Five Ways To Play Your Best Tennis in 2022
Learn to Play Your Best Tennis in 2022
2022 is well underway, and now is the best time to plan your year out, in order to play your best tennis. We know what you’re thinking “How do I play my best tennis this year?”
Take Care of Your Body
If you’re going to make 2022 your tennis year, you’ll have to stay injury-free. The last thing you’ll want (or need) is to start playing well, only to be sidelined for months on end with an injury. Taking care of your body will not only reduce the risk of injury but will also help you perform better when it counts. Everybody is different, we all have our own strengths and weaknesses and knowing what YOU need to do will help you. Some of us are already very flexible, without having to stretch too often, and these players often benefit from more strength training. Many of us can benefit from doing more interval training, which mimics the stop-start nature of tennis. All of us can benefit from working on core stability and rotational power. Even 10-15 minutes of off-court work can help you reduce the risk of injury and perform better.
Work On and Master The Fundamentals
When it comes to our tennis game, we can all gain a huge edge by simply working on and improving the fundamentals. There are a few universal laws of tennis, things such as:
- tracking the ball properly (which we often forget to do)
- breathing correctly whilst we hit the ball
- preparing early and
- working hard with our feet to get in position.
We’ve added a lesson below to help you improve the fundamentals.
Practice With Purpose
Why Do You Play Tennis?
One of the biggest reasons players struggle to play well in certain situations is a lack of understanding of why they’re playing the game. Not everyone plays tennis just to win. Not everyone plays for social reasons. Not everyone plays to be a great singles player. Understanding why you play the game will actually help you perform better as you’ll manage your own expectations. If you’re someone who plays once a week, for social reasons, there’s no point trying to practice 4-5 times per week (unless you love doing so of course) just because you feel pressure from external reasons to do so. Not only can this place unnecessary pressure on you, but you’ll stop enjoying the game. On the flip side of that, if you’re a player who loves winning, but you have a few weaknesses in your game that cost you matches, then this is the year to work on them.
Make A Plan
Once you’ve worked out why you play the game, now it’s time to make a plan to maximise your enjoyment from playing tennis. If you’re a social player that enjoys a friendly game of doubles, look for additional clinics or events that cater to your preferences and try to increase the number of times you play. By putting yourself in an environment you enjoy playing in, you’ll start to love the game even more and this will help motivate you to play more frequently. If you’re the player that’s struggling with their backhand, work out a plan that will help you improve that weakness. This may mean hiring a coach who can help you identify the issues. It could also be finding a hitting partner that’s willing to spend countless hours rallying crosscourt to your backhand. You could also find a practice wall and just drill the backhand side, a few times per week.
