"Pertinent Tennis Instruction for the Club-Level Player"

Be it singles or doubles, too often we get stuck in a service line to service line rally, wishing our opponents would just miss their shot and lacking the initiative to make things happen!  To better understand positioning and shot selection, imagine each side of the court split into equal thirds.  Zone 1 is closest to the net, Zone 3 nearest the baseline, and Zone 2 spanning the area between.  From Zone 3 and behind our priority is simple...hit the ball deep and pin our opponents behind their own baseline.  In Zone 1 we have more potential to attack and inflict damge.  In Zone 2 we must alternate between offense and defense based on the relative difficulty of each ball.  The way to make smart shots in tennis is to stay focused on our priorities from each of these zones, not over or underextending ourselves needlessly.

The Ultra 103 S was a dream to hit with on groundstrokes. The shape of the head is not quite as round as the Steam 105S that I have been currently using, both have the 16/15 pattern but the mains of the Ultra 103S are millimeters closer together, giving you the same spin production with a tad bit lower trajectory. I felt I could flatten the ball out when needed and still have some semblance of control, still this frame is not geared to flat hitting in general, it is for aggressive topspin or the savvy slicer and dicer. The cushion foam handle made the frame feel more solid than the previous Juice line and it did not feel as stiff as the Juice 100S. My test sample had Lux element and while I loved the playability of the string, it did lose its ability to snap back in to position rather quickly. After 2 hrs the strings needed to be straightened a bit, not like a multi but I get longer wear out of 4G or Kirshbaum pro line X.

Move your feet!

The best tennis strokes in the world can’t save you if your feet are not in the proper position. Your legs are the strongest parts of your body, the facilitators of speed, strength, and agility. Try spending some time each week working on your footwork. After all, we use footwork on shot of every point, sans the serve. Leg workouts at the gym, agility training, sprinting, and stretching correctly will pay off every time you step on the court, especially in those third settters!