The Real Issues in
Building Technique

Chris Lewit

John Yandell on Paul Annacone and Pete Sampras:

I had an amazing experience with Paul Annacone when he was coaching Pete Sampras. I had the chance to show Paul a video analysis I did of Pete's backhand. The video showed Pete had developed a pronounced elbow lead and that when he missed backhand drives, he didn't quite make it to the straight arm contact position. Paul agreed and saw exactly what I saw in the video and he and I had a great talk about it. At the end I asked him if he wanted to take it to Pete.

"Oh I would never take it to Pete," he said. "Mind if I ask why?" I asked. "Because Pete doesn't think there's anything wrong with his backhand," was his answer.

Crazy?

Now that may sound crazy, but actually it makes complete sense if you understand players. The point is that for a player at the world class level, admitting that there is a significant technical problem on a particular stroke could cause a loss of overall confidence that might have a worse negative effect than the technical problem itself. That's what Paul believed about Pete anyway.

But this issue of confidence is actually a huge problem for any player at any level contemplating deconstructing a stroke. There is a high likelihood the process may initially or even permanently increase his frustration and have a negative impact on his results.