Story of the Week
This is actually a common problem, and we’ll be training hard on court this summer to prepare our Colossal Tennis students to navigate this challenge successfully.
Before we can get to the root of the issue, it's helpful to answer the question: What type of skilled sport is tennis?
📚 Closed Skills vs. Open Skills
There are two types of skilled sports: closed and open.
A closed skill sport can be practiced in isolation within a predictable environment. It involves focusing on fixed techniques to achieve a goal.
Golf is a great example. The ball is stationary, allowing the player to consistently prepare for the shot and practice it repeatedly.
An open skill sport, on the other hand, is dynamic. The environment changes constantly, requiring adaptability and decision-making as the athlete reacts to external factors in real time.
Tennis is essentially an open skill sport.
While the technique for hitting the ball can be honed in a controlled setting, the actual rally is conducted in a fluid, ever-changing environment. Players must adapt to the path and features of the oncoming ball, as well as the point situation.
So how do we train a tennis player to move from striking the ball in a controlled environment to executing consistently in live point play?
The answer lies in the framework we use to analyze the problem.
🧐 Hands, Feet, and Eyes/Mind
A training framework I learned while earning my USTA High Performance Specialist Coach Certification is the Hands, Feet, and Eyes/Mind model. It breaks down like this:
- Hands: Executing the desired shot with balance, control, consistency, and power
- Feet: Getting into position quickly and efficiently to strike the ball
- Eyes/Mind: Recognizing the shot hit, adjusting court position, and making tactical decisions based on the situation
When we train players, we build these skills in that order: hands first, then feet, and finally eyes/mind.
However, in real match play, these skills actually function in reverse.
So, returning to our initial scenario—a skilled striker struggling to rally—it becomes clear that this is not a technical issue with the hands, but rather an eyes/mind issue centered on ball recognition.
By improving ball recognition, players can react faster, move more efficiently, and better space themselves to hit the shot—allowing their trained hands to do the rest.
🎾 Bounce / Hit
This is a simple yet powerful live ball drill used frequently at Colossal Tennis Academy to improve rhythm, concentration, and tracking on both sides of the court.
Part 1: Bounce/Hit (Your Side)
Say “bounce” when the ball hits your side of the court and “hit” when you strike it.
The goal: get on top of the bounce, hit the ball on the rise, and execute with rhythm and control.
Part 2: Bounce/Hit (Opponent’s Side)
Say “bounce” when your shot hits the opponent’s court, and “hit” when they strike it.
The goal: improve tracking at a distance and prepare for a quick response.
This drill is great for building explosive and controlled movement, and we were just working on this last night with our Under-12 players—it produced noticeable improvements in focus and agility.
📣 Call the Ball
Another excellent drill to develop the eyes/mind is “Call the Ball.”
Start with a live rally. As soon as your opponent hits the ball, call out one of three responses based on your judgment:
- “Take” – If you believe the ball will land short, take space and move forward to attack.
- “Hold” – If it’s a neutral shot, hold your ground and take it on the rise.
- “Give” – If the ball is deep and aggressive, give ground and reset.
This drill sharpens decision-making, which directly leads to better footwork and more effective ball striking.
When players make the right decisions, the rest of the game becomes easier and more fluid.
🧐 Final Thoughts
Thanks for the question, Deepak—I hope this helps solve your challenge!
Have a question or challenge you’d like me to address in an upcoming issue of Aces & Faults?
Reply to this email—I read every response.
And no pressure, but if you’re finding these essays helpful, I’d appreciate it if you’d share this free newsletter with others.
Here’s the link to pass along:
👉 Aces & Faults Newsletter by Colossal Tennis
Cheers, and see you in the next issue!
