What It Takes to Win in Tennis

What It Takes to Win in Tennis

by | Tennis Training | 0 comments

I just finished watching an excellent movie, “Ender’s Game”… It made me “jump” on my keyboard and write these thoughts:

Tennis is a sport that gives us pleasure in two ways: through competition, or… the feeling of working out/hitting the ball.

If you are in this sport to compete, then… you need to learn how to win!

Many tennis coaches and players spend hundreds of hours perfecting their stroke techniques. While that is very important, I do not think it should be over-emphasized.

For me, the priorities in tennis are:
1. technique
2. movement
3. tactics/strategies

In the movie I mentioned above, there is a character who is not the best fighter or the smartest among his peers – he is just the best at understanding how to defeat his enemies. He knows what it takes to win and he makes sure to get it done.

Tennis players often spend too much time perfecting their technique. It should be done according to the tactics that one has to apply against certain opponents.

That’s because, for example, the forehand is not always the same when hit from different parts of the court or in rally situations (stretched, close to the net, defending from behind the baseline, off-balance, etc.).

It is more important that you study the court geometry, and stroke options (placement and spin), AND begin to pay attention to your opponents’ weaknesses from the beginning of any match.

Those are the skills that will allow you to enjoy the sport even more and win more tennis matches.

I’ve spent a great deal of time providing you with my best knowledge in the area of winning in tennis so you too can understand and enjoy it at a higher level.

Whether you play singles or doubles, there is a wealth of information on how to beat the pushers, the serve-and-volley players, how to deal with the wind (in singles) or how to win using the one-up-one-back formation, how to position yourself on the court for the best results, how to use the I-formation (in doubles) and so much more.

Also, learn the court geometry (positioning so that you use less effort and get the best out of your shots) and stroke tactics (how, where, and why you should place your serve, ground strokes, volleys, etc.).

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.

What Is the Best Doubles Formation in Tennis

What Is the Best Doubles Formation in Tennis

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Recently, I was asked to express my opinion about which doubles formation is the best to least and why: the two players at the net (both up), two players at the baseline (both back) or one at the net and the other at the baseline (one-up-one-back)?

While one of them is quite obvious to be the better of all three (in general), the other two are up for a debate….

Before I get into the details, I want to point out that my analysis is made as a general guide and that’s because when you assess one team’s best tactics and strategies you must consider each player’s technical skills, experience and the team’s capability to work and communicate together. 

Having said that, I am a strong believer that the best formation would be the… both-up.

If the two players manage to get to the net, they will be in the best position to put pressure on their opponents, cover the court, and finish the points in the quickest ways possible.

When two players are at the net and assuming they cover the court properly, the only way for them to be passed by their opponents is through the backcourt – lobs.

The both-up formation has the following advantages:

1. Puts pressure on the opposing team (defending) – the ball comes back sooner; they must watch for angle shots.

2. They can cover a lot more court and there is almost no opening for the opponents to pass (except when using the lob which, if not executed properly, can be an easy smash opportunity). 

3. The ability to put the balls away (finish points) is greater at the net due to the many angle opportunities and the fact that you can take the ball above the net level.

Now, the question of whether playing the one-up-one-back versus both-back formations is more a matter of players’ style (technique, experience, and capability to feel comfortable playing at the net or not):

The one-up-one-back formation is mostly played by players who are new to the doubles game. But some of the more advanced players apply it too sometimes…

Situations the one-up-one-back formation is being applied:

1. When the serving/receiving player is not comfortable moving up (transitioning and playing at the net).

2. When the serving/receiving player is stronger from the baseline.

Disadvantages of playing the one-up-one-back formation:

1. The player staying back opens up the court for short angles on their side; also, it takes longer for their shot to go back over the net, giving the opposing net player time to intercept it. 

2. The gap between the two players (baseline and net) is wide enough for the opposing net player to have a winning shot.

3. The baseline player has fewer options for their shots to be aggressive – they must avoid the opposing net player and the only time they can attack is when the ball is shorter in their court.

In the case of both players staying back, there are strong reasons why some teams can do it:

1. Both players are not comfortable playing at the net, but they have reliable groundstrokes. 

2. The team is receiving against a strong server – it is wise to begin the point with both players on the baseline and advance after the return is safely made. 

3. The team’s serves are being aggressively attacked by the opposing team (ex. If the serve is not powerful or deep enough and the returner attacks the net player, it is a good idea for the server’s partner to begin the point further back, close to the baseline).

Disadvantages of playing both-back formation:

1. There are many angle openings for the opposing team to put the ball away. 

2. Hard to cover the forecourt (against drop-shots or short angles etc..)

3. Difficulty in finishing the points – they hope the opposing team makes mistakes.

As a review, any committed doubles player should strive to improve the net skills (volleys and overheads), and most importantly transition to the net, which for the most part can set you up for a comfortable play at the net if executed properly.

In the end, there is not one formation that works for everyone – it is the one that suits your style of play and your personality.

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.

Outcome-Oriented Tennis Practice

Outcome-Oriented Tennis Practice

by | Tennis Coaching, Tennis Training | 0 comments

“Whatever you do, don’t say anything to me about my serve. If I think about it, I’m in trouble.” Andy Roddick said this when he first met Patrick McEnroe, his Davis Cup coach.

In a tennis world where the emphasis is on the technical aspect, there is one area that very few tennis players dare to adopt – and it pays off big time for their game. That is… letting things happen naturally. 

What I’m about to tell you is directed to your tennis improvement by getting you out of the normal and popular tennis culture. 

As a tennis player and coach, I have been experiencing many frustrations and successes in my own lessons with all kinds of players. 

One thing that’s certain is that all players are different and you cannot teach the same technical aspect to everyone. I have to pay very much attention to what works for each of my students individually.

For example, in teaching my two daughters, Cezara (8 years old) and Bianca (6 years old)…

Cezara, on the serve, prefers the pinpoint stance (when during the toss the back foot joins up with the front foot) whereas Bianca likes the more traditional platform stance (when both feet are not moving during the toss and stand fairly close to each other). 

Cezara’s dominant elbow must elevate during the forehand ground-stroke preparation to avoid opening her racquet too much during contact; Bianca has a natural way of controlling the racquet face at contact without having to focus on the set-up. And so forth…

But my ultimate point for this letter is that players should be allowed to forget about all the technical overload and focus on the outcome. 

When serving, the outcome could be just getting the ball in (for beginning players), sending the ball with lots of slice or topspin, or placing it powerfully in the corner of the service box. 

As Andy Roddick did when he was a junior – he got fed up with all the technique that was imposed on him when serving and then one day he just threw the ball up and hit it as hard as he naturally felt. And it worked great. 
Just imagine if someone would have tried to change his serve technique!
Or if some coach would have told Nadal to not hit his forehands with that looping finish! (he was so fortunate to have such an open-minded coach like his uncle Toni)

You can only imagine what damage you can do when you want to impose one kind of technique on every single player that you coach. 

We should always be paying attention to what works for each player. 

As a tennis player, you should listen to your body and how it reacts to every stroke you execute…

In my teachings, I get the best results when I give my kids tasks that are goal-oriented. Examples:
– hit 40 serves in
– send 25 forehands cross-court
– rally 50 balls over the net with your partner
– etc.

When goal-oriented tasks are given, the mind and body work together to accomplish them successfully.

Next time you go to practice, forget about the technique. Instead, focus on what you want to accomplish: is it more slice on your serve? is it more power on your backhand? more penetrating volleys?

Then here’s what you need to do: 
– before you start hitting the balls visualize (or tell yourself) what you want: more power, more spin or to get it in
– let your body loose and the racquet do its work
– clear your mind of any technical thoughts and keep in there only the outcome you aim for (more power, spin, placement, etc.)

When you practice without the technical details cluttering your mind you will see better things happening.

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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.

Serving With Confidence in Tennis

Serving With Confidence in Tennis

by | Tennis Training | 0 comments

I’ve always found that my tennis serve delivery depends on my mental attitude.

As I prepare to hit the second serve, thoughts of “I’m going to hit it into the net”, “My opponent will attack me” or “I’m going to miss” often distract and impede me from hitting it with confidence.

It took me years of playing and analyzing to realize that what was happening on the court was the result of what was going on in my mind.

You see, when we get ready for the first serve, most of the time there’s just the excitement of hitting the ball hard or placing it strategically. But when the second serve is about to be delivered that’s when the nerves take over. It is then that you must be in control of what happens in your mind.

One must understand that the serve is very sensitive to negative thinking: your racquet becomes heavy, the hand is tense, and the whole body gets shaky…

To avoid these feelings when you are about to serve (second serves in particular) practice these:

1. Think positive thoughts (“I know I can”, “I have confidence”, “I can do this”).

2. Visualize positive outcomes (ball going over the net and inside the desired service box).

3. Have a ritual (bounce the ball a certain number of times, etc.)

4. Relax your body (exhale slowly).

5. Take your time… Position your feet, adjust the grip and hold the racquet in the most comfortable way. Take one more look toward your opponent’s position and the service box that you are about to send the ball to.

“If you believe you can, you might. If you know you can, you will.” ― Steve Maraboli

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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.

Short Ball Put-Away: A Must-Have Tennis Shot

Short Ball Put-Away: A Must-Have Tennis Shot

by | Tennis Training | 0 comments

One opportunity to attack and be aggressive in tennis is when the ball lands mid-court at a pace that allows the player to step inside the baseline and set up with their most aggressive wing (which is, for most players, the forehand).

The ball that lands in your court anywhere around the service line at a slow to medium pace should be taken advantage of.

Considering the shorter court you have ahead of you and the net is taken into account, you should have two main tasks on your mind: clear the net and make the ball roll into the opponent’s court. 

For that, you need to think: “Up and Over”…

“Up” is for getting the racquet under and lifting it against the back of the ball so that, as a result, it clears the net.

“Over” is for rolling the racquet over the top of the ball for extra spin – this (extra rotation of the ball) will bring the ball down into the court.

You might say that the contact between the racquet and ball is so short that it will be impossible to achieve the two tasks. Indeed, unless…

You visualize your racquet doing it and then letting it happen. 

Many players fear swinging hard on the short ball because of the possibility of hitting it too deep. But if you practice visualizing the “up and over” technique you’ll become more confident to go for your shots when closer to the net. 

By the way: technically, the finish/follow-through for the “up and over” swing is a low one – at the waist or non-dominant hip level.

Apply this (mental) technique first in practice by using either a ball machine (set it to feed the ball slow and short into the court), a practice partner, or doing it yourself by tossing the ball in front of you (while standing at the service line).

One more word of caution: make sure you keep the arm and wrist relaxed and do not go for too much power from the beginning.

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 Return Against a Serve-And-Volley Player

How to Return Against a Serve-And-Volley Player

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Returning against a serve-and-volley player can be a difficult task, mostly because this type of opponent possesses a good court coverage knowledge, has a great serve (some of them are masters at spinning the ball), and because the following rally is played at a faster pace due to the short distance between the baseline and net players.

The following tips will help you understand how to play and eventually control the point against this aggressive player:

– When serving with the intention of moving up to the net, the server takes some pace off of the serve so they can have more time to get closer to the net. Considering the slower serve, you will have more time to step into the ball and attack it either cross-court or short into the service court (to the server’s feet). 

– You will have to hit the ball aggressively to counteract the spin that is usually imparted on the serve by the approaching player. A smart serve-and-volley player knows that a spin serve will buy them more time to advance and is more difficult to control by the returner. You, as the returner, should not try to block the serve as the player charges the net. Contact should be made early and hit through it with confidence to counteract the spin.

– Don’t rush into finishing the point too early – avoid going for winners on the first two shots. Build the point to where you get the net player either off-balance, stretching, or to you getting a short ball.

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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.

When and How to Approach the Net in Tennis

When and How to Approach the Net in Tennis

by | Tennis Training | 2 comments

Recently, as I was watching a local tennis tournament, I noticed that many players did not know how and when to attack or move up to the net.

Many kids grow up over-practicing serve and groundstroke techniques but unfortunately, get little instruction on how to recognize opportunities for attacking their tennis opponents.

Therefore, below, I have listed some of the situations that should allow you to move up to the net and what kind of shots to play to put yourself in an advantage for the next shot:

1. When your opponent’s serve return is slow and high over the net.
Even if you don’t like to serve and volley you should step inside the baseline and attack your opponent’s weak wing. Don’t be passive when facing a weak return!

2. When you have a powerful serve and know the returner will have trouble with it.
In this case, you should serve and volley. Hit your first volley to the open court and get your opponent stretching to hit the ball.

3. When you hit a good drop shot and see your opponent will barely get to the ball.
You must move forward (or at least step inside the baseline) to close the angles and defend against an eventual drop shot return.

4. When your deep groundstroke makes your opponent stretch to get it back (or you get them off the court).
Most of the time, the ball will sail high and slow back to you. A drive or high volley will make the job of finishing the point easy for you.

5. When you receive a mid-court “sitter” and possess an aggressive attacking forehand.
Do not return to the baseline! Rarely your opponent will be able to reply with an aggressive shot back if you attack from the mid-court.

Technically, you should consider the following:
– If your approach shot is a slice (low), you will get a better chance for a high first volley. The problem with the topspin approach shot is that it can bounce high for your opponent to hit down at your feet.
– There is a good reason why the slice approach is the choice for most experienced players: the low bounce and backspin force the opponent to hit up on the ball and make the passing shot difficult.
– If you do decide to approach the net behind a topspin groundstroke, make sure your opponent struggles to reply: either force them to hit the ball on the run (send it to the open court) or aim right at your opponent (in this case they hit the ball off-balance and do not have many angles to pass you).

Transform your tennis game and achieve your goals with Ultimate Training for Tennis Players!

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.