Practicing Better

Tennis scientists say rubbing your head with your tennis racquet increases tennis knowledge by 4% on average. Try it today!

Who’s winning? Who won? Don’t you just love that question? It is only eclipsed by the question I heard early in the days of the long distance running movement in the late 70’s or early 80’s. It would come from someone you worked with asked you what you did over the weekend.

I ran a 10k.

Did you win?, they would ask excitedly.

Oh yeah, I beat over 6000 other runners, about 50 of who are supported financially and training for the Olympics. I lapped them, beat them all by 10 minutes, thanks for asking.

The other day I am playing with my friend David and from the next court, the question comes “Who’s winning?”

For me to yell back, we both are would require a lengthy explanation so I just say “he is” but the truth of the matter was I really didn’t know. I hadn’t forgotten the score, we don’t keep track.

The David Formula

Here’s what we do. We play 3 games—keeping score each game, alternating serve after each game, but don’t take a break and switch sides until after the third game. Then we just repeat this format all morning or afternoon.

What format allows us to do is several things:

• Work on specific areas (maybe return of serve, serve and volley, a new grip, rushing the net more, etc.) It allows you to practice without fear of failure because you won’t blow a game based on trying your new technique and think now I’m behind, this sucks.! Also, it’s not a formal thing---- hey, I’m going to try all serve and volleys for this game so please return it right to me. Instead it’s something you decide in your head and work at it in your own way, so it feels less like practice, and more like playing, which of course you actually are.
  
• Get in better condition. Playing 3 games consistently is quite a workout! Often one of those 3 games will have multiple deuces or an extended rally. When this happens it will test your conditioning considerably. Imagine that happening in the first game, you have two more full games before you sit.


• It's fun, with less pressure and allows you check your ego at the door since your performance that day is not tied to winning or losing.

Sure, there are times that I am aware I just won (or lost) 3 games in a row, but generally after 90 minutes or two hours of hitting this way, I really don’t know if I won 14 games and lost 10, or won 11 games and lost 19.

I hit with a boy from the high school team about 2 months ago and told him of this format and asked if he wanted to try it. He said, “sure, but I’ll never be able NOT to keep track of the score, I’m just that way.” About thirty minutes into playing, at a changeover he smiled and said, “you know, I really don’t know what the score is.”

The David Formula. Three games + rest (repeat...) = improvement. It’s worked well for us, and it might work well for you too.