This has been one of the biggest problems for recreational tennis players for many years and even though the problem is obvious most tennis players don’t understand it or don’t know how to approach the problem! Next time you go out on the court try to be aware for a while where you actually miss your shots. Most likely a high percentage of your misses are in the net!
Solving The Problem
Now I usually use two different approaches to deal with this problem. The first one would be to focus on the swing and try to swing more from low to high. This often works great if you as a coach know how to work with students to get them into a better swing. This approach is usually most effective when players actually see themselves on video and see that they are swinging down too much and then compare that to some professional players and how they swing.
The problem with the first approach is that it requires a good coach to help guide the student through this process and it also requires video equipment. The easier approach to dealing with this problem is to use some air targets. This way students can work on developing a more low to high swing pattern on their own!
Every shot has an optimal window above the net that the ball should be hit into. This is of course all a matter of physics. I’ve heard famous tennis teacher and researcher Vic Braden say many times, that in order to hit a ball from baseline to baseline with a contact point at waist height you need to swing forward and upward from about knee level.
The great thing about using air targets is that your swing has a good chance of adjusting without you even thinking about it. If you try to hit enough balls into the air target you will soon figure out that you only really have a chance to get the ball there if you take your racket low enough!
Once you realize that if you hit your air target, the ball will automatically go where you want it to go, it is a great feeling. Now you can focus on those air targets when you are practicing and even in your matches and usually the results are amazing!
In practice there are many different ways these air targets can be set up. I will usually use either a higher net or some pop-up targets.
Airzone Net System
This higher net system is my favourite tool to get players to hit the ball higher over the net. It is pretty simple to set up and very effective. If you don’t want to spend the money you can of course construct something yourself. All you really need is two poles and a rope that will be visible.
Pop-Up Targets
The Pop-Up Targets can also be used effectively to work on certain shots. I like to use them for down-the-line shots where players need to find the right air target but not hit too high either. It is also extremely effective for your serve practice!
Florian Meier is a USPTA certified tennis instructor. He runs a tennis academy in Hamburg, Germany and specializes in Tennis Video Instruction. He started the instructional website www.onlinetennisinstruction.com to help tennis players from all over the world improve their game.
