Elliott Pettit’s Tennis Tips – 4/20/10 Serving Up Some Variety!

Hello Tennis Fans:

When you are trying to hold serve, unless you are hitting the lines each time, the worst thing you can do is continue to serve the ball at the same speed with the same spin. Even if you are hitting the ball 115 mph, the more times your opponent sees the exact same thing, the more you become a ball machine for your opponent groove strokes from. Therefore, it becomes quite important to vary the spin, pace, and placement of your serve in order to keep your opponent off balance on your service games.

Take a baseball pitcher for example; generally, the ones winning the Cy Young award each year are not the ones who throw one pitch over and over again. The great pitchers use their good pitches to set up their great pitches; the high fastball that sets up the curveball. In tennis, this translates to using the serve that you are good at- say, a slice out wide, to set up the serve that you are great at- the flat serve up the T.

If you are able to continuously change the looks your opponent gets on your serve, you will have successfully given yourself a much better chance to hold serve each and every time you step to the line.

Please post your thoughts and see you for Wednesday's lesson!

Elliott Pettit

Elliott Pettit is iTUSA's Director of Tennis at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch. Please visit our website at http://www.itusatennis.com  and email me at elliott@itusatennis.com.

For anyone interested improving your tennis game please be sure to visit http://www.tennisswinganalysis.com to view our Free Tennis Swing Video Analysis Program.

  

Elliott Pettit’s Tennis Tips – 4/19/10 Squeeze and Freeze!

Hello Tennis Fans:

For some people, volleys are the single most frustrating shot in the game. Players who struggle with volleys loathe coming to the net because to them it does not represent an easy way to win the point, but rather a humiliating way to lose it. The most common mistake I see in volleys at the club level is a player trying to do too much; taking the racquet back, chopping the racquet downward and finishing at the ankles is more than likely going to increase your chances of missing the volley than making it.

Instead of all the unnecessary movement, try this; "Squeeze and Freeze." From the moment you make contact with the ball your mind should be on two things only: squeezing the grip and freezing the arm. The squeezing of the grip is going to ensure that your contact is solid and you get depth and power to the shot and the freezing of the arm is going to prevent your racquet head from dropping below the level of the net causing a loss of control on the volley.

Watch any of the best volleyers in the world, the one thing you will notice that's common to all of them is just how little they move their racquet when volleying. It's no surprise or secret, you can have the same great volley just by following the simple rule of "Squeeze and Freeze."

Thanks and see you for Tuesday's lesson!

Elliott Pettit

Elliott Pettit is iTUSA's Director of Tennis at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch. Please visit our website at http://www.itusatennis.com and email me at elliott@itusatennis.com.

For anyone interested improving your tennis game please be sure to visit http://www.tennisswinganalysis.com/ to view our Free Tennis Swing Video Analysis Program.

@ iTUSA Twitter:
http://twitter.com/itusatennis

@ iTUSA You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/itusatennis

@ iTUSA Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/iTUSA-Tennis/385920431216?v=app_4949752878

Elliott Pettit’s Tennis Tips – 4/16/10 Backhanded Success!

Hello Tennis Fans:

Having trouble with accuracy on your backhand side? Instead of trying to control the ball's direction with your hands, use your lead shoulder to control where you want the ball to go.

So, if you're right handed, and you want to hit up the line, during your takeback, be sure to align your right shoulder with the deuce side corner and for crosscourt make sure the right shoulder is pointing into the ad-side corner!

Let me know and post your thoughts.

Thanks and see you for Monday's lesson!

Elliott Pettit

Elliott Pettit is iTUSA's Director of Tennis at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch. Please visit our website at http://www.itusatennis.com and email me at elliott@itusatennis.com.

For anyone interested improving your tennis game please be sure to visit http://www.tennisswinganalysis.com/ to view our Free Tennis Swing Video Analysis Program.

@ iTUSA Twitter:
http://twitter.com/itusatennis

@ iTUSA You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/itusatennis

@ iTUSA Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/iTUSA-Tennis/385920431216?v=app_4949752878

Elliott Pettit’s Tennis Tips – 4/15/10 Mental Tennis: Keeping Your Head!

Hello Tennis Fans:

Letting yourself show frustration to your opponent is the first step along the path of losing your head during a tennis match. Mental Meltdowns begin with a simple frustrated swipe through the air after you miss a ball, then evolves into a tirade of verbal self-flagellation, and finally comes into full bloom with a throwing of the racquet. Now, unless you're John McEnroe, which only one of us is, this type of behavior is not going to do anything positive for your game. It becomes for your oppenent the equivalent to a shark smelling blood in the water, they look across the net and see a wounded fish and begin to circle for the kill.

We spend countless hours on the practice court hitting shot after shot to make ourselves better but hardly any time working on the mental side of tennis. What good is that inside out forehand you've worked so hard at mastering going to do for you when you are too tense and angry hit it? The best advice I can give to you would be this: BREATH. It sounds silly, and also sounds like it should be second nature but you would be surprised how many players lose points, as well as their heads, partly because they are not breathing during a point. Breathing is the best way to keep you loose and relaxed when you are playing, make sure that you get yourself into a pattern of exhaling each time you make contact with the ball to develop a pattern of proper respiration during a point.

Once you have gotten used to breathing while you are playing, consider this; it's easier to win at a game of poker when you know what your opponent holds in their hand, right? Don't give your opponent on the tennis court the same luxury by letting them know what you have in your head! Learn to become nothing but a wall of positive emotion on the court and watch your results improve!

Let me know and post your thoughts.

Thanks and see you for tomorrow’s lesson!

Elliott Pettit

Elliott Pettit is iTUSA's Director of Tennis at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch. Please visit our website at http://www.itusatennis.com and email me at elliott@itusatennis.com.

For anyone interested improving your tennis game please be sure to visit http://www.tennisswinganalysis.com/ to view our Free Tennis Swing Video Analysis Program.

@ iTUSA Twitter:
http://twitter.com/itusatennis

@ iTUSA You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/itusatennis

@ iTUSA Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/iTUSA-Tennis/385920431216?v=app_4949752878

Elliott Pettit’s Tennis Tips – 4/14/10 Stuck in the Middle with You!

Hello Tennis Fans:

Whether your forehand is your best shot or not, you should always take a ball that comes up the middle on your forehand side. The reason being is that the angles you can create from a forehand up the middle are greater and can be hit with more regularity on the forehand side than on the backhand side due to your range of motion.

The next time you are out practicing, work on getting around a ball up the middle that you would normally take on the backhand side and try to open up the court by hitting your forehand. If the success isn't immediate, don't worry, this strategy will pay off in the long run!

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks and see you for tomorrow’s lesson!

Elliott Pettit

Elliott Pettit is iTUSA's Director of Tennis at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch. Please visit our website at http://www.itusatennis.com/ and email me at elliott@itusatennis.com.

For anyone interested improving your tennis game please be sure to visit http://www.tennisswinganalysis.com/ to view our Free Tennis Swing Video Analysis Program.

iTUSA Tennis Elliott Pettit’s Tennis Tips – 4/13/10 Get some spin on that serve!

Get some spin on that serve! In order to hit using side-spin, you should not be plowing straight through the ball, but instead you should be hitting it with a little bit of a glancing blow. Change your swing in such a way that your racket face is going to move slightly up and then... across the line of flight that you're intending for the ball. If you were to pretend that there is a face on your ball, in order to get maximum side-spin, you need to swing to try and slice its left ear off.

With practice, you can learn to vary what degree you swing at up and across the ball, and then you will be able to vary the amount of spin that you place on the ball as a result. This side-spin serve is very important as it allows you to open up the court from the very first shot which helps you to take advantage of angles that were previously unavailable to you.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks and see you for tomorrow’s lesson!
Elliott Pettit

Elliott Pettit is iTUSA's Director of Tennis at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch. Please visit our website at www.itusatennis.com and email me at elliott@itusatennis.com.

For anyone interested improving your tennis game please be sure to visit http://www.tennisswinganalysis.com  to view our Free Tennis Swing Video Analysis Program.

Over and Out For Shahar!...February 19, 2010

Hello my dear friends from a sunny and warm Dubai.

Our run here in the Kingdom came to an end today against a very much in form Venus Williams. Shahar went down 6-2 and 6-4.

The first set was a one sided affair with Venus playing some great tennis and Shahar not being able to get going at all. The second set was a much different affair as Shahar began to play and take the initiative by becoming more aggressive and raising her intensity.

This gave her many more opportunities to impose the tactic we felt would work well against Venus and work well it did. There were two very important moments in the set when Shahar had key chances that she was unable to convert. One of these came at 3-3 with Venus serving. Shahar had a couple of break points, and in particular one where she a great chance to finish the point and get the break. This would have made a big difference I feel.

Still having said this Venus has not won 7 Grand Slams by chance. She is a great person and a great competitor. I admire her for many reasons and tennis is very fortunate to have someone like her. I would have still loved to see Shahar win but it was not to be.

I watched the match from a platform that was made behind the court as we played the match on a side court. I sat next to Shahar’s dad and Richard Williams his partner, and Venus coach Dave Witty whom I have had the chance to get to now here. He is a very nice guy and clearly a top coach. I wish him and Venus the best tomorrow in the final and truly hope that it goes their way.

After the match we returned to our private locker and stretched and met the press afterwards. I must say that even in the awkward and abnormal circumstances I have enjoyed the experience and of course leave Dubai very happy with Shahars performance.

This experience has shown what she has inside and the potential of what can still be done if we continue to work hard with determination and believe.

I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read the blog and hope we can catch up one day in person.

My very best to you all and a great huge thanks to itusatennis academy for inviting me and selecting me to write this blog for them and the rest of you.

I recommend to everyone to have a good look at their site, which is www.itusatennis.com as it is packed with great tools to help everyone from players to coaches to progress their games and teaching methods and programmes.

My very best to you all.!
Pablo

Please visit our website at www.itusatennis.com