Wait and Move

I find, more often than I'd like to admit, that I am trying to hit a stroke, usually the forehand, and have little power.

There are two mistakes I think I'm making. First, although there is an emphasis in tennis on early preparation, I think it actually helps to wait as long as you can manage. If you prepare too early, you might partly swing, then have to wait, then complete the shot. This robs you of any power.

By holding the shot, you can then do your full swing, which should give you decent pace.

The second piece of advice I read recently was to be slow to prepare to hit a shot, especially on the backhand. Don't rush the shot, especially if the person is simply hitting a standard groundstroke.

Recently, I've found, due to the a modification I've made to my backhand, that I not only hit it harder, but now I'm getting some spin on it. I won't say I'm clobbering the ball, but it now pops a little more than before.

Seeing spin is kinda tough because the balls aren't two-toned. I wish Penn would bring back the two-toned balls. You used to be able to see the spin better. It was half-yellow and half-orange, and was really nice for tennis. Sure it looked a little strange, but I think it was far better than the normal yellow balls. And because they look so unusual, it's a lot easier to track.

Which reminds me, why is it most tennis balls are only number 1, 2, or 3, with the vast majority being 2 or 3? You never see 5-9. Which is sad, because with 1, 2, and 3 being so common, it's easy to mistake your set of tennis balls for someone else's.

I write some of these tennis tips on my blog not so much to help you, gentle reader, who may not even play tennis, but to help myself, by recording my observations. If you are helped out, well, good for you! I don't mind passing on the information.