Help with tennis skills please!?

Question

I'm joining the tennis team for the second year in a row.

Last year, I was sort of a beginner at tennis, and i was really rusty. I've improved since then.

But, I still have trouble lobing the ball or hitting it so that it goes out. I learned how to roll with the racket so that the ball has a topspin, but i sometimes have trouble doing that during a game.

Also, when i hit my backhands, most of the time the ball goes out.

Please help! i need pointers!

Answer 1

To be a good tennis player you need an understanding of the different grips required for all of the shots. All good tennis players change their grip from forehand to backhand, for example. The best grip guide I have seen is at www.tennis.com (http://www.tennis.com/yourgame/instructi... If your backhands are all going out, you are probably still using your forehand grip.

USPTA Pro  

Answer 2

i agree with the first guy, you should really practice on the lob to keep it consistent. however, another tip is, bend your knees, so that when you hit it, you slightly straighten your knees to shift your weight onto your front leg for more spin. Also, if it helps, use a eastern grip, so you get a more open racket face.

For the backhands, you should keep your knees bent, and start with your weight on your  back leg. Then when you hit the ball, straighten out your knees like I said, shift your weight to your front leg, and roll over the ball. It seems like a lot to do at once, and it is, but you get a lot more spin. One more thing, if you use a 2 handed, follow through past your shoulders, similar to a golfer(but not so exaggerated). BUT, if you use a one handed like me, don't follow through that much.

And of course, practice, practice, practice!

Hope it helped! =]

Answer 3

From what I read, it seems like you can do a lob, just not in a game? One word. Practice. If you can perform a lob over and over again while practicing, it will become second nature to you and you will not miss it in a game. Another thing to keep in mind, though, is that a lob is not always the answer. If you can hit a powerful and low ground stroke, more often than not it's better to go for the passing shot over the lob. If your opponent knows what he/she is doing, he/she will hit their approach shot down the line, in which case you can either slam it down the line for a winner, or hit a heavy angle shot, if available to you, that lands cross court around the service box's line. If you're really having problems with your opponent coming to the net, which shouldn't happen too often at high school level tennis, then my best advice to you is to figure out what his/her weakest shot is, usually the back hand, and play it deep to the backhand every time, and he/she will never come to the net. Aggressive players thrive off of short balls, which they can hit for an easy and powerful approach shot. Really focus on hitting deep balls, near the baseline.

As for the backhand problem, my best advice for you would be to practice with someone in the service blocks. Just have them hit to your backhand every time. Do not push the ball, or this drill is useless. Hit a slowed-down version of your full swing. You will know you have enough roll and topspin on your swing when you can hit long ralleys doing this. At that point in time, move back to the baseline and hit the same shot, just harder. Make sure you roll over the ball as you did before, and you won't miss the ball long anymore.