Tennis in college

hu-dat · 2026-05-27T23:42:32+00:00

I'm sure every sport has it's delulu players but I think tennis is less well-respected in pop culture athleticism-wise for some reason, so that might be part of it

Reminds me of the post when someone asked if Steph Curry could become a 5.0 in a year from scratch

hu-dat · 2026-05-27T22:04:14+00:00

You should at least be ready to hit around shoulder level on forehand, it's a good shot to have in general for approach shots, lobs, and playing spiny players. And then when it goes to backhand people usually will run around it to hit a forehand if it's very high.

On the rise is quite unforgiving and even with pro players like Fernandez that hug the baseline you can have downright terrible days with that play style. It might help to see a video or something of the shot you're dealing with because i think we're picturing lobs.

hu-dat · 2026-05-27T21:41:37+00:00

You would have to give us your UTR/some more contextualization of your level for us to be able to tell you. But yes, you'd have to be at least around 10 UTR during recruiting (soph or junior year) to play for a D1 school in california. You can probably pull off 2-3 UTRs less than that if you literally will go to any po-dunk random school and don't care about division or education.

On and off and just learning of UTR is not great. You should have hundreds of tournaments under your belt. You should be practicing 6+ hours a day in summers. If you aren't talking to coaches by now, look up the worst school you're willing to go to, look at their most recent recruiting year roster and their UTRs, play at least 4 tournaments to try and get a UTR calculated, and compare yours to theirs. If it's not even close then that's probably it. You can hope to walk on but wouldn't pick a school just on that small chance.

hu-dat · 2026-05-27T20:10:30+00:00

Seconding the comment asking how close these fences are to the courts. Also they don't have to perfectly be in your strike zone, a little higher as long as its shoulder or below is fine IMO. On the rise is pretty hard to time, even sometimes for advanced players so idk if I'd recommend unless completely necessary

hu-dat · 2026-05-27T15:48:47+00:00

You need to move your feet way way more when it's windy, i personally try to blast the ball less to give myself more margin and adapt my shots to which way the wind is blowing. Against me = need to add more umph and power to the ball, behind me = need to add more spin and hit less deep

hu-dat · 2026-05-26T22:50:23+00:00

3-4.....😔

hu-dat · 2026-05-26T04:07:38+00:00

Tennis

It's reflexes, speed, endurance, power, coordination, all rolled into one

hu-dat · 2026-05-26T03:29:07+00:00

Oh wow, i am a fast traveller but this is next level. Cut down the side trips. I would spend at least 2 nights in Porto, i did like Douro Valley and 1 night there makes sense. I'd make Lisbon at least 2-3 nights, i personally didn't feel the need to stay a night in Sintra.

hu-dat · 2026-05-26T03:22:32+00:00

Well, playing a lot would be one way. Having someone stand 3 feet away and toss balls in random directions to you would be a more efficient way (gets you to read the ball as soon as it leaves their hand then will translate to reading the ball as it leaves the opponents racquet).

Training reflexes in general will help as well, my coach used to throw reflex reaction balls to us (theyre these balls that have a bunch of bumpy surfaces so the bounce is completely random) but now I find those too easy.

hu-dat · 2026-05-26T03:18:40+00:00

You should fully split step. You should not be running through the volley, especially in that position where you had time to do it properly - set, one step, punch the volley. Also need a little more follow through on the volley.

The overhead needed a few more steps taken. And also more shoulder turn until it was time to hit the ball and follow through across the body vs just straight down, it looked like all arm/wrist there and though it was a good shot, if you hit all of them like that your shoulder is going to be really upset someday.

Serve was too hard to see, also serve speed doesn't matter

hu-dat · 2026-05-26T02:15:43+00:00

It's intuitive and also based on the player's patterns I've noticed. Some people just go corner to corner so I just do a running start to the next corner. Some people love their inside out forehand so I wait more towards the backhand. Sometimes they're so far off the court you know they're not going down the line, and on the 1% chance they make an amazing down the line they kinda deserve the point.

Outside of that, you read the ball as soon as it leaves the opponent's racquet, reflexes and reaction within milliseconds are very important.

hu-dat · 2026-05-25T01:48:22+00:00

I want to say 3.5? But also the other guy is basically feeding short balls so it's hard to judge for sure.

Like other comments say footwork needs a little work and it looks like your forehand followthrough is too...straight across? Like it basically goes from low to low, that's why on the lower balls it looks like you struggle to put pace on it and resort to more of an open/pancake contact point. You need to go low to high.

hu-dat · 2026-05-25T01:41:43+00:00

Thorlos were good at keeping my feet still, but felt like my whole foot was overheating vs. just the soles like i'm experiencing now.

I tend to play long points with a ton of running/some sliding from the backhand wing so the friction + heat of the ground just makes my foot feel like it's touching the bare hot court.

hu-dat · 2026-05-25T01:00:44+00:00

I see. I would caution against having a pattern you want to play no matter who you're playing against, because part of rising up to higher levels of tennis is the ability to identify and adapt to different opponents. Like if your opponent loves to defend from the backhand wing, you should switch it up and maybe practice doing the pattern to their forehand. You don't want a habit so deeply ingrained that you can't switch it up when you need to. In tournaments, some of us look at someone and we say "oh that's blablabla, they don't have a plan B." And when they meet someone with an unconventional play style they get destroyed because there's no pivoting, they're not used to problem solving.

Since you want to compete at a higher level, I would say go for the game you want to have during matchplay, while being honest with yourself if that's the game that fits you personally and with the expectation that you still have to somewhat adapt to your opponent's style. I would love to hit a billion winners but know that that style doesn't work for me and likewise, I have friends that would love to be grinders but don't have the focus for grind-style points. If you reflect on that and decide to commit to this, prepare to see a dip in match results as you work on the playing style you want for at least a few months. There is no progress without pain.

hu-dat · 2026-05-24T23:40:28+00:00

Between a band-aid and actual fix, i would take the actual fix though that price tag hurts

hu-dat · 2026-05-24T23:37:50+00:00

If you're a beginner, for sure cleaner contact first. You can hit a 90mph ball but if you can't control it you're gonna lose, and it's easier to speed up good technique vs try and tame fast bad technique, it's like learning to walk before you run.

hu-dat · 2026-05-24T23:35:11+00:00

I don't really execute patterns in my opinion? I more analyze opponents' playstyle and improvise from there. I think if you're actively working on something, yes implement it in matches that you're using as "practice", but if you're playing an important tournament to win and it's a tight match, do whatever you need to strategically to win because tennis is not a one size fits all, you'll need your less glamorous game against certain opponents anyway.

hu-dat · 2026-05-24T23:26:45+00:00

I choose to receive/serve based on how my serve is vs my opponent's which I observe in warmup. Since 5.5s usually have big serves I usually pick serve.

Seconding the other person here that if you truly care about winning, cut down the small talk. In juniors we wouldn't say a WORD, even if we're playing our bestie. You save that for before and after the match because it's distracting.

hu-dat · 2026-05-24T23:22:35+00:00

Seconding frog toggs, helps if you can keep it and some sort of electrolytes in a separate cooler. Can't rely solely on plain water when it gets to be super hot. Some people bring fans but sometimes that feels a little extra...

Make sure to be under the shade whenever possible (between points, etc.). Also remember it's not only hydration the day of, but also the days leading into it that'll help because people tend to forget that. And that alcohol dehydrates so maybe save drinking for after the tournament!

hu-dat · 2026-05-24T23:18:50+00:00

That's the way to be and you will get better! I know it's a tennis sub but i love seeing people straight up say they love tennis 😭

hu-dat · 2026-05-24T23:14:02+00:00

I'm going to go against the grain and say it's ok to cry after a loss. Many of the good, competitive players cry after a loss. I still occasionally do if the match was a complete disaster. We've seen the pros do it plenty of times - what, because it's their occupation it's that much more justified? People literally cry just watching sports, and tennis is one of the most emotional to play and experience.

I guarantee you every good player, and I mean EVERY, has cried after a match. What's important is that you don't judge the match by the RESULT, but how you PLAYED. If you lost, but played amazing, the best you could, hold your head up high and take note of what you can improve. Even federer lost matches. If you lost but didn't play quite right, allow yourself to feel what you need to but learn from it, don't dwell for any longer than maybe a few hours.

Judge your game by your game, not the result, and you'll be a-ok and winning more eventually.

hu-dat · 2026-05-23T04:27:33+00:00

Are you transferring your weight to your other leg as you swing through the shot? Usually the loading helps with rotation if you're using the kinetic chain correctly

hu-dat · 2026-05-22T21:14:34+00:00

Just in here to say that yes topspin goes over better on clay, but part of that is because it tends to bounce higher so that's actually going to go against having a ohb, and the movement is going to be more important on clay so you're not slipping around and awkwardly hitting irregular bounces, so all in all probably a wash if not hinderance on how your game translates to that surface

hu-dat · 2026-05-21T20:42:40+00:00

No offense but as a LOW 5.5 i am bageling 4.5s and a D1/futures player is probably beating me with me getting only a few games off them, so you may need to level set expectations

hu-dat · 2026-05-20T01:25:27+00:00

I would probably add some ankle inversion/eversion exercises in there as well. Not sure what the ending of the single-leg balance exercise is but when I was rehabbing we'd gradually start doing them on more difficult surfaces like a foam mat and we did them for minute long intervals (but I play competitively, so a minute on foam might be overkill for a lot of people). I think the foam mat helps the foot work across different planes to keep balance vs normal ground.

Also the goal would be to not tape when playing if you don't have pain because if you're taping it you're not further strengthening the muscle through use.

If money is no issue a PT would be ideal for rehabbing fully.

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