Category: Monthly Challenge

November’s Challenge: The Split Step

I can always spot a tennis pro on the court before she even hits the ball. How? She split steps. More than power and spin and aces, it’s that little hop that distinguishes the serious player from, well, me. (The power, spin, and aces just confirm it.)

I have no trouble chasing down lobs or sprinting to cover a drop volley. And I can usually master the little adjustment steps needed to set up for a groundstroke, at least on a good day.

But the split step, the smallest of the tennis footwork repertoire, always trips me up. For the life of me, I can’t remember to do it. Even if a coach prompts me to split step, I feel clumsy and stupid. I’m sure I look ridiculous as well. Continue reading “November’s Challenge: The Split Step” →

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October’s Half-Challenge

I just returned from my annual physical. I love my physician–she’s thorough, respectful, and engaged. Routine physicals can sometimes feel, well, routine, with the same questions asked in the same order, year after year. Do you use sunscreen? Do you smoke? How much do you drink? Despite the script, my doctor still manages to make me feel like she cares.

She already knows about my tennis addiction, so when we got to the exercise question, she asked what else I did. I went through my usual spiel. “Well, I really like to run, but I don’t do it very often. And I know I should be lifting weights, but…” I trailed off with a shrug and a smile and looked at her expectantly. This is the point when we normally share a chuckle over my all-too-human failings and move on to other business. Continue reading “October’s Half-Challenge” →

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Dumbo at the Net

A number of years ago, I had a standing weekly date to play singles with my friend Megan. She was a lot better than I was (still is), but I did my best to keep up with her.

Being at heart a doubles player, I’d come to the net at any opportunity. Coming to net was rarely successful against Megan who could rifle passing shots from even the most improbable positions. Unfortunately, rallying with her from the baseline wasn’t a good strategy, either, so I just went to the net and got passed. Over and over. Very discouraging.

One day during a water break, after she’d passed me yet again to win the game, she said, “It’s so funny. You’re not a big person, but when you rush the net, you sound like a herd of elephants.” Continue reading “Dumbo at the Net” →

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August’s Tennis Challenge: Hydration

(In talking to a friend the other day, I realized I had given short shrift to my August hydration challenge. Here’s a longer post about this month’s goal…)

You know how every problem in your life is your mother’s fault? Well, here’s another one I’m adding to my list: Ignoring my thirst. Continue reading “August’s Tennis Challenge: Hydration” →

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July/August Tennis Challenges

August is here, which means it’s time to review the results of my monthly challenge for July…and set a new one!

I’m not going to lie to you. July was tough. My goal was to hit 3,100 serves, or an average of 100 a day for 31 days. If you recall, my goal evolved from simply adding a knee bend to learning an entirely new service motion.

I can’t count July as a success. I tried to adjust my mindset, picked out cute outfits as incentives, and watched a Sharapova serving video as my model. But I neither reached 3,100 serves nor came anywhere near mastering my new motion. If anything, my serve is worse than it was before. Continue reading “July/August Tennis Challenges” →

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The Serving Challenge Update (with Bonus Face-off!)

I’m on day eight of my July Tennis Challenge. For those who aren’t following this blog as closely as they should, my plan is to improve my serve by serving 100 balls a day.

All I initially planned to do was add a knee bend to my current service motion. That by itself would present a challenge as I’d have to get used to an altered rhythm and timing. But the change was small, and I felt confident of eventual success.

But then my club pro got involved. He was unimpressed with my simple knee bend idea. (Really, he’s been unimpressed with my serve from the day I met him, particularly my serving grip. Every year, he’s after me to change. Every year, I tell him it’s not happening.) Continue reading “The Serving Challenge Update (with Bonus Face-off!)” →

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July’s Tennis Goal

I play fewer competitive matches during the summer, which makes this the perfect time for tinkering with the mechanics of my game. (I never want to be transitioning to a new stroke when my team is in the midst of a season!)

My game offers so many areas for improvement: get more bite on my slice, increase the topspin on my forehand, keep my eye on the ball more, split step, finish my shot, improve the consistency of my service toss, develop more punch on my backhand volley….

That’s a lot to think about, and too often I fail to improve in any area because I’m spreading my focus too thin.

So I decided to take the month of July to work on only one thing–beefing up my serve. I already have a decent serve, but I can add more zip by incorporating a knee bend. Continue reading “July’s Tennis Goal” →

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