6 Biggest Tennis Training Mistakes

6 Biggest Tennis Training Mistakes

1. Bad Punctuality

Being consistently late for tennis training has a lot of negative ramifications for your game. First of all, your coach or tennis trainer will get frustrated and can lose motivation to help you, hit your potential. You will be embarrassed and may go into a shell and lose confidence. The most important point is that you may lose precious time that you could have used to improve. If you consistently show up 5min late for 1 year, that adds up to a lot of missed lessons, costing you money and the chance to become a better player. The thing with punctuality is that it's about attitude and you can control when and where you are going, so control what time you get yourself to tennis training and be ready.

2. Listening To The Wrong People

Getting advice from the right people is crucial for long-term success in tennis. Too many people listen to, other parents, friends, etc. that really don't know what they are talking about. Getting advice from people who have no experience or knowledge about tennis is a big NO-NO. Find professionals who are experienced (do your research) and seek advice and direction from them. We get 100’s of emails from people around the world that are looking for answers. We are always willing to help out, as much as we can and there are 100’s of coaches, tennis trainers, and other professionals who will do the same.

3. Doing What Everyone Else Does

It is important to find out what works for you and stick with it. We find too many players jump from one thing to another, coach-to-coach, racquet to racquet. Source out what you need, ask questions, try it, and then stick with it. Being consistent with the right tools for you will lead to progress. Chopping and changing will lead to confusion and frustration.

4. Going Through The Motions

This is very common in tennis. A lot of players just turn up and are happy to play below their best, they know they have more but really don't want to push or do what it takes to achieve it. To change this you need to do 2 things.

a- Shift your attitude - Be more positive and look for things to change to make positivity occur. I can guarantee you right now you could think of 3 things you can change today that will improve your game and your attitude. Have a think about it and make the change.

b- Set goals - This is one of the easiest ways to get you motivated and moving forward. By setting attainable goals you will start to get some real momentum and every time you turn up to practice or play, you will have some motivation and something to aim towards. Some goals could include; chasing every ball down, getting to practice early 10 weeks in a row, locking in a tournament, performing tennis fitness exercises prior to each session. (For some great Tennis Footwork Drills, you can use into your warm-up routine click here)

5. Believing You Are Better Than You Are

Sorry if that hurts your feelings, that's not my intention. What I want you to realize, is you probably need to get advice or listen to others when they are giving advice. Everyone needs to do this, even the best! It's what keeps us accountable and progressing. Think about your areas of weakness and look to address them and be honest with yourself and get help when needed. Don't just think about your strength and what you do well; think about the whole package, you as a complete tennis player. How good are you really and what can you improve on?

6. Not Playing Tournaments

When was the last time you played a tournament? Don't just train for tennis, play! By setting a goal to play a tennis tournament you are setting yourself up to work hard and get ready, that's a real positive and it will make you feel great when you get there. Look for tennis tournaments near you. If you are someone who likes to just get lessons or hit, that's fine too, but adding in a little competition occasionally is great to get you going.