Dan Waintrup Celebrity Guru

Dan Waintrup is the former teaching Tennis Professional at one of New England's most exclusive country clubs. He was a nationally ranked tennis player at Temple University, a ranked New England Men's Singles player in the 1980's and 90's, and the 2005 Men's Singles Champion at the Palm Beach Country Club. A featured media personality and professional speaker, Dan provides humorous commentary on the topics of tennis, business, networking, self-promotion, and the art of winning - both in life and on the court. When he’s not speaking, writing, and providing tennis analysis on sports talk programs, he is working on the screen adaptation of his book It's Not My Fault - Can A Rabbi's Son Find Happiness as a Tennis Pro?

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Learn the Basics

As in any endeavor, learning and mastering the fundamentals is important in developing your game. Get a lesson to learn the mechanics of the forehand, backhand, serve, and volley. Once you build this foundation, go at your own pace. Play with a friend or hit against a wall to build a consistent stroke. Tennis pros are more than happy to introduce new players to the game, however, once you get a handle on the basics, they’re not necessary if you just want to play recreationally. Just get out there and practice!

Learn How to Control the Ball

After learning the proper grip and swing, try to master controlling the ball more effectively. You can use topspin, flat, or slicing strokes when trying to make the game more difficult on your opponent. To hit a topspin shot, try to swing the vertical racquet face low to high through contact. This will cause more bounce and result in more balls landing inside the baseline. A flat stroke uses no spin and is hit straight on. A slice requires chopping at the ball high to low, resulting in backspin. It’s an effective shot for dropping the ball just over the net, and keeping your opponents on their toes. Mastering these strokes will allow for more advanced play and enjoyment of the game.

Learn to Serve by Throwing a Ball

Many tennis novices are unable to serve correctly because they were never taught how to throw correctly. Swinging the racket in a serve is essentially the same motion overhand motion as throwing a baseball. While training with a pro is the best way to practice you serve, there are other ways to work on it. Have a catch with a friend, or throw a ball off a wall fifty times. Once you master this important motion, put a racquet in your hand and work towards coordinating your swing with the ball toss.

To Volley Well, You Need to Develop Your “Backboard”

You can’t play advanced, aggressive tennis if you can’t come to the net and finish off a point. To do this you need to develop an effective volley. To hit this shot, grip the racquet firmly, lock your wrist, and meet the ball in front of your body with a short, solid, punching motion. If you want to have a consistent volley, you have to think of your wrist, arm, racquet, and shoulder as one unit. You need to think of your “backboard” moving forward aggressively to meet the ball in front of you.

Tennis is a Game of Reaction

If you want to play the game at it’s highest level, you have to start moving for your opponents shot the second it comes off his or her racquet. Being “on your toes,” or on the “balls of your feet,” when your opponent is making contact gives you the best opportunity to move quickly in either direction. It also gives you the best chance to react to the speed, spin, and direction of each shot so that you’re in good position to return it.

Hit! Then Look

You can’t be result-oriented if you want to execute your shots successfully on a tennis court. If you’re having problems with your consistency, you may need to refine your mental approach and become more disciplined in setting up for every single shot. After you reach a certain level in tennis, being able to consistently keep your head down through contact may be the most important factor in playing winning tennis

Stay Even Keeled

You may have the most beautiful stroke in the world, but to play winning tennis, you have to be able to control your nerves. Take a deep breath and relax, and let your natural abilities take over. Try not to focus too much on winning, but taking one shot at a time. Once you do this, the game is simplified, and you won’t have as many distractions during play.

Attitude is Everything

No matter how tough the opponent, or how bad you may be playing on a particular day, you give yourself the best chance to perform at your highest level when you stay positive. The more negative you are, the more you tense up, making it more difficult to execute your shots. Believe in yourself. And remember that it’s not life and death, it’s only a game.

Get in Shape if You Plan on Being Competitive

Even if you have every shot in the book, if you’re too tired to get to the ball, you’ll lose every time. You can work on conditioning both on and off the court. Wind sprints and jogging are great ways to build up your stamina and give you a chance in those long, grueling 3 set matches.

Practice Makes Perfect

Practice, practice, practice! If you really have the desire to improve, and become a consistent player, you have to put in the time and effort. Play as much as possible. Hit against a wall if you have to. The more you play, the better player you’ll become. Tennis will become more fun for you with every day you play.