Posted on June 28th, 2023.

Imagine two players at the same level looking for improvement in their games. These two players may be at any level, but let's assume they are equal in abilities for the most part. They are equal in their tennis abilities, and if they would play each other, they would be exactly even. If they played 10 matches, each player would win 5 matches.

Nowfiveplayed imagine that both players decide to improve their games. The two players hire separate coaches for several lessons. So, for the sake of this example, let's say both players learn to correct their mistakes on the lesson court. And also, for the sake of this example, let's say they receive coaching on the same mistakes that are causing point losses. So, the two separate coaches, each working with a player, give instructions.

And after this instruction and some practice, one player begins to win more of the head-to-head matches between the two players. Out of 10 matches, one player now wins 7 or 8 matches. The two players are no longer equal. What happened during the coaching? Why was one player given an advantage? What made the difference?

Learning skills, especially tennis skills, has to be based on making mistakes and correcting those mistakes accurately.

Here are the questions players and coaches think about: But many do not know the answer.

I hear many different thoughts on this. When you are asked "What made the difference", what is your answer? Think about this before you read further. Why was one player given an advantage?

Correct Corrections versus Incorrect Corrections

Learning skills, especially tennis skills, has to be based on making mistakes and correcting those mistakes accurately. If a player makes a mistake, and the coach gives him or her a correction to that mistake, and the player does what is coached, the player should improve, right? Ideally, yes. But this is where the challenge comes in. If a player is missing their backhand when going down the line, and the coach points out that this was only caused by the shoulder turn, but the actual error was racket face, path, and/or 

racket speed, this would be called an "incorrect correction". If the coach knew and pointed out that the actual error was racket face, path, and speed and proceeded to explain and correct these movements, this would be called a "correct correction". The player who receives more of the "correct corrections" would ultimately make fewer mistakes than the player who receives the "incorrect corrections", wouldn't you agree?

So the answer to the question of why one player has an advantage over the other player is that this player has been given more "correct corrections" and fewer "incorrect corrections" by the coach, has practiced these, and therefore makes many fewer mistakes. Sounds simple. Just find a coach that knows how to coach "correct corrections"!  

What to Look for in a Coach

Look for a coach that has coached top players, that has been trained in the sport science of tennis, that can answer questions about the "why" of corrections, and that immediately helps the player understand and improve by learning "correct corrections" and making fewer mistakes. Find a coach who can explain the reasoning behind their instruction. If all the coach says is "do it because I said so", that probably means "I am not sure, but this is how I learned". There is nothing totally wrong with that, except that there are many players who actually learned "incorrect corrections" themselves and never had the training to understand tennis at a deeper level. At a very young age, I learned some "incorrect corrections" that made improvement more difficult. After studying the science of tennis, I learned that much of my frustration in my youth was based on the knowledge of the coaches I learned from. The better the coach, the more "correct corrections" are put into practice, and ultimately, the faster the improvement.

Understand the physics and biomechanics (science) of tennis, and watch your game improve by leaps and bounds.

After all, a pro player is a better player because they can hit the ball harder, with more spin, to a smaller target, more consistently, and under pressure. That's basically it. It sounds simple, but it is not. That pro player had to receive the "correct corrections" as the main progressions early on to develop his or her game. And any player must do the same thing in order to improve. Understand the physics and biomechanics (science) of tennis, and watch your game improve by leaps and bounds!