Tennis is a contest between the two sides for time and space. We have to shoot or play the ball as fast as possible to compress the opponent's reaction time; we have to tear apart the angle or the combination of length and length as much as possible to make the opponent lose the defensive position.
In addition, tennis is a struggle for balance. It's easy to keep your balance when you're standing, but it's hard to keep your balance when you're running. Therefore, tennis emphasizes the need to stand firm and hit the ball, to try to mobilize the opponent as much as possible, let him hit the ball in the run, so that it is easier to lose the balance of the body, and thus more likely to make mistakes.
I have been playing tennis since I was in my 30s, and I have been playing for more than 10 years, and the tennis level has gone through three stages: "rising period - bottleneck period - declining period". As we age, each of us has to accept the fact that the level is gradually declining.
In my opinion, the most intuitive manifestation of the decline in level is that it is impossible to be in place in time and accurately as in the past, and it is obvious that you cannot play the ideal tennis without running into place.
In further analysis, the most direct reason for not being able to accurately put it in place in time is "leg laziness", and "leg laziness" is mainly caused by physical decline and injury accumulation.
The decline in physical fitness and the accumulation of injuries and illnesses are difficult to reverse, and you can't resist the erosion of time, and you basically have no good coping methods for this. The most fundamental reason why many elderly golfers lament that "the level is not as good as a year" is the "feeling of powerlessness" brought about by physical fitness and injury.
So, is it that we are helpless and helpless to do anything about it, and let ourselves slide into an increasingly unbearable quagmire?
Qi Zhi and Da Bing have a classic cross-talk paragraph, saying that Qi Zhi is almost impossible to survive, he made arrangements for the things he could not rest assured of one by one, and then said to Da Bing, "I have one last sentence, I think I can still rescue it." ”
Yes, for tennis addicts like me, I also feel that "it can be rescued".
So how to "rescue"? I've put together here are four tips that may improve your game and at least make your level drop less quickly.
First, try targeted, stressful training
A big reason to lose a game is that you don't perform well enough at key points, you don't have enough confidence in singles, and you don't have enough responsibility in doubles. Losing games frequently in turn will detract from self-confidence and responsibility, so you "play more and more fritters" and "the more you play, the easier it is to lose".
Self-confidence and responsibility are related to people's personality, and they cannot be changed overnight. But for playing tennis well, I think there are still ways to enhance self-confidence and responsibility.
This method is to put forward a clear goal for yourself in the usual practice, let yourself practice under pressure, and then improve when the game is played. For example, when practicing, I set myself a goal - I must have a one-point round count of 50 beats in my practice with my partner today, I must make fewer mistakes than my opponents, I must not make mistakes first, and so on.
Second, enhance focus and maintain a positive sense of initiative
In tennis, losing 1 serve can lead to losing 1 set, whereas a set is usually only 4 points, and every point in the game is very important. A lot of people aren't focused enough at 30-30, and in fact the next 1 point is very critical, and if you lose you immediately face a break point, and if you win you get a set point. Similarly, the next point after 15-30 is also important, if you win you have a greater chance of holding the serve, and if you lose you face 3 consecutive break points (take the golden ball system often used in amateur games as an example).
So when you're playing, you have to fight for every point, like Nadal, treat every point as the last point, as a match point, so that you don't lose points easily.
Every point must reflect your positive spirit, as long as you are more active and work harder, you will soon be rewarded. Conversely, if you are passive and lazy, you will soon be punished. For example, if you run half a step less, you will hit a vegetable ball, the next shot will be attacked by the opponent immediately, and then you will need to run more steps and spend more effort to save the ball - even so, you will most likely lose this point. Instead of being lazy for half a step before, it is better not to be lazy in the first place.
Third, reduce unforced mistakes
A little attention to the technical statistics after the game will show that there are often more unforced errors than winning points, or that the primary factor that determines the outcome is not who has more winning points. On the contrary, whoever has fewer unforced mistakes is more likely to win the game.
In other words, tennis competitions are not about the number of winning points, but about who can control mistakes, and the same is true for amateur games.
After observation, I found that the technical style of tennis is closely related to age. For example, the older generation is better at hitting the ball with a draw, and the younger generation is better at playing the spin ball. Relatively speaking, flat shots are easier to go out of bounds, while up-spin balls are safer. Therefore, as we grow older, we should pay more attention to practicing and using the upper spin ball, if you can ensure that the return ball lands in the middle of the opponent's serve line and the bottom line, it will be difficult for the opponent to play the winning point, and you can also effectively reduce the active mistakes.
Playing more spin balls appropriately and trying to practice the midfield and front of the net level is an effective way for middle-aged people to reduce unforced mistakes.
Fourth, always remind yourself to do 1-2 technical points
The essence of playing well in tennis, condensed and summarized, is nothing more than a few key points, and the gap between you and the master is often reflected in this aspect.
For example, if you frequently hit a tennis ball with a racket frame, you should remind yourself to keep an eye on the ball. And to keep an eye on the ball, you will naturally increase your concentration, be more proactive in anticipation and run ahead of time, etc., which are complementary.
For example, you don't stand still between two shots. Even in doubles, you should keep stepping forward when your partner hits the ball, rather than standing silly. Standing still will cool down your body and feel, and will delay the time to start again, making it more difficult to run into place.
Similar technical points are that to play the ball with the knees bent as much as possible, the knee bending can reduce the center of gravity, and lowering the center of gravity can help the body maintain balance and is conducive to fully pedaling to store strength.
Keep an eye on the ball, don't stop your feet, bend your knees, pull the pat early, these are the most common words on the lips of the coach, you have to internalize them and execute them in place during the game.
Of course, it can be difficult to do the above points at the same time in the game, and we often remember this and forget that, which is a normal thing. In fact, if you do one of these things, the quality of the shots and the state of the game will improve significantly.
Therefore, with the increase of age, middle-aged golfers are completely worthy of "rescuing", and such "rescue" does not depend on others, we just need to "save ourselves".
What are your thoughts on the above points? What are your first-hand experiences and experiences? Feel free to share it with us in the comments section. (Source: Tennis House Author: Yun Cirrus Yunshu)