If you want to improve your consistency in tennis, you need to give up control. In this lesson, I show you how to do it.
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One thing you can control is pressing that 👍🏻 button! You know….for the algorithm
"...make quick decisions with your feet"...this is huge Karue. Feet placement/footwork in my opinion should be one of the most stressed on factors in playing tennis. You've really stepped it up with your videos, and they were already pretty awesome. Wish I could press that like button a few more times. Cheers! MM
Would love to see some vids on conditioning and how to improve
😏
I'm doing my part!
When it comes to controlling the ball, well I just line up the butt with the incoming ball and soon as I start to do that it helps me to get into that mindset to commit fully into the shot and just step in and drive. I don't need to worry about what my feet are doing for when I line up the butt the weight transfer happens automatic for me.. I don't take big huge swing with the arm to try to spin the ball, as I am not an arm driver, For I use pronation of the racquet instead to drive the ball around and to be able to do that you must get the strings out of the way of the ball so you can see the ball..... I mix control in with Flat with Spin. It depends what I want to put into the mix, same thing for backhand slice, do I want to hit flat with sidespin, a penetrating flat drive with dipping spin, or flat with underspin to hover it or inside out. Then i choose what height over the net I want to drive the ball, do i want to hit it more higher and play control and be stuck in endless rallies, or skim it lower over the netcord and go for more pace and attack and take time away... I didn't see the point why some people wanted to rally the ball 800-1000 times over the net in the world's longest rally for consistency, when we won't even be hitting 1000 ball rallies in real matches....You be lucky if you even get 10-20 balls in a rally if your serve can't do the job or you don't have a good serve then you be stuck in those longer rallies and then the pressure is all back on your groundstrokes.
as a former d1 player who took 5 years off of tennis and is now a coach, thank you karue so much for this channel. I've commited to training myself back to play the futures and challenger tours starting next year and this channel has helped so much for my own improvement and mental blocks as well as drastically improved the coaching i can offer to my aspiring juniors. Thanks for everything
That's awesome, thanks for the feedback and good luck!
It really is advice thats so good it sounds like magic
Come to Michigan and play me fr
What's your itf profile
This is probably the most important video on youtube for intermediate recreational players. Can't think of a better lesson for most players.
‘Commit with your feet’ is spot on, especially at higher levels against someone who’s hitting a heavy ball.
That was a juicy rally at the start
Juicy!
To me “over control”- can lead to push type shots with a lack of follow through, tightened breathing, lack of footwork , etc… Also a part of consistency is a willingness to reset in between each stroke. Always love your videos.
Well said.
8:20 Winston committed to that racquet spin 🔥
Something about this lesson just clicked. This is definitely my favorite lesson I’ve ever been taught. Not just limited to tennis but in my day to day life. “Just commit”
Great job Winston! The camera adds a lot of pressure and you played the part of student perfectly!
I love the commitment MyTennisHQ put into these videos to help us rec players improve. Thank you for the tips here.
Glad you like them!
I see what you did there :P
Karue is so good, Nick Bolleteri is stalking his lessons now.
I had this idea myself as well. Whenever I have a plan in my head for which shot I'm going to hit and I change my mind at the last moment, the shot becomes a lot worse. It's nice to hear someone as good as you say the same as me of like "when you make a decision, go for it. Even if it's not necessarily the best idea."
Precisely. You will learn from that bad decision and adjust next time
@@MyTennisHQ A hesitação é a morte do artista ;-)
I feel like I play most consistently when I’m in flow, which is when I’m able to decide how to move my feet, the shape of my backswing, where to contact, and the shape of the ball, before the ball even bounces. Off days are when one or even all of those steps are missing, so I’m just flailing. Definitely requires mental strength, and not everyone’s at their peak most of the time.
Yes. I do that. Go to make a shot down the line then chicken out mid swing and go cross court and it becomes some wacky shot that hits the back fence.
This lesson also really clicked for me especially in combination with your mental guide (great value for $9) lesson that every point ends with a mistake. If I give full commitment and effort on a shot (decision, footwork, full swing) then that's all I can ask of myself so I don't try to control the outcome or get upset if it becomes a mistake. This takes off a lot of pressure and fear of missing which were really holding me back. I'm now able to play with more freedom, which is more enjoyable and results in better outcomes. Thank you Karue!
"Look at that, Mr. Winston" brought a smile to my face (around 12:30).
This is great. Coaching a 4.5 through your advice is a fab format
Winston's rallying in the end almost looked like professional quality. I know he's far from that but there's definitely a big step up thanks to your advice. It appears that having that little voice of yours is making a lot of difference. Winston's shot making ability is perhaps less of a gap than the relentless attitude of stepping in and committing to a high quality shot, time after time. Great stuff!
Great coaching. Thanks!
Excellent, thanks Karue! Looking forward to trying this this afternoon!
So good! More of this, please!
Great advice - absolutely encapsulated my problem! Thank you so much.
GOLD! Fantastic new insight! Thanks
I never heard this tips before. Love the commitment part of it. Give up control and commit.
Great point
Good to see you guys working together
Best Tennis channel on youtube, thank you Karue , your friendly down to earth teaching style makes learning tennis sooo approachable
So true, commit to the shot has to be the number one mental issue to overcome. Thanks.
It's remarkable how helpful it is to watch other people being coached.
5-10min of coaching and the rallies at the end got so much better. Karue really knows how to tap into the abilities of each player👏
Amazing coaching tips!
I love this channel because so much of it is about the mental aspect- committing to the shots, making good decisions, going for the right whatever… for me, i feel like I have a pretty good game but theres still a lot of mental blocks in place, and considering i want to play D2 or D1 tennis in a couple of years it’s something i need help with, so thank you Karue.
Amazing how easy it looks when you play. I instantly want to go out and hit... love the way you simplify everything, great teaching!
Love you did the dubs on Winston's channel, then have Tiff and Winston for your instruction. All the best to everyone. Thanks for the information.
Thank you for this I’m coaching a blend of adults and high school. Commit is a great word 🙏
Excellent coaching. We often forget to coach these aspects of tennis and just work on technique. Thanks Karue!
Great coaching! Taught me a lot
Great advice. Will commit to this from now on.
Excellent stuff.
super video - thank you! a lot of things resonated with me when trying to control too much
Good to see u here Winston! Good playing.
Give up control and swing through - gutsy but makes loads of sense! Thank you
My favorite of your lessons! This was great. I struggle with indecision and second guessing my shots as I try to control placement. This put things in perspective. Keep up the good work!
Great lesson Karue! Thank you.
good lesson for life too, i've found. thanks for posting!
0:19 This rally actually provides some really good benchmarks with SwingVision: we know how fast we should hit the ball when rallying, and we know how much variation there can be in the landing spots of the balls!
My favourite part comes right after that (@ 0:55). Yes, this is EXACTLY what I said!
Really good video, and spot on advice. Winston looking great there at the end! I feel like focusing on footwork and just confidently swinging like you were instantly pushed you from 4.5 to 5.0 easily. Also you look really fit, great job man!
Excellent vid Karue!
I like that you emphasize moving into the ball. That's something I'm working on. Hitting more with the legs.
Dude, video is so good Right on point about control by accelerating and footwork etc
Excellent advice!
I felt like you read my mind. I recently started telling my daughter a very similar thing. I told her I'd rather she be committed to her decision for a shot and then be confident in hitting that stroke. If she does that and still misses, that's ok. I told her not to 'baby' any shot simply because she wants to put the ball in the court. I started saying this to her because every time she just wanted to keep the rally going and "baby'ed" the ball, the shot ended up going into the net or shanking the ball.
This video makes sooooooo much sense to me... Is a mental twist that I think can change completely my game. I will write after applying this on court. Thanks Karue!!
So good... I'm a tennis pro for a long time... I've heard a lot...but this is great stuff.
This video is making a really good point!!! Tennis is actually so much more fun when you commit to your strokes!!
amazing tips. thx
yeah, trust the strokes you been practicing in drills and just let it go in a match, don't overthink. shout out to Winston and ladies. That tidbit about not moving back first before hitting groundstrokes for Du was big. thanks for vid.
great content thanks for this
Very nice video! Thanks a lot
You always give some great tips so thanks Karue
Big thanks!
I like how you put it. Indeed even "inconsistent" players can hold a nice rally when they commit to the shots..it usually comes as the rally progresses. You're seeing everything more clearly and you push all yourself to the next shot. I can feel that many times.
I really like this tip, I think it is a lot harder to do in practice than it sounds but very worthwhile if you can do it. Worth spending time trying to do
This helps me. Thank you!
I never formulated it anywhere as precisely as you did, but you are spot on!: So often when people think of control, they do the opposite of what they need. Get tight and have a shortened swing/follow through, which just makes the ball sail long more often than not.
Solid advice!
As a volleyball player who plays some side tennis, this lesson goes for other sports as well. Great work!
I think I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum especially with my forehand. I used to swing way too fast in an effort to cream the ball with pace and topspin. When the stars aligned, I ended up hitting a good shot. To compensate, I would move to the complete opposite end where I just pushed the forehand in and used my legs to stay in the point. I think I’ve found the happy in-between and when I’ve grooved my strokes, I start letting go a bit more and get more depth while retaining consistency. Thanks for the great video Karue; Winston is a 4.5 ball machine - such easy shape and consistent ball.
great video and very good tips - thanks
DUDE! Great upload. You put into words what I can't.
Great video!!
I needed this video. Thank you so much.
you are welcome!
This is an interesting approach and never think like this before on my game. Very good content with 2 different angle is highly helpfull. Thanks.
Man, this is great stuff!
this lesson is great
Karue, you are the man. Saludos desde Argentina!
My coach always tells me it is better to commit to the wrong shot than not to the right one
Thanks for the great video! Some days ago in the club tournament I was losing the third set 03 after two breaks. I was convinced that it was over and I was extremely frustrated. I first thought I should break something, my bottle or my racket, but a colleague came and said I could win, and I should win. I thought “well, I should adjust my game if I want to win”. I decided to move better, especially back. I was exhausted and was trying to play half volleys on the baseline. Parallel to this I should play more backhand topspin (give up control, as I love to “control”the ball with slice). And I should “let go”, swing freely, also while serving . With this commitments I began to force my opponent to play backhand from the backhand side. He began to play more slice and I was now dictating most points. It was a completely new game. I came back. He could break me again by 44, but I kept committed and won 75. I am very proud of the game adjustments and will keep doing this.
i love this channel
This is my biggest issue. Especially feel this during games when all focus goes into control. I tighten up and flatten shots which doesn't allow me to grow as a player. Keeps me defensive even though I want to be offensive! Awesome vid.
This is one of the best coaching videos that I have watched, thanks man!
Very helpful thank you. I watched about two-thirds of it so far. I know that's why I don't hit my backhand well. I'll practice hitting top spin on the wall but then I get in the match and most of my shots I revert to underspin even when I could probably handle topspin. I think this is why... Serves too. Played a guy a couple days ago who left a lot of space to his forehand on return of serve. So I could have simply served wide to the FH over and over again, but only accomplished a few times and then got tentative.
Thanks Karue very interesting video
Winston Du !
The importance of this idea/lesson cannot be understated. Commitment builds confidence, and confidence is key to getting better/feeling better about your play. W/o confidence in my shots, I always resort to a slice backhand and a safe, high loop, topspin forehand. W/o confidence, I'll do that on every shot; even on shots where I have a strong chance at a great one handed backhand winner or a cannon/catapult forehand. Confidence in your shot is the most important thing, and committing to that shot is the only way you'll obtain/sustain that confidence.
Damn ..I get this so much! Thank you 🙏
Great tip! I just realized that today after losing a match - commit to your shots!
For me #1 seems to be footwork - which begins with a little bouncing + a proper split step. Then #2, it’s decision making. I make too many stupid decisions - often due to fitness - for example, I just don’t want to hit 2 more balls. Great video
I was missing in the net a lot last tournament, definitely needed to commit more low to high
This is great! Make a part 2 please)
Great insight. I've related mostly to the forehand cross court, once you've made 4-5 it's like you just go full automatic. Also, laughed my ass off on 10:38.
Very true. At the lower rec level (below 5.0) where we are not usually pushed by the opponent, I could say 90% of my errors were due to not committing. I immediately knew it the minute I hit. So I am actively trying to not do that by counting how many errors are commitment errors and try to reduce them match by match. Even at the pro, I saw quite a few commitment errors, especially at crucial point. Just now I saw Hurkacs tried a drop shot when he had a ball that sit up, so a better shot would have been blasting it cross court. He ended up netting it and lost his serve and eventually the match, losing match point also on an uncommitted volley, which was tough but not that tough.
This hits the nail on the head. I'd rather send a ball slightly long or wide while executing the right shot well. A lot of my flops are when I second guess my shot or 'pull' my shot at the last moment. Even worse on my second serve. I know slowing down only makes it more likely I go long but sometimes that lack of conviction really bites me.
Where was this channel when I was struggling with my game in college lol 😂? Thanks for the awesome content as always Karue!
hahaha there’s still time!
This is such a great tip. In hindsight every bad match I had horrible nerves and tried to control the shots with half swings, ended up getting destroyed. The matches I've done well at, i let it swing out.
Whenever i play more passive-aggressive it produces better result rather than playing it safe or explosive-aggressive. Now i know it's call commitment with my shot. I usually get into that mindset when the opponent call OUT a lot of my shot. Enough for me to get mad but not too mad that i blast the living out of the ball. I guess i need to actively get into that mindset on my own to win more match.
I’m subscribing 🔥
This is exactly what I’ve been needing to hear. I’m a dedicated but green player and I’ve been in a slump because I’ve been trying to have too much control. I’ve been an athlete my entire life and I find the optimal level for consistency is right on the edge past control, where you have to commit and confidently strike. I played this morning, before even seeing this video I came back to that realization and thought I had a break through! Great video!
Precisely! The top performers in anything are able to let go of fear and just go for it
Good video!
Thanksssss
Lol I see Winston and Lotti! Those tips are helpful, it's hard to maintain that aggressive mindset to keep moving forward and not moving back. Definitely need to keep practicing though, thanks Karue!
I controled the like button from france ! The lasts sentences are stoïques advices learned frome Epictète (Antique Philosophe). Thanks for the lesson
Winston very good You have all two make great games in the future And Gas