Three days ago, I watched two of my tennis friends (Sorin and Ady) compete in an entertaining match. Both of them are of about equal level, but what got my attention and made me reflect was Sorin’s game, which changed so much compared to the way he played a year ago…
When I played with him last year (for the first time), it was a comfortable match for me, and therefore I tried to give him some tips to help his game.
We are still very good friends, and occasionally play matches against each other – he gives me a good workout for the fact that our clay court is slow and he can run down a lot of balls.
But what I would like to point out is the fact that Sorin used to have a very weak one-handed topspin backhand: inconsistent and technically awkward.
Since he was not patient enough to take lessons and improve it, I gave him the advice to switch to slice backhand from then on (it seemed to suit him better). And he did it. And what a difference that made in his game…
Considering that he is a very gifted athlete (he can run a lot and he’s fast due to his soccer experience as a youngster) and has a steady forehand, now, using his slice backhand, he can hit a lot of balls back into the court… Sorin is now one tough opponent for any player.
He used to lose against our friend, Ady, every time. Now he beats him regularly.
The moral of this story is that YOU too should evaluate what is the cause of your losing matches…
What exactly is your weakness? What can you do about it? And above all: are you aware that you have such a weakness? Are you willing to change it for good?
Find it and change it into something better!
Cosmin Miholca
Certified Tennis Coach
Check out my work at WebTennis24 where I share with you my best video tennis lessons, drills and tips for players, coaches and tennis parents.
