Here are a variety of tips from The Legends at the John Newcombe Tennis Camp:
Tennis Tips from the Pros
Action |
Pro |
Tip |
Warm up |
Larry Starr (pro trainer) |
Do not do static stretching before first playing; but rather, do a series of muscle warm-ups – and stretch AFTER you play. |
Volley |
Roy Emerson |
The first thing you do is turn your lead shoulder, which will automatically bring your racquet back into volleying position; the harder your opponent hits the ball at you, the shorter you volley swing should be |
Volley – High |
Fred Stolle |
On the volley above the net, never hit down so dramatically that your racquet head ends below the net cord; rather, try to hit as much as possible through the ball on a level plane |
Volley – Low |
Fred Stolle |
On the low volley, make sure your racquet head starts below the ball and then volley up |
Volley – Reflex |
Fred Stolle |
The harder your opponent hits the ball at you, the shorter you volley swing should be |
Lob |
Owen Davidson and Ross Case |
The defensive lob is hit basically flat with ‘soft hands’ with the objective of only getting it over your opponent’s head/reach; while the offensive lob has a tighter grip and more spin |
Overhead |
Owen Davidson |
You almost never hit the ball flat; but should always have some slice on it for control; the key to a good overhead is getting your feet in position first and then moving into the ball; and go for placement rather than power |
Practice |
Roy Emerson |
select the shot you want to work on and (whatever it is) start all your practice rallies with that stroke |
Volley – backhand |
Roy Emerson |
the catch phrase is “lock and blockâ€â€¦ turn your lead shoulder back to start the stoke, lock your wrist in place, and block the ball back into the court. |
Volley – half |
Dick Stockton |
go down to the ball by bending your knees, not your back, try to get your eyes down low and watch the ball into the racquet. |
Volley – reflex |
Mark Woodforde |
always come back to ‘the ready position’, with your left hand on the throat and your racquet head perpendicular |
Serve |
Charlie Pasarell |
the key to a good serve starts with ‘good balance’, which he teaches by having people serve and keeping their lead foot in place. Vary your starting position on the baseline when you are serving to give your opponent different looks and make them think about where you may be serving. And when you do, change the angle of your body so that it is always perpendicular to your general direction |
Doubles – net play |
Mark Woodforde |
if your serving partner has to lunge for a ball over the middle, you are not doing your job. Give the opponent the alley, and cheat towards the middle of the court to volley anything within your reach. |
The comment i would add [ from a non-tournament player; but lots of watching ] … is on serve: with a “good” opponent – an alternate other than spending effort moving one’s own position and having oneself get used to that…stay in exactly the same position and toss all the time…and vary widely the placement and speed and spin on serves, so the opponent is trying to figure out what is going on with very little “input” from the server to go by, with a rare move of position here and there.