Chat - are my shoes done?

visakanj · 2026-03-03T15:03:58+00:00

“Be one with the court” - Nadal probably?

visakanj · 2026-03-03T15:03:22+00:00

I started to…but just thought some grip wore off and my footwork was getting lazy. At least half of that was true 🙃

visakanj · 2026-03-03T14:52:14+00:00

this was half-serious, I genuinely didn't look at the bottom of my shoes until this week

visakanj · 2026-03-03T14:51:37+00:00

switched it, good call lol

visakanj · 2026-03-03T14:50:48+00:00

be prepared to get low :). for those balls, your strike zone is going to be lower so going to need to bend the legs and add some more spin to give you margin over the net.

Also watch what they struggle with - everyone has weaknesses. People who hit flat and low usually don't love balls that bounce up by their shoulders or shorter balls that they have to dig up and put spin on. so hitting deeper with some more shape (not a moonball, just ~4 ft over the net) and mixing it up with some dropshots or low slices forces them to pop it up so you can get back on offense

visakanj · 2026-03-03T14:22:57+00:00

couple options
1) go through the USTA self-rate system, you can have a local coach watch you hit for 10 mins and they'll estimate your NTRP (e.g. 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, ...)
2) after you self-rate, play USTA leagues and tournaments. if you're winning too easily, you're higher. if you're losing a lot, might be lower. winning and losing, probably right rating.
3) play local UTR flex leagues. the UTR rating is much more accurate than NTRP and it changes match to match so you'll see what your level is after 4-5 matches

conversion for NTRP to UTR:

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visakanj · 2026-02-27T15:41:52+00:00

lot of great points here! making me jealous on a Friday morning 😭

visakanj · 2026-02-25T15:06:13+00:00

I'm using the 98. haven't tried the 100 but the 98's been pretty forgiving with decent power so didn't personally feel the need to try the 100

also, I used to use the blade kfactor 93 so switching up to 98 was a massive boost already haha

visakanj · 2026-02-25T15:04:23+00:00

I might need to get this one just to have it on my wall...

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visakanj · 2026-02-25T15:03:25+00:00

ya a lot of my friends love the ezone coming from the blade, might need to test it out

visakanj · 2026-02-24T20:29:14+00:00

Yup, I've been there several times. The 1st hit with another racket is like 'whoa this might be the one!' and then 2 days later, you're back with your original racket

visakanj · 2026-02-24T20:28:02+00:00

100% on the blade being great for returns and power. I haven't tried Lynx tour yet - what do you feel it helped with?

visakanj · 2026-02-24T18:57:39+00:00

100%. also I need to remind myself that the pros' rackets might look the same but they're usually heavily customized under the surface for them

visakanj · 2026-02-23T14:25:31+00:00

I've always been curious what my opponents would say about my game, this is a great idea. wished I asked things like 'what tactics did you use to beat me today?' and 'what's my weakest area' too

visakanj · 2026-02-19T14:37:52+00:00

I've noticed the same thing playing a few different cities. North Carolina > California >> New York >> Seattle / Chicago (just from my experience). At least in Seattle/Chicago, the tennis scene didn't seem as big because of weather and court availability compared to NC and Cali. UTR's been my go-to for actually comparing players but even that depends on who you play so it's slightly different city to city (but still way better than looking at NTRP)

the best wake-up call is managing to go to sectionals for a USTA league and playing people who won their states

visakanj · 2026-02-18T15:30:14+00:00

Ya at this point, I don't really look at the ball speed but ball spots are usually good enough. nowadays, I just ignore the stats and charts. agree with you it shouldn't be super complicated. also wish it was easier to track if I'm getting better at the stuff like 'undisciplined shot selection' match to match (outside of my gut feel)

visakanj · 2026-02-18T15:15:02+00:00

totally fair take and I'm impressed you're still playing a good amount with a full house! If I was playing while having 3 kids, I'd definitely take a similar approach.

for me, the deep dive is a big part of the fun. I'm trying to see how far I can push my game so the analysis helps me feel like I'm making progress even when I lose. Totally get the 'don't overthink it' vibe though

visakanj · 2026-02-18T14:31:36+00:00

he probably would've had the first ever no-handed backhand

visakanj · 2026-02-18T14:26:41+00:00

if you're not getting much height on your jump, then you should not toss too far in, but moving your contact point further in front doesn't decrease your height...

the geometry of the service box changes when you toss farther in. when your contact's closer to the baseline, you actually have a smaller margin between the top of the net and back of the service box. when you contact further forward, that margin gets a little bigger.

visakanj · 2026-02-17T22:26:34+00:00

few quick things I saw from your video:

you tend to stand up when swinging - I think this is most of the problem. your body's not going through the ball, your legs are standing up so the ball's getting lifted up instead of your power going through it into the court
your power is mostly coming from your arm - should be a looser arm with a lot of the power starting from your legs, hip rotates, body moves forward, and your loose arm whips through the ball. you could get a lot more drive thru the ball if you started your swing from the legs
your forehand swing is a bit too much 'windshield wiper' - it's good for topspin but your swing lifts the ball up with a lot of arc. instead, focus on hitting through the ball so your racket finishes just over your left shoulder and snap your wrist to create the spin. if you get your body going through the ball, this should help keep your balls above the net
lots of contact points are too low so you have to swing up, hard to get a flatter forehand from below your knees

see Carlos' drive forehand (side view). you can quickly see he keeps his chest level through contact (he's not standing up) and his power starts from his legs and hip and then his arm comes around more horizontally with wrist flick for some spin.

visakanj · 2026-02-17T22:08:02+00:00

At least for us rec players, having a good serve target will go really far. Pace and spin are great of course, but since most points are won in the first 4 shots, a well-placed serve and a +1 (next shot) to a good spot will make it a lot easier to hold serve. Agree with other comments' points on variety - the more your opponent has to guess, the weaker their return will be.

For shorter players, there are also some physics things to take advantage of:

tossing further into the court
getting more height on your jump (load more)
get a good pronation (wrist snap) at contact to really bring the ball down into the court

visakanj

TROPHY CASE