Struggling to improve in tennis? Here’s what’s actually made the biggest difference for me.

For the longest time, I felt like I was doing everything “right” in my tennis: practicing, taking lessons, playing tournaments… and yet, I wasn’t improving as much as I expected.

And let’s be honest: what’s more frustrating than putting in the work, but not really seeing the results?! Nothing, right? 😮‍💨

Over time, though, I started to notice something: not everything makes the same difference. Some things move the needle a lot… others, not so much!

Btw, if you’re new on this blog... hi, my name is Elena 👋🏻 and, just like you, I'm on a mission to become the best tennis player I can 🥇. Even without a fancy team, or too much talent. Just with a huge desire to make it.

That's why Tennis Rematch exists: to share everything I learn along the way 🤓, so you can get better faster, and together we can prove that we can achieve anything we set our mind to 🔥.

But ok, back to business now!

You surely want to know what actually moves the needle a lot, don’t you? Because why feel frustrated when there’s clear things you can do to speed up your progress!

🏋️‍♂️ Prioritize your fitness

I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but… you want to improve fast, don’t you? Then listen to me: the “easiest” and fastest way to raise your level is by far working on your fitness. Really!

You can have the cleanest technique, the smartest tactic and the best attitude on court, but if you don’t move those feet quickly and in the right away… well, those great qualities of yours all become irrelevant pretty quick, if you ask me! 🫣

I’m by no means saying you shouldn’t work on those other things too… of course you do! But if you’re here reading this blog and looking for THE thing to put your time, energy and focus into to level up your tennis fast, then fitness is my answer!

And that’s because I saw it times and times again with myself. My best matches always happen when I’m on fire, that is when my intensity is high and I feel like flying on court. An example? Just look at my latest win… how fast were my feet going?! (I know, I wish they’d always go like that!)

But then there’s times when my energy is low, and I feel all rushed and messy… like in my latest loss. Can you spot the difference?! Of course, I had just injured myself and was all taped up but still. The point is, can you see how many unforced errors I did just because my movement wasn’t on point?! 🙈

Yeah. Same player. Same shots. Different movement. Completely different level!

Now… how do I train my fitness, you ask. Well, either you find a personal trainer with prior experience with tennis players (because yes, tennis players don’t need the same workouts as runners, nor body builders etc, you get the point!). Or you get a fitness plan for tennis and follow it on your own.

If you have the chance and the possibility, I strongly recommend the first option because… c’mon, having someone there for you, cheering you on, correcting you and kicking your butt when needed is just awesome! But if you don’t, then absolutely consider the Tennis Fitness programs.

I’ve personally been following the High Performance Fitness Program for years now (here’s proof!), and I swear by it because it just works! What a surprise, since it’s designed by the very trainers of five (5!!) world number one players!!

But if that feels a little too much for you, there’s plenty of other programs to choose from, based on your age and your goals. So I’m sure there’s the right one for you too. Whichever you choose, as long as you’ll actually do it, you won’t be disappointed, I can tell you!

💭 Are you already working on your fitness? If so, how? Share your experience in the comments, the more experiences the better! If not, what are you waiting for?!

🔍 Find the right coach for you

Tennis is probably one of the hardest (if not the hardest) sport to pick up, and we all know why: without a little bit of technique is practically impossible to have fun on court. Not only it’s tough to get the ball over the net and in between the lines, it’s also very easy to hurt yourself!

But hey, I know it’s not your case! If you’re here, I’m sure your technique is pretty good already, most likely better than 80% of all the tennis players on the planet. But I bet you feel like it’s not good enough. Am I right? 😉

I know I know… I totally feel you! After all, that’s exactly why we love tennis, isn’t it? Because we can always do it better. We can always hit it harder. We can always place it a little closer to the lines.

But, as much as we like obsessing over technique, tennis is not only that. Tennis is decision-making. Court positioning. Patterns of play. Footwork (he he!). Confidence. It’s a whole lot of things!

And without a coach, it’s so easy to forget one or more pieces of the puzzle. Of course, there’s coach and coach… and finding the right one for you is not easy (I know that well 😅), but having an expert eye giving you instant feedback is always gonna be good!

I’ve had quite a few coaches in my life by now… we’re talking six or seven! And I’ve had all the possible coaching setups: private lessons, group practices, trainings with a sparring partner. I cannot tell you which one is most useful, I think all of them are. Personally, having a mix is the best!

But the thing that matters the most? The coach. If the coach cares about you, then your tennis has no limits. Seriously! Because there’s many good tennis instructors around, but coaches? Mhhh, those are more rare! 😏

A good tennis instructor will deliver during her hour, sure. But will she go the extra mile and make sure you can actually improve also while you’re not with her? Will she give you guidance on what’s the best way to reach your goals? Will she stops by your match even if she doesn’t have to? Let me tell you, she won’t. So your job (and mine) is to find the one who will!

I was lucky enough to have had two really good coaches in my life and WOW! What a difference!!! 👀

So yeah… don’t get stuck on what you know just because that’s all you know! If you feel like you’re not making as much progress as you’d like although your private lessons or group practices, and notice one of those red flags I’ve just pointed out in your current coach, then look for a better one!

Word of mouth always works best. Otherwise? If you’re in the US, lucky you: you can browse through coaches and programs in your area, check reviews from other players and even get matched with a coach based on level and location through Tennis Pro Now. How cool is that?! Waiting for it to arrive to Europe, OMG!! 🤩

💭 Are you happy with your current coach? What’s the thing you appreciate the most about him/her? I’m so curious to know your experience on this!

🔨 Get those reps in

We all know that practice makes perfect and the more reps we get in the better we become. But honestly, how can we get all the reps we need?! I mean… yes, we can pay a coach to feed us balls, but is it really the best use of a coach? I doubt it. 😬

But then, where do we find someone eager (and able!) to feed us balls for hours on end?!

Not everyone has a Samu like me! I’m lucky, I know. 🥰 (Although on my defense, I have to say I also spend hours feeding him!) The other option is to rent or get a ball machine and get cracking on with those reps!

I’ve just recently got a PongBot and woooo, I had forgotten how useful it is to work on specific shots and patterns of play over and over again (just look at my latest practice with it!)! Yep, because right at the start of my comeback back in 2019, Samu was just starting out with tennis so asking him to feed me was not an option and the ball machine of the club was our usual practice partner. 🤖

So yeah, the insane amount of reps you can get from a ball machine? Difficult to beat. But first, you need to know what kind of reps you need. And for that, a coach can help!

💭 Ever used a ball machine? Which one? Did you like it? I absolutely loooooove my PongBot and if you’re thinking of buying one, I cannot recommend it enough! (Don’t forget to use code ELENATR for 5% off! It’s applicable on top of any running promotion.)

🙏 Play practice matches, please!

For way too long, I used to take lessons with a coach during the week and head straight to tournaments at the weekend. That’s when I had just started out my comeback and didn’t know one single player in whole Finland. 🇫🇮

Well… it didn’t work very well. I’d go into my matches super worried and never knowing what to expect from my tennis: whether my forehand would work or break down already in the warmup, whether my shoulder would hold up all the way or start hurting mid match… you know, I literally didn’t know how I’d behave under pressure!

Turns out, all I needed was to throw myself in those situations more often! And I don’t mean I had to play more tournaments… I just needed to play more points and sets during my practices! Because yes, it may not be as stressful as a real match, but c’mon… who wants to lose? Who wants to play like shit, just because it’s not official? For sure not me! 😈

So when I found that out, every tournament became a chance to get to know more players and make new friends. And that’s when my performance in official matches did a big jump forward! Suddenly, I wasn’t stepping on court anymore thinking “let’s hope everything works out today”. I was fully prepared and confident in my tennis!

So yeah… don’t just take lessons or hit down the middle with a friend, and then expect to play well in matches. It won’t happen! Instead, make it a habit to play at least a practice match per week, and if possible not always against the same player.

The level? It doesn’t matter as much as the fact of just playing points, honestly. You can always find a way to make it work! Just like Samu and me: we always come up with different rules to make things more even. That way, it’s useful for both! Take a look at that time when he challenged me and I could only play crosscourt! It was soooo fun! And so tight. 🤯

💭 How’s your performance in matches? Does your level drops compared to practices? This might actually be the missing piece!

And voilà, there you have it: the things that have made the biggest difference in my tennis!

Of course, there’s probably many more that I didn’t mention and helped too, but… I’m pretty sure if they didn’t make this list, it means their effect was not as big as these other ones!

If you think I missed something important, because for you it’s worked so well, please share it below so other people can read about it and give it a try!

Thank you so much for reading this blog up to the very end, I really hope you liked it and found some food for thought! Maybe you can try to incorporate one of these and see for yourself if it helps you too?

If so, don’t forget to leave me a clap (or two): you’d make my day 😍.

Oh, and as always I’ll be reading your comments so don’t be shy. Let’s chat there, it’s fun!

Talk to you super soon 💕,

Elena