When I say the words drop shot, what comes to mind?

Well, when I think of the infamous drop shot, I see one of the sneakiest and most effective tools in a tennis players arsenal.

If used properly, you can render your opponent powerless.  No matter how hard he (…or she) tries to retrieve this often unexpected shot, it will many times,  result with a point won and an opponent scrambled, and in shock.

But this is easier said than done, I know. Too much power on your drop shot will cause it to travel too deeply into the court, making the strategy backfire, giving your opponent an opportunity for an easy put-away.

Yeah, you also run the risk of the ball bouncing too high, (…and again) this allows your opponent to stomp you with a powerful return.

The key to hitting a great drop shot  is to maintain a very light, feathery touch when making contact with your intended target, the ball. Finesse is very important here.

Now, if you can manage to get off a solid drop shot, don’t just stop there. The tormenting and surprising of your opponent needs to continue.

Hey, all is fair when you’re in between those lines. That’s the mentality you want to have.  You want to make things as hard on him as possible. You can be courteous and shake hands AFTER the match.

That said, don’t stop after the appetizer. Go ahead and whip out a combination plate for your opponent.  I’d like you to take it a step further and deliver the ever-mighty drop and lob combo.  This, without a doubt, will cause ten times as much damage.

How to Execute The Drop Shot & Lob Combo Recipe:

1.   Confirm Distance: When you’ve got an easy shot coming toward you (…and your opponent is in an inferior or defensive position, make sure that you’re at least eight feet inside your baseline.

2.   Lure: Next, tease your opponent with a relatively retrievable drop shot.

3.  Observe: When they approach the ball and are forced to scoop it back to you, they’ll be in an even more inferior and defensive position, not to mention a little winded.

4.  Analyze: Many times, the player is simply content on making contact with the ball, and he’ll subconsciously want to remain put.  The hard panting from being out of breath will often result in his (..or her) heals momentarily being plastered to the court surface.

5.  Execute: Here’s where you strike!  After being lulled into a sense of false security (…thinking that their reason to move is over), lob the ball over their head and behind them. NOTE: Don’t try to go for the line, about 3 to 3.5 feet inside it is fine. If you attempt to be too precise, it may come back to bite you. And you may hear the word, OUT!

6.   REPEAT: Lastly, you want to repeat this process until they are completely out of gas, tongues hanging, and holding two fingers in the air, begging in submission (…like the late Andy Whitfield in Spartacus: Blood and Sand). If you keep them running around like this, they’ll collapse faster than a house of cards in an earthquake.

If you try to pass them, you’ve just let them off easy. They’ll regroup for the next point, and (…in a minute or two) they’ll be pretty resolved.  You want to look at the big picture here.

By expanding the punishment, your opponent will be forced to expel much more energy, and you’ll be going against his or her B, C (…or even D) game a lot quicker than previously anticipated.

Then, you’ll be on easy street, they’ll barely be able to get to your shots.  And if they do manage to get there, the shots generated will be nothing of note or anything that should threaten you.

You’ll essentially be a puppet-master pulling the strings, while grinning from ear to ear.

Yeah, unlike those pop quizzes you took in grade school, C’s are better for you than a’s in this case. So, play the little game called “Run Them Ragged” or “Tennis Meets Track.” Just lob and drop, lob and drop, until your heart’s content, or until they cramp up.

Your opponent’s stamina or “LEGS” are, many times, more crucial than anything else in the game. Because if they have all the right stuff, but they can’t get there in time to execute it, it’s pointless!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Only attempt the drop shot if you’re close enough to do it right. If your enemy is pinning you back, beyond the baseline, wait him or her out. Only unleash your secret weapon when you’re closer to the net than your opponent.

Lesson in Deception On Your Drop Shot:

Try this out.  Give your opponent the old bait and switch.  Fool them  into thinking that you’re about to perform an aggressive approach shot. You do that by slightly exaggerating your back swing.

This will cause them to double back, readying for a powerful return. But then, in a stunning decoy, you send forth your drop shot, boggling the mind of your poor combatant. By the time he recognizes what you’ve done, he will have lost a crucial step, making a reply almost impossible.

Your opponent will be frustrated beyond belief. Easy point for you!

For more tennis tips, tricks, and strategies, visit this page

Have a great day and an even better game,

Brian
TennisMindCamp

Tennis positioning and balance… Balance and positioning… Yeah, I know it sounds like a broken record, but it can also mean a lot of lost points if you’re not careful.

In my opinion, I don’t think club players really see the value in it, having proper balance and body control.  That’s why they don’t place as much attention and focus on it as they should.

You see, we’re always ready to smack the ball as hard as we can.  That spells success for us, right?  At least we think so.

But at the end of the day, we end up with fundamental failure. We end up forgetting some of the core fundamentals that make those great (…powerful)  ground strokes and volleys even possible.

…Tennis positioning and body balance.

The ability to get to the ball with your weight centered and maintain excellent body control (…so you can consistently execute a rock solid return) is extremely critical to achieving tennis success.

Because hey, you can hit and have the right shot mechanics… You can have all the power in the world too…  But if you’re not centered, you’re going to have a major problem.

Oh and just some FYI, your shots won’t have nearly as much juice on them anyway, if you’re not centered the right way.  And believe me, frustration will quickly follow.

Now, this takes plenty of practice, and as you may have guessed (…like with many things), you’re not going to get it perfect right off the bat (…or should I say off the racquet).

But once you do start figuring out how to put yourself in the correct tennis position to rocket that ball back at your opponent, you’ll notice a big difference in your winning percentage.

Now, if my word alone  isn’t good enough for you (…wink, wink), here’s some statistical proof that  just might convince you further.  I’m always a sucker for numbers.  So check this out.

Studies show that a jaw-dropping  four out of every five errors, committed by tennis players  at the competitive juniors level are due to a loss of balance. Awful, isn’t it? Yeah, that’s why I was saying this subject is so awfully important.

Because hey, I’ll be the first (…and definitely not the last) to tell you that an eighty percent failure rate is inexcusable, if you plan on doing some real damage out there that is. If your feet and body weight aren’t in the right place, your shots will be very poor to say the least.

Okay, now we know how essential proper balance is and why we should work so hard to achieve it, is there any way for us to improve it efficiently and effectively?

Tennis Positioning and Balance: Quick Fix (Use Your Head)

As luck would have it, there is.  It comes down to the most essential of all body parts: THE HEAD.

You might not think about your head very much, even though your head is doing the thinking. But, for better or worse, the average head weighs in at about thirteen pounds.

That said, your body is carting something that’s approximately the same weight as a sack of flour or a moderate-size dumbbell (…the kind  ladies use for triceps extensions at 24hr Fitness).

Yeah, all of that is on your flimsy neck. So, your head has a lot of say as to how level and even you are.

Keeping your head balanced is the key to keeping your feet and center of gravity where they need to be. Tilt your head too high, your racquet face follows, and the tendency for your ball to go sky high goes way up.

Dip it too low, and you’ll have a tendency to lean too far forward, and the ball will barrel into the bottom of the net.

To make sure your head is where it needs to be, see to it that your noggin stays directly above your center of gravity. VISUAL KEY: You can do this by making sure your head is always over your belly button.

Don’t go in there bobbing and weaving like you’re Iron Mike Tyson.  Try to keep it as still as possible when playing, so that it remains in that sweet spot.

NOTE: If you have an aggressive playing style, you can still be active out there. But try your best to avoid lunging or reaching with your upper body too much, why?  Because this is notorious for taking you off balance and off your center.

I mean, if you’re out there, rushing to a shot (…at an amazing speed) and you suddenly get “OFF,” you just might end up taking an unwanted trip the floor, having to pick yourself up off the grass, clay, and cement. Ouch!

Feel free to keep your head even higher above your center of gravity. The higher it is, the better.

If you don’t pay attention to your head’s location, you may find that it veers too much off the center of gravity. When this happens, your control suffers severely.

You not only will be more likely to lose your balance, but you’ll also lose power and control, two huge necessities.

Yeah, your shots will be flying everywhere, everywhere but between the boundary lines.

Need Inspiration? Check Out Kim Clijsters Tennis Positioning:

Take a look at the impeccable Kim Clijsters for any added inspiration you may need. She is a player who consistently maintains *GREAT TENNIS POSITIONING*.  Nine and a half times out of ten, she’s got the perfect head position.

She keeps her shoulders level and makes sure that her body weight (…and most importantly, head weight) doesn’t travel too far on either side or front to back.

This is one of the reasons she makes it look so easy out there. That’s why her penetrating shots look so smooth and almost effortless. She’s not playing hard, she’s playing smart.  That’s one of the reasons why she’s one of the worlds best.

This may take some practice, but anything worth attaining always does. In time, it will become second nature to keep your head level and balanced.  And, in turn, your shots will become more fluid, powerful, and effective.

For more tennis tips, tennis strategies on tennis positioning and more, click here.

Gain instant access to over 19 hours of kick-butt tennis secrets only the best players know, visit this page (…and do it quick).

Have a great day and an even better game,

Brian

TennisMindCamp

Novak Djokovic has always been rather talented, but this year he’s blown away all expectations, becoming the top-ranked player in the world.

His routing of Nadal earlier this season only cemented into stone what we already knew about him: He’s an incredibly tough player to beat with a tremendous amount of potential to do even more.

The only person who transformed more than Novak this year was Bumble Bee or Optimus Prime from the hit action series.

But let me ask you, could it be that his astonishing success in beating living legends of the sport (…seemingly at will) and almost completely turning the often fatigued Novak into a champion with endless amounts of energy, isn’t completely due to his extraordinary ground strokes and serve?

Could there be something going on behind the scenes that we, for lack of a better term, could “steal” from him? Besides his uncanny (…stadium rocking) dance moves, that is.

Well, as it turns out, there is indeed a secret weapon that the celebrated Serb has been stealthily concealing within his arsenal, one that has remained under tight lock and key until now.

Now, to tell you the truth, it was seriously like pulling teeth trying to get this information out of Novak.

When the current world No. 1 started noticing a sizable difference in his play as a result of this new secret weapon, Djokovic kept his lips sealed, declining to talk about his new training routine with anyone outside his camp.

“I can’t talk about it,” Djokovic said at the French Open, “because it’s private.” I mean, who could blame him, right? He wouldn’t want this golden nugget of sorts to get out to tennis players everywhere, so they too can take advantage.

But since then, and as recently as a couple days ago, the tennis world finally was able to pry a tiny (…yet powerful) amount of info out of the champ pertaining to a widely unknown fact that has been contributing handsomely to his awesome on-court output.

This is what we got…

Per the advice of brilliant nutritionist Igor Cetojevic, Novak has completely removed bread from his diet; no wheat, no barley, and no rye. That’s right, No-vak is now No-Bread and all the better for it.

You can trace the effect that Cetojevic has had on Djokovic by looking at his tennis performances of the last couple years.

Now, Novak was no slouch by any means, but he kept lagging in third place behind Federer and Nadal, always seeming to tighten up during the biggest of moments. And in some instances, he was even forced to retire. Bummer!

It was as if his body wasn’t in the tip top shape necessary to compete on such a high level, at least for an extended amount of time. As he came to find out, that was exactly the case.

Cetojevic is very knowledgeable about Chinese medicine and its focus on the importance of your stomach and food when it comes to overall health and fitness.

But he didn’t stop there, Cetojevic and Djokovic have added something that was never mentioned in an “ancient chinese proverb:” A SCIO bio-feedback machine. A what?!?

Yeah, I never heard of it either. Simply put, it’s a machine that connects subjects to computers to study their body’s reactions to certain foods.

It’s a pretty safe bet that Confucius or Lao Tzu never got the chance to play with this little gizmo.

Tennis Nutrition and Gluten

Either way, Cetojevic found a wildly high amount of gluten in Djokovic’s body whenever he consumed bread.

If you’re not familiar with gluten, let’s just say that it’s as disgusting as it sounds. It’s a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye bread, and its effect on the body is different depending on the individual.

Some people notice small intestinal issues when eating gluten, while others become more sluggish and sedentary, suffering from chronic fatigue.  Some folks experience rashes and mood swings.

Either way, the effects of consuming too much gluten are generally never good. And if you’re an athlete (…especially a tennis player), your higher caloric intake puts you at a much greater risk of having to deal with this performance sapper.

So, is your performance lagging? Are you a gluten glut, eating large amounts of breads? Are you noticing fatigue earlier than usual? The answer to this just might lie in the hands of Sunbeam and Little Debbie.

Bolster Your Tennis Nutrition by Going Gluten Free

Try going gluten free, or at least gluten light, and give Hostess the Heave-Ho. Close up shop on Pepperidge Farm. Tell the Keebler Elves to find a real job. And maybe, just maybe, you might start seeing the kind of season that Djokovic is having.

I tell you, your tennis nutrition and health are definitely worth taking a few less croutons on your next chicken salad, wouldn’t you say?

All the best,
Brian
TennisMindCamp

P.S. For more tennis tips on tennis nutrition, visit this page: http://tennismindcamp.com/blog/category/tennis-nutrition/

Not too many people are spending much time diving into the element of sports nutrition for the tennis athlete, so I guess I’ll take a stab at it with this tennis lesson.

Why? Because if you don’t have the right inside, I can almost guarantee that your outside, meaning your shots, your stamina, and your ability to take out your opponent, won’t exactly be eye-candy.

Let me explain…

You see, when Serena topped Wozniacki in the 2011 US Open, some attributed the win to her superior mental game. And that’s great.

Djokovic’s victory over Federer was said by many to be due to Novak’s superior skill and the momentum from his astonishing season. Awesome!

No doubt these were factors. But few, if any, people talked about food, diet and sports nutrition as possible contributors.

Anybody who has ever been involved in a match without eating properly beforehand knows, though, that it is a losing battle.

You’re already starting with a tremendous handicap. And that’s no good at all.

Practicing on an empty stomach, much less competing, is bad enough for your sports nutrition. But regularly shortchanging yourself in vital nutrients, vitamins, and minerals is, if you’ll pardon the pun, a recipe for disaster.

But oh ye mortal engines! Throughout the endless hours we spend training, conditioning, and mentally preparing, how many of us really pay due respect to the link between performance and nutrition…

…Between input and output? Imagine a sports car running on low grade petroleum (…pure put put status). That’s what happens to you when you fail to properly fuel yourself before and after your bouts on the court.

It’s what happened to me time and again before I understood the importance of this link. Now imagine, if you will, the popular notion that man was made in “God’s” image.

By that logic, eating junk food and empty calories is like trying to fuel a Lamborghini with a lump of coal.

Now, this isn’t to say that sports  nutrition is the only thing that matters and training and practice are worthless.

It’s completely the contrary. If you only focus on what you eat and fail to train properly, it’ll be like fueling a paper airplane with plutonium:  At best, you might put your own eye out on the court, in front of everyone.

Popeye would have made a great tennis player. He’s always in super shape.  His forearms are enormous, and since both of them are gargantuan, he probably could have worked with two racquets at the same time.

But most importantly, he ate the right stuff before going to battle with Bluto. He understood how important nutrition is when it comes to making your body perform at its peak levels.

Popeye’s power food was spinach. Not a bad choice, but in this tip, we’ll be looking at the beet.  Why? Well, because beets are arguably an even better sports super food.

Now, why are beets so good for you and your tennis game? For two very powerful reasons…

Sports Nutrition: Two Reasons To Try Beets

1. Potassium Packed: They’re LOADED with potassium – a vital chemical element that helps regulate your body’s fluid and electrolyte levels. It keeps you upbeat, and you don’t get that drained feeling nearly as soon.

When you’re out on the court sweating harder than Lebron James in Game 7 against the Mavs, you need a higher amount of potassium in order to maintain high level performance. Otherwise, you’ll probably end up with severe cramps. OUCH!

With a whopping 500 milligrams in each beet, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more richly concentrated and more delicious source.

2. Decreases Inflammation: Inflammation is another annoyance to us and our sports nutrition we’re all unfortunately a little too familiar with at times. When our muscles get overworked and fatigue (…from an intense on-court workout or in the gym), they respond by becoming inflamed and/or swollen.

If we keep up that stress without feeding them the proper foods, our muscles go on strike, refusing to work for us, holding up picket signs that say “2,4,6,8, Proper Sports Nutrition Just Can’t Wait!”

The worst part is that the results of inflammation don’t end with mere discomfort. It can lead to something as serious as heart disease, something no athlete *EVER*wants on his or her plate. So, think about your “sports nutrition,” put beets on the plate instead:

Sports Nutrition: Beets, Chemically Speaking

The betatine found inside beets greatly reduces the inflammation in our muscles and around our joints, letting you train harder without damaging your body as badly.

What’s more, beet greens are filled to the brim with iron, which help promote healthy blood flow. This allows you to last longer during the most heated tennis matches.

So, eat beets and have a higher probability of beating your next opponent!

Have a great day and an even better game!

Brian
TennisMindCamp

P.S. For more sports nutrition tips like this one, check these out: More On Sports  Nutrition

P.P.S. Check out our TMC Mental Strategy Secrets 101 (…19 H-OU-R-S of kick-butt tennis tips, tennis lessons, tricks, and strategies) and beef up your mental game like the big boys, so you can play like one of your favorite pros.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga put it best when he said the key to winning a match is being “really, really strong in the head.” Now, this doesn’t mean that you should return serves with your skull, or replace the forehand with your forehead.

What he means is that, when you get to a certain skill level in tennis, like that found in the US Open, the physical differences aren’t all that pronounced.

It’s the mental strength and tennis strategy that separates the “Djokovics” (ranked no.1) from the non-Djokovics (…the rest).

Tsonga says, “My game, you know, is very good when I have nothing in my head, when I just play my game.” Again, this doesn’t mean he’s not thinking when he’s out there.

It just means that he’s not thinking about anything else but the game at hand. He’s being strong in the head and is mentally tough.  He’s ignoring that suspicious charge on his bank statement. He’s blocking out the show that he forgot to Tivo.

He’s ignoring the fan in the crowd with the really weird Flock of Seagulls haircut. He’s in Zen Tennis mode: Zennis Mode.

Even Novak Djokovic says, “There’s not much difference between No. 78 player  in the world and Nos. 2,3,1,5.” This is quite a statement, considering Novak IS number 1!

What does he mean exactly?  He’s talking about the fact that, physically, all of these stellar athletes (…Andy Roddick, Donald Young, John Isner, Serena Williams etc.)  are relatively around the same skill level. A slightly faster serve here, a slightly better ground stroke there; that’s it.

What separates Novak from his pursuers is his mastery of the mental game and tennis strategy. “It takes mental ability to handle the pressure, to play well at the right moments, and that’s why I think there is a certain difference with top-10 players,” says Novak.

When he’s on the court, all Djokovic is thinking about is the match and the tennis strategy needed to win it. He isn’t thinking about the charges he made with Tsonga’s bank card or the botched up backhand from the point before .

Now, to go even further, simply managing your mental game isn’t enough.  You must MASTER  it!  Like any physical muscle, you’ve got to keep working on your mental muscles.

Novak’s Thoughts On Mental Tennis Strategy…

Djokovic himself believes mental tennis strategy is the ticket, “I think mental strength is something you get over the years playing on the tour, getting experience, and using that experience in the right way.”

Like Novak, I believe the also best way to work those mental muscles out and achieve “Zennis” is by consistently competing.

Nadal’s Thoughts On Mental Tennis Strategy:

And this idea doesn’t stop with the face of Serbian and French tennis. It’s very well alive in Spain as well.  Rafael Nadal knows this as well as anybody.

He says, “If you watch the No.10 player in the world and the No.500 in training, you won’t necessarily be able to tell who is higher up in the rankings.  Without the pressure of competition, they’ll move and hit the ball much the same way.”

And here’s where it gets interesting.  Nadal and Djokovic squared off in Wimbledon earlier this year and you could easily see that the match wasn’t fought on the court so much as it was fought inside their frontal and posterior lobes.

Djokovic’s brain ended up winning, but you’d better believe that it took every last bit of gray matter to ensure the victory. And why not? After all, in tennis, Gray Matters!

Of course, it can be tough to keep the brain focused on the court, even when you’re winning. And if you’re losing, this is where it really helps to master mental strength (…or relaxation).

Wozniacki is living proof that your mental tennis strategy MUST be top notch:

Caroline Wozniacki is living proof of this concept. Her match against Svetlana Kuznetsova looked like a sure defeat at first; she was down 4-1 in the second set after losing the first set 6-7.

But Wozniacki is ranked number 1 for a good reason -  her “mental mojo.” And wouldn’t you know it, she started to remember the mental aspect of the game and came back to win 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 in a 3 hour comeback spectacular.

When asked how she managed to pull off this feat, she simply said what any child knows: “It’s important to stay positive. Tennis is a funny sport. You just have to keep going.”

Thus, Wozniaki became the little engine that DID! She isn’t necessarily stronger or faster than Kuznetsova, but she has the training and mental ability to play the right shot at the perfect time and relax (…rather than become tight) when things become overwhelming. Sure enough, she kept her no. 1 ranking and reminded us of why she’s on top.

So, as you’re watching the rest of the US Open and taking notes, pay attention to more than just the powerful strokes and pounding serves. Watch for the strategy and and critical mental tennis tactics being carefully executed.

After all, your mind is a terrible thing to waste.

Brian
TennisMindCamp

P.S. Check out our TMC Mental Strategy Secrets 101 (…19 H-OU-R-S of kick-butt tennis tips, tricks, and tennis strategy) and beef up your mental game like the big boys, so you can play like one of your favs at the US Open.

I often times say that the game of tennis is much more about errors than it is about winners (…Maria Sharapova, are you listening?). Why? Because you want the majority of your focus to be on what you can control, not chance.

The the tennis strategy you want to be using.  Because hey, winners may or may not happen, no matter what you do behind those white lines.

But for the most part, the element you have the most say in is your unforced error count.

…You know, double-fault drama, missed easy overheads, or botched up finishing volley shots. Yeah,  those should be kept to a bare minimum, IF YOU WANT TO WIN.

You don’t want to beat yourself, you already have enough enemy firepower coming at you as it is. Adding even more fuel to the competitive onslaught of your opponent that’s already kicked into high gear isn’t a smart idea.

Now unfortunately for the Sharapova fan club (…and her soon to be husband Sasha Vujacic), Maria Sharapova wasn’t able to do this in her US Open match against the feisty Flavia Pennetta.

Her unforced error count not only wasn’t contained, it went absolutely wild and out of control.

Now sure, to her credit, she did manage to hit a sizable amount of winners. But like I mentioned before, winners alone DON’T WIN matches.

I mean, Maria Sharapova racked up 12 more than Pennetta. So, kudos to her.  But her unforced errors quickly negated that “positive” and dug her a game-day grave 6 feet deep , ultimately KILLING her chances at advancing to the fourth round.

And she knew it too.  After the match, she said:

“When you’re down 1-4 and you get yourself back in a position where you can win again and then start making errors, it’s just too inconsistent to win the match against her.’

Maria Sharapova Had Way Too Many Errors Against Pennetta:

Honestly, a couple here and there are nothing to write home about (…and won’t hurt you too much), but when you generate a mind boggling 60 unforced errors, then achieving your goal of getting that win becomes virtually impossible to attain.

And when you stack 12 DOUBLE-FAULTS on top of that already tumultuous error spree (…And you do it in critical situations like break point or set point).

…That’s just like shoving a stake right through the heart of your confidence. And your opponent will begin to smell blood. And after that… Enough said.

Sharapova agreed wholeheartedly:

“I come in on a day and I don’t quite have my rhythm, and run into those errors where, not only do I feel like I have to get a high percentage of first serves, but my opponent gains a tremendous amount of confidence on their return.

So, next time you’re in a match (…exhibition or tournament play), feel free to go for those winners when they present themselves during the course of a point. But don’t make a habit of looking to get one on every stroke.

Box your opponent. Stick and move. You don’t always need the knockout to get the win. When you’re in a defensive position, go for a nice slice to give yourself some time.

Or if your serve is failing you, try taking some off to get a higher percentage (…to get our confidence up). Make your opponent earn every point.  No FREEBIES!

If you don’t, and try going for broke all match long, like a mad man (…or woman), you just may be winning your way to a loss, just like Maria Sharapova did!

Have a great day, and an even better game!

Brian
TennisMindCamp

P.S. Do you guys agree? Are errors more important than winners in your book? I’d love to get your take on it. Check out our 19 hour kick-butt instructional course, and start winning matches like crazy.  Visit this page to learn more

Returning volleys in tennis is a lot like dancing: If you’re bad at it, EVERYBODY can tell.

And, like dancing, most people forget that they have a lower body when they do it.

Their hips and feet just kind of dangle down there like jellyfish tentacles.

Big mistake! Jellyfish are weak, and if you return a volley like a jellyfish you’ll get eaten by a shark.

So, don’t let your opponent eat you alive in your next tennis match.  Don’t use only 50% of your possible firepower.  Use all of it!

By including your lower body into the equation, your volleys will pack much more massive of a punch – guaranteed! And you’ll immensely improve your chances of getting the win.  Here’s how to do it.

The next time  forehand or backhand volleys come your way,  stomp your front foot as you make contact (…not like you want to break the cement, just use your momentum).

TWO NOTES ON VOLLEYS:

1.Front Only: Stomping the back foot won’t do you any good on your volleys, except make you look like a raging bull about to charge or make you look like you’re signaling the crowd that you have to go to the bathroom.

2. Vertical Only Won’t Cut It: Don’t just lift your foot vertically on your volleys either, straight up and down, like you’re the quarterback (…like Philip Rivers or Cam Newton) getting ready to call a play.  That will force you to absorb too much force and will decrease your shot’s effectiveness.

So, you want to make sure to step into the volley as you connect with the incoming ball.

This will not only greatly improve your eye to racquet to ball coordination along with your timing, it’ll produce more impact into your return.

The added velocity generated from your shoulder and hips will transfer into the ball, turning it into a lightning fast orb of energy; like Sonic the Hedgehog after chugging three Red Bulls.

Now, it isn’t a piece of cake right away.  It does take practice to train your body to make a slight shoulder turn, remember to step forward with your front foot, and stomp down with force (…properly at least). But it’s very doable through repetition.

IMPORTANT FACT ON VOLLEYS:

One thing you have to remember is you want to reverse the foot you stomp with when returning with a backhand. You then want to lead with the right foot in that case.

How are we supposed to remember all this when a fuzzy green  blur is rocketing towards us? The simple answer? You just do.

Like riding a bicycle, it gets to be second nature the more you do it.  And, also like riding a unicycle, remember not to swing back too much . …Otherwise you’ll fall over backwards and hurt yourself!

Have a great day and an even better game guys! For more tennis tips to help improve your volleys, visit this page.

-Brian

TennisMindCamp

Mental Tennis King, Novak Djokovic, has had one of the most incredible seasons in the history of tennis.

Since July 4, when he upset Nadal for the Wimbledon win, he has been the world’s number one ranked player, hands (…and feet) down.

He’s the hottest thing to come out of Serbia since the creation of the fiery national dish of Ćevapčićis came about way back when.

Heck, he’s the most explosive thing to come out of Serbia since the Kosovo war.

But we’re not here to discuss the recipes of international cuisine or underlying causes international combat.

What we’re here to discuss is “INTERNAL combat” – the mental game – the constant battle between the player’s brain and body. For it is here that matches are truly won and lost. Raw talent is important, sure, but talent stays raw until the brain cooks it.

And if your brain isn’t cooking, then the raw talent will rot and start to stink horribly, worse the Zookeeper movie that released in 2011.

Anyhow, Djokovic is well on his way to one of the most impressive seasons we’ve ever seen, but he almost lost a very important match, one he should have dominated.

On Sunday he went up against Mardy Fish in one of the closest matches for either of the players this year. Fish was, shall we say, “fresh” on that day and ready to take on the top ranked player in the world.

But real (…take no prisoners) Djokovic came on late. The man who was filling in for Djokovic looked and sounded like Novak, but he definitely wasn’t the guy who royally slaughtered Nadal several weeks ago.

He also wasn’t the same Djokovic who took on Fish earlier this year and quickly destroyed him 6-3, 6-1. In this match, Djokovic took the first set but Fish came back, won the second set,  and tied Djokovic 2-2 in the third.

Fish was playing wonderfully up to that point. We jest a little with Djokovic, but in truth, he was up against a flying fish – covering the court with ease and executing awesome shot after awesome shot. Second though, Fish was performing more like a shark early in the game.

But then something happened. Maybe Fish started getting too excited about the possible upset. Maybe Djokovic entered that zen moment where he was unstoppable.

Either way, Fish got filleted pretty bad. Ouch! His serves were atrocious, and Djokovic ended up taking the final game 0-40. Fish was served that night – for dinner. But it didn’t have to be that way. What was it that caused Fish to fall apart and fall upon Novak’s massive hook at that crucial moment?

Can’t Forget About The Mental Tennis Queen, Miss Serena Williams

The same thing almost happened to  Serena Williams, the mental tennis queen. She was taking on Australian Samantha Stosur, a player who had beaten Williams before.

Stosur started out strong, matching Williams at every turn, determined not to be a shrimp on the barbie. The two were deadlocked 4-4 in the first set, and neither looked fatigued in the least bit.

They both wanted blood. And wouldn’t you know it, Stosur started out the ninth game very strongly.

She had the game at 40-15 and was no doubt getting ready to say “g’day mate” when Serena came back with an astonishing series of volleys that ended up giving her the important win.

Serena and Djokovic are two masters of the game and already legends in their own right. But they both came so close to defeat.

Sure, Stosur and Fish are extremely talented as well, but let’s face it. Few people thought these matches would be this close. Was it that Serena and Djokovic weren’t focused on their mental game as much as they should have been early on?

After all, they were clear favorites. And did they end up coming back and winning because they reclaimed that same mental game that has allowed them to have such success? I think so .

Oh.. And The Victims of Mental Tennis Royalty:

And how about Fish and Stosur? It seemed like they had the mental game down perfectly, but both floundered at the end, going belly up.

This is understandable, considering that the highest pressure comes during these do-or-die moments, when competition is at its stiffest.

It isn’t easy to keep your head in the game when the stakes get that high, but you’ll find time and again that the champions are the ones who can manage this tightrope without falling over.

For more interesting stories involving Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, click on their respective names.

Oh, and for more tips on mental tennis, click here.

Have a great day, and an even better game,

Brian
TennisMindCamp

Has the Patrick Rafters a.k.a tennis volley hunters gone instinct? To a lot of players, the answer is an resounding yes. They say it died out when the great Patrick Rafter ended his career years ago.

With so many of today’s tennis athletes strengthening their power game from the baseline, it’s no wonder why so many of believe that it would be crazy to rush the net nowadays.

Why? Because the thought of incessantly getting passed by blistering fast forehands and backhands isn’t exactly high on too many players list. Nor are they exuberantly excited about receiving a big black and blue welt on the thigh or forearm either. …Call it a hunch.

Those are two pretty unwanted results, true.  But if you’re a tennis volley warrior out there and know what you’re doing out there, you have nothing to fear.

The truth is, rushing the net is still a tremendous tennis strategy that you can use to knock your opponent onto their heels.  You just have to have the proper approach. Screw that up, and your tennis volleying experience will very likely fall to pieces.

Just make sure you don’t make one of the biggest and most common mistakes we tennis players committed by tennis players around the world, and you’ll do just fine .

What mistake? See below.

What Can Cripple Your Chances of Becoming A True Tennis Volley Warrior

MISTAKE: A lot of times, the problem rests in the follow-through of the tennis volley. If you look out onto the practice (…and tournament) courts across the country, you’ll see a large percentage like to finish off their follow-through by wrapping their arms around their necks like they’re attempting to hug themselves.

Don’t do that! Unless it’s Valentine’s day, and your significant other has come to visit or you somehow found out that you’ve won the mega power ball lottery, no hugging allowed. Not on your approach shot, that is.

Why? That literally kills your entire tactical maneuver.

THE GRAVITY EFFECT: By doing this, you severely affect your center of gravity, causing it to shift backward and behind your front foot.

Not good.  You want to propel yourself as far forward as possible. This forces you to do the exact opposite. Studies suggest that you can cause your court-coverage to decrease by a whopping 8 feet – AT LEAST!

Wow is right! That’s more than an entire Yao Ming (…7 foot 5in) of the Houston Rockets, one of the tallest players ever to hold a basketball. So yeah, that’s a lot of court!

Unfortunately, this will have you executing your first tennis volley behind the service line (…in NO MANS LAND), putting yourself in an inferior strategic or tactical position.

SOLUTION To Having A Tennis Volley Game Like Patrick Rafter:

It’s simple. The closer you can get yourself to the net when executing your set up volley, the better. So, shorten your follow through and keep it out in front of your body.

Do that, and you’ll fix your center of gravity dilemma, you’ll cover a lot more ground (…IMPORTANT) and you’ll be much more likely to win the point… and the match!

So yeah, the Patrick Rafter style of tennis hasn’t gone extinct. It’s just dormant.  Try giving it a wake-up call next time you’ve got the urge to come in and follow-up a great offensive shot, and let me know how it goes.

For more tennis volley tips, tricks, and strategies, visit this page. And for more kick butt tips on tennis volley strategy, click here.

Have a great day, and an even better game!

Brian
TennisMindCamp

Is power that important in winning a tennis match? Yes. But is it the be all, end all? Absolutely not.

Despite what many tennis players think, you don’t have to pound every single ball that comes your way to emerge victorious.

But don’t take my word for it.  Check out Radwanska’s results in the 2011 Mercury Insurance Open title this past weekend, August 7th.

What happened? Well, though the odds were against her (…both due an inferior ranking and a painfully annoying shoulder injury), she won! That’s right, she beat Zvonareva, the top seeded player in the tournament and current world #3.

And how’d she do it? …By attempting to overpower her opponent by blowing the ball by Zvonareva with bone-crushing pace?

Nope. She played smart.

3 Tennis Strategies Radwanska Used To Win the Mercury Insurance Open:

1. Served A High Percentage: When you serve well, you play well.  It’s that simple.  Radwanska amazingly only faced two break points throughout the entire match. And she never lost her serve either.

“I was very surprised about that,” Radwanska said. “I was really pleased with my serve today so that was pretty impressive. It was a very good match. Everything was working.”

Oh yeah, when your serve is snapping and crackling, your confidence as well as the rest of your game begins popping.  And that was the case in the Mercury Insurance Open Final.

2. Made Vera Create For Herself: Usually, we’re taught to use our opponent’s power to help generate pace and properly execute our shots.

It allows us to produce deep (…penetrating balls) and conserve energy at the same time. We also love pace because it becomes much easier to establish a rhythm out there on the court.

But she took this away from Vera.  She made her create almost all of her pace and velocity on her own. Not only did it cause her to expel more energy, Zvonareva saw softer and (…slower) shots coming toward her and got hungry,
a little too hungry.

She began to get a little too anxious and wound up hitting a lot of balls long. When asked why she seemed slow and a little off out there, she gave this response.

“I was a little bit tired,” Zvonareva said, “maybe I wasn’t doing something right. Every time I tried to stay aggressive, I made a mistake and I over hit.”

So, she got baited. And she couldn’t handle it.

3. Won The Game Of Errors: The game of tennis is much more a game of errors than it is one about winners.

Being clean and executing without going overboard will usually give you a more promising result than trying to go for broke, trying to ace your opponent on every serve and smash repeated forehands up the line with all your might for example.

It showed why in the title match. And it was no secret,  her opponent definitely noticed what was going on and attributed her loss to her opponent’s  lack of lapses.

“She played a good, clean match,” Zvonareva said. “She played the way she usually plays; she just didn’t make many unforced errors.”

Radwanska Had Less Winners, Yet Won The Match:

Zvonareva, 26,  was frequently sent chasing down Radwanska’s solidly-placed forehand shots.  Zvonareva had more winners than Radwanska — 25-17. True.

But… She also had a lot more in the unforced error department, 28 to only 15 by Radwanska. That’s a difference of 13, and that just won’t cut it. And it didn’t.

Why? Because you have to really be “ON”, while practically playing a perfect game to make that work for you.  Everything has to be perfect – your spin, positioning, aggression, recovery – everything!

And hey, it’s commonly known that once you increase the pace of your shots, so does the likelihood of you making a mistake.

I mean, when you’re in the zone and you’ve got that invincibility thing going (…something that happens once every green moon), sure I’m not opposed to giving it a try.  But as a ritual, not so much. That’s a pretty thin rope to consistently walk on.

All in all, it was a good tight match.  But Radwanska just played a smarter game in the end, edging out her opponent with the straight set win, 6-3 6-4.

Have a great day, and an even better game.

For tips on tennis strategy and Radwanska, visit this page.

Brian
TennisMindCamp

P.S. The US Open is almost here.  I can’t wait! For more kick-butt tennis tips, tricks, and strategies, visit this page.