Off Court Tennis Training

Off-Court Tennis Training

Bonjour and welcome to another edition of Scott Nagle’s Tennis Tips. I am Scott Nagle, bringing you a tennis tip from The Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France.

Today’s off-court tip will cover ways to improve your tennis game without actually playing tennis. Tennis is often compared to chess. Playing chess is fantastic for developing your chess skills, but imagine how much you could improve from studying the world’s chest masters or reading the strategy of chess. A similar type of off-court training can also be done in tennis.

The training I will discuss today can be implemented as extra training, when you are recovering from an injury, waiting for someone to practice with or during any downtime you can dedicate to improving your tennis. Some of the more obvious or common off-court tennis training includes: cross-training or general improvement to your fitness, speed, strength and nutrition. It’s often best to seek professional advice or a trainer with fitness and/or nutritional changes. Here are some additional ways to improve off-court that you might also consider.

Work on your mental tennis: begin with journaling about some of your mental obstacles during matches and even during your training sessions such as taking a lesson. Do you get distracted easily, lack confidence or don’t play with emotional control? Discussing your mental tennis with your coach or pro, a regular practice partner, or your doubles partner can give you some great feedback. Consult some of the world’s greatest tennis minds such as Timothy Galloway, Dr. Jim Loehr or Dr. Allen Fox. They and others have produced quite an array of mental tennis books, videos and other resources. You can also meet with a sports psychologist to get a very personalized approach to improving your mental game.

Another resource is reading or watching videos about tactics, stroke mechanics, strategy or pattern play. Look for Brad Gilbert’s book Winning Ugly and Nick Bollettari’s series of videos on biomechanics such as the Killer Forehand.

If you have video of yourself, especially of a tennis match, you can watch and look for areas to improve, such as seeing tendencies during certain point situations or other areas where you know you struggle. Having your coach or a pro watch your video with you could prove to be more valuable than an on court lesson.Watching professional tennis can be a wonderful resource for all aspects of the game. One key is to single out one player at a time for a few games. Watch their on-court presence and confidence; watch their footwork or other technical aspects. See if you can figure out their strategy and patters of play and even what they do between games to prepare for the next challenge.

Learn more about tennis equipment. What string and racket might be best for your style of game? Consider any equipment that could give you an edge against your competition…there is a lot of equipment to consider from on-court nutrition to rackets that provide statistical feedback. Compare yourself to a doctor who is using instruments designed for a veterinarian. It might be possible to do many of the same procedures, but wouldn’t it be easier with equipment designed for humans?

Begin a tennis journal. You can keep notes on what you are leaning in practice, lessons and match play…or even online videos. Write about matches and write out your goals and what type of player your striving to be…write about it as if you are that player and keep writing it all the time till you become the type of player you want to be. There is tons of great advice on athletic journaling available… you might research Dr. Jim Loehr’s concepts of journaling.

Finally if you are a doubles player: Meet with your doubles partner. Discuss your styles of play together and get to know each other. Good comradely between partners and teammates is very important. Keep training both on and off court. Take advantage of any downtime even if it is just while you are waiting your partner to show up for your weekly game of tennis. Today I covered just a few of the options that are available to you…by adding different kinds of training and you and more importantly, your opponents will begin to see the positive effects. Good luck and see you next time at Scott Nagle’s Tennis Tips.

Although most of this information can be researched and implemented by yourself, it is best to get the advice of a professional. Especially if you are recovering from an injury or have other health issues.