Playing at the net requires different technical habits to playing at the baseline. At the net, a player has to keep a compact backswing to be able to play in front of the body and control the power of the incoming ball.
Hitting the ball out of the air opens up a great opportunity to win more points but to achieve control of the shot, players have to make sure they are hitting the ball in front of their body.
Building any habit is a process based on repetitions. Players have to consistently perform a new action to ensure the movements become automatic. It is important to understand that at the beginning it is easier to control the racket and the body without hitting the ball so imitations should be incorporated to let the player focus on crucial aspects and accelerate the process of acquiring new skills.
Indoor courts give players less time and less room. Help them sharpen their split step, shorten their swing and stay calm, and winter becomes a season of real progress.
A tiebreak is a short sprint where every point is worth the same as a break of serve. The players who win them are rarely the ones who hit hardest. Here is how to coach the patterns, habits and scoreboard thinking that win the big points.
Most club players practise the serve on its own and then have no idea what to do with the ball that comes back. Serve plus one is the pattern that turns a good serve into a won point.
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