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Backhand Recovery Footwork

On By Teresa Merklin

The tennis ball machine is a powerful tool for fine tuning stroke mechanics and building consistency. Effective ball machine use starts with the identification of the purpose for each drill. In the absence of that, machine sessions can regress into simply standing flat-footed while playing easy balls from the center of the court. There is an art to getting the machine settings “just right.” However, the real skill is identifying an objective and coming up with an appropriate pattern to work on it.

Split Squats for Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

The cardio fitness stations that I stumbled across last month at a DFW area tennis court continues to provide fodder for the “Tennis Technology and Training Tuesday” coverage. Last week I started in on “Squats” and assumed that the direction was simply to perform body weight squats. However, in the interim it has occurred to me that for a cardio workout the intended squat variation might have been “Jump Squats” which are also great for tennis.

Squats for Tennis

On By Teresa Merklin

Last Tuesday we discussed “Wall Sits” which was a cardo fitness station I stumbled across scrawled onto a tennis court with chalk. Today I am exploring another station labeled simply “Squats.” There are a lot of good variations of squats that are good for tennis. Today we will assume that the this station was for the simple body weight version.

Slam Ball for Service Power

On By Teresa Merklin

My home gym is equipped with a 10 pound slam ball. A slam ball is distinguished from normal weighted medicine balls because they have thicker and softer surfaces which make them great for high impact throwing exercises. You can wing a slam ball at a training partner or static surface that would be prohibitively dangerous with the harder medicine ball.

Tennis Racquet Vibration Dampener

On By Teresa Merklin

A dampener is a device placed into the string bed of a tennis racquet that reduces vibration. The dampener simply mutes the effect of hitting the ball. Contrary to marketing claims, there is no dampener that will lessen the symptoms of tennis elbow. Similarly, assertions that using a dampener reduces power have also been debunked. In other words, the use of a dampener makes no material difference when playing tennis. I know all that, yet I can’t play without one. It is maddening.

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Tennis Serve Swing Trainer

On By Teresa Merklin

A recent Wall Street Journal column recommended a tennis swing training device for developing a smooth service motion. Of all the gadgets recommended in that piece, the most clearly useful item is a tennis service swing trainer. The commercial version of the device is made of molded rubber into the form of a racquet handle connected to three tennis ball sized lumps via a cord. A correct serving motion keeps the tennis “balls” in continuous motion.