Balance
Your Balance
Balance is the most important aspect of tennis. You won’t get far if you aren’t able to get your balance down. The reason balance is so critical is because it can help you maintain a proper swing of your racket, as well as help you control the ball. After all, the point of tennis is to hit the ball exactly where you need it to go.
To prepare your body for the balance required while playing tennis, you have to forget every other aspect of balance you use in your everyday life. Balance in tennis is significantly different from this.
In life, we keep our balance by leaning into your arms and using them to adjust ourselves. In tennis, leaning actually hurts your form, which ends up hurting your game. The same is said if you lean into your legs. Your entire body will be thrown off balance and this can cause both tensions in your body and pain as you try to accomplish certain swings with your racket. So, why do you need to stop leaning in?
- As you lean when you’re getting ready to take a shot with the ball, you prevent the smooth flow of your movements.
- Your upper body is thrown out of alignment and your arms don’t have the power they need to swing or guide the racket properly. This causes you to have jerky, fast movements rather than trained, precise swings.
- As you lean, the angle of your racket changes as well, and this impacts how you hit the ball.
So, how exactly do you get the perfect balance during a game of tennis?
Your balance will allow you to quickly accelerate movement, decelerate movement, and change your positioning so you can hit the ball right where you want to. Balance in tennis means your entire body is in line, with all of its parts.
Each aspect of your body plays a role in your balance, from your upper body to your legs. They all need to be in line and communicating with each other to get your perfect balance. Instead of adjusting with your upper body, let your legs do the adjusting and support for you.
Tennis is luckily a game many people can play, despite their athletic prowess. But for anyone, balance is key. Some people will find their own balance naturally while others will need to work hard to maintain their balance on the court. However, practice will pay off once you find yourself adjusting your body and making those shots how you want them to play out. As you continue to read through this guide, you will see aspects of balance in the next few sections as well. To get you started, here are some tips as you begin to delve into balancing your body to set you up for success:
- Try practicing on a smaller tennis court at first. This way you can practice the balance you need and create muscle memory with the movements you need to make in order to accomplish the right pull-through for your shots. Take it slow at first and focus on simply getting the ball to the other side of the court. Then focus on getting the ball to specific areas on the other side of the court.
- Let your weight do its job naturally. As you focus on your balance, you will use your weight to line up your shots. Then you will also have the right amount of force when you use the right type of hand motion.
- Let your shoulders guide your arm as you move towards the shot you want to take, then let your legs do the work to maintain your balance instead of your upper body.
Spend the time you need on balance without getting overly frustrated with yourself. We all started somewhere, and you can only get better from this point forward.
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