How to progress from 3.5 to 4.0-4.5?

[mmurp05]

Anyone have any recommendations on how best to help your game progress?

-Play more
-Private lesson
-Clinic
-Drill with partner
-Ball machine
-Reading (online, etc.)
-Videos (online, etc.)
-Watch the pros on TV

What is most helpful in advancing your rating?

[gzhpcu]

Briefly, I would say:

- play more: train 40 %, match play 60%
- train patterns: cross, down-the-line, etc.
- use a video camera to analyze strokes
- study the articles on this site and use them to analyze what you see on the video camera, compare with say, Federer...
- work out: gym training
- work on concentration....
- check your nutrition...

[llll]

Anyone have any recommendations on how best to help your game progress?

-Play more
-Private lesson
-Clinic
-Drill with partner
-Ball machine
-Reading (online, etc.)
-Videos (online, etc.)
-Watch the pros on TV

What is most helpful in advancing your rating?

i dont think you can do it without a coach
consistent lessons 1.2.3 times a week based on your time and disposable income will get you there
im 57 soon 58
istarted playing at age 49
here is my 2 cents
at 3.5-very low 4.0 you may have lots of people
who are good at being bad
they dont look great but after 30-40 years they have "mastered " what they can do
they beat alot of players with "prettier strokes"

as you advance to stronger 4.0 and up
very few players look bad
they are all good at being good

so while you are developing you may be bad at being good
but eventually you will be good at being good and beat those that are good at being bad

one other note

my first few years i took lessons exclusively
looking at the long term i figured if i was on the court i might as well have a lesson and not reinforce bad habits
i got to be a good ball striker
but i idnt know how to play
the last few years ive played more to bring my playing skill up to my ball striking skills

for me i felt it important to build a foundation in good technique
that was paramount
the rest would come and it has
after 10 years im 4.0 moving close to 4.5

thats my story

in the end if you dont have the technique you can only go so far

whether you agree or disagree to my approach im curious to hear your pros and cons

[llll]

no one else can help this member???

[lobndropshot]

You differently need a coach. Also you need to play lots of matches:
50% at your current level
30% at a higher level
20% at a lower level

[GeoffWilliams]

Match play requires a different set of skills than you can acquire rallying dtm. Serve skill is #1. Return skill is #2. Consistency is #3. WEapons are #4. Must not be over weight. Must believe you can win no matter the score. Must know the difference between: lull-jam-finish shots and the transitions in-between. Must be able to attack/transition on short balls and volley/oh well. Must have the right strings/tens. for your game style. Must have the right frame for the same style. Must have the right pallet for that style.

Read my forum post on strings for your game. Look at yourself on video. You will see you are not coiling, not using your legs, not attacking the shot with your weight forward. You will see no arm speed on the serve. You will see the defects at the net. If you do not intend to hit the ball harder, you will not. If you do not intend to change spin same thing. Attack the weak parts of others. Train to targets on serve/return practices. It's a form of combat. The strong will, kill the weak.

You are first round fodder.

[mmurp05]

Thank you for the advice

I am 43 and in good shape.

I play Men's and Mixed doubles 2-3 times per week. For the past 6 months I have played matches exclusively with no practice or coaching. I have felt like my game has plateaued and that I have been making the same mistakes.

I have recently started Private lessons once per week and have done group clinics on occasion.

I have read articles on this site as well as other sites. I have read different books and enjoy watching tennis on TV.

I feel that my game is capable of much further growth. My strokes are quite good...at times, but also inconsistent and inefficient. While I am quick and athletic and can get to many balls, my footwork has much room for improvement.

I have a flat and spin serve, each of which can get me free points, but again they are inconsistent. Serving seems to be one of the more difficult skills to master. It does not appear to be a favorite topic for instruction by the pros I have worked with. The progress at times feels slow. It feels like this is best worked on alone with a basket of balls.

I appreciate the input. I would like to become the best player that I can become...whatever level that may be...but I am shooting for 4.5.

[GeoffWilliams]

You have realized the serve is your weak pt. Look at yourself on video. You will see: no coil: not placing your back to the net, and chest to the rear fence! NOt delaying the frame drop into trophy: separates the good from the bad servers, to delay, which makes the elbow move faster to catch up, whipping the frame. Did not address: strings/frame; to fit your game. You must not only change a losing game, but change a losing frame as well. Toss is important. High elbow too. It's not just shoulder over shoulder, it's chest over chest, while whipping the frame back parallel to the baseline, (under your elbow) while leg driving up, and chest over chest, so the whole chest rotates forward and up into the snap off.

[mmurp05]

I use a Babolat Pure Drive with Pro Hurricane Strings which I like.

Personally picking out strings always seems very confusing. The salesperson tends to ask things like, "Do you want more power or control?" Answer: BOTH. Do you want to hit with more spin? Yes.

I just pick something. Get used to its feel and stick with it. I feel it has more to do with how I am swinging it than with what I am swinging.

[barrybuss]

Murph .. Can I call you murph?

Greetings, thanks for reaching out and seeking input... My experience in players trying to jump a half level .. Say 3.5 to 4.0.. There are two ways for you to become a 4.0 in my opinion.. You can work super hard, do all the aspects laid out before you here by others, be patient , play enough tourneys, and with some good fortune, earn your 4.0 rating..

The other far simpler way to become a 4.0 in the ntrp system is to just call yourself one).. I kid, though the usta has that little self rating thing going on.. You wouldn't be thecfirst to improve your level with a simple click of your browser mouse.

Ultimately, the 4.0 level in tennis dense areas like southern California is dubbed the hub.. You can play young athletic 25 year old track stars or old school slice and dice 65 year old who just can't seem to get enough of cracking a can and doing battle
What complicates being successful at such a level is it takes a fairly complete rounded game of offensive
skills and defensive savvy to be able to beat all comers.. Of course, if you had all this going on and
more, you would already be a 4.0 or better and not reaching out...

Like with most things in life, we learn our lessons
the hard way .. Whether it be the stock market, poker, chasing wealth or chasing women, unfortunately we learn the important lessons by getting out tail handed to us a few times.. In comp. Tennis with so many different styles of play coming your way, it takes a great amount if experience to know within the warm up and the first few games
what strategy you should employ to achieve success.

The first problem players at your age and level experience is you/ we are not a fixed constant.. Who we are from day to day is for all a variable sadly with a high variance.. So as it pertains to
match play you have to know who you ade that specific day and be able to make a fair objective assessment of yourself.. What's working what's not.. And what do you have working that you feel is superior to your opponent..

Sometimes it can be simple.. Sometimes it can seem insolvable.. What you have to be patient with via yourself is there are only three things you can control.. Your effort, your attitude, and your preparation... In posts to cone.. All three of those fields will be addressed with the hopes you can achieve your goals.. More to cone.. Keep coming back)