the key to a great two handed backhand: straighten your non dominant hand

Straighten your non-dominant hand for a great backhand

 

A lot of the clients who come on tennis holidays to Mauritius complain about two things on their two handed backhand:

1. all the balls are going crosscourt
2. they are unable to generate power

 

Both of these problems can be very easily cured by straightening the non-dominant arm.

 

For a right hander, the non-dominant hand is the left hand.  A right hander has to understand that left hand has to dominate on the two handed backhand. The right hand is only there to guide the racquet.

 

As you can see on the pictures of the David Nalbandian, his left arm stays straight all the way through the shot. The most important is for your left arm to straighten out and point towards your target after the contact. It is the only way to get power, precision and spin.

 

So when you are hitting your two handed backhand next time, think about straightening your non dominant arm out in frout.

 

Enjoy your game and see you soon in Mauritius

 

Straighten your non-dominant hand for a great backhand

 

 

 

Kamil Patel

Managing Director

Advantage tennis

+230 728 9343

www.advantage.mu

 

the contact point: the stepping stone to an attacking game

The contact point: the stepping stone to an attacking game

 

 

Modern tennis is dominated by players with closed (semi-western or western) grips. This trend was started by clay court specialists like Guillermo Vilas back in the 70’s. Since the change to graphite and composite racquets, all the players with big forehands like Marc Rosset, Jim Courrier, Sergi Bruguera, Andre Agassi, Carlos Moya, Gustavo Kuerten, Albert Costa, and Roger Federer play with closed grips. The only exception to this rule is Pete Sampras!

 Nowadays all top 10 players in the world play with a closed grip. You are only a couple of players in the top 100 who use an open (eastern or continental) grip.

The thing is that the semi-western and western grips enable the players to hit with more power and spin.

 

In the resorts in Mauritius where I work, a lot of players that come to see me forget one important point when they hit a closed grip forehand: your racquet face has to face the net at the point of impact. The common mistake is for the racquet face to stay closed. The result is a ball with no power that falls short or in the net…

Those same players come to see me and they ask me to teach them to attack.

 

The way to develop an attacking forehand is to have your racquet facing the net every time you make contact with the ball. The trick is to rotate your shoulders just before the point of impact so that your torso is also facing the net on contact. Just like Andy Roddick on the picture. This rotation will also add power and spin to your shot and you will deliver a high quality shot!

 

If your grip is extremely closed and you are still having trouble consider making corrections with the wrist so that you can get that racquet face at the right angle.

 

Enjoy and have fun on the court with your new forehand!!!

 

 

The contact point: the stepping stone to an attacking game

Become a tennis star: be dedicated and find a good coach

Become a tennis star

I love November because it is the time of the year where all the ATP tour players take a break and go on holidays. Those who are not on holidays are involved in the Masters Cup and the Davis Cup finals.

So in November, I get the visit of friends I don’t see much any more since I have stopped touring and am now living in Mauritius.

So this year, Julien Benetteau, Nicolas Mahut and Paul-Henri Mathieu came down to Mauritius to relax, spend some time with their girlfriends, play golf with me and soak in a bit of sun before they go back to training for next season.

All three of them had great 2007 seasons, finishing at career high rankings. Paul-Henri Mathieu was in the top 20 for the first time!

I am very happy for them since they all deserve it!

I would like to take the time today to explain the success of a guy like Paul-Henri. Too many kids believe tennis is all about talent and that the top guys just get there because of talent.

Becoming a tennis pro is amazing hard work. If you are not dedicated and you are not ready to suffer everyday on the court and in the gym you are not going to get anywhere it is that simple. The top guys spend up to seven hours a day on the court and in the gym in order to improve constantly.

If you want to become a pro, I give you this advice: you will never make it if you don’t work very hard. But not only you must work hard, you must work right! You need a good coach to guide you and have you do the right drills at the right time. All players are different so their practices are different.

If I didn’t make it to the same level as Paul-Henri Mathieu it is not because I didn’t work hard. It is because I never had a good coach…

Good luck to you and I hope you make it!

Become a tennis star

Prevent muscle cramps: have a chocolate bar!

Nutrition tips with Advantage tennis

 

You won’t win long matches without stores of energy. Balance is the key to success even top players can fall into “nutrition fads” these mistakes can seriously impact their playing ability.

One misconception amongst sportsmen and coaches is that a high protein meal goes directly into the muscle tissue, but it is not so simple.

If you eat too much protein combined with too many calories it actually gets turned into body fat. More importantly excess protein can’t be stored when it is being broken down and it places a high work load on the kidneys which can cause other substances to be lost in urine such as calcium. This is the main cause of muscle cramps during tennis matches.

Sports nutritionists have for years recommended a diet that emphasizes carbohydrates and a balance of protein and fats. This advice should be followed.

Protein intake should vary with the level of activity and should range between 15-20% of your total calorie intake.

So go ahead and consume fat in your diet, it enhances absorption of key vitamins, provides energy and it can make you feel fuller after a meal. But still make sure to keep fat consumption between 15 and 20% of calorie intake.

There is fair amount of fat burnt when you play tennis. So that occasional chocolate bar will do good to your game!

 

Nutrition tips with Advantage tennis

 

 

Kamil Patel

Managing Director

 

Kamil Sports Management Ltd.

Tel: +230 7289343

www.advantage.mu

 

Get into position for a great forehand

Tennis advice

A common mistake that we have often noticed on the tennis court is that most players have trouble judging their distance to the ball thus hitting the ball too close or too far from their body. This means that their shot is of poor quality.If you have this same problem, next time you are on the court remember two things while setting up for the shot:
1. have the non-dominant hand on the throat of the racquet.
2. point your non-dominant hand towards the side fence.

On the picture, Andy Roddick shows us just how he prepares for his great forehand.

This will help you find the right distance, as long as you get those quick feet moving!!!

Tennis advice

tennis advice

welcome to my tennis advice blog. I will regularly be posting tennis advice to help you improve and reach your best level thanks to tennis advice