Practice makes perfect

We’ve all heard the phrase, but it isn’t accurate.  It should be “perfect practice makes perfect”.

Have you ever watched a player with an awkward serve or choppy groundstrokes and said, “How can they hit that?”  Well, they have hit it that way so many times that they know how to control it.  Will it allow them to become a better player?  Probably not.  Any time you do something repetitively, you ingrain the image of that movement in your mind and body (muscle memory).  The problem is that unless the image is one that you want to repeat and use, then you may be “grooving” a flawed technique.

You need to ensure that when you practice, you develop a repetitive stroke that has the classic elements that can be built upon.  You need balance, contact out front, control, and versatility.

Versatility is what these players lack in their stroke.  Does your technique allow you to hit groundstrokes with topspin and underspin, soft and hard, and place them deep, short, left and right?  Does your serve allow them to hit topspin, flat, slice, soft and with power?  If it can’t, then you need to analyze your technique and start to groove one with more versatility.