I recently completed a product launch with good friend Jeff Greenwald who is regarded as one of the world’s leading experts in the mental skills required for tennis players.
Jeff walks the walk as he just won the 2012 World Seniors Championships 45s singles title.
During our launch, one of the things we discussed a ton was how do we actually apply specific mindsets to specific shots.
We coined this the “Triple S Winning Formula”.
S1 – Strategy. What’s the shot type and direction you’re going to now play given where you are on the court and where your opponent is on the court?
S2 – Stroke. What’s your #1 stroke technique cue that you know will help you technically play this next shot correctly?
S3 – State. What’s the specific mindset state you need to have to make the first two S’s happen?
The video below is going to show you what my 2nd S is for my forehand groundstroke.
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Hello Brent:
Regarding S1 for singles, as you well know I have been experimenting with a wide variety of strategies over the past several years. I have finally settled in now with a point structure that is based on using crosscourt rallies to open up the court and create a short ball, that I got from Dan McCain. It’s a base concept or foundational concept that allows me to add additional tactics, like going deep and short down the center etc., yet still applying the base foundation throughout the match. It includes paying attention to the court position of your opponent and yourself within the DNO concept. And allows for breaking the “rules” for good cause and customization.
Having this foundation means I can, from the start, engage this foundation at the beginning of the match, then as I go and pick up on what my opponent is doing to me and I to him, make adjustments without abandoning the basic foundation.
So, this is a big confidence builder for me, better than any mental tactic I have run across, and I’m able to build my strokes into it and make tactical adjustment as I go. I just start off with the foundation and then go forward from there.
Regarding S2, the most powerful thing for me is to stay in the moment with the ball. There is no more powerful technique that I have experienced for me, than simply staying in the moment with the ball. I really work hard to hit every ball this way, which is to say I just don’t look up quickly to see where the ball is going, though I do reduce my in the moment time when I’m at the net.
I look down at the ball and then as I hit the ball, based on how it feels, I imagine where the ball is going. This keeps my head still and my eyes focused on the contact zone. It also gives me a headstart as I often use my imagination as my “tell” to guide me to my next court position. When I do look up, I don’t look for my ball, but look to see where my opponent is and how they are reacting to my ball. As they hit my ball, I then try to pick it back up to see if it is coming back where and how it is coming to me.
The increase in consistency and quality of my spin, direction, and pace of my shots, but using this technique, is incredible for me. But, it requires a tremendous amount of relaxation and concentration to maintain this focus throughout a double or a singles match.
Hi Rodger.
That’s a terrific simple and concise strategy that helped Andre Agassi transform his game from being streaky to one of the most successful players out there.
Going high percentage by playing cross court UNTIL you get something you can approach on is an exercise in discipline.
The only way to make it feel natural is to practice it over and over (which I know you do).
Same for me for S2 which it to keep the head and eyes down until I can “feel” contact and get feedback as to where my shot has gone.
That technique has to be a staple for every shot I play.
Keep workin RS.
Brent
Sorry, forgot to mention that a critical element of my employing this foundational strategy are my efforts to create neutral and neutralizing balls.
I took hold of this strategy, not only based on my experiences, but also based on my belief that most players I play against try to hit winners or force errors from the baseline in a manner that I can only describe as a random series of shots from a random number of locations on the court, with little structure or consistency in how they set up their points.
I find that many players blow up under the pressure of being forced to hit most of the winners and trying to force errors out of me…unless of course they are significantly more skilled in their shot-making than I am.
You know, we could have a simple strategy based solely on the geometry of the court.
What’s the highest percentage shot selection at any given moment during a point?
It’s based not only on where you are on the court and where your opponent is as well, but also the heights of the net and the lengths of the court.
Brent
I think {therefore I sometimes am
) }
that when you link together moment by moment the geometry, heights and lengths, and mutual court positioning i.e. basic DNO, that’s gotta be part of a solid basic foundation.
And focusing on hitting deep and short seems to be a lot less effective concept for me than the goal of pushing my opponent several feet off the baseline with a topspin loop and then bringing them in close to the service line with a shallow low bouncing slice or drop shot… as a one/two punch in doubles or singles.
Regarding S1 in doubles: Recently the top local 7.5 doubles team made up of a lot of players I know, got trounced at the district level. When they returned they complained about the high quality of serves, that some of the players seemed way too good for that level, etc.
Note: my local team brought in a new, but plays regularly locally, solid 4.0 player having sandbagged him into it with a 3.5 rating on the assumption that the USTA doesn’t focus too much on combo ratings.
On the other hand, my friend “C” who has been regularly engaging me in doubles strategy conversations, went down for the first of two days to watch and his comments when he returned were a bit different. He mentioned that as we well knew our local team was primarily playing using singles shots and singles tactics, whereas the winning team was using doubles shots and doubles tactics.
Apparently, the winning team had invested in doubles coaching and had also been actually doing real practice drills and not just playing together for “practice” as my local team does (that I’m not a part of).
This was also the first time that all of these guys, who are from the same foreign country by the way, played without anyone from any country other than their country. When they came back they were pretty sullen & individually humiliated, having been the top team from our area going into districts.
The teaching pro I regularly see also encourages his students to use mental cues for various strokes.
He’s a little younger than you Brent (i.e., he could be your son), so he teaches a modern looking forehand. I have been focusing on my left arm extending out towards the side fence, instead of pointing at the ball technique that I learned back in the wooden racket days. That one thing keeps my left shoulder in the shot longer (I am a righty) and also helps me load my right glut and quad.
From there I can flatten out the stroke, or play the ball back a little farther in my stance and change my swing for more topspin.
But the mental cue of getting that left arm up and extended cues the whole thing.
Great tip!
Dave
Hi Dave.
Whatever works best to help you perform the stroke consistently should be your go to match cue.
I’m not a big fan of the arm pointing too far across me because I feel it acts like a barrier to keep me from moving forward.
Yes, it does get your shoulder turned, but for me at least, it gets in the way of naturally moving forward.
Brent
Hey Brent,
Long time no write for me. Good to see you are blocking out the non-members in the first instance on this and I hope perhaps many more teaching tips to follow. At least now I feel like making the effort to comment.
Stopping that front shoulder rotating early is a required focus for me when taking to a hard court. I mostly play on artificial grass with sand and the timing is so very different to a hard court. When the ball doesn’t slide low and fast like it does on the dreaded omni courts (as they call them here in the dar east) it is all too easy to screw up one’s timing when taking to a hard court like I did today. Luckily I caught your three point lesson before the tournament and it helped me to focus well in the early rounds before the rain ruined a fun day.
Do you ONLY play on hard courts there in the the US, I wonder? None of these artificial surfaces for any tournaments or matches – and therefore no serious timing adjustments necessary?
Meanwhile keep up the good work…but perhaps lose that old fogeyish music at the beginning of the video? You are younger than that Brent, are you not?
Hi Charlie. In California we play on hard courts 95% of the time.
Saying that, I was just down in Pam Springs where Mai and I won a grass court tournament.
Wish we had more grass and clay for sure …
Brent
Brent,
Congratulations on your mixed doubles win. Hope you are able to get more this year!
Meanwhile, I can’t help noticing you that you have replied to over 30 comments on the open site in front of commenting on either Rodger’s, Dave’s or my comments above. Are you sure you have your priorities right here ? We are your paying customers/members, and how ever few our numbers might be surely you should give us attention in front of the hundreds of free-loaders out there? That is what I signed up for and that’s what I expect.
What’s the deal? I want to continue supporting you but at present I see no benefit to being a paid up member at all and feel I might as well join the free loaders!
Your comment?
Ah! There you have it. So you’re already up to date with our victory.
Still figuring what specific content should be available for members and non-members.
I’ll get there …
Brent