If you're looking to improve your tennis game, adding a few technological training wrinkles can isolate your weaknesses and improve your strengths. Here are some tennis training technology hacks to improve your game this summer.
Slow It Down
Tennis is a series of explosive motions and split-second decisions. When it comes to figuring out what aspects of your game need to be improved, slowing down the game can focus your training approaches.
Slow Motion
One of the most common areas of weakness for tennis players is racket angle. From over-rotating to under-rotating, having the wrong angle can lead to errant shots and serves. You can pinpoint your problem by having a friend or coach take slow-motion video of you making several types of shots. For instance, you might take a series of slow-motion videos of serves. When shooting these types of shots, it's important to see the racket angle and the shot trajectory. After shooting several shots, look for patterns in the video. These patterns can be isolated by pausing the video in the frames that capture the shot. When you notice that a shot doesn't hit its mark, look again at your racket angle. Once you detect a pattern, you can work on changing your racket angle to improve your accuracy.
Get It Pumping
Endurance is an often overlooked part of a successful tennis match. You can improve your endurance on the court by capturing and analyzing physiological data points.
HR Zones
Many tennis players struggle to improve their aerobic fitness. For tennis matches, aerobic fitness is all about decreasing your heart rate between points and efficiently buffering lactic acid. You can improve both facets of aerobic fitness by investing in a heart rate monitor. These devices can help you see how hard your heart is working to keep you going. When you get a heart rate monitor, you should aim to get several bouts of aerobic exercise with the goal of maintaining a 130-140 heart rate. This can be completed with a jog before or after a match. It can also be completed with a swim, bike ride, or cardio equipment at your gym. For more intense heart rate zones, you'll need to do higher-intensity workouts. Using your heart rate monitor to regulate your intensity, complete a HIIT workout or a series of sprints after practice. You can also wear your heart rate monitor while you play to see how fatigue impacts other parts of your game.
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