In this video I'll discuss why having great depth is the KEY to not getting attacked from the baseline. Click here to listen to my podcast podcasts.apple...
Thank you for this informative video. I am a lady, 67, and have won 3 ITF senior titles.. Last week I played against my son, a very good player.. I lost 6:0, and my son told me not to hit short.. I immediately upped my game and started hitting deep. That together with hitting hard first serves ( I tend to play safe and serve pretty easy to attack first serves) helped me get a game off him in the second set.
What you taught was exactly what i worked on right after my chemo and radiation. I was a little weak and my friend told me to aim the fence. In a few months, i was successful. Then he told me to tone it down to aim at the baseline. Cheers to your instruction.
@@StokkeTennis You talk about unstoppable groundstrokes. Well I have a pronation slice drive on the backhand that allows me to aim just a few inches to 1-2 feet high above the netcord to drive it deep up into the baseline. I use a low to high swing with the flat grip.... Because I had changed the grip that allows me to slice drive the ball anywhere from 20-100 mph and always going deep up into the court and up into the baseline even off difficult low short balls the slice will still clear low over the net and going up into the baseline. This is not the normal slow floating or hover slice or big slow balloons that fall weak and short in the court that you usually see in club rec tennis. But this has got pace and has a dipping spin element on it but its also a slice drive because of the way the ball behaves when it bounces, or either skids heavy staying down low in the court or bounce away from people... Effective also against short weak difficult low balls.
Watching how she backs up to reset after each is such a good visual. I can get my shots deep but am often with my weight going backwards for the next return. So good to have the visual of what I need to adjust! Thank you!
Great stuff! Recently in matches I’ve been too focused on my swing path and was wondering why I’m getting attacked on so many points. I’ve completely abandoned the deep shot and I’ve been paying the price with my opponents running me all over the court. Thanks so much for this quick lesson. Can’t wait to get back on the court!
Thanks for yet another awesome coaching video! Your content is somehow always spot on with exactly what I need to work on. 100% needed to do more of this in my last singles match. Every short ball from me was punished by my opponent.
I totally agree with you on playing with depth. It works all the time! (Vic Braden always talks about this too when he was alive) I play with opponents who hit the tennis balls much harder and faster than me and my goal is always to play deep in order to get the error off their rackets or to get a short ball in return that I could attack. Great content! ❤I am a fun of your channel and a subscriber ❤
Love your coaching style. Clear, concise, and to the point. I’ve been watching a bunch of senior matches on TH-cam, I’m 63, and I view them through the Stokke lens. So many of these senior players break the Stokke 6 rules and I’m amazed at how many hit the ball short to the service line. If I’m gonna miss I’m not gonna miss into the net; I’m gonna miss long! Great stuff! Quick question, what do you do to get those bulging calf muscles? I’m an avid backpacker and my calves pale in comparison to yours….
I was hitting this morning with my buddy who hits a heavy ball on both sides, what I do against him is I play back off the baseline and swing as hard as I can through the ball and we hit 20 and 30 ball rallies like this and the ball stays inside the baseline, when I play a set against him I sometimes hit the ball on the fly to through off his rhythm,and get him to reach faster which creates a error sometimes. The guy runs 28 mile marathons so he doesn’t get tired and he gets every thing back with pace. So I have to give myself time to get to the ball and react quickly! Since I started playing tennis again, I have been working on speed and quickness to get to the ball as early as I can. Thank you coach for the great videos you put out! I truly appreciate your hard work on this channel my friend. Thank you
@@kesun32145 I don’t know my level I haven’t been rated in over 23 years but my friend plays in a 4.0 league and is a really good player and is fast as a rabbit!
Depth is the great equalizer: Prevents opponent from going on offense. Can turn defense into neutral by buying time. A high, deep shot to the backhand is one of the most likely shots to generate a short ball I can attack.
hi coach jonathan. im a first time viewer and just subscribed. i like your video content, lots of great information and your presentation verbal skills are perfect. ive found some other coaches come off arrogant or annoying. keep up the good work and have a great fathers day weekend. coach dudley
@@StokkeTennis My main issue on BH wing is defensive backhands. I tend to hit my BH very flat compared to my FH which I do high launch with loads of topspin. Now when I am in a position to attack the ball with my BH, it's solid depthwise. But when I am pushed on defense, I tend to hit it exactly the same, usually leading to an error hitting the net. Need to practice defensive backhands more, and to learn to recognize faster if it's going to be a defensive or neutral/offensive BH and then apply the correct type of BH shot.
@StokkeTennis - thank you for another great video. I really enjoy your videos and I am learning a lot. Question, somewhat unrelated - what are your sunglasses? I struggle with playing in the sun, and your glasses look like they provide a good coverage.
I don't wholly agree. I think the most important is direction. The second ball you hit (slow, high, and deep), while not attack-able, it is very much a shot which can be taken advantage of and used to set up an attack-able shot. Being able to move your opponent side to side and diagonally will take you farther than just hitting deep.
@@StokkeTennis Certainly, if they have decent footwork. But if you pull your opponent off the court, their attack has to be very precise (low percentage), and if they don't execute, they are in a bad position.
@@jackerylel yea about that... my fav player was nadal so i developed a lot of spin naturally, I just gotta aim shorter. I think my launch angle is a little too high on those shots
@@marcosvivoni1944 ah yea then you prob have the hitting face facing the sky instead of parallel to the net or even slightly closed/ covering the ball.
Judy Murray talks about working in opposites like you mentioned. Hit the fence. Now hit the service line. Love how your drills do the teaching. Your students always look like they are having fun. Great content.
What some call a "moon-ball", I call a lob. I'm an older guy and play only doubles, and I love hitting low lobs just beyond the reach of the opposition's net player, or when both charge the net. Just yesterday, during a five or six shot volley rally at the net, I suddenly unleashed a low lob into the other team's far corner--they had about zero chance. I love improving my game, and I also love winning rather than losing...
I call this a rising lob. Its a shot that is rising as it pass the opponent. Peaks behind him and falls straight down. Cannot be effectively taken with an smash.
The height over the net, those 3 ft, I have to try and get to them! I play too close above the net, and despite speed balls land short.. gotta aim higher!
Do you track your players w/ swingvision shot maps? When we see a pro in a baseline rally hit ball landing short of the service line, is that really a mistake/error? assuming they're not trying to pull the guy to the net or something? Should those shots be destroyed? It seems those shorter balls have enough spin and drive to reach the baseline so usually it seems like they get a neutral response.
Hitting short isn't a problem most of the time, especially at the amateur level. Missing is a problem though. So hitting deep AND being consistent is the goal, but being consistent and short is way better than deep and erratic.
Hello coach, in one of your previous videos, you advised targeting a certain height over the net instead of targeting a spot on a court. And now you are advising to target close to baseline. Which is better?
Imagine ... Flip the court up above the net like a Heads Up Display. Just aim spots on the HUD screen. You never net and very quickly learn the spots which never vary no matter where you launch from.
Question, I do aim and hit pretty deep but a couple of high level opponents I play take the ball super early on the rise and constantly push me around. Should I try to put more height in ball?
You could, and you could also try mixing up spins. But again, even if they take it on the rise if you're hitting in the back third they shouldn't be able to run you too much
Tilden's go to shot per Matchplay and The Spin of The Ball. Deep medium pace high FLAT drive. Perfect defensive escape/reset AND if xcourt effective safe attack. If you own no other groundie this is the one. Cannot be volleyed effectively: tricky high bounce with no incoming pace. Wait for a short line reply to slice to a side T. This the longest diagonal. Repeat till opponent surrenders. You never lose...but its boring as heck...which is why l play dubs. Me against two on every shot while supporting random partners is a more interesting challenge which improves my tools.
No you couldn’t attack that ball, because you would have to get the ball on the fly, on all the balls you hit! I have been working on hitting the ball deeper and hitting on the ball on the fly! It’s tough to do though!
Awesome content! I'm a video editor and thumbnail designer for sports channels. Your videos are great, but with some snappy edits and eye-catching thumbnails, we could really make them pop. Interested in taking your channel to the next level?
I really like your videos, working with my students. I tell them from a neutral postion or point building situation hit two feet over the net, but move the top of the arch to the opposite side serves line and at least six feet over it. That will ensure that your opponent, which is 4 to 5 feet behind the baseline, is hitting a ball that is rising up and out of their strike zone instead of dropping into their strike zone Your shoots all show that, great job
I think that is where the 7-foot comment came from they see the max height easier than the height of the ball at the net. Control the arc control your opponent. Once again great job.
Thank you for your generous contributions through these very clear and informative videos. The high, loopy topspin crosscourt shot is an effective way to neutralize an active net player who poaches and who is also difficult to lob. The crosscourt high, loopy ball that you demonstrated is very effective because it is out of the reach of the poacher, and it pushes the baseliner back when it hits, often forcing a weak reply that our net person puts away. It’s refreshing to see the way you teach finesse, not just power.
Thanks for pointing this out, you might be right. Wonder what Stokke says? How about a deep & heavy ball? But the point of this video is if you could only have 1 and what is the most important for not getting attacked
![[Full] 4 ต่อ 4 Celebrity EP.910 | 22 ก.ย. 67 | one31](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4TR3MVpOiw8/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for this informative video.
I am a lady, 67, and have won 3 ITF senior titles.. Last week I played against my son, a very good player.. I lost 6:0, and my son told me not to hit short.. I immediately upped my game and started hitting deep. That together with hitting hard first serves ( I tend to play safe and serve pretty easy to attack first serves) helped me get a game off him in the second set.
What you taught was exactly what i worked on right after my chemo and radiation. I was a little weak and my friend told me to aim the fence. In a few months, i was successful. Then he told me to tone it down to aim at the baseline.
Cheers to your instruction.
I like your friend’s style! And hope you’re feeling better
Get strong soon❤
@@StokkeTennis You talk about unstoppable groundstrokes. Well I have a pronation slice drive on the backhand that allows me to aim just a few inches to 1-2 feet high above the netcord to drive it deep up into the baseline. I use a low to high swing with the flat grip.... Because I had changed the grip that allows me to slice drive the ball anywhere from 20-100 mph and always going deep up into the court and up into the baseline even off difficult low short balls the slice will still clear low over the net and going up into the baseline. This is not the normal slow floating or hover slice or big slow balloons that fall weak and short in the court that you usually see in club rec tennis. But this has got pace and has a dipping spin element on it but its also a slice drive because of the way the ball behaves when it bounces, or either skids heavy staying down low in the court or bounce away from people... Effective also against short weak difficult low balls.
Great advice. Thanks you. I'm 68 years old.
Millions of supposed tennis teachers
This is a real one
Thanks and keep it up
Watching how she backs up to reset after each is such a good visual. I can get my shots deep but am often with my weight going backwards for the next return. So good to have the visual of what I need to adjust! Thank you!
She's got great footwork!!
This channel is going to seriously grow with great tips like this 👍
I hope you’re right!
Great stuff! Recently in matches I’ve been too focused on my swing path and was wondering why I’m getting attacked on so many points. I’ve completely abandoned the deep shot and I’ve been paying the price with my opponents running me all over the court. Thanks so much for this quick lesson. Can’t wait to get back on the court!
I tell the kids I hit with, "Speed thrills, depth kills"
I like the rhyme
Thanks for yet another awesome coaching video! Your content is somehow always spot on with exactly what I need to work on. 100% needed to do more of this in my last singles match. Every short ball from me was punished by my opponent.
You're very welcome!
It’s easy to forget the depth. Keep up the good content 👍🏼
Absolutely
I totally agree with you on playing with depth. It works all the time! (Vic Braden always talks about this too when he was alive) I play with opponents who hit the tennis balls much harder and faster than me and my goal is always to play deep in order to get the error off their rackets or to get a short ball in return that I could attack.
Great content! ❤I am a fun of your channel and a subscriber ❤
Love the channel. Thanks for the wisdom.
Love this Stokke, aim higher over the net, medium paced ball, fab advice! Thank you
Just like that, I ha e the concept locked and loaded in my brain...Thanks Coach.
On to the next tip 👍🏽
Love your coaching style. Clear, concise, and to the point. I’ve been watching a bunch of senior matches on TH-cam, I’m 63, and I view them through the Stokke lens. So many of these senior players break the Stokke 6 rules and I’m amazed at how many hit the ball short to the service line. If I’m gonna miss I’m not gonna miss into the net; I’m gonna miss long! Great stuff! Quick question, what do you do to get those bulging calf muscles? I’m an avid backpacker and my calves pale in comparison to yours….
Haha. Genetics
These IMO are some of the most valuable tips and lessons! Thank you so much!
Appreciate the kind words!
Absolutely excellent video thank you!
Another great lesson 👏
I was hitting this morning with my buddy who hits a heavy ball on both sides, what I do against him is I play back off the baseline and swing as hard as I can through the ball and we hit 20 and 30 ball rallies like this and the ball stays inside the baseline, when I play a set against him I sometimes hit the ball on the fly to through off his rhythm,and get him to reach faster which creates a error sometimes. The guy runs 28 mile marathons so he doesn’t get tired and he gets every thing back with pace. So I have to give myself time to get to the ball and react quickly! Since I started playing tennis again, I have been working on speed and quickness to get to the ball as early as I can. Thank you coach for the great videos you put out! I truly appreciate your hard work on this channel my friend. Thank you
Sounds like a tough opponent! And you're more than welcome.
What’s your level and your buddies level? UTR or USTA rating?
@@kesun32145 I don’t know my level I haven’t been rated in over 23 years but my friend plays in a 4.0 league and is a really good player and is fast as a rabbit!
Great! Unfortunately for me, at 60 years old, I can only play against slow balls. Anything fast and my legs won't be able to get me there in time.
Great advice. Thank you
Thanks coach!
We've been working on the depth idea, thanks for putting meat on the bones.
Love it!
Depth is the great equalizer:
Prevents opponent from going on offense.
Can turn defense into neutral by buying time.
A high, deep shot to the backhand is one of the most likely shots to generate a short ball I can attack.
✅
Add some topspin, aim cross court for a bigger target, go for deep round shots and dont be afraid to take some power off in exchange for depth
Yep! Love all that
hi coach jonathan. im a first time viewer and just subscribed. i like your video content, lots of great information and your presentation verbal skills are perfect. ive found some other coaches come off arrogant or annoying. keep up the good work and have a great fathers day weekend. coach dudley
Thanks for the kind words!!
Another amazing video! And for free 😁 Thanks for all that, sir!
You're very welcome
Spent most of last year practicing depth. Noticed big improvement. Forehand is pretty locked in depthwise, still got some work to do on BH.
Use these tips for your backhand side!
@@StokkeTennis My main issue on BH wing is defensive backhands. I tend to hit my BH very flat compared to my FH which I do high launch with loads of topspin. Now when I am in a position to attack the ball with my BH, it's solid depthwise. But when I am pushed on defense, I tend to hit it exactly the same, usually leading to an error hitting the net. Need to practice defensive backhands more, and to learn to recognize faster if it's going to be a defensive or neutral/offensive BH and then apply the correct type of BH shot.
@StokkeTennis - thank you for another great video. I really enjoy your videos and I am learning a lot.
Question, somewhat unrelated - what are your sunglasses? I struggle with playing in the sun, and your glasses look like they provide a good coverage.
RIA sunglasses…they’re fantastic!
I don't wholly agree. I think the most important is direction.
The second ball you hit (slow, high, and deep), while not attack-able, it is very much a shot which can be taken advantage of and used to set up an attack-able shot.
Being able to move your opponent side to side and diagonally will take you farther than just hitting deep.
@@johncharles2357 do you think a slow, high ball that’s a short angle can be attacked?
@@StokkeTennis Certainly, if they have decent footwork. But if you pull your opponent off the court, their attack has to be very precise (low percentage), and if they don't execute, they are in a bad position.
@@johncharles2357 Wouldn't their attack have to be very precise from behind the baseline as well? Almost no angle back there.
I have too much depth normally 😅. I miss deep more than anything else
Aim shorter 😂
Prob hitting too flat, add more spin
@@jackerylel yea about that... my fav player was nadal so i developed a lot of spin naturally, I just gotta aim shorter. I think my launch angle is a little too high on those shots
@@marcosvivoni1944 ah yea then you prob have the hitting face facing the sky instead of parallel to the net or even slightly closed/ covering the ball.
@@jackerylel im 4.0 with probably 4.5 strokes. this should help clear up confusion.
Vic Braden books Keep it deep and down the middle
Vic is the goat
Depends on the opponent though, these could easily be leveled out of the middle at higher level.
Yep! Possible. And everything depends on who you’re playing. This is just a general principle that applies to most situations 👊
Judy Murray talks about working in opposites like you mentioned. Hit the fence. Now hit the service line.
Love how your drills do the teaching. Your students always look like they are having fun. Great content.
What some call a "moon-ball", I call a lob. I'm an older guy and play only doubles, and I love hitting low lobs just beyond the reach of the opposition's net player, or when both charge the net. Just yesterday, during a five or six shot volley rally at the net, I suddenly unleashed a low lob into the other team's far corner--they had about zero chance. I love improving my game, and I also love winning rather than losing...
Lobs were my favorite shot
@@StokkeTennis , we're on the same page.
I call this a rising lob. Its a shot that is rising as it pass the opponent. Peaks behind him and falls straight down. Cannot be effectively taken with an smash.
The height over the net, those 3 ft, I have to try and get to them! I play too close above the net, and despite speed balls land short.. gotta aim higher!
absolutely
I believe if you put cones down in a 5 foot radius from the T, it'll give you intentions to aim for. just my two cents.
Do you track your players w/ swingvision shot maps? When we see a pro in a baseline rally hit ball landing short of the service line, is that really a mistake/error? assuming they're not trying to pull the guy to the net or something? Should those shots be destroyed? It seems those shorter balls have enough spin and drive to reach the baseline so usually it seems like they get a neutral response.
Hitting short isn't a problem most of the time, especially at the amateur level. Missing is a problem though. So hitting deep AND being consistent is the goal, but being consistent and short is way better than deep and erratic.
But of course, if you attack short balls, then we need to aim lower, not 3 ft above the net.
Correct
...are overheads from the baseline not considered an attacking shot?
They absolutely are...I don't know many players below 5.0 who can hit that shot. I don't know many college players I coached who hit that shot well.
@StokkeTennis I genuinely didn't mean to sound snarky. My apologies on that. Maybe I just didn't realize how difficult the shot is.
Hello coach,
in one of your previous videos, you advised targeting a certain height over the net instead of targeting a spot on a court. And now you are advising to target close to baseline. Which is better?
They're both great ways to get a feel for your target, try them both out and see what works best for you!
Imagine ... Flip the court up above the net like a Heads Up Display. Just aim spots on the HUD screen. You never net and very quickly learn the spots which never vary no matter where you launch from.
Question, I do aim and hit pretty deep but a couple of high level opponents I play take the ball super early on the rise and constantly push me around. Should I try to put more height in ball?
You could, and you could also try mixing up spins. But again, even if they take it on the rise if you're hitting in the back third they shouldn't be able to run you too much
Hit flat. Very very difficult to short hop effectively.
Tilden's go to shot per Matchplay and The Spin of The Ball.
Deep medium pace high FLAT drive. Perfect defensive escape/reset AND if xcourt effective safe attack. If you own no other groundie this is the one. Cannot be volleyed effectively: tricky high bounce with no incoming pace. Wait for a short line reply to slice to a side T. This the longest diagonal. Repeat till opponent surrenders. You never lose...but its boring as heck...which is why l play dubs. Me against two on every shot while supporting random partners is a more interesting challenge which improves my tools.
like
No you couldn’t attack that ball, because you would have to get the ball on the fly, on all the balls you hit! I have been working on hitting the ball deeper and hitting on the ball on the fly! It’s tough to do though!
Punch ? What … *(promotes violence…) 😮
haha. never.
Love the active feet on Logan.
Awesome content! I'm a video editor and thumbnail designer for sports channels. Your videos are great, but with some snappy edits and eye-catching thumbnails, we could really make them pop. Interested in taking your channel to the next level?
Rage quitted
Damn I even asked nicely!
6:22 Says he aims 3 feet over the net. Demonstrates with shots literally about 7 feet over the net. Lol.
You think that was 7?
I really like your videos, working with my students. I tell them from a neutral postion or point building situation hit two feet over the net, but move the top of the arch to the opposite side serves line and at least six feet over it. That will ensure that your opponent, which is 4 to 5 feet behind the baseline, is hitting a ball that is rising up and out of their strike zone instead of dropping into their strike zone
Your shoots all show that, great job
I think that is where the 7-foot comment came from they see the max height easier than the height of the ball at the net. Control the arc control your opponent. Once again great job.
@@rickbonner6252 And even still, maybe one ball was that high at one point. It's always a range.
Good players, miss, but their miss are within the lines 😂.
Thank you for your generous contributions through these very clear and informative videos. The high, loopy topspin crosscourt shot is an effective way to neutralize an active net player who poaches and who is also difficult to lob. The crosscourt high, loopy ball that you demonstrated is very effective because it is out of the reach of the poacher, and it pushes the baseliner back when it hits, often forcing a weak reply that our net person puts away. It’s refreshing to see the way you teach finesse, not just power.
I'd say the heaviness of the ball is a bigger factor. I play some nationally ranked juniors and the balls really accelerates off the bounce.
Thanks for pointing this out, you might be right. Wonder what Stokke says? How about a deep & heavy ball? But the point of this video is if you could only have 1 and what is the most important for not getting attacked
It's difficult to hit heavy and short. If it's short, it's likely not heavy enough to give me problems
@@StokkeTennisnot too many Tsonga’s running around
@@StokkeTennis Depth isn't difficult to deal with but deep AND heavy IS really difficult to deal with.
@@svlagonda7417 Depth doesn't necessarily. make you miss, but it's VERY difficult to attack. Heavy and deep is great.