Tennis is a Marathon of your physical as well as mental strength. It requires a lot of physical stamina and mental focus.
Tennis is one of the most popular sport in the world. It requires a lot of physical stamina and mental focus of a player. When you have to return a 200kmph serve you have to be very quick and supremely fit and agile.
Tennis is a sport which tests your physical endurance, mental ability to sustain with your opponent and keep viewers engrossed for every point that is played.
For me, Tennis is a Marathon of your physical as well as mental strength.
It is practically difficult for a player to have all the qualities but we have come up with the qualities of an ideal player. Here goes the list.
#1 Battle Spirit
Battle spirit is above all the qualities because if you do not possess a fighting nature in yourself then you will not be able to perform beyond your limit.
Tennis is a sport which will test your character as a person, but the great thing about that is, you will be able to build a stronger one while playing this sport. Battle Spirit development is to learn how to deal with failures and setbacks, by mentally recovering as soon as you can. One bad match doesn’t describe your career. Fight back and discover your own fighting spirit.
#2 Volley Skills
The main objective of a tennis volley shot is to surprise your opponent since this shot limits your opponent's reaction.
A tennis volley is hit before the ball bounces on the ground. Tennis volley shots are normally hit when the players are at the net or near the net. Although it is also possible to hit this shot near the baseline. However, volleying away from the net is seldom used or is only used in certain circumstances.
To be a successful volleyer you need to have quick reflexes and you need to have perfect hand-eye coordination. According to me if you have to learn how to play Volley shots then must watch Roger Federer playing Volley Shot.
#3 Stable Backhand
When a tennis shot comes to your nondominant side, do you use a single backhand technique or a two-handed backhand technique to return the shot? Or do you try to avoid it and run around the shot, to use your forehand?
The backhand is a tennis shot in which one swings the racquet around one's body with the back of the hand preceding the palm. The backhand is usually performed from the baseline or as an approach shot. For a right-handed player, a backhand begins with the racquet on the left side of the body, continues across the body as contact is made with the ball, and ends on the right side of the body, with the racquet over the right shoulder. The backhand can be a one-handed or two-handed stroke.
Kei Nishikori has the best backhand on the ATP circuit, within the last ten years. If you want a man for the modern era in totality, the same data suggests that Andre Agassi’s backhand is even more effective than Nishikori’s. For clay, I like Djokovic's backhand over Nishikori's, because it has more reach.
#4 Strongest Forehand
Most tennis players struggle with forehands when they have to finish short balls or when they try to dictate the rallies from the baseline because they don’t know how to engage the right muscles and in what sequence to hit powerful forehands.
The forehand in tennis is a shot made by swinging the racket across one's body with the hand moving palm-first. Most forehands are hit with topspin because it helps keep the ball from landing outside the court. On some occasions, such as an approach shot, a player can opt to hit with backspin, which can also be called a 'slice'.
Players with great forehands often build their main strategy around it. They set up a point until they have a good chance of striking a powerful forehand to win the point. A well-known tactic is to run around a ball on their backhand side in order to hit a forehand cross-court, called the inside-out forehand.
Roger Federer, the greatest player in the history of the game also has the best forehand of all time. It is as breathtakingly sweet as it is effective.
#5 Speed & Agility
As we know tennis is a game of movement. Players need to be able to get an early start with an explosive first step. They need to respond to different sorts of shots, and move quickly while constantly changing direction.
Speed describes how fast a tennis player can get to the tennis ball. Agility represents the ability of the player to change direction quickly while maintaining good balance and body control without losing time in the transition.
In the game of tennis, players do not run longer than 40 feet without having to either stop, change direction, or change speed. The player that uses speed & agility more efficiently will be the player with the advantage on the court.
#6 Serve
Many professional players are admired for their first serve. But few players and coaches recognize the importance of having a solid second serve in tennis. Typically, the tennis second serve is hit when a player misses the first serve, leaving them one chance to hit a serve before a double fault is given.
Few players work on the second serve in tennis, because it is often seen as less important than the first serve. Also, the tennis second serve requires a greater amount of topspin, which can present a level of difficulty for players to handle the serve.
Pete Sampras indisputably boasted of the greatest serve of all time. It was so lethal that even a returner of the caliber of Andre Agassi found it difficult to handle.
#7 Return
Andre Agassi was famous for his powerful return serves. Next time you see Serena or Venus Williams playing on TV, watch the way they stare at the ball as it is being served. Roger Federer is also known for his fierce concentration on the ball during a serve.
If you are weak at returning serve, it can cost you the match because it gives your opponent an inbuilt advantage based on a weakness he can continue to exploit.
