Beginner Challenge #1 - Judging The Ball

It’s very common for a beginner to lack judgement in where the ball is going to go and how fast it’s going to get there and play appropriately. A beginner often thinks the ball is going to be shorter than it actually is. They rush to the ball and consequently hit the ball to hard and are off balance when they get there. They don’t realise that the ball will actually fly deeper.

Try this drill; Stay behind the service line. Even if the ball is short you must stay behind the service line. This will enable you to learn to wait for the ball. A beginner may not realise they can wait for the ball. Even if the ball bounces twice when your coach or partner hits it you still must wait for the ball to come to you before you hit it. Practice for a while and see if this helps you to judge the ball better.

Second: Play at about ¾ of the court and each time the ball is hit to you allow it to bounce twice. This will enable you to judge the flight of the ball. Often a beginner will think a ball will bounce, go up and straight back down whereas in reality it would fly further. Allowing the ball to bounce twice in this practice drill helps to gage this better. After a while move inwards and return to one bounce tennis but now you will have that experience of the ball bouncing deeper and you can wait a little.

Do you find you hit the ball too hard? Well the next tip will address this very issue......