Oftentimes during a match, players let themselves be distracted by certain external factors, and by the time they realize what’s happening a set is lost or even the match, so the question is…

How can a player stay focused during a match?

So I’m going to highlight four tips that I’m pretty sure will help you to concentrate more during your next tennis match:

1. Keep your eyes on the court.
It’s easy to get distracted by somebody making a noise, somebody shouting from outside the court, or a baby crying or whatever…
It’s very important that you keep your eyes on what happens on the court, namely: your opponent, the ball, umpire… if someone keeps score.

2. Learn to look at the ball.
You might think that as a ball comes to you obviously you are looking at it but sometimes we are looking in the direction of the ball and we tend to look away to where we want to send the ball, too early.
So for that, I have an exercise that I would like you to practice.
Here is what I used to do before my tennis match: I would sit down or stand in a place, quiet preferably, and I would find a spot on the wall or any kind of spot where I could direct my gaze and I would try to look at that spot without letting my eyes to shift away. Do that for a minute or two. You’re going to find that your focus and watching an object like the ball coming your way will improve. 

3. Always remember the score.
To stay focused and present in the match make sure you always remember the score.
In a recent match that my younger daughter played, she was losing and she came to the fence next to where I was watching the match and she asked me: “Tati, what’s the score?” And I told her the score but then at the same time, I realized that she was losing the match because she was not focused. I mean, not knowing the score when you play is a sign that you are not being focused and your mind is not in the game.

4. To stay focused also especially during long rallies… count.
Every time you hit the ball count 1, 2, 3, 4… that’s a good way to stay focused on the ball and present in that rally.

Try those four tips and I’m pretty sure you’ll be more focused and, hopefully, win more tennis matches.

Do you find playing against the wall boring? 

One of our subscribers asked me how to make the best of wall practice – get a good workout while improving his tennis skills. 

So here’s the advice I gave him, and a few drills to consider:

“If I had a wall to work with only, I would focus on conditioning, accuracy, and ball feel. That means hitting a lot of balls (pick a number that you consider challenging), without making a mistake, aiming them at a certain spot assigned on the wall. 

Every time I practice against the wall, I draw a circle/square on it (if there wasn’t one already) and try hitting a certain number of balls into that area (I usually go for 15, 20, or 25). 

A Word of Caution: 

Do not stay too close to the wall because the ball comes back sooner than you would if you were rallying with someone over a net – that means your strokes technique will be rushed, your arm will become tense, and your follow-through/finish will be shortened. 

Instead, stay further back and, if you want, let the ball bounce twice so that you have more time to relax your arm on every shot. 

Another aspect you can practice is footwork and conditioning (see the first drill below).

Here are a few drills that you can do against the wall: 

1) Hit the ball straight ahead and move your position side to side, alternating one forehand and then one backhand. Your legs will soon be tired and you’ll get excellent cardio.

2) Practice the transition from the imaginary baseline to the net – hit 3-4 groundstrokes, then move up to take the ball right off the bounce (half-volley) and advance closer to the wall where you take the ball in the air (volleys). 

3) Serve, then move up to take the next ball as a half-volley, and continue towards the wall where you will practice volleys (practice serve-and-volley).

You can be creative with your wall workout, but keep in mind to NOT stay too close to the wall because you’ll become tense and rush your technique.”

Do YOU have any suggestions to get the best out of the tennis wall practice? Share it with us in the comment box below.

As a tennis player, you know that moving up to the net can give you a great advantage in the game.

However, it can also leave you vulnerable to lobs from your opponent(s).

Anticipating a lob can be the difference between winning and losing a point, so it’s important to know how to read your opponent’s shots and react quickly.

The following (2) tips are part of Tennis Questions / Tennis Answers which is one of the newest WebTennis24 programs focusing on quick tips and short lessons on technique, mental strength, tactics and strategies:

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Q: Is there a way to know if my opponent intends to lob me?

A: You come up to the net, split step, and get ready to hit your first volley.

But your opponent intends to lob you. How can you tell if he is going to do that?

There are two things that give away your opponent’s intention of hitting a lob:

Cue 1: He is backing up (making at least one step back) – in this situation, the court will be too big for him to hit an aggressive groundstroke passing shot, therefore he will choose to lob you.

Cue 2: He leans backward – meaning, he transfers his weight onto his back foot. This is another cue showing that he intends to get under the ball and send it high.

Once you learn to read those cues, take a step away from the net as soon as you can, and prepare for an overhead. Better have room afterward to step forward and smash the ball than have to scramble for one that you could barely reach.

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Discover more tips and quick lessons inside the Tennis Questions / Tennis Answers.