Helping Players Learn From Past Champions

One of our tennis buddies has created a product on a really important topic. After talking about it my analytical brain started pulling it apart and putting it in perspective with the other parts of the game..

I came up with a pretty cool conclusion and I could not wait to share it with you!

Below I have connected a few dots that I don’t think many players see the important relationships!

Lets get stated! In this email you will learn

1. Why some players improve quickly and others seem to stay at the same level year after year!
2. The 3 most important shots in doubles
3. The highest percentage serve to play under pressure
4. What to do next!

1) Why some players improve quickly

The serve along with the return are two of the most important shots in the game. When you think about it, they also make up a major part of the game yet strangely they are also the least practiced!

Usually a practice session goes like this – Groundstrokes 80% – Volleys 15% – Serves 5% – Returns 1% (maybe) Sound familiar? Even if you play a practice set usually the long warmup will be close to these proportions.

However, a match is very different. Lets think about it Some points are

• Serve 100% (Ace)
• Serve 50% Return Error (or return winner) 50%
• Serve 33% Return 33% Groundstroke 33%

I believe you know what I am pointing out. If you cannot even start the point with a serve or return then you do not even get to hit a ground stroke.

Actually, when you are playing doubles you play even fewer ground strokes!!! So, if you are not dedicating a serious amount of time per week or per session to your serve and return then DO NOT EXPECT TO IMPROVE VERY QUICKLY..

So, spend some good quality time with a basket of balls serving or serving and returning with a partner.

2) The 3 most important shots in doubles

When playing doubles the majority of points are

• one serve,
• one return
• and one volley!!

If I was to pick one of the shots as THE MOST IMPORTANT I would say the serve.

You must win your serve. You must be able to have a strong serve.

When I say strong I don’t mean a hard and heavy serve. I am talking about a solid serve. A serve you can rely on under pressure.

Something that you can use to set up your partner with a solid volley.

When you have a reliable serve a few things happen

1. You set up your partner for an easy volley
2. Your opponents start to feel more pressure on their return over the duration on the match.
3. Your opponents start to feel like they don’t have a chance to break your serve
4. Your opponent MUST win their serve to stay in the match!

What does this do? Your opponent feels pressure on their serve and pressure creates errors!

3) The highest percentage serve to play under pressure

There are 3 types of serves.

• Flat
• Slice
• Kick

Sometimes you can do variations / combinations of these. For example half flat / half slice or half kick / half slice.

Here is my order of risk

1. Flat Serve is the most risky. – It has the lowest clearance over the net therefore most chance of hitting the net. – If your racket face is a few degrees off at contact the ball will land outside of the box. – You need to hit the serve hard to be effective – otherwise you will be punished – The flight path of the serve means you have a very small ‘gap’ to hit the ball over the net and not too high otherwise it will go too long.
2. The Slice Serve – Safer – You have a higher clearance over the net – You do not have to hit it as hard to be effective – Initially the slice is tricky to read – You can swing the ball away from or cramp your opponent – Effective for opening up the angles of the court
3. The Kick Serve – The SAFEST! – Maximum clearance over the net – Hardest for the opponent to read – You can get the ball to bounce into an uncomfortable zone or height for your opponent – around shoulder high – Greater spin means greater control – Greater control means greater accuracy! – You can create angles to open the court – You can attack the serve and stay positive – In windy conditions the fast rotation of the ball makes it easier to control direction

So, If you don’t have a kick serve my suggestion is to try and develop one! Are you asking yourself, ok, I need one!!

The guys at Essential Tennis Instruction have put together an amazing product called Mastering The Kick Serve ..

They are releasing some great free instruction in their lead up so make sure you get your hands on the FREE STUFF NOW!

The free content is only available for a short time so jump in sooner rather than later and review it at your leisure!

Essential Tennis Instruction – Mastering The Kick Serve

Enjoy the information and talk soon!

Improving Tennis Globally

Michael and Pete TennisAssist.com

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