Week 1: High Serve
The high serve is a serving technique that is used with the aim that the ball arches over the net and then hit the ground with topspin and bounce up towards the receiver, there are variations where players put spin on the ball so the ball bounces up and towards the left of the receiver. Specific coaching points for this serve are at the start your weight is on your back leg, the shoulders and hips need to be turned sideways, as you toss the ball take the racket back in your usual manner, you can have your feet wide or close together its just preference, toss the ball up over your head while looking at it by turning your head and finally keep your head up all the way through contact and even slightly beyond. In the lesson this was my weakest serve as I found it difficult to get the timing right and after I got that right the accuracy of the shot was also hit and miss. There are many ways I can improve this technique by trying the different stances and working on the accuracy of the shot by watching videos on how to improve and practicing it. Below I will post some pictures of this technique.
Week 2: Low Serve
The low serve in tennis is a very safe serve that is used to drop the ball just over the net or in high level games its used to surprise your opponent and potentially win you a surprise point. Specific coaching points for this serve are you drop the ball from chest height so its a low bounce so your opponent will have to react quick which puts you at an advantage, you non serving sides leg will be in front of your other leg, put your weight on your front leg, hit the ball up so it drops right at the front of your opponents court which forces them to react quick and finally get back to centre court so you can react to your opponents shot. During the lesson I was good at this serve as if I timed it right it put me in a good position to pick them off, I was also very good at hitting the ball to the front of my opponents court which would put me at an advantage. Potential ways I could improve this is getting better at other serves so when I use a low serve its more of a surprise so then it will be more effective. Another way I can improve is add a bit of spin on the ball when I hit it as then it makes it harder to return and could potentially win more points via the serve.
Week 3: Forehand Drive
The forehand drive in Tennis is an attacking shot that is played with a small amount of topspin, the aim of it is to shorten the court for your opponent so you can hit it where they aren’t. Specific coaching points for this shot are use a semi western grip, when you see the ball coming turn to the side while preparing the racket with your off hand, let your racket drop so that gravity can assist you with accelerating the racket, in the latter stage of the swing then you take over and add some power, while adding power make sure your hips rotate, make sure you swing in a straight line as this lets you control the direction of the ball and finally get back into position so you can return your opponents shot. During the lessons I was ok at this shot, I was good at getting into position and utilising it at the right time however sometimes I would under hit it and it wouldn’t have the necessary power to win me the point. I can improve my forehand drive by using it a bit further up the court so power is less needed and it would give me the chance for me to shorten my opponents court. Below there is a picture of me in the lesson utilising this technique.
Week 4: Forehand Drop Shot
The forehand drop shot in tennis is a shot that you hit relatively softly so it lands just over the net forcing your opponent to run to the front of the court. Specific coaching points for this shot are turning your feet sideways, take your racket back with an open face, make sure your backswing is shorter than normal, keep your non racket hand out in front of you, when you hit the ball your weight must go forward, with an open racket face carve down and slice through the ball while keeping your back straight and bending the knees, sink your weight down into your legs and finally on your follow through keep your shoulders level and maintain good posture. In the lesson I was good at this shot as I was able to use this shot when my opponent was in a defensive position and I was able to hit the ball just over the net. I can improve further with this shot by trying to use this shot when I am at the baseline so I can make my opponents court smaller which makes it easy for me to win the point if my opponent gets the return. Below are some pictures which show this technique.
Week 5: Backhand Drive
In tennis the backhand drive is a shot in which the player swings the racquet around ones body with the back of the hand proceeding the palm , this shot however lacks the power and consistency or the forehand. Specific coaching points for this technique are to use a continental grip, use a slice motion and hit the ball at about 45 degrees to the bottom of the ball, make sure you swing in a straight line as it is difficult to control to aim, make sure you stand side on with your racket side in front of the other and finally after the follow through get back into the centre of the court for the return shot. During the lessons I struggled getting the power in this shot because it is harder to get the momentum and power compared to the forehand variation off this shot. I could improve at this by utilising this technique further up the court so the lack of power is less of an issue, doing this would also allow me to cut off my opponents court which should make it easier to pick them off. Some videos I could watch to improve at this technique are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPjGD9wNdsQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jbNdG-z-Vc .
Week 6: Backhand Drop Shot
The backhand drop shot is a shot in tennis that is designed to just drop the ball over the net into the front of your opponents court so you either win the court or have a large area of open court where you can hit into. Specific coaching points for this shot are stand sideways with your racket side in front of the other, make sure you have an eastern grip, do a unit turn with the racket shoulder pointing to the net, lift the racket with the non racket hand so it is above the shoulder, swing the racket forward from top to down and chop under the ball, at contact the arm should be extended, avoid chopping the ball aggressively, maintain the side on stance for the follow through and finally get back into position once completed. During the lesson I found it difficult to time this shot right, however I was very good at slicing the ball to get it just over the net so I just need to get the timing right. To improve my timing I need to just practice the shot in game situations or watch videos on youtube so I can get advice on the timing of the shot.
Week 7: Movement and Positioning
I will start with talking about how crucial movement is in tennis, there are three different tennis movements. First is the pivot step this involves pivoting on the lead foot while turning the hip toward the ball and making the first step towards the ball with the opposite leg. The jab step is stepping first with the lead foot in the direction of the oncoming ball. Finally the gravity step involves bringing the lead foot in toward the body and away from the direction of the oncoming ball and ultimately away from the direction of the intended movement, this small step moves the centre of gravity outside the base of support. Movement is obviously crucial as if you don’t have the correct movement and stamina your opponent will be able to take advantage of that hugely as you wont be able to move around the court effectively. During the lessons my movement was good due to the fact I have good stamina however I could improve my movement further by adopting one of the three techniques I previously mentioned. Your positioning is tennis is also very important as if you leave large areas of your court open you will be picked off. The positioning in tennis depends on your play style, for example if you’re a defensive player you will be very stationary in the centre of the court while playing safe shots with the aim to outlast your opponent. An attacking player with adopt a pressing style with the aim of securing the smash shot to win the point and playing shots like that limit the chance for your opponent to hit it to the back of your court. There is obviously some risk to this as if your opponent hits it to the back of your court you will most likely lose a point. There is also a balanced style which adopts aspects of both and mainly moves inside the baseline. During the lessons I felt my positioning was alright but my movement made the positioning look a lot better. To improve my positioning I should try and anticipate what shots my opponent likes to play and choose my playing style based off that. Some videos I could watch to try and improve in this aspect are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjjch1qKxGg and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm0YdnwiTxs .
Week 8: Smash
The smash shot in tennis is a shot that is hit above the head with a high amount of power, normally from the mid court or up close to the net. This shot normally wins the point as it is very difficult to return a good smash shot. The specific coaching points for this technique are when you see the lob go up you need to turn sideways, swell as turning sideways bring your hands and racquet head up to around chest level, keep your eyes on the ball while adjusting your body so the flight of the ball is in line with your body, you may have to start moving backwards, when the lob is at its highest point you start getting your hands and racquet into position, use your non racquet hand to track the ball, when the ball drives throw the racquet head up to meet the ball as you would in a serve and finally make sure its cleanly struck downwards as the pace on the ball will result in enough power anyway. During the lessons it took me a while to get the hang of this shot as I would try and use it in the wrong situations and I would use to much power which could make it easier to return due to the bounce it would generate. I did get the hang of it after a while but I could improve further by trying to set up my opponent for a lob shot which would make it easier for me to utilise a smash shot, I could do this by playing a lot of low shots which force my opponents to hit the ball high.
Practical Tennis 