Pit Pat – Oh No, Not That!

Very often when I watch club-level players warm up, my mind is boggled by the purpose of the activity. Usually, there are four players standing around the service line (half court), just tapping the ball to each other.

First off, that activity promotes standing still and poking at the ball, neither of which will in any way get you ready to compete.

In match play, those (half-court) shots are generally played venomously, and designed to inflict damage or in many cases, to be outright winners. Don't train your brain to be timid from that zone!

Put in a nice rhythmical baseline-to-baseline exchange for four or five minutes. Move your feet, get in perfect hitting position, and employ a full-length  (NOT FULL SPEED)stroke with a balanced follow-through position on every swing! Jabbing and poking can be left to other sports on other courts! 

Playing a tennis ball with any authority or control requires compressing the ball into the string bed and then wiping, brushing or dragging across it to one degree or another to finish the swing.

Next, put in a couple of minutes taking volleys from mid-court with your opponent hitting to you from their own baseline, and you trying to play back DEEP to them.

Follow that up by a dozen or so volleys up near the net and an equal number of overheads before you drop back and hit your warmup serves. Remember, ALL WARMUP SERVES ARE TO BE TAKEN PRIOR TO THE FIRST POINT BEING PLAYED.

Leave the half-court nudging and tapping to the Beginner 101 Class. Warm up and prepare yourself using match-play techniques for better results!

Howie Burnett is a USPTA Elite Level Professional with over 50 years of coaching experience. Before accepting the Tennis Director position at the Island Country Club in 1998, he operated the Net Advantage Tennis Club management company and concurrently served for 10 years as Head Coach of the USTA Training Center for Elite level Juniors in Central Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Howie was inducted into the United States Professional Tennis Association New England Hall of Fame in 2016. He is currently teaching part-time on the Tennis Staff at the Marco Island YMCA. His Book --NET NOTES (common sense ideas to lift your game) is available on amazon.com. You may contact him with tennis questions or lesson inquiries at marcoY10s@icloud.com or hb10s@me.com.