The Lesson Lounge - Tennis Warrior

Your Link to Professional Thinking!

How much repetition?

Would you like to know how much repetition you must execute before you learn a stroke? Would you like to know approximately how many hits it takes before you begin noticing some improvement? Read on!

About a year ago utilizing my Tennis Warrior System I began keeping mental notes of approximately how many repetitions it would take before a player began to feel a difference on a given stroke. It was amazing to watch many different players improve their stroke in a similar fashion when they reached a certain number of repetitions.

Of course this is not a scientific study and common sense dictates that no two players will develop in exactly the same fashion. But this will give you an excellent guide to help you understand what it REALLY takes to develop your tennis game and what to generally expect when you learn a stroke.

After all these years of teaching I have come to a conclusion that most players do not really get it. They have no idea how much repetition and practice a top pro has put themselves through. Even though most players will say they do understand, when it comes to learning the game they want to hear something technical so they can quickly correct their stroke and the magic begins! Repetition and practice are something they will get around to someday if they have the time.

Well, if you ever get around to practicing and executing repetition, here is what to expect. You will begin to notice subtle differences every 1000 balls you hit. That’s right every 1000 balls! And you will begin to feel a pretty significant change every 5000 balls hit. When you pass the 6000 to 8000 range you will begin to believe you can develop this shot in a way you never dreamed possible. By the 10,000 to 15,000 range you will possess an good backhand, but now you can begin the refining of the stroke to iron out the difficult subtleties and continue to improve....more repetition! At this point your confidence will begin to soar.

With all this in mind, once again read what Nick Bollettieri said in a Question and Answer session when ask about Monica Seles.

QUESTION TO NICK: How can I hit like Monica Seles?

NICK’S ANSWER: Let me tell you how Seles learned to hit like Seles. At the academy she went out and hit ball, after ball, after ball. She would hit 500 to 1,000 balls all working on just one shot until she had it perfected. Not just good, but perfected. To hit like her, I would suggest you do the same.

Now I’m sure, after seeing Nick’s responce, this all sounds mind boggling to you, but keep in mind if you play doubles one or two times a week you hit probably 10,000 to 20,000 balls a year. If you play more or play some singles you reach the 20,000 to 40,000 range a year. By the way pros do this in about a month or less! Unfortunately these numbers are for all different strokes, not just one particular stroke! And there in lies the problem. You play for a year but you have probably hit only 1,500 hundred of one stroke or another. If you are like most players you have been running around your backhand to hit forehands so you probably only hit 800 to 1000 backhands a year. And you wonder why your backhand suffers! Most players hit two to three times more forehands than backhands year after year after year.

I realize many of you do not have time to practice daily and hit that many balls to improve. If you just add some simple week to week ball machine practice or practice with a partner focusing on hitting just 100 balls for one stroke (that would take you about ten to fifteen minutes) you would add close to 5000 hits a year for that shot! Instead of hitting only 800 to 1000 backhands a year you could get close to 6000! What a difference that would make.

If you are patient and stay with the process here is an example of what changes you will begin to feel. Let’s say you are working on a backhand. At the 1000 mark you will begin feeling some strength that you did not expect. At the 2000 to 4000 range you will begin judging the ball a little better and show signs of taking some small quick steps to adjust your body position. At this point you still believe the ball you are hitting has to be in a certain spot for you to make a good shot.

At the 5000 to 8000 range you begin developing better balance. Where you were clumsily falling off balance you will now feel a more controlled recovery. And you will feel like the high follow through is more automatic. At the 8000 to 10,000 mark you will begin realizing the ball does NOT have to be contacted in a perfect spot for you to make a good shot. Some times the ball may be to close to you, but all the repetition has developed some instincts you did not even know existed. You automatically adjust to the close ball and begin making shots you can not believe! Many balls are still flying out, but you are beginning to control the direction of the ball better than ever.

At the 10,000 to 15,000 range the percentage of shots landing in the court increases dramatically...and you are on your way! You’re excited about your results and you possess a backhand the likes of which few club players have ever seen. You now understand the power of repetition and promptly send me a box of Hershey’s almond chocolate bars (my weak spot :)

In conclusion, whether you are aspiring to become a pro or just a good club player you must put in the time to achieve your goals. Everyone must go through these different phases of repetition to improve their game. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY!

I received an email from an 8 year old tennis player named Corey who signed my guest book when he came to my website. Corey’s mother is a professional classical violinist and she must have taught Corey some valuable lessons about repetition. I then learned he is beating 12 to16 year old kids! I wonder what Corey’s secret is?

Well, you read his email from the comments section of my quest book and see if you can figure it out.

Comments: “I'm 8 and I want to be a tennis player. I practice 6 times a week and try to excercize (sic) every day. Whenever I have a minute I go in my garage to hit tennis balls. My mom worries I might do too much and get an injery (sic). She helped me organize my tennis thinking. She said some of the same stuff I read here. I like what you say. Thanks - Corey”

Tom Veneziano