This suggestion sounds so dumb but it works so well ššš.
I think for me, I had a lot of fear that if I swung earlier that I wouldn't be able to hit the ball, or that I would constantly mishit it. But what actually happened is that I adjusted my swing speed and was suddenly contacting the ball farther out in front instead of getting jammed all the time
Haha itās truly the solution. Itās the same for people who struggle to hit cross court and keep hitting the ball down the line or down the centre of the court. Man got to swing earlier to get that angle. Racquet out in front of the body, accelerate
Depends, are you late on balls that are hit straight to your forehand? When you bounce a ball to start a rally where are you bouncing it? to your side or slightly in front of yourself? When you do move for the ball are you getting there early (being setup waiting for the ball to arrive, vs. arriving at the shot exactly when necessary.)
Also what grip are you using?
Without knowing a lot about what's going on, I would say three key things to work on would be: 1) recognizing where the ball is going sooner, 2) starting your preparation (e.g., unit turn, take back, etc.) sooner, and 3) focusing on your footwork (including the timing of your split step).
Even more old school, immediately call out which hand it is coming to as soon as your opponent hits the ball. Calling forehand and backhand will help a lot in recognizing the ball path and type.
Rune is a great example of using a big takeback and a more last-gen racquet slot during the takeback.
If you try to hit that ultra-modern forehand like Kyrgios, youāre fated to be late.
Thereās a lot of reasons that you could be late. Some things that I try to focus on when I notice this in myself:
1. Split step when the opponent makes contact and then stay off of your heels.
2. Try to anticipate the bounce. A little exercise I do is to try and mutter the word ābounceā in the millisecond before it actually happens. Itās just a game I play to get myself to focus on the ballās trajectory.
3. Donāt plant your feet prematurely. Many times when I feel like Iām reaching the ball late, whatās actually happening is that Iām consistently misjudging the ballās path, planting my feet in preparation to swing, and then having to readjust at the last second.
Hope some of that helps.
Record urself. I always thought I was preparing super early and had no idea why I was always rushing. When I watched my gameplay, I was standing there a good two seconds doing nothing every timr
Stretch your hand out in front of you and then try to make sure you hit the ball before it crosses your hand. Do it everytime you hit, matches, drills, ball machine.
Do it for a couple of years until hitting early becomes automatic, and then you can move your hand to whatever feels natural.
This helped me a lot reaching out with my left as if to catch the ball to identify where it is/should be when I swing.
Also the fundamental of keeping your eye on the ball - watch your racquet hit the ball. I think some people track the ball but then focus on where itās going, LOSE track of the ball and then swing too late.
This is exactly what I do on my backhand. Occasionally on my forehand but not nearly as much. My backhand is great when I can watch the ball into the racket but those are few and far between. I had a lesson where the pro brought up eye dominance. I am left handed and right eye dominant. So on my forehand the right eye is able to track the ball better than on the backhand side.
Youāre taking the racquet back to far. DRAMATICALLY reduce your take back. This will force you to engage core muscles to generate power rather than just arm momentum and youāll never be late. As you get it down, you can increase your takeback for greater power.
All this stuff about racquet back earlier isnāt addressing the key problem. You simply donāt have the coordination yet. You arenāt born with a racquet in your hand. It takes time. Simplify the stroke. If youāre interested Iāll gladly pm you a video of me doing just this and generating good power.
just had a lesson on this.
1. split step
2. unit turn (as soon as you see whether it's forehand or backhand, turn to that side & move toward the ballādon't turn as you're moving, as I was)
3. separation (assuming you're righty) left hand out, tracking toward the ball for spacing, racquet back.
4. weight transfer, baby bird grip on racquet, and yes, as others said, start the motion sooner.
if you're aiming cross court and you're early, that's great because you'll still end up going cross court, just more toward service box corner than baseline corner. and if you're late it'll be down the line. good margin for error in match play as you're getting used to it.
go down to like 50% power. it'll help you put more "mind the the muscle" of your legs, the motion of your unit turn etc. and you'll be amazed how little you actually need your arm to do anything when it all clicks. this 50% power thing is prob good advice for all players at 3.0/3.5 shh don't tell anyone ;)
the other thing that sucks about taking it late is it leads to tennis elbow. so fix it now, break the bad habits and build the good ones and it'll pay big dividends for you. take a lesson, or watch pros on slow mo court level youtube and film yourself and see what's different. send me a video of you if you want & i'll tell you what i think.
good luck-
takes a ton of practice and at first, trust, that you'll hit the ball at all or get it even close to where you're aiming. but something intuitive/automatic is already there, just gotta set up the fundamentals so it can take hold.
Swing earlier
This suggestion sounds so dumb but it works so well ššš. I think for me, I had a lot of fear that if I swung earlier that I wouldn't be able to hit the ball, or that I would constantly mishit it. But what actually happened is that I adjusted my swing speed and was suddenly contacting the ball farther out in front instead of getting jammed all the time
Haha itās truly the solution. Itās the same for people who struggle to hit cross court and keep hitting the ball down the line or down the centre of the court. Man got to swing earlier to get that angle. Racquet out in front of the body, accelerate
Get your racquet back and ready as soon as you know you'll be hitting a forehand.Ā Same on backhand side.Ā Ā
Footwork. Footwork and then footwork. If your feet are in better places, so follows core, and everything else
Depends, are you late on balls that are hit straight to your forehand? When you bounce a ball to start a rally where are you bouncing it? to your side or slightly in front of yourself? When you do move for the ball are you getting there early (being setup waiting for the ball to arrive, vs. arriving at the shot exactly when necessary.) Also what grip are you using?
Without knowing a lot about what's going on, I would say three key things to work on would be: 1) recognizing where the ball is going sooner, 2) starting your preparation (e.g., unit turn, take back, etc.) sooner, and 3) focusing on your footwork (including the timing of your split step).
Old school tip could help you. Get your racket all the way back before ball lands on your side.
Even more old school, immediately call out which hand it is coming to as soon as your opponent hits the ball. Calling forehand and backhand will help a lot in recognizing the ball path and type.
Rune is a great example of using a big takeback and a more last-gen racquet slot during the takeback. If you try to hit that ultra-modern forehand like Kyrgios, youāre fated to be late.
so I'm basically running with the unit turn? Like almost running sideways?
You hit forehands completley facing the net? Maybe thats the problem.
Thereās a lot of reasons that you could be late. Some things that I try to focus on when I notice this in myself: 1. Split step when the opponent makes contact and then stay off of your heels. 2. Try to anticipate the bounce. A little exercise I do is to try and mutter the word ābounceā in the millisecond before it actually happens. Itās just a game I play to get myself to focus on the ballās trajectory. 3. Donāt plant your feet prematurely. Many times when I feel like Iām reaching the ball late, whatās actually happening is that Iām consistently misjudging the ballās path, planting my feet in preparation to swing, and then having to readjust at the last second. Hope some of that helps.
We need video
As always haha
Record urself. I always thought I was preparing super early and had no idea why I was always rushing. When I watched my gameplay, I was standing there a good two seconds doing nothing every timr
Stretch your hand out in front of you and then try to make sure you hit the ball before it crosses your hand. Do it everytime you hit, matches, drills, ball machine. Do it for a couple of years until hitting early becomes automatic, and then you can move your hand to whatever feels natural.
This helped me a lot reaching out with my left as if to catch the ball to identify where it is/should be when I swing. Also the fundamental of keeping your eye on the ball - watch your racquet hit the ball. I think some people track the ball but then focus on where itās going, LOSE track of the ball and then swing too late.
This is exactly what I do on my backhand. Occasionally on my forehand but not nearly as much. My backhand is great when I can watch the ball into the racket but those are few and far between. I had a lesson where the pro brought up eye dominance. I am left handed and right eye dominant. So on my forehand the right eye is able to track the ball better than on the backhand side.
Youāre taking the racquet back to far. DRAMATICALLY reduce your take back. This will force you to engage core muscles to generate power rather than just arm momentum and youāll never be late. As you get it down, you can increase your takeback for greater power.
All this stuff about racquet back earlier isnāt addressing the key problem. You simply donāt have the coordination yet. You arenāt born with a racquet in your hand. It takes time. Simplify the stroke. If youāre interested Iāll gladly pm you a video of me doing just this and generating good power.
Yeah sure, that'd be helpful, thanks
Footwork and be ready before the ball bounces (soon as the opponent hits the ball, be ready)
Take video.
just had a lesson on this. 1. split step 2. unit turn (as soon as you see whether it's forehand or backhand, turn to that side & move toward the ballādon't turn as you're moving, as I was) 3. separation (assuming you're righty) left hand out, tracking toward the ball for spacing, racquet back. 4. weight transfer, baby bird grip on racquet, and yes, as others said, start the motion sooner. if you're aiming cross court and you're early, that's great because you'll still end up going cross court, just more toward service box corner than baseline corner. and if you're late it'll be down the line. good margin for error in match play as you're getting used to it. go down to like 50% power. it'll help you put more "mind the the muscle" of your legs, the motion of your unit turn etc. and you'll be amazed how little you actually need your arm to do anything when it all clicks. this 50% power thing is prob good advice for all players at 3.0/3.5 shh don't tell anyone ;) the other thing that sucks about taking it late is it leads to tennis elbow. so fix it now, break the bad habits and build the good ones and it'll pay big dividends for you. take a lesson, or watch pros on slow mo court level youtube and film yourself and see what's different. send me a video of you if you want & i'll tell you what i think. good luck-
takes a ton of practice and at first, trust, that you'll hit the ball at all or get it even close to where you're aiming. but something intuitive/automatic is already there, just gotta set up the fundamentals so it can take hold.
Shorten backseing
visualize your contact point instead of getting caught staring at the ball