How to improve your tennis as an adult - and get the most from coaching
Is it really possible improve your tennis game as an adult, or are you stuck with your habits and weaknesses? Jack Edward believes you can become a better player and get maximum results from coaching, with these 5 keys…
You’re watching some of the top players from your club playing tennis.
You’ve been playing for a while but you’re certain what’s taking place in front of you isn’t the same sport you’ve been attempting. It’s something from another planet, an insane amalgamation of high-level reflexes, flawless technique and blistering pace.
“Why can’t I be as good as them? Some of these players are probably still teenagers. I’ve been playing way longer than them yet I can’t come close to that level.”
Whilst there are certain feats of strength and athleticism you may not be able to mirror, cut yourself some slack. Improving your tennis as an adult is often a lot more difficult than improving your tennis as a junior due to time limitations, financial costs, brain development, coaching resources, ego…
Okay, I’ll stop there, because it’s not all doom and gloom. I believe you can become a better tennis player - here are my five keys to improving as an adult.
1. One step at a time
The first and most important thing to remember - ONE STEP AT A TIME.
You cannot and will not become Andy Murray overnight. I’ve had players ask me to work on their forehand and the next week they’re like “right, now let’s do the backhand. Next week we’ll do the serve, the week after that…” and I’m like…
That ain’t how it works.
It’s so easy to get overwhelmed on a tennis court when we’re making technical adjustments to an old stroke, especially as an adult where the brain tends to go into overdrive far more easily than a child’s. It’s necessary to break down each stroke into different parts and give ourselves the appropriate time for each part of the stroke to integrate into our subconscious.
This takes time, patience, repetition and plenty of mistakes.
When you’re working with your coach, you should be working on one, maybe two things at a time. Regardless of where the actual ball goes, that’s your goal - those one or two things. So if the ball hits the back fence nine times out of ten, don’t fret! Did you achieve what you were asked/set out to do?
Trust your coach. The technical aspects of your shots will come together eventually… but you’ve got to be patient and go one step at a time.
2. Commitment
I was told our brains stop developing at 17 years old when I took my level 2 coaching course. Perhaps this is true but I know first-hand that this doesn’t mean we can’t learn new things as an adult.
It just takes commitment.
Repetition is the key to commitment. If you’re looking to improve a shot and you’ve not got the perfect stroke after five coaching sessions… well that’s only five hours spent trying to change a shot you’ve likely been hitting in a different way for hundreds, maybe thousands, of hours.
Adults so often want the quick route to improvement but this won’t allow your tennis to sift into your subconscious. That’s what’s required to truly improve - and stay improved for that matter.
Commit to that one step at a time until it’s second-nature. Then move on to the next step.
3. Practice efficiently
Practice makes perfect? Nearly…Perfect practice makes perfect.
Committing means hours on court but we can’t all spend three or four hours a day improving our tennis. When we do go down to the court with the goal of improving our shots, we’ve got to go there with the right mind set.
1. Actually practice: I’ve had players tell me the only way to get better is by playing matches. But matches present an incredibly stressful environment if you want to improve any of your shots. If you’re play just for fun, by all means, have fun! But don’t expect to improve your technique in the heat of battle. Use your match as a gauge for your game and reserve some time to actually practice without pressure.
2. Practice with one goal in mind: Whether it’s finishing your forehand over your shoulder, keeping your base wide, extending your follow-through, trying to finish the point in three shots - that committed one-track mind is so important. It’s easy to bounce around between shots and points when you arrive for a practice but try to stick to one, max two, goals!
3. Relax: It ain’t good practice if you’re feeling tense. Warm-up in the service boxes with some feel-based shots, stay loose throughout your swings from the baseline, try to switch off your brain for the first five minutes of the practice - whatever it takes, it’s essential to stay relaxed throughout your practice to improve technique properly.
Want to improve your tennis? With less time than the juniors, you have to use your precious practices intelligently.
See also: Tennis practice: How to get the most out of a hit
4. Let go
Okay, let’s really make that commitment to practicing count.
What are you actually looking to develop in that court time?
I’ve touched on it already. We want those technical improvements to integrate into our subconscious. We want tennis to become second-nature i.e. we shouldn’t have to think our way through every shot.
So let go. If you’re playing a match, LET GO. Don’t worry about achieving the perfect technique on every shot and don’t obsess over avoiding mistakes. Put your ego aside and feel the ball.
One of the biggest differences between children and adults is that ability to let go of the ego. Children quickly forget about mistakes they’ve made. They come back the next day, swing freely and actually start to subconsciously develop the feeling of correct technique rather than thinking intelligence and over-thinking is the way to achieve the perfect shot.
Put your ego aside, realise mistakes are natural in this game and let your practice take over in your matches.
5. Study the game through group coaching
You’ve read through all my points but you don’t have the time or motivation to do any of that.
No problem! Attend some group coaching sessions (whether that’s private or through a club) to improve the tactical facets of your game.
Not only is group coaching far cheaper than individual coaching, it’s a far easier way to improve short-term as the correct tactical improvements work with your game rather than demanding more from your game. For example…
Zero pace on your ball? Your group coach might ask you to focus on hitting with a bit more height to keep the ball deeper in the court to avoid being attacked by the opponent (rather than trying to dismantle your forehand/backhand to hit with more pace).
Exceptionally strong forehand with a disproportionately weak serve? Serve wide in the deuce court more often to give yourself the highest chance of hitting a forehand on the second shot (rather than working on your flat serve).
Getting out-consistencied in longer rallies in doubles? Play in the I-formation and serve down the T on both sides to give your net player the most chance of getting involved early in the point (rather than working on adding spin to your groundstrokes to stay in the point longer).
Learning easily executable tactical teaching points to play your best tennis with your current game can be a far more appealing approach to improve as an adult than spending hours of practicing to improve technically.
Group coaching is often the best way to do this… so get out there and join a group coaching session!
To Summarise
Five keys to improving as an adult…
1. Improve the technical aspects of your game one step at a time.
2. Commit to that one step until it’s second-nature.
3. Use your limited practice time as efficiently as possible.
4. Let go of your ego and feel the ball on your strings.
5. Improve the tactical aspects of your game through group coaching.
As always, any questions or thoughts, tweet me @ontheline_jack. Happy hitting!
Jack Edward is a tennis analyst and host of the On The Line podcast, which takes regular deep dives into ATP and WTA tour matches. He’s also a qualified LTA coach and on Talking Tennis he brings his unique analytical insights to help club and recreational players to be more effective on the court.
See also:
Tennis practice: How to get the most out of a hit
Cut down on unforced errors - a simple tip for practicing patience
How to deal with nerves during a tennis match – 4 practical tips
How to practice your second serve consistency
