TWO Reasons Why You Should SLICE Your Second Serve

TWO Reasons Why You Should SLICE Your Second Serve

by | Tennis Training | 0 comments

Even as an experienced player, I have had to pay for multiple serves I wouldn’t tactically place right when playing against some of my top juniors.

To not begin the point in a defensive situation, we will be looking at one very important tennis stroke that you should perfect – the second serve.

You just missed your first serve.

While preparing your second serve, you see your opponent stepping inside the baseline, ready to attack. You’re in trouble. Once you land that shot, your opponent will be all over your second serve.


What can you do so that your second serve will not put you in defensive mode?

SLICE IT.

Why slice and not topspin or kick?
For these two simple reasons:

1. Slice (side-spin on the serve) will keep the ball low.
As a result, your opponent will be forced to play the ball by hitting it up, decreasing their chances of putting it away (or attacking it) from a low contact point.

2. The spin will make it harder to control the ball when your opponent returns it.
Especially if you are a doubles player, think about serving and volleying… Would you not prefer to hit a slice so that your opponent would return the ball high and set you for a high volley?
On the other side, if you choose to go for a topspin serve as a second delivery and move up to the net, the returner will attack your high bouncing serve of yours and put it down to your feet.

In conclusion, practice your slice serve as often as you can so that you will see great results when the time comes up to hit a second serve.

 

Cosmin Miholca

Cosmin Miholca

Certified Tennis Coach

Check out my work at WebTennis24 where I share with you my best video tennis lessons, drills and tips for players, coaches and tennis parents.

How To Watch a Tennis Match

How To Watch a Tennis Match

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“How to watch a tennis match? What do you mean by that?”
I mean: do you learn anything from watching a tennis match?

Yes, watching a tennis match can be a great lesson if you actively analyze what happens on the court and, above all, ask yourself questions… Do we take something out of this experience or are we simply spectators going through the emotions of winning or losing a tennis match?
Is watching tennis a learning experience for you?
If the answer is NO, then I would like to suggest that you keep the following list next to you while watching the next tennis match…

It is important, for your improvement, to ask yourself questions. Questions will provide you with valuable answers. These answers will help you understand tennis and where you want to get as a player.

So pick your favorite player and follow them while asking yourself these following questions:
– Where are they aiming their first serve: the opponent’s forehand, backhand, or middle?
– Where are they hitting the second serve to? What spin are they using?
– Where are they aiming their returns of serve to?
– Where are most of their groundstrokes aimed at? Are they going mostly to a certain side (opponent’s weakness, cross-court)?
– How early are they preparing for the ball?
– Where are they standing to receive the first serve? What about the second serve?
– Where are they placing/aiming their approach shot?
– During the rally, how is their court coverage (covering cross-court quickly from the baseline)?
– At key points (15-30, 30-15, 40-30, 30-40, AD in, Ad out), where are they serving to? And what kind of spin are they using?
– How do they play key (pressure) points?
– Where are they aiming the defensive shots?
– At change-over – what do they eat and drink? How much?
– How is their body language after a point they just lost? What about after a winner?
– How far back are they taking the racquet when returning the serve (notice the short back-swing)?
The list can go on. Feel free to add your own questions…

If you have not watched a tennis match asking questions, then do it now. You will be amazed at how exciting the experience can be and what valuable information you will get from it.

Cosmin Miholca

Cosmin Miholca

Certified Tennis Coach

Check out my work at WebTennis24 where I share with you my best video tennis lessons, drills and tips for players, coaches and tennis parents.

How to Get a Better Serve Toss in Tennis

How to Get a Better Serve Toss in Tennis

by | Tennis Training | 0 comments

A good serve starts with a good toss.
Here are some tips to ensure optimal contact during a tennis serve:

  • Cushion the tennis ball with your fingers.
  • Imagine you have an egg in your hand. Hold the ball very gently.
  • Keep your tossing arm relaxed.
  • Release the tennis ball above eye level.
  • Let the ball go up in a smooth, continuous motion.
  • Impart very little spin on it as it goes up. To do so, open your palm and spread your fingers as you let go of the ball.
  • The tossing height should be approximately as high as you can reach with the tip of your racquet.

Learn tennis techniques with crystal-clear explanations and visual aids. Join Visual Tennis Lessons program and simplify your learning journey!

Cosmin Miholca

Cosmin Miholca

Certified Tennis Coach

Check out my work at WebTennis24 where I share with you my best video tennis lessons, drills and tips for players, coaches and tennis parents.

How to Become a “Smarter” Tennis Player

How to Become a “Smarter” Tennis Player

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When I was 12, my father told me that I should be able to beat him at tennis by the age of 14. I only managed to win against him by the age of 18…
Now, don’t get me wrong – it is not because I was not trying or because he was that good. In fact, he would have health-related problems (sore knees, etc.) and STILL manage to beat me. And that frustrated me badly! I didn’t understand how an older man, who was barely able to move to the ball, could still beat me!

Nowadays, as a tennis coach and “older” player, I find myself looking back on those moments and can understand why I couldn’t beat my father…

Tennis is like life – the smarter the decisions you make, the better your life is going to be. My father was better at winning matches against me because he would outsmart me on the court (and off). He knew that he could not run with me on the court and chase every ball that I would throw at him so he had to make smarter decisions in order to win.
Every ball he hit was a calculated move. Every serve was thought out as far as placement and spin. Before starting the point, he knew ahead of time what he was going to do to win it… sometimes adjusting to find the right tactic in certain situations.

How do I know that? Because now, I am the “older” player. I am playing with students and they are as young as I used to be when I was playing with my father.

For me, to win against my students, I have to outsmart them. Otherwise, I would be running all over the court having to deal with strokes that are at times more powerful than mine.
I want my students to see tennis the way I see it now: like an “older” player. I want them to combine their flexibility, speed, and stamina with the power of seeing winning tactics through an “older” player’s eyes.
Some players are natural at that. Very rarely. Those are the true champions that often end up being seen on TV or at high-level competitions. But most of them still get frustrated by the lack of understanding of what it takes to be a winner.

OK, by now you should be asking: “So how can a young player think like an “older” one?” The answer lies in the power and quality of QUESTIONS!
I encourage my students to consistently ask themselves good, quality questions: “How can I beat my opponent?” “What is my opponent’s weakness?” “What can I do to be more consistent?” “How can I hit more first serves in?” and so on…

Good questions give us good answers. If we ask positive questions, we will find positive answers. Positive answers will translate into positive actions. Positive actions will produce positive results…

So you see, it all comes down to what we want! Do you miss a ball and dwell on how bad your stroke was and what a terrible mistake you made? Then that is what your brain will be preoccupied with.
On the other hand, if after missing a shot, you ask yourself how can you make it better next time, you will get answers on how to perform better. That kind of thinking is what winners/champions have.

I guarantee you that changing the way you think will immensely affect your life and everything you want to be successful at.
Ask positive questions and you will get positive results.

Set and achieve your tennis goals with our comprehensive training. Join Ultimate Training for Tennis Players and unlock your success!

Cosmin Miholca

Cosmin Miholca

Certified Tennis Coach

Check out my work at WebTennis24 where I share with you my best video tennis lessons, drills and tips for players, coaches and tennis parents.

Get Low, Stay Low

Get Low, Stay Low

by | Tennis Training | 1 comment

Your tennis coach keeps telling you to bend your knees. And you should! But why exactly?

First of all… think about the difference between a race car and an SUV… Assuming that both will drive at the same high speed as they approach a sudden turn, which is going to tip over? That would be the SUV, which is higher off the ground.
So by staying low, you will benefit by having a better balance due to the lower center of gravity.

Secondly… your eyes will be nearer the path of the ball, which will help you make cleaner contact with it.
You will generate more power because the bent knees put the body in a better position to provide hips, trunk, and shoulder rotation. Staying low allows a quicker recovery since you can push off the ground and spring in the direction of the next ball.

Learn tennis techniques with crystal-clear explanations and visual aids. Join Visual Tennis Lessons program and simplify your learning journey!

Cosmin Miholca

Cosmin Miholca

Certified Tennis Coach

Check out my work at WebTennis24 where I share with you my best video tennis lessons, drills and tips for players, coaches and tennis parents.

If You Can’t Deal with Frustration, You Cannot Play Tennis

If You Can’t Deal with Frustration, You Cannot Play Tennis

by | Tennis Training | 0 comments

As beginning players, we are very happy to learn to strike the ball and even happier to be able to rally with the coach or a friend.
When things get better and we realize that we can play higher-level tennis, we expect more from ourselves than simply hitting the ball back and forth over the net.
And the more we expect, the more frustrated we become…

Why the frustration?

Because in tennis, you cannot play your best ALL the time!
Our expectations grow faster than our physical capabilities. We want results today, and we want them right now…
Well, this is not always possible; therefore patience is one of the biggest qualities that tennis teaches us.

One of my favorite pieces of advice I give my students is that instead of dwelling on the fact that they missed a shot, they should become problem solvers and find ways to prevent that mistake from happening again.

You cannot play tennis without making errors!
You have to accept that.
The better the player, the better their understanding of creating solutions and overcoming obstacles!

Then…success will follow.

Set and achieve your tennis goals with our comprehensive training. Join Ultimate Training for Tennis Players and unlock your success!

Cosmin Miholca

Cosmin Miholca

Certified Tennis Coach

Check out my work at WebTennis24 where I share with you my best video tennis lessons, drills and tips for players, coaches and tennis parents.

10 Tennis Tips for Consistent Groundstrokes

10 Tennis Tips for Consistent Groundstrokes

by | Tennis Training | 0 comments

1. Prepare early.
Turn your shoulders and set the racquet behind the path of the incoming ball before it bounces on your side of the court.

2. Contact the ball about waist-high.
Don’t rush into hitting the ball right away, wait for it to drop below shoulder level especially if you have to hit a high-bouncing ball.

3. Move to the ball using small steps to keep your body in good balance and be ready for late adjustments.

4. Recover quickly after you hit the ball.
Avoid standing and watching where the ball goes; watch it as you get ready for the next shot.

5. Aim your strokes at least two feet above the net.
Get down under the level of the ball so you can swing up on it.

6. Hit most of your shots cross-court.
You will have more court to hit and a lower net to aim over.

7. Spin the ball.
The pressure created on top of the ball, by the spin, will make it come down into the court earlier.

8. Practice consistency.
Rally with your partner trying to make 10, 20, or 30 balls in a row during a rally.

9. Hit against the wall.
Challenge yourself to hit, let’s say 20 balls in a row; then go for 30, then 40, and so on.

10. Ultimately, tennis consistency is a state of mind… every time you practice, don’t accept missing.
Every ball that comes your way is the most important ball in the world. Hit it over the net no matter what.

Try to check as many of the above-mentioned tips in the list, and you’ll soon have more consistent tennis groundstrokes than your opponent. 

Ready to take your tennis game to new heights? Join Ultimate Training for Tennis Players and unlock your potential!

Cosmin Miholca

Cosmin Miholca

Certified Tennis Coach

Check out my work at WebTennis24 where I share with you my best video tennis lessons, drills and tips for players, coaches and tennis parents.