6 Ways to Use the SLICE Shot to Your Advantage

tennis slice

In today’s game, dominating and finishing points with aggressive topspin groundstrokes is the norm for most tennis players. However, I would like to emphasize the many advantages of practicing slice (underspin) groundstrokes and using them more often in your matches.

Here are six reasons why you should add slice spin to your repertoire:

  1. Slice groundstrokes keep the ball low to the ground, making it difficult for your opponent to attack you with an aggressive shot. This is especially effective when playing against players who have a big topspin forehand or backhand. 
  2. Slice approaches keep you away from receiving balls down at your feet. This is because your opponent will be forced to hit up on the ball, which will give you more time to react and hit a good ‘high’ volley.
  3. Slice groundstrokes are great for doubles play. When playing against a team that loves to lob, a slice approach will make it almost impossible for them to send the ball high over your head.
  4. Slice groundstrokes add variety to your shots. Mixing up your shots with slice and topspin will help to disrupt your opponent’s timing and make it more difficult for them to read your next shot.
  5. Slice groundstrokes can give you time to recover when you are pushed wide by an aggressively angled groundstroke or serve. The slower pace of the slice will give you more time to get back into position and be in balance for the next shot.
  6. Slice spin is essential for hitting drop shots. The backspin on a slice shot will cause the ball to drop quickly and sharply, making it difficult for your opponent to reach.

Quick Technique Tip:
When executing a slice groundstroke, remember to begin the downward motion with the racquet high above the point of contact. This will help you to generate more underspin and keep the ball low to the ground.

Practice slice groundstrokes as often as possible. There will be times in the match when you will need them.

Cosmin Miholca

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.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Tennis Practice

tennis practice

As I watch the U.S. Open (Grand Slam) tennis tournament I can’t help but feel the urge to go out on the tennis court and practice.

I am sure you might feel the same. But before you do it, I’d like to share with you some tips that can help you get the most out of your time on the practice court:

1. Serve Practice:
– Hit the ball with a loose arm: begin at a slow pace then after about 10 serves increase the power on your serve.
– Practice with targets (use cones): place one target in the corner of the singles line and service line, one just inside the service line and about halfway between the singles line and center line, and one target at the corner of the center line and service line. Aim for them one at a time and do not move on to the next one until you get the serve within 6 inches close to it.
– Practice consistency: serve 10 balls in a row and see how many go in; then do it again and try to better the previous exercise. Do not cheat on the pace – if you practice your first serve, hit it at the speed you would in a match.

2. Return of Serve Practice:
If you can find a player willing to practice their serve then you are in luck.
Regardless if the player hits their serves hard or slow you can always practice returning them to certain areas in the opposite court.
Your targets should be cross-court, down-the-middle, or down-the-line – but they should always be DEEP – that is unless you would play to a serve-and-volley player…

3. Ground-Strokes Practice:
Consistency is key on every shot in tennis, especially on groundstrokes.
Regardless of the level of skill that your partner possesses, you should always try to out-rally them in practice. Counting your good strokes in a row is a great way to rally practice – that gives you great feedback on how consistent you are and it also helps you relax as you play.
– Placement: Invite your partner to play some pattern drills like cross-court or down-the-line rallies; or rally deep and stop if the ball lands inside the service line (or better yet, if the ball lands inside the service line to have the player move up and attack at the net).
– Experiment with new shots: While you might be tentative about using your weak slice backhand in a match, the practice is the time to use those strokes that you need more improvement on.
But you don’t want to upset your practice partner by missing a lot of balls when using your weaker shots, therefore, you should do it on every 3rd or 4th shot.

4. Net Game Practice (volleys and overheads):
– Practice good court positioning and feel for the ball.
Considering that the ball comes to you a lot sooner when at the net, you will have to develop good habits of positioning to take the ball quickly and closer to the net as possible.
– Do not try to put the volleys away in practice, instead try to feel the ball and control the placement of every shot without the intent of finishing the rally right away (even if you could). Going for winners in practice will not win you anything besides frustrating your partner – save those shots for the match.

5. Match Play:
– If you play against a better player, that is the time to push yourself and see what areas of your game need improvement. Do not worry about the score too much; play to improve your strokes and quickness on the court instead.
– If you play against a weaker player, then you shouldn’t worry about the score either. This is the time for you to focus on new shots (maybe drop-shots, slices, etc.) and tactics (e.g. serve-and-volley). Avoid playing the same game that you find comfortable only for the sake of a win against your weaker opponent. Be okay to lose a match as long as you try different things in your practice match (I know it is hard to do so… :))
– Play pressure situation kind of games: begin every game with the server at 0-30, or play a game where the server loses two points instead of one when making a double fault, etc. These kinds of games teach you how to handle pressure situations.

Above all, make sure that your tennis practice is a positive experience and that you always learn something from your time on the court.

Cosmin Miholca

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.

Why You Should Have at Least TWO Reliable Tennis Strokes

playing tennis

I thought about writing this article after a match I recently played against one of my top students.

What happened during that match?

Even though my student is much younger than me (he is 17), I found myself overpowered in the matter of his strokes and quickness. This usually makes me proud to see in my students but in that particular situation, I had to save my pride by trying not to lose to him. (:

One thing I had to do to stay “alive” in that match was… to be creative and get out of my comfort zone.
To achieve that, I had to mix my shots a lot more often than I usually do. I had to plan ahead every stroke (I mean, to think of at least two tactical strokes before the point would begin) and be “on my toes” a lot quicker…

So what was the lesson that you can learn from my experience?

– If a player wants to achieve top performance in tennis, they must strive for consistency and stroke dependability first. This consistency must be applied to at least two shots on each side (forehand, backhand, or serve). Because if one fails, you must be able to rely on the other one.
In what way can a stroke fail you? In my case, against this particular student, he would 90% of the time crush my kick serve (put it away) so I had to use my slice on the second serve most of the time to keep him from winning the point off of my second serve. So having two dependable serves (kick and slice) I could switch between them when one failed me.

– You, as a player, must learn/practice to think ahead in the point. Avoid just hitting the ball in play and wait to see what happens. Instead, you must make things happen. If your opponent, let’s say, is slow, then hit the ball often to the open court to make them hit it on the run (off-balance); if they like to come up to the net, you can visualize a two-shot combination: one short at their feet followed by an attacking shot (assuming the low ball at their feet will produce a slow return), etc.
Think of at least two shots that will put you ahead in the point!

– A good player must be quick. If you are not, then you can train to be one.
When I say quick, I do not mean fast. As an example, I was never a fast runner but I was quick on the tennis court.
How can you be quick on the tennis court? Apart from doing footwork and specific drills, you must train your eye to read your opponent’s body language. The way their body is facing before the shot or the grip they’re using to strike the ball is to be paid attention to all the time. Also, learn proper court coverage so you know ahead of time (before your opponent strikes the ball) what your opponent’s options are considering their location on the court.

Consider these new tips in assessing your game and see what you lack and what you need to improve.

Above all, try to work on stroke variety in your practice sessions. Is your slice backhand a weak shot? Then go ahead and practice it. You never know when you will have the chance to play against someone who does not handle slices well.
Is your slice serve a weak shot? Well… you know what to do. And so on.
Practice what you are not very good at because being able to change your game and mix your shots will pay off in many tennis matches.

Having fun playing comes from being confident that you can rely on your strokes ability when needed.

Practice all your shots, not only the ones you like.

Cosmin Miholca

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.

You vs Talent

preparing to serve in tennis

A couple of months ago I finished reading Nadal’s book, Rafa, and there was one statement he made that I have been thinking about ever since… He said that his sister and the rest of the family consider him as being far from coordinated and a terrible driver. Nadal, himself, admits that the only reason we see him move so well on the court is because he has been spending so much time doing these movements that they just became natural and easy.

This brings me to a subject I have always found fascinating – tennis talent. 

Is there really talent that some people are born with?

or

Is talent a skill that we develop through meticulous repetition?

As I was growing up, I thought my brother had a talent for sports: he was faster and more coordinated than me. My father wanted to prove me wrong and showed me that hard work can triumph over talent. As a result, I overcame my brother’s talent in the last tournament we played when we met in the final: I won due to the extra hours my father and I put in just to prove this theory. 

Years later, I had the fortune to read two great books, Bounce (by Matthew Syed) and The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How (by Daniel Coyle), which explains in detail and with concrete examples that talent is not something we are born with; instead it is something that we develop through thousands of hours of specific repetition. 

That opened my eyes to the fact that all these geniuses we admire, in fact, were not born with talent. All of them have been very early practitioners in the field they eventually excelled in.

Take Nadal for example; he began tennis at the age of three under the supervision of his uncle Toni.
Mozart (in music), another genius, was actually introduced to music by his father (an experienced music teacher and composer) at a very early age of one.
Tiger Woods, introduced to golf by his father before the age of two, is another example of what we call genius.

All these people and many others that we look up to have excelled in their field not because they were “gifted” but because they have started their career at very early ages.

Researchers came up with a statistic that in order to achieve excellence in anything you must do two things:
1. begin practicing at a very early age,
2. spend over 10,000 hours / 10 years of specific practice in order to master it.

I personally agree with this research but as a parent of two girls I cannot help but notice that there are differences that people are born with: my younger daughter seems to be catching up with many things a lot easier as long as they are physical activities while my older daughter loves and excels in mental tasks: reading, math, etc.

I agree that we are born with a certain conformation in which our nervous system functions, but ultimately the talent is the result of one main process: specific repetition.

That being said, I believe that repetition can take us places that we don’t even see ourselves capable of.

Just like one of my fellow teaching pros once said to his student: “Ok, Mary, this is how you hit a one-handed backhand. From now on, all you have to do is repeat this 3,000 times and you’ll have a great backhand!”

Cosmin Miholca

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.

Focus On the Finish

The tennis stroke techniques can be divided into three major elements: preparation, contact with the ball, and finish (follow-through).

The last part (the finish) can give you a lot of clues about somebody’s stroke: the spin imparted on the ball, acceleration (power), the tension in the arm, the direction of the ball, etc.
Coaches tell you to finish in a certain way for deeper ball penetration, cleaner contact, or relaxation of the arm through the stroke. But what is the stroke finish all about?

In my teaching lessons, I have noticed that many consistency-related issues can be solved just by fixing the finish on the stroke.
You see, so often coaches or players look at contact or body movement to solve tennis problems, but according to my observations, tennis can be a lot easier if we fix one very simple area of our strokes: the way we finish.

Here are my arguments for this statement:

1. Since contact with the ball is done in such a short period of time, our mind is not capable of controlling the body and racquet during that time (it is our ingrained muscle memory or subconscious mind that takes over the contact). What we can control is the way we finish the stroke: “holding the finish”.

There is a strong connection between the contact and follow-through – if contact is done right, the proper finish follows or vice versa: if we focus on a long, relaxed follow-through (the part we can control) then we’ll have a clean, smooth contact before it happens.

2. A long follow-through shows a relaxed arm done at contact with the ball. A relaxed arm during the swing translates into power and control of the ball.

We all know that we play our best tennis when we are relaxed.
So focusing on a long follow-through on the strokes will help us loosen up through the stroke.

3. When we play a match and feel tense or have “one of those days” when nothing good comes out of our strokes, there is a very easy fix to those: exhale at contact and finish your strokes.

When we are mentally tense (e.g. fear of losing the match, somebody important to us is watching the match, egos, etc.) our body muscles contract too; that makes our stroke swing shorter which, as a result, slows down the racquet head speed and affects the ball depth.

I have noticed remarkable progress in my students’ strokes only when I adjusted their follow-through:
– a kick serve cannot be done without taking into consideration the racquet path on the same side of the body with the dominant arm after contact, or…
– the slice serve to have the hitting face more or less facing the opposite court after the contact adds to the spin effect even after the impact has been made;
– a forehand ground-stroke finish with the hand knuckles close to the non-dominant side’s ear can make the contact a lot smoother and cleaner when teaching young or beginning players.

Take these tips with you next time you go on the tennis court to practice or use them to relax in a tennis match.

Cosmin Miholca

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.

How to Handle Bad Line Calls in Tennis

line calls in tennis

As you have probably noticed by now, all articles I send your way are based on personal tennis experience…
In this article, again, I come with advice that you can take with you on the court, especially knowing that Saturday morning is match time for most of you! 🙂

One of the things that I “brag” to my students about is the fact that I have never argued with any of my opponents in my entire tennis life! And here is why:

– Arguing creates negative energy that negatively affects your game (there are very few exceptions when arguing actually helps someone’s game).

– There is a chance that you actually did not see the ball well – you “could” be wrong.

– If you do think that your opponent was unfair with the call, politely disagree with them. You will let them know, in that way, that you are watching them and you too keep a good eye on what is happening on the court.

– Do not get angry – stay positive! This is my best advice because I am a firm believer in the idea that if you stay on the positive side, good things will come (or turn) your way.

– And lastly – regardless of the match outcome you DO want to be able to look into your opponent’s eyes and feel good about yourself at the end of the match. Don’t let the bad calls ruin a potential friendship even though your opponent may not be perfect in calling the shots correctly all the time!

Cosmin Miholca

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.

Tennis Grip… Based on Feel

woman playing tennis

As a tennis coach, I noticed that the simpler the instructions, the better.

One of the aspects of teaching tennis is knowing the correct grip for every tennis shot.
This subject has always puzzled me and the reason is that some tennis coaches tend to explain it in a too complicated way.

We have many names for the grips: semi-western, western, full-western, continental, eastern forehand, eastern backhand, etc. Some coaches insist that certain parts of your palm should be positioned on specific areas of the racquet grip (base knuckle on the bevel 3, etc.).

Ask most tennis pro players and they will tell you that they don’t even know nor care what grip name they use. They will tell you that they use the grip that FEELS RIGHT for a particular shot.

What does RIGHT mean?

The grip should be something that feels comfortable for each player individually. The proper grip should be the way a player holds the racquet to give them a good combination of control and comfort which can translate into ball speed, consistency, and accuracy.

An easy way to understand how to hold the racquet is to recognize what happens at contact with the ball… Considering that at contact the racquet should be facing (more or less) the target and the hand/racquet should be at a considerable distance from the body, begin understanding the grip by positioning the strings where the contact should be and holding the racquet most comfortably at the grip. Then ask yourself: even though this feels right, will I be able to impart power and the desired spin on the ball?

In conclusion, the proper tennis grip is based on the FEEL, which means the way you hold the racquet should provide you with effortless power and control.

Cosmin Miholca

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.