As I mentioned in my previous blog post, tennis is challenging. Perhaps there exists only a handful of the fortunate few that experience it otherwise, but for most mortals (including myself) picking up the sport – let alone mastering it – has proven to be a gargantuan task. HOWEVER it should NOT feel difficult. That is, the challenges of tennis deriving from its rather steep learning curve and (one might also add:) large court size is not – and should not be – commensurate to the intended effort in playing tennis, for it should feel effortless – that it (in the spirit of the blog) flows.

To put it yet another way,

The High Challenge of Learning Tennis ≠ Playing Tennis Must Feel Difficult.

Are you finding the above equation to be true in your own game – or not?

Consider the following: have you been playing and learning for some time but still feel that somehow hitting a forehand is akin to swinging a steel club (with gritted teeth)? Or when you habitually exert so much energy on the serve only to see the ball land anywhere but the service box – and if it does land in, the ball speed is, at times, ludicrously and unjustifiably slow from what you input? Or how about feeling surprised (and a tad bit of envy) that Mary – which you are almost certain is at the same level of fitness as you are – plays tennis as if strolling in the park but you, running a 100m sprint? And not to mention the nagging injuries – you know, the tennis elbow, the wrist strain, the lower back pain – that seem inevitable and (resigned to) the necessary evils one has to suffer to play tennis.

So if the above is true for you, firstly know that playing tennis ought not to be difficult, and secondly that there is hope. It will (indeed) take not a few blog posts to do justice in unpacking the “solution” but in a nutshell, the key lies in optimally employing and engaging your whole body to play tennis – what sport scientist term as “biomechanics”. And yes although learning and mastering the use of one’s body and applying it to tennis takes time and effort, once mastered, playing tennis would become less of a strain and more carefree (keeping pain and those injuries at bay), more effortless, and even more enjoyable.

But not to get too far ahead of ourselves, and for the purpose of this article, adopting the RIGHT BELIEF (i.e. playing tennis ought not to feel difficult) is also key and truly the first vital step in exacting change and to a more effortless Federer-esqe game!

Change happens through movement, and movement heals.

Jospeh Pilates