Strike, Don’t Swing
Tennis is a series of strikes, and strikes are like snowflakes – no two are exactly the same. No two forehands are exactly the same. No two backhands are exactly the same. What matters...
Never Miss Your Approach Shots
In tennis, “probing” refers to the act of spacing your body with respect to the ball, and it is one of the most important drivers of consistency while playing. The image above depicts two...
The Receiving Loop
In the 2011 Miami Final, Rafael Nadal hit a winner past Novak Djokovic that looked rather strange on TV (the point). The ball landed quite close to him, at least, close in the scope...
See The Ball Like Novak Djokovic
When you think of “consistency” in tennis, who’s the first player that comes to mind? For most, it’s Novak Djokovic. Novak is one of the best movers on the tour, and he has perfect...
Why You Miss for No Reason (It’s Vision)
Movement and stroke production can only get you so far. To really excel in tennis, on each shot, you have to know exactly: Without this skill, your miss rate will always be high, no...
4 Fixation Visual System
It isn’t literally possible to “watch the ball” in high level tennis. At least, not all the time. The ball is simply moving too quickly for your eye to track it using smooth pursuit...
Immediately Improve Reaction Time
Many of my lower level students are totally lost when receiving a short ball, even when it’s really not that short. The ball’s second bounce is past the service line, and yet they’re still...
The Saccadic Tracking Loop
“Watch the ball” isn’t as simple as it sounds. When an object’s motion is sufficiently fast, it’s actually impossible for the eye to smoothly track that object throughout its entire flight path. Instead, the...
Secrets of the Eye
“Keep your eye on the ball,” is good advice for a 5-year-old. It is a rough, approximate instruction. When analyzed with a 5-year-old’s level of understanding, it accurately describes the role the eye is...
Don’t Watch The Ball Like Federer
I know, I know. The way Federer watches the ball is beautiful. It’s elegant, it’s graceful, and it looks really, really good in slow motion. But it is not the way every player should...