Watch this video if you're not improving as much as you want!

Summary

The video script emphasizes the importance of consistent, high-quality on-court practice and improving physical ability for tennis players seeking to enhance their skills. It highlights the need to focus on one or two aspects of the game for improvement and identifies the common issue of poor positioning rather than swing mechanics. The script introduces a free tennis vision program to assist with visual skills and discusses the process of learning through conscious practice, the right level of difficulty, and the number of repetitions required to internalize new techniques. It underscores the reality that mastering tennis basics takes significant time and dedicated practice, discouraging the pursuit of quick fixes often promised by other resources.

Takeaways

• 🎾 Consistent high-quality on-court practice is essential for tennis improvement.
• 💪 Enhancing physical ability is crucial to perform and practice tennis skills effectively.
• 🔍 Focus on one or two things at a time for maximum improvement, as multitasking hinders learning.
• 🤔 Identify the underlying problem in your stroke to address the most critical aspect of your game.
• 🎥 Analyzing your own gameplay or getting coached can help pinpoint areas for improvement.
• 📈 Prioritize the first thing that goes wrong in your technique to make the most significant progress.
• 🤸‍♂️ Practice at the right level of difficulty, starting with fundamentals and gradually increasing complexity.
• 🔄 It takes approximately 1,000 high-quality repetitions to move from the conscious learning stage to the associative stage.
• 🕒 To develop a new habit or technique, 10,000 repetitions are often required, which can take considerable time and practice.
• 🚀 Professionals can quickly adjust their techniques due to the vast amount of practice they've accumulated.
• 📚 There are no shortcuts; mastering the basics through focused and repetitive practice is the key to high-level tennis skills.

Q & A

What are the two essential components for improving in tennis?

The two essential components for improving in tennis are high-quality, consistent on-court practice and working on improving your physical ability to perform the practiced skills.

Why is focusing on one or two things at a time important in tennis practice?

Focusing on one or two things at a time is important because it allows you to give conscious effort and think continuously about those specific aspects, which is crucial for improvement. Trying to think about too many things can lead to ineffective practice and hinder learning.

What is a common mistake coaches and players make when it comes to ground strokes?

A common mistake is focusing on the swing, contact point, and follow-through, while often the real issue is not preparing quickly enough or not being set up in the right position for the shot.

What should you prioritize when trying to improve your technique in tennis?

You should prioritize fixing the underlying problem or the first thing that's going wrong with your stroke, rather than focusing on minor biomechanical details.

How does the level of difficulty in practice affect skill improvement?

Practicing at the right level of difficulty is key to improvement. It should be challenging enough to focus on the specific skill you're working on but not so difficult that it becomes counterproductive. The level of difficulty should be adjusted based on your ability level.

What is the significance of repetitions in learning a new tennis technique?

Repetitions are crucial for moving from the conscious stage of learning, where you have to think about each movement, to the associative and autonomous stages, where the technique becomes a habit. It takes approximately 10,000 high-quality repetitions to develop a new habit.

How long does it take to make a new tennis technique a habit?

It takes about 10,000 repetitions, which can translate to roughly 30 hours of focused practice, to make a new technique a habit.

Why do many players struggle to improve their technique?

Many players struggle to improve their technique because they don't practice with enough repetitions focused on the same thing, often trying to do too many things at once or attempting advanced techniques too early in their progression.

What is the role of vision in tennis improvement?

Vision is a critical factor in tennis improvement because it determines your ability to read where the ball is going, track it, and judge distance effectively, which are all essential for starting your swing at the right time and playing at a higher level.

What is the free program mentioned in the script, and how can it help tennis players?

The free program mentioned is a tennis vision starter program designed to help players improve their visual skills, enabling them to read the ball's trajectory more quickly, track it better, and judge distance more accurately, ultimately leading to higher-level tennis performance.

How does the process of learning tennis techniques differ from what is often promised in quick-fix videos?

The process of learning tennis techniques involves a significant amount of time and focused practice to master the basics, whereas quick-fix videos often oversimplify the learning process, promising to teach professional-level techniques in a very short time, which is unrealistic.

Outlines

00:00

🎾 The Two Pillars of Tennis Improvement

This paragraph emphasizes the importance of two key aspects for tennis improvement: consistent high-quality on-court practice and enhancing physical ability. It stresses that neglecting either aspect can lead to a plateau in skill development. The speaker intends to focus on practice quality in this video, discussing what and how to practice to avoid stagnation in progress. The need for conscious effort and focusing on one or two things at a time for effective improvement is also highlighted.

05:01

🤔 Identifying and Prioritizing Practice Aspects

The speaker discusses the importance of identifying the underlying issues in a player's technique, such as setup and positioning, rather than just the mechanics of the swing. The influence of coaching and the common mistakes made by players, particularly in ground strokes, are addressed. The video aims to help viewers understand what to work on and how to practice effectively, emphasizing the need to focus on the first thing going wrong in a stroke to achieve improvement.

10:02

💡 Practicing with the Right Approach

This section delves into the conscious phase of learning, where deliberate focus on specific movements is crucial. The speaker explains the importance of practicing at the correct level of difficulty based on one's ability and the progression from practicing without a ball to more complex scenarios. The concept of using distractions to improve focus is introduced. The paragraph concludes with the revelation that it takes approximately 1,000 high-quality repetitions to move from the conscious stage to the associative stage of learning.

🕰️ Time and Repetition for Habit Formation

The speaker shares the necessity of a significant number of repetitions to form new habits and improve tennis techniques. It takes 10,000 repetitions to move from the associative stage to the autonomous stage, where the technique becomes ingrained. The speaker uses the example of practicing high volleys to illustrate the time and effort required to develop a new habit. The paragraph emphasizes the reality of learning and improvement in tennis, dispelling the myth of quick fixes and underscoring the importance of focused, quality practice and patience.

Keywords

💡High Quality Practice

High quality practice refers to the consistent and focused approach to honing tennis skills on the court. It is essential for improvement and involves deliberate and purposeful repetition of specific techniques. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of not only practicing consistently but also focusing on the right aspects of the game to see progress.

💡Physical Ability

Physical ability pertains to the physical fitness and strength required to perform tennis strokes and movements effectively. Enhancing one's physical ability is crucial for tennis players as it underpins their capacity to execute practiced skills during matches. The video discusses the necessity of improving physical ability alongside practicing tennis skills to avoid plateauing in one's development.

💡Plateau

A plateau in the context of the video refers to a stage where a tennis player's improvement stagnates due to focusing on only one aspect of their game, either practice or physical ability. It signifies a limit to growth without a holistic approach to skill development.

💡Unit Turn

The unit turn is a specific tennis technique that involves the coordinated rotation of the upper body and pelvis to generate power and control during a stroke. It is a fundamental component of the kinetic chain in tennis and is crucial for effective shot execution.

💡Biomechanics

Biomechanics in tennis relates to the study and application of the mechanical laws relating to the movement and structure of the body during play. It involves the analysis of body movements, such as the swing, to optimize performance and prevent injuries.

💡Visual Skills

Visual skills in tennis are the abilities required to quickly and accurately see and track the ball, judge its trajectory, and initiate the correct response. These skills are critical for reading the game and making split-second decisions during play.

💡Conscious Phase of Learning

The conscious phase of learning is the initial stage where a player is highly aware of and must deliberately focus on each aspect of the technique they are learning. It is a critical period for establishing the foundation of a new skill through intentional practice.

💡Associative Stage

The associative stage is the intermediate phase in skill acquisition where the learner starts to become less consciously aware of the individual components of the skill as it becomes more automatic. This stage is characterized by the ability to perform the skill with less mental effort.

💡Autonomous Stage

The autonomous stage is the advanced phase of skill acquisition where the skill has become fully automatic and can be performed without conscious thought. This is the goal for tennis players as it allows them to execute techniques effortlessly and focus on strategy during matches.

💡Repetitions

Repetitions in the context of tennis practice refer to the number of times a specific skill or movement is performed with the intention of mastering it. Repeated practice is crucial for moving a skill from the conscious phase to becoming an automatic habit.

💡Progression

Progression in tennis training refers to the gradual increase in difficulty or complexity of practice drills to challenge and improve a player's skills. It is a systematic approach to ensure that players continually develop and adapt to higher levels of performance.

Highlights

To improve in tennis, consistently practice on-court and enhance physical ability.

Focus on one or two things at a time for effective improvement.

Improvement plateaus if you only focus on one aspect of your game.

The quality of your practice is crucial for improvement.

Identify the underlying problem in your stroke to effectively practice.

Many players focus on the wrong aspects of their game due to coaching influences.

The issue often lies in setup and positioning, not biomechanics.

Prioritize fixing the first mistake in your technique.

Higher-level players should focus on precise biomechanics.

Consciously practice the correct movements at the right difficulty level.

Use progressions without a ball, then with a simple feed, to practice correctly.

It takes about a thousand high-quality repetitions to move from the conscious to associative learning stage.

To reach the autonomous stage and make a technique a habit, it takes around 10,000 repetitions.

Professionals can adjust their technique quickly due to the high number of hours spent practicing.

Mastering the basics through focused and repetitive practice is the key to high-level tennis.

Shortcuts don't work; improvement requires understanding and applying the learning process.

The truth about learning and improvement in tennis is often not communicated effectively.

The free Vision program can help improve visual skills, a significant limiting factor for many players.

No shortcuts or secrets exist; becoming a better tennis player requires time and effort.

Transcripts

if you're serious about improving your

tennis there are two things that you're

going to need to do on an ongoing basis

number one is high quality practice on

court done consistently and number two

is work on improving your physical

ability so that you're capable of doing

the things that you're trying to

practice you have to do both of these

things if you want to continue to

improve because if you only do one of

them you'll improve a little bit but

then you'll plateau and you'll get stuck

at a certain level now I spend a lot of

time talking about improving your

physical ability so in this video I'm

going to be focusing on the way that you

practice the quality of your practice

and we're going to be talking about

exactly what you should be practicing

because if you work on the wrong thing

you won't improve and we're going to be

talking about how you need to practice

because if you don't practice in the

right way you won't improve so we're

going to cover both of them hopefully

you find the video helpful if you do

it'd be much appreciated if you could

give me a thumbs up and if you haven't

subscribed to the channel it really

helps me out if you could do that as

well so let's start by talking about

what you need to work on because this is

really important when it comes to

improving something it takes a lot of

conscious effort you have to think about

it continuously and that means you can

only work on one thing at a time maximum

two things but realistically only one

thing at a time if you try and think

about too many things you'll simply not

do anything properly and you won't end

up learning and you won't end up

improving so because you're only able to

think about one thing at a time you need

to make sure that you're focusing on the

right thing and this is where tennis is

tricky because in order for you to

improve your forehand or your backhand

or your serve or whatever it is there's

probably a number of different things

that you do need to improve but you

can't work on all of them what you need

to do is fix the underlying problem or

the first thing that's going wrong with

your stroke I find when it comes to

ground strokes most players are focusing

on completely the wrong thing and I

think a large part of the blame lies

with coaches these days if you look

around the videos on YouTube there are

thousands of videos talking about the

forehand in the backhand and they're all

talking about the swing and what you do

with your Racket and your follow through

and the contact point and all that stuff

and it is kind of I it is very important

but when you watch the vast majority of

players play that are watching these

YouTube videos the mistake isn't the

precise way that they're swinging it

isn't the way that they're patting or

not patting the dog it isn't the fact

that they're not taking it at the Apex

or taking the ball on the rise the

problem is they're not set up in the

right position in time for their shots I

have a coaching program where I work

with players from all around the world

and players send me their videos for

technical analysis and 99 and I mean 99%

of the time the issue is nothing to do

with the biomechanics the issue is they

either didn't prepare quickly enough or

they weren't set up in the right

position for their shot now that might

not apply to you you might be one of the

players that needs to focus on some

particular aspect of the Swing but most

players that isn't the problem and one

of the reasons they never progressed in

terms of their technique is they you

know they're working on the for and and

they're worrying you know do I let go of

my rack at this point do I let go of my

rack at this point What's the correct

way to do the racket lag and all that

stuff when the real problem is they were

so close to the ball and they were

hitting the ball late that they didn't

have a chance of hitting a high quality

forehand and that's why they're never

able to fix the problem so you need need

to fix the first thing that's going

wrong in your stroke so that might mean

you need to focus on split stepping for

the next 6 months it might mean that you

need to focus on doing a unit turn for

the next few months until it's a habit

if you're working on your serve it might

mean that you just need to focus on the

ball toss and just getting into a good

loading position or maybe you're

starting from a half position and just

practicing the Ball Toss whatever the

first thing that's going wrong in your

Technique is that is what what you need

to spend time prioritizing now if you're

really good with the preparation and

you've got all that and you're a higher

level player then yeah definitely be

focusing on the the precise biomechanics

or whatever else you need to to focus on

and then you've got to take that

component that you're working on and now

what we're going to talk about is how to

actually perform the practice because

this is crucial as well just quickly

before we get to the next section on

practice I want to let you know about a

free tennis Vision starter program that

I've created for you cuz like I said

earlier in order to get better you have

to be capable of doing the things that

you're trying to do and the biggest

limitation for most players is the

visual system they can't read where the

ball's going quickly enough they can't

track it well enough they can't judge

distance and start their swing at the

right time so that's why I've created

this free Vision program to help you

improve your visual skills so you can

play higher level tennis I'll play a

place a link to the program up there and

I'll place a link down in the

description so you can start working on

it now that you know what you need to

work on we need to talk about how to

work on it because it's absolutely

crucial if you want to improve and

develop good habits and new technique

now at the start you're in the conscious

phase of learning so that means you have

to think about what you're doing

consciously so whatever I've decided

that I needed to do so say my problem is

my unit turn I'm not doing an effective

unit turn and I need to think about

doing my unit turn in a certain way I'm

going to have to think about those

movements because this isn't a natural

thing for people to do in everyday life

so you have to consciously think about

it okay I'm going to land from the split

step and as soon as I land I'm going to

rotate my upper body and my pelvis

together with my racket in this position

or this position or if you're on your

back hand this position whatever the

specifics of the unit turn that you're

doing are you have to focus on it and

you have to think about it and you have

to practice it at the right level of

difficulty and this is key and the level

of difficulty is going to depend on your

ability level so so for me or for

someone else the right level of

difficulty might be without a ball so

I'm working on my unit turn I need to

just practice doing this just doing my

unit turn over and over or maybe that's

too much maybe the split step is too

much maybe I just start by doing this

and then when I feel confident doing

this movement now I add in the split

step and maybe that's the right level of

difficulty

or maybe it needs to be a little bit

harder maybe you're past that and now

maybe you can do it using a ball machine

or someone feeding you the ball so

they're just feeding you the same ball

over and over again and all you're

thinking about is as they make contact

with the ball Landing from your split

step and doing the unit turn and

obviously you're going to try and hit

the shot and you're going to try and hit

the best shot that you can but your

focus is on the unit turn the only thing

that matters is did I land and did I do

that unit turn straight away if you hit

the ball Over The Back Fence it doesn't

matter because your job is to get the

unit turn so that's what you have to

practice at the right Lev level of

difficulty so often it's that

progression without the ball first then

with a really simple feed so just a

single feed you know exactly where it's

going that's kind of the next

progression then after that you can

challenge it by making the feed a little

bit more difficult so now maybe I'm

using a ball machine I'm feeding one

backhand and then I'm feeding one

forehand and all I'm working on is the

unit turn on the forehand the only

reason I fed the back hand is just to

distract me so that now when I come back

I've got to focus on the unit turn on

the forehand so the distraction is

taking my mind off the unit term so then

I've got to rethink about it and that

gives me the correct level of difficulty

to improve the unit turn the only thing

that I'm thinking about and then you

progress from there so maybe I'll just

work on a variety of feeds or now maybe

I can get into a rally situation and in

the rally situation all I am trying to

improve is the unit turn that's all I

care about how many times out of 10 did

I do the unit turn correctly again

doesn't matter where the ball goes It's

All About did I do the unit turn

correctly or if you're working on

something else say you are a more

advanced player and you're really

working on driving through your back hip

to initiate the kinetic ch pain on your

forehand or backhand all you're

evaluating yourself on is did I drive

through the hip appropriately on every

single shot so that's kind of how you

consciously think about something and

practice at the right level of

difficulty now we need to talk about the

number of repetitions it takes to go

from the conscious stage of learning

into the associative stage which is the

next stage and then how many it is to go

from the associative stage into the

autonomous stage where things are a

habit because that's where you need to

get to to if you want your new technique

to stick in a match so to go from the

cognitive to the associative stage where

you don't have to think about it so much

and it's not so kind of energy sapping

and focused it's about a thousand

repetitions so whatever it is that

you're thinking about or working on it's

a thousand high quality repetitions so

in the example I just gave it's a th

good repetitions of the unit turn to

move into the next phase and that takes

a decent amount of time I actually made

a video a few weeks ago maybe a month or

so ago where I was working on high

volleys now I'm naturally a right-handed

player unfortunately I injured my

collarbone in a mountain bik crash so

now I'm relearning to play left-handed

so I'm trying to become the best player

I can and one of the things I'm trying

to develop is a good attacking Net game

and I need to develop the habit of

keeping my head up through contact on

the volleys so I made a video and my

intent was to do a th000 volleys in one

session didn't know how long it was

going to take it took me about 3 hours

on the ball machine machine of just

continually volley volley volley volley

pick up the balls volley volley volley

so that was 3 hours to get through the

cognitive stage of learning and then

we've got another 9,000 repetitions as

we move through the associative stage to

get to the bit where it becomes a habit

so with those high volleys it's

effectively going to take me about 30

hours of practice 10,000 repetitions 30

hours of thinking about nothing else

other than keeping my head up on the

volley and that's what you need to do as

well it is a lot of repetitions to

create a new habit and this is why

players really struggle or one of the

many reasons players really struggle to

improve their technique because they

don't do enough repetitions thinking

about the same thing so if you're

working on your unit term you need

10,000 repetitions effectively maybe 30

hours worth of work just thinking about

the unit turn so that's a three you know

depending how off and you're playing if

you're playing three hours a week and

all you're doing is focus practice on

your forehand or on your backhand or

whichever side you're trying to improve

your unit turn on you know that's going

to take you 10 weeks of thinking about

nothing else now if you're not playing

three times a week it's going to take

you longer but that is how you actually

get better at stuff that's what you need

to do in terms of your practice you

can't shortcut the process the reason

that Pros are able to adjust their

technique is they spend so many hours on

court so they make an adjustment and

they do it but they just get 10,000 reps

done very quickly which is how they to

be able to progress so quickly but

obviously most people can't spend that

time that much time on court so you just

have to accept that if you want to

improve your Technique really develop

new habits high quality technique it

takes this length of time so it is

10,000 repetitions focusing on your unit

term then maybe 10,000 reps focusing on

your spacing then it's maybe 10,000 reps

focusing on driving through your hip to

start your kinetic chain and then it's

maybe 10,000 reps focusing on watching

the ball through contact done in that

order so that's 40 to 50,000 reps of

focus work to develop a high level

forehand or a relatively high level

forehand providing you've got the skill

to do it and that sounds like a lot but

this is the truth about how learning

works and how much effort it takes to

get better at tennis what most people do

is not this they try and do too many

things all in one go they try and do too

advanced a technique too early on in the

progression they end up not being able

to do it spinning their wheels getting

really frustrated and just getting stuck

at a certain level for most of their

life so hopefully you understand why I'm

explaining this to you I want you to

become a better tennis player and in

order for me to help you do that I have

to tell you the truth about how it works

there are thousands of videos out there

that say hit the ball like federa in

three simple steps learn jovic's backand

in 6 minutes 1 hour tennis

transformation these are the greatest

tennis players of all time we are not

going to learn their technique in 5

minutes there are no secrets to high

level tennis and professional techniques

it is about mastering the basics and

mastering the basics takes time you need

to practice in the right way you need to

focus on the right thing you need to do

enough high quality repetitions until it

becomes a new habit then you move on to

the next thing and that is how you

develop high level technique or better

technique and really become a better

tennis playero

okay so hopefully that all made sense

hopefully you found it helpful if you

got any questions about what I've

covered here leave your comments down in

the comment section I always look

forward to reading them a reminder about

the free Vision program Vision really is

the biggest limiting factor for most

people even with amazing practice if you

can't see the ball well you're only

going to get so far so a reminder about

that free program and I will catch you

next time