The Masters of Mid-Court

Well it's Thanksgiving, and I'm very lucky and thankful to have tennis friends that were and are willing to hit with me during my rehabilitation and swing retraining from three orthopedic surgeries in the past two years.

Both shoulders have been repaired. One, my non-playing shoulder, was a complete rebuild. The other, my playing shoulder, was a total replacement with a metal prosthesis. To top it off, I had a total hip replacement six months later, and now, twenty-six months into the renovation process, I'm just beginning to reach a functional level of play.

I still have a long way to go, but my serve is getting more consistent and placeable; my returns of serve are certainly not stinging shots yet, but dedicated return practice will bring more pop to that MOST IMPORTANT of shots.

Where I'm struggling is from the mid-court area around the service line and forward to the kill zone.

Getting down low, reaching above my head, shuffling back for an overhead and sprinting forward to cut off a floating ball at the net are the skills that separate the folks who play from the PLAYERS - I currently and grudgingly reside in the folks who play category--GRRRR!!

An old friend and fellow teaching pro runs a doubles group on Monday mornings in Naples that includes many active National and World Class Senior Players. I'm lucky to be able to occasionally be included and marvel at the skill level these players have developed and are able to maintain in that transition area of the court.

If you drive it at their feet when they are moving forward around the service line area (half court), they are so well collected and balanced that the ball not only comes back ninety-five percent of the time but comes back firmly and deep!

When they get closer to the net, in the Kill Zone Area, if you attempt to lob them, they sidestep back away from the net with their racket in a ready-to-strike position and consistently put the ball back in play or hammer it away for a winner. I'm talking about players that are in their 60s, 70s and 80s.

They understand that high-level doubles is either won or lost in their ability to thrive in that TRANSITION ZONE!

When you warm up for a match, do you take mid-court volleys and a dozen or so overheads? My bet is you hit for five or six minutes from the backcourt, come near the net to hit a few volleys, a couple of overheads, hit some warm-up serves and start playing.

In more advanced level doubles, the team that successfully controls the mid and front-court zones generally wins the match.

Don't stop working on your serves, and certainly keep pounding away at your returning skills, but be sure to use a hefty portion of your practice time playing balls from around the service line area.

Play dozens of low and high volleys as you move through the Transition Zone. Hit twenty or thirty overheads, some out of the air and some off the bounce and then combine those shots with moving forward for put aways close to the net.

The next stage in my journey to return to a high level of competitive play will be many hours on the ball machine at mid-court and many hundreds of practice points moving into and through that Transition Zone!

Do yourself a favor - if you have designs on being a good player rather than just someone who plays, join the ranks of my senior superstar friends in Naples and become a true Master of Mid-Court.  

Howie Burnett is a USPTA Elite Level Professional with more than 50 years of coaching experience. Prior to 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.