Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction

Push on the ground and the ground pushes back. This is somewhat a common phrase from mechanics and physics, but it dos take some explaining. Meaning if you were on thin ice and pushed on the ground, it would not push back but rather you would break through the ice. Said another way, if you are on a bathroom scale and you drop and suddenly land you will be lighter when dropping but heavier when you land. And this down and up action adds to the power of the upward drive. So when using the ground to create more topspin and more power, the key is how you push on the ground, and whether you can create an upward rotational movement. The post ETI 003 | Corkscrewing – using your legs for topspin and power appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

The Modern Game - Rotational vs the Linear Old School Model Once upon a time strokes were long and deliberate, and remember the racquets were heavy. And the sweet spots were small. Now the racquets are lighter, the sweet spots larger, and the loosely strung co-poly strings are like magic - and the all combine to make our modern model more about acceleration rather than deliberation. Learn how to loosen up, shorten your backswings, lag the racquet head, and accelerate thru the ball. More topspin and more power will be at your command. The post ETI 002 | The Modern Game of Tennis – accelerate the racquet head appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

Everyone enjoys tennis when playing well. But when it comes to tournaments, league play, or even the regular game with your favorite opponent, we all want to win. But tennis becomes a contest when your opponent is evenly matched and wants to win every bit as badly as you. The post ETI 001 | Three Keys to Winning Tennis appeared first on Jim McLennan's Essential Tennis Instruction.

In the history of these things, there was a time when Pancho Gonzalez had the world’s best serve.  Confident, deadly accurate, fluid, and everyone agreed – his was the best (at that point in time). Then along came Sampras, who rode his serve to 7 Wimbledon titles, and 14 Grand Slams overall.  And like Pancho, […]

The debate has gone on for some time, and will continue. One-handed vs. two-handed backhand. Which is better, which is obsolete? Past champions of the two-handed version include Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick, and now Rafael Nadal. One-handed champions over the years include Rod Laver, Ilie […]

Pushers give everyone nightmares. They are “walking” bad losses. Everyone expects us to beat them, but these pushers know the game and are darn hard to beat. They scoot around the court, slow the ball down and rarely miss. Finally, their hitting the ball softly thing and the attendant lack of pace often ruins our timing […]

I had a chance to be courtside at the recent WTA tournament in Stanford California, marveling at as well as filming this incredible serve. Following her impressive run at Roland Garros in 2010 Sam is ranked 5th on the WTA tour. A fluent all court player, previously a doubles specialist, she owns the best kick […]

Maria Sharapova has returned to the Bank of the West WTA tournament held every summer here at Stanford University. I had a chance to observe her practice under the watchful eyes of two (I think) coaches. And before I go out on a limb, I have to hand it to Maria. She is 23, she has […]

This project continues, with my emphasis on your mastery of the spin serve.  At the receiving end of your emails, many of you tell share your difficulties in learning how to hit, much less understand the mechanics of this particular serve. Grip.  Wrist.  Forearm,  Continental.  Peel the orange.  Wrap around the ball.  Swing up snap down.  Pronate.  Don’t pronate.  […]

Here is a first look at Mastering the Ground Game We launch on Wednesday and are busy with the finishing touches. The nuts and bolts of tennis revolve about your forehands and backhands – keeping the ball in play, mastering consistency, control, and ultimately spin and power. And as the confidence in your ground game […]

Jim McLennan’s Essential Tennis Instruction is for tennis players of all age and ability, who love the game, and who want to play better. Instructional materials cover strokes, strategy, court position and more. Learn how to get more spin on your forehand, more power on your serve, and more consistency off the ground. Jim has played tennis his entire life. He has studied with some of the games greatest coaches, he is a featured seminarian at international tennis teacher conferences, the editor of TennisOne.com, and formerly (in the good old days) a nationally ranked player. Experience his lucid, basic, accessible coaching – and your game will be the better for it

Facts about the serve: Most important stroke in the game. Most complex stroke to master. Taught in many different ways by many different coach/teachers. Nearly impossible to see the hitting action with the naked eye. Life is great when you have a good one. Life often miserable when this stroke goes off. I receive many […]

In the season ending Masters tournament, Nikolay Davydenko beat Nadal, then Federer and finally Del Potro in the finals.  Pretty solid work from this Russian veteran. My friend and astute analyst Bill Stei noted how Davydenko hugged the baseline and played many balls up the middle against Del Potro.  And this contrasted sharply with Federer who when […]

The great Pancho Gonzalez was both featured and honored at this year’s US Open.  Fierce.  Graceful.  Combative.  And until Sampras came along, arguably the best serve in the history of the game. Pancho stories. I watched Pancho play Raz Reed in a small clay court tournament in Lake Worth Florida, 1973(or4).  I had lost in […]

The story line in the early round upsets within the women’s draw at the US Open was all about the double fault. And if you have listened to any of the coverage of the US Open, there is no shortage of opinions as to the cause of these double faults, or to their remedy. But from […]