Three Ways to Time the Tennis Ball | Why Taking it Early is Easier Said Than Done 

Forehand Footwork Timing 👉 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-KC6RMmKaCo0.htmlsi=tVFEmaQATZnRWXiX

I can see you have made great efforts to match the colour of your grip and your shirt to your much loved strings, very stylish!

Fernandez is the queen of early ball striking. Her timing is amazing - she doesn’t give up ground on the baseline.

Great video I'm happy this was finally explained in depth. I have always struggled to hit heavy deep balls early!

Well said Nick. This one I enjoyed so much😊

Thanks Nic! Interesting question I ask my students that goes along with your explanation of situation and court position….”could you play on the rise/or top of bounce while moving backwards to hit a ball?” If you’re playing someone who hits really heavy and deep and you are close to baseline, you may have to move back to find your ideal contact and that might have to be on the rise/top of bounce.

First time I've heard zenith in a tennis video! Great word. ;). Thanks for the video and advice.

This is a fantastic treatment of the subject, Coach Nick! As a tennis fan (not necessarily as a player :), I enjoy watching players like Agassi who like to hug the baseline with incredible timing and hand-eye coordination and compact ground strokes. But for me the most important take-away key is that in general, players should not take the ball early or late on every shot and against every player (and on any surface) the same way-- the degree of taking it early or late should vary depending on the situation and should suit their own style of hitting also. For example as you have demonstrated in this video, hitting the ball at the apex (or later as descending) for slower or floating balls is better than hitting it on the rise since you can also have more time to disguise the returning shots better and I totally agree. I remember a match when Andre Agassi played later in his career against Nadal. Although with his incredible timing and compact swings Andre picked up many of the heavy spin shots from Rafa very early, it was the first time that I thought Andre looked a bit uncomfortable with his normal ground strokes when hitting the ball on the rise (as you explained heavier spin shots are more difficult to take on the rise- add to that the lefty spin shots), although I am sure had they played more matches Andre would have adjusted. Well-explained Nick, thank you!

There are a lot of players, one that comes to mind is Iga, that step in and take floating balls early.

Critical knowledge, thanks coach

The best tennis instructor on the net thank u

Great video👍 i started doing this at practice and it helped me alot

Old school leather grip looking great coach. Thanks for another nice 🎾 video.

thank you for this great advice!!!!

Thank you again for addressing an issue faced by many rec players. Can't wait to apply this at my next practice. Just realised my problem is not just my bad ball reading but also positioning. There's this one naturally buff player who beats everyone else in our group just by arming his shots and aim near the baseline. When I asked for suggestion, my coach's advice is to take it early, but just as you mentioned - it's much easier said than done, especially for beginners.

Thanks!

Excellent explanation Nic! I kept thinking of Agassi throughout this video since he is synonymous with this tactic. Then again if you've been hitting balls coming at you at 70+mph since you were a child, you would probably develop a fast arm with compact strokes.

I noticed if I hit a shot long or into the net, it’s because I didn’t get low enough on the ball, but when I do get down low enough or bend legs on short I can tee off on the shots. The ball machine is helping me with my timing and consistency, I been training hard to get back into tennis shape. I will definitely try your suggestions from this video today in practice, which I record and post on here. Thank you Coach for your awesome and amazing teaching my friend. I am truly grateful and appreciative for all that you do for the community and the game of tennis.

Best explanation, as usual

Simply the best! Thanks Thomas.

Very easy to miss the sweet spot on an early ball which makes it heavy for the arm. I guess it's something you should practice in isolation, starting with slow speeds.

Who would win, Nick or @tenniswithdylan ?

Excellent, so rarely debunked myth. Take the ball early and prepare your racquet early, (like Mc Enroe) have given a false mental image to a lot of us. This could lead to interesting tactical consideration of when to occasionally use it: blocked returns against serve volley, slice back hand when strong wind side ways for example. Still, the vast majority of groundstrokes are to hit within strike zone and not too early, hence the neutral position somewhere between 1 and 3 meters from baseline depending on style. Again, this is the best place for tennis advices, thanks Nic.

Do you give tennis lessons from out of state for some one wanting to learn how to play? Would like to take a vacation for a week an get some basic instructions how to play never played tennis before I’m 50 years old so I just want to learn how to play recreational

Floaters are actually common on atp tour. I see it a lot on 1st serve returns.

Nik please, what kind of freakin' awesome Nikes are you wearing in this video, I have to check them. Sehen echt mega aus!

Nick on the WTA tour some players like Swiatek, Raducanu and Fernandez crouch very low and take the ball very early on almost every shot. Can you comment on this tactic? Is it a new trend? And only for women?

Es: Musetti must try to take the ball earlier than he usually does. The equation: ball time from opponent raquet to mine, plus ball time to my raquet to opponent, plus angles options, minus medium errors, has many solutions. Roger did it to face Rafa forehand, but Roger is the king, other players sometimes must try different settings than usual to be better players.

I played the challenger tour from 1992-1996 and then became a hitter for a couple of top WTA players in the late 90’s to the mid 2000’s. The women can’t get the ball up quickly like the guys can. That’s why the females can be seen closer to the baseline. The new technology in the racquets and strings has made the modern game extremely tough on the guys. The ball comes faster than ever with far more spin and the ball bounds higher off the court than ever. I used to never run into the fence when I played in the 90’s. Now, the players I work with can single bounce balls 6 feet up the back fence. The game has truly changed over the last 35 years due to the power and spin.

What racket are you using?

This is just my style of play I guess. I took the ball early from the very beginning when I first learned, probably because I have no patience. And I had played faster paced sports like racquetball before learning tennis. I have actually had to work on not always taking it on the rise! Being able to take balls on the rise is a benefit for sure, I can cut off the angles. and since I play only doubles though. Is it more useful in doubles where getting to the net is so beneficial?

Bad bounce courts & wind & sun in your face & heavy topspin & shorter player all make hitting the ball early more difficult

Fed won AO 2017 mostly by taking ball super early

like that this myth getting busted

Okay, but there's a big advantage to hitting the ball early, it allows you to run your opponent around!

Easy and Tennis dont match…