Miss

A miss in tennis is caused by any small error in the timing, the angle of the racquet face, the force or balance.

Tennis beginners always find themselves frustrated for one simple reason: they can’t hit the ball. There are many things that can cause you to miss the ball, but it is something to be expected from you as a beginner. If you find that you are frequently missing the ball, you may want to take a good hard look at your game to determine if one of the following three problems is the cause of your frustration. If so, you will find some tips to help you overcome your problem and correct your game so you don’t miss the ball.

Mistake 1: Poor Judgment

When first starting out, most tennis beginners find that you have a hard time judging where the ball will land. When this happens, you will end up being too far forward or too far backward and will thus miss your swing.

One of the most important things to keep an eye on is the direction the ball is spinning. If the ball is spinning towards you, which means there is topspin on the ball, you have to give yourself space to hit the ball. If you run towards the ball where it bounces, most likely the ball will bounce up high and passes you very quickly. That’s the beauty of topspin but nightmare for beginners.

What you need to do is give some distance between yourself and the first bounce of the ball. You will find that the ball will come towards you. Another tip for you is that the heavier the topspin, the further the distance it is between the first bounce and you.

If the ball is spinning away from you, the ball is much more likely to float. This is a tricky one for beginners because your opponent has probably hit a forehand or backhand slice. The ball may have a side spin or skid when it touches the ground. You will need to move back or stay where you are to ensure that you hit the ball at the best angle. It is also very important to stay low to hit the skidding ball.

It is essential that you keep an eye on the spin of the ball to determine where it will land and which direction it will bounce in, and you can gauge the direction and hang time by watching the way your opponent hits it.

Mistake 2: Poor Timing

Poor timing for tennis beginners means that they swing either too early or too late, and the ball ends up striking the racket at a strange angle or flying past the racket altogether. If you find your timing is off, you may want to work on your footwork. Your footwork is an important part of your timing, as it gets your body moving in the right direction as soon as your opponent hits the ball.

If you want to improve your timing, it is wise to do a split step when your opponent strikes the ball. This starts your body moving, and will help you to be light on your feet. You will find that this little hop, however silly it may look, will help you to get to the ball in time to send it back. You will also need to work on your hand to eye coordination, as that is what is causing you to wind up for the shot too early or too late. Remember that all of the timing and coordination takes lots of practice, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t get it right away.

Mistake 3: Poor Technique

Most tennis beginners don’t hold their racket properly, and you may find that your will slip as you swing and miss the ball altogether if you don’t have the proper grip. On the flip side, if you are holding your racket correctly, you will find it much easier to swing and hit the ball every time. If you are winding up at the right time and gauging the distances correctly, you should consider your technique to be flawed.

Work with a tennis coach to help you improve your tennis technique and overcome your poor form. The only way to get rid of your bad form as tennis beginners is to learn from the expert because they know how to improve your technique gradually and progressively. With more practices and playing experience, you will be able to consistently hit the balls and play better tennis.

The Risk Of Missing A Shot Of ATP Players

Unforced errors are mostly committed because of a high level of risk. The other main reason for making an unforced error in tennis is mental activity during the execution (fear, doubt, changing your mind, etc.) but at the ATP level, most unforced errors happen because the player has to play with some degree of risk otherwise their shots will be too easy for their opponent and they will be immediately put under pressure.

A winner typically suggests a higher level of risk because the opponent could not touch the ball. A forced error happens when you hit a forcing shot that your opponent can touch / reach but is forced into making a mistake because they are in a tough situation.

A shot that forces an error is typically played with optimal risk ratio; still good enough to force an error and still safe enough not to miss many shots like that in the long term.

Of course, if you play with a certain degree of risk, you will miss some shots. The key is to find the optimal risk factor with which you make the game difficult for your opponent but at the same time not miss too many shots.

This will increase the probability of winning (or decrease the risk of losing).

Decrease The Risk Of Losing The Match On Big Points

A situation where most players fail to realize this are “big points” – or pressure situations. That may be 40:40 or 30:40 or it may be serving for the match, serving to stay in the match, playing a tie-break and so on.

At those big points, your initial mindset will probably be that you don’t want to miss and waste this opportunity. The fear of missing and losing will arise and your response will be that you’ll start playing safer.

You will decrease your risk of missing the shot, because at those key moments we may not be able to think so clearly. You’ll see the danger of missing the shot but you probably won’t see the danger of losing the point because your shots will be too easy for your opponent.

You may decrease your risk of missing from 12% to 5% but at the same time, you will increase your risk of losing the match from around 50% (if you’re playing an opponent of equal level) to 70% or even more.

In the long term, you will lose more matches playing safe on big points than you would if you played with your optimal risk factor – which is maybe 12% or 15%.

Remember that the risk of missing the shot is NOT the same as the risk of losing the match. The only thing that counts at the end of the match is who won and not who made less unforced errors.

Your goal throughout the match is to decrease your risk of losing the match, which may mean that you have to increase your risk of missing a shot in order to force the game more.

Is there a situation where it’s wise to lower your risk of missing the shot at big points? Yes, when you see that your opponent is feeling the pressure and making lots of mistakes. But if your opponent is not making more mistakes at big points, playing safer tennis will not work in the long term.