Three secrets you want to know to play your best tennis

There are so many millions of people who play tennis every day around the world. They play in public parks, country clubs, private tennis courts and everything in between (ie against a wall).

Tennis is the only sport I know that starts with love and is a sport for life. I remember the great Sugar Daddy, Bobby Riggs, who said in one of the many tennis clinics he gave, “Tennis is a sport you can play from cradle to grave.”

Why do people like to play tennis? I believe because it is a class sport. It is a sport that you can play for only 15 minutes or 3 to 5 hours, it all depends on your skill level and motivation. I was lucky enough to play tennis professionally. I had a world ranking in ATP Tennis of 662 in singles and 457 in doubles. I had wins over top 200 players in singles in the world and wins over top 50 players in doubles.

How do you play the best in a tennis match?

In this article, I want to give you the three secrets to play your best tennis. Of course there are more than three secrets, but three secrets are enough to help you play tennis better.

First, there is no substitute for practice, practice, over and over. Practice is the seed to build confidence! If you practice tennis on a regular basis, you will feel a sense of accomplishment, you will feel that you deserve to win, because you know for yourself that you have invested the time to improve your game. So practice at least two to three extra hours per week if you are a club tennis player. If you are a tournament player, you should practice at least 15 hours a week, which is equivalent to 3 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Second, visualize hitting the tennis ball perfectly. Picture yourself in the movie screen of your mind moving back and forth, running back and forth, hitting every ball with perfect accuracy. Visualize your forehand, backhand foundations being struck over the net with a clearance of 3 to 5 feet. Imagine every shot you hit with perfect ball control. View all your tennis strokes, feel every tennis stroke and experience every tennis stroke you hit with confidence. Repeat every time before and after a tennis match or match. By doing this, you are training your mind or inner game to manifest in your outer game or physical game. Tennis is a brain game once you learn all the basics of every tennis stroke.

Third, watch the big players or your favorite tennis pro on the ATP or WTA tour and copy their tennis style. Watch YouTube videos or television footage of your favorite player over and over until you mimic their movements. Some of my favourite players to watch when I played league tennis were John McEnroe (USA) and Guillermo Villas (Argentina). I always look at McEnroe’s service and literally copy his service. I would see Villas touching his foundations over and over until I reflected the foundations of Guillermo Villas. It was usually after watching these great tennis players in a grand slam event that I reflected their mannerisms. After all, why spin the wheel, copy what the big players do and do the same. Of course, as your tennis game matures.

What should be the first skill that you should develop first in tennis?

So, there are the three secrets you want to know to play your best tennis! Remember that there is no substitute for practicing every day besides playing tennis matches regularly. Start today if you don’t already; visualize hitting the tennis ball perfectly with each stroke until you are confident you can execute it with ease and confidence. And finally, don’t reinvent the wheel, copy the tennis players on the tennis tour by watching their tennis until someone on the side-lines can say, “Hey, that person hits the ball like Roger Federer or Maria Sharapova.” Before you know it, you’ll be winning your club tournaments and filling your shelves with trophies.