How to become a better tennis player overnight

Wish you had a magic wand to step up your game right now ⏰?

Hey, good news: no need for one! Just focus on one of these aspects and that will do the trick, I promise!

That’s indeed what I’ve been up to these past two weeks.

Haven’t told you 🤫, but as soon as I recovered from the flu, I started playing catchup with my 2022 goals!

And those included spending 1 month in Sardegna with my boyfriend and playing my first ITF tournament. So guess what?! That’s right, here I am 🙋‍♀️ basically attending my very own private tennis camp! Cool, right?!

Btw, if you’re new on this blog... hi, my name is Elena 👋🏻 and, just like you, I'm on a mission to become the best tennis player I can 🥇. Even without a fancy team, or too much talent. Just with a huge desire to make it.

That's why Tennis Rematch exists: to share everything I learn along the way 🤓, so you can get better faster, and together we can prove that we can achieve anything we set our mind to 🔥.

But ok, back to business now!

I was saying that as soon as I could, I packed my things and left for my dear Sardegna (you’ve read or watched my fall therapeutic on-the-road adventures on the island, haven’t you?) on a ship, ready for a 2-weeks tennis full-immersion.

After all, after one year out of tournaments due to restrictions first and injuries later, I needed some massive action ⚔️ to get back on track with my tennis goals!

Now my tennis holiday is coming to an end 😭 (would you mind stopping the time, please?!) but one thing is for sure: I’m going back to mainland in a much better shape than I arrived.

And yes, I did play a couple of hours almost every day, but the real secret was not the time I put in but the focus 🔭 of my practices.

In fact, once I arrived I realized right away there’s actually no time to waste if I really want to get to play an ITF tournament by this spring. So I figured, why not focus on the 20% of the things that would bring me the 80% of the results I want?!

Therefore... if you’re a bit in a hurry like me and need to step up your tennis level fast, then get ready because you’re in for a treat.

Work on these aspects of your game (even just one of them) and I guarantee you ✋, you’ll take your tennis to the next level in no time!

Focus #1 - Keep a wide low stance

And when I say low, I mean it. If it helps, imagine you’re a crab that’s running around the court 🦀. That’s how I think of myself when I specifically want to focus on this, and you know what? It works like magic ✨!

At first, it’ll be tough. Freaking tough 🥵. (Don’t laugh, but at the beginning I could stay low for not even 1 (one!) minute. Can you believe?!)

But the good news is, it does get easier. In fact, as soon as you realize how much more consistency and precision you gain by only adjusting your stance, you’ll be more eager than ever to suffer a bit and push through.

For real: the stability you gain is priceless, and you’ll feel right away how much easier your shots become. It’s mind-blowing 🤯!

To me, this little change alone is worth a thousand hours of mindless hitting.

Happy to have spent some time on it and seen the results firsthand. I’m definitely gonna keep working on it so I can stay wide and low for the whole time and make my shots twice as consistent and precise as they would normally be!

💬 Have you tried working on this before? It’s worth the hassle, isn’t it? And tell me the truth, do you use the same crab image 😂?

Focus #2 - Keep your wrist loose

The looser you can keep it, the more you can accelerate your racket 💥. Which means, the more speed and spin you can give to the ball.

I don’t know about you, but when I was younger 👧 I often fell into the trap of thinking that in order to hit hard I needed to be strong, to push the ball. Little did I know that the first step to get my ball going was to loosen up and slap the ball, not tighten up and push it!

But now that I’m a little bit wiser, I get it: the looser I am, the harder I hit. Or actually, the heavier I hit.

And that’s exactly what I want. I want to be free to hit as hard as I can, without having to worry too much that the ball will take off and land out ✈️.

Not only: I also want to be able to open up the court with narrow angles and soften up my opponent little by little, before going in for the kill. You know, Nadal-style!

Because by now you should know: I’m not a fan of the winners-right-and-left tactics, and the reason is I really don’t get why you would risk like a mad person to finish the point right away when you have a much better option 🤷🏼‍♀️: forcing your opponent into errors by constantly puppeteering her!

Isn’t that much more fun?! For me, there’s absolutely no doubt about it 😇.

But whether you have puppeteer DNA or not, trust me: work on loosening up your wrist and the quality of your shots will skyrocket. Instantly!

💬 I’m curious: are you a puppeteer or not?! If so, raise your hand in the comments! If not, tell me: why not?!

Focus #3 - Take the ball early

The earlier the better! In fact, don’t ever let the ball fall: aim for the highest point of its trajectory or, even better, while it’s still on the rise.

This way, not only you’ll be blowing on your opponent’s neck but you’ll also exploit the pace of her shots. Two birds with one stone, what more could you want 😉?!

To be fair, this is something I’ve been working for a long while now (picturing myself as none other than Miss Raducanu in this case 😎), and let me tell you: it is so worth it!

Just by taking the ball on the rise and without changing anything else, your shots will instantly become muuuuch more effective. And your opponent will be in so much more trouble. Poor! I wouldn’t want to be her 🙈.

I warn you ☝️: it’s not easy to take the ball on the rise (especially if it’s a new thing for you), but as always practice makes perfect!

The reward is priceless, so why not give it a try and see what happens?

I promise you, once you see your opponent struggling as a result of this subtle change in your game, you’ll get addict and never want to go back to let the ball fall.

💬 Ever focus on this during your practices, or it’s already so ingrained in your game that it comes automatically to you? I wish it was for me, but I’m getting there!

And voilà, there you have it: three key things you can focus on in your next practice to make your game instantly better!

I guarantee you, they really make all the difference! Otherwise why would I be focusing on them myself, right?! 😆

So yes: go ahead, try them out and then see for yourself. You’ll be amazed by your own game 🙌🏻.

That’s how I feel about mine after 2 weeks of focused practice at least!

Thank you so much for reading this blog up to the very end, I really hope you liked it and can’t wait to go hit some balls with one of these tips in mind!

If so, don’t forget to leave me a clap (or two): you’d make my day 😍.

Oh, and as always I’ll be reading your comments so don’t be shy. Let’s chat there, it’s fun!

Talk to you super soon 💕,

Elena