Global Tennis Teaching Institute

Is tennis talent hard to find? I don’t think so. I believe it is everywhere and just needs development! Tennis champions are not born, they are made. Nevertheless , certain talent is needed.

To describe talent, it is necessary to analyze what tennis talent is all about. It is well known, that a tennis game is the most difficult sport of all sports. For a young player it is important to have a body, able to develop into athletic ability with an accent on speed and agility. To this we should add the need of dynamic and balance, so that the physical execution of a perfect stroke is possible. Based on today’s professional playing level, rhythm and hand-eye coordination is a need to play balls at any speed and spin, Let’s not forget that the body of the player must be fit, as games can last very long. Let’s add the mental game which is necessary as the right decision must be made in the split of a second. We could add desire, discipline and hard work, all ingredients or necessities to become a good tennis player.

Can all these criteria be found in a very young boy or girl which has found fun in playing tennis? I don’t think so. All these parts of tennis talent must be developed.

The most first and basic requirements are a body with athletic possibilities, able and willing to move with some form of agility. If a child reacts to the teacher’s request and retains the practice movements, with the time the individual parts of the stroke technique and their improvements will show the student’s so called talent. As a young tennis player progresses it becomes more and more difficult for the teacher to continue the development shown by the student’s performance if the teacher does not distinguish the natural abilities from the progress made through hard work. If the demand on the child’s talent is not kept up by the teacher, the chance will be missed to reach a level of game through the combination of talent and hard work.

The question how many talented children never had a chance to reach their goal should really be asked. My experience is that the reason was in many cases the very limited tennis teaching. I must be fair, I also met teachers who sent their students to other places, hoping they would get a more adequate training.

The importance of desire, discipline and willingness to work has an enormous importance on the ability of the student. Not many teachers are willing to force these issues. For parents to recognize the reason for their child’s stagnation is sometimes more than they can handle. Recognizing if it is the lack of talent or mediocre teaching is necessary to be able to make the right decision concerning the child’s training and future. Do not forget, a child is very young and unable to recognize the quality of the training. Children decide emotionally . It is important for them to like the teacher and have fun which is the right way to approach the tennis training, but it does not mean that the technical aspect of the teaching program should not remain the most important part of the teaching.

So, talent is not the only criteria for success in tennis, as the tennis game has so many features which influence the progress of the student. Talent is needed. At least some of the different requirements should be there. The other ones have to be developed.

We must be more and more concerned of the constant progress of the tennis game if you consider the advancement made in the last 10 years. We know that in the years to come the tennis game will be more athletic, more powerful with faster balls to be handled. Parents again carry great responsibility if the child loves tennis, enjoys hard work and shows some talent. This is why I always remind the parents of the importance to
demand from the teacher the teaching quality necessary to ensure the positive development for the talented players of the future.

In tennis, balance is mentioned in describing a good tennis player’s movement. In watching the development of young junior players I never have seen exercises made especially to develop the balance in the player’s footwork, body movement and stroke.

Let me first explain what balance is all about. It is a sensation. Balance has no muscle. Balance has no mass, balance is a “happening”, created by many body muscles which function well organized and used only when needed. It ensures that the needed muscles become active without interference of the unnecessary muscles . A body which has perfect balance control moves effortless with the impression of using very little energy. It is only an impression as energy is always needed. In a dynamic jump in perfect balance, the jump looks like flying effortless through the air as all energy is in the jump.

To achieve that kind of body control, exercises must be executed where at first body muscles must be felt and controlled. This means moving arms and legs under different tensions. They are moving separately. Energy must be able to travel through the body and used where needed without the interference of unnecessary physical action. Explosive running requires strong legs and only arm support which in tennis should be used to prepare a smooth stroke execution. A sudden stop does not need bending of the torso if the run is executed in balance. Stroke execution in balance can maintain a high level of technical skill and fast execution.

I suggest to students to be concerned about their warm up time as it is the right moment to include the development of balance in all their movements. Balance training will develop their feeling of the body, single movements and overall body control.

In the effort to execute perfect stroke executions tennis players use too many muscles.
Some players with a more natural sensation of balance will have an easier time to achieve technical abilities. Players like Martina Hingis with great balance moved effortlessly and reached the most difficult balls in good hitting position. Roger Federer as well as Nicolai Davidenko have an excellent balance sensation and as a result they have excellent footwork and stroke executions under the most difficult conditions. They change directions and have no problem in preparing a perfect stroke in a difficult run. Players with poor body balance are very physical and are forced to make constant adjustments in the execution of strokes under pressure.

How can a young player ensure that he moves in balance or learn how to do so, which is very important for his future success. I may repeat myself when I say : to develop balance sensation exercises must be incorporated in the daily training which create the ability to separate arms and legs movements from each other. A hard run to a wide ball should not influence the stroke execution.

TV commentators like to mention the balance of a player as soon as they recognize that difficult balls are reached with ease. Tennis teachers should give more consideration concerning the need to develop the balance in young players. In very young players (age 8 to 11) it is very easy to have balance included in their muscle and movement development. In the future there is no reason why a player should have problems with the balance if their teacher would have given to this requirement the deserving attention, as balance can be trained. It is a body sensation that makes the running, the hitting, the changing of directions much much easier and will save a lot of energy for the 3rd or 5th set.