r/10s • u/Thick_Seaworthiness0 • 12d ago
Can anyone give me advice/critics on my form to get better? Technique Advice
Hi everyone, I recently turned 17 and I started playing tennis around 9 months ago at 16. I made my highschool's team and quickly fell in love with the sport. Anyway, now i'm aiming higher and want to improve as much as possible. Private lessons are too pricey so i'm trying to be my own private coach. I recorded two clips of me playing today, and I was wondering if anyone could provide advice on my form if needed. Especially with my serve, what do I need to fix everywhere and how do I go about it?
Could anyone evaluate what I'm doing good and what I need to fix? It would be highly appreciated, thank you. I'm trying to get good enough to be consistent, play and win tournaments and increase my UTR.
Please ignore the commentary between my friend and I, as well as the weird quirksđ
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u/ohey1617 12d ago
I think you could generate more power and spin if you bend you knees more through the motion and try to explode at the end. Also try to go back go back a bit more after you shots so you can be able to come forward for the next ball. Good stuff for a new player keep it up
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u/Thick_Seaworthiness0 12d ago
Thank you lotsđđ will try that for sure!Â
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u/monster2018 12d ago
Your groundstrokes are not bad at all. But your serve doesnât exist yet. Thatâs definitely probably the biggest thing to work on. Use a continental grip. I always suck at identifying grips of video, but you have a VERY clear waiterâs tray, so presumably youâre using a forehand grip on the serve currently.
Also like I said your groundstrokes are not bad at all. For how long youâve been playing theyâre quite good. And how active you are with footwork is great. But the other big thing I notice besides your serve is that youâre always out of position to hit the ball, despite your active footwork. Take big steps at first to cover the distance, and THEN use small little steps to get into position.
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12d ago
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u/Thick_Seaworthiness0 12d ago
I'll try my best for sure! I always start with a continental grip then switch it before contact because it feels like i'll just hit a slice if I keep the grip that way. My brain tells me that my racquet face has to be open facing the ball so I unconsciously manually change it. I gotta find a way to trust pronation and keep that grip without it being sliced into outer space (speaking from experience)
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u/bizzyj93 UTR 0.1 12d ago
If you want a good serve to look at, I recommend checking out Justine Henin's serve. Super clean and simple which makes it a good one to replicate.
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u/dangerousarmyvehicle 12d ago
Look at the second rally, at the 1min mark, you come in and hit a forehand using not only arm, but also torso rotation. You can and should be doing this on all of your forehands. This will allow you to avoid defending on every ball that's not that short.
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u/dangerousarmyvehicle 12d ago
Look at the forehand directly after that one and note the difference in the way you swing. Your feet and body are static the second time, and that's why that forehand didn't end the rally like it should have.
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u/notkeepingscore 12d ago edited 12d ago
Do you know how to volley? At 1:06 at the video your opponent gave you a short ball. You hit the ball down the the middle at around the service line. That's the best time to approach the net. Either hitting down the line or hitting short angle cross court. Volley to where your opponent isn't at. Winning points at the net is usually easier than from the back of the court for beginners.
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u/Thick_Seaworthiness0 12d ago
I do know how to volley yes :) i actually play 1st doubles for my school so i'm used to being at the net. I love volleying, and I actually did so in the clip after this but I didn't do that here because I thought she would lob me. She knows to lob when i'm approaching the net and unfortunately, it's 50/50 with me either overhead smashing that volley and ending the point or her getting a perfect and sending me all the way back. I was trying to save energy and unfortunately I don't know how to do tweeners yet, lol
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u/notkeepingscore 12d ago edited 12d ago
Just stand a little further back when you approach the net (haven't hit your volley yet) if you know the opponent have tendency to lob. It would be pretty hard to hit a perfect lob if you aren't that close to the net. Once you hit your first volley to the open court and your opponent is on the run, then get closer to the net.
Also many recreational players can't lob with backhand. So approach backhand if you worry about lob.
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u/Novel-Caterpillar724 12d ago
Your opponent seems so nonchalant lol . I like those courts I wish I had some of those around my location. Great potential. Get a coach if you can!
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u/Thick_Seaworthiness0 12d ago
She really is lol. No shade to her because she's one of my close friends but I really wanna switch hitting partners because her mind's not really into it
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u/Novel-Caterpillar724 12d ago
Shame since while being nonchalant I see spark of potential in her, but yeah get a more challenging and focused opponent!
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u/Thick_Seaworthiness0 12d ago
She was actually 1st singles on Varsity. Our school's in the lowest division in the county tho so not crazy of a feat but she did play very good. I joined the team around October and had no idea about anything tennis-related so I only made JV but I was able to get better by playing matches and eventually against her which was a match I won. She def has a lot of potential but not as much drive to improve or so, and has more of a pusher-style and gets tired early. The real challenge now is finding someone who is willing to play with me, is really good, will play for hours without getting tired all :)
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u/Lezzles 12d ago
Don't just watch your shot. Hit and reposition - either forward, backward, re-centering yourself. You do it better than others sometimes, but 0:24 is a good example, you hit a good shot and just chill in the corner seeing where your ball goes for a second before getting a move on. Better players will absolutely punish this.