Marco Bitran - How To Serve In Tennis Properly: The Power of The First Serve

By Junior Pswarai

When it comes down to how to serve in tennis properly you are going to want to focus on the first serve, by being able to create a strong foundation on this you won't have to put pressure on yourself for the second and increase the chance of double faulting. This doesn't mean to smash a serve in as hard as possible, there are different ways that you can create a good first serve.

Firstly, many people need to understand is that you don't exercise a lot to create something powerful and tricky for your opponent, strength is generated from all over the body not just from the arms so make sure that if you are exercising you go for the full body as this will help you generate the power and the speed that you are going to need.

Mix up the serves

One thing that will hinder your chances are throwing the same stroke over and over again and it may not lead to a double fault but it can lead to making the return for your opponent a lot easier putting you off in a worst off position.

As you may already know you have the option of 4 different types of shots that you can make; the kick, topspin, flat and then the slice.

Instead of just hitting the same one over again you need to mix it up as this can throw your opponent off if they have it in their mind that you're hitting the same one over and over again.

Adding some power into it

Don't blindly just hit a powerful serve, you want to add placement with it. Placement is highly important when it comes down to power, if you can add power and placement you will be able to find that it is harder for your opponents to be able to hit.

As mentioned don't just blindly hit it, if you can't control it then you want to slow it down slightly and build up control and only after this you can speed up and add power. The main thing you want to focus on is control and placement before you focus on putting more power into your shot than you can handle.

Keeping your opponent from attacking

Smaller players who can't generate much power might don't rely too much on their power but instead they have options such as spin and placement to make sure that they aren't able to return and put you into a defensive position.

You will want to focus on deeper shots if you aren't using as much power due to the fact that less power whilst hitting it shallow can lead to your opponent being able to return back more powerful returns which isn't something that you will want to go through.

Switch up between powerfully controlled shots and then slower ones as well but make sure that they are controlled and also that you think of the placement. If you want to know how to serve in tennis properly then this is something that you are going to have to keep in mind to keep your opponent on their toes.

If you want to serve in tennis properly there are a variety of things that you can do and a variety of things that you can improve on, all you need to be able to do is learn more about the serve. If you want to make your serve more deadly then something you can do is check out this blog where you can find more information on the serve and how you can improve it.

Marco Bitran - Fitness Training: The Secret of Success in Tennis

 
By Giselle Martin

Tennis has changed as compared to a few years ago. To excel in this sport, a tennis player needs to undergo extensive fitness training to improve footwork, speed, strength and performance. In order to out-stand the cut-throat competition, tennis players need to follow a tennis specific fitness training program that will help give them that slight edge on court.

Let us have a look at how tennis fitness training assists a tennis player in climbing the success ladder:

Types of Fitness Components

Tennis is a very diverse and complex sport. If you are serious about being successful, training for tennis should address all fitness components, rather than just focusing on court drills, or running fast. Depending on the time of the year, (pre-competition etc.) on an average a professional tennis player should dedicate, 30% of the total work time, to an effective tennis training program. A good fitness program will include strength training, agility training, power training, speed training, aerobic / anaerobic training, core training, balance training, coordination training and flexibility training. For a tennis player to make and see an overall improvement in their game, the key is to address all these individualized fitness components with correct intensity and load.

Develop Overall Strength

Up and coming young tennis players need to work more on developing strength, core, and balance. They need to focus on some basic full-body strength exercises, which will help them gain speed and flexibility.

Players who feel weak, and slow around the court, should dedicate more time on agility, and reaction drills and overall strength. This can help you feel lighter and quicker around the court, placing minimal stress and load on the body, thus reducing injuries.

Tennis is a sport that can last for hours, so tennis players need to have a high energy level as well as persistence. Many players will notice the benefits and a marked improvement in their level of strength and power endurance, deep into the last set, after following a specific tennis fitness training program.

Prevent Injuries

Range of movement exercise's and keeping the body supple should be one of the main focuses with all tennis players. They should incorporate stretching as an important part of their tennis fitness program. Self- myofascial release exercises are also very important, as this will help maintain a healthy muscle. Performing tennis exercises regularly, not only helps in overall performance, but also helps, prevent and reduce injuries within tennis players. Doing some stretching exercises everyday after practice will boost muscle flexibility, this would further decrease the risk of injuries in the future.

The Perfect Solution

Often players can be seen giving excuses that they can not give time to training due to their tight schedules and continuous tournaments. A perfect solution to this is to perform a 20-30 min (Starter) tennis fitness workout prior to your regular tennis practice. Over time this will not only help improve your level of tennis fitness, but these starter workouts will have you warm, get your feet moving, and have you ready to go for the start of each practice. (no more wasting 10mins of your court time). If you can do these starter workouts 3-4 times a week, prior to each practice, you and your coach will be surprised how much more effective your time on court will be.

At Tennis Fitness, we provide training for tennis and tennis programs for players of all levels. We offer specific exercises for tennis fitness and online tennis programs that are proven to work. We help improve tennis footwork, speed, agility, core, power and strength.

Marco Bitran: Tennis Serve Exercises - Improving Your Speed Without Exercising

By Junior Pswarai 

Tennis serve exercises can help you become a stronger player all around, making it harder for your opponent to attack back. There are plenty of exercises that you can do however regardless of what you do you won't be able to add any speed to your serve unless you have the correct form and know what you are doing.

Firstly you will want to make sure that you are in control of your shot. You don't want to add speed to a shot that you can't even keep in, you will want to make sure that you can easily control it and place it in various corners of the court to be a trouble to your opponent otherwise it is going to be worthless which is not what you want.

Once you have got the control under control the next thing you can do is learn how to add more speed into it.

Put the ball further in front

You will want to toss the ball slightly further in front so that you are moving your body more into the shot, with your body weight behind this you increase the power and the speed of your shot but you will want to make sure that you follow through as this can add more power and it also gets you into a position where you are ready for the return that may come back.

Don't spin the ball

Many people add spin to put off their opponents but by doing this you are slowing the ball down. If you are finding the spin to be ineffective then don't use the spin and instead replace it with speed that you can place in the main 3 areas of the court (down the middle, wide and at the body of your opponent).

Rotate yourself

Most power will come from the coil and the rotation of your shoulders and your waist. The serve is a full body process and you will want to make sure that you use your while body for this as it can help contribute to the speed and power of the shot.

A heavier racquet

You can purchase a heavier racquet which can add more power to your shot however you need to realize that a heavier racquet is going to put your arm under a lot of pressure as you aren't going to be used to the weight of it. You can also buy lead strips that you can add to your racquet making it heavier to a weight that you can actually keep controlled (make sure that you evenly distribute the weight).

Hitting down the middle

If you hit the ball down the middle, the ball essentially doesn't have to travel a huge distance meaning that you will have a faster and more powerful serve than trying to aim the ball over at the wide areas of the court.

You don't need tennis serve exercises to increase the speed of your serve, all you need to do is know what things you can do to increase the speed such as the ones that are shown above but there are many various things that you can as well.

Tennis serve exercises are important however to keep you healthy and also to keep your strength up in the game but there are alternatives you can go through if you know how (such as shown above). If you want to make your serve more deadly then something you can do is check out this blog where you can find more information on the serve and how you can improve it.

Marco Bitran: Improve Tennis Serve - The Advantages and Disadvantages of Your 4 Serves

By Junior Pswarai

If you want to improve your tennis serve then you are going to have to be able to hit the 4 different types of serves, each one with its advantages and each one which can cause your opponents problems if you are able to use them properly, keeping you in control of the game and your opponent off rhythm and always on the defense.

You need to learn how to effectively hit these strokes so that when the time is right you can pull a different one out of the bag keeping your opponent on their toes.

The 4 main shots you can use are the kick, top spin, flat and the slice. There is no better one out of them as they have their advantages and they also have their disadvantages but knowing when to use them can make you very troublesome for your opponent. By knowing this you will know when to mix them up in the game.

Flat Service

Advantages - The flat serve is a fast and powerful shot that you can do which if placed correctly can win you points. This is the main one that many beginners use as they can't add spin on the ball yet but it is very effective is you know where to place it.

Disadvantages - This is a very easy one for your opponent to hit back as it is just straight forward so you will need to make sure that you can control it and place it in paces that are hard for them to adjust to and return.

Topspin

By hitting the ball from the bottom to the top on the service you can create a load of spin on the ball which can be very tricky for your opponent to return.

Advantages - when performed correctly your opponent will find it hard to return and with the spin added it can make their return poor. It also gives you enough time to make it over to the net if they do end up returning allowing you to create a strong volley.

Disadvantages - It is easy to tell when spin is coming and the effectiveness will be lost if the opponent attacks the ball off the rise.

Slice

Brushing the ball from the right can create the slice which can be hard for an opponent to get to and return.

Advantages - Depending on which way you slice you can either make the ball move away or towards the opponents body which can put them in an awkward position where they have to readjust or go off court to reach it allow you and open court to smash a volley in.

Disadvantages - many people use this shot now and it is becoming one that people are used to returning now so not one to use frequently on the court.

The Kick

Just like a topspin you want to hit this from the bottom to the top (at an angle) and if done correctly can be trouble.

Advantage - When the ball hits the ground it travels in the opposite direction when it bounces off the ground confusing the opponent as the ball travels away or towards them in an instant and putting them into uncomfortable positions.

Disadvantages - It's hard to learn and perform and without enough experience performing this can put your opponent in a good position to make a return.

If you want to improve your tennis serve then understanding these 4 serves will be beneficial for you as you will know their advantages so you will know which one to play to mix up the game and throw your opponent off.

There are plenty of ways to improve tennis serve, exercises, drills, and things such as learning more about the serve can make you a deadly opponent from the service line. If you want to make your serve more deadly then something you can do is check out this blog where you can find more information on the serve and how you can improve it.

Marco Bitran: Perfect Tennis Serve - Tactics For Beginners

By Junior Pswarai

When it comes down to creating the perfect tennis serve beginners will find this to be very frustrating. There are many things to get right such as the form and then the power and then you have to think about the spin, placement etc. Things like this can be very confusing and if they aren't done properly can make a weak serve, however for a beginner the main thing you will want to think about would be to get a high ratio of serves in (preferably first ones) instead of out.

The reason why you want to try and make sure that you get the first one in is that that is what your opponent is expecting. Have you noticed how in some games at the first try the opponent might stand behind the baseline? They are preparing for that first shot to cause them trouble, they are giving themselves enough space. However if you ruin the first one then they are going to expect you to do it again and they will move closer so that they can prepare play on the aggressive which is something that you're going to want to avoid from happening as a beginner to the game.

Some things to keep in mind as a beginner would be the placement that you are going with. Placement is vital, with the correct placement you can cause trouble for your opponent, after a few strokes you will be able to understand which side is their weaker side and which is their stronger and this already will start to give you the advantage.

However, don't always aim at the weak side of your opponent, if you are consistently going for their weaker side then they will adapt to this and end up putting you on the defensive, you will want to keep it mixed up and mysterious so you keep them from getting used to one area of the court.

Another thing to consider with placement is how deep you are going to put it. The deeper that you go the harder it is going to be for your opponent to attack the ball and it also gives you enough time to get into a good position that will therefore allow you to go and volley the ball and get the point.

Many beginners like to think about just creating a powerful shot which can be deadly for an opponent but chances are as a beginner you won't be able to control a powerful shot and you may find that you are instead creating more trouble for yourself without any control. The first thing that you want to learn is control and placement and then over time you will want to start learning how to add more power and then move adding more strokes such as the slice and the kick which are going to be great to add to your arsenal of serves.

In conclusion, as a beginner to create the perfect tennis serve you just really want to be able to place it into the opponents weak side and their stronger side occasionally too to keep them guessing and the deeper you can get it the more time you can get into position to attack the ball.

There are many other things to consider with a perfect tennis serve; power, different types of serves, the placement of the ball and these can all be done with the right information as well. If you want to make your serve more deadly then something you can do is check out this blog where you can find more information on the serve and how you can improve it.

Marco Bitran: Improve Tennis Serve - How To Serve When You're Playing Doubles

By Junior Pswarai

One of the times when you are going to need to improve your tennis serve is when you are playing doubles.

There are many things you can do that can put your opponents off rhythm but there also things that you can do that can end up putting yourself and your partner in trouble during the game so you need to make sure that your serves are smart.

What you need to do is watch your opponent firstly and see how they react to different placements of the ball, you will notice that there will be a weaker side that they face and some areas you will need to avoid as it will be their stronger side that they can simply just smash back at you and your partner which is the last thing that you'll want to happen as this could put the both of you on the defensive.

Sending a ball out wide is normally every opponent's weakest point as it means they have to stretch and reach out into a position that could be uncomfortable for them causing a sloppy return that can easily be volleyed back at them for the point. However, the disadvantage of this during double is that the ball can easily be stolen by the net man and hit at an angle that could be a problem for you and your partner. This is a risky shot but could end out being advantageous if you can manage to get it past the net man and make their partner stretch into an uncomfortable position for it.

Another option is to try and aim the ball at your opponents body as this will make them have to move their body out of the way and into a position that allows them to return and in the time it takes them to do this your partner has the time to get into a position for an easy volley. Make sure you have control over the ball when you launch it as you don't want it moving around uncontrollably but this is a very effective place to position the ball even if it isn't as fancy as the aces it still will cause your opponents trouble and could cause them to become off rhythm.

There are plenty of other serves you can do you just have to keep in mind how your opponent will react for example if they are tall then maybe they will be able to return the wide ball with ease or maybe they would find it harder due to the fact that they are going to have to move quickly to get to that area. However maybe tall players will find it harder when you aim at the body because they have more to move out of the way than shorter players will.

Things like this have to be kept in mind so you know how to mix it all up and keep your opponents on their toes, remember that you can slow down your usual rocket stroke and add a load of spin to confuse them.

To sum it up, if you want to improve your tennis serve when playing double then you're going to wake to learn how your opponents react to different serves and use that against them and not only that but you will also want to communicate with your partner so they know where they should be and where the ball will be.

Knowing things like this can be very effective is you want to improve tennis serve, you just need to know more about the serve. If you want to make your serve more deadly then something you can do is check out this blog where you can find more information on the serve and how you can improve it.

Marco Bitran: Off Court Tennis Training For Young Players

By Giselle Martin

It is always recommended for young players from the age of 8 years and up, to do a thorough fitness assessment and postural analysis to determine their height, weight, flexibility, physical strengths and weaknesses. It also gives them the ability to look back in subsequent years and see areas they have improved on, track their growth and development etc. After the assessments a tennis program should be designed to target certain areas such as strength, speed, cardio vascular endurance, flexibility etc.

If tennis is the main sport of a young player, then training away from tennis should be structured to help gain benefits for tennis, this is what we call specific tennis training.

Tennis Training programs should take into account the movement dynamics e.g. high speed, agility and power endurance and dimensions of tennis e.g. lateral, forward, backward, up and down, rotational etc.

Strength is the foundation for development in all-young players. Increases in muscle strength will help to improve movement, power, endurance, injury prevention, co ordination and confidence. There have been 100s of times I have had a coach or parent tell me their young player needs to move quicker or have more power. Doing power and agility exercises will help to a degree, but without a solid strength base benefits will be minimal.

Examples of strength exercises for tennis are;

1. Body weight: (push ups, squats, planks, lunges etc.)

2. Suspension training: It is highly recommend for young players and has many benefits and very low risk for injuries. We use suspension training with the majority of our young players and get great results in strength, balance and co ordination.

3. Resistance band training: Resistance bands have been around for decades and are a great way to work certain muscle groups in the body. They are commonly used for rehabilitation from injuries, injury prevention and to challenge the musculoskeletal system (muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments) to promote muscle strength. Resistance bands are low cost and are good to travel with.

4. Muscle loading: It is using weight (dumbbells, weight plates, barbells, machines etc.) to challenge the musculoskeletal system. This form of training has huge benefits for athletes, but for younger athletes it can be very dangerous, particularly on the joints of the body. It is hard for a coach or parent to know when a child should start lifting weights. Research tells us, this form of training should be avoided until the age of 16. In most cases it would be accurate, however we need to take into account the body type, physical maturity and natural strength of young athletes before determining when to start their strength program. Obviously working with a specific tennis conditioning trainer will help make that decision. A tennis conditioning trainer should start all players off by lifting no more than 5% of their body weight for upper body exercises and 5%-10% for lower body exercises. Until you have seen a trained professional avoid using weight training for players under the age of 16 years.

As important as strength is, it is also necessary to look at other areas of training for tennis to help boost a young players development. Cardio vascular endurance (running, swimming etc. ) Anaerobic cardio vascular training (agility) flexibility (stretching), co ordination and core stability should also be targeted and structured into the off court tennis training plan.

Young players should be encouraged to participate in a range of structured sports (soccer, basketball, netball, gymnastics, swimming etc.) and also fun unstructured exercise/play. Participating in other sports (e.g. Basketball, soccer) away from tennis will often give young players an increase in cardio vascular endurance, co ordination and strength.

It is best to consult a qualified tennis conditioning trainer to help structure a plan for off court tennis training. Getting them to work in with the coach is highly recommended, as the coach will have some knowledge on areas of strength and weakness.

We provide fitness training for tennis players of all levels. We offer tennis specific exercises and online tennis programs that are proven to improve footwork, speed, agility, core, power and strength.