Winter season start
Your perfect start into the tennis winter season
Your perfect start into the tennis winter season
At the beginning of October, it usually gets a little uncomfortable on the outdoor tennis courts with the arrival of autumn and people look forward to the upcoming indoor sessions. But the changeover from the outdoor tennis courts to the indoor courts is not to be underestimated.
Often tennis beginners wonder why they don’t hit the tennis ball so well when switching from the summer to the winter season, but don’t worry with a few tricks you quickly get used to the new environment with the indoor courts and the fun returns.
Below we explain to tennis beginners how to get the perfect start into the winter tennis season: from the right mental attitude to the first exercises to typical mistakes and tips.
1. Mental attitude
Most tennis beginners start playing tennis in the summer season, as we recommend. When it then goes to the first change on the indoor courts, there are some things to consider compared to the summer season, so as not to be frustrated:
a) Bounce of the tennis ball
The tennis ball bounces away much flatter indoor after bouncing than on the outside courts, so it is especially important to move even better and to start early with the bounce on forehand and backhand side. Especially in the first few lessons you will often hit the tennis ball behind your body and therefore too late, but don’t worry after a few sessions you will get used to the bounce of the tennis ball.
An advantage on the other hand is that on the always same indoor courts there are no so-called “court errors”, which lead to the unusual bouncing away of the tennis ball as it happens from time to time outside, especially on the red tennis ash. This is of course conducive to a quicker transition to the indoor courts.
b) Weather conditions
A pleasant advantage of the winter season is that there are no different weather conditions: The weather, be it sun, rain, snow, strong or light gusts of wind, has no influence, since the tennis hall completely encloses the tennis court. Only the indoor temperature varies a little from time of day to time of day and tennis indoor facility to tennis indoor facility.
It is often observed that the tennis halls are not heated constantly, so that the body must first be brought to operating temperature by extensive warming up. However, with the warm-up exercises we have presented, you should be well prepared.
c) Background noise
Tennis is a coordinatively difficult sport and the sound of the tennis ball, in addition to visual perception, helps us a lot to find the right hitting point for the ball after bouncing.
In the tennis indoor facility, which is self-contained, you can perceive the sounds very well. You have to adjust to this at first, but it is advisable to pay attention to the sound of the tennis ball, especially to start the winter season in the best possible way. In this way, you can often significantly improve your own hitting point and get used to the indoor courts.
In summary, you should mentally adjust to the change between summer and winter season, so that your own expectations when playing tennis for the first time in the winter, especially if it is the very first change for tennis beginners, not too high, then you quickly get used to the new environment and the fun comes back quickly.
2. First exercises
Especially when playing tennis indoor for the first time, you should get used to the environment and focus on finding the right stroke rhythm and timing.
Both forehand and backhand strokes should be practiced consecutively longline and cross. It should be noted that you cannot do the typical slide to the tennis ball in the tennis hall, so good footwork is especially important.
Try to serve from a standing position for the first 20-30 minutes of the first lesson to find the right timing for hitting the ball.
Volleying, serving and also playing points should be avoided in the first lessons. Overall, the rhythm of the stroke should be found first before moving on to points, so as not to build up frustration.
3. Typical mistakes and tips
Finally, three typical mistakes and tips for a perfect start into the winter tennis season:
a) Warm up extensively
Warm-up exercises are not very popular with tennis beginners, because they would rather hit the tennis ball. Especially with fresh temperatures in the tennis indoor facility, you should do extra warm-up exercises. Please do not misunderstand: From our point of view, you should warm up appropriately before every tennis game, but especially at the start of the winter season, you will quickly pull an injury.
b) Move even better
Many tennis beginners and also experienced tennis players play the tennis ball a little flatter over the tennis net in the hall. At the same time, the tennis ball bounces much flatter and thus faster off the court, which shortens the time from when the tennis ball bounces to when it hits the tennis racket. Thus, it is recommended to move even better and to be ideally prepared for the tennis strokes. In general, of course, safety still takes precedence over speed when moving to the indoor courts.
c) Use the slice stroke more often
Take advantage of the fact that the tennis ball bounces flatter by using the slice stroke more often. The slice generally bounces flat and is especially difficult to play on fast indoor surfaces. Most of the time a slice can only be answered with a slice, so the tennis game becomes a bit slower. Your opponent, especially younger opponents who are used to playing topspin, will be annoyed and you can score.
4. Summary and conclusion
You can also use the new environment to your advantage by, for example, using the slice more often and thus further strengthening your flat bounce. Additionally, pay attention to your footwork so that you don’t hit the tennis balls behind your body and thus too late. Then hopefully nothing should stand in the way of a successful winter season.
Have fun with the perfect start into the new tennis winter season.