There are many factors that are involved in contributing your improvement as a tennis player. Many of these you can address with your tennis coach.
Efficient tennis technique is the cornerstone of every great player, without technique you can be as fit and mentally prepared as you possibly can, but you will not succeed.
If you study the pro’s you will see that the professionals are close to identical when it comes to their racket and body positions around contact. There are different styles of strokes, but when it comes to positioning there really is only the correct and incorrect way.
Should You Copy The Pro’s
It is not always smart to follow the pro’s, they have figured out the best way to play against the kind of balls they face all the time. These can be fast with heavy topspin, and you might not face these kind of balls in your normal game.
The Laws Of Physics Dictate Play
Most of your technique and shot selection is simply a matter of physics. The ball is in contact with the racket for milliseconds, and what matters is how fast the racket is travelling and at what angle.
In order to consistently hit the ball well you need to repeat the same correct motion with the racket travelling at the right speed and angle over and over again. Drills make a good player a great player.
The Pro’s Games
If you look at great pro’s such as Roger Federer and Andy Roddick you will see there is a big difference in technique. Physically there is little between them, they are both great athletes but tactically Roger is more astute, perhaps if Andy had better technique this would give him more tactical options. However, Andy is probably stronger mentally which tends to even the games out somewhat.
The point is that technique is the biggest difference between the two players.
Andy has a great serve but so does Roger, Andy’s forehand is good but cannot compare with Roger’s. Andy’s backhand is weaker, his slice and volleys are weaker. This comparatively weak backhand technique causes him to be off-balance often on the backhand side. To overcome all of these disadvantages and beat Roger on any given day is a hard ask.
Why Do So Few Coaches Teach Technique
If you have poor technique, it will be a tough task to beat any opponent. Tennis technique can be a trifle complicated to understand. To fully comprehend things it can take years from a coaching standpoint.
This is probably one of the main reasons many coaches argue that technique is not as important as fitness and drills. It is far easier to coach tactics and fitness and not confront the technical part.
