Tennis Requires Good Eyesight - Coffee for Your Vision, LED light Risk

Coffee helps prevent macular degeneration

Avoiding blindness is of course preferable no matter what but if you're a tennis player, vision is mandatory at least for now.

You can play without hearing but not seeing the ball is something I don't think you can get around until new technology comes along.

Therefore, I feel better about my love of coffee.

LED Light Risk
Consider staying with incandescent lights

Nadal Creates a New Shot

Side-spin on groundstrokes is nothing new, but usually when it is employed it is from a specific side.  For instance, a left hander that puts sidespin on a forehand will usually pull the stroke from 9-3 on a clock face to cause the ball to move leftward.  To go in the opposite direction is almost against biomechanical  laws but somehow Rafa has found a way to do it.  I first saw him do it against an opponent who stood there at the net as he watched a ball sail down the alley apparently out of bounds only to watch it curve inward which never happens in normal earthbound tennis.  Among the gods of tennis this may be a normal event but to see it brought down from on high was astounding to the player on the receiving end, to the announcers, and to me.  Rafa just introduced a new shot.


Look for his side-spin pass among this group.

https://youtu.be/jDvR6tgUMLg


Also, go to minute 7:22 to see what looks to be the side-spin curve forehand.

  All of his passes are great but he has added a new level of deception to making the pass.

Pickleball Wars - Stay with Tennis

Pickleball causes some problems in tennis communities.

The noise is the issue.  No kidding.  I have never been near pickleball at this point but do know what the sound of a plastic ball is against a hard object so I can imagine what residents might not like about it.

What would you do with the noise problem

I wouldn't want a racketball court in my house either or next to it so this may be the same issue.   With tennis, it seems that the sound is subdued and not the same pitch and maybe less brittle than the sound of plastic balls getting smacked.

It may not only be the noise spikes but the tone of the sound that makes it so annoying to players.

Why

I suspect that pickleball is attracting many of the same players that would have gone for racketball.  It takes less skill, and another added advantage is less movement is required.

If you must

In chess the Queen is the most versatile and essential piece on the board, and without it the game ends.  Consider pickleball as a beginning step toward tennis, the Queen of racket sports.  Tennis can also be calibrated to cope with your mobility so taking up a sport of less skill requirement should be thought of as your starting point.  It's your call though.

Stay with Tennis but calibrate it for your mobility and skill

I always thought that for seniors it might make sense to remove the alleys from play in doubles after age 60 or 65 just to limit the movement required. You could even add another player too and have two at the baseline and one at the net.  It could make things interesting.  Safety of course is another issue if more players are added.  New ways of not taking head or face shots if you are at the net are in order.

As for me, I'd like to find a way to keep people on the tennis  court and even if it meant using some of the slower balls for seniors that are currently used for those learning I think that has just as much value as going for the pickleball method.


How about taking out the alleys, using 60 orange dot or 78 green dot balls that are slower and easier to hit. I'd rather be using a tennis racket.  How about you?

Approach Shots: The Flat Approach

Nowadays you see the few pros that come to the net often hitting topspin approach shots.  Not only is this difficult to time well when moving forward and attempting to drive a shot while keeping it in the court, it is not the ideal for getting the job done.

Most players now aren't adept at using chip/backspin on approach shots since they rarely use backspin with two handed backhands.  A good compromise method for both forehand and backhand approach shots is to hit the ball flat.  This is especially useful when the ball is close to net height, or even above it.

Advantages

With the flat approach you can cleanly target the ball to a corner or fire it directly at the feet of your opponent at the baseline while they are centered on the court.  Unlike a chip approach the ball will reach the target quickly and not skid,  but instead continue forward and result in a rushed shot for your opponent.

Your advantage increases at the net when your opponent trying to pass you is facing a fast moving ball and little time to prepare.   You can use this shortened response time to your advantage by virtually eliminating your opponent's chance to plan an offensive lob or a well placed passing shot.  You force them to look at the ball and do so in such a rush as to have less of an opportunity to use their peripheral view to decide on a direction to pass you.  If by chance they see you coming forward especially if you make a show of the split step you might even distract them from hitting the ball well.  In either case you can beat the passing shot by using a quick response since you've eliminated the time for disguise and deception from your opponent on the pass.

This is why I like the forced and flat approach as a great tool for handling higher balls that are not useful for the chip approach.   It allows you to use a dynamic forward motion through the approach rather than hitting a static shot after stopping to hit it as heavy topspin shots require except for lateral movement.    This allows the same advantage of the carioca step (grapevine) on the chip backhand approach by not excessively slowing the forward motion to the net.  You use a balanced pause with your momentum in check but not stopped as you rotate through the shot and then continue forward.

Since on a high ball lift is not required because you are closer to the net all your focus is on racket face direction rather than an upward lift.  Get the feel of using your palm to push the ball to the target in an inside out motion on the forehand.  Do the same with the back of your hand on a one handed backhand.  With the two handed backhand use the palm of the non-dominant hand as your directional tool.

I found the best means of pointing to the target prior to rotation is to point the lead shoulder directly at the target while at finish your are facing forward and then moving forward.

Try it yourself and you might find the flat approach shot is another great tool for your offensive game.