ROS PRIORITY CHECKLIST

The return of serve should play a big role in your strategy during matches. Overall I have favoured the phrase "Consistent Returns" as the return of serve goal under most situations. I view the return of serve as a predominantly defensive shot where the emphasis must be to get the ball back safely into the court before anything else can be attempted. Here then are my preferred outcomes ranked from the most desirable to the worst case outcome.

1. Clean contact = successfully returned
2. Clean contact = error outside the court
3. Clean contact = error into the net
4. Poor contact = error

This return of serve priority list helps create a defensive mindset in the player that will contribute to a more consistent return game. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FEET ON RETURNS

The biggest mistake you can make when you return serve is to try and "arm" the return. Instead of using your arms to return you should be working the return back through the use of your feet.

By using your feet more... 

1. You get yourself into perfect position every time and are not tricked by a slower kick serve that doesn't come into your strike zone. 

2. You become more aggressive by taking the ball moving forward and over the baseline.

3. You can rely on that forward momentum and are not forced to take big swings at the ball. Instead, you can allow the speed of the ball and the rebound effect to do all the work for you.

4 WAYS TO AVOID INJURY

Injuries can have a devastating effect on a player's career. A player may work hard to gain a high ranking, only to become injured and see their ranking plummet. Her are 4 ways to avoid this scenario.


# 1  Stretching during training and competition is important, but make sure you stretch correctly. I recommend dynamic stretching before practice/matches, and static stretching afterwards. focus on tennis specific stretches.

# 2  A regime of strengthening exercises helps the body maintain its integrity during tough movements during matches. Don't just work on strengthening your legs, also focus on your core strength and shoulders.

# 3  Good technique goes a long way to preventing injury. As a coach, I have seen many injuries that are caused by incorrect technique

# 4  Correct Recovery means post match/practice stretching and can also include massage (popular with the pros), ice baths and a decent warm down. 

All these tips will certainly help you avoid injury in the long term and insure that your progress up the rankings is without hiccups. 

4 SHOTS YOU MUST OWN

The top players have few weaknesses, however to reach the top in tennis there are 4 essentials I have always put a premium on when developing players. Here are my 4 Must Own shots for players wanting to compete on the professional tour.

# 1  A great serve is a huge asset in tennis. If you can hold serve or even put your opponent on the defensive at the start of each point you will win a large percentage of your service games.

# 2  During a rally the most effective ball is a cross-court (Forehand or Backhand). Dominate the crosscourt exchange and you dominate the rally because you are constantly forcing your opponent to change out of the crosscourt exchange and hit down-the-line.  


# 3  A consistent return of serve puts a lot of pressure on your opponent to come up with something extra, either with their serve or during the rally. 

# 4  Owning a big forehand allows you to finish the point whenever your opponent hits a short or high ball. Players today are involved in longer rallies and the player with a weapon to finish the rally has a big advantage.

5 TIPS TO HELP BREAK YOUR OPPONENTS SERVE

You can't win the set unless you break your opponent's serve. Here are 5 tips to help you. 

# 1 The First Game: The best opportunity can sometimes occur in your very first return game. Try to get all your returns back and hopefully, with a little bit of pressure, you can take advantage of your opponents "rustiness" 

# 2 The Keys Games: There are certain times during the set that traditionally see more breaks of serve. They are at 3 all (7th game) and 4 all (9th game). Now that you are aware of this you can apply more pressure during these games.

# 3 Loss of Focus: Your opponent can be playing great tennis and holding serve easily when suddenly a few unforced errors creep into their service game. Again, this is the time to apply more pressure.

# 4 Inside Returns: You can apply pressure by taking the return earlier. Try to take the ball inside the baseline. You don't need to hit the ball harder, simply taking it earlier will turn the pressure up enough.

# 5 Consistency: If you can consistently get lots of returns back into play your opponent may feel the need to take more risks on both the serve and during the groundstroke rally. 

3 WAYS THE PROS ARE DIFFERENT

WHAT MAKES THE GREAT PLAYERS DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF US? 

HERE ARE 3 REASONS THE PROS ARE DIFFERENT!

# 1  Structure: They live highly structured lives both on and off the court. They have schedules and rituals built around their tennis and that structure is fiercely protected and consumes their day

# 2  Focus: They are totally focused on tennis and it shows in everything they do. For the best players,tennis comes before everything else. Very often when a top player develops interests outside of tennis their results suffer immediately

# 3   Discipline: The glue that drives the structure and focus over years of training and competing is their discipline. Without discipline players seldom stay at the top for long 

THE CONTACT FOOT

Timing and power come from the ground, but more specifically from your interaction with the ground through your feet. The foot you use for this interaction is called your Contact Foot. 

Your Contact Foot can be either your left or right foot and it's important to develop the ability to use both well. As your ability to create a Contact Foot for each shot develops you will also begin hitting open stance and defending deep balls off the back much easier.