Submit your questions to Bill Mountford here
Q: What's the key to a good consistent second serve?
Kirk - Hillsboro, OR
The biggest key is… to get it in! Develop directional accuracy, plenty of spin, and- eventually- pace. Make certain that you swing at least as hard on your second serves as you do on your first serves. Players who struggle with developing a strong second serve tend to guide the ball by slowing down their swing. Instead, swing fast. You will eventually develop feel and confidence, but you must be bold enough to try.
- Bill
Q: How are the divisions made up and what division should I be in? I am 15 years old and do not understand the whole 10s-18s, BG, and all that.
David - Oakdale, CA
Call your Sectional office for specific advice about which tournaments are best for you to participate in. To help you understand some of the basics: “B” stands for Boys and “G” stands for Girls. “16s” indicates that all players are aged 16 or younger. If you are 15, then you are no longer eligible to play in the 14 & under division, for example.
To find your Sectional office click on the link "Find Your Section" at the top-right of this page.
Once you enter a tournament or two, all of these “codes” will become familiar to you.
- Bill
Q: When I look at professional tennis, players tend to have a solid winning background in their junior days/high school days/college days. Some players starting when they are as young as 5 years old! I never had any professional instruction or introduction into the sport at a young age, simply because it's not a real popular sport where I grew up. My question is would it be possible to start playing professional tennis at an older age, like early 20's with no "young tennis background"? If you believe it is possible, what kind of steps would one take?
Pablo - Calexico, CA
Anything is possible, but this development process would certainly buck the trend. As I have written many times, it typically takes ten years and/or 10,000 hours of dedicated training and competition for a player to fulfill his/her potential. This type of devotion seems to become more difficult as we age and our responsibilities shift. Good luck if you are going to ride down that trail.
- Bill
Q: I want to know how to decide how much tension should be in my racquet. Do I have to try every tension?
Hansol - Columbus, GA
Generally the tighter your strings, the greater degree of control you will have, while looser tension correlates to more power. My advice would be to try the exact middle of the recommended tension range. From there, determine if you need more power or want more control, and then adjust the tension (up or down, as needed) by about three pounds. Keep going through this process until you find your “best” string tension.
Realize that on some days, you might seek additional power and on other days want more control. Many players with multiple racquets string each at a slightly different tension to accommodate the changing conditions.
- Bill
Q: I'm currently playing my 3rd year of varsity tennis. I have a pretty powerful serve, but it's not as consistent as I would like. How can I keep a consistent serve to assure my 1st serves are at least 50% and my seconds are at least 95%?
Anoynmous - Fort Knox, KY
Those are ambitious percentages that you have listed. I would venture that if you hit over half of your first serves in and “at least 95%” of your second serves in that you will, generally, be playing against losers. How to develop a great serve? There is no magic formula; you must practice until you master it.
Choosing the right pace is essential. If you go for too much too often, then consistent success will be unlikely. Find a happy medium. If you are missing more than half of your first serves, then play the shot more conservatively until you get to your desired percentage range. Of course, if you are making every serve, then ride your hot streak by going for bigger and bigger hits.
- Bill
Q: I have been hitting with and feeding balls to my 9 year old daughter for a couple of years. Recently I decided to include some other kids her age to make the sessions more interesting. This is great fun for all of us. Unfortunately, I've been told by the club from which I contracted court space that they do not allow non-pros to instruct kids. They seem concerned that I am competing with their program. I do not accept any money for the sessions, just shared court fees. This policy seems to be common in my area based on the phone calls that I have made to other clubs. Do you have any suggestions or experience with this? It is such a shame that these clubs see such a small picture of the possibilities that a situation like this can create for them.
Kevin - Burlington, MA
I understand your concerns and viewpoint. Do you understand the perspective of the club/facility though? They hire teaching professionals who make their living by teaching/coaching tennis. If the club/facility chooses to compromise their standards and allow “volunteer” teachers to purchase court time and then give lessons, then it will- ultimately- bastardize their system.
A worst-case scenario is that a dishonorable teaching professional will take advantage of lax standards by buying court time on the cheap, at a colleagues’ facility, and then profit by giving lessons. Unfortunately, this scenario DOES occur, thus the need for establishing this regulation that you view as short-sighted.
I understand your perspective, especially considering that you are “working” with your daughter. It is NOT a cut-and-dried issue though.
- Bill
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