Here are three basic tips for your forehand. It doesn’t mean you have to have the same stroke. Everyone has a different style. But no matter your style, remember this: get your shoulders turned and racquet loaded before the bounce! get your feet planted to distribute into the ball, and move your body forward in the direction you are hitting through the ball. These three elements should be included in your forehand. Enjoy this short clip. youtu.be/hIC2n0A4Dek

Nik and Shamir demystify the one handed backhand through a series of soft toss drills that show how to widen your base (creates more shoulder rotation), heel toe closed stance drives, emergency open to closed stance on the run, and defending the high heavy backhand deep back in the back court using a semi-open stance, hitting off the back leg. A little gem of advice describing “vertical swing path” on lower and deep high balls is revealed. A great way to practice these techniques would be to bring a bag of balls out to the court and practice soft tossing feeds that allow you to practice the various types of footwork that need adjusting based on ball height and depth in the court. I have to give this video five stars. youtu.be/oLKPPTsV5C0

The volley technique that Nik is suggesting is spot on! Squeeze and freeze is really the perfect way to describe the sensation of how to “feel the volley.” I’ve used this tip for years. It’s not new. The path of the racquet head and how to execute the shot is described perfectly. I know my personal coach when I was young, in high school, John Fournier had the fastest hands I’d ever seen. He was a boxer growing up and is volleys were crazy good. He always leaned forward with his waist a bit, telling me that this gets you moving forward and helps keeps your elbows out in front. Nik’s student, Shamir is a 4.5 player, and eagerly listens to Nik’s sage advice with great enthusiasm. Nik gets Shamir to shorten his follow-through, squeeze and freeze while he shows him how to adjust for fast balls, and softer pace balls. The footwork explained is well done, show how moving two extra steps after contact prevents lunging and dumping the ball in the net. I I’ve this video five stars. youtu.be/9hr7YPAGgWs

Jeff Salzenstein shows us how to dominate the net when our partner is serving. It’s a great way to stay proactive and not become a fixture at the net.

winningdoubles.tennisevolution.com/winning-doubles-v2-1

Have you ever played a doubles game and the opponents serve could hardly break an egg and they held serve. The first time was a fluke you thought. The second time it happens again. And that’s not the worst of it. Your partner served great but got broken twice. Ouch!!!!And it seems as if your partner can’t play consistent enough to win but comes really close. Even your opponents congratulate the great power your partner’s losing serve! Wow.

You’ve got to take over the net from the receivers starting the first game. You’ve got to get in their heads, get free points, put away middle balls, and your partner will look like an all-star. Your partner won’t get broken. If you both employ this strategy you’re headed for at least a tie-break. Guess what, you’ll have less pressure to break the weak server, and if you play your cards right, you win the set 6-3, 6-4, or 7-5, all from adjusting how you play the net as the server’s partner. This truly is the secret sauce.

The forehand preparation is demystified and put into proper perspective with Nick from Intuitive tennis. The first move in tennis is the unit turn. The upper body and obliques are stretched and ready to fire. The grip, the loop, and take back are unique to each person’s style. For “most” players but not all this means turning the shoulders with the racquet tip above the wrist. In this video you can see how the preparation is a fluid process that creates more racquet speed and power from a racquet lag. youtu.be/AAIc7Li2WbA

This little video shows us how to visualize what volleying is all about. The racquet path both on the forehand and backhand volley produces slice. It is firm slice with just a few rotations of under spin when you correctly attack the volley. Also, there is not much of a downward stroke to the shot. There is some! Leading with the grip while tilting the racquet head back produces amazing volleys. youtu.be/3Or7isgKeIc

Jeff Salzentstein, a great online coach did this video on the two handed backhand approach that shows us how shortening up helps control this shot by focusing con extension when hitting this sometimes difficult shot. youtu.be/iy8BkFwodvI

Another point, I’d like to add is that the proper two-hand backhand grip must be used. I’m going to add a video from Andre Agassi talking about the best two hand grip on the market. youtu.be/6mQKRm03_6U

Thanks Andre for sharing with us this amazing shot.

This is a great slice backhand video from Patrick Mouratoglou. He had coached Serena Williams some back in the day. He’s turning out tons of content and has over 300,000 followers.youtu.be/eaqsJy4eNQM


The slice backhand is an art form. As you improve the shot you’ll be able to drive it through the court, use it as a defensive lob, approach shot, drop shot, angle, and return of serve. I must hit hundreds of these everyday when teaching.

There are basic requirements for navigating and orchestrating a game of tennis. I’ll also touch on etiquette and preparation. Game management is a base of fundamental knowledge that will help you succeed playing matches or practicing.

1. Get to the courts early, at least 15 minutes ahead. You want to get every second you can out of your court time, and loosen up.

2. Bring a bag with two racquets, a water bottle, snacks, a towel, grips and can of balls. Extra points for a stretch band,
band aids, ice pack, cell phone (turn off), and a banana!

3. Warm-up close to the net, then back up, hit easy, then build pace as you warm up. take volleys and overheads, then serves, and a couple of returns (not too many).

4. Spin racquet for serve or discuss your training plans with your partner(s). Always train or play with a purpose.

5. Keep score in your head after everyone point. At the end of a point remember how it ended in your mind and say the score in your head immediately after the point ends. This helps two things, remembering the score by shot results gives you a file in your brain to pull up whenever you need it!

You now have a record of results and how they happened!
So you will always know the score and a sense of what is happening during practice or competition. You now can make adjustments based upon your shotmaking and that of your opponent or practice partner!

6. Hold two balls when your serving, one in your pocket and one two serve. If you miss the first serve you have the second serve in your pocket, not in your opponents pocket or one stuck in the back fence.

7. Always make sure the third ball is stowed safely away from the play area, ideally on the server’s side of the court.

8. Call service let’s immediately if you hear one. Also call a let that disturbs the flow of the game.

9. Never cross behind a court (match in progress) until the rally is over. Move quickly and quietly to your court as a group! This shows respect for other player’s matches,

10. Wear clothes appropriate for the game. If you watch a professional match or YouTube players practicing you can get a sense of what typically is worn. And there’s a large degree of personal taste involved. Personally I like wearing shorts that can hold a tennis ball, good socks and tennis shoes (so my feet and ankles are protected), and a tee-shirt or polo. I take a hat too just because outside it screens glare and indoors it depends on the day. I love hats so I always have one in my bag or on my head. I have a venerable hat collection! You can choose what makes you feel good on the court to move and play better. Sun block, sun glasses, fog wipes, tacky grip, aspirin (yup, keep it simple), and electrolytes (pedialyte), and sandals (for when your done). At least loosen up your shoes when done. Also there is no need to have your laces tied too tight. Support doesn’t mean strangulation. Choosing the right shoe is an art form. You have to try them on first! If you don’t like the fit, send them back.

11. Two racquets are better than one! If you break a string you’re good to go. I like my strings freshly strung with string that’s good for me. That is a whole post in itself and I’ll post an article about that soon. Also have over-wraps ready to go! Having a good grip is divine.

12. When you greet an opponent shake their hand at the beginning and at the end of practice or match.
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