08/30/2026
Go and get the ball, beat it to the bounce.
A lot of newer players treat tennis like a retrieving game. They wait for the ball to bounce, see where it’s going, and then start moving towards it. By that point, they’re already running out of time and rushing simply to get their racket on the ball.
The goal is to move early and get to the ball before you’re forced to react. When you beat the ball to the bounce, you give yourself time to adjust your feet, create the right spacing and properly set up before you swing.
You also want to position yourself so you can make contact inside your ideal strike zone, roughly between just above your knee and just above your hip. This is where your racket can operate most naturally and where hitting the ball becomes much easier.
Once the ball drops below your knees or gets up above your shoulders, everything becomes more difficult.
So, if you’re learning tennis, remember one simple thing: don’t wait for the ball. Beat it to the bounce.