Consistency in Tennis
By Brad Properjohn
When I decided to put this site together I started asking people if they would like to submit a question to Court Talk. About 70% of the questions collected related to consistency ; so I thought I would start up my new project by addressing this theme up front.
CONSISTENCY is generally defined as "deeper shots with out error". Though true I’d like to add "early shot selection" to the equation as part of the bed rock of a consistent game. Of course nobody likes to miss but if you have pursued the correct shot and executed that shot correctly and missed it never the less I wouldn’t consider that a bad error or being "inconsistent". The biggest improvement you can make in the way of consistency is to have a clear idea of what you want to do with the shot.
It's this early decision making that in turn affects preparation that will lift your game. The older you are the more likely you are to be locked into your particular rhythm (timing) and that tends to stay week in week out in spite of hours of practice. To attempt to change this rhythm often leads to frustration that will kill your game rather than breathe new life into it. There is nothing wrong with pursuing early preparation but don’t get stuck on it.
THINK WHERE NOT HOW and you’ll find this process will trigger your preparation anyway. I used to get tight in matches (like everybody else) but the one thing I used to do under pressure was to make the decision on where to play early. On return for example, even before the ball was served I had my plan and stuck with that plan no matter what. Sometimes my opponent picked it but at least I could concentrate on production of the shot and so I missed less and the pressure shifted to my opponent. It also helps to have your plan built on solid foundations (generally your best against their worse) but at social level any plan is better than no plan.
COMMIT TO A STROKE when returning serve. Swoosh a couple of practice swings in the similar way a golfer would practice a swing. Practice a couple of different shots not to let the cat out of the bag though. Concentrate on length of back swing and don’t forget the follow through. It’s not committing to the follow through the pro’s worry about.
CONCENTRATE hard, and practice it. The ability to concentrate well is both hereditary and a learnable trait, so make the best of your gifts and train them hard. Start with short 10-minute plays with 1 minute rests and slowly work up. Soon to concentrate for an hour will be a breeze for you. Consistency in tennis is a common goal were gains are made slowly. So stick to these strategies and be patient and let me know how you got on!
CONSISTENCY DRILLS
a) Two against one. Single man alternates hits (every time!!) to the other two players. b) Play points where you can only win points by your opponent making errors .(no winners)