What the bounce?
If you closely watch a professional tennis match, there are some peculiar motions that happen before a tennis player begins to play a point. Someone has to serve first to start the point but before that, the server roughly follows this pattern:
- Towels up,
- Rearranges his strings,
- Picks the balls
- Adjusts his apparels (sometimes to extreme measures)
- Looks around and at the opponent on the other side of the net
- Bounces the ball
- Bounces the ball
- Bounces the ball
- Bounces the ball….
Basically, this:
- Serves and plays the point…
Why is that? (unless of course you are a Mr. Roger Federer who defies science, does not sweat and can finish games under a minute). But why? What’s the rationale behind taking your time to serve?
The answer is actually a technique I highly recommend to all recreational players — in one word “Visualize”. Many a time, us recreational players just serve in play the point and figuring it out what to do as we play…I was exactly the same until I started noticing these cues from the professional world. Since then, things began to change in my game and it was amazing to see how such a small change made such as huge difference in my game.
What is amazing is that the professionals actually play a mini-point in their minds within the few seconds that they are bouncing the ball. This is because at that level and even ours, our mind is charged up by endorphins and what not’s due to all of running around to an extent that we are not actually thinking — we are playing mostly by instinct. Playing by instinct is a good thing nevertheless, but it is always important to take a step back and assess how you are doing and where the game is headed.
Players get about 20 seconds between points in a tennis match (some players abuse that to the extent possible when they need it). In comparison, the average point in tennis can last between 5 to 15 seconds.
Think about that for a second — So, there is more time allowed between points than the actual point. Sounds absurd??
I don’t think so and this goes to show how significant it is to be prepared for the upcoming point — because there is a direct correlation between visualizing a point and the quality of the subsequent point.
Here are a few things I think about before playing a point and while I am bouncing the ball, hopefully comes in handy to you:
- Am I serve down the T, try a body serve or wide out?
- Am I looking to target his/her forehand or backhand?
- Am I slicing it out or am I going in flat?
- Am I going to try and sneak in and try to volley the return or am I going to stay back and get prepared for a rally?
- Any distractions or nerves I need to shake off? (especially helpful when I am facing a break point)
- Bonus: annoy your opponent by taking your fully allotted time (get into their mind! This works wonders…)
So, the bottom line is there is a lot to think about — so spend your time bouncing the ball or mentally prepping yourself because in tennis every point counts especially given how short these points last.
Visualize the upcoming point — it will go a long way in improving your game….it definitely worked for me!
