I recently started competing again in tennis. I noticed that I was having trouble tracking the ball on my opponents serve. I am in my late 40s. I wear glasses as of around 40 when my eyes started changing. I hadn't had my prescription checked for a few years, so I went to my eye doctor and he told me there wasn't anything wrong with my eyes. My prescription had not changed. I was starting to think that it was a mental issue where my brain was just bad at tracking fast moving objects. I never considered that it was related to slow eye tracking. I certainly fit the profile of a computer user who stares at a screen for most of the day. No clue if this will help, but I love having something I can work on. Thanks for the insight.
When it comes to vision it's important to understand that there a multiple types of visual skill. Whether we get given glasses on not is based an particular skill called static visual acuity. How clearly you can read letters sitting in a doctors office. That's an important skill for life, but it'd only one skill. How clearly you can read things gets affected by movement. This is called dynamic visual acuity and for obvious reasons it will have more of an impact on tennis. Then we have the ability to judge distance and depth and the quality of our eye movements. Our spacial awareness and out peripheral vision. We also have to be able process the visual information and make decisions based on what we see. So it's very possible that some of these other skill sahve reduced over time and are impacting things.
Excellent instruction. Q: One day, after playing errorless baseball seasons in center field, I looked up at a routine fly ball and as I began running, saw it jiggling wildly and only by mere luck caught it. Every ball thereafter looked the same. On switching to tennis, I notice it as I land from split step and when running, making success against big hitters very rare. Have you ever "cured" jiggle-vision?
Great video. But imagine you do not have all of those visual information (no peripheral vision, not even seeing the ball until it is on your side of the court …ect) and more relying on the sound of the ball before seeing you are still able to play great tennis and not be tight on your shots 👍 all of that in visual impaired tennis👍👍 so you have to react way faster than “normal” tennis 👍 and i love it
Great tips, however one of the reasons i,m playing tennis - is exactly the eyes training). So if you play a lot, you do all this exercises during the game).
Great to hear you've found something that works for you. With that said, there's a reason you clicked on the video, so it's possible that improving visual capacity could benefit your further.
Thank you so much ! I tried your last exercise and was perfectly good when I looked to my left ; but when I looked right the thumb turned double even with a small range of motion so do I just practice slowly to keep it single?
That's a good point, I never thought about the fact that our vision is impaired by all-day office work and smartphone focus. However, I do actually tense up very much and cannot shake it off. And I know that it has to do with the intense pressure I put on myself to NOT foul up my hits, thereby effectively achieving what I want to avoid. I have too high expectations for my hits. Is there any mental prep training to relax about my game?
This might be why if you don't start playing at a young age, it's a lot more difficult to achieve a relaxed swing. I could see it in the people I played with.
Two things you can do. Instead of intensely focusing on not making mistakes, focus on footwork and keeping your head still during the swing. Your feet need to start moving the minute your opponent strikes the ball, starting with the split step as you already know, then never stops until you are in position to take your swing, then you think of keeping your head still through the swing. You will still make errors but if you can do these two things most of the time, the errors will be less. Eventually, you get into this habit and the errors become less and less. But tennis is a game of errors so you should never expect an error free game. The mental prep is to immediately forget the last error and switch attention to the next point as fast as you can. This is why he's telling you to practice moving your eyes but not your head, so that you can keep your head still during your swing. If you take a peek to the other side by slightly moving your head up while you swing, that will alter your arm position by just a bit but enough to send the ball to the net.
@tomsd8656 Yes there are lots of things you can do to prepare mentally to help you relax. I've got a s few videos that talk about it. But it's really important to address the underlying problem. Consciously, you are worried about missing the shot, but subconsciously, your brain is more concerned with survival. Not seeing optimally as you charge around the court, is scary for your "survival" brain. By improving your visual capacity it will help to control your emotions without additional effort because it lowers overall stress.
It's definitely a contributing factor. Wen players start at a young age, their visual system gets hundreds of thousands of repetitions, which the brain then adapts to. Sadly kids also spend massive amount of time on their phones. Normally more time than they spend playing tennis.
I totally agree with your emphasis on the visual system and its influence on our nervous system, proprioception, and diaphragmatic breathing. I think it’s something that most tennis players don’t ever consider, and for no fault of their own. I would just like to point out that these exercises might not be as beneficial for someone who is say, wearing the “wrong glasses or contact prescription” or that is also patterned because of their occlusal forces, as well as their visual system. It’s impossible to separate these systems influence on each other and how they can keep us in a fight or flight response, and throw off our entire proprioception. A lot of the people you are talking about should find a postural restoration therapist on the postural restoration institute website to help them navigate these complex issues. Sorry for the mouthful. Your videos are very interesting. Improve your tennis by improving your brain!
Great video, so thanks. I was never blessed with good eyesight , but I am sure that she exercises let the years have stopped my vision regressing. I stand to be corrected, but it seems to make sense that we have to exercise to maintain strength in other muscles, so why not eyes?
Here is one for you, Richard. My one handed backhand is very relaxed, very precise and very strong. Federer would be proud of me (I'm actually using his very technique). But my forehand is quite tense. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but whatever I do, whatever my choaches suggest (3 of them in total), I just can't reach the level of relaxation I want. Well, in some way it helps - all my opponents expect my backhand to be weaker, while it's my main weapon, but improving my forehand would always be a good thing. Any idea why the difference between backhand and forehand tension is so big?
Normally when people have big differences side to side it’s more related to coordination than vision. Rotating through shots requires whole body coordination and there is normally an imbalance side to side.
The forehand is more complex than the backhand, and requires different timing. I notice I tense when I'm late with the swing, so think about being ready with plenty of time, then you can swing at the ball with leisure. You'll probably need to practice separate forehand timing and backhand timing, then practice switching between the two. Who said tennis was easy? Lol
I suffer from tensing up very much, however it has to do with fear of not hitting well. Obviously the result is that I do exactly what I want to avoid. I need to break this circle. Is there any mental prep training to help me get relaxed?
Yes, work on the drills from the video! As your eye movements improve, you'll be able to hit the ball more consistently. Which will then let you feel more confident. This will create a positive cycle.
@@HelloFromNick Why is it so important to stare at the ball until contact? I wonder if my theory is correct: the brain is making countless calculations on the court, and knowing exactly where the ball is 1) improves those calculations by using a more accurate input, and 2) improves the precision of future calculations by relating results to more accurate information on ball location.
Breathing is my issue or rather not breathing. My view is that it has nothing to do with my eyes and reflexes. It is about the anxiety of not making the shot. The proof of this is the old adage warming up is easy; playing a competitive set is another game altogether. So when I’m knocking up I can breath (a little) and relax that tendon between deltoid and pectoral. Added to this is confidence. This grows with time. The self belief you can easily get the ball over the net…a later hit it where you want, during a game, is a great relaxant.
What I'm trying to explain in the video is that that the visual system creates an underlying subconscious threat". Consciously players perceive the stress of the match and the point, but that's only a small portion of the information that the brain has to deal with. I highly recommend giving the exercises a try for a period of time and see if it helps. Rather than dismissing something that could potentially help.
Perfect title for another pointless attempt at teaching online. Being tight vs being loose is almost completely dependent on body type. Andre Agassi was very tight through his range of motion. Gustavo Kuerten barely held on to his racket until the moment of impact. As long as you get through the range of motion of a stroke, you are good. The process of learning a new and correct swing almost always requires a tight, willed effort. And then maybe relaxation can occur when the stroke is learned. BUT tight correct stroking trumps relaxed, sloppy technique every time. Is a karate guy ever loose? Is Lebron James any less effective going to the hoop knocking over the defenders than Michael Jordan flowing like mercury while being bumped by defenders? Was Sweetness any less effective a running back than Jim Brown?
NEURO TENNIS MASTERCLASS
tennishacker.krtra.com/t/YCc1QJTHbEa4
I saw Rudd in the locker room doing these exercises with his trainer before a match! I'm all in. Thank you so much.
You're so welcome!
I recently started competing again in tennis. I noticed that I was having trouble tracking the ball on my opponents serve. I am in my late 40s. I wear glasses as of around 40 when my eyes started changing. I hadn't had my prescription checked for a few years, so I went to my eye doctor and he told me there wasn't anything wrong with my eyes. My prescription had not changed.
I was starting to think that it was a mental issue where my brain was just bad at tracking fast moving objects. I never considered that it was related to slow eye tracking. I certainly fit the profile of a computer user who stares at a screen for most of the day. No clue if this will help, but I love having something I can work on. Thanks for the insight.
When it comes to vision it's important to understand that there a multiple types of visual skill. Whether we get given glasses on not is based an particular skill called static visual acuity. How clearly you can read letters sitting in a doctors office.
That's an important skill for life, but it'd only one skill. How clearly you can read things gets affected by movement. This is called dynamic visual acuity and for obvious reasons it will have more of an impact on tennis.
Then we have the ability to judge distance and depth and the quality of our eye movements. Our spacial awareness and out peripheral vision. We also have to be able process the visual information and make decisions based on what we see.
So it's very possible that some of these other skill sahve reduced over time and are impacting things.
this might be the best tennis tutorial i've ever watched, for real
Thank you. Glad you liked it.
Excellent tips Richard thank you
Excellent instruction.
Q: One day, after playing errorless baseball seasons in center field, I looked up at a routine fly ball and as I began running, saw it jiggling wildly and only by mere luck caught it. Every ball thereafter looked the same.
On switching to tennis, I notice it as I land from split step and when running, making success against big hitters very rare. Have you ever "cured" jiggle-vision?
You explained my number one problem in tennis.
Great video. But imagine you do not have all of those visual information (no peripheral vision, not even seeing the ball until it is on your side of the court …ect) and more relying on the sound of the ball before seeing you are still able to play great tennis and not be tight on your shots 👍 all of that in visual impaired tennis👍👍 so you have to react way faster than “normal” tennis 👍 and i love it
Great tips, however one of the reasons i,m playing tennis - is exactly the eyes training). So if you play a lot, you do all this exercises during the game).
I know I get tense on my forehand.
To adjust, I quietly recite/or fill my head with a song to relax and clear my mind
Great to hear you've found something that works for you. With that said, there's a reason you clicked on the video, so it's possible that improving visual capacity could benefit your further.
New subscriber here. Your way of teaching is very good. Thank you!
Thanks, glad you found the video helpful.
Very informative,!. Many thanks
Thank you so much ! I tried your last exercise and was perfectly good when I looked to my left ; but when I looked right the thumb turned double even with a small range of motion so do I just practice slowly to keep it single?
Brilliant!
Le tennis est un sport complet qui améliore la vue Les exercices dont il est question sont bien recommandés dans tous les domaines
Very useful, thanks
That's a good point, I never thought about the fact that our vision is impaired by all-day office work and smartphone focus. However, I do actually tense up very much and cannot shake it off. And I know that it has to do with the intense pressure I put on myself to NOT foul up my hits, thereby effectively achieving what I want to avoid. I have too high expectations for my hits. Is there any mental prep training to relax about my game?
This might be why if you don't start playing at a young age, it's a lot more difficult to achieve a relaxed swing. I could see it in the people I played with.
Two things you can do. Instead of intensely focusing on not making mistakes, focus on footwork and keeping your head still during the swing. Your feet need to start moving the minute your opponent strikes the ball, starting with the split step as you already know, then never stops until you are in position to take your swing, then you think of keeping your head still through the swing. You will still make errors but if you can do these two things most of the time, the errors will be less. Eventually, you get into this habit and the errors become less and less. But tennis is a game of errors so you should never expect an error free game. The mental prep is to immediately forget the last error and switch attention to the next point as fast as you can.
This is why he's telling you to practice moving your eyes but not your head, so that you can keep your head still during your swing. If you take a peek to the other side by slightly moving your head up while you swing, that will alter your arm position by just a bit but enough to send the ball to the net.
@@tomsd8656. this is superb advice, thank you
@tomsd8656 Yes there are lots of things you can do to prepare mentally to help you relax. I've got a s few videos that talk about it.
But it's really important to address the underlying problem. Consciously, you are worried about missing the shot, but subconsciously, your brain is more concerned with survival. Not seeing optimally as you charge around the court, is scary for your "survival" brain. By improving your visual capacity it will help to control your emotions without additional effort because it lowers overall stress.
It's definitely a contributing factor. Wen players start at a young age, their visual system gets hundreds of thousands of repetitions, which the brain then adapts to. Sadly kids also spend massive amount of time on their phones. Normally more time than they spend playing tennis.
I totally agree with your emphasis on the visual system and its influence on our nervous system, proprioception, and diaphragmatic breathing. I think it’s something that most tennis players don’t ever consider, and for no fault of their own. I would just like to point out that these exercises might not be as beneficial for someone who is say, wearing the “wrong glasses or contact prescription” or that is also patterned because of their occlusal forces, as well as their visual system. It’s impossible to separate these systems influence on each other and how they can keep us in a fight or flight response, and throw off our entire proprioception. A lot of the people you are talking about should find a postural restoration therapist on the postural restoration institute website to help them navigate these complex issues. Sorry for the mouthful. Your videos are very interesting. Improve your tennis by improving your brain!
Maybe they won't need glasses after doing these exercises?
Des conseils pertinents
Hats off Awasome
Many thanks for the great video. Is safe to do for 10-year-old girls?
Great video, so thanks. I was never blessed with good eyesight , but I am sure that she exercises let the years have stopped my vision regressing. I stand to be corrected, but it seems to make sense that we have to exercise to maintain strength in other muscles, so why not eyes?
Great video.
Do I need to practice daily before I start playing match tournaments? Will that make me a better player if I practice daily?
When we do complex visual with long breath we should try to keep our hands loose also right ?
Here is one for you, Richard. My one handed backhand is very relaxed, very precise and very strong. Federer would be proud of me (I'm actually using his very technique). But my forehand is quite tense. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but whatever I do, whatever my choaches suggest (3 of them in total), I just can't reach the level of relaxation I want. Well, in some way it helps - all my opponents expect my backhand to be weaker, while it's my main weapon, but improving my forehand would always be a good thing.
Any idea why the difference between backhand and forehand tension is so big?
Normally when people have big differences side to side it’s more related to coordination than vision.
Rotating through shots requires whole body coordination and there is normally an imbalance side to side.
The forehand is more complex than the backhand, and requires different timing. I notice I tense when I'm late with the swing, so think about being ready with plenty of time, then you can swing at the ball with leisure. You'll probably need to practice separate forehand timing and backhand timing, then practice switching between the two. Who said tennis was easy? Lol
nice
Visual system is very important 🎾
Yep!
I suffer from tensing up very much, however it has to do with fear of not hitting well. Obviously the result is that I do exactly what I want to avoid. I need to break this circle. Is there any mental prep training to help me get relaxed?
Do you stare at the ball until you hit it?
Yes, work on the drills from the video! As your eye movements improve, you'll be able to hit the ball more consistently. Which will then let you feel more confident. This will create a positive cycle.
absolutely not. I think my mind goes blank so that my eyes are open but not seeing.
@@HelloFromNick Why is it so important to stare at the ball until contact? I wonder if my theory is correct: the brain is making countless calculations on the court, and knowing exactly where the ball is 1) improves those calculations by using a more accurate input, and 2) improves the precision of future calculations by relating results to more accurate information on ball location.
Hey, Tennis Hacker!
Can you or someone in the comments share
which product you are using (ball retriever/hopper) in this video?!?
Thanks!
What is the frequency to do these? Once a day?
People respond differently to training. Doing them every day works well for some people, so that's a good starting point.
A lot of the times we move our heads on the shot to early before we hit the ball
It's a common problem.
Breathing is my issue or rather not breathing. My view is that it has nothing to do with my eyes and reflexes. It is about the anxiety of not making the shot. The proof of this is the old adage warming up is easy; playing a competitive set is another game altogether. So when I’m knocking up I can breath (a little) and relax that tendon between deltoid and pectoral. Added to this is confidence. This grows with time. The self belief you can easily get the ball over the net…a later hit it where you want, during a game, is a great relaxant.
What I'm trying to explain in the video is that that the visual system creates an underlying subconscious threat". Consciously players perceive the stress of the match and the point, but that's only a small portion of the information that the brain has to deal with.
I highly recommend giving the exercises a try for a period of time and see if it helps. Rather than dismissing something that could potentially help.
how many of us started doing these exercises holding our breath 🤦♀️
It's fascinating isn't it. This is why so many players hold their breath when they play.
@@TennisHacker your reminded to breathe, with longer exhalation is so important!
does this work? anyone tried?
I mean if one holds a racket, gets a ball and hit it the way it should be, you'll become a better player, trust me.
Meant to say eye exercises over the years sorry. Maybe I need to do more eye exercises or I am just crap at tech and typing.
Wonderful video. I garantee you will also quit the reading glasses if you have one.
That’s me tight on my shots
Nonsense LMAO
Thank you for correcting me. It couldn’t possibly that there are things you don’t understand 😂
Perfect title for another pointless attempt at teaching online. Being tight vs being loose is almost completely dependent on body type. Andre Agassi was very tight through his range of motion. Gustavo Kuerten barely held on to his racket until the moment of impact. As long as you get through the range of motion of a stroke, you are good. The process of learning a new and correct swing almost always requires a tight, willed effort. And then maybe relaxation can occur when the stroke is learned. BUT tight correct stroking trumps relaxed, sloppy technique every time. Is a karate guy ever loose? Is Lebron James any less effective going to the hoop knocking over the defenders than Michael Jordan flowing like mercury while being bumped by defenders? Was Sweetness any less effective a running back than Jim Brown?
If you don’t like it, don’t watch. No need to be nasty. You’re getting free info. How many grand slams have you won?
@@andylechter1194 two doubles - Wimbledon and the French. Only had a semis (2 quarters) in singles.
Tennis is not talking