I call it the “Watch this”
phenomenon. Anytime one of my players says “Hey coach, what this!” I know that
a.) I will get hit, b.) They will hurt themselves c.) They’ll hurt someone
else, or d.) they will look stupid. And that’s putting it lightly. Typically
the “Watch this” phenomenon doesn’t have to do a lot with tennis but rather
with things that involve the racquet, the ball, and/or the cart. Typical “Watch
this” moments include trying to hit the ball through/over/on top of an
inanimate object (which, of course, begs the question—why?), trying to do
something “fancy” like bounce the ball against the frame of the racquet, or
hitting the ball against the fence, only to mishit the ball, hit it against the
pole that holds the fence up, and narrowly missing death with the ball grazing
the hair on the top of the head. Ah, never a dull moment.
But the “Watch this” phenomenon
trickles into tennis as well sometimes. I see it most at the net. A player will
set up the point well, hit a great approach shot, get the soft, high volley
that they want to easily put away, only to try and hack at the ball in a way
that it bounces “all fancy” or drops just below the net, of course missing
their valiant attempt at what I call an “ESPN shot,” which I may or may not
have borrowed from my college coach Jen Hyde.
Once in
a while I see an ambitious player try and hit a drop shot off of a ball they
clearly should have simply tried to hit through. Once in a while I see same
said ambitious player try and hit a tweener (through the legs) during a
tournament match. Once in a while I see the sneaky attempts of an off pace shot
when one is simply not necessary. Tennis, even though we can make it super
complex with our talk of fitness, technique, nutrition, mental game— is a
simple sport. The concept is even easier—get the ball in the court more than
your opponent. When you have a simple put away volley, shot, or approach shot,
just put it away. There is no need for the “Watch this” phenomenon, whether it
be on the court playing or on the court thinking of something to do that
warrants a “don’t be stupid” teacher look.
Putting
away high volleys is the toughest part, I think, of shot making. The biggest
element to this shot is to avoid the “Watch this” that may take over. Don’t
swig, but rather, add a little bit more of a decisive push forward with your
feet, and add a little bit more angle down to the volley to get it in, without
flipping your racquet head over.
