General Quick Tips
By:  Scott Baker | Tennis4you  | Tennis Forum  | E-mail

1. When hitting topspin, swing low to high. You can swing as hard as you want at the ball as long as you generate enough topspin to bring the ball down into the other side of the court.

2. Always bring the racquet back as early as possible. This allows you more time to prepare your shot and will help you to feel less rushed, especially against big hitters. Bringing the racquet back early also helps you to adjust for bad bounces or weird spins.

3. Take little steps to adjust your position to hit the ball, never large strides. Taking smaller steps helps you to make the right adjustments to hit the ball. It helps keep you balanced as well as adjusting to any bad bounces.

4. Always watch the ball into your strings. Avoid taking your eyes off the ball before impact, many people look to see where they are going to hit the ball before they actually hit the ball. If your head lifts up, so does your racquet, often causing miss-hits. Most of us have played enough tennis to know if the ball will go in or not once we hit the ball if we never even look at the court. Trust yourself and keep your eyes on the ball.

5. Do not be afraid to lob. Lobbing can get you back into a point and is sometimes the smarter play.

6. Always aim to get your ground strokes beyond the service line. Hitting your shots short in the court can set your opponent up to attack.

7. Swing as hard at your second serve as you do at your first serve, just use all spin.

8. On the return of serve do not take a big backswing swing if your opponent has a big serve. Instead, keep your backswing compact and short. This will allow you more time to adjust and hit the ball.

9. Use different spins on your shots to help keep your opponent off balance. Hitting the same shot with the same spin every time will allow your opponent to get into a groove on their shots.

Good Luck on the Court!
Scott Baker
Tennis4you.com