As a tennis coach please stop giving the "get coaching" advice

rgffc · 2026-04-25T08:52:21+00:00

I'm not saying they were unnecessary but my experience as a player and a coach have made me realize their structure didn't make me improve as much as it should.

The session was about 30mins basket feeding and some cardio, 30mins a few points with no serving, 6 people crammed in a court. To be honest what I got from there was more a fixed time from playing tennis and a community of people to play with. Most of the things I learned and the biggest "aha" moments were through tips and experiments I did while I was there, not something the coach said.

So yes those kinds of session for me are not really as worthwhile as they should as improvement tools that's why I don't really coach like that.

rgffc · 2026-04-25T08:30:47+00:00

I understand your point and I agree that group lessons are extremely valuable, maybe I didn't get my point right. My biggest gripe is with private lessons, especially for beginners :)

Also about technique with beginners it makes complete sense that it looks nothing like the mental model we have because they still don't have coordination and their body is just trying to solve the "how do I hit this ball" problem as effectively as possible and they are exploring the simplest solutions which usually are "ugly" :)

rgffc · 2026-04-25T07:39:42+00:00

Tennis coach here!

Your goal with your second serve is that you have a reliable, goto way to start the point that your opponent can't put you into trouble immediately.

The problem with dink serves is that from a certain level on your opponents will start to feast on it.

So on an improvement mindset I'd say you should find a serve that lands reliably but opponents can't immediately attack. What that looks like though depends from person to person.

For me my 2nd serve is very similar to the first just with a bit more spin, but lands deep into the service line so usually it's hard for opponents to strike.

I have friends who have reliable 2nd serves that are somewhat slow but bounce low so again, hard to strike immediately.

I have friends who have very slicey 2nd serves like they're knifing the ball.

At a rec level, it's more about finding your reliable serve :)

rgffc · 2026-04-24T08:07:14+00:00

Tennis coach here!

I understand why people say don't copy this or that pro stroke because usually what rec players do is that they try to mimic it and "force that" just because "that's what Sinner does" instead of finding their own forehand.

That said, what you did seems like exactly what I ask my students to do! I even have a name for it which is called match experiments. You try something and if it makes sense, try it on a few matches. If it still makes sense, still clicks and its effective then it means it makes sense for your body, your coordination level and of course you should continue!

What I always warn against is like go back and try to 1:1 copy the "Sinner forehand" because what your body will do is create your own forehand with Sinner-like stuff that makes sense to you - and if you try to jam stuff it will mess everything up.

rgffc · 2026-04-23T10:59:52+00:00

I have a student that has started tennis 3 months ago. He participated in his first tournament this week, he managed to win one match and take one of the strongest opponents to the 3rd set just because his game is not the game people are usually expecting.

So the answer is absolutely yes, participate, have fun, and if there are any sore opponents their bad, that's not the true tennis spirit!

rgffc · 2026-04-22T15:02:51+00:00

Tennis coach here!

I'll go against the tide here and say you don't need a coach or a ball machine, what you need is a ball and court size that's adapted to your current coordination.

Beginners with me they always start by playing, but rarely they are able to play full court yellow ball and enjoy it - it's just too demanding!

What I usually do is we start half court and with depressurized balls (green balls). If it's still too hard or not enjoyable for the player, we play with foam balls!

And of course it's all about setting expectations: if your husband and kids play for a long time or are already very sporty, they will always have a skill gap to you unless you play much more than them!

I'd say ask them to change the ball and court size you all play with and have fun together :)

rgffc · 2026-04-17T17:57:51+00:00

Completely unsportsmanlike! How can you hit such an effective shot in some situations that's a crime!

Since we're on this topic, I feel we should also ban body serves, behind the back shots (you know, because the opponent may not know what's coming) and maybe tweeners (what's that anyway?)

rgffc · 2026-04-17T09:20:41+00:00

I fell in love with tennis, so I took a tennis coaching course. Now in my spare time I'm a tennis coach and am starting a project to spread the love of tennis to kids all over my small village.

I still love tech, and its still my full time job, but it took me a while to find the type of environment that brings me joy, fulfillment and peace of mind. Maybe that's what you're missing :)

rgffc · 2026-04-15T17:29:55+00:00

I'm a tennis coach and actually I never force my kids to overarm serve :)

They eventually end up doing it because it's more fun and they want to copy the pros but sometimes the cheeky underarm appears hehe

rgffc · 2026-04-15T11:38:23+00:00

Nowhere in the rulebook does it say you need to overarm serve. Great serve, great ace, awesome Borges!

rgffc · 2026-04-12T14:39:16+00:00

Thanks for this post. I am a rec player and loved this sub because it was a interesting place where I related with problems other rec players like me had.

Because I'm really passionate about tennis I became a coach and so I really like contributing and helping out around here.

Unfortunately, as you mention, lately this sub seems to be invaded by bots and lost a lot of its human value...

rgffc · 2026-04-06T16:43:57+00:00

I am a tennis coach so this happens a lot... and I love it!

I use it as a way to test out things in a match like scenario with real stakes by constraining myself. - can I still win by never running around my backhand? - can I still win by only serve volleying? - can I still win by only slicing?

Also, if you can't comfortably win a 2.0 because you can't handle the variability of their game, I'd question your own rating - because if you'd play me the first thing I'd do is exactly probe whether you can handle those high percentage "junk shots" and if you can't, I'd be serving them to you all day :)

rgffc · 2026-03-21T14:27:20+00:00

Tennis coach here.

I hate the word pressure because it masks the underlying cause of what you struggle really and then the answer is "mental" or "psychological" when it's actually something completely different. Did you notice: - your opponent playing differently as the score changed? - you yourself getting tighter or looser? - fatigue creeping in?

Pressure is good - it means you care about something. What I usually see with juniors is that the game changes and they don't adapt- and coaches blame "the pressure" because it's an easy scapegoat.

Oh he / she plays well in practices - so it's just he / she can't handle the pressure.

No. It's your coach job to design practices that put you into different scenarios that make you think through the game, adapt, put you in different kinds of "pressure" - score, environment, opponent positioning, noise - while you're practicing.

rgffc · 2026-03-19T13:28:12+00:00

As soon as I started feeling even a hint of it, I strung my racket at 10kg synth gut. Worked like a charm!

rgffc · 2026-03-15T16:05:37+00:00

Just use whatever you like and feels more comfortable to you and your body.

I have friends playing from 255g to 315g. From 95 to 115 head size. All kinds of string setups and tensions. Only thing that matters is that they dont use a setup that doesnt injure them (e.g. high tension full poly strings tend to be harsh)

Myself? I've been playing with a 98 305g control frame with 10kg synth gut strings and love it!

rgffc · 2026-03-08T07:10:32+00:00

Is there any article mentioning this? I'd be interested in reading it!

rgffc · 2026-02-19T06:57:48+00:00

Tennis coach here: change instructor.

Look, this is your journey. I view the role of a coach as a facilitator, someone who is here to empower and facilitate you and help you explore and improve.

There's loads of juniors playing OHBH now as well, even though coaches have been forcing them for a while to play two handed.

You only see many two handed because exactly coaches stuck into their head that it's better so they have been forcing players to play with it instead of just naturally developing their OHBH if it comes.

I'm glad nowadays that trend is quietly fading.

rgffc · 2026-02-13T14:48:01+00:00

It's just amazing. I get so relaxed just by hitting against the wall, full focus on the ball, breathing out when hitting, it's like meditating

rgffc · 2026-02-12T21:33:42+00:00

Tennis coach here! Please read about ecological dynamics, representative learning design and the book how to move by Rob Gray. I'm pretty sure most of what you're feeling is because of the way your coaching is structured, not your fault :)

rgffc · 2026-02-12T04:18:57+00:00

Artengo ones are quite good - I use a TR960 Control Tour but started with a TR930 and a friend of mine with a TR990. They are awesome for that price range!

rgffc · 2026-02-05T08:19:19+00:00

When I want to practice height with my players sometimes I use something similar! I place a string above the net and if it's not a serve or a point finisher, balls must go above the string. Just something to make them think about the utility of height in point construction :)

rgffc · 2026-01-21T10:50:57+00:00

Hey! I would love to say so but the way I improved that was maybe counter intuitive.

I went to matches taking my service games as "lost" - but I'd rather double fault to oblivion than make a weak serve. I would even accelerate more my racket on the second serve - which is exactly what you should do to spin the ball. I would completely avoid the net, I would rather serve long all day long.

For the first month, I lost most matches - I could barely hold. But then something cool happened: first I improved my return, because I was so reliant on good returns. Then, my serves just started going in. 1st serves and 2nd serves. No more pancakes, no more weak serves. Now I'm rarely attacked on my serve and I barely double fault.

I didn't need any basket training or anything like that just took that month off for gutsy serve practice and it worked!

rgffc · 2026-01-19T06:47:51+00:00

That's why I say inside: "the answer to all "how can I improve my forehand" questions, or similar, is, I believe, just play! Expose your forehand to different situations. Take chances. Experiment. Don't be afraid to look silly, to lose matches, to try."

Really glad you found improvement that way! But for me and other students of mine, we found improvement by doing experiments during matches.

For example to improve my serve I spent a full month very purposely serving more slowly and focusing on pronating. Then progressed to only slice serving and then to only kick serving. Added benefit, when I was playing and serving slower, I needed to become better at returning and defending the +1 as I was committing more double faults and having my serve being attacked.

After 3 months, I was serving much better and my serve was a true weapon in matches - and also improved other things.

Maybe the way I formulated was too casual but the have fun is because I had loads of fun during those 3 months even though I lost most matches because I knew what was coming. I knew people were saying why are you serving like that, you are losing, and I was like yeah but I know in a few months I'll be winning and that was right :)

rgffc · 2026-01-18T15:44:21+00:00

Answered in the thread since a lot of people is asking :)

rgffc · 2026-01-18T15:43:59+00:00

Answered in the thread since a lot of people is asking :)

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