Anyone have advice to help my tennis game?

Question

Hi, I am an 18 year old tennis player. I have a big forehand but at times it is inconsistent, and my backhand is solid but not a shot that will make many winners (not as many as my forehands at least). My serve is probably one of my strongest parts of my game, and my volleying is as well. I am hoping to add margin to my forehand and tried adding topspin but when I do that I can't hit my flat forehands anymore, and it's quite frustrating. I was hoping that I'd play a safer more consistent game by adding topspin and hitting big when I have the chance but as I said my topspin would create shots but I am still not able to capitalize on these shots with my flat forehand because they spray (which they don't when I just play all flat) Any suggestions on this?

Also, I am thinking that I might start volleying more often, any ideas on what kind of shots are good to come in to the net on?

Thanks for all your help

Answer 1

Get some lessons from a local pro, play constantly, and always play with people better than you. Whenever you can get your opponent on the run is a good time to approach the net, for example.

If your serve is that big and you're a good volleyer, maybe you should become a...wait for it...serve and volleyer! Seriously, consider coming to the net after your first serve. Good luck.

Answer 2

Get yourself a coach, and practice allot.  A coach is there to keep you in line and make you a better player, preferably get someone who used to be a tour player. Also work out your arms and legs with weightlifting, yoga, or pilates. And also be careful about the type of raquet you use, sometimes the wrong type of raquet can really mess you up. Hope that helps some, good luck.

Answer 3

Get a friggin Wii...and have fun.

Answer 4

Cross training should help improve your game.  Running hills, distance, or even on a treadmill a couple times a week, should add some energy/speed to your game. A little weightlifting could also help your core strength, and help prevent injury.  Another way to improve your game is to read some good tennis books on the mental aspects of the game, like "The Inner Game of Tennis" and "Winning Ugly".  But the best way to improve your game is to play tennis players that are a lot better than you are.  Join some tennis tournaments, join a USTA team, or your college tennis team if you haven't already.  The more you practice, both in quality and quantity, the more you will improve.

Answer 5

practice makes perfect

Answer 6

i wish people ask for advices for their games all indicate what level of player he/she is. every level has different solution and conprehension/ability to do certain things.

i assume you are 5.0 and above? please spend some time watch world class players game on TV, don't just follow the point, learn from the players.  see how they do things.  record the game, play back in slo-mo and study it, you will learn a lot!  if you watch like federer's game, you will find out when to come to net has much success rate. you can also find out how to generate topspin watching nadal's game and when(and how) to flatten the shots for winners.

a coach will probably help.  my point is there are so many things you can learn from watching the games, have you even try that yet?

Answer 7

Come to the net only when you have hitten a decent approach shot where the opponent has to run. This will give you time to get into the net and hopefully put away an easy volley. Good approach shots are slow top-spin shots because they give you the time needed to get to the net. However, against someone who can actually hit a winner passing shot only come in after you have them in trouble.

Adding top-spin will make your shots better off and reduce unforced errors. Flat shots are not the best to use all the time, they are inconsistant. If the serve is your best part try and improve that even more for some cheap points.