Yes, there are 3 main ones. They seem so obvious, but are as elusive as when asked “What is the object of the game of tennis”?

It blows me away how people can’t say the answer to that simple question. Everyone seems to know it, but the verbiage just doesn’t flow from the mind out into a stream of communication.

The simple answer is: to hit a ball over a net and into the court more than the other player.

From there, a host of varied complexities are usually introduced, but the ability to get one more ball IN gets the point.

The 3 Components for excellent hitting are:

1. Keep seeing the ball
2. Control racquet position
3. Control the bounce off the racquet strings.

Simple right? Well, who says that simple is always easy? Not the game of tennis! Focusing on the components are the simplest way to achieve the objective. Of course, the simplest tactic is to get enough balls in until the opponent makes an error. I call that the simplest tactic because trying to hit a ball that another person or persons can’t return is not always completely under the hitter’s control. There are those who say that hitting unreturnable balls is the game’s objective, but those of us who have played the game more than a few times know that most of the points come from errors. This means that most points are given rather than taken. I believe this makes the unreturnable ball more of a tactic than the objective. Most who try this “hit an unreturnable ball” approach too often wind up GIVING away far more points than they gain.

Anyway, I think it very important to understand the game’s objective in order to appreciate the need to make practicing the 3 Components a basic part of any routine. I think you will find that regardless of the tactic used to play a point, ALL THREE components must be present for excellent hitting.

I will elaborate on EACH component in future posts.