Myth’s You’ve Heard That..
Myth About: Your Racket
-Is the same as Federer, Nadal, Serena, Osaka, or any other top players.
You have a painted imitation of theirs. Their racquet is probably much heavier and actually an older model of whatever the racquet company or tennis shop is marketing to you. Most pros use racquets that are from the early 2000s or 90s.
Their paint job looks like yours, but their racquet is nothing like the one you are swinging around on court. So many pros add weight in different ways to their frames and grips and even some of them use different racquet sizes than the one being marketed to you as “their racquet.
Truth about: Your Racket
Myth About: Top Players
- are more gifted and talented than recreational players.
Truth about: Top Players
This is a myth. Top players are great not because of their talent. Talent only takes your so far.
1. Their success comes from great coaching by men and women who know what they are teaching and why it works
2. the time they’ve dedicated to honing their craft
3. their ability to accept and understand they are going to lose matches and miss shots on their way to mastery. Being coachable
5. they have highly structured training sessions to improve their games.
Majority of what you see tour level players or college kids do on court, someone taught and trained them to do. A very small percentage of their performance is athletic gifting or uncanny natural ability.
Myth About: Your Tennis Shoes
-should be the same ones the pros are wearing
Truth about: Your Tennis Shoes
I’ve watched and read countless reviews of apparel from tennis retailers claiming that the pros wear it and “if it is good enough for them, it’s good enough for you.” That’s very misleading. Each of us is extremely unique in our body shapes and sizes, including players on tour. Our feet have more or less arch. Some of us have more pain in our heels than in our soles. A lot of us have knee pain or nursing some other type of injury. The list goes on.
You should buy what allows you to facilitate your best playing experience and don’t fall for the marketing ploy of name brand companies and their retailers of playing your heart strings to be more like the players you idolize. Also, most tour level players use special sole inserts that recreational are unaware of. So remember one size does not fit all. Find what is best for your feet.
Myth About: Your Grip Size
-should match your hand size.
Truth about: Your Grip Size
I used to believe this myself, until I met so many people that didn’t have grip sizes that matched the width and length of their hands. I’ve met people with small hands that had thicker grips as well as players with large hands that played with smaller grips. The myth is that it will help you prevent or cure tennis elbow.
There is more evidence to support that tennis elbow comes from string type and tension, racquet weight, and/or a combination of poor technique, recovery such as icing, stretching, massaging, and strengthening. Your level of play and the amount of time you spend on court will determine the frequency and depth of your recovery. Once again, find what works for you. Even your tennis pro will lead you astray because this is what they’ve been told. Try different sizes out and see what is most comfortable for you.
What You’ve Been Told
Your Strokes - need to be harder and faster.
False. Unless you are playing national tournaments as a junior, playing in college, or prepping to make your transition to the ATP ot WTA circuits, you don’t need faster or stronger strokes to be effective. At the amateur level, if you learn to understand the patterns of play, what your options are in different scenarios, and what your opponents options are in those same scenarios, and how to routinely execute those shots in various situations, then you will breeze through matches that have proven in past to be almost impossible to win. So instead of trying to increase MPH, sharpen your mind .
Train yourself to execute shots from different positions and to different spots on the court, especially while on the move. Tennis requires a lot of movement, but most lessons consist of hitting shots from a stationary position or just from the middle of the court to the sideline. We have to practice for what we are going to see, not for what feels good or is comfortable.
If you work harder… You will become a better player.
Coaches all over the nation promise an increase in playing ability if you take more lessons. Most of them are just trying to make more income and need more clients or if you’re good, they want the chance to claim that they are responsible for making you an incredible player.
Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. Spending more time on the ball machine, taking more lessons, buying the newest racquet, or playing more matches will not help bridge the gap from where you are to where you want to be. It comes from structured, oftentimes extremely challenging, training sessions that focus specifically on what you are going to see in matches. In most cases, increasing your IQ will give you more points that improving our strokes. Save your money for something that will actually yield results. Find a good coach or read the right books and use reliable online resources to make the quantum leap you are looking for.
Watch the Ball- so you can hit better.
This is especially ridiculous (unless you have poor eye sight). That’s almost the same as being told to just hit the ball.
When I hear players tell themselves watch the ball or coaches say this to their players, I just shake my head. We need to know more or ask more questions of the coaches teaching us.
There is much more you need to do before you actually hit the ball. For example:
recovery position, split step, recognizing where the ball is going to land on your side of the court, where your opponent is, and what your options are for shot selection
Hopefully you realize now how silly it is to simply “watch the ball.” Don’t just take their word for it. Ask them why and ask them how.