the blood pumping, stretch out the joints, and take your time before you start throwing everything you’ve got at the ball.

There’s no rush, so make sure you’re looking after yourself.

No matter what level you play at, tennis still puts pressures on your body, and if you’re not careful, you’ll find you pull something and you’re away from the court for a while.

Sometimes You Have to Take a Step Backwards to Take a Step Forwards

I always remember being told a story about Rafael Nadal. I don’t know how true it is, but the moral of the story remains.

Rafa was playing in a big national tournament where he was number one seed.

For the first round, Toni told Rafa “you need to practice your volleys, so today you are going to serve-volley every point.”

Of course, a young Rafa questioned how he was going to win whilst serve volleying every point on a clay court, but nevertheless he did it.

So what do you think the outcome was? Well, he lost first round and went home.

Now, I apologize to Rafa if this story is wrong, but the point is, that sometimes improving the things you are bad at is more important than winning.

If you have a deficiency in your game, then sometimes you’re going have to lose some matches while you’re fixing it.

Every player finds themself in this situation somewhere in their journey, where they need to make a big change in order to improve their game.

Will it make it harder to win in the short term? Yes, but it will make things much easier in the long run.

The Nadal story might be a bit extreme, but you’ve got to make some sacrifices if you want to improve.

Always Have Fun

No matter how good you get, or how much you practice, tennis should always be fun, otherwise, what’s the point in doing it?

It’s easy to get wrapped up in scores, and getting better, but whenever you’re out on court, take the opportunity to think how lucky you are to be out in the fresh air doing what you enjoy.

It’s amazing how much tension this can relieve, and just by acknowledging the fact that you’re having fun you can free yourself up to play better tennis.