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| Welcome to the November/December 2019 update from Tennis Server, http://www.tennisserver.com/
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Greetings,
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Tennis Server turned 25 years old this year, since the summer of 1994 when we became the first tennis web site on the Web. It has been an amazing journey, and John Mills has been supporting us from the very beginning!
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In his November column, John Mills talks about how flexibility in the tennis ball, the tennis racquet, and the tennis strings combine to create extreme power in the modern game. See: Bending The Ball.
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And in his December column, John Mills talks about how footwork and movement can support enjoying tennis as one gets older. See: The 2 Step Rule.
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In his November column in this newsletter below, Tennis Warrior Tom Veneziano explains how ball direction is imparted by the angle of your racquet face rather than by the direction of your swing. See: "Racket Face is King"
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And in his December column in this newsletter below, Tennis Warrior Tom Veneziano discusses how to improve your game through a journey of "the many levels of feel." See: "Is Repetition in Tennis Boring?"
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Have a wonderful holiday season and some fun on the court!
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Cliff Kurtzman
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Tennis Server
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The Tennis Warrior - Exclusive to Tennis Server Newsletter
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The Tennis Warrior is brought to you by Tom Veneziano (tom@tennisserver.com). Tom is a tennis pro teaching at the Piney Point Racquet Club in Houston, Texas. Tom has taught thousands of players to think like a pro with his Tennis Warrior System.
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November 2019 -- Racket Face is King
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Contrary to popular belief, the direction in which you swing your racket does not determine the direction of the ball. So what does determine the direction of the ball? The racket face!
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The idea that if you swing up the ball goes up and if you swing down the ball goes down is, in most players' minds, a rooted truism. This seems logical, but in practice this is not true and is the source of much miscalculation when solving stroke problems.
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To add to the confusion, many coaches teach players to swing toward their target to get the ball to go where they want. If players want the ball to go crosscourt, they swing the racket in that direction. If players want the ball to go down the line, they swing the racket in that direction. This instruction only instills a false "racket swing truism" in players' minds. Whether swinging up or down, the true secret to ball direction is control of the racket face.
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Let's examine this concept a little closer, beginning with the slice groundstroke. A backhand or forehand slice groundstroke is hit with a downward swing of the racket. If that is true (and it is) how is it possible that the ball can be sliced and then go up over the net? The racket is swinging downward so the ball should go down, right? No. While the racket is swinging downward the face of the racket is open, pointed upward toward the sky. The downward swing merely puts spin on the ball. The open racket face determines the ball's direction. Racket face control is king in tennis!
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How about topspin? The premier topspin player of the day would have to be Rafael Nadal, with his buggy whip forehand swing over the wrong shoulder. Nadal's swing is dramatically upward. If the swing determines the ball direction, Nadal must be trying to land the ball on the moon because that is the direction his racket is moving! Yet as Nadal swings upward, the racket face is pointed forward, thus sparing any additional craters on the moon.
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How about when a pro returns a blasting serve? All he or she does is block the ball with no swing and the ball goes in the direction he or she is aiming. There was no swing, just a bunt at the ball and off it goes to the desired target. The swing did not determine the direction of the ball because there wasn't one!
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From these three examples, it should be clear that the racket face determines the direction of the ball, not the swing. How can you use this information in application? Simple. Stop thinking that the swing will make the ball go where you are aiming. To master ball placement, begin thinking that the racket face is king. Even if you do not have the so-called perfect stroke (most do not, including the pros), if you can practice adjusting the racket face you will eventually find the shot.
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As always, repetition is the secret to learning and developing a feel for the racket face. In your practices, experiment with opening and closing the racket face to begin developing a feel. You can also practice hitting the ball down the line or crosscourt by adjusting the racket face and pointing it in the direction of the intended target. When attempting to adjust the racket face do not change your grip. Keep the same grip, and adjust your wrist position instead. Moving your wrist automatically changes the face of the racket. When your racket face changes, so will the direction of your shot.
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Even if your strokes are wrong, even if you swing to the moon, even if you don't swing at all, if you have mastered racket face control, then guess what? You will be king!
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December 2019 -- Is Repetition in Tennis Boring?
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When training with repetition, it is important to understand that even though you are hitting a given shot repeatedly, it is really not the same shot over and over again.
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For example, let's say you are working on a forehand and have hit a substantial amount of balls. You may think, "This is boring. I'm just hitting the same shot." The truth is, externally you may be hitting the same shot but internally you are not! Many people criticize the way I teach with repetition because all they can see is the external shot. They simply have no clue as to the dynamics of what is going on internally.
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Internally, the body is attempting to connect the racket to the arm, to the body, and to thousands of other intricate actions so you can hit the ball as a whole unit, not individual parts. In other words, the body is trying to give you a "feel." As you train, this internal feel changes even though you are performing the same shot.
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Remember, the body is not accustomed to lugging around this foreign object called a racket. Therefore the body must figure out a way to either get rid of this foreign object (quit tennis) or integrate it into your body's system as a whole unit. For the best players in the world the racket has, in effect, become an extension of their arm.
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Doing this is not easy. Depending on the level you would like to play, this can take many months and years! This is why repetition is so important. You must move from no feel to a tiny feel, to a little feel, to a big feel, to bigger feel and finally to a more complete feel.
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But while you are changing from feel to feel you are still practicing the same shot. When you have breakthroughs in the levels of feel, the repetition training is no longer boring. In fact, the next level of feel can be downright exhilarating and you will have a tremendous sense of accomplishment. This in turn begins to develop true confidence and belief in yourself.
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The repetition process has a dual function. First, you learn the stroke and second, you develop belief in yourself. You did it! In conclusion, if you have not yet had any changes in the feel of your strokes you simply have not hit enough balls. Stay with it! When you have your first slight change in the feel of a shot you will be encouraged to forge forward to the next level of feel.
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But be forewarned! If you do stay with the repetition training process and journey through the many levels of feel, you could reach the POINT OF NO RETURN. The point of no return is when just one time you are practicing and the body takes over and plays by feel in the zone. Everything is on go by itself. This is an indescribable sensation. You are playing, but someone else seems to be in control. It is like you are possessed by Roger Federer! But wait! You are really the one in control. What does all this mean? It means you have reached the point of no return. You are now addicted to repetition, to which there is no cure.
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Your Tennis Pro,
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Tom Veneziano
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Previous columns from Tom Veneziano are archived online in the Tennis Server's Tennis Warrior Archive six months after publication in this newsletter.
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In Tom Veneziano's book "The Truth about Winning!", tennis players learn in a step-by-step fashion the thinking the pros have mastered to win! Tom takes you Step-by-step from basic mental toughness to advanced mental toughness. All skill levels can learn from this unique book from beginner to professional. No need to change your strokes just your thinking. Also available at a discount as an E-Book.
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Audio CDs by Tom Veneziano:
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The Refocus Technique: Controlling Your Emotions in Tennis.
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Think Like a Pro -- 2 Audio CDs. Three minute free sample (real audio): http://www.tenniswarrior.com/audio/sample_audio.ram
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Training for Pressure Play -- Audio CD. Four minute free sample (real audio): http://www.tenniswarrior.com/audio/pressure-play-sample.ram
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See you on the courts,
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--Cliff Kurtzman for Tennis Server
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