I am absolutely killing it on the tennis court of late and there are two reasons.
1) I now have a forehand: After self teaching myself tennis as a youngster (early teens) I taught myself some very bad techniques particularly my forehand. It was an attempt at a loopy forehand ala Bjorn Borg – yes I am that old. Let’s just say that only Bjorn Borg can hit that forehand and it is not a stroke that any beginner should try to emulate.
I mentioned in an earlier post that my two-handed backhand has always been terribly consistent. While my forehand always felt loose and inconsistent. So I thought why not go two hands on both sides? It would give me more stability and it would essentially allow me to use the same motion on both sides.
I committed to the change about a year ago and it has really started to gel. In the last couple of months I have beaten three guys who I have routinely lost to over the last three years. It comes down to less unforced forehand errors. I am able to extend rallies, be patient and capitalize on a short ball or weak shot from my opponents.
2) I am running these guys in the ground (courtesy of P90X conditioning). My style of play is called being a “Retriever” which means I just keep getting the ball back until my opponent makes an error. My new increased consistency combined with my new cardio ability (Thanks to P90X) has these guys huffing and puffing – which makes them impatient to end the points – which leads to them force shots that often end in an error on their part.
Plus I get to EVERYTHING which frustrates the heck out of these guys. Knowing that I move so well forces them to aim deeper or closer to the lines which leads to increased errors for them.
Lest you think I am getting overly confident in my game – don’t worry. I still don’ have the power I want, still have more work to do on my forehand and volleying is a whole other area to work on but…I am getting better.
Do you find that there is one workout that helps your tennis style more than others? I am an ultimate frisbee player and running is the name of the game. Short quick bursts…and I would love to add a few of the P90x workouts to my routine, just not sure which ones.
I think it is a combination of them all. Obviously the cardio workouts but as Tony states “Plyometrics is the Mutha of all workouts” and it is a serious leg/cardio workout so give it a try.