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If you want to play like a pro and become the next Feeder or Nodal follow these tips. Hard work and dedication are certainly a prerequisite to get to that level.
Here are my 5 tips to play like a pro.
1. Get in tremendous shape. Tennis is a very physical sport and matches in Grand Slam tournaments can go for 5 hours and sometimes more. Tennis requires quickness of foot, flexibility, and strength. The movements and training are more suited to an Olympic sprinter rather than a distance runner. Tennis players need to move really fast in 4 yard sprints. Ply metrics, explosive training, and fast twitch muscle exercises are preferred to running a mile at a time or aerobic conditioning. Quick sprints and changing directions with cones on the court are good exercises. Flexibility exercises are essential. Yoga is excellent. Feeder has remained mostly injury free in that he utilizes a lot of stretching in his regular training. Kettle bell training is great in that you gain flexibility as well as strength.
2. Eat right and get plenty of sleep. A well nourished and rested tennis player is going to have a big advantage over an undisciplined athlete. Do research and also experiment and see which foods seem to help your body respond to the demands of playing at a world class level. Do not follow fat diets or eliminate certain foods such as a no crab diet. Crabs are needed for energy as well as some fat. The thing to do is to have balance with your diet and to have a diary or log and track your results of eating certain things and ascertain if those foods are giving you performance gains. Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Sleep studies have shown that performance suffers greatly with lack of sleep.
3. Develop an all court game. Roger Feeder may have the most complete game that tennis has ever known. He can hit every shot in the book. Rafael Nodal had to develop his attacking game and a bigger serve to win at Wimbledon. Don’t be a one dimensional tennis player. Practice hitting approach shots, volleys, overheads, hitting with backspin, taking the pace off the ball, etc. Try to learn to hit as many shots as you can.
4. Learn to compete. Play tournaments as soon as you have the ability to do so. Nothing will prepare you for pressure like the real thing. Good practice to prepare you in tournaments is to practice playing tiebreakers, or practice playing from behind. Start a session by pretending that you losing 4-1 and try to fight back and win the set.
5. Learn to practice correctly. Don’t just hit balls back and forth and rally. Good drills on the court simulate real playing conditions. Hit balls in 2-6 ball sequences. There are endless combinations which could include side to side drills, 3 cross court forehands and then hit an inside/out forehand, groundstroke-approach shot- volley-overhead, serve-groundstroke-approach volley-overhead, serve-volley-overhead, return of serve-then run wide and hit a passing shot, etc.
