4 Things Your Tennis Development is Missing
The biggest difference between the best junior tennis players and everyone else is how well structured their development was. No child made it to the top by random chance. By the age of 12-14, their development started to be planned for success. And the development plan for those lagging behind was consistently missing four things. Those four things are:
Tournaments - (If healthy for a full year) Play a minimum of 20 tournaments a year. Around 25 is the sweet spot. 30 might be the max one should play. A player usually reaches 30 events if they’ve had many early round exits. This means their bodies are still fresh and they’re able to play more matches.
These tournaments should be a mix of different levels. It’s said that a winning percentage of around 60% is best for kids. Too far below that means they’re not winning enough matches and gaining the confidence to stay highly motivated. Too high above 60% and they’re not being challenged enough. Their game will stop developing at some point. The player might even get bored and lose interest.
These tournaments should also be played on different surfaces. This is important because it helps develop a complete player. Clay courts help a player develop great movement and the skills to be more creative during points.
Practices Sets/Matches - Multiple practice sets or matches should be played each week. If you have a tournament on the weekend then try to play a full practice match early in the week. Too many kids simply drill all week and then expect to play matches well. Drills aren’t matches. At some point you have to practice going through the ups and downs of a match. When I travel with a pro to an event, they’ll play at least 5 practice sets the week before the first round starts. Some play even more.
Gym/Fitness - The best juniors in the country (and in the world) go to the gym 3-5 times a week. High level tennis cannot be sustained without the muscle strength to support it . This work should include lifting weights, medicine ball throws, tennis specific foot drills, and proper stretching.
Video Analysis - This is to see what the best are doing and what you’re not. What does their footwork look like? What strategies do they use? What techniques are they using to each shot with? What’s their attitude like in-between points?
And when you’re watching video, you’re studying multiple groups: professionals, top 18u, and top kids your age.
It’s important to study the best kids your age so you can see what’s possible, with the proper work, at your age. It’s hard to imagine doing some of the things Federer does when you’re 13, but when you see a peer do it, it can be motivating. However, if you’re in the “you’re born with talent or not” camp, then comparing yourself to others can be demoralizing. In this case, I would kindly suggest looking over the science that proves talent doesn’t exist. And with the right mindset, passion, and training methods, anyone can be great.
Review your training program. Are you doing what I mentioned above? If not, stop wasting time, and make adjustments! Your game will make a huge jump with even 1 of these things. Imagine all 4!
If you are doing those things, then great! Stick to it. At some point, the results will come. I promise. I can’t promise when, but I can promise that if you do the right things, at some point amazing things will happen.