The Lesson Lounge - Tennis Warrior

Your Link to Professional Thinking!

Are you blasting your way through the warm up?

When preparing to play tennis WARM UP SLOWLY! Sounds simple doesn't it? Yet, most club players warm up too fast and consistently attempt to blast winners by their opponent. All good athletes, ballet dancers, and even race horses warm up slowly, but club players go out and beat on the ball in the warm up! Below are three simple stages you can go through when warming up.

1. For a few minutes warm up your eyes. Do not worry if the balls you hit go in or out, just keep following the ball with your eyes and WARM UP YOUR EYE TRACKING SYSTEM.

2. Next, try to consciously aim the ball at your opponent with increased accuracy. WARM UP YOUR BALL PLACEMENT.

3. And last begin moving a little faster to run down a few more balls. WARM UP YOUR MUSCLES.

These three stages can all be accomplished within 10 minutes.

Too many players immediately begin running fast, hit the ball much too hard, and even attempt to hit winners consistently in the warm up. Nothing is more frustrating than having an opponent hit a winner every time you hit a ball to them in the warm up. When I confront players about hitting hard and hitting winners they usually tell me, "Well that is the way I am going to play." I quickly tell them they are not playing a match, they are WARMING UP! Probably the truth is they have trouble slowing down their strokes because it throws off their timing. Can you slow down your strokes and still maintain your timing? If you cannot it will be great practice to try. Why? Because in a match, depending on the circumstances you must learn to play at different speeds. The warm up is a perfect opportunity to see if you can control the ball at slower speeds.

It always amazes me to watch A, B, and C players pulverize the ball in the warm up, but when you turn on the television and watch the pros they warm up slowly.

The next time you play WARM UP SLOWLY giving your eyes, mind, and body a chance to work itself into improved timing and rhythm. You will be surprised the difference it will make in your match play.

The WARM UP is to WARM UP! I am not quite sure why many players have trouble understanding that, but it seems to be a universal malady. Do not be guilty of attempting to win the warm up. Save it for match play!

Tom Veneziano