Watch Tennis
Watch tennis. Study tennis. Learn tennis. This is one of the easiest things to do and extremely educational.
I spent countless hours watching tennis as a child. My dad would put on every VHS tape he could get his hands on. He would record every tennis match on tv so we could dissect the match every time practice was rained out.
Yes, rain outs back then didn’t just mean a day off. We found other ways to get better. Just like we’re going to do now and any time we can’t get on a court.
As a current coach on the professional tour, I watch hundreds of hours of video scouting opponents and watching my own player to see what things need to be improved. Watching matches is a tool widely used by the best coaches in the world and with today’s technology it’s a tool available to you as well.
If you’re a junior tennis player and trying to study the game, get on Youtube. Search for things such as junior tennis matches and filter your search for videos greater than 20 minutes long. This way you can find some full matches. It’s important to watch junior tennis matches instead of the classic Djokovic/Nadal matches because you’ll learn what it takes to get to the top of your own age divisions. Watching the Djokovic/Nadal matches are more entertaining but it’s hard to learn what you should implement in your own game because they have to hit so many ridiculously great shots to win that it’s unrealistic to copy them. You won’t need to do things like that to get to the top of your own division.
Here’s how to study a match:
Watch one player consistently. Don’t watch where their shot goes or their opponent. Just watch one player. Study their technique, their footwork, how they’re using their legs, their grips and what they’re doing in between points. What are their routines like? Can you tell when their body language is positive or negative? How do they behave during the important points in a match? Do they take more or less time in between points? What are their serves like? Do they volley well? Look for everything you can think of.
Then watch the other player and do the same.
Next, start watching the rallies. Can you pick up any patterns from each opponent? Is there a certain play that works more often? How do most of their unforced errors occur? When do they come to the net? Do they have any specific footwork patterns when they’re hitting out of corners? Again, look for anything that happens consistently.
Then, if you were each opponents coach, what would you tell them?
Finally, is there anything you’ve noticed that you want to implement in your own game? Or maybe you saw something you want to avoid. If you’re not sure just keep watching matches. The more you watch tennis, the more you’ll familiarize yourself with which techniques are successful and which break down. You’ll learn how the best players construct points, when they change direction and when they come to the net.
Become a student of the game. All professional athletes from Lebron James to Tom Brady continue to watch tape and study the game. If you want to get to the top, you should watch too.
For the adults interested in watching, there are some adult league matches on Youtube as well! Just type in adult league tennis matches and start watching.
If you’re a parent, put on the tennis channel. Keep your kids connected to the game. They’ve been showing replays of exciting matches from recent years. If your child is relatively new to the game this is a great way to get them involved. Show them what tennis at the highest level looks like. Express your enthusiasm for tennis as well. If you’re excited to watch, they’ll be excited to watch. If you’re not that into tennis but want your kids to get involved because it’s a great sport, then sit next to them and pretend you love tennis! If you turn it on just to keep them entertained and then leave the room, it won’t work. They’ll be asking for the Xbox or Netflix soon enough.
Below is a list of a few junior tennis matches. Click on them but they’re not the only ones on Youtube. Watch any full match. A full match is important because there are a lot of ups and downs throughout a match and it’s important to see how they’re handled. Depending on the match it could take anywhere between 1-2.5 hours to finish so remember to take a break. You don’t have to watch the whole match in one sitting but finish it at some point.
If you have any questions regarding a match, let me know! Send me your notes. I’ll go over them with you.
If you’re interested in doing a zoom meeting and going over some matches, I’m available for that as well. If there are enough requests we can have a class with live Q&A.
2017 Junior US Open - Osuigwe vs Bilokin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZkIAnVY9ig
USTA Junior Team Tennis 14u National Championships
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3cxOwOdaKQ
2019 Girls 12u Super Auray World Championships
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvyN6T_Xtf8
2018 Boys 12’s National Clay Championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFmdqf75nwA
2013 USTA Boys Orange Ball Florida Junior State Closed Championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO-sVeoz35k
2016 Boys 14u European Junior Championships
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6yEl9cqv4M