Tennis training aids that help us develop specific skills, like the proper continental grip, also provide us with more opportunities on the court to be tactical and savvy.
Here’s Joe, Kalindi, and Billy about how kinesthetic training aids like the Serve Rite Racket can unlock new court tactics and strategies that make tennis so compelling and fun.
The following is a transcript of part 3 of the Game Changers Webinar.
Joe:
Now the question is, okay, let’s tie it into the overhead. The overhead is even more consequential. And here it gets tactical.
So Billy, let’s say I’m playing you in a match, and you’ve got great groundstrokes. A good flat serve. And you, like some, sort of push that second serve. You can hit a pretty hard serve with a flat racket, a pizza racket (called this because of how it looks like you’re serving a pizza, with a flat, unbent wrist); it’s not quite as hard as the continental grip would give you.
If I’m playing you, and I know you can’t flex your wrist, here’s my tactic, so you can fully understand it.
I know you’re going to have trouble with overheads that are hit behind you because, especially on overhead, to hit an overhead behind you, you need to flex that racket.
With the frying pan grip, you’re just going to make contact in front. So you can have a longer runway to pick up speed on the overhead. On an overhead that’s a little behind your head, that’s the one that, if you play that way, you will be hitting that ball out because you can’t change the racket angle to bring the shot down.
So, what’s the tactic I’d employ, any idea? I’ll just engage your mind.
Billy:
I feel like you are going to lob me quite a bit.
Joe:
And how do I set you up for lobbing?
Billy:
Probably by trying to draw me in a little bit.
Joe:
Yeah, I’d draw you in a lot.
Billy:
Yeah, and then you give me that lob, and then you go overhead.
Joe:
If I hit high and deep, so you hit relatively short chances, I wait for that short ball, and then I hit that short ball, and you’re running from that back position all the way in means you probably won’t be able to stop easily.
You’re going to be very close to the net and give me a very high-percentage shot for me to hit behind you without having to hit too good of a lob.
And your overhead is either going to be a poop shot that goes up real soft, or you’re going to miss it by hitting it out. You’ll never hit those in the net.
Billy:
Yeah, it’s gonna go off the back fence pretty often.
Joe:
Yeah, that’s a good way of keeping in mind that tennis matches are usually won or lost by just a few shots.
So, if I did that 10 points in a set, a set might consist of 55 to 65 points, the average points in a match of tennis, then I’m going to be incredibly effective.
So, that is, ultimately, the question. You could be a better player overall, but if I’m tactically more savvy to exploit your weaknesses, I can actually win and come out on top.
So, choosing your legs and your racket and also, this part (Joe points at his head).
Kalindi:
This is pivotal in pickleball, too. Being able to hit a good overhead is super important. I actually have a story on that front.
I was playing Nick Stubbles. You know, it actually drove the opponents crazy because, with the teams, it was quick to realize one of the players can’t hit much of an overhead. They’re just pooping it back. And yeah, we just essentially picked on that player by lobbing them, and they were not very happy.
They were a little like, ‘you guys are playing dirty,’ and it’s like, well, it’s a very effective strategy.
With tennis, you have nice well-rounded games, where you’re going to be coming into the net, but you can get away with more being a counterpuncher and avoid that at all, if that’s your style of play versus pickleball, you can’t win if you don’t come in. You really need that lob.
I know it’s not one of the products we’re showing and telling today, but you know the start rite grip trainer is a great little tool you can put on or off a tennis racket for teaching the continental and other grips.
Joe:
Yeah, it can really help. The start rite grip trainer is easy enough to put on. But with the Serve Rite Racket, I think every child, and anyone starting out with smaller hands, should have this. It’s not expensive at all.
The Serve Rite Racket is so effective because it teaches in the background – players can do the drills and exercises they usually would, and the aid will influence the muscles and movements of the hand and wrist, which makes learning the continental grip take substantially less time.
Watch more of this Game Changers Webinar Right Here!
Kalindi Dinoffer is trained in multiple aspects of mindfulness in life and in sports, sharing on her blog MindfulKalindi.com. She is also certified to teach yoga, fitness, reiki, and MFR. Kalindi also serves as VP marketing at OnCourtOffCourt.com, a leading supplier of tennis, pickleball, fitness and yoga training aids and equipment and has been published in Tennis industry Magazine and Pickleball Magazine, and has conducted workshops at conferences around the world. In her spare time, Kalindi plays tennis, pickleball and table tennis and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and biking and cross country skiing in the winter.
